Inverness before railways

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INVERNESS BEFORE RAILWAYS,

ISABEL HARRIET ANDERSON.

INVERNESS :

A. AND W. MACKENZIE.
.885. /I

;?■• n.

THE ABERDEKN UNIVERSITV I

jnGoo^Ic

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.
The Manneks and Custoub of Old Inverness, - - i

CHAPTER II.

The Buildings anu Walks op Old Inverness, and tueie
Associations, -.,...,,

CHAPTER IIL
The Ckasactbrs of Old Inverness, ■

CHAPTER IV.
The Wakderees of Old Inverness, ■

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ji-vGooglc

THE MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF OLD
INVERNESS.

ji HAT Inverness has greatly advanced in
many ways, within the last thirty
years, and is a much wealthier and
much more important place than of
old, admits of no denial. Whether there is as much
genial intercourse amongst those in the same rank of
life, and as much sympathy and freedom from rivalry
between the various classes as characterised the old
town long ago, is a question regarding which there
may be a diversity of opinion.

When those old Invernessians who have been for
many years absent from their native town, return to
visit it, they are impressed not so much by the
numerous new streets and buildings, and the general
appearance of activity and prosperity, as by the decay
of the old families and the rise of new ones. Many
representatives of the old county families still reside
in the neighbourhood of Inverness, but — speaking
only of the town and the townspeople — among the
leaders of fashionable society in the Highland Capital

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2 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

there are but few descendants of those who filled the
same place thirty or forty years ago, few probably
that have the slightest idea who really ruled Inverness
society at that period. The descendants of many of
those old leading families, too, would feel strange and
bewildered, were they now to return and settle in
Inverness.

"I do not know a single name," excljumed agentle-
man, who, after an absence of thirty-five years, lately
paid a hurried visit to Inverness. He had walked
along Ardross Terrace, had gone round by Drum-
mond, and, in fact, visited nearly every suburb of the
town, inquiring who resided in each handsome villa
that he passed, or in each old mansion — though of
these but few now remain — which had once been the
abode of old friends ; but the names which fell upon
his ear, in reply, had a strange and unfamiliar sound.
" There is only one place in Inverness," he added
sadly, " where I meet at every step with the old
familiar names, and that place is the Chapel-yard I"

The habits of the Inverness people have changed
much more within the last thirty years than in the
sixty years which went before. Since the opening of
the Inverness and Nairn railway in 1855, not only
have a number of strangers come to reside in the
Highland Capital, causing a spirit of competition to
arise, and an impetus to be given to progress and
activity, but their ever<extendtng arrival and settle-

n,gN..(jNGoogle

PRIMITIVE WAYS. 3

ment have caused a gradual but complete revolution
in the ways of what had for many years been a quiet
exclusive little town, in which the advent of a stranger
from the South was an event apt to be regarded with
a degree of trepidation as well as excitement. As
one new family after another came to settle here, and
the heads of the old families died in rapid succession,
new manners and customs, the effect of competition
and ambition, quickly supplanted the primitive old-
fashioned ways which had been handed down from
one generation to another.

Thirty-five years ago there were only a few classes
in Inverness, and these were clearly defined, but this
did not prevent each class from taking a kindly
interest in the other. One great characteristic of
Inverness at that time was the small estimation in
which wealth was held, and the small influence which
the possession of it involved. This may be accounted
for by the fact that the leaders of society in the town
were all people of moderate income. The Inverness
lawyers and bankers lived mostly in plainly furnished
houses above their banks and offices, and the shop-
keepers in still plainer houses above their shops.

The usual dinner hour was four o'clock, but it was
changed to five or half-past five when there was a
party — six o'clock dinners being given only by the
county families, or those who were considered on the
same level. Young unmarried people were not often

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4 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

invited out to dinner, but were asked to come to tea
at seven, and were expected to be found waiting in
the drawing-room, when the elder ladies left the
gentlemen seated over their wine. If the gentlemen
were very long of leaving the dining-room (which was
often the case when a tray had been brought in with
materials for toddy — of which the ladies were always
expected to partake, before leaving), tea and coffee
were handed round to the visitors who had arrived
only after dinner, and the young ladies were requested
to give a little music to hasten the arrival of the
loiterers in the dining-room. The young people in
the drawing-room were apt to get very impatient
when the gentlemen sat long over their toddy and
port wine, but as these were the days of toasts, their
patience was often sorely tried. These were the days,
too, when it was the custom for people to drink wine
with each other. The host always asked the lady on
his right hand, and each gentleman asked both the
lady whom he had taken in to dinner and the one
seated directly opposite to him, if he might have the
pleasure of drinking wine with them, and so on, until
every one had drunk wine with several others. Before
taking wine with any one, the glass had to be filled
up anew, though the ladies generally only touched it
with their lips, after the honour had been requested of
them more than once or twice. Then both parties
bowed to each other, the gentlemen often saying.

jNGoogie

TEA-PARTIES. 5

" Your very good health," and the lady, " Thank you
— the same to you ". Latterly, however, it became
the custom to omit the words, and merely to bow.

The loud and hearty cheers of the gentlemen over
their toasts used to reach the drawing-room, and many
a young lady used to exclaim, " How merry they are !
Ah ! I fear we shall have to wait long for our dance ".
But often if there were any young unmarried men
among the waiting company — such as Captain Sherv-
ington, the recruiting officer (who usually wore the
Highland dress), John Fyvie (the Dean's eldest son),
and Doctor Wilson (at that time a young, handsome,
attractive man, much sought after in society) — a
dance was started even before the company in the
dining-room had made their appearance.

These dances were generally kept up until ten or
eleven o'clock — alternately with songs, sung with taste
and feeling — and then more toddy, negus for the
ladies, and such light refreshments as custards, Jellies
and tartlets were handed round.

In the case of tea-parties, however (which were
much more frequent in Inverness than dinners),
there was always a substantial supper laid out on the
dining-room table at ten o'clock — a most substantial
" tea " having also been laid out there and partaken of
at the primitive hour of half-past six.

At the tea parties, charades, round games of cards,
and that old-fashioned game "consequences," generally

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6 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

alternated with the dances and songs, and the enter-
tainment was kept up till a late hour. The tea-parties
cost nearly as much as the dinners (for in those days
three or four courses were considered ample at a dinner
party — entries being things unknown except at the
tables of a few of the leaders of fashion), but they were
much more enjoyable, and were indeed charming when
enlivened by the fine singing of John Fyvie, Miss Jane
Chisholm, or the daughters of Doctor Nicol. The
ballads of Thomas Haynes Bayly were very fashion-
able at that period, and John Fyvie sang them with
exquisite taste and feeling, as well as many other
ballads, the very names of which are unknown to the
young people of the present day. " Jeannette and
Jeannot," " I'll hang my harp on a willow tree," " The
minute gun at sea/'and'Tm going, Jessie,far from thee"
were among the best songs of the Dean's son. John
Fyvie's songs and Major Greenwood's wit used to
make the time fly quickly in several Inverness drawing-
rooms, where also many a pathetic Scotch or Irish air
was played by Miss Georgie or Miss Bella Suter,many
a brilliant waltz or polka by Miss Eliza Munro.

An invitation given only two or three days before-
hand was considered quite sufficient for a dinner
party, and an invitation to a tea party was often given
only on the previous day.

Another great institution in Inverness was the
supper party, to which only gentlemen were invited,

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"JOHNNY COPE." 7

although the ladles of the house were always expected
to appear. Fish, toasted cheese, and porter or ale,
always formed part of the feast, and songs, speeches
and anecdotes flowed on in rapid succession as long as
the party were seated round the table.

Old Mrs. Denoon, when she lived on Castle Street,
was famed for her supper parties ; and her son David,
that courteous and ceremonious gentleman of the old
school, was, notwithstanding his grave, formal manner,
at great demand at all the supper parties given in
Inverness by his old schoolfellows, long after his
amiable and gentle brother Alick had settledin London.

Long ago (up to the period of his death in 1838), the
life of all the supper parties in Inverness was Banker
Alexander Mackenzie of Woodside, familiarly known
as " Johnny Cope," from his capital rendering of that
song, although it was matched by the way in which he
sang " Let Whig and Tory all agree ".

It was the habit also for many of the Inverness
gentlemen to drop in without any invitation, at one
another's houses at the supper hour, which was usually
nine o'clock, and have a friendly chat over a tumbler
of toddy.

At one time it was the custom to give breakfast
parties in Inverness, but that practice died out long
before the supper parties. Miss Annie Grant, Kilmoni-
vaig, was about the last person in the town that kept
up the old custom of inviting her friends to breakfast

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8 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

The hour was always nine o'clock, and the tea and
coffee prepared by Miss Annie's hands, before blind-
ness had sealed her eyes, and the hot rolls which were
always laid in readiness on each plate, before the
guests sat down, were considered unequalled at any
table in Inverness.

Of course when the dinner hour was four o'clock,
there were no such things in Inverness as hot luncheons
and five o'clock teas, but it was the invariable custom
to offer wine and cake to every one who called, at
whatever hour, or from however short a distance they
might come. In fact no visitor to either parlour or
kitchen was ever permitted to go away without being
asked to eat and drink, A lady coming from only
the next street would have considered the hostess to
fail strangely in the duties of hospitality if refresh-
ments were not produced. In most houses, a tray .
with rich cake and sweet biscuits, and with port and
sherry (for claret was at that time little used, though
it was the favourite beverage of an earlier generation),
was laid on a side table in the drawing-room, eveiy
forenoon, to be in readiness for any visitors that might
happen to call. It waB not then thought vulgar to
press people to eat, or old-fashioned to introduce
guests to one another. It was the rule then, and not
the exception, for every gentleman to raise his hat
entirely from his head, when bowing to a lady, and to
draw off his glove before shaking hands with her. It

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NESS-HOUSE HOSPITALITY. 9

was also the custom for every gentleman to offer his
arm to any lady who might be walking along the
street with him.

In those days, when every one was more or less
hospitable, and the set of fine-looking courtly bankers,
for which Inverness was at that time noted, vied with
each other in keeping open house, there was no one
who dispensed hospitality with a more lavish hand,
no one who was more generous to all who needed
help, than Mr. Mackenzie, Ness House {Agent for the
Bank of Scotland). Not only did his birth and con-
nections, his singularly aristocratic appearance, and
exquisite courtesy secure for him the undisputed
precedence, but he was about the last to maintain
in Inverness the manners and customs of a former
generation, and was even in those days considered
the beau ideal of a Highland gentleman of the olden
time. Visitors came to Ness House as freely as they
would come to an hotel. Invitations were not needed,
for an equally hearty welcome awaited every guest,
whether invited or uninvited. On the sideboard in
the dining-room, refreshments stood ready from
morning to night for all comers, whilst a quaintly-
shaped whisky bottle, with which " to speed each
parting guest," was a fixture on the entrance-hall
table. Any person of note who visited Inverness,
was sure to bring a letter of introduction to Mr.
Mackenzie, and then dinners, drives and picnics to

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ID MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

Foyers and Kilmorack and the various beautiful
places around, were sure to follow. Hospital!^ was,
however, the least distinguishing trait of a noble
character. His fine, free, foi^iving, though hot
nature, is not forgotten to this day, especially in
Kintail, where his granduncle, General Mackenzie
Fraser, and Lord Seaforth, raised, at their own ex-
pense, the gallant 78th Highlanders ; and his own
taith in the Highlanders and strong feelings of clan-
ship, made him launch in the world with disinterested
generosity many who thus advanced to fortune through
his means.

Mr. Mackenzie was unanimously elected the first
Provost of Inverness after the Reform Bill had passed,
and on retiring from office, his townsmen presented
him with a very valuable piece of plate, whilst they
urged him to permit them to return him to Parlia-
ment ; but he was too rooted to his life in the
Highlands to leave them — even refusing the ap-
pointment of Governor of the Mauritius (very lucra-
tive in those days), which was offered in reci^nition
of his efforts in the Liberal cause.

When Mr, Mackenzie died suddenly in 1854, hts
funeral was the greatest that had been known for
many years. The tenants of the Flowerburn estate
(of which he had undertaken the management at
the dying request of his great friend, the grand-
father of the present Laird), erected a handsome

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MRS. MACKENZIE. II

marble tablet to his memoiy in the Cathedral of
Fortrose.

Mrs. Mackenzie, who survived her husband till 1883
had long left the Highlands, where she had maintained
the Banker's hospitality with equal individuality; but
there must be many still in the North who remember
her high-bred manners and queenly form, and there are
certainly some there who can testify to the warmth of
her heart and the constancy of her friendship. Mrs.
Mackenzie was a lady of cultivated mind and refined
tastes, an admirable musician, artist, and linguist, at a
time when such gifts were rare. She had also a great
amount of quiet huinour, and possessed a laige store
of amusing anecdotes, which she had the gift of telling
remarkably well. Her family was an ancient Forfar-
shire one, the Piersons of Balmadies (the brasses on
their tombs in the Abbey of Arbroath still show the
antiquity of the family), but she was born and educated
in Russia, in which country she ever maintained deep
interest, whilst entertaining the strongest affection for
Scotland, where she had passed all her married life.
Intense love for and appreciation of everything con-
nected with the Highlands formed one of the chief
characteristics of this high-bred lady of the old
school.

It has been alleged that in those days of universal
hospitality the Inverness people lived in a continual
whirl of gaiety ; but although there were many little

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12 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

social gatherings, a regular course of party-giving on
a large scale was kept up by only about seven or
eight families, who, in several instances, were bound
together by ties of close and sincere friendship and
a^ection. Changed as Inverness is now, a faint
memory lingers there still of the parties given, not
only at Ness House, but by the two families who
reigned in succession at Viewmount (those of Doctor
Munro and Sheriff Colquhoun), and also by the families
of Banker Mackay and Doctor Nicol — parties as mirth-
ful as they were brilliant

But though there was much more private gaiety in
those days, there were few public balls, few public
entertainments of any kind. Ladies, in particular,
may be said to have lived far less in public then than
they do now. They never sang or played at public
concerts, collected subscriptions, or became members
of associations or committees of any kind, whether for
secular or sacred purposes.

Christmas was then, more than now, a time for
hearty, social gatherings. On Christmas and New
Year's Day people always went in the afternoons to
see their friends and wish them happiness, and though
there were no Christmas cards and no decorating of
churches, it was the custom at that season to make
little gifls for all one's friends, relations, and servants
which cost little money, but a great deal of labour,
and were, on the latter account, highly valued.

jNGoogie

" BULLIEGEIZERS." 1 J

For four or five days before Christmas, boys, who
were called "BuUiegeizers" — whatever that may mean
— went round every night at seven or eight o'clock
singing loudly at the street doors, and of course ex-
pecting pennies. The arrival of these boys outside
was always a source of delight to the children within,
for it reminded them that Christmas was close at
hand.

On Christmas Eve a great packing of baskets with
tea and sugar, currant loaves, and pieces of meat,
for favourite retainers and pensioners, went on in
many households, at which the children were not
only permitted to assist, but were allowed to accom-
pany a servant with the baskets to the houses of the
various recipients, in order that they might acquire a
personal interest in those whom their parents be-
friended.

On Christmas morning in most households the
servants were sent for to the dining-room to drink the
health of their master and mistress, and receive a
piece of shortbread, and some little gifts worked for
them by the children's own hands; and during break-
fast a message often came from the kitchen that some
of the pet beggars of the family — such as Walter Sim
and " Water Lexy " — had " called to wish every one a
merry Christmas," which, of course, was the signal for
some eager child to run down stairs with a shilling for
each of the grateful visitors.

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14 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

Thus, in many homes in Inverness in those days,
Christmas was a day of more satisfying happiness
for the children than it is at present, when they are
surfeited with Christmas cards and costly gifts. In
those days toys and books were much more expensive
than they are now, and children did not get so many
of them : therefore they dearly prized the few they did
get. They were not loaded on their birthdays
with jewellery and all manner of splendid presents
from all their relations and acquaintances, but were
quite satisfied with a sixpenny or shilling book from
their parents, and no remembrance from any one else,
except, perhaps, a pen-wiper or pin-cushion from some
kind aunt A shilling book with one of Miss Edge-
worth's or Mrs. Hofland's tales^-carefully written in
excellent English — was more highly prized than a five
shilling book is by any child now, and even a penny
book (with the history of " Cinderella " or " Beauty
and the Beast," "The Yellow Dwarf" or "The In-
visible Prince"), or a penny toy such as a tin kettle or
saucepan, could bestow a degree of happiness which
children in the same rank of life could not possibly
realise at the present day. Many a little story t)ook
did the kind bookseller " Kenny Douglas " bestow on the
children of his customers at Christmas or New Year
(the writer remembers receiving a highly-prized
copy of "The Cottagers of Glenbumie," bound in
scarlet and gold, from him as a Christmas gift) ; many

jNGoogie

LADIES DRESa IJ

a little toy did " Johnny Suter " present to his special
favourites among the children who flocked to his little
shop in the " Black Vennel," when it was the only toy
shop in Inverness.

Children went to parties at one anothefs houses
then in nothing smarter than their Sunday clothes.
A tucked soft muslin white frock and blue or tartan
sash were considered the height of full dress for a little
girl, and fit to be worn only at a very grand party
indeed. A fine French merino or printed delaine with
a crimped frill round the throat (and no jewellery
except a necklace), was the usual attire. Grown-up
young ladies seldom wore dresses of costlier material
than muslin, tarlatane or barege, at their parties, and
were not ashamed to be seen in the same garb at
several successive entertainments. On their shoulders
they wore a "berthe" of black or white lace, a most
becoming article of dress, which looked especially
pretty on a pink tarlatane or soft, pale-blue barfege.
The elder ladies wore long floating scarfs. Sham
jewellery was never worn by any lady then ; what
appeared to be silver or gold really was silver or gold.
The necklets and huge lockets of the present day were
unknown then, but the usual ornament for a young
lady in evening dress was a necklace of coral, pearls
or amber, or a band of black velvet round the throat
fastened by a tiny brooch ; and for an older lady one
of these long pretty gold chains which went round the

jNGoogie

l6 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

neck and descended to the waist Every married lady
— ^however young — wore a cap, which covered the ears,
and from which long broad ribbons fell over the
shoulders. The ears, indeed, were always covered in
the case of any female, at whatever age. No fringes
were ever seen, but the hair was divided in the middle
and descended on each side of the cheek in long braids
or ringlets, and was coiled behind and fastened with 3
tortoiseshell comb — small side-combs of tortoiseshell
being often used to keep the ringlets in front from
coming too much forward.

The fashions did not change then so often as they
do now. The white or pale-blue drawn silk bonnets
of one summer — with their close " baby fronts " of
tulle, with little loops of coloured velvet all round —
could always be laid aside to come out unaltered for
the next; and the dark-blue velvet winter bonnets
could be treated in the same way and kept in readiness
till that season should come round again. The pelisses
of growing girls — often made of black silk in summer
and dark-green merino (trimmed with velvet of the
same shade), in winter — required only to be lengthened
and let out a little, a year after they had been bought

Gentlemen wore stocks and high shirt collars, and
appeared on the streets in swallow-tails, white trousers
and white waistcoats. A few old country " bodachs "
might still be seen in the knee-breeches, long stockings,
buckled shoes, and large brass buttons, which were all

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"FILLED PLAIDS." I?

the fashion some twenty years previously. Gentlemen
wore their hair much longer than at present, sometimes
almost covering the ear, and descending to the back
of the neck ; but shaving was then universally practised
— only officers in the army ever wearing a moustache.

Elderly ladies wore reticules of black velvet or black
embroidered satin attached to their sides when they
went out shopping or calling — ladies who twenty
years before had gone to church in white silk stock-
ings, sandalled slippers of black satin or prunella,
dresses of soft white muslin tucked to the waist, and
black silk spencers.

Servant girls in Inverness were content to go to
church in gowns of printed cotton which had cost only
threepence or fourpence a yard, in coarse straw bonnets
whose trimming consisted of a deep curtain and a
strap of ribbon across the top, and in large tartan
shawls. Tartan shawls and "filled plaids" were worn
by females of all classes and all ages. Little girls of
twelve years old might be seen in three-cornered
shawls reaching to their feet, and in large bonnets —
for hats were not in fashion then — which not only
shrouded their faces, but made them appear like little
old women.

There was a very pretty fashion then — that of lai^
fur tippets which descended below the waist, and were
decidedly more becoming than the little fur capes of
the present day. Deep fur cuifs were worn, fur

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I8 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

" victorines " the ends of which descended to the waist,
and fur " boas " of such a length as often to touch the
ground. Knitted "polka jackets" also were worn
in-doors in winter, and out-of-doors under a shawl. In
summer, silk " shades," which were anything but
becoming, were fastened in front of the bonnet and
tied with strings under the chin. Veils too were
fastened onwith strings,and were so long as to descend
nearly to the waist

Ladies did not have such a number and variety
of dresses then, but those they had were of very
much better materials, fitted to stand tear and
wear, and to be handed down to succeeding genera-
tions.

The country girls did not then ape the fashions of
their superiors in rank, but went to church with only
a snood of ribbon, instead of a bonnet, on their hair.
The writer remembers seeing the daughters of many
well-to-do farmers passing down Academy Street
every Sunday to the Free East Church, with no
covering on their heads. There were two beautiful
girls in particular, whose rich auburn hair, guiltless of
hat or bonnet, imparted a refinement to their ap-
pearance which would have been entirely destroyed
if their heads had been surmounted by any imitation
of the finery of their superiors. If any of the country
girls had a distance to walk they used to carry their
shoes and white cotton stockings in one hand (to be

n,gN..(jNGoogie

MARTINMAS MARKET. 19

put on when they approached their journey's end), and
in the other a bible, wrapped in a white pocket hand-
kerchief, and with a piece of mint or southernwood
between the leaves. When one of them married —
however young she might be — she always donned the
expensive and elaborate "mutch," the married woman's
badge.

It was a pretty sight to see the country girls
flocking into Inverness on a Martinmas Market day,
each with a bright tartan shawl, fastened by a large
silver brooch generally a double heart), which had
descended from one generation to another ; while
their faces beamed with the expectation of " fairings "
from their favourite " lads ". It was a picturesque
sight also to see the "wives" in mutches, beneath
which shone broad ribbons of every hue, standing
beside their carts, which extended from one end of
Academy Street to the other. Ladies of the best
position did not think it beneath their dignity to go
in and out among the carts, examining the butter
and cheese, while their children, under a servant's
care, delighted in wandering among the little stalls,
arranged on each side of High Street, and in buying
fairings, of which the most prized was generally a
little chum, in which they could make real butter.
High Street and Academy Street used to be even
more densely packed on a Martinmas Market day
than they are now, and the Academy boys used to

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20 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

amuse themselves by pinning the gowns of the
country women tt^ther.

Every Tuesday and Friday the country women
sold their butter, eggs, and fowls on the Exchange —
the butter at tenpence the pound, the eggs at four-
pence or sixpence the dozen, and the fowls at tenpence
each. Potatoes were sold round the lamp-post in the
open space in front of the old Methodist Chapel, and
there was a weighing-machine there, where not only
potatoes but hay and coals and various other articles
were weighed.

Before the opening of the former Fish-market
place on Academy Street, there was a temporary one
in a court opening from Petty Street ; and at that
time a dozen haddocks could be had for threepence
or fourpence, and a dozen herrings for a penny, or
indeed even for a halfpenny, if a herring boat hap-
pened to be at the Shore. A pennyworth of herrings,
during the stay of a boat, often maintained a poor
family for two days, forming, together with a few
potatoes, their breakfast, dinner, and supper.

At an earlier period the Fish-market was held in a
walled-in space, where the Post-office now stands ;
and among the old women employed to carry fish
for the customers, was a big, stout character of the
name of Tibby Main, who also kept a little table on
High Street, close to the Market-place, where she
every day sold vegetables of different kinds, and also

jNGoogie

HALLOWE'EN. 21

dulse and shell-fish. There were two similar tables
on the pavement at the top of Academy Street, kept
by two other old women, one of whom, a dwarf named
"Wee Jenny," was as well-known a character as Tibbie
Main. Except on market days, when the country
gardeners brought supplies into the town for sale,
the only places where v^etables, such as cabbages,
cauliflowers, carrots or turnips could be obtained,
were the tables of these old women.

Up to a much later date it was a practice for poor
old women to sit with a basket of dulse, whelks or
mussels, at the end of the Bridge or at the Post-office
steps, in the hope of tempting children coming from
school to invest their halfpennies.

On Hallowe'en and the previous evening, eight or
nine old women from the country — sometimes from
as great a distance as Glenmoriston or Kintail — used
to sit on the Exchange with large bags of hazel nuts
for sale, which they had carried all the way to Inver-
ness on their backs.

Hallowe'en parties were a great institution in
Inverness in those days among the upper and middle
classes. Nuts were burnt, apples were ducked for,
and fortunes were read by means of the white of an
egg, dropped in a glass of water, and by means of
three plates, one filled with clear water, one with dirty
water or milk, and the third empty. The persons
whose fortune had to be tried by the plates were blind-

jNGoogie

22 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

folded, and dipped their hands at random into one of
them. The plate of clear water signified a young
bride or bridegroom, the milk or dirty water denoted
marriage with a widow or widower, while the empty
plate doomed to a life of celibacy. The forms taken
by the white of an egg in the glass of clear water
were sometimes very beautiful, and denoted mountains,
ships at sea, or heaps of gold, according to the fancy
of the spaewife, who was generally employed to read
the fortunes of the young people. All the diversions
generally took place in the kitchen, for the ducking
for apples involved a great deal of splashing of water,
and, indeed, none of the amusements were suitable
for a drawing-room. Among the lower classes there
were many Hallowe'en freaks, which involved going
out in disguise along the streets, and, indeed, many
young people in the upper classes used to join in these
frolics. There was, in fact, no house in Inverness,
high or low, where Hallowe'en was not kept

Hogmanay parties were held by all classes, at which
the New Year was taken in by all present joining
hands round the supper table and singing " Auld
Lang Syne ".

The first of April, or "gowking day," was also never
forgotten by any class. There was a young lady in
Inverness forty years ago (long since a grandmother),
who was proverbial for fun and frolic, but was so good
humoured that no one could long remain offended

ji-vGooglc

"GOWKING DAY." 23

with her. On the morning of one "gowking day"
she went to the house of a physician in Inverness, and
told him to huny to her uncle's house, as a bone had
stuck in the cook's throat while she was eating fish
for breakfast, and almost suffocated her. She then
went to an upholsterer, noted for his corpulence and
unwieldiness, and desired him to go to the house of a
lady, residing nearly two miles out of town, with
four drawing-room chairs, which she had received
special orders that he himself was to carry, two on
each arm, and not to send any subordinate with them.
It was a very warm day, and the upholsterer was a
person who got very easily heated, but the lady from
whom the order was sent was considered too impor-
tant a customer to be disobeyed. Imagine his dismay
when he arrived at the end of his long walk and dis-
covered that he had never been sent for ! The young
lady who had made him an April fool crowned her
exploits by inviting a party of nine or ten gentlemen
to supper at eight o'clock that evening with an elderly
bachelor, whom they found on their arrival seated in
an old dressing-gown and slippers over his parlour fire,
with no preparations for visitors, and who was most
indignant when he found out the trick which had been
played on him. Banker Wilson, who was one of the
unexpected guests, good-naturedly brought all the
others with him to his own house, where they had a
good laugh over an excellent supper, none joining

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24 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

more heartily in the merriment than Doctor Jamie-
son, whose ring at the door of the house where he had
been summoned in the morning, had been answered
by the victim of the supposed fish bone !

Another young lady in Inverness at that period
gained two bets, one by going out to a dinner party
in a wheelbarrow, and another by wading across the
river Ness !

The Inverness young ladies at that time, however,
were generally more romantic and sentimental than
frolicsome. They were addicted to hero-worship,
adored the memory of Prince Charlie, sang Jacobite
songs, and wrote verses in each other's albums, which
lay on the drawing-room centre tables, along with
annuals bound tn crimson silk and gold.

What simple pleasures satisfied the youth of those
days, when reverence for parents and for people
advanced in life had not gone out of fashion, and
when girls had not learnt to talk slangl Young people
were kept more in the background then, the necessity
of courtesy was more impressed on them, and they
were not allowed to form so many opinions of their
own, or to speak much in the presence of their elders.
They were not, in fact, so entirely under the delusion
that the world had been formed for them alone.
Lawn tennis parties were unknown in those days. A
long country walk in the daytime, or a game at baga-
telle, draughts, or battledoor and shuttlecock in the

N Google

PIC-NIC PARTIES. 25

evening, was considered ample relaxation for boys and
girls in their teens ; but little pic-nics were much in
vc^e on Saturdays to such places as Tomnahurich,
Torvean, Craig Phadraig, the " Primrose Mound "
above Clachnaharry, the "General's Well" near Bught,
and the " Hut of Health " at Millbum. No mode of
conveyance except their own feet was needed to con-
vey the young people to their destination, and one
small basket was generally able to hold all the eat-
ables required. Tomnahurich was a very favourite
spot, for no cemetery was in prospect there at that
time.

Such simple pleasures made the summer pass plea-
santly for the rising generation of " Old Inverness ".
Their highest dissipation was when Ord's circus, or
Anderson, the " Wizard of the North," came to pay
the Highlands a visit A world of enchantment was
then indeed opened to them, beside which the Joys of
their Saturday pic-nics and little tea parties grew dim.

The older people had their pic-nics also to such
places as the Falls of Foyers or Kilmorack, or to
Urquhart Castle; and these pic-nics used to be very
much looked forward to, as they were the only thin^
in the form of excursions that could be had in those
days, the custom of cheap fares by steamer not having
then been introduced. The pic-nics of old were gone
through in a leisurely style, but were sometimes jovial
to a high degree.

jnGoo^Ic

26 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

We remember hearing of one on the return from
which the carriage that took the lead belonged to a
gentleman who was a very good judge of a horse, and
always had a very pretty pair on which he rather
prided himself Another carriage seemed inclined to
pass this one, upon which the owner of the latter
(which was open), became very indignant, and standing
up, waved his umbrella frantically in the air, and then
pointed it at the obnoxious driver, as if it were a gun,
shouting out at the pitch of his voice " If you dare
approach an inch nearer, I'll shoot you ". The driver
(who, along with the other servants, had followed the
example of the gentlemen in partaking of too much
wine or whisky), imagined that he was really in danger
of being shot, and did not venture to pursue his attempt
of passing the foremost carriage, which was quite as
well, as the umbrella would certainly have been hurled
at his head, the horses might have taken fright, and a
serious accident might have ensued.

The same genial and hospitable gentleman who was
the hero of the episode of the umbrella, had been for
so many years without drinking cold water that he
had quite forgotten the taste of it. On one occasion
he did not feel well, and intended taking a dose of
medicine in the morning, so his wife placed it, along
with a tumbler of water (to take away the taste), at the
side of his bed, to be in readiness for the morning.
When the lady got up, she perceived that her husband

jNGoogie

ESCAPADES. 27

had not taken his medicine, and challenged him about
it, when he exclaimed, " Not taken my medicine ! To be
sure I have, every drop of it ! " and pointed triumph-
antly to the empty tumbler, which he had drained, in
the belief that he had performed a most praiseworthy
action by swallowing a large quantity of medicine.

In one respect Inverness has altered for the better.
It was at one time (not a very old date), the custom
for several idle young men of the upper classes to
accost with impertinence and follow about the streets
or roads, young girls of whatever rank in society —
gentlewomen or maidservants — they might be, and
lay wagers beforehand as to the amount of annoy-
ance to which they could subject them. There was
also a regiment at Fort-George about forty years
ago, of which several of the officers were notorious for
their impertinence to ladies. They used to sit on the
parapet of the old Stone Bridge, making remarks on
every one who passed, and sometimes following pretty
girls to the doors of their own homes. Even less than
thirty years ago, there were wild young militia officers
and others who used to go about at night taking the
knockers off" doors, hurling coaches into the river,
and disturbing the slumbers of the inhabitants gene-
rally. Such customs as those have long since happily
died out. Many anecdotes might be related — were
there space — of the escapades which sometimes took
place in Old Inverness. There was one gentleman of

jNGoogie

28 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

high position and birth, whose estates lay in a neigh-
bouring county, and who was often in the habit of
paying Inverness a visit, and quite as often of getting
into scrapes while there. On one occasion he was
invited to the marriage of a friend's daughter in Inver-
ness, and arriving in the town on the previous evening,
got into a street row, and, not being known to the
police, was locked into the " Black Hole ". He con-
trived to get a pencilled slip of paper conveyed to the
friend whose daughter was to be married, telling him
the predicament he was placed in, and begging him to
come to his rescue, which favour was speedily granted,
and the prisoner was liberated. Next day he dined
with the gentleman who had effected his liberation,
and on taking leave, the latter spoke most seriously
to him, beting him to try to behave himself better in
future, for his conduct had been disgraceful, and was
only bringing a scandal on himself and his family.
The offender seemed very contrite and exclaimed, " I
promise you, my dear fellow, this will never happen
again. You shall see that I will behave myself better
in future. Here is my hand upon it," The guest
departed, and was not far from the door when he
knocked down a man for no other reason than that he
stood in his way and obstructed the path. The friend
with whom this fiery gentleman had dined, being not
far away, saw what had happened, and pacified the
man by making the offender give him hush-money.

jNGoogie

" CONSTITUTIONALS." 29

The usual hour for a " constitutional " walk in
Inverness was three o'clock, for of course, as almost
all the townspeople lived above their offices and
shops, and could not otherwise obtain fresh air,
the daily walk was quite an institution. At three
o'clock, or a little earlier, many gentlemen might
be seen issuing from their doors, accompanied by
their wives and daughters — Banker Wilson being
one who seldom missed his daily promenade — and
it was a source of pleasure to guess what friends one
might meet, difficult for those to realise who now
always meet the same faces on the same road as they
go to or return from town.

Sometimes, in summer, these walks were taken at
a later hour, but not by the lawyers. Almost all of
them took a rest at home between dinner and tea,
and then returned to their offices from tea time till
supper time — a custom which is now impossible, owii^
to late dinners and villas out of town. The Millbum
Road was always a favourite resort for the afternoon
walk, in order that the pretty sight might be obtained
of the Star Coach dashing along for Elgin, drawn by
four horses, while the guard behind, in his scarlet
coat, blew his bugle loudly and merrily. The Star
returned each forenoon at about twelve o'clock. The
fare to Elgin was 16s, inside, and los. 6d, out-
side.

Very many years before that date, it was the custom

jNGoogie

30 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

of old Mr. Fraser — better known as " Old Stoney-
field " — to stand at the edge of the hill on which his
residence stood, to watch a return coach which passed
about four o'clock, to see whether any acquaintance
was among the passengers, whom he might hail and
bring home to dinner ; and great was his delight when
he could espy some familiar face. An extra plate
and knife and fork were always laid in readiness on
his dining-table just before the coach passed, though
Mrs. Fraser never had the least idea who the expected
guest might be.

The Star Coach, on its way from Inverness, left
the high road, just below Castle Stewart, and took
the cross road which went round by Campbelltown.
It also returned by the same route. The Defiance
Coach for Aberdeen started from Inverness every
morning at six, and the inspiriting notes of its bugle
woke many a dreamer from his slumbers at that
hour. It was drawn by four grey horses, and formed
a very enlivening sight, as it dashed into Inverness
on the return journey at about half-past six in the
evening. These coaches were always ready to stop
and pick up any passenger by the way, for a short
journey. One could get six miles for a shilling as
outside passenger, and for eighteenpence inside. The
inside was anything but comfortable, particularly
if closely packed. The Defiance was perhaps more
roomy than the Star, and it kept to the main road

N Google

STAGE COACHES. 31

all the way. The fare inside to Aberdeen was £2,
and £1 2s. outside.

There was also a mail coach to Edinbui^h by the
Perth Road, which turns off from the Millbum Road,
just beside the Raigmore Lodge. It left Inverness
every evening at a quarter to seven o'clock, and the
return coach arrived from the south at 6 A.M. The
fare to Edinburgh was £2 $s. inside, and 32s. outside.
It was drawn by four horses, just like the Defiance,
and had a guard in scarlet livery like both the De-
fiance and the Star, Seats were generally engaged
on the previous day, if the journey was to be a long
one, so that the guard had a good idea of how many
passengers might be expected. The Aberdeen Mail
started every afternoon at two o'clock, and the
return coach arrived every evening at half-past seven.
There were four horses, and the fare inside was £2,
and outside 21s. The North Mail for Thurso,
by Beauly, Dingwall, Tain, and Dornoch, started
every morning at a quarter past six o'clock, and
the return coach reached Inverness at 5 P.M., in
time to join the Perth Mail. There were four horses,
and the fare inside was £2 lis. 6d., and outside,
£1 r7s. 6d. ; and to Tain, 20s. and 14s. The
Duke of Wellington — a day stJ^e-coach, four horses,
in connection with the Highland or Perth Mail —
left Inveniess every morning from April to the end
of November, at six o'clock A.M., and arrived from

jNGoogie

32 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

Perth at 6 p.m. Fares — inside, 35s., outside, 255. In
summer, the Caberfeigh^stage-coach, two horses —
left every day at three o'clock for Dingwall (via
Kesiock Ferry) and Strathpeffer, and reached the
Spa Hotel there at 6 p.m, It left Strathpeffer at
eight o'clock every morning, and arrived in Inverness
at II A,M. Fares — inside, lOs., outside, 6s. The
Duke of Wellington for Tain, started at 6 A.M,, and
from Tain at 3 P.M. During great part of the year,
there were thus eight coaches starting daily from
Inverness. The coach which went to Perth, in con-
nection with the Highland or Perth Mail, before the
time of the Duke of Wellington, was named the Prince
of Wales.

In an interesting little book called " A History and
Description of the Town of Inverness" [1846], by the
late George Cameron, stationer, Glasgow (who was a
native of Inverness and had served his apprenticeship
there), mention is made of two other coaches which
for some time started from Inverness every day.
One of these was the " Marquis of Breadalbane,"
which went to Gla^ow by Fort-Augustus, Fort-
William, Glencoe, Loch Lomond, and Dumbarton,
from the beginning of June to the end of October,
leaving Inverness every morning at eight o'clock,
while the return coach arrived there every evening
at five. The fares throughout were £2 inside, and
£1 los. outside. The other coach was the Union,

N Google

"MARQUIS OF BREADALBANE." 33

which went every day during the summer months to
Nairn by Culloden Moor, Croy, Clephanton, and
Cawdor, leaving Inverness at three o'clock.

In 1836 the coach to Perth left Inverness only on
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, returning there
on the intervening days ; so that the next few years
had produced a vast improvement, for the many daily
coaches starting from Inverness were all in existence
a year or two later. The " Marquis of Breadalbane"
was first started in 1843, during the summer months,
arriving every alternate evening and departing next
morning. The little bock from which we have last
quoted, says, "In 1845 and 1846, from the beginning
of June to the end of October, this conveyance ran
daily from Inverness to Glasgow. An application
was made by the spirited proprietor for the carrying
of the mails along the road, which, if obtained, would
have enabled him to keep up the communication
throughout the year ; but from some cause or other,
not properly explained we believe, the application
was unsuccessful."

There was one Ross-shire proprietor who never
liked to be hurried or put out of his way, and on one
occasion when going from Inverness to Edinburgh
by the mail coach at night, he was very late, having
sat too long over his second tumbler of punch after
supper. His friends were afraid of his losing the
coach, but all they could do to urge him to make
3

n,gN..(jNGoogle

34 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

haste was of no avail. He did not choose to huny
his footsteps, even after the horn had been frantically
blown, not only for the second time, but actually for
the third time, but walked all the slower, and shouted

out, " Blow away, and be d d to you," upon which

the guard, recc^nising him, said, " Oh 1 it's M , we

must just wait for him a little".

The first public coach — the Caledonian — com-
menced to run between Inverness and Perth in 1806,
through the enterprise of the writer's grandfather,
Mr. Peter Anderson, solicitor, and the journey oc-
cupied 2J days. Previously, the journey to Edin-
burgh could not be performed in less than a week,
and was generally thought an occasion for making
one's will As postage was very expensive at the
time the Caledonian was started, the Invernessians
used to watch opportunities of sending letters by any
friends who might be going south by the coach. It
was a usual occurrence for Inverness people to send
messages to one another, intimating that Mr. So-and-
So was going next day by coach, and would take
charge of a letter if it could be ready in time. And
the letters of tAaf time must have been really well
worth receiving. They were carefully and closely
written on very lai^e sheets of paper, and were filled,
not merely with local news, but with criticisms on
books and reflections on various subjects. Often the
writing of one of these epistles occupied nearly a

jNGoogic

OLD-FASHIONED SHOPKEEPERS. 35

week, a fresh page being added each day, while
waiting an opportunity to get it sent by coach.
There were no envelopes then, and the large sheets
were carefully and curiously folded and fastened with
a wafer. Even little more than thirty years ago,
pretty coloured wafers or sealing wax were in general
use instead of adhesive envelopes. A box of fancy
wafers and a coloured wax taper were indispensable
requirements for a lady's writing desk.

The ladies' shopping thirty years ago differed very
much from what it is at present. The old-fashioned
shopkeepers of that period always expected a cordial
chat with their customers across the counter, and
maintained the most friendly interest in the faniiilies
of the professional classes. They liked to hear how
the children's lessons progressed, and they rejoiced at
every marriage, and mourned at every death. Mr.
Alexander Forbes, chemist on Castle Street, was a
fine specimen of the higher class of Inverness shop-
keepers. He was a gentleman of learning, refinement,
and courtesy, whose friendship it was a privilege to
possess, for his conversation could not fail to elevate
the tone of one's mind. His sister, Miss Hannah
Forbes, a charming and cultivated woman, was by
many people considered singular, because she never
wore a dress of any texture except merino, or of any
colour except brown or grey. Her reason for this
was that she gave away all her cast-off clothes to the

N Google

36 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

poor, and considered that any costlier material or any
gayer tints might be unsuitable and useless for them.

Another worthy specimen of the Inverness shop-
keepers was Mr, Donald Fraser, the draper, who was
generally known as " Donald Soft," to distinguish him
from his neighbour and namesake on High Street
Mr. Donald Fraser, the ironmonger. The latter went
by the name of " Donald Iron," while his brother,
who was in partnership with him, was known as
" Thomas Steel ". Well does the writer remember,
when a very young child, clambering up on a high
chair in the old shop on High Street, to be patted on
the head by gentle Mr. " Donald Soft," and to recount
to him the conquest of a new rule in arithmetic, or
the history of a trip to Strathpeffer or Nairn.

What a pleasant place to pass half-an-hour in was
the china shop of Mrs. Hunter on Inglis Street ! It
was filled with elegant dainty ornaments ; and Mrs.
Hunter herself, with her pretty, delicately-cut features,
framed in her silver hair and black bonnet, always
formed a perfect picture, whether doing the honours
of her shop, or seated in St John's Church, sur-
rounded by her handsome talented family.

Then there was old Mr. Smith, the bookseller
(father of the late Mr. William Smith, Castle Street),
on the site of whose little shop on High Street the
Young Men's Christian Association Buildings now
stand. Mr. Smith was a handsome, white-haired,

N Google

A BAND OF DANDIES. 37

gentlemanly man, with a most courteous and digni-
fied manner. His shop and that of Mr. Kenneth
Douglas, bookseller (on the opposite side of the
street), familiarly known as " Kenny Douglas," and
who attracted numbers to his shop by his jokes,
repartees and anecdotes, formed, along with the
Exchange, the three favourite places of rendezvous
for a band of gentlemen without any profession or
occupation, who met regularly every afternoon to
discuss the news and take note of the passers-by.
Among them were the Laird of Culduthel, the Laird
of Inshes, Doctor Hugh Fraser, and Mr. Charles
Lamont Robertson (commonly known as " Dandy
Charlie " on account of his finical neatness). When
a group of these gentlemen stood on the Exchange,
it was possible to make a circuit and avoid them, but
when they stood at the door of either of the two
booksellers' shops, it required no small courage for
lady customers to pass through and run the risk of
hearing their personal remarks.

The four above-mentioned gentlemen were also
fond of frequenting the shops of Slorah, the grocer
and tobacconist, and of Tait, the barber and per-
fumer, both of which were situated on Church Street
On Sundays they generally took their stand within
the gate of the old High Church and made their
remarks on each lady who passed through.

At an earlier date "The Grocery" on High Street

N Google

38 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

was the favourite meeting-place of the Inverness
gentlemen, and among them might always be seen
the form of old Doctor Robertson of Aultnaskiah,
who has been described to the writer as a gentleman
of singularly refined appearance, courteous manners,
and amiable disposition.

The Inverness people were fond of bestowing nick-
names on their shopkeepers. Long ago there was a
" Snuify Willie," who sold snuff on Bridge Street,
" Skelpan Sandy," an ironmonger on the Exchange,
and " Kenny A'things," who had a shop on High
Street for ironmongery, drapery, and all sorts of
things, and who when asked if he sold such and such
articles, always replied, " I sell a' things, I sell a'
things ".

The shop of Mr. Mackenzie, the confectioner on
Castle Street (known as "Jamie Sweetie"), was a
favourite resort for ladies thirty-five years aga Mr,
Mackenzie was the only confectioner in Inverness
until the time of the " Peacock ". Ready-made cakes
were never to be obtained in his shop. They had
always to be ordered beforehand, and pastry for
private djnners and suppers had to be manufactured
by private cooks at home. It was considered quite
an era in Inverness, when, on the " Peacock " being
established on High Street, it was ascertained that
pies and tarts might be ordered there for any private
entertainment " Jamie Sweetie's " cakes and con-

ji-vGooglc

OLD SERVANTS. 39

fections, however, were very gocxJ, and he was very
liberal to the children of his customers.

His wife was a lady by birth and education, and
their only daughter, Naomi, was a singularly interest-
ing little girl. The Mackenzies went to America
while Naomi was yet a child, and from the time they
sailed, her history was so romantic that it might form
the subject of a novel.

With the old-fashioned shopkeepers has died out
the race of old servants. Long ago servants did not
care for changes, but often remained twenty or thirty
years in one place, identifying themselves with the
interests of the families they served, and having a
deep interest shown in them by their mistresses, who
treated them as friends, and submitted to hearing
them speak their minds very plainly. The old ser-
vants of those days were usually designated by the
surnames of the families that employed them. The
old housekeepers and nurses formed a peculiar race
by themselves, privileged above all other servants to
speak out their minds and domineer, but of devoted
fidelity, and more attached to the families they served
than to their own relatives.

A characteristic specimen of this class was a quaint,
active little woman, who filled the post of housekeeper
successively in the families of many of the Highland
lairds, including Mr. Grant of Glenmoriston, and
Cluny Macpherson, and who, at one time, even

N Google

40 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

ventured to cross the Border to man^e the esta-
blishment of an English gentleman. By the ladies in
the houses where she served, she was often designated
by the name of " Rossle," but from children and ser-
vants she was very punctilious as to receiving her
title of "Miss Ross". The first situation "Rossie"
ever obtained was retained by her for seven years,
and in it she filled the various posts of housekeeper,
nursery-governess, and sempstress, and laid herself
out more eagerly and gladly than perhaps any woman
ever did; to be "generally useful ". She made all the
clothes the children wore ; she did all the ironing
most exquisitely (no light task in the days when
gentlemen wore frilled shirts) ; she baked all the
loaf-bread used in the house, and did the cooking
when company came to dinner ; she ruled the ser-
vants with a rod of iron, spoke out freely to everyone,
taught the children to read and write and sew, and
from morning to night strove, without one thought
of self, to promote the welfare and comfort of the
family she served.

There was an equally devoted nurse in the same
household, who remained there for nineteen years, and
who, being very diminutive, was known by the appel-
lation of " I-ittle Mary ". Between her and " Rossie "
a tremendous jealousy and antagonism subsisted, but
as Mary's temper was naturally sweet and gentle, she
was always the first to yield. Little Mary had dark

jNGoogie

A GAELIC NURSE. 4I

hair, and large, soft, melting black eyes. Her voice,
which could speak only the Gaelic tongue, was singu-
larly sweet and low, and when she murmured " M'eudal
bhochd," it fell like music on the ear. Until her dying
day she never learned to speak a word of English, or
wore a bonnet on her head. Her indoor attire always
included a snow-white cap with large frills, and a litde
tartan shawl ; and she liked to take off her carpet
shoes and move noiselessly about the house in what
the servants called her " stocking-heads ".

The one absorbing passion of Little Mary's life
was love for the children she had nursed ; and though
her visits were always hailed with rapture by the
children of the succeeding generation (who sat at her
knee and listened with delight to her Gaelic songs
and Gaelic stories, translated to them by a bystander),
she never would acknowledge, tenderly as she petted
them, that they could in any way equal her own
nurslings.

Rossie's visits also were hailed with joy, although
she displayed none of Mary's patience or tender-
ness ; on the contrary, she considered that reproof
had always a more salutary effect than praise. " I

never liked you, Miss never, never, never ! " she

would emphatically declare to one of her former
pupils ; and then, perceiving a smile gathering on
the face of one who belonged to a later generation,
she would exclaim still more excitedly, "And I'll

jNGoogie

42 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

nevetUkej/ffu — ^you spoilt child — never, never, never!"
If anyone else, however, had ventured to make a dis-
paraging remark on any member of any of the families
she had served, Rossie would have flown into a tower-
ing passion and made a valiant defence, for to the
absent she was true as steel.

In person she was very small, with sandy hair,
freckled complexion, and keen, intelligent light-blue
eyes. She never went out without a long black-lace
veil down to her waist — a veil being in those days a
badge worn only by those who considered they had
some claim to gentility — and it, like the "Miss"
before her name, she considered a mark of her great
superiority to the servants under her iron rule In
winter she wore a tartan gown, tartan shawl and long
boa, but on state occasions she liked to appear in a
black silk dress and " filled plaid ". After leaving
service she never adopted any new fashion regarding
dress, but went on year after year wearing the same
antique shape of bonnet, always surmounted by the
long black veil

When Rossie paid her last visit to the children of
her first employer, she was haunted by a presentiment
that she should never see them again. " This is my
last visit, my dears," she said mournfully ; " ni never
see you again — never, never, never 1 " And her
favourite exclamation, with which she had ter-
minated so many a sentence, proved true in this

jNGoogie

THE TOWN "NODDIES". 43

instance, for poor old Rossie died soon after-
wards.

In Invemess,thirtyorfortyyears ago, the usual wages
for a good housemaid averaged from thirty shillings
to two pounds in the half-year, and for a good plain
cook, from two pounds to three pounds. A dress-
maker received tenpence a day if she went out to
work at any private house, and charged from three
to four shillings for making a dress at her own home.

Hardly any of the townspeople in those days
aspired to keep a carriage or men-servants. Even
the doctors had to be content with very plain vehicles.
When people wished to drive, they bad to engage a
" noddy " (of which the town could boast only two),
for which the lowest price charged was half-a-crown,
though the distance might be only the length of a
street, as cab-stands and shilling cabs were then
unknown. Private carriages rarely entered Inver-
ness except on Sundays, when a long line of those
belonging to the county families might be seen on
Church Street, in front of the old High Church and
of St John's Chapel.

It was the custom then for the Provost, Magistrates,
and Town Council, to march in procession to the High
Church every Sunday morning, and this was a sight
which many juveniles looked forward to. In front,
led by " Supple Sandy," came the town's officers, in
scarlet coats, knee-breeches, and cocked hats, and

jNGoogie

44 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

with halberds on their shoulders ; then the Provost,
with the Magistrates on each side, and last of all, the
Town Council It was always a sign that one was in
good time for church if this procession were in sight,
for the sweet silvery bells never ceased to ring until
all these town dignitaries had seated themselves in
the front gallery of the old High Church, which was
in those days filled to overflowing with a congregation
fitted to appreciate and enjoy the learned sermons of
Doctor Macdonald.

There was another custom which gave the Inver-
ness juveniles anything but pleasure, that of the
watchmen calling each hour throughout the night.
Many a child started in terror from its slumbers,
wakened by the mournful, sepulchral voice of the
watchman calling "Past three!" or " Past four!" ; and
fancied that some ghost must be passing along the
street There are some middle-aged men and women
who have a vivid remembrance of the horror with
which in their childhood they used to draw the bed-
clothes over their heads, to try to shut out the sound
of that ghostly wailing voice, which, to children of an
imaginative, nervous temperament, conjured up all
kinds of appalling visions.

We have alluded to Ord's Circus as being an
occasional source of dissipation in Inverness, but
there was another yearly dissipation very long ago
— the horse races at the Longman. Many an open

N Google

THE NORTHERN MEETING. 45

carriage, filled with gaily-attired ladies, accompanied
by gentlemen on horseback, might be seen driving
along Rose Street then ; and many a picnic basket
was stocked and sent down after them, as the
carriages might have to wait at the Longman for
some time.

After these races were given up, the Northern
Meeting Games were for some time held at the
Longman, but they were afterwards removed to
the Academy Park, There was no Ladies' Institu-
tion then in connection with the Academy. The
boys and girls all met together in their classes, and
the Park was not broken up and divided, but was
extensive, and capable of accommodating a large
assemblage. The crowds of ladies and gentlemen
that poured in and out of the gates had this distinc-
tion from those who now frequent the new grounds
in Ardross Street, that they were mostly composed
of people born and bred in the Highlands, with whose
faces the Inverness people had long been familiar.

Until within the last thirty years, the Northern
Meeting Balls were exclusive in the extreme, and
only one or two families among the townspeople
were privileged to attend them. No amount of
money — or even of landed property, if only recently
acquired and not united to good birth — availed to
obtain for the possessor an entrance within the
charmed circle. Seventy or eighty years ago these

jNGoogie

46 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

balls were of so social a nature — composed entirely
of Highland lairds and their families, who were all
related to one another — that they resembled private
evening parties more than public assemblies. There
were little tables provided for some of the ladies, who
were selected by the leading gentlemen and con-
ducted to those places of honour in order to pour
out the tea and coffee, which duty they used to per-
form clad in neat little silk aprons.

In those days when anyone who could not claim
descent from or near relationship with some of the
old county families could only with extreme difficulty
obtain access to the Meeting balls, that same Northern
proprietor, whose adventures in the way of being locked
up in the Black Hole and of knocking down a man
on the bridge we have already related, espied at one
of the balls an Inverness gentleman standing near
the counter in the refreshment room, and — not recog-
nising him — ordered him to procure some brandy and
soda water for him. The gentleman drew himself up,
and replied stiffly, " I am not a waiter," upon which
the laird (who had been drinking heavily), replied

insolently, " You are d d like one then ". Later

on he managed slyly to introduce a bottle of soda
water into the pocket of the Inverness gentleman's
coat-taiL The bottle exploded and left a stream of
water as the victim moved along. The trick was
brought home to the laird and a great row ensued.

jNGoogie

WILD HIGHLAND LAIRDS. 47

Gentlemen had to interfere, and at one time there
were fears that a duel might occur, but at last the
fierce and fiery laird was brought to reason, and made
a humble apology either in person or by writing, and
the matter was hushed ap.

Another (much younger) Highland laird (whose
estates lay in the same county with those of the one
just mentioned, and who was equally wild, though
not so passionate), joined with a number of other
young fellows, at one of the Northern Meeting balls,
in seizing hold of a young man whose father had
only recently bought an estate in the neighbourhood
of Inverness. They forced him to sit in a coal
scuttle, in which they carried him about, telling him
that they intended drawing as many teeth out of
his head as his father had drawn out of theirs ; until
he was rescued by the son of an Inverness-shire
laird, whose conduct redeemed the honour of the
Highland proprietors from the slur which otherwise
would have rested upon them.

The classes of Mr, Joseph Lowe — famous both as
a teacher of dancing and a fisher of salmon in the
Ness — always wound up in September with a ball,
attended by his elder pupils and their relations
and friends. There was also a forenoon "Juvenile
Assembly," but in those days it was called the
"Public Practising," and was intended as a sort of
preparation for the approaching ball

jnGoo^Ic

48 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

The Academy pupils also gave a ball every winter
(generally at Christmas time), in the Academy Hall,
which was well attended.

The lectures which in those days were given every
fortnight in the Academy Hall, in connection with
the Mechanics' Institution, were a source of great
attraction, although not so much to the workmen,
for whom they were intended, as to ladies and
gentlemen. Many a lecture on literature, science,
and art, did Doctor Carruthers, Mr. George Ander-
son, Sheriff Colquhoun, and other accomplished
citizens give — citizens who have long since passed
away ! Those lectures were most enjoyable and
instructive, and to those who remember attending
them, are linked with the most pleasing associations.

Keith, the "janitor," a tall old soldier — the terror
of unruly boys — used to stand at the hall door on
those occasions, to look at the tickets of admission
and conduct the ladies to their seats. When boys
were kept in after school hours, for not having learnt
their lessons correctly, and felt the pangs of hunger
by five o'clock, they used to try to elude the sur-
veillance of Keith, by letting down a long string with
a penny attached to the end of it from one of the
upper windows, as a signal to the passers by that a
couple of rolls or "cookies" were wanted. Walter
Sim, the town porter, was often on the look-out for
one of those signals, and securely fastened the rolls

jNGoogie

ROYAL ACADEMY. 49

to the end of the string, where they often dangled for
some time, the boys being afraid to draw them up
while Keith was on the watch. Keith was also
librarian in the old library in connection with the
Mechanics' Institution, which was then situated on
Bridge Street, and he used to chat familiarly with
every one who came for books, and to give his candid
opinion of all the Inverness people.

The quarterly ticket for the Library also procured
admission to the fortnightly lectures in the Academy
Hall, and cost only two shillings.

Thirty years ago, all the gentlemen in Inverness
sent their sons to the Academy, and were perfectly
satisfied with the education to be received there. At
an earlier date, not only the sons, but* the daughters
of the neighbouring lairds were sent there, and in an
old volume of the Inverness Journal the writer has
read in the Academy Prize List the names of the
sisters of many Highland lairds whose estates have
long since passed into the hands of strangers.

Many of these young ladies used to ride into town
every morning, from their ancestral homes, on Shet-
land ponies, and quite a row of ponies might some-
times be seen ranged in front of the Academy, in the
afternoon, waiting to take their owners home.

Several men of note received their education at the
Inverness Academy ; among others. Sir John Cowell,
Master of Her Majesty's Household, and the late

jNGoogie

50 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

Edward Stratheam Gordon, afterwards Lord Gordon
of Drumeam, who was likewise bom in Inverness.

There were also many teachers in the Academy
who are worthy of remembrance. One of the most
venerated and best beloved of those was Mr. Urquhart
— afterwards the Rev. Doctor Urquhart — who, in 1816,
succeeded Mr. AUardyce as English master in the
Academy, and remained there for about six years,
being succeeded by Mr. Gumming, who in turn was
succeeded by Mr. Johnson,

Mr. Urquhart was adored by all his pupils, both
boys and girls, and the first day that he appeared in
the Academy, after returning from his marriage trip,
they all met him at the door, with loud cheers and
congratulations, and many demonstrations of affec-
tion. For many years after leaving Inverness, he was
the pastor of a church in Canada, and in that country
he died. Very few of his old pupils now survive, but
the writer has read many of his letters which testify
to the affectionate regard and interest he continued
to feel for some of them even after an interval of
forty years. Judging from a photograph of him in
the writer's possession (taken at Montreal), he must
have been a man of a singularly winning and re-
fined appearance. The mild and venerable face
might have served as the portrait of the preacher in
the Deserted Village,

The masters who taught tc^ether with Mr. Urquhart

n,gN..(jNGoogie

"BLACK CLARK AND RED CLARK" $1

in the Academy, under Mr, Adam, the Rector, were
Mr. Carmichael, Mr. Wills, M. VHlemer, and two
gentlemen who each bore the name of John Clark,
but one of whom had a Reverend before his name.
The last-named taught arithmetic and writing, and
his colleague, Mr. John Paterson Clark, M.A, taught
drawing. These two gentlemen were designated by
their pupils — in order to prevent confusion from the
similarity of name — by the titles of "Black Clark"
and " Red Clark," owing to the colour of their hair.
Mr. John Paterson Clark, who rejoiced in the latter
title, was an amiable and kindly little man, who
afterwards acquired celebrity as dentist to the Prince
Consort, wrote a book called The Odontalgist (which
was published In 1854), and purchased the estate of
Fingask (now known by the name of Clunes), In the
Aird, from which, after only a short residence, he
removed to spend the few remaining years of his
life in London, where all his wealth had been
acquired.

While Mr. Clark taught drawing in the Academy,
his colle^ue, M. Villemer, taught French, Spanish,
and Italian (the acquirement of the latter languages
being as fashionable in those days as that of German
is now). M. Villemer was a man of culture, and was
the author of several books in the French language —
among others, a poem called Astronomie, of which a
second edition was printed in Edinbui^h by R.

n,gN..(jNGoogie

$2 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

Wallace & Co. in 1824. Mr. Wills gave lessons in
book-keeping, and Mr. Carmichael and the Rev. John
Clark in Greek and Latin, while geography, mathe-
matics, and natural philosophy were taught by Mr.
Matthew Adam, the Rector.

Mr. Adam was the fifth rector in the Academy,
and his term of ofHce extended over the long period
of 28 years. Several of his successors are kindly
remembered still, such as Mr. David Gray, afterwards
Professor in Marischal College and University, Aber-
deen ; Mr. Peter Wilson, previously Professor in
Anderson's College, Glasgow ; Mr. James Steel, who
afterwards became a successful medical man ; Mr.
Robert Harper, a Cambridge graduate, one of the
wranglers of 1850, who, together with his intimate
friend, Mr, Hoppett, the courteous English master,
formed a great acquisition at many a social gathering
in Inverness ; Mr. Peter Scott, who had previously been
classical master in the Academy for many years, and
with whom a number of boys used to board ; and Mr.
George Robertson, now head master of Warrender
Park School, Edinburgh.

One of the rectors just enumerated — Mr. Steel —
was considered to teach geography in a more masterly,
enthusiastic, and attractive manner than it had ever
been taught in Inverness before. His geographical
class for young ladies was a very lai^e one, and all of
them, from the youngest to the oldest, were eager

n,gN..(JNGOOglC

LADY MATHEMATICIANS. 53

pupils, and looked forward to the daily lesson as a
great treat During the earlier period of Mr. Steel's
connection with the Academy, he taught mathematics
to several girls, tf^ether with the boys, and there
were two young ladies of powerful abilities who so
distinguished themselves as mathematicians that
either of them was considered to have a higher claim
to the gold medal than any of the boys. It was Mr.
Steel's wish that it should be bestowed on one of
them, but there was an idea among the powers in
authority that it should be awarded only to one of
the sterner sex, and so, to the Rector's disappoint-
ment, the honour was not permitted to be the portion
of either of the young ladies.

Before his connection with the Academy, Mr. Steel
taught in Dr. Bell's Institution, together with Mr.
Buchanan. The latter taught English, composition,
and history, and was celebrated for the rapid progress
which he caused his pupils to make in their studies.
Several of the essays written by boys and girls in his
class were considered to display such ability and
knowledge, and such ease and grace of diction, that
they were printed, and somewhat widely circulated.
The writer read lately an Analysts of the First Book
of Milton's Paradise Lost, which was written in 1843,
by Robert Livingstone, one of the boys in Mr.
Buchanan's class, and which was considered so good
that it obtained the first prize It was printed at the

N Google

54 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

Courier Office, tt^ether with a few of the weekly
essays and daily exercises written by the pupils
during the Session of 1843 ; all of which display
considerable talent and reflect credit on the admirable
teaching of Mr. Buchanan.

While in connection with Bell's Institution, Mr.
Steel had a private class of grown-up ladies, to whom
he gave lessons in physical geography. Several
married ladies attended it, among others Mrs.
Buchanan (his colleague's wife) and Mrs, SherifT
Colquhoun. Miss Martha Nicol (now Mrs. Dr.
Holthouse), authoress of Jsmeer, or Smyrna and its
British Hospitals in 1855, also attended it for a time.
The class was one rendered mutually interesting by
the enthusiasm of the teacher and the earnestness,
intelligence, and appreciation of the pupils. Mr. Steel
and Mr. Buchanan lived together for some time at
Stoneyfield House, in the neighbourhood of Inver-
ness, and had boys boarded with them there After
leaving Inverness, Mr. Steel studied medicine,
practised at Wishaw for some time, and died there a
few years ago.

Mr. Falconer, writing and arithmetic master in
the Academy (who resided at Island Bank, and used
to drive from there in his little phaeton), will long be
remembered in Inverness as having been the terror of
careless and disobedient boys, to whom he freely
administered severe floggings, although to studious

i-v Google

"PRINCE O' WHISKY." $5

■ pupils he was particularly kind, never stinting praise
and encouragement

A Pole of the name of Proszkowski at one time
taught languages in the Academy, and was such an
eccentric character that he was the source of never-
ending amusement to his pupils. Some of them,
indeed, made game of him to his face, and his name
came to be corrupted first into " Prince o' Whisky,"
and latterly into "Cask o' Whisky," by which they
not only designated him when absent, but boldly
saluted him when called up to repeat their lessons in
school

The Academy had once also a celebrated drawing
master — the late Mr. John Guy Hamilton — celebrated
not merely for his great talents as a painter, but on
account of the peculiar disadvantages through which
he persevered in his art He was bom without fingers
or toes, and his pencil or brush had to be strapped to
the stump which served him in place of a thumb.
His paintings of scenes in the neighbourhood of
Inverness were exquisite, and he specially excelled in
delineating cloudy skies and lake or ocean scenery.
As a teacher he could not be rivalled, and the draw-
ings of his pupils bear evidence of having been
directed by a master hand.

Mr. Hamilton was also a very intellectual man,
with a great charm of manner, which made him a
great favourite with his pupils. His wife, a talented

N Google

56 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

and admirable woman (a native of Greenock), did a
great deal of good in Inverness, among all classes and
among persons of all ages, but taking a special
interest in the young. In her great efforts to elevate
the tone of mind and the pursuits and aspirations of
the young people of Inverness, not merely among the
poorer, but among the upper and middle classes, and
in the influence she obtained over them, Mrs. Hamilton
was exceeded by only one lady, and that was her
friend, Mrs. Sarah Fraser, the first wife of Captain
David Fraser of Dunaincroy — a lady whose richly-
gifted mind and powerful intellect were equalled by
the charm of her manner and the loveliness of her
character.

At a later date than Mr. Hamilton, Mr. James Glen
was drawing master in the Academy, and also had a
private class at his lodgings, on Church Street He
was devoted to his art, and his good nature and
patience were proverbial. His pupils have erected a
monument at Tomnahurich to the memory of this
shy, gentle, and single-minded little man.

There was also an excellent boarding school for
boys kept at Torbreck, near Inverness, by the Messrs.
John, Walter, and Alexander Gair, the eldest of whom
(John) was a man of great ability and an excellent
teacher. Many boys were sent to Torbreck after
leaving the Academy, and their Inverness friends
who went to visit them there used to give glowing

N Google

LADIES' BOARDING SCHOOLS. 5/

accounts of the hearty reception they always received
from the Messrs. Gair, and the capital Highland
luncheons which never failed to be spread for every
guest, however unexpected.

During the last thirty years, ladies' boarding schools
have not flourished in Inverness, but previous to that
time they got on well, even though they always had a
rival in the Academy. Mrs. Mitchell's, Mrs, Gibson's,
and Miss Camaby's schools all proved successful,
probably because they were not started on too
expensive a scale, and also because there were fewer
classes in Inverness in those days, and less rivalry and
ambition among them, and because parents did not
consider that the farther from home their children
were sent the better their education must necessarily
be.

The only ladies' school that did not succeed in the
days before railways, was one started at Drakies
House, for boarders alone, on a very expensive and
exclusive scale, by a Miss Howard (the daughter of
an English rector), a lady of great culture and refine-
ment, and the authoress of several excellent and
thoughtful books, among others The Parents High
Commission and The Moon's Histories.

Miss Howard was peculiarly well fitted to super-
intend the education of young girls, but she received
only two or three boarders. She had, however, got
the promise of more, but before they were able to

vGoogIc

58 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

come the school had to be given up, on account of
great expense being incurred through the conduct of
an Italian Signora, a most singular-looking personage,
whom Miss Howard had engaged as her assistant,
having heard of her through a register office in
London. The Signora, whose appearance and man-
ners caused great amusement at the evening parties
to which she was invited by Miss Howard's friends,
behaved at last in so discreditable a manner that her
expenses had to be paid back to Italy, and Miss
Howard, afraid to venture on any more dealings with
foreign teachers, gave up her school, and at first re-
turned to her father's rectory, but afterwards settled at
Richmond, Her departure proved a great loss to
Inverness, for her high-bred manners and cultivated
mind had made her a great acquisition to the society
there.

Another English lady, Miss Wapshott, of whom a
sketch is given in another chapter, had a private class
for French and drawing, in her lodgings, on Church
Street

The celebrated singer, Mrs. Birch, occasionally
came north, and gave lessons to the young ladies of
Inverness, 'teaching them how to sing, in the most
attractive manner, the songs of their native land.

The name of Mr. Charles Morine was long
associated with Inverness as a teacher of music, in a
brilliant and showy style. He was the most fear-

jNGoogic

MR. THOMSON. 59

inspiring teacher the town ever possessed, for he used
to rap the knuckles of his grown-up lady pupils with
his pencil whenever they played a wrong note.

There was, however, another music master in Inver-
ness for very many years, to whose memory the
writer, who was his pupil at the age of seven, is glad
to pay a slight but heartfelt tribute. There never was
a teacher more respected and beloved than old Mr.
Thomson, He was a perfect gentleman, and his
snow-white hair, his refined face, and venerable form
can never be forgotten by his pupils. To the very
youngest and smallest among them his manner was
the personification of courtesy, and his patience never
failed, even with the idlest and most stupid. How
vividly the mention of his name recalls his low and
courtly bow, his mild accents, his encouraging smile.
He was a teacher who cared little for showy execution,
but taught his pupils to play with taste and feeling;
in fact, he used to say that he never enjoyed listening
to the music of anyone who had not first learnt to feel.
It was a favourite practice of his to place his watch
on the back of any pupil's hand, to ensure its being
kept in the right position, and though this always
caused great trepidation, the watch was never known
to fall.

In those days it was not thought unfashionable for
the ladies of Inverness to play the music of their
native land, and among those most famed for their

jNGoogie

60 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

Highland music at that period was Miss Mat^ret
Maciver, an elderly lady of gentle and retiring
manners, whose pibrochs, reels, and exquisitely-played
pathetic Gaelic airs caused her to be in great demand
at evening parties. At these parties she appeared
invariably clad in a black satin gown, a cap with
white satin ribbons, black silk mittens, a reticule at
her side, and a long Indian scarf of crimson and gold
floating over her shoulders.

Highland music was at that time played by many
ladies who had long since passed their sixtieth year,
and performances on the harp were also much the
fashion with both young and old. The exquisite
harp-playing of several Inverness ladies at that period
is still well remembered.

Very few young ladies received private lessons at
their own homes, unless they had a resident governess.
It was a very difficult matter to obtain the services of
a daily governess, as thirty or forty years ago there
were only one or two in the whole town who went
out to teach. The position of a resident governess
at that time, in the families of any of the leaders of
fashion among the townspeople, or of the neighbour-
ing lairds, was a very pleasant one. That hackneyed
term, "one of the family," might then have been
used with truth, for the governess was always applied
to for counsel and sympathy in all family matters,
and invited out to parties with the elder daughters of

N Google

"BETWEEN SERMONa" 6l

the house. The tie between the employer and
employed was then not merely one where both looked
out for their own interest, but often one of generous
friendship and tender consideration on the one side,
and of life-long devotion on the other.

Church going was in those days confined much more
than now-a-days to Sundays alone, both among Pres-
byterians and Episcopalians. In Mr. Fyvie's time
there never were week-day services in St John's,
except during Lent, and when his successor, Mr.
Mackay, introduced the custom of a lecture every
Wednesday night, it was considered such a novelty
that it was regularly attended by many Presbyterians.
After the Disruption, weekly prayer meetings began
to be held in some of the Free Churches, but there
were no other meetings or gatherings in any of the
churches throughout the week. Nor were evening
services on Sundays the custom. They were held
instead at two o'clock in the afternoon, thus allowing
only an interval of an hour, so that most of the town
families were in the habit of bringing home with them
friends who resided at a little distance, for rest and
refreshment "between sermons" before returning to
church. For some time there was but one minister
in Inverness that held an evening service on Sunday,
the Rev. David Sutherland of the Free East Church.

The names of the old ministers of Inverness, such
as "Parson Thomas," Doctor Rose, Mr. Clark, Mr,

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62 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

&x)k, have probably never been heard of by many
of the rising generation, although those middle-aged
men and women who remember having spoken in
their childhood to Mr. Clark, cannot surely hear his
name spoken without reminiscences being called up
of his 6ne, benevolent countenance, and his kind voice,
which never sounded so tender and winning as when
speaking to children, though for persons of all ^es
and classes — but more particularly those who were
poor or unfortunate — his sympathy and counsel were
always ready.

Mr. Cook,, who was the minister of the North
Church before the Disruption, was a man of genuine
piety and devoted zeal, and admirably suited to his
congregation, but his sayings in the pulpit were often
extraordinary. On one occasion he is reported to
have said, " I wouldna' be a king, I wouldna' be a
queen ; no, no, my freends, I would rather be a
wo-rum, I would rather be a paddock ; for it's
easier for a cow to climb a tree with her tail and
hindlegs foremost, than for a rich man to enter into
the kingdom of heaven ". Another time he said,
" Many of you are thinking that you'll get into
heaven hanging to the skirts of my coat, but I'll
disappoint you and wear a spencer ".

Mr, Cook was believed by the country people to
have the gift of prophecy, and many anecdotes are
still related by them of his prophetical gifts. Among

jNGoogie

"SANDV GAIR." 63

Others they relate that once when aiding on religious
matters with a man who spoke in a scoffing manner,
the latter said, " Mr, Cook, we'll see what I have said
come true before the year is out *'. Mr. Cook replied,
" My friend, you'll not be here to see the year go
out," and that proved true, for the man died shortly
afterwards.

Many years have not elapsed since the death of
Mr. Gair — commonly known as "Sandy Gair" — an
equally worthy and old-fashioned minister, who
belonged to the Church of Scotland all his days,
and had a charge for some time in Glenmoriston,
He was famed for his simplicity, homeliness, and
kindness of heart, but certainly preaching was not
his forte, and he was much less in his element
when in the pulpit than when he had been assisting
his brothers in teaching the boys at Torbreck
School.

At a time when cholera was raging throughout the
country, Mr. Gair was told that the more frightened
he felt- of the disease, the more likelihood there was
of his taking it, and that he should try to fix his
thoughts on something else. " Weel," said he to a
lady with whom he was taking tea, " I tried an' tried
to do that, but I couldna' succeed ; so at last I took
a big bodle pin, an' I put the point of it as far doon
into the palm of my hand as I could, an' I kept
twisting it roond an' roond, deeper and deeper, till

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64 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.

at last the pain was so bad that it quite took my
thochts off the cholera."

This worthy old man visited all the poor people in
the district, regardless whether they were Church of
Scotland, Free Church, or Roman Catholics, adminis-
tering to them not only spiritual, but medical advice,
so that none of them ever needed to go to the expense
of calling in a doctor. He supplied the sick with
medicines, and the hungry with food, and was also
the banker of such among the cottars as had saved a
little money, for they always thought it was more
secure in his chaise than in a bank. Pastor, banker,
lawyer, doctor, and benefactor all in one, as he was to
all the poor people for miles around, Mr. Gair's death
was to them an irreparable calamity. His attached
parishioners have erected a handsome monument to
his memory in the beautiful little churchyard at
Invermoriston.

Mr. Gair was a favourite not only with the poor, but
among other classes, though his quaint ways and
speeches often called forth a quiet laugh. His brother
parsons always enjoyed a chat with him, and with the
Roman Catholic priest in the same parish he was on
the most cordial and friendly terms. He was always
ready to put his hand to any work, and not only hoed
his own potatoes in the field, but occasionally helped
his neighbours with theirs. He was very fond of
being asked out to tea — indeed often joined the tea

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"NEVER TO RETURN AGAIN." 6$

table of his parishioners without being invited — and
on these occasions, before setting out, he generally
soaked with oil the long black locks which straggled
over his shoulders, thinking that by so doing he made
himself more attractive in the eyes of the ladies, of
whom, though he always remained a bachelor, he
was a general admirer. Before taking his departure
at night he used to narrate many an episode of bygone
days over his one small tumbler of toddy, which he
took only when in company, and always enjoyed, but
never exceeded.

The quaint, homely race of ministers, whether of the
type of Mr. Cook, or the distinctly different type of
Mr. Gair, has nearly died out, like the old bankers,
lawyers and doctors, the old shop-keepers and the old
servants, and so have the manners and customs of
" Old Inverness " died out, never to return again !

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CHAPTER II.

THE BUILDINGS AND WALKS OF OLD INVERNESS, AND
THEIR ASSOCUTIONS.

flHERE are many people to whom what-
ever is old is uninteresting, to whom
old books and old furniture are mere
rubbish, and who would consider a
visit to an old castle or abbey a bore unless made the
occasion of a pic-nic. There are others — few indeed in
comparison with the former — who cling so closely to
old associations that the severance from them causes
a wound which never ceases to bleed, and who live so
completely in the past that it alone seems a reality,
and the present a dream from which they hope soon
to awaken. Among these latter there are persons to
whom the streets of Inverness are haunted by forms
unseen by other eyes, and who, notwithstanding the
extension and improvements of the town, think with
regret of the old country walks once so rural and
retired but now built over, and of the old buildings
now pulled down to make way for modem ones, or
turned to uses very different from those originally
intended.

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" GOOSEDUBS." ^

No part of the town is more completely changed
than the Hill. Drummond, Barnhill, and the Kings-
mills and Midmills roads have been completely meta-
morphosed. The Kingsmills road (if not the very
oldest) is one of the oldest in the vicinity of Inverness
(the hedges which still border part of it being probably
of greater age than any others near the town) ; and
until within a recent period it was one of the most
retired. Not many years have elapsed since the only
dwelling-houses between the entrance of the Mid-
mills road and Milnfield (the residence of the Misses
Macdonell) consisted of three thatched cottages (two
of them much further from town than the other), which
still exist AbertariTs old dairy stood where Heath-
mount is now built, and from it a path called "Goose-
dubs" branched off between the fields in the direction
of what is now called Annfield road, but what was
then a very narrow pathway, from which no house
could be seen on the lonely old Edinburgh road except
the solitary farm-house of Lilyfield, tenanted by an old
man, who went by the name of " Little Angus ".
Goosedubs was bordered by wild roses and other
lovely wild flowers, and formed as secluded and rural
a spot for a saunter as could be found near Inverness.
Southside Place is now built over the first half of it ;
and the other half,- although still partly bordered by a
ragged hedge, is shorn of its former rural beauty, and
is a mass of mud and nettles.

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68 BUILDINGS AND WALKS.

The Kingsmills road is always associated in the
writer's mind with an old man called " Staggering
Angus" — or indeed often merely "Staggering" — from
a paralytic affection of his whole body, who, in
extreme old age, used to bask in the sunshine, seated
on the steps of a primitive cottage (long since pulled
down), which was situated at the top of Stephen's
Brae, and separated from the road by a moss-grown
wall. He always made a low obeisance and murmured
some words of blessing, which the writer well remem-
bers although at that time only four or five years old.
Staggering Angus had maintained himself for years
by doing errands in the town, and also by going round
regularly to waken all the gentlemen who intended
starting by the early coach. He was a great favourite
with the Inverness gentlemen, but most particularly
with the writer's grandfather, Mr, Peter Anderson.
The latter, on the occasion of Angus's marriage
ordered several carriages to convey the bridal party,
and the wedding was such an unexpectedly grand
turn-out, that it was considered quite an era in the
annals of Inverness. Flags waved from several win-
dows, and the old errand-man and his goigeously
attired wife were followed by a crowd as they drove
in state through the streets, while many of the Inver-
ness gentlemen stood on the pavement waving their
hats, and crying "Three cheers for Angusi Good luck
to Angus ! "

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"STAGGERING ANGUS." 69

Angus had ever been the meekest and most in-
oflTensive of human beings, but his singular appearance
so startled a stranger lady who was one day coming
out of the Caledonian hotel that she shrieked aloud
and attracted the attention of all the passers by.
Poor Angus, in no wise ofTended, but grieved that he
had been the cause of alarm, seized the lady's hand —
not aware that by doing so, he added to her fright —
exclaiming apologetically, " Don't be afraid, ' M'eudal
bhochd,' I was always this way, I was born like this ".

No Southside road or Muirfield road or any of those
innumerable cross-roads by which the Hill is now
intersected, had then been even contemplated, but it
made a pleasant variety to come home from the
Kingsmills road by Millbum, either by turning down
the Perth road past Viewfield — so long the residence
of Banker Sandy Mackenzie (Johnny Cope), and the
scene of his supper-parties — or by the Midmills read
which led past the then private and secluded grounds
of the Crown to only three houses. These houses
were Maryfield, the property and summer resort of
Banker James Wilson ; Midmills House, the residence
of Mrs. and the Misses Macdonald (Ness Castle), and
the old gentlemen, Captain Fyers, who was so long an
inmate of their home; and Midmills Cottage, where
Mrs. Colonel Mackay (the authoress of several earnest
religious works in prose and verse, and daughter of
Captain Mackay, Hedgefield), lived for many years.

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70 BUILDINGS AND WALKS.

The Millburn road was the liveliest of all in the
neighbourhood, owing to the departure and arrival of
the coaches, which have been already described, but
except the old Millburn House (the property and
residence of "Willie Welsh," the dining-room and
drawing-room of which he .is alleged to have used as
granaries), there were no houses between the end of
Petty Street and the picturesque, small cottage, a
little beyond the entrance to the Diriebught road
(where the tall commanding officer Captain Goldie,
paymaster of the pensioners, lived), and another low-
roofed cottage nearly at right angles with it, which
was for a time the home of Mrs. Mactavish, Dun-
balloch. The " Hut of Health," where the Barracks
now stand, was a favourite resort for young people

Few of the houses on the Culduthel road were in
existence then, and of these few most have changed
their names. Viewmount (latterly the property of
the late Mr. Charles Stewart), was built by a Mr.
Anderson, who was agent for the Bank of Scotland
before Mr. Mackenzie, and afterwards bought Gortu-
leg and went to reside there. The next occupant of
Viewmount was the kind and friendly Doctor Munro,
after whose death it became the home of the hand-
some and accomplished Sheriff Colquhoun. Wood-
cliffe was formerly called " Framfield," and was built
by the late Provost Simpson, After he removed to
Springfield it was for a long time the residence of

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CHANGED NAMES. 7 1

Mrs. Provost Grant and her daughter, Mrs. Macqueen.
Clifton Lodge was built by Mr. Ross, who had lived
for many years in Berbice, and was named by him
" Berbice Cottage ". A subsequent owner, who had
resided in Dutch Guiana, changed the name to
"Surinam Lodge". Broomhill was built by Mr,
James Wilson, who resided there previous to his being
appointed agent for the Commercial Bank. Thornhill
(so lately sold by Mr. Black to Sheriff Shaw), was
built by the writer's uncle, Mr. George Anderson, who
named it " Blinkbonny," and resided there for a good
many years. It was afterwards for some time the
residence of Sheriff Thomson, who called it " Tighna-
grein ". Hill Park was formerly called " Parkhill,"
and was built by Mr. Macleod, who had long lived in
the West Indies. Hedgefield was built and long
occupied by Captain Mackay.

The only cross-road from the Culduthel road to the
old Edinburgh road was one which led past one of
the entrances to Roseheath (now called Hilton House),
the property and residence of Dean Fyvie, the
principal entrance being from the old Edinburgh road
itself

Drummond Wood was as retired a resort as
"Goosedubs". It was reached by a dilapidated rustic
bridge across the Aultnaskiah burn, and there was no
path leading from that beyond the little wooden cottage
which still stands there as it has done for very many

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72 BUILDINGS AND WALKS.

years. Another small cottage might then have been
seen, a little further on, to the left hand, but no glimpse
could be had of any other dwelling beyond the bridge,
except of the old house of Drummond, which stood
there in complete solitude and seclusion. Where so
many pretty villas now rise on either hand, there was
then only an open field. Oaklands, Merlewood,
Drummond Park, and the many other handsome
houses which now crown the terrace looking down on
the Ness, were then undreamt of.

Along the Dores road, also, there were at that time
no good-sized houses between Willowbank, where old
Mrs. Glasfurd and her brother Mr. Robertson lived,
and Island Bank, the residence of Mr. Falconer,
writing master in the Academy ; so that the walk to
Ness Cottage (now known as Rossie Lodge) — under-
taken so often by old Mrs. Eraser's friends in
the summer evenings, to enjoy a cup of her fine
tea (which for strength and flavour was never
excelled), and play a game at bacl^ammon with
her — was then in reality a country walk. With the ■
exception of the cottage at the Waterworks, there
were only two small cottages between Willow Bank
and Island Bank, and they were both situated at the
cross-roads. The one on the left hand, a long
thatched tenement, has only recently had to give
place to a large mansion, but the other, a small
wooden hut on the right band, once used as a toll bar,

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DOCTOR NICOL. , 73

is remembered only by a few. It was inhabited by
an old pensioner, who dearly loved a chat with the
passers by, and always gladly afforded a shelter to
any one during a shower of rain. Between Mr.
Falconer's house and Ness Cottage there were no
houses ; and the only one to be seen on the terrace
above, was a low thatched cottage called Campfield
(from its being built on the site where the Black
Watch was emlxxlied and encamped), which has been
so enlai^d and beautified that it has quite lost its
identity in what is now called " The Camp". Campfield
was the summer resort of the late Doctor Nicol, who
first started the Holme Mills, and who, when Provost
of Inverness, planned and carried out many local im-
provements, and caused that pretty path to be made
which runs alongside of the river from the end of
Ness Bank to Bellfield, and to which he gave the
name of" The Ladies' Walk". He was a remarkably
clever physician, and was also a man of great energy
and force of character. It was a great loss to the
town when he was carried away by the cholera during
its memorable visitation in 1849. He died at his
residence in Murray Place, and was succeeded in his
practice by the beloved and lamented Doctor Wilson,
who had for a long time been his assistant.

On the opposite side of the Ness also, many changes
have taken place. There were then no villas, great
or small, near Tomnahurich, and no cemetery had

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74 BUILDINGS AND WALKS.

been dreamt of. The top of the hill was all covered
with little hollows which were supposed to be the
abodes of the fairies, and the children of Inverness
often sat for an hour beside them, watching for the
appearance of one of the little ladies in green, who,
if caught in time, could be made to grant three
wishes !

The road leading from the end of Tomnahurich
Street to Millerton Bridge, had no house on either
side, and was very lonely, except in time of frost,
when bands of skaters might have been seen hasten-
ing to Loch-na-Sannis, which was a great resort in
winter for young people.

Dunachton House was then called " Ballifeary," and
was the residence of Mr. Patrick Grant, W.S., Sheriff-
clerk. What is now called Ballifeary was then called
" Eileanach," and was the abode of Doctor Mackenzie;
and Springfield — so long the residence of the late
Provost Simpson — was formerly the home, first of
Mrs. Macdonald, and afterwards of her son-in-law
and daughter. Banker and Mrs. Thomson. Spring-
field had been built by Mrs. Macdonald herself, and
as there were then very few villas in the neighbour-
hood of Inverness — the townspeople living mostly in
the streets and the county people in the country —
this pretty residence, surrounded by beautiful gardens,
and fitted up inside with exquisite taste, was a source
of universal admiration, and was considered unsur-

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A BANSHEE STOKV. 75

passed by any other abode in the ; vicinity of the
town.

Ballifeary House — now called " Dunachton " — was
built by Mr. Mactavish, who was married to one of
the Miss Macdonells, MilnBeld, and was the first
agent that was ever in the Commercial Bank on
Church Street. He afterwards sold Ballifeary to
Mr. Patrick Grant, SherifF-clerk.

There is a singular story connected with the death
of Mr. Mactavish, which, at that time when supersti-
tion was rife in the Highlands, caused great excite-
ment and awe.

Mr, Mactavish had been ill for some time with a
pain in his tongue which ultimately was discovered
to arise from cancer, and he arranged to go to
London to have an operation performed, accom-
panied by a nephew who was a barrister in the
metropolis, but had been on a visit to Inverness.
A journey to London was in those days a very
serious undertaking, and the Banker went first to
pay a farewell visit to his cousins at Migavie, in
Stratherrick, accompanied by Mr. Sandy Mactavish,
the Town-clerk, who was one of the Migavie family.

It was alleged that when anyone connected with
the Mactavishes at Migavie was about to die, strange
moaning sounds were always heard proceeding from
trees in the vicinity of the house, but the greatest
peculiarity in the occurrence was that although the

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715 BUILDINGS AND WALKS.

cries were heard by everyone else most distinctly, the
doomed person was never able to hear them at alL
The country people declared that although this
banshee was never to b« seen, the rattling of its
bones might often be beard, forming an accompani-
ment to its criea

On the evening before the Banker and his nephew
left Migavie, they were taking a walk in the neigh-
bourhood, accompanied by the Town-clerk and various
members of the family, when suddenly mournful and
weird cries were heard, and some one exclaimed,
" There is the banshee ! "

Everyone heard the sounds except the Banker and
his nephew, but though they strained their ears, they
could hear nothing.

Next day they left for London, and after arriving,
the Banker wrote to the Town-clerk, asking in joke,
whether anything had come of the banshee's cries.
Mr. Sandy Mactavish wrote to say that no one had
died as yet, but this letter crossed on the way an
intimation of the Banker's death, and soon afterwards
news came that his nephew also had died.

The banshee was probably an owl, but the mystery
of how the doomed persons were always unable to
hear its warnings, has never been cleared up.

The three villas, Eileanach, Old Ballifeary, and
Springfield have now got many rivals in all direc-
tions, the building of which no one anticipated then ;

N Google

NORTHERN INFIRMARY. JJ

and the Northern Infirmary, which stands in their
immediate neighbourhood, has also been much im-
proved since those days. Before the erection of
the Lunatic Asylum, lunatics were confined in the
wings on each side of the Infirmary, and their cries
had often a saddening and disturbing effect on the
passers-by. They might generally be seen at the
windows, gazing wistfully and mournfully out on
the road, and sometimes a few of the more harmless
ones were permitted to wander about the grounds,
and even to go outside the gates. There was one
among them, named Amott, who was particularly
fond of accosting all the ladies who passed along the
road, and making remarks to them on their dress and
personal appearance.

" I fear you use lip-salve, ladies," he would some-
times say, "but such things are expensive, and do
not improve beauty ; there is nothing like beauty
unadorned."

It became quite the custom for many ladies who
passed the Infirmary during their daily walk, to stop
to have a chat with Arnott, although there were some
who could never overcome their terror of him, and
always turned back when he appeared in sight

There have been many changes since those days
on the road between the Infirmary and the Suspension
Bridge. No Cathedral, no Bishop's Palace, no Col-
legiate School, no Ardross Terrace had arisen then

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78 BUILDINGS AND WALKS.

even in the wildest dreams of the imagination. Be-
yond Ness House (long since levelled to the ground),
the residence of Banker John Mackenzie, there stood
— where now Ardross Terrace stands — the humble
houses ranged round "the Little Green". The houses
were almost entirely inhabited by washerwomen, who
spread out the clothes they washed on the Green,
which was not separated from the road by even a
paling, and presented a snow-white appearance — it
was so closely covered with linen from end to end.
Ladies in town .often sent their servants with clothes,
which had been washed at home, to get them bleached
on the Green, and paid one of the washerwomen two-
pence a night to sit up and watch them. The women
took it in turn, to perform this office, and the watcher
sat all night at an attic window.

At the end of the Little Green might have been
seen for many years, from morning to night, a primi-
tive kind of vehicle on which was seated the form of
an old man, named Suter, who had at one time been
a house painter, but had lost the use of his limbs.
His wife wheeled him there every morning and re-
turned for him every evening ; and there he sat
patiently all day long, asking for nothing, but appeal-
ing by his helplessness to the pity of the passers by,
among whom there were many who stopped to have a
friendly chat with the old man, or drop a sixpence
into his hand.

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THE STONE BRIDGE. 79

Before the Suspension Bridge was made, the Ness
was spanned by a handsome structure of seven ribbed
arches called the " Stone Bridge," to distinguish it
from the wooden bridge above the old harbour.
There was a vault in the stone brit^ which was at
one time used as a prison, and of which an interesting
account is given in the Reminiscences of a Clachna-
cuddin Nonagenarian — old John Maclean — published
in 1842. There is a story that a prisoner was
devoured by rats in this vault early in the last cen-
tury, but the nonagenarian does not seem to give
much credit to it. This nonagenarian also relates
that " Previously to the erection of the present stone
bridge, there existed one of oak, which stood a little
below it, and which was used until the following
accident occurred : — An old wife was passing over
the bridge, which was protected with railings, one
wintry night with a load of heather on her back, when
a blast sweeping down the glen took effect upon the
heather and hurled the poor creature into the flood,
in which she perished. On account of this the bridge
was condemned ; and in 1685 the present stone bridge
of seven arches was erected, partly at the expense of
the town, and partly at the expense of M'Leod of
M'Leod, the Hon. Lord Lovat, Forbes of Culloden,
and Inshes. Some of the stone employed was from
a demolished fort, which was erected by Oliver Crom-
well when his troops were stationed in Inverness. On

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So BUILDINGS AND WALKS.

account of M'l^eod of M'Leod and the other lairds
contributing veiy lai^ly to the expense of erecting
the bridge, their clans were exempted for ever from
payment of the toll, which was established to defray
the expense incurred by the town. Some years after.
Lord Lovat sold his privilege to the bui^h, and bis
tenants had consequently to pay. The toll was a
do^, or the sixth part of a penny, and it is on
record that a short time previouslyto the era of 1745-6,
it was a common sight to see a poor woman wading
across the river with one of " the lords of creation "
on her back in order for him to escape the toll.
Another expedient for relieving themselves of the
tax was adopted by a number of persons residing in
the country west of the river. On Sabbath forenoon,
instead of paying the toll and going to the kirk, a
numerous party assembled on the spot known as the
bleaching green and played a game of cammack.
The minister with the congregation on coming from
worship, were grieved at so unusual and unseemly a
sight ; and finding that the shelty players alleged
their inability or unwillingness to pay the toll as
the cause of their absenting themselves from kirk,
the town authorities were applied to, who very con-
siderately ordered the toll ever after to be discontinued
on the Sabbath."

The Stone Bridge was carried away in 1849 hy a
flood which was ^gravated by certain defects in the

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THE GREAT FLOODS. 8 1

works of the Caledonian Canal The fine old structure
fell at exactly a quarter-past six, on the morning of
Thursday, the 2Sth of January, 1849. Its lamps had
continued to bum throughout the storm of wind and
rain which had accompanied the roaring of the flood,
but all at once the lights went out, and then, according
to The Great Floods in the North of Scotland in
January, 184^ (Inverness : Courier Office), " a slight
groaning sound was heard, the centre arch gave way,
and in a minute afterwards the whole seven arches at
once disappeared beneath the flood, leaving only a
portion of the pier and parapet of the arch next Bridge
Street, with the lamp attached". The last person who
had crossed the stone bridge was a sailor, named
Matthew Campbell, who had gained the gold medal
for Classics in the Inverness Royal Academy in 1833.
Up to the last moment he had been indefatigable in
his exertions, going to and fro across the bridge to
assist the poor people in the Green in removing, and
he had barely reached the northern bank when the
whole structure disappeared.

Hundreds had to turn out of their beds in the middle
of the night, and the lower rooms in all the houses on
each side of the Ness, even so far from it as the Haugh
and Murray Place were filled with a great depth of
water. Three aged ladies in Ness Bank (the Misses
Fraser, Farraline) were removed from their house in
6

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82 BUILDINGS AND WALKS.

tubs ; many other ladies had to be conveyed through
the water on the backs of men (of whom some never
recovered from the effects of the cold received from
wading to rescue the fair sex) ; and fish were seen
swimming about in the parlours and kitchens of many
dwellings in the Haugh, Ness Bank, and Douglas
Row. It was a great surprise for many children in
Inverness on coming down stairs in the morning to
breakfast to find their dining-room filled with rela-
tions and friends from the river-side, whose servants
also filled the kitchen. The people who had a shelter
to go to were fortunate indeed ; but there were maoy
1^0 had no friends to take them in, and who not
only lost all they possessed, but died from the effects
of the exposure.

The Magistrates, however, made every provision
in their power for the hundreds of the poorer classes
who were rendered homeless that night The kitchen
of the Northern Meeting Rooms, the Town Hall,
Bell's School, the Poor House, and the Gaelic Church,
were all thrown open to them. Fires were lighted
for them and straw provided for beds, while bread
and beer were supplied for supper at the town's ex-
pense. By Dr. Nicol's advice the females were ac-
commodated principally in the kitchen of the Northern
Meeting Rooms, and the males in Bell's Institution.

The sight from the CasUe Hill on the morning of
the flood, with the fragments of the Bridge in the

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THE " BLACK HOLE ". 83

foreground, and with twenty-three streets and lanes
under water, was one never to be forgotten. Many of
the old people thought that the end of the world had
come

Until the Suspension Bridge was erected, people
were obliged to cross the Ness at first by a boat, for
which the charge was one halfpenny, and afterwards
by a temporary little wooden bridge adapted only for
foot passengers.

In 1848 the present jail buildings were completed.
Previous to that date the jail was in an old building
on Bridge Street A long passage with grated
windows ran in front of the cells, and the prisoners
were allowed, sometimes, to walk there and look out
upon the street Down below was the " Black Hole "
where drunken disturbers of the peace were locked
up. It was entered by an iron gate, next to where a
tobacconist's shop now stands, and through the bars
the imprisoned brawlers could be distinctly seen in
the daytime, while their cries at night, when attacked
by rats, disturbed the slumbers rf the whole neigh-
bourhood. The Police Office was situated a little
lower down the street, whwe a bookseller's shop now
stands.

In 1S47 the old Town Hall, so recently pulled
down, was visited by the late Prince Consort in ord«-
tbat he might receive the freedom of the buigh. The
Exchange was crowded with spectators,amongst whom

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84 BUILDINGS AND WALKS.

the Prince walked slowly, bowing and smiling, so that
every one obtained a good view of his features, while
his gracious bearing won every heart The Prince
was then on a visit at Dochfour, and he attended one
of the Nortliem Meeting Balls. This visit made 1847
a memorable year for Inverness.

The Exchange in front of the old Town Hall was
the place where the hustings were erected at the time
of the parliamentary elections. Great riots often took
place at those times, and rotten eggs and oranges
were freely pelted about, often hitting the candidates
as they stood in front of the hustings making speeches
to the assembled crowd. At the time when Sir (then
Mr.) Alexander Matheson was opposed by Mr. Richard
Hartley Kennedy of London, the demonstrations round
the hustings were particularly boisterous, and it was
quite unsafe to pass along High Street All the
windows opposite the Exchange were crowded with
ladies and gentlemen watching the proceedings with
keen interest.

Among the old buildings in Inverness, linked with
historical associations, are the remnants of Cromwell's
Fort, near the mouth and on the east side of the
river, beside the harbour. The walk round the
ramparts used to be a great favourite with the
Invemessians at the time when they took daily con-
stitutionals. Some of them went there regularly on
some iwrticular day in each week, and then went

N Google

THE ALPIN FACTORY. 85

across to the Powder House and round by Rose
Street. Very long ago, close to the old Fort, there
was a factory for making sacking and sails, belong-
ing to a company of gentlemen in Inverness, and
under the management of Major Alpin Grant, the
writer's maternal great-grandfather, for whom it was
named " The Alpin Factory " ; while on the opposite
side of the river a rival factory had been started
by the writer's grandfather, Mr. Peter Anderson,
solicitor. The two streets running at right angles to
each other from the wooden bridge have been named
Anderson Street and Grant Street after the two rival
manufacturers.

Major Alpin had for his head clerk a namesake of
Mr. Anderson's, from Aberdeenshire, who was rarely
called by his own name of Peter Anderson, but went
by the title of " Peter Kekee," probably from his
having a stammer in his speech. A worthy old-
fashioned little man he was, gentle and courteous, as
well as faithful, shrewd and industrious ; and when
he ultimately left his first employer to fill the post of
confidential clerk to his namesake across the river,
the loss to Major Alpin was very great, and the sense
of rivalry between the two gentlemen became deeper
than ever. ,

Peter Kekee's daughter for many years taught the
Infant School in the Observatory Buildings, which
was inspected every Monday morning by a number

vGoogIc

86 BUILDINGS AND WALKS.

of old ladies, including Miss Munro (Munlochy) ; Miss
Mackintosh and Miss Macbeao (Tortola) ; and Miss
Mackintosh of Dalinigavi&

Peter Kekee died in 1853, but the memory of
the good and gentle little man is still green in the
hearts of some who are descended from both his old -
employers.

His second employer, Mr, Anderson, built that
comfortable and commodious house on Church Street
(the back windows of which look out on the river),
which was lately purchased by Mr. Logan, and re-
sided there for many years, having his ofRce under
the same roof — a little flight of steps leading to it
from the dining-room. In that dining-room the girls
boarded at Mrs. Gibson's school assembled to take tea
nearly every Saturday, and some of them who still
survive can remember how the disappearance of the
old gentleman tn his knee-breeches, long stockings,
and buckled shoes, up the steps leading into his
office, after tea, was the signal for their tongues to
become unloosed, and for the round games and
merriment to commence.

This house was tenanted by three lawyers in
succession, for Mr. Reach resided there after Mr.
Anderson, and was succeeded by Mr. Colin Cbisholm.

The old house at the shore is still in existence,
where Major Alpin reared his large family, and
always kept a comer at his fireside for worthy old

N Google

MISS KIRSTY FRASER. 8/

Mr. John Grant, the father of his first wife, who,
although he had no grandchildren of his own, was
fondly tended by the daughters of his son-in-law.
Mr. Grant had been at one time minister of Glen-
Urquhart, and usually went by the name of "Mr.
John ".

There are some very old buildings at the foot of
Shore Street, which cannot be rivalled as to their
appearance of antiquity by any other houses in In-
verness. There is, in fact, no part of the town which
seems to belong more to the remote past and to lead
one's thoughts more to it than the Shore — a part
which many people resident in Inverness have never
visited at all, but which was once considered a most
fashionable locality.

There may still be seen in Shore Street, nearly
opposite the end of Portland Place, the house within
a small courtyard where once lived an old lady
named Miss Kirsty Fraser, famed for her tea-parties
and for her fine voice, which was displayed to most
advanti^ when singing "The Vale of Avoca" at the
supper-table. No social gathering was considered
complete at that time without Miss Kirsty, and no
one's singing was more highly applauded.

A little further down the street, nearer the harbour,
in a high old-fashioned house with a flight of steps
leading up to the doorway, and situated in a court-
yard opening into a little lane, lived long ^o the four

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88 BUILt>INGS AND WALKS.

Misses Fraser, Farraline, aunts of Mr. Eraser, Abersky,
and also of Miss Grace, Miss Mar^ret, and Miss
Kate, who afterwards came to reside at Ness Bank,
and who, even in old age, were called the "young Miss
Frasers," to distinguish them from the still older ones
at Shore Street The " old Miss Frasers " have been
described to the writer as most charming ladies, hos-
pitable, amiable, and kind, and always having a hearty
welcome awaiting their friends. On the old-fashioned
buffet in their drawing-room, two bottles of wine —
port and sherry — and a large silver basket of rich
shortbread awaited, every day, any visitor who might
chance to call. In this drawing-room also were ranged
four spinning-wheels, at which the four sisters, every
day, sat and span.

The sisters were intensely attached to one another ;
they could not live apart, night or day, and all slept
in the same room. Miss Annie (who had once been
very pretty) slept with Miss May, the eldest of all,
while Miss Jacoba and Miss Jenny were always
together.

Miss May was the first to die, and then many years
elapsed before the next break occurred. One night
Miss Jenny was awakened by hearing Miss Jacoba
singing Psalms in a sweet, low voice. " Go to sleep
Jenny, dear, and do not mind me," said the latter, " I
am only singing my Maker's praises ; I feel as if I

N Google

THE " BLUE HOUSE ", 89

must do so." So Miss Jenny went to sleep again,
and by the morning Miss Jacoba was dead.

The Shore seems to have been a favourite place of
residence for maiden ladies of the name of Fraser.
Another family of sisters, the Misses Fraser, Fanellan
(of whom it is said there were nine altogether), lived
there for a long period, and the name of one of them
is tr^cally associated with the Gunpowder Explosion
which took place on the site of the Northern Meeting
Rooms.

There are not many remaining now in the town of
what once were the dwellings of the old leading citi-
zens, and the few which do remain have gone through
great transformations, and fill very different purposes
from what they did originally.

The''Blue House" on Huntly Street — sonamedfrom
its being one of the first slated houses in the town —
was successively the abode of many county families,
but is now turned into a lodging-house for the poor,
who bleach their clothes on the space in front, which
was once secluded from the public gaze by fine old
trees and shrubs. An aged lady in Inverness has
often narrated to the writer the delight with which, in
her youth, she used to visit the Blue House, when it
was the abode of a gentleman known as "Mr. Munro,
Grenada" (from his having long lived in the West
Indian island of that name), who had married a
daughter of Provost Chisholm's, and had several

n,gN..(jNGoogie

go BUILDINGS AND WALKS.

danghters. There were beautiful gardens and a de-
lightful conservatoiy attached to the house, but the
great delight of the young people, who sometimes
went there on a Saturday from Mrs. Mitchell's Schoc^,
was a room filjed with foreign birds of brilliant
plumage, having among them a parrot of such re-
markable talking powers as had never been equalled
by any parrot in Inverness. At a later date the Blue
House was the residence of the mother and sister of
Captain Fraser of Balnain.

Many of the other old dwelling-houses, famed for
their hospitality in days gone by, have been turned
into offices and shops, as it is now thought unfashion-
able to live in the town, and every one aspires to a
villa in the suburbs.

It was certainly far pleasanter of old to live in the
town than it is now ; there was little bustle, noise, or
confusion in the streets, and as many of the houses
were built within courtyards or closes, with only their
gables to the streets, and with lai^e gardens behind,
with box-bordered walks, and plenty old, shady fruit
trees, the occupants could obtain as much quiet and
seclusion as if they were living in the country. Several
houses of this description on both Church Street and
Academy Street, were pulled down to make way for
Union Street. In two of those thrown down on Churcb
Street, on each side of a close, lived at one time Dr.
Walker, and old " Miss Jeanie," aunt to The Maddn-

N Google

" FIGHTING JACK.' 9I

to^. Two of those done away with on Academy-
Street, in a court with an arched entrance, are well
remembered as having been the residences succes-
sively of many well-known citizens ; among others
General Mackenzie — better known as "Fightii^ Jack"
— ^who afterwards' removed to that house approached
by a flight of steps, a little further up the street on
the opposite side, which is now converted into the
offices of the East Coast Railway Company. This
house used to be known as " Mr, Edwards' house,"
because it was built by Mr. Edwards, who was at one
time Sheriff-Substitute in Inverness ; and the court
near at hand is also named after him, " Edwards'
Court".

In Mr. Edwards' house the old General resided
till he died, and there, seated on the flight of steps
leading to the door, might be seen every day his
little dc^, Garrachan, the terror of every urchin in the
neighbourhood.

The Station Hotel is built on the site of two hand-
some and substantial houses, which were approached
by flights of steps like that of Mr, Edwards, and were
at one time the residences of Provost Grant and Pro-
vost Gilzean, although after the former went to reside
at the Bught, he used his rooms in town only as
offices, to which he drove every morning, from his
country mansion.

At a later date, Mr. Prophet, solicitor, resided id

jNGoogie

92 BUILDINGS AND WALKS.

Provost Grant's house in Academy Street, and many
people in Inverness remember the sensation which
was caused when Mr. Prophet's house went on fire one
morning at early dawn, and some members of the
family had to be carried in blankets to a relative's
house, which fortunately was close at band.

There were several very neat old-fashioned cottages
between Provost Grant's house and the Academy,
which were pulled down to make way for the railway

Mr. Couper, solicitor, was the owner and occupant
of the house on Academy Street where Mr. Strother
now lives, and, if we are not mistaken, it was built by
him. At a latter date it was occupied as the North of
Scotland Bank, of which Mr. John Mactavish was
agent, having for his partner, his brother-in-law, Mr.
Sandy Mactavish, solicitor and town-clerk.

What reminiscences of genial companionship, of
sly humour and sparkling wit, of mirthful, free-and-
easy gatherings such as one never hears of now, are
awakened by these names 1 What capital stories
Mr. Sandy Mactavish told ! What roars of laughter
they elicited from those who sat around his hospitable
board ! He used to tell one story about three clerks
of his, who all squinted fr^htfully. One day, a Major
in the army, who lived not far from Inverness, and
who also had a bad squint, came into the office and
inquired of the head clerk, a grave and solemn in-

N Google

NORTH OF SCOTLAND BANK. 9J

dividual, whether Mr. Mactavish was within. " Upon
my veracity, I cannot depone," was the pompous
reply, accompanied by a squint, which the Major
imagined was in ridicule of his own, so he turned
wrathfuUy to the second man, who also replied with a
squint, and then in a fuiy, he accosted the third, who
behaved in the same manner.

The Major considered that this was a climax be-
yond endurance^ and he rushed into Mr. Mactavish's
room, declaring that his three clerks had insulted him
and deserved to be dismissed. Mr. Mactavish was
completely mystified, and declared that they were all
respectable men who were incapable of insulting any
one, but at last the truth began to dawn on him, and
he made haste to explain to bis visitor that there had
been no intention to annoy, and that his clerks were
doubtless quite ignorant of what had been the cause
of his taking offence.

After the death of Mr. John Mactavish in 1848, this
branch of the North of Scotland Bank was altogether
removed from Inverness, and the little stir and bustle
which accompanied the goings in and out of the Bank
having ceased. Academy Street now became quieter
than ever — seldom enlivened by any sounds except
when the boys and girls came pouring out of the
Academy at four o'clock — so that living there seemed
quite like living in the country. The opening of the
Railway caused truly an immense change in what was

N Google

94 BUILDINGS AND WALKS.

once the quietest and most secluded street in Inver-
ness.

High Street also has undei^ne a good many
changes. The old Town Hall to which we have
already referred has become only a memory ; " Mac-
dougall's " has got a handsome new frontage ; the
Union Hotel, long presided over by Mr. Cockbum, has
been transformed into the Highland Club ; and the
shops of old Mr. Smith the bookseller, and Mr. Keith
the watchmaker, have been pulled down to make way
for the Young Men's Christian Association buildings.

There have not been quite so many changes on
Church Street (the principal one being the great
additions to the Caledonian Hotel), although any
Invernessian who had been away for twenty years,
would see it also greatly altered

The National Bank was built by Provost John
Mackintosh, father of the late Mr. Charles Mackinto^
of Aberarder. In a recent Courier an allusion was
made to a marvellous escape which Provost Mack-
intosh made after the battle of Culloden. It is thus
narrated in the Guide to Culloden Meor and Story of
the Battle, 1867.

"Being an infant of eighteen months old at the
time of the Prince's stay in Inverness, he had been sent
with his nurse to be out of the way, to a house some-
where in the ndghbourhood of Culloden. A few days
after the battle a parQr of dn^oons had gone into the

N Google

"TEXRLACH StriLEACH." 95

house in the nurse's absence, and, finding the child in
a cradle, they, after pilling the house, placed the
cradle with the infant in it on the fire. When found
by the nurse, the embryo magistrate was a good deal
scorched; and till his dyii^ day he bore the marlcs
on his arm."

Provost Maddntosb was one of a company of
gentlemen who owned the " Alpin Factory " at the
Shore ; and at the back of his house on Church street,
he kept, on the site of what is now Mr. Rule's ofGce,
several cows, which every morning were sent under
the charge of an old man, ironically named "Teirlach
Silileach " (the sharp-sighted, knowing and cunning
Charlie), to graze on the ramparts near the Factory,
and every night were conveyed home again by him.
This old man lived at the back of the Bank House so
as to take care of the cows. An aged lady on Church
Street well remembers seeing Charlie coming up the
street — followed by the jeers of beys who used to
shout his nickname after him — and then turning down
the lane with the Provost's cows.

In later days, when Mr. Mackay was agent, the
National Bank House was the scene of many a social
gathering, enlivened not only by tiie wit of Sheriff
Colquhoun, Doctor Nicol and Captain Finch, but by
the magnificent voice of Banker Mackay himself, who
sang Scotch songs to perfection — his rendering of " Oh,
wert thou in the cauld blast," being specially famed.

N Google

9fi BUILDINGS AND WALKS.

The Commercial Bank was formerly a cabinet-
maker's shop, while the rooms above were used as a
private school, where many boys and girls used to go
daily, at the early hour of seven in the morning, to get
" coached " for the Academy, at which they had to
appear by nine o'clock. Mr. Mactavish, the first
agent for the Bank, was succeeded by Mr. Thomson,
who resided there until he removed to Springfield,
and the third agent was Mr. James Wilson, who
also resided above the Bank except during the
summer, which he always spent at Maryfield on the
Mid mills road.

The British Linen Company Bank also was at one
time on Church Street, and the Bank of Scotland on
Bank Street

Church Street used to be a favourite neighbourhood
for schools. A Mrs. Mitchell, the widow of an officer
in the army, kept a ladies' boarding school veiy long
Sigo is that house belonging to the late Mr. James
Suter, wine merchant (author of the MemoraHlia of
Inverness, which appeared in the Inverness Courier
from January 31st to February 28th, 1822), the lower
part of which is now converted into Mr. Ross's wine-
shop. It was admirably adapted for a school, as
there are a number of small apartments opening from
the large ones, which served as bedrooms for the
boarders. Little flights of steps ascend or descend
to these tiny rooms ; and the whole house is full of

N Goodie

"LADY KYLLACHY'S HOUSE." 97

quaint little nooks and comers, which invest it with
a. charm for anyone who is interested in whatever is
connected with the past The principal schoolroom
was a large attic, and there, seated at the head of
a table round which the girls were ranged working at
their samplers, Mrs. Mitchell, in order to combine
recreation for them with lessons in elocution, used to
read aloud to them from the popular novels of the
day. Many a time has an aged lady (who came to
spend her latter days in that very house where she
had once attended school) recounted to the writer the
thrilling delight and interest with which she used
to listen to the reading aloud of 7"A« Children of
the Abbey.

In those days the house always went by the name
of " Lady Kyllachy's House," as it had once been the
residence of a Mrs. Mackintosh of Kyllachy, and by
that name it continued to be known for many a year,
although it had been occupied by many other families
of good position.

The house on the opposite side of the close is not
so old. It was built by Mr. James Suter's father,
who had been a wine merchant like himself, and it
had only just been completed when the gunpowder
explosion occurred in the buildings on the site of the
Northern Meeting Rooms, in consequence of which
every pane of glass in Mr. Suter's new house was
shivered into atoms. The powder had actually been
7

n,gN..(jNGoogle

98 BUILDINGS AND WALKS.

kept above a tallow manufactory, and the tallow
chandler, while enjoying a glass with a friend, had
allowed his kettle of tallow to boil over into the fire,
and the flame, reaching the ceiling, caused the ex-
plosion. There were several people killed. Among
them was a young lady (Miss Fraser, Fanellan), who
had started for a walk with her sister ; but the latter
having accidentally splashed some water out of a
pool on the street over her open-work cotton stock-
ings and sandalled prunella slippers, turned back to
change them, and thus her life was saved. Her
sister was found with a copy of the Pilgrim's Pro-
gress in her hand.

Mrs. Gibson, an accomplished widow, kept a school
at a later date than Mrs. Mitchell, above the shop
latterly occupied for so many years by Mr. Morel ;
and a number of young ladies, the daughters of
landed proprietors, were boarded with her. Her
sons distinguished themselves in India, but they are
long since dead. Their names may be read in the
old prize lists of the Inverness Academy.

At a still more recent date, the Misses Camaby
kept a good boarding and day school in the old
house on Church Street, where the late Dalmigavie
was bom and where he also died, but which was
rented from him during the period when he and
Miss Johanna resided at Seabank.

There are two buildings on Church Street, however.

N Google

DUNBAR'S HOSPITAL. 99

of much greater age — Dunbar's Hospital and the
house immediately beloW| the shop of Mr. Kenneth
Fraser, baker. The latter has the date 1700, the
letters I.D., and the devices of a thistle and a star
inscribed above the windows. Dunbar's Hospital
has the Dunbar Arms and the date 1676 above the
doorway, and several texts are inscribed above the
upper windows. Above one of the texts is the date
166S. This curious old building has been used suc-
cessively for many different purposes. In Cameron's
History and Description of the Town of Inverness
[1S46], to which we have already alluded, it is spoken
of as the " Old Academy " — by which name it con-
tinued to be designated for many years after it had
been put to other uses — and is thus described : " An
ancient-looking house, said to have been built of the
materials of Cromwell's Fort, with a large garden
behind. It was bequeathed to the community as
an hospital by Provost Alexander Dunbar in 1668,
but was afterwards used as a grammar school till
the opening of the Royal Academy in 1792, when
its funds were paid over to that institution, and now
continues to be amalgamated with it in the form of
an annual grant from the town. The building was
then divided to serve as a parish library, female
school, female work society rooms, &c, the ground
floor being occupied by the fire-engines of the
town. During the time the cholera raged in Inver-

n„jN.«j-vG00gic

lOO BUILDINGS AND WALKS.

ness, part of it again served the purpose of an
hospital."

It was afterwards converted into a poorhouse, and
continued to be used as such until the present building
was erected in i860. The writer remembers having
frequently seen the old paupers seated at the grated
windows looking out into School Lane, having their
monotonous Hves cheered by a peep at the passers by.
Mr. Fraser-Mackintosh, M.P., in his interesting
Antiquarian Notes, alludes to both the old houses
which we have last described, in the list that he gives
of curious inscriptions; and there are excellent engrav-
ings given in his Invemessiana of Dunbar's Hospital
and another old house on Church Street, which is
situated in AbertarfT's Close, below the Commercial
Bank, and is well worthy of a visit The latter is the
last remaining of those of which there were once a
good many in Inverness (one of them in the Castle
Wynd having been done away with only a few years
since) — houses with a semi-cylindrical stone appen-
dage projecting outwards, inside which a turnpike
staircase conducts to the entrance on the first floor.
This house, which is now divided into several dwelling
places, with various entrances, belonged at one time
to Mr. Suter, wine merchant (senior), who had pur-
chased it from Mr. Warrand of Warrandfield. Colonel
Archibald Fraser of Lovat (son of the famous Lord
Lovat of the '45, and grandfather of the late Mr.

N Google

"OLD LO-VAT." lOI

Fraser of Abertarff), who was generally spoken of
as " Old Archie " or " Old Lovat " — the country
people pronouncing his name " Lo-vat " — took a
great fancy to buy it, as it had a large garden
behind it with a flight of steps leading down to
the river — a garden whose fine old apple trees used
to prove an Irresistible temptation to the young sons
of Bishop Macfarlane, who lived on the site of the
Commercial Bank. " Old Lovat " had always a great
dread of a French invasion, and he fancied that in
the event of the enemy coming to Inverness he could
easily make his escape at the back entrance and get
into a boat which would convey him to Beauly. He
employed his factor, Mr. Lockhart Kinloch, to nego-
tiate the transaction for him without mentioning his
name in the matter at all ; and Mr. Suter, imagining
that Mr. Kinloch wanted the house for himself, and
being anxious to oblige him, sold it to him for five
or six hundred pounds, which made Lovat chuckle
with delight and say, " The man must be a fool to
sell it at that price," as he had expected to pay a
thousand. However, as he never slept in the house
but one night afterwards, he may be presumed to
have benefited but slightly by his bargain.

Old Lovat was remarkably whimsical and ready
to take offence. Various amusing anecdotes regard-
ing him are related in Munro's Recollections of
Inverness by an Invemessian, 1863 ; but there is

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102 BUILDINGS AND WALKS.

one characteristic story which has not hitherto ap-
peared in print On one occasion, having heard that
one of the principal merchants in Inverness (whose
house he generally made a resting-place when he had
walked into town from his residence at the Crown)
had remarked that he was a "queer fish," he sent for
him, and after purposely keeping him waiting for two
hours, at last made his appearance, and found the
visitor trying to pass his time (which of course was
precious to him, and which he chafed at losing) in
walking round the dining-room and examining the
pictures which hung upon the walls. Lovat, without
making any apolt^y for his prolonged absence, joined
in the promenade, and pointed out the beauties of the
various paintings. At last they stopped opposite a
curious looking picture of a fish. " What do you
think of that picture ? " said Lovat " Is it not a
queer-looking fish ? " " Very queer-looking indeed,"
said the unsuspecting merchant. " But you think
Lovat a queerer fish still," said old Archie, suddenly
altering his tones and shouting as loudly and angrily
as he could, while his eyes blazed and his fist was
shaken in his visitor's face. After this demonstration
of wrath, he rapidly strode from the room, banging
the door loudly after him, and from that day not
only withdrew his custom entirely from the mer-
chant's shop, but never exchanged words with
him again.

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ST. JOHN'S CHURCH. 103

Another building on Church Street, St John's
Church, has had a very varied history, and has
gone through more vicissitudes than almost any of
the churches in Inverness ; for, notwithstanding the
many changes which have occurred in Inverness
during the last thirty-five years, there have been
comparatively few in connection with many of the
churches. For very many years Doctor Macdonald
has been the minister of the High Church, and Doc-
tor Mackay of the Free North ; and it seems but a
short time since the long ministry ceased of Doctor
Scott in the United Presbyterian Church, of Mr.
Macgregor in the West Church, and of Mr. Suther-
land in the Free East Although there have been
more changes in the Free High Church, still, there
have been only three clei^men settled there since
the time of Mr. Thorburn ; and for a very long time
indeed Mr. Dawson has been priest in the Roman
Catholic Chapel.

The numerous changes of St John's Episcopal
Church, however, have been such as to entitle it to
a longer and more sensational history that can be
given in these pages. Since the time when Dean
Fyvie was obliged to resign from ill health, there
have been eight regular incumbents in St. John's —
not to speak of various clergymen who were eng^ed
at different times to preach for a year or six months,
during a vacancy of the incumbency. There has also

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104 BUILDINGS AND WALKS.

been a more complete change in the congregation
than has been the case in any other church in
Inverness, since the time of the Disruption.

When Dean Fyvie resigned in 1848, two clergymen
were invited to preach on trial, in St John's, for some
length of time. One of them was a Mr. Smith, and
the other was Mr. James Mackay, a native of Inver-
ness. The latter had come over from America (where
he had a charge in Connecticut) to pay a short visit
to his native land. His preaching and manners gave
such general satisfaction that he was appointed in-
cumbent, and (having returned to America for his
wife and children) he soon settled down in his native
town among relations and old friends.

The days of Mr. Fyvie and Mr. Mackay were the
palmy days of St John's Church. No Cathedral had
then been even dreamt of, and the " English Chapel "
— as St John's was then called — was crowded to its
doors ; and it was sometimes a difficult matter to get
out after service, the aisles being so closely thronged
with the people pouring through them. The congre-
gation was, however, almost entirely composed of
descendants of old Episcopalians who latterly had
worshipped in the " old St John's," a building oppo-
site to the Gaelic Church at the foot of Church Street
The "old St John's" was built about the year 1801,
was surmounted by a cupola, and cost £1000. A
remnant of one of its walls still exists.

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A MODEL ROOF. t05

The foundation-stone of the " new St. John's " was
laid on the 31st March, 1837, by the Rev. Charles
Fyvie, in presence of the Provost and Magistrates of
the town, and the church was finished and opened in
July, 1838, its building having cost about ;f20oa
The architecture owed much to Mr. Fyvie's well-
known fine taste. The roof is modelled on that of
Henry the Seventh's Chapel in Westminster Abbey.
In the eyes of the congregation who at that time
worshipped within its walls, the beautiful, comfort-
able, and quiet little church, with its simplicity, and
soft, subdued light, was considered perfect

In Mr. Peter Anderson's Guide to Inverness it is
stated that " The congregation of St John's is the
representative of one of old standing in Inverness,
and which continued to preserve a nucleus of wor-
shippers, after the manner of their fathers, throughout
the period of proscription, in the last century, on
account of the Jacobite leanings of the adherents to
Episcopacy, whose hierarchy and clergy were non-
jurors. The Invemessians generally were so ardently
attached to Episcopacy at the period of the final
establishment of the Presbyterian Church, that the
first settlement, in 1691, required the presence of a
regiment of the line sent north for the occasion."
Even since the lines just quoted were penned in
1868, by one who was for many years secretary and
treasurer of St John's, and one of its most attached

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I06 BUILDINGS AND WALKS.

supporters, the church has undergone many changes,
but the minute history of all the events which have
occurred in connection with St John's and its various
incumbents since the days of Mr. Fyvie would astonish
most of the congregation who now worship within
its walls, were it to be detailed to them, and would
prove more entertaining than many a sensation novel!

In former days Presbyterians sometimes came to
attend the service on Good Friday, Easter, or Christ-
mas Day, but not on any other occasions, until Mr.
Mackay began his Wednesday evening lectures, which
proved particularly attractive to the public, although
preceded by a most unpretentious and simple ritual.

At the present day the congregation of St. John's
is composed, with very few exceptions, of strangers
who have settled in the town withinabout the last dozen
years, and of Invemessians whose parents or grand-
parents were Presbyterians. Of those who really sat
within the walls of St. John's in the days of Mr. Fyvie,
only about four sit within them now. Some have left
Inverness, a few have become Presbj-terians, many
more have joined the Cathedral, but by far the greater
part are dead.

Even the Cathedral itself is filled mostly with the
children of Presbyterians, but on it we will not touchj
as it is connected only with modem Inverness, and
has no old associations.

In most of the Presbyterian churches in Inverness

n,gN..(jNGoogle

THE OLD PEWS. IO7

nearly all the members of the congregation can feel
that their parents worshipped there before them, if
not in the same pew where they sit themselves, yet
in some pew the sight of which recalls remi-
niscences of former days. But in St John's who can
now feel thus ? Not only are the tenants of the old
pews gone, but the old pews themselves (hallowed by
many an old association) have been swept away — the
side galleries have become a thing of the past ! And
if we remarked in a former chapter that among the
leaders of fashion in Inverness there are very few
that could tell who held the same place thirty years
ago which they hold now, we may as safely affirm
that among those who now fill the most prominent
places in St John's, there are, indeed, few that could
tell who occupied the chief seats there, not only
thirty, but even so recently as twenty years ago. And
yet there are Invernessians scattered all over the
globe who can vividly recall the days when the
stately form of " Banker John," the acknowledged
prince of Inverness society, stepped regularly every
Sunday into the Ness House pew in the front gallery,
accompanied by his wife and family ; while in the
adjoining pew, those two shrewd, straightforward
ladies of the old school, Mrs. Fraser, Ness Cottage,
and her daughter "Miss Eliza" — the widow and
daughter of " old Stoneyfield " — might always be seen
in their large tippets of Chinchilla fur, reaching far

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I08 BUILDINGS AND WALKS.

below their waists, and the former with a Lai^e black
satin reticule suspended at her side.

One of the two gallery pews immediately below
the oi|^n was occupied by the aristocratic-looking
Sheriff Tytler of Aldourie, and the other by the
venerable and accomplished Mr. James BailUe Fraser
of Relig, the author of a number of books illustrative
of Persian life and manners. The crimson rays from
the stained-glass window gleamed on many a Christ-
mas and Easter day on the long, silvery locks of the
old Sheriff as they flowed over his drab overcoat, and
on the pleasant face, white hair, and striped brown
and yellow waistcoat of Relig as he sat by the side of
his equally venerable-looking wife in her close satin
bonnet and soft shawl. In the gallery also might be
seen the kind faces of Doctor and Mrs. Munro, View-
mount, and the elegant forms and radiant eyes of
their daughters, not far distant from the pew of their
intimate friends "handsome Colquhoun" and his
graceful wife. No gallery pew was ever empty in
those days. Old Lady Saltoun, old Dunmaglass,
Mr. Baillie of Leys, and Mr. White of Monar, all
rented pews there for a long period, and so did the
strong-minded Miss Campbell (tenant of Kilravock
Castle), and Mr. John Dunbar (tenant of what is now
called Holme Rose), the latter of whom often drove
to church with four horses and a postillion.

Down below, in a front pew facing the readtng-

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THE OLD CONGREGATION. 109

desk, might be seen the military figure and snow-
white hair of old General Mackenzie, "Fighting
Jack," seated beside his aged wife and sister-in-law,
in their grey-satin poke bonnets and lat^e frilled
collars reaching to their shoulders, and with their
eyes never raised from their prayer-books whoever
might come in or go out, or however emphatically
the General might grunt or knock the end of his
heavy walking-stick on the floor when some particular
part of the sermon met with his approval. In a side
pew not far distant beamed the pleasant, homely face
of old " Miss Jeanie " (aunt to The Mackintosh), and
all around might be seen the families of Mr. Duff of
Muirtown, Colonel Mackintosh of Farr, Mr. Fraser
of Bunchrew, Colonel Houston of Castlehill, &c, and
others who had less connection with Inverness, such
as the Wardlaw Ramsays, the Luxfords, the Enderbys,
and the Piries. Major (afterwards Colonel) Green-
wood, who for so very long a period spent a great
part of every year in Inverness, was a strong adherent
of St. John's, and so was Captain Shervington, the
recruiting officer, who was generally accompanied by
his friend Captain Wra^e. There were also many
persons of marked individuality among the congrega-
tion, who are still well remembered in Inverness.
Among them were the mysterious Captain Finch,
wrapped in his tartan plaid ; old Miss Wapshott,
whose appearance and dress denoted her extreme

jNGoogie

no BUILDINGS AND WALKS.

eccentricity ; and Mrs, Stalker Ross, who always used
an Italian prayer-book in church, and who is alleged,
after leaving Inverness, to have written a novel of
which the scene was laid at Viewmount, and the
heroine was Miss Eliza Munro — now Mrs. Colonel
Shervington.

To enumerate and minutely describe all who filled
the pews in the " English Chapel " in those days
would fill too much space. Of Mrs. Fyvie a sketch
is given in another chapter, but we must not omit to
mention worthy Mr. and Mrs. Strachan (natives of
Aberdeenshire), who for very many years performed
all the offices in connection with St John's, which
the present pew-oper»er has now singly to fulfil. Old
"Johnny Strachan's" name seems so linked with that
of kind and courteous Mr. Fyvie, that we cannot think
of the handsome and dignified Dean without his de-
voted retainer being recalled to the recollection. The
worthy old man used always to assist the Dean to
put on and off his surplice, and to accompany him up
the pulpit stairs to close the door behind him. He
was very venerable looking, with white hair, a gentle
expression, and respectful manner. By trade he was
a cabinetmaker, and he had a great talent for carving
in wood. The lid of the font in Sl John's is a speci-
men of old Strachan's carving, and it is most wonder-
ful when we consider that it was the workmanship of
a self-taught and ^ed man. The font itself, with its

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MRS. STRACHAN. Ill

finely-cut bunches of grapes, was the work of the late
John Batchen, stonecutter.

Mrs. Strachan, who survived her husband until
1866, was a neat, slim little woman, active, energetic,
shrewd, and with the true Aberdonian accent She was
always dressed in black— her clothes being generally
supplied by a widow lady in the congregation — and her
favourite Sunday garb was a very short black dress, a
black woollen shawl, checked with white stripes, a deep
linen collar reaching to her shoulders, and a black poke
bonnet Her little room was always exquisitely clean,
and she was much gratified when any of the con-
gregation paid her a visit Several members of the
congregation used to take great pleasure in packing a
basket every Christmas Eve and Easter Eve with tea,
sugar, and meat for Mr. and Mrs. Strachan. It was
also the custom on every Christmas and Easter Day
for each head of a family in St John's to slip half-a-
crown or five shillings into Mrs, Strachan's hand, and
all the congregation used, on those days, to shake
hands cordially with herself and her worthy husband.
On the Sundays following the Northern Meeting
week and the Wool Market week, so many strangers
used to attend St John's that they almost always
gave Mrs. Strachan some money to coax her to pro-
cure good sittings for them, which will give one a
better idea than anything else of how crowded St
John's was in those times. On these days Mrs.

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112 BUILDINGS AND WALKS.

Strachan often carried home with her a bag of half-
crowns. She was thus enabled to save a little store
of money, and at her death bequeathed the sum of
;f20 to St John's Church. When the worthy old
woman died, several of the vestrymen followed her as
mourners to her last resting-place beside her husband,
underneath a weeping willow in the graveyard which
surrounds the old High Church.

There was another character in St John's, who went
by the name of "Amen," for his duties as a clerk
seemed to consist almost entirely in pronouncing this
word in as loud, lengthened and mournful tones as he
could. This clerk, Macdonald, had a first-rate ear for
music and a good voice, and for some time he held a
singing class in town, which his low chaises enabled
many of the humbler classes to attend.

Mr. Morine was the ot^anist in those days, and a
splendid organist he was, though there was very little
music in St John's then, compared to what there is
now.

In those days the clei^man preached in the black
gown, instead of the surplice, and no hymns were ever
used except Bishop Ken's morning hymn with which
the service always commenced ; his evening hymn,
with which the afternoon service always ended ; and
the hymns commencing with " Hark, the Herald
Angels sing," and "Jesus Christ is risen to-day,"
which were invariably sung at Christmas and Easter,

■vGoogic

A NONAGENARIAN VESTRYMAN. II3

the former one to that beautiful old air which now is
never heard. The psalms in metre, at the end of the
prayer-book, were sung every Sunday instead of
hymns ; and above the organ's strains might be heard
the rich voice of Mr. John Hunter, one of a family
renowned for talent and beauty.

There were no such things as Christmas or Easter
decorations, and the Communion was held only on
the first Sunday of each month, when there was a
collection for the poor. There was no weekly offertory
collected after the service, but there was a large plate
at the door every Sunday, beside which the vestrymen
kept guard by turns, as the congr^ation entered the
church, and into which only the heads of families were
expected to drop a piece of silver. This plate could
be seen distinctly by those passing down to the other
churches, and many a salutation was exchanged be-
tween passers-by and the vestrymen in chaise.

One of the last of the old vestrymen to pass away
(after attaining the great age of ninety-one) was worthy
Mr. James Fraser (the tenant at one time of Parks
of Inshes and afterwards of the united farms of Cradle-
hall and Drumrosaig), whose familiar figure and kind,
shrewd face were seen beside the plate during many a
long year; who gave many a bow and wave of the hand
to Presbyterian friends as they passed down to the
High Church, and stopped many a fellow-vestryman
for a chat as they passed him in the porch on their

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114 BUILDINGS AND WALKS.

way into the chapel. Many and many a tale could
' Mr. Fraser tell of " old St John's " at the foot of
Church Street, and of its old adherents, especially
"old Stoneyfield," who could not endure to dine with-
out company, and made an agreement with another
staunch old Episcopalian (the writer's grandfather)
that they should dine tc^ether alternately at each
other's houses, for several days in each week — which
custom was kept up as long as they lived.

Mr. Fyvie and Mr, Mackay, and their two suc-
cessors, Mr. Mooney and Mr. Swinburne, were quite
ready to baptize or marry in a private dwelling-house
instead of in church, and there are some families who
still cherish the old-fashioned china bowl which was
used by gentle Mr, Fyvie when performing the bap-
tisms in their households, and which was afterwards
used for the younger members by Mr. Mackay. Mr.
Fyvie had a room in his house at Roseheath set apart
for the baptisms and marriages of persons in the
humbler ranks of life. It was a frequent occurrence
for parties of tinkers from the Black Isle to come to
Roseheath requesting him to perform either of these
ceremonies. In Mr. Mackay's time, however, the
tinkers seemed to prefer the honour and glory of
being married in church, and on these occasions Mr,
Mackay has sometimes been obliged to leave the table
of a friend with whom he was dining, and proceed to
St John's, accompanied by the children of his host,

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BISHOP LOW. IIS

who were always delighted at the prospect of being
present at a tinker wedding.

At confirmations no veil or white dress was re-
quired, only a little cap, and often not even that, but
simply the braided hair ; and the candidates (if they
preferred it) were permitted to sit in their own pews,
with their parents, until their turn to be led up to
Bishop Low. Confirmation was not performed at so
early an age as at present ; it very rarely took place
before eighteen, and any Presbyterian who married a
member of St John's was permitted to communicate
regularly without having been confirmed.

There was a class of children held around the
railing of the communion table every Sunday, after
the afternoon service, by Mr. Mackay all the time he
was in St. John's, and by several of his successors
His immediate successor, the Rev. Peter Mooney, a
venerable-looking and most amiable man, conducted
a class of young people in their teens, every Wednes-
day at three o'clock, when he gave a short lecture
from the pulpit and questioned them upon it

There was also a very good library for both young
and old in the vestry, the books in which belonged to
Mr. Fyvie, and which his widow permitted to remain
there after his death. When she died, they were sold
by auction, along with her furniture.

Mr. Mackay was a great favourite with the Right
Reverend David Low, LL.D., who had succeeded

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Il6 BUILDINGS AND WALKS.

Mrs. Fyvie's father, Bishop Macfarlane, as Bishop of
Moray and Ross, and whose home was at one time in
Inverness above a chemist's shop on the site of the
present Bank of Scotland, but who latterly resided at
the Priory of Pittenweem, near Anstruther, Fifeshire,
tt^ether with Captain Walker, brother of Bishop
Walker of the Scottish Episcopal Church. Bishop
Low was incumbent of the chapel at Pittenweem for
a long time, but latterly he appointed the Rev, Mr.
Blatch .to officiate for him.

Mr. Mackay was often the guest of Bishop Low,
and the latter advised him to become a candidate for
the See of Moray and Ross, in the event of his own
failing health necessitating the appointment of a co-
adjutor and successor. Mr. Mackay acted on this
suggestion in iSgi. He was opposed by only one
other candidate — the present Primus, who was at
that time the Rev. Mr. Eden, rector of Leigh, in
Essex. The contest was a close and exciting one,
and the election (which took place at Elgin) was
immediately followed by the resignation of Bishop
Low.

From that time the congregation of St John's
ceased to be a united one, Mr. Mackay's supporters
remained with him, while those who had favoured Mr.
E>den gradually withdrew, and formed a new congre-
gation in the Mission Chapel, which is now converted
into the Advertiser Office. The real decadence of SL

N Google

DR. ABERIGH-MACKAY. II7

John's, however, may be said to have begun from the
time when Mr. Mackay (now the Rev. Doctor Aberigh-
Mackay) sailed for India in 1856.

N Google

CHAPTER III.

THE CHAKACTERS OF OLD INVESNESS.

were the days of strongly-marked
iduality of character ; people did
then appear to be moulded after
ame pattern as they are now, but
had peculiar traits by which they a>uld be distin-
guished among a multitude. There existed then
(more especially in the North of Scotland) a race who,
by a mixture of shrewdness and simplicity and an
eccentricity of manner and dress, had gained the title
of ' characters,' and yet who all differed more com*
pletely from one another than any two people in
modem fashionable society appear to differ now.

Foremost among the ' characters ' of Inverness were
the Laird of Dalrotgavie and his sister Miss Mackin-
tosh, better known as " Mr. Eneas and Miss Johanna,"
and sometimes styled (though no one can tell
why) "Ananias and Sapphira". It Is but a short time
since they both passed away in the old house on
Church Street, but there are none among the rising
generation who can remember the time when they
both took a prominent place in Inverness society.

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MISS JOHANNA'S PARTIES. II9

when Miss Johanna's morning calls were hailed with
delight in many a drawing-room, and Mr. Eneas, by
his flashes of wit and humour, enlivened many a
dinner party.

Miss Johanna was a general favourite. She de-
lighted in going out to dinner or tea, in paying calls,
and in entertaining her friends at her own house.
Her parties were most enjoyable, from their uncon-
ventionality and the good humour and mirth which
the hostess always seemed to impart to her guests,
although she was very particular as to the precedence
which must be taken, often calling out to the servant,
" Oh 1 you must not help Mr. So and So first — he is
not the principal guest ".

She always insisted on a number of tunes being
played on the old piano, and a number of songs being
sung, during which her own cheerful chatter rippled
on without intermission, and the entertainment,
whether it was a dinner or tea party, always wound up
with a sumptuous supper, to which she most ener-
getically pressed every one to do justice.

On one occasion she invited to one of her evening
parties a young man who belonged to a very musical
family — one of the sons in particular being noted for
his performances on several different musical instru-
ments. After tea, Miss Johanna announced to the
assembled guests that they must now prepare for a
great treat, as she was going to ask Mr. to give

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120 CHARACTERS OF OLD INVERNESS.

them " a tune on the piano". The young gentleman
in question interposed that he was veiy sorry to dis-
appoint her, but that, although his brother was an
admirable musician, he himself could not play a single
note. " Oh,good«*xr / " Miss Johanna instantly cried
out in dismay, " I have asked the wrong one It was
not you that I wanted at all ; it was your brother."

Of children Miss Johanna was particularly fond, and
she used to load them with presents, and give special
parties for their amusement, when they were per-
mitted to ramble all over her house and examine the
curiosities with which it was crowded.

To her lady friends she was most outspoken, letting
them know if she considered their personal appearance
unprepossessing, their manners affected, or their
chances of matrimony few, but to her favourites
among them she was often most generous, presenting
them with such costly gif^ as silk dresses, sable muffs,
and gold brooches. If any Inverness young man
called to bid her goodbye before going abroad, she
liked to s)ip a five or ten pound note into his hand, or
order a handsome plaid to be sent him from Mac-
dougall's to serve as a wrap on his journey.

In the days when she could go about among her
friends, a piece of local gossip — such as a marriage
where there was any dispari^ of age or position-
was to her ears as the mUsic of the spheres, her
favourite expression on hearing of it being "Goodness/ "

jNGoogic

"DOCTORS' BOOKS." 121

(the emphasis always laid on the second syllable).
But her greatest delight was in attending all the
furniture sales, where she generally bought quantities
of things for which she could have no possible use,
and which were often complete rubbish. At these
sales she was always attended by her little white curly
d(^ Carlos ; and her ample form clad in rich trailing
silks and velvets (carelessly and crookedly put on), and
her beaming face beneath its gorgeous bonnet, were
as familiar to the public who attended these places as
the form and face of the auctioneer.

Miss Johanna was very fond of needlework, and
often made articles for bazaiars, as well as clothes for
the poor, but she read nothing except her Bible and
the local newspapers, until during the latter years of
her life, when she devoted herself to a species of
literature which she styled " Doctors' Books". The
perusal of these caused her to imagine that she was
afflicted with nearly all the complaints described
therein, and to send for all the doctors in town by
turns, in the hope that they could cure her, banning
again, as soon as they had all visited her, with the
first one she had employed, till she had gone through
the round as before. The parting gifts which, at this
period of her existence, she bestowed on friends
leaving Inverness, took the form of " Doctors' Books"
instead of money or tartan plaids t

For many years before her death her unique parties

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122 CHARACTERS OF OLD INVERNESS.

and cheery morning calls were given up, but as long
as she could sit (wrapped in a dozen jackets and
shawls) on the old sofa near the fireplace in the
dining-room, she gave her old cordial good-humoured
greeting to any one who called to see her, and insisted
not only on a glass of wine and a piece of cake being
taken, but on the wine being poured out by her own
feeble shaking hand. Genial and hospitable, she
tried to keep up all her old kindly customs, till her
failing limbs could no longer support her down stairs,
till old age and weakness clouded her brain and
obliterated her memory, and she could no 4onger
recognise or take pleasure in the visits of the children
of her early friends.

Mr. Eneas survived his sister only a few weeks.
Although of fully as sociable a nature as she was, in
other things he was widely different, for he had a much
greater depth of intellect, and was so well read in the
literature of past ages, that he has been styled a
" dungeon of learning ". His delight was in anti-
quarian lore, and he was well versed in all the super-
stitions and traditions of the Highlands and in the
histories of all the old Highland families. He was
always particularly anxious to obtain fresh information
regarding his favourite studies, and listened with as
eager interest to anything which threw fresh light on
some old custom or ceremony, as his sister did to some
bit of local gossip.

N Google

AN OLD-FASHIONED LAIRD. 12$

While Miss Johanna delighted in handsome and
costly clothing, Mr. Eneas forgot that there could be
a necessity for ever renovating his wardrobe at all,
and while she was generous and open-handed, he
grudged laying out money for any purpose, even for
buying sufficient food to nourish himself, and lived on
the plainest possible fare. His feelings, however, were
deeper than hers, and he had the most devoted
attachment for several of his early friends and for all
the localities connected with his boyhood. Although
he had many acquaintances, he had selected very few
friends, but to these he always remained faithful.
Simple and homely in his tastes and habits, he shrank
from all affectation and ostentation in others ; genuine
and straightforward himself, he was quick to detect
inconsistency and insincerity ; genial and enthusiastic,
he was easily repelled by coldness and formality.

To see Dalmigavie at his best and in his element,
was to see him at the dinner-table of some old school-
fellow and friend whose society he loved, who had
patience with all his peculiarities, and who treated him
with an affectionate attention and consideration which
was denied him by a later generation when all his old
contemporaries were gone It was a picture to see
the old man when his host had introduced one of his
favourite subjects. He used to bend forward with his
hands stretched across the table, and with his strongly
marked features lighted up and glowing with eager-

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124 CHARACTERS OF OLD INVERNESS.

ness and enthusiasm ; and by the time he had finished
his first tumbler (for these were the days when toddy
drinking after dinner had not been exploded), he
was ready to launch forth with rapidity into his old
reminiscences, which, however long they might last, no
one might interrupt with impunity.

No one ever delighted more intensely in dining out
among congenial society than he did, particularly if it
were in the country, where he might during the
evening take a stroll through the fields, for he fully
appreciated rural pleasures. He was passionately
fond of Scotch music, in fact had no toleration for
any other; and as several of the ladies whom he used
to meet out at dinner, played it with taste and skill,
his delight in those social gatherings was greatly en-
hanced by listening to their performances. His
favourite air was " The Mackintoshes' Lament," and
he used to listen to it with the most profound attention,
keeping time with hand and foot, and as soon as it
was over, demanding ptbrochs, reels, and strathspeys
in quick succession. He was a great consumer of
snuflr at all times, but on occasions when he was
absorbed in listening to some favourite pibroch or to
some story of old times, he used to take particularly
laige quantities and allow it to drop all over his
clothes and on the floor.

There was one peculiarity which gained more local
celebrity for him than any other he possessed, and

N Google

PROPOSALS OF MARRIAGE. 125

that was his love for making proposals of marriage.
There was hardly a lady of his acquaintance who had
not at some period received one of his love-letters, for
his proposals were always made in writing, and never
by word of mouth — his manner to the female sex
being generally drier and colder than to his own. So
much, indeed, was this the case, that he often at a
dinner party treated with a semblance of almost con-
temptuous indiBerence some lady to whom on the
previous evening he had sent an epistle breathing the
most despairing and ardent devotion. His hand-
writing was the most extraordinary and illegible ever
beheld, and his letters were usually written on the
inside of an envelope or on some torn piece of paper.
Those containing proposals, instead of being posted,
were generally slipped under the hall door, after he
had hovered in the vicinity for some time, in order to
muster sufficient courage to approach the house. The
wording of those proposals was quite as peculiar as
the handwriting. He wrote to one lady inquiring if
either she or her sister were willing to accept him (his
feelings towards them being alike), but hoping, in the
event of their not being so, he might get a speedy
reply, as he had another (whom he named) in view.
Another lady, the evening before her marriage, found
a letter under the door, telling her that "it was not
yet too late to think of marrying him, and that an old
friend was better than a stranger " ; while her mother.

N Google

126 CHARACTERS OF OLD INVERNESS-

a widow, received a note from him on anotlier occa-
sion containing merely the words, " Have pity on my
loneliness, or I shall throw myself into an hotel".
One young lady, who sometimes came to visit friends
in Inverness, had inspired him with such admiration
that he not only wrote frequent love-letters to her,
but used to watch for her at the comer of the Suspen-
sion Bridge, and without having the coura^^e to speak
to her, used to follow her like a shadow everywhere
she went, until at last she dreaded going out of doors.
He sometimes used to write rambling epistles breathing
Platonic admiration to various young married ladies,
but widows were the favourite objects of his adora-
tion.

Mr. Eneas never could be persuaded to have his
portrait taken ; he had a great dislike to the idea of
its being exhibited in public, particularly after having
one day come suddenly upon a caricature of himself
in his long blue cloak, in one of the booksellers' win-
dows. This had been sketched by an artist who
visited Inverness before the days of photographs, and
the discovery rankled deeply in the old man's mind,
for he was more sensitive than most people imagined.

During the last dozen years of his life, his evenings
were generally spent in complete solitude, as his
sister always retired very early to rest, and — all his
old contemporaries having passed away — the new
generation had either foi^otten the old man's love for

N Google

OLD REMINISCENCES. I27

social gatherings or imagined that his old reminis-
cences would be out of place at their formal and
fashionable entertainments. And doubtless Mr.
Eneas would have felt himself out of place there, and
would have experienced a deeper desolation and lone-
liness than even at his own fireside, for he belonged
to a past age when heartiness and humour were the
characteristics of dinner parties, and when congenial
friends met together, not for fashion's sake, but to
enjoy one another's society. He would not have un-
derstood the manners and customs of modem society,
he would have suffered mar^rdom by listening to
classical music, and he would have pined for the
genial tones and familiar faces which used to make
those old gatherings have such a charm for him. To
the very last, however, he was delighted to meet an
acquaintance on the street, and used, even there, to
pour forth his old reminiscences at such length as to
appal any one who was pressed for time. Who can
foi^et his eager face, his peculiar gait, his hearty clasp
of the hand ? It even yet seems difficult to realise
that never more will be seen on the streets of Inver-
ness that remarkable figure, which, through all the
varying phases of fashion, retained the same antique
coat, huge black stock, high shirt collar, and long
military cloak 1

Mr. Eneas took his sister's death much to heart,
although intellectually she had never been a com-

N Google

128 CHARACTERS OF OLD INVERNESS.

panion for him, and had, for the last few years of her
existence, been quite dead to the world. In a very
short time after she had passed away, he was laid to
rest by her side in the Chapel yard.

Although he never ceased to grudge the procuring
of necessary comforts for himself, he subscribed,
during the last few years of his life, most liberally and
heartily, to every scheme in connection with the Free
High Church, of which he was a devoted adherent,
and which he attended as long as his feeble limbs
could support him there. When confined to bed by his
last illness, he never omitted to send his contribution to
the usual weekly church-door collection. When any
one connected with his own church came to see him,
he always took the opportunity to slip into his visitor's
hand half-a-crown or five shillings wrapped in a piece
of newspaper ; and to say, " Put this into the plate on
Sunday for me ".

Through all the course of his long life, he was never
known to utter a remark which could cause pain, or
to listen willingly to anything which was to the detri-
ment of another. He never made an enemy, and had
manned to secure the lasting attachment of a few
true friends. Among those who laughed at his pecu-
liarities, and even ridiculed the sensitive old man
before his face, there were probably few who were
able to appreciate his learning or the powers of his
mind.

N Google

A STRONG-MINDED LADY. I2g

Mrs. Fyvie, wife of the Dean and daughter of a
former Bishop of the Diocese, was another of the
"characters" of Inverness, and was one of the
kindest, most strong-minded, and most unconven-
tional of women. Probably no member of the female
sex was ever more indifferent to fashion and personal
appearance than she was, and yet she must have been
a fine-looking woman at the time when she was Miss
Duff Macfarlane, and she retained, even to extreme
old age, a lovely china-like complexion, which harmo-
nised with her beautiful silver hair. In the days when
she lived at Roseheath (now called Hilton House), it
was a never-to-be-forgotten sight to see her sailing
down Castle Street, with her petticoats trailing in the
mud beyond her dress, and her variety of shawls
streaming in all directions. As regarded cleanliness
in her household, she was punctilious to a remarkable
degree, but her carelessness and untidiness in dress
were such that when a lady friend once ventured to
suggest to her that it would be well to pay a little
more attention to her outward appearance, she replied,
" My dear, I thank the Lord that I remember to put
on my clothes at all, for I am always afraid that I
shall go out without any". On another occasion, when
she was bargaining for fish in the market-place, after
walking in heavy rain from Roseheath, a bystander
took the liberty of drawing her attention to the fact
that there was a great depth of mud on the skirt of

jNGoogie

130 CHARACTERS OF OLD INVERNESS.

her dress, as well as several holes in her white cotton
stockings, whereupon the Dean's wife, drawing herself
up with r^al dignity, exclaimed indignantly, " What
does that signify ? / am Mrs. Fyvie I " The use of
a looking^lass was always disdained by Mrs. Fyvie,
and on Sunday mornings when it was time to get
ready for church, instead of arraying herself in her
bedroom, she used to make a hasty toilet in the lobby,
having Brst flung her mantle and boa down stairs, as
a signal to the housemaid to lose no time in bringing
her goloshes to her. These goloshes were cast aside
when she got into church, and her feet encased in a
pair of warm slippers, which always awaited her in
her pew, where the finishing touches were generally
given to the toilet, which had been but partially per-
formed in the Roseheath lobby, and the stray locks
gathered up under the large black silk bonnet

Her husband, who was the mildest and most
courteous of men, was both ruled and worshipped ly
her. She believed that his equal, for piety and learn-
ing, did not exist on earth, but she never permitted
him to take the most trivial step without asking her
consent For some time before his resignation, his
health was so bad that any mental exertion was
almost impossible for him, but his wife, in her intense
anxiety lest he should lose his church, helped him
with his sermons (and it was even alleged often com-
posed them entirely), and performed in his stead every

N Google

ROSEHEATH HOSPITALITV. 131

clerical duty that was possible for her. She would
doubtless gladly have entered the pulpit and preached
had she been permitted. In all the congregation of
St John's Church she took a deep and affectionate
interest, regarding all those whom her husband had
baptised as if they were her own children, to be
scolded and kept in order, as well as petted and
caressed. Both before and after the Dean's death, she
went constantly among his flock, lecturing, cheering,
counselling, sympathising, and making no distinc-
tions, but showing an equal interest in rich and poor,
young and old, fashionable and unfashionable. Even
those who were most afraid of her reproofs could not
cherish any resentment towards her, while those who
really strove to do their duty were always gladdened
by her genial warmth. There was no individual in
St John's, of whatever position in society, who did
not look on Roseheath as a home where sympathy
and advice awaited them, from their clergyman's
wife, in any sorrow or perplexity.

No strangers ever appeared in St John's on a
Sunday, unobserved by Mrs. Fyvie, and she and the
Dean always made a point of finding out where they
were staying, and going to call for them on the
Monday, in order to invite them to dinner at Rose-
heath. The hospitality and generosity of the Fyvies
were, in fact, unbounded (although they had only a
very limited Income), and in no house was there ever

132 CHARACTERS OF OLD INVERNESS.

a warmer and heartier welcome awaiting every guest
Mrs. Fyvie used to give charming little evening par-
ties to all the young friends of her stepchildren (of
whom no mother could have been fonder or prouder),
and no effort was spared on her part to make all the
young people enjoy themselves. Many a pretty gift
did she bestow, many an interesting book did she
offer to lend.

No beggar was ever turned away from the gates of
Roseheath, or applied, unheeded, to Mrs, Fyvie on
the highway. Often, after vainly searching the huge
pocket which hung by her side, for a penny, and
finding no coin except a half-a-crown, she has parted
with the latter rather than let any suppliant appeal to
her in vain.

After her husband had resigned, and Mr. Mackay
had been appointed Incumbent, Mrs. Fyvie imagined
that she should still be considered the ruler of the
church, and was very jealous of any infringement
of her rights tor slight to her dignity. There was a
front galler>' pew of which she desired to retain the
sole possession, and having several times been an-
noyed by finding a family, who had only recently
come to Inverness, seated there, and thus preventing
her from getting to the place of honour at the top,
she one day electrified the congregation by ordering
the intruders, in a loud voice, to come out, as she
alone had a right to that pew. It was only, however,

N Google

UNCONVENTIONAL GATHERINGa 133

when she considered her rights invaded that she ever
gave way to such a demonstration. Of any behaviour
calculated to give pain she was quite incapable, for
she possessed that kindness of heart and delicacy of
feeling which always give birth to genuine politeness,
and even a careless observer could not fail to perceive
that, notwithstanding her extreme eccentricity, she
was a perfect gentlewoman, and had always been
accustomed to move In what was in every sense — and
not merely a conventional one — the best society.

When the death of her favourite stepsons (far away
in foreign lands, where she could not minister to
their wants or soothe their last moments) followed
the death of her idolised husband and the loss of the
pretty home where she had so freely dispensed
hospitality, Mrs. Fyvie became much broken down ;
but still, even in the days when ^e and infirmities
had impaired her faculties, and she lived alone and
desolate in a small house at the foot of Academy
Street, she loved to invite some half-dozen of her
Episcopalian acquaintances to take tea with her ; and
anything more unconventional than those gatherings
could not be imagined, for the hostess generally
utilised her guests and ordered them to help in toast-
ing the bread and arranging the tea things on the
table.

Mrs. Fyvie was particularly fond of a good dinner,
and during the last years of her life, when failing

jNGoogie

134 CHARACTERS OF OLD INVERNESS.

health prevented her from accepting any invitations,
she used, on the morning of the day on which a
dinner party was to be given at a friend's house, to
send a servant to make inquiries as to the bill of fare.
If any of the dishes met with her approval, she sent,
at the dinner hour, a covered basket containing plates,
which she demanded should be filled with only her
favourite dainties. Once, when some boiled mutton
(which she particularly disliked) was sent her, she
indignantly returned it. On Christmas Day she
always stipulated for a large supply of turkey and
plum pudding being sent her, whatever else might be '
at table.

For years before her death she was extremely
feeble, and used to be wheeled about the streets in a
Bath chair by a number of little boys, who received
pennies from her for doing so. Wrapped in an old
scarlet Indian shawl, and with her silvery locks
straggling from beneath her black silk bonnet, her
figure was a conspicuous object on the Inverness
streets ; but it had a saddening effect on those who
had known her in her brighter days, when surrounded
by troops of friends, to see her thus in her old age
desolate and helpless, and with her once powerful
masculine intellect, which had ruled and Influenced
so many, darkened and decayed.

Captain Finch was a gentleman who resided so
many years in Inverness that he might almost have

N Google

AN UNRAVELLED MYSTERY. 135

been termed a native of the phice, and who differed
so much from the inhabitants in many respects, that
he deserved to be ranked among its characters. He
first came to the North as the guest of the Earl of
Seafield (who had accidentally made his acquaintance),
and this effected for him an entrance into the best
circles in the Highland Capital. For years he was a
frequent visitor at the houses of Banker Mackenzie,
Banker Mackay, Doctor Nicol, Sheriff Colquhoun,
Mr. Mackintosh of Aberarder, Mr. Duff of Muirtown,
and many others. Their dinner-parties were never
considered complete without him, and he became so
completely identified with Inverness, so attached to
the friends he had met there, and such an admirer of
its scenery, that strangers were apt to imagine that it
must have been the place of his birth. Although
Captain Finch resided in Inverness for between
twenty and thirty years, he was never known during
all that time to move further away than Nairn, Strath-
peffer, or Drumnadrochit Who he really was, how-
ever, was a mystery which was never fully unravelled,
even though the name of his reputed father is engraven
below his own on the tombstone which marks his
resting-place in Tomnahurich Cemetery, In the days
when he used to perambulate the streets of Inverness
young people were more romantic than they are now,
and the mystery which hung around this stately and
aristocratic-looking individual invested him in their

n„jN.«j-v Goodie

136 CHARACTERS OF OLD INVERNESS.

eyes with a strange fascination. Captain Finch was a
gentleman of courtly and polished manners, and his
courtesy to all women, whether old or young, rich or
poor, was proverbial. He was of a tall and command-
ing figure, and had a handsome face lit up by a pair
of splendid coal-black eyes, which could sometimes
blaze with a lurid flame that denoted a fierce and
passionate temper. He was hardly ever known to
smile unless it were in sarcasm, and an habitual gloom
and melancholy darkened his brow and subdued his
tones. Yet he loved social pleasures, and as long as
his old friends were left to him, delighted in partaking
of their hospitality and in inviting them to dine at his
own rooms. Even with them, however, he maintained
his habitual reserve as to his identity and his past life ;
at anyrate, if he ever revealed his secret to any one of
them, it never went further, and has now gone down
to the grave.

That he lived here under a feigned name was
believed by almost every one, but there were differ-
ences of opinion as to what his real history had been.
Many believed that he had never been in the army
at all, some hinted that he had been obliged to leave
it on account of some crime, others fancied that his
relatives had tried to shut him up in an asylum, so as
to get hold of his money; but the greatest number of
all believed that he was the son of one of the Royal
Dukes, and a grandson of Geoi^e the Third. That

N Google

A DANDY OF THE OLD SCHOOL. 137

he bore a most extraordinary resemblance to the
portraits of George the Fourth could not be disputed,
and one old gentleman who had seen the " First
Gentleman in Europe" on several occasions, informed
the writer that on first beholding Captain Finch he
was perfectly startled by the resemblance between the
two faces.

The Captain was never to be seen in either winter
or summer without a tartan plaid wrapped round his
shoulders and hanging down in folds to the ground.
He generally wore trousers of shepherd tartan and
had a variety of caps which he wore by turns, one in
which crimson predominated being the favourite. He
also was generally the wearer of a valuable scarf pin.
Of these he possessed several — one of them being
adorned with a large brilliant He was always ex-
tremely neat and most carefully got up, quite the ideal
of a dandy of the old school. His walk was particu-
larly slow and dignified ; the utmost stretch of
imagination could not conjure up a vision of Captain
Finch in a hurry. Three o'clock was the time
when he might generally be seen taking his stately
saunter along High Street, never looking to the
right or to the left, and acknowledging the salu-
tations of acquaintances with a low and ceremonious
bow.

He had a great personal liking for the Rev. James
Mackay, and a great admiration for his preaching.

N Google

138 CHARACTERS OF OLD INVERNESS.

and as long as that gentleman remained the incumbent
of St John's, he was one of his most regular and
attentive hearers; but from the time when Mr.
Mackay sailed for India, Captain Finch was never
known to enter a place of worship.

The Captain's name was never seen on a subscrip-
tion list, but it has been stated on the most reliable
authority that he gave away fully one third of his
income in private charity. No case of real distress
was ever brought quietly before him that he did not
gladly and speedily do his utmost to relieve.

To all those who were in a dependent position or
had seen better days, he paid that extreme attention
and respect which are generally awarded only to the
wealthy or those in a superior sphere ; and when
visiting in any house he always strove to give the
least possible trouble to servants, and when taking his
departure loaded them with gifts.

For two years he resided at Drumnadrochit Hotel
in Glen Urquhart, and during that time he made the
acquaintance and gained the gratitude of many of his
humble neighbours. On one occasion, while sauntering
in front of the Inn smoking a cigar on a day of cold
east wind, he observed an elderly country-woman, clad
JD a very thin shawl, passing along the road to Inver-
ness in one of those old-fashioned little carts which
were peculiar to the Highlands. He instantly took the
plaid from his shoulders, and passing i{ round the poor

■vGoogic

AN EPICURE'S FARE. I35

woman, bej^ed her to accept of it to protect her from
the cold

Captain Finch lived for many years in lodgings, and
always selected those where he could procure the best
cooking, for he was a great epicure and lived on the
most recherchi fare. He was particularly fond of game
when it was something more than " high," and once in-
vited a gentleman to dine with him upon a woodcock
which had been shot nine weeks before. Latterly he
took up his permanent abode at the Muirtown Hotel,
For many years before his death he gave up attending
any of the parties where his stately form had once
been so familiar a sight Even before many of his
old friends had died, he began to retire into seclusion ;
but as one by one they rapidly dropped away, he
withdrew himself from the public more and more,
until finally, upon the death of the last of his old
associates, Banker John Mackay (whose house —
famed for its sincere kindness and genial hospitality —
had been the only one he had entered for years), he
secluded himself entirely in his rooms at the Muirtowo
Hotel, refusing admittance to any visitor, mourning
his last friend with a grief which would not be com-
forted, and sinking into a gloom and misanthropy
which deepened and darkened until they ended in
death.

Miss Isabella Gwynne was a native of Fort Ai^ustus,
but she so often paid lengthened visits to her friends

N Google

140 CHARACTERS OF OLD INVERNESS.

in Inverness, that she was considered quite an Inver-
nessian. Her father, a lieutenant in the Royal Navy,
had commanded the government galley which used to
carry provisions from Inverness for the use of the
dwellers in the old Fort, and his marriage is alluded to
in Mrs. Grant of Laggan's Letters from the Mountains.
For many years Miss Gwynne lived with her brother
Mark, the medical man of the district, who was a
most singular being, uncouth, erratic, and abrupt,
though with real cleverness and wit ; but from the
time when he departed to seek his fortunes in
Australia, she resided alone, with one servant, in a
romantic cottage on the banks of the Canal. With
persons of all ranks Miss Gwynne was a great
favourite. In the homes of the poor she was a
constant visitor, nursing the sick, comforting the
afflicted, feeding the hungry, and sympathising in
cveiy joy ; so that notwithstanding a very slender in-
come, she was able to do a much greater amount of
good than many who were twenty times wealthier and
in a much higher social sphere. She was also a fre-
quent guest in the houses of the neighbouring pro-
prietors and country gentlemen, who considered their
dinner-tables enlivened and made more attractive by
her mirth, good-humour, and flow of anecdotes. That
homely figure in its old-fashioned tartan gown would
now be considered sadly out of place at a fashion-
able dinner, but in those days any one who was a

N Google

A PRIMITIVE HIGHLAND LADY. 141

" character " was eagerly sought after, in order to pre-
vent formality, and promote the amusement of the
guests.

Miss Gwynne — or "Gwynny" as she was often
. called — was the most guileless, unsuspicious and affec-
tionate of human beings ; she believed that there was
something worthy of love in every one, and to believe
evil of anyone was torture to her. She was, however,
capable, though rarely, of giving a rebuff if she con-
sidered that she had been made the subject of a
liberty or slight On one occasion, when a gentle-
man on coming to call for her and finding the
passage leading to the parlour full of smoke, called
out, "Why don't you clean your chimneys. Miss
Gwynne ? " she shouted back from the top of the
stairs, " Clean your heart, Mr. Colin, clean your heart ;
it has more need of it ".

At another time a lady in the neighbourhood
borrowed all Miss Gwynne's chairs for an entertain-
ment given on the occasion of her daughter's wedding,
but sent a message that she could not invite the lender,
as she expected such a number of guests that she
really should not have a seat to offer her ; where-
upon Miss Gwynne naively remarked to a friend,
" Hoot, toot, I assure you, she might have let me sit
on one of my own chairs".

This phrase, " Hoot, toot, I assure you," was gene-
rally the preface to every remark she made, and she

N Google

142 CHARACTERS OF OLD INVERNESS.

often made it more emphatic by clutching hold of the
shoulder or hands of her auditor.

Her servant Beenie, who had lived with her for a
very long time, was as great a character as herself.
Miss Gwynne was distressed at one time by perceiving
that Beenie was particularly absent in manner and
depressed, and on questioning her as to the reason,
the damsel at once frankly confessed that she was
** in love " ; whereupon her mistress, in deepened
anxiety and great excitement, seized hold of her
hands, exclaiming —

" Hoot, toot, I assure you, Beenie, lassie, there's no
such thing going as that kind of love ; there's nothing
but brotherly love, Beenie — nothing but brotherly love 1 "
"Thafs all you know aboot it. Miss Gwynne^" cried
Beenie, and flounced out of the room.

With the late Roualeyn Gordon Gumming, during
his lengthened residence in Fort - Augustus, Miss
Gwynne was on the best of terms. They often used
to call for each other, and Miss Gwynne used to pre-
sent him with religious tracts, which, with his habitual
courtesy, he never failed to accept; but once, on going
to his rooms and enquiring whether he had read them,
he replied that he had given them to some " c^Ileachs,"
who, he knew, would be delighted with them. " Hoot,
toot, I assure you, Mr. Gumming, dear, it's no for the
c^Ueachs I meant them ; it was for yoursell" said
poor Miss Gwynne ; and the great hunter, perceiving

N Google

FORT-AOGUSTUS IN FORMER DAYS. 143

her genuine distress, promised to read whatever tracts
she might present him with in future.

Those were the days when Fort-Augustus was the
abode of many well-known characters. Indeed, dur-
ing many previous years, it had been a very favourite
place of settlement for ladies and gentlemen of limited
income, who desired the benefit of country air, combined
with the enjoyment of beautiful scenery and congenial
society. Forty or fifty years ago there must have
been a delightful little colony at Fort-Augustus, on
the most familiar and pleasant terms with one another;
but even so late as twenty or thirty years ago there
were still many persons there of a most marked in-
dividuality, who might be seen regularly sauntering
on the banks of the Canal, watching the passage of
the steamer through the locks. Who that ever
passed through Fort-Augustus, during that period,
could foi^et the lion-hunter, with his magnificent
kilted form and long ringlets, attended by his devoted
admirer, clansman, and friend, the burly Donald
Gumming? Or the redoubtable Captain Spalding
(who had lost an arm in battle), and his portly wife ?
All these, as well as Miss Gwynne, used to await the
arrival of the " Edinburgh Castle " to get a greeting
from Captain Turner and to hail any acquaintances
on board.

Miss Gwynne's delight was to bring any friend
whom she might espy to her own cottage to partake

jNGoogie

144 CHARACTERS OF OLD INVERNESS.

of tea, oatcakes, cheese, and e^s during the slow-
passage of the steamer through the locks, and carry-
away a pocketful of pears or apples to eat on the way.
In her little drawing-room hung several handsomely-
framed portraits of ladies and gentlemen who had at
various periods rented shootings in the neighbour-
hood, and made her the almoner of their bounty ; and
the mantelpiece was crowded with curiosities of all
descriptions, bestowed by friends of all ranks. The
last time the writer saw Miss Gwynne was in the
autumn of i860, when passing through the locks,
accompanied by a friend. As usual, the old lady was
standing on the Canal banks, clad in tartan gown and
in a bonnet of a fashion belonging to years long gone
by, while her homely freckled face, in its framework
of sandy hair, was beaming with its wonted genial
smiles. She had promised to come soon to pay a
fortnight's visit in Inverness, but she wrote soon after-
wards to say that bad health and constant suffering
would not permit her to carry out her intentions. The
beginning of her fatal illness had then set in, and the
many friends in Inverness, who del^hted in her
society, never saw her again. She went to Edin-
buigh to undei^o an operation for cancer, and died
from its effects, among total strangers and far away
from all she loved.

The splendid form and singularly handsome face of
Roualeyn Gordon Gumming used once to be so often

N Google

THE LION-HUNTER. 145

seen on the streets of Inverness, that he also might
be regarded as one of its characters.

He wore, when in town, a full Highland dress, with
a plaid fastened by a large brooch, a broad Highland
bonnet or a glittering helmet, huge shirt frills, buckled
shoes, and a great quantity of jewellery (including
silver fish-hooks in his ears), and carried an immense
stafT in his hand. But when in the country he has
been known sometimes, if the day were warm, to go
about clad in only a shirt and stockings, but carrying
his kilt on his arm and his shoes in his hand. His
hair was sometimes allowed to droop in long silken
ringlets over his shoulders, and at others was gathered
into a lady's net and fastened with a quantity of
hairpins.

After his showroom had been removed from Inver-
ness to Fort-Augustus, he often wandered about in
the woods of Glenmoriston from morning till night,
cutting down hazel with which to make walking
sticks for sale. He used to speak to every one he
met on the road with the greatest frankness, but with
insinuating gentleness, and in a voice which was
peculiarly musical, sentimental, and low — not at all
the sort pf voice one would imagine to belong to a
mighty lion-hunter. To any old Highland c^illeach
he met on the road he was invariably as courteous as
if she had been a duchess. Of the Highland girls he
was a great admirer, and used to present the prettiest

■V Google

146 CHARACTERS OF OLD INVERNESS.

among them with silver brooches and tartan
plaids.

At Fort-Augustus he was contented to live in a
little thatched cottage, and the society he most de-
lighted in was that of Donald Gumming, the village
blacksmith, an immensely tall, stout man, of great in-
telligence and warmth of heart, whom Roualeyn had
inspired with a devotion and fidelity as great as ever
filled the breast of any Highlander of old for the chief
of his clan.

Donald would have died for Roualeyn ; he saw no
fault in him, followed him about from place to place,
and became as necessary to him as the light of day.
If a dunning letter had to be answered, a disagreeable
message conveyed, or a letter written to any of his
relations with a request for money, Donald was ready
to perform the task, and spare his hero the trouble
and annoyance. Donald's home also was always at
Roualeyn's service, at any hour he chose to enter it ;
and many a supper was prepared by worthy Peggy
Cuniming's hospitable hands in her neat little parlour
for her brother's patron, on his return, wet and weary,
from some long expedition in the woods, however
unseasonable might be the hour, and though his own
abode was close at hand.

Before Roualeyn fixed his abode at Fort Augustus,
Donald often went by invitation to visit at Altyre,
driving there in a gig belonging to himself, and he

ji-vGoogic

A DEVOTED FRIEND. 147

used to take Roualeyn back with him for a visit of
some weeks, in the same conveyance, stopping a night
on the way at an inn, where the supper consumed by
the lion-hunter was generally of such magnitude as to
alarm Donald, lest the landlady might imagine that
he had eaten half, and he once slipped away to the
kitchen to assure her that of the dozen large salt
herring which had disappeared in the parlour only one
had fallen to his share. Roualeyn thought nothing of
finishing a whole gigot of mutton or a dozen herring
at one meal, and was ready afterwards to do full jus-
tice to the landlady's oatcakes and cheese.

Once when Roualeyn and Donald were travelling
about together, the eccentric dress of the former caused
him to be mistaken for a lunatic, and Donald was asked
if he was Roualeyn's keeper. " Faith ! no," was the
reply " but he is mine."

When any one suggested to Donald that he ought
to show more firmness when his patron made demands
upon his time and services, his reply was invariably
the same, " How could I refuse Sir William's
son ? "

Donald used often to walk with his friend on the
Canal Banks when the steamer was expected, and
they were generally attended by a lai^e tame goat
Numbers of people used to visit the showroom during
the passage of the steamer through the locks — the
price of admission being one shilling — and to purchase

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148 CHARACTERS OF OLD INVERNESS.

walking sticks carved by Roualeyn, of which there
were always a great many for sale.

Before removing to Fort Augustus, Roualeyn's
Exhibition had been held in the building which is
now occupied by the Advertiser OfBce, and which has
gone through many strange phases. First of all it was
used as the Free High Church under the ministry of
the Rev. Joseph Thorbum, and after Roualeyn's
occupancy, it was used as the Bishop's Mission Chapel,
before the erection of the Cathedral.

When Roualeyn first came home from foreign lands,
he brought with him a little African servant whose
antics and comical appearance attracted as many
people to the showroom as the exhibition of stuffed
wild beasts, but the unfortunate little fellow was taken
ill with small pox, and died in the Inverness Infirmary,
to his master's great grief

Donald Cumming died shortly before his namesake
and patron, and Fort Augustus, bereft of all its
" Characters," as well as of many whose society
invested it with a charm, seems now, notwithstanding
the Monastery and the beauty of the surrounding
scenery, like the mockery of its former self

Miss Annie and Miss Peggy Grant were the
daughters of the minister of Kilmonivaig, and resided
in Inverness from the time of their father's death.
They acquired local celebrity more from the great age
to which they attained, and the extraordinary terms

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TWO NONAGENARIAN SISTERS. 149

on which they lived with each other, than from any
other cause.

Miss Peggy was about ninety-six when she died,
but Miss Annie, who was a good deal younger than
her sister, survived her a long time and attained the
age of ninety-nine. The latter was very proud of her
age, and had always entertained the hope that she
might complete her hundredth year, and thus outshine
her sister Peggy. She was as touchy about being
considered younger than she really was, as ladies in
general are about being considered older. She was
the prettier and more refined-looking of the two, and
generally wore a sofl fine white shawl and becoming
cap. Miss Peggy was the better-natured, was full of
cheerfulness, and had a store of anecdotes. Although
they lived in the same house, they had separate sitting
rooms, and never took any of their meals together. The
one would not even permit her tea to be infused in the
same tea-pot as that of the other, and they lived quite
as much apart as if they were in separate dwelling-
houses, making ceremonious calls for each other at
stated intervals, when the one offered refreshment to
the other, and they bowed and shook hands at parting
— that is to say, if they did not quarrel during the
interview, which was often the case.

When visitors came to call, the servant always
asked, " Is it Miss Peggy or Miss Annie that you
wish to see first ? " and as Miss Annie was the one

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ISO CHARACTERS OF OLD INVERNESS.

whose dignity was most difficult to appease, it was
always wisest to go upstairs to her parlour before
going near Miss Pe^y.who lived on the ground floor.
" Have you been to see P^^y first ? " was always
Miss Annie's first question, in tones, the stiffness of
which at once relaxed when she heard the answer,
" Oh, no, Miss Annie, I wished you to have the first
call ". She would then chat on most pleasantly (for
she was a kindly, well-informed woman), and would
display — though she was quite blind — some pieces of
needlework done in her younger days, when she was
a skilful and tasteful embroiderer. She would then
order in refreshment, after which, when the visitor rose
to go, she would say in tones which might suit royalty
granting a favour, " You may give a look at Peggy
on your way out". Miss Peggy, of course, would
inquire, " Have you been to see Annie before coming
near me ? " but kind little attentions and bits of news
soon dissipated her wrath. However, woe betide the
visitor who, on the tray with wine and cake being
brought in, would say, " I cannot take anything, for I
have already had refreshment from Miss Annie".
That was indeed an unpardonable affront !

When Miss Peggy died, Miss Annie sold her
furniture and removed to lodgings, where she was
never allowed to feel lonely, for the children and grand-
children of her old friends used constantly to visit
her. For years before her death she was stone-blind.

ji-vGooglc

A WONDERFUL MEMORY. 151

but she retained her other faculties in a most wonder-
ful manner. A veiy short time before her death,
while sitting up, supported by pillows in her bed,
to which she had been confined for a year or two,
she repeated to the writer the whole of the fourteenth
chapter of St John. Her memory was indeed most
wonderful. Even then, when verging on her
hundredth year, she could tell numberless enter-
taining anecdotes. She could give the history and
trace back the ancestors of every family in Inverness,
and she had a very great regard for birth and a good
deal of Highland pride. She had also a greal deal of
shrewdness and insight into character. It was no
easy matter to impose on Miss Annie, or to make her
accept any reasons except the true ones, for any
course of action. She was very touchy about people
not calling often for her, fancying herself neglected if
her friends did not go near her every few days. She
thoroughly enjoyed getting any one to read to her,
and a momentary gleam would often light up the
small white refined face lying back on the pillows,
when some of her favourite Scottish paraphrases, or
some of the prayers of the Church of England (which,
though a staunch Presbyterian, she loved to listen to)
were whispered in her ear. She died, when to live
longer would have been only a burden and a
weariness to her, but her one great disappointment

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IS2 CHARACTERS OF OLD INVERNESS.

was, that she had not attained the glory of completing
her hundredth year I

Miss Peggy and Miss Annie Grant had belonged
to a band of old ladies in Inverness, of whom many
were designated by their christian names. Among
these were "Miss Jeanie" (aunt to The Mackintosh);
Miss Maiy Jamieson; Miss Mary Mackintosh (better
known as "Miss Mary Waterloo," from having long
lived at Waterloo Place) ; Miss Johanna (who has
been already described), and her aunt and cousin on
Castle Street, Miss Mackintosh and Miss Macbean
(Tortola) ; the three Misses Fraser of Farraline, Miss
Grace, Miss Margaret, and Miss Kate ; the cheerful,
kind, and good Miss Munro (Munlochy), who always
wore a broad band of black velvet across her forehead ;
and her sister, Mrs. Fraser, the most eccentric of
human beings, who always went about in a black
satin dress and costly shawl, but with an enormous
poke bonnet and frilled collar reaching to her shoulders,
a reticule and long veil, and with her face completely
shrouded by a huge gingham umbrella, whatever the
weather might be.

Mrs. Fraser was very fond of legal advice on every
imaginable subject, and there was one solicitor in
Inverness who was liable to receive messages or visits
from her even at ten or eleven o'clock at night,
demanding counsel or assistance. Her eccentricities
generally precluded her from invitations to the little

N Google

AN ECCENTRIC SCHOOLMISTRESS. 153

tea-gatherings which were frequent among the other
old ladies in Inverness, and at which there was not
more scandal introduced than at the fashionable after-
noon teas of the present day.

Besides meeting among themselves, some of these
old ladies used to give very pleasant entertainments
for young ladies in their teens. " Miss Mary
Waterloo," in particular, was celebrated for the nice
little evening parties to which she used to invite alt
her young friends, when she always showed her
approval of those who were content with one cup of
tea, by the bestowal of a cup of cream and jam, from
which those who demanded a second supply of tea
were debarred.

Miss Wapshott, the old lady who has already been
referred to in these pages as having taught French
and drawing on Church Street, was — although not an
Invernessian — certainly one of the notabilities of
Inverness. She had, at one time, kept a boarding
school in Inverness on the west side of the river,
together with a sister, but on the death of the latter,
gave up housekeeping and retired into a lodging,
where, although she had only one room for both
bedroom and parlour, it was made to serve as school-
room as well, and her high accomplishments always
served to procure pupils for her, until age and
infirmity forced her to give up teaching, and retire into
a cottage in the country, where she died.

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154 CHARACTERS OF OLD INVERNESS.

Her father had been a man of good position, who
kept his carriage and men-servants, and many an
amusing anecdote she used to relate of the dinner
parties at his house, at which she, when a very young-
child, used to appear, so as to amuse the company
with her singing.

Miss Wapshott always dressed in an antique
fashion, with a remarkable bonnet surmounted by
waving plumes. She was never known to have been
absent from a funeral, for which sight she seemed to
have a particular liking; and she must also have been
of a very peaceable temperament, for if she saw two
d<^s fighting, she would make a rush at them with
her umbrella and try to separate them. She had also
a great love for cats, and used to pick up every
starved stray one and carry it home to tend and nurse.
At ona time she had quite a colony of them, and her
neighbours were to be pitied, as if any of the cats
escaped and found their way to the house-tops, there
must have been a great caterwauling. Miss Wapshott
trained a cat and a canary at one time to live together
in amity, and when she went out to take a saunter
along the riverside, used to carry them both with her
in a basket, showing them with triumph to every one
she met

When the cat, on attaining the venerable age of
eleven years, became the mother of a family of
kittens, it seemed to consider that the event required

jNGoogie

I

"DANDY CHARLIE." 155

to be celebrated in some signal manner, and its mode
of doing so was by eating the poor canaiy ! Miss
Wapshott mourned the canary for a long time, but
sought at last to console herself by taming a rat. Al-
though she loved all animals and birds, there were
very few of her fellow-creatures on whom she bestowed
her affections, A few of her pupils, however, were
intense favourites with her, and she regaled them often
with her racy, humorous stories, and inspired them
with sincere regard for her, even though she was
irritable and touchy to the last degree. Her talent
for drawing was something quite remarkable ; her
studies of female heads, in particular, were exquisitely
finished, and her pupils sighed in vain to emulate
their perfection.

There were many other old maiden ladies in
Inverness at that period, who were famed for their
peculiar ways, but space will not permit a description
of them. The old gentlemen were very severe on
them all, and used to quiz their love for gossip, of
which they themselves, nevertheless, were very fond.

Dandy Charlie (Mr. Charles Lamont Robertson),
used to note down the dates of all the births and mar-
riages which took place, even when the parties concerned
might have been supposed to have no possible interest
for him. He was the oracle for all the news, public
and private, in Inverness and within walking distance,
and as he had a wide circle of acquaintances, he made

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1S6 CHARACTERS OF OLD INVERNESS.

himself very agreeable and useful amongst them by
retailing to each and all, the gossip he had gleaned.
As he followed no profession, he had plenty of time
on his hands, and when not calling for any of his
acquaintances to detail the number of entrees which
had been at the last fashionable dinner-party, he
might be found with the other idle gentlemen on the
Exchange, or in front of either of the booksellers' shops
on High Street.

Neither he nor his clothes ever seemed to be the
worse for the wear, so that one Inverness lady dubbed
him " the Evergreen ". He used to appear with each
successive season in a particular suit, so that one had
only to look at him to know whether it was spring,
summer, autumn, or winter. He is best remembered
by many people as arrayed in a white waistcoat and
white trousers, light-coloured gloves of perfect fit, and
carrying a light umbrella. He always looked as if he
had just emei^d from the hands of his valet ; the
wind never seemed to have rufBed the pile of his hat
or the mud to have spattered his patent leather boots;
his outer man was the essence of spotless purity !

The Laird of Inshes has passed away too recently,
and was too widely known, to require to be recalled to
the notice of any Invemessian, and the most of the
anecdotes regarding him have been so widely circulated
that it would be useless repetition to introduce them
here.

N Google

A SARCASTIC LAIRD, I57

It is difBcult to realise that his handsome com-
manding form can no longer be seen perambulating
the streets of Inverness, on the look-out for some
acquaintance to bring home to dinner at Culcabock
(for he never could endure to dine alone), and that his
voice will never be heard again, uttering some joke or
repartee.

He had always an answer ready for whoever might
accost hira on the road. Once on being asked if he
was going to pay Mr. Grant the dentist a visit, he
replied, " No ; when I want extractors, I go to
Stewart and Rule".

" Help the gentry first, and me afterwards," he
used to say sarcastically, after he had sold his property,
if, at any public entertainment, a plate was handed to
him before any neighbour at table, who had risen in
the world and only lately bought an estata

There used to be another old dandy in Inverness at
one time, although he was not one who was given to
sarcastic speeches, or who cared much for society —
particularly after the death of his wife, to whom he
had been greatly devoted. This was " Old Dunma-
glass," who lived for many years in lodgings on
Margaret Street, but who kept a splendid high-bred
horse (in the stables on Academy Street, which
terminated Miss Mackintosh of Raigmore's garden
on Church Street), on which he used to ride out every
day — his erect figure carefully and foppishly attired.

N Google

IS8 CHARACTERS OF OLD INVERNESS.

his pug nose and fair hair being familiar objects to
every dweller in Inverness. Latterly, however, as he
became feebler, he went out only in his close
carriage.

His greatest peculiarity was his love of cats, of
which he kept a great number, and had a furnished
room for their use alone. On any special occasion,
such as a cafs birthday, the neighbouring cats were
invited to dine with them, and a roast of meat and a
plum pudding were prepared for the occasion, and the
cats placed on chairs all round the table. He
a>nsidered that the greatest honour he could pay any
lady was to present her with a cat, and when he gave
one away he used to send every day to inquire for its
health.

At an earlier date than many Invemessians can
recall, there resided in Inverness a gentleman
whose eccentricities were probably never rivalled. He
was the son of a landed proprietor, and his real name
was Fhineas Mackintosh, but he generally went by
the name of " Phinny Fool ". He resided with his
sister Catherine, whom he always called " Katack,"
in a commodious house near the foot of Castle Street,
on the west side, having its entrance within a court
It is now converted into the premises of an auc-
tioneer. In this house he used constantly to give
large and costly dinner parties, to which all the
gentlemen of the first position in the ne^hbourhood

N Google

PHINNY'S ENTERTAINMENT& 159

were invited. A policeman had to be stationed in the
court on those occasions, to keep away a crowd of
boys who were always attracted by a figure of a
Highlander outside the entrance door, from a pipe in
the mouth of which, on the night of a party, a jet of
light was made to issue.

The best of fare was always to be met with at
Phinny's table, and the choicest wine, and the dinner
lasted for several hours ; but after each entertainment,
when he sat down to count the cost and found how
much it amounted to, he used to wring his hands, and
wail, and cry. If there was anything at table that he
did not care for himself, he used to order it away
without inquiring whether any of his guests wished to
partake of it. On one occasion, he is reported
to have said, when the cheese was brought in>
"Who is for cheese? I am for none. Take away
the cheese".

His after-dinner speeches and toasts were the best
part of Phinny's entertainment. They were all given
in crambo (which indeed was introduced into his
ordinary conversation every day), and the remarks he
made to his guests throughout the whole of the time
they were seated at his table, though generally the
reverse of complimentary, used to convulse them with
laughter. One specimen will sufRce :
" Kilcoy,
You Ross-shire boy.

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l60 CHARACTERS OF OLD INVERNESS.

Drink off your glass,

You stupid ass,"
Some of the guests used mischievously to ply Phinny
with his own wine, until he generally ended by slipping
under the table.

On the day when a party was expected Phinny kept
continually running about the house, clad in a lai^e
white apron, arranging dishes, superintending cooking,
and giving all manner of directions and assistance,
although he always kept a good staff of servants.

The fear of incurring the displeasure of the Rev.
Dr. Rose prevented Phinny from giving dinner-parties
on Sunday, but he always liked to bring home some
friend from the church door to dinner with him, and
always ordered a better dinner than ordinary to be in
readiness on that day. On one occasion when he
brought home a gentleman whom he wished to treat
with special ceremony, he found that the roast which
had been ordered had been allowed to get burnt, and
he rushed about the house screaming that he would
get all the servants put into jail, but even then — so
strong was the force of habit — uttering his rebukes in
crambo, which caused roars of laughter.

Phinny was very fond of attending the various
cattle markets, and on these occasions he generally
drank so much whisky, as to cause him to enter into
various business transactions, the memory of which
was completely effaced from his mind by the fol-

jNGoogie

A STRANGE PURCHASE. l6l

lowing day. At one market he bought a lai^e bull,
which he ordered, on coming home at night, to be
securely fastened in the close in which his dwelling-
house was situated. Early in the morning his
slumbers were rudely disturbed by the roaring of the
animal, but being by this time perfectly oblivious of
the extraordinary purchase he had made, Phinny was
completely mystified as to the cause of the unwonted
sounds below his window. As soon as daylight and
sobriety had completely set in, he took care to get
rid of his bargain, and to secure better rest for the
following night.

He used to attend the Northern Meeting Balls
regularly, and on these occasions was always arrayed
in a scarlet waistcoat embroidered with gold, and with
bright buttons on his coat. He was a tall, stoutly-
made man, with a weakness in one of his legs, which
he dragged after him, so that he did not walk much,
but used to drive about in a high gig drawn by a fine
horse. It was said that he kept one of his toes, which
had been amputated, preserved in spirits on his dining-
room mantel piece ! His favourite place of resort was
" Skelpan Sandy's " shop on the Exchange.

In his youth, Phinny had held a commission in a
regiment in the West Indies, but on the first occasion
when fighting occurred, he ran to hide himself in a ditch.
" It was not the powder I was afraid of," he used to say,
" but the balls that were flying about" He sold his

N Google

l62 CHARACTERS OF OLD INVERNESS.

1 and returned to Scotland, after having
amassed a great deal of money in the West Indies,
but as no one could credit him with having had
sufficient sense to have acquired his fortune by his
own efforts, it was the belief of most people that he had
been left a legacy.

He remained in Inverness till his death, dispensing
with the assistance of his sister, hospitality to all his
acquaintances, and leaving behind htm the memory of
a warmth and kindness of heart such as is seldom
equalled among wiser men.

There were many other " characters " well-known in
Inverness, in a different position of life. One of -these,
who went by the name of " Knockie," although his
real name was Hugh Fraser, was, for many years bead-
clerk with the writer's uncle and father. Knockie was
well connected, being the son of Captain Fraser of
Knockie (the celebrated composer of Scotch music),
and the nephew of Sir Hugh Fraser of Braelangwell.
He was also a man of considerable ability and intel-
ligence, with a great knowledge of law, and might
have attained to a good position as a solicitor, had it not
been for an unfortunate failing which blighted bis
prospects, and which, though he long stru^led against
it, he was never able to overcome. It was, however,
his only fault, and never could it have been more
truly said of anyone than of poor Knockie, that he
was " no one's enemy but his own".

N Google

knockie's absences. 163

For some years he gave way to his failing only at
periodical times, generally once in six weeks, and often
stayed away a fortnight. He used to slink back
again in a shame-faced way (after having hung about
the door for some time, summoning up his courage to
enter) and seat himself on his high stool, trying as
rapidly as possible to make up for lost time and get
through the work which had accumulated in his
absence. At first, earnest remonstrances used to
await him on his return, but at last it was seen that
they were quite unnecessary, for no one could have
been more alive than Knockie himself was to the sad
nature of his position, and more anxious that it
should be amended. His desk was all filled with
extracts about intoxication, which he had copied from
books, as well as notes from sermons on that subject
which he always made a point of going to hear. His
own ideas about his besetting sin, and all his feelings
of remorse, and wishes to lead a different life, were
also written down on scraps of paper, and sometimes
indeed were embodied into elaborate essays. As
time went on, however, his absences became more
frequent and extended over a longer period of time,
and as remonstrances were seen at last to be quite
ineffectual, it became the usual thing for Knockie,
after an absence of a month or six weeks, to seat
himself at his desk, without any notice being taken of
his having been away.

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l64 CHARACTERS OF OLD INVERNESS.

On the occasions when he used to wander about in
the close near the office door, ashamed to enter, and
not yet entirely sober, he was often seen by the cook,
who used to invite him down to the kitchen, and give
him a large bowl of strong coffee to fortify his
courage and clear his brain. He was at these times
thrown a good deal into the society of an attractive
housemaid, who, to remarkably lively and agreeable
manners, and a bright smiling face, united the fascina-
tion of a magnificent voice which would have made
her fortune on the stage. Knockie became a victim to
her charms, but he never had sufficient courage to
make her an offer of marriage by word of mouth, nor
even get the length of writing a love letter like Dalmi-
gavie. It was on the wall of the close in which both
the dwelling-house and office were situated that
Knockie, with a pencil or a bit of coal, used to inscribe
his rapturous and complimentary effusions, in the hope
that Jane might see them. Her quick eyes did so
readily enough, and every morning she looked out for
some freshly-written rhapsodies, but the encourage-
ment she bestowed was not sufficient to make poor
Knockie speak to her on the subject He still, how-
ever, liked to haunt the kitchen in the evenings,
following in the wake of a bolder admirer of hers,
Macdonald, the " Amen " of St John's Church, who
was then a widower, and who used to sing, in what he
considered an irresistible manner, the appropriate song

N Google

A CLERK OF THE OLDEN TIME. l6S

of " My pretty Jane," seated in the most comfortable
corner near the fire, while poor Knockie with a shy
grin on his face, loitered about the door.

The figure of Knockie with that grin on his face,
and sometimes a pen behind his ear, his flaxen hair
standing straight up from his head which was generally
to one side, and his arms hanging straight down at
each side, was a well-known sight at the street comers
of Inverness ; but if anyone related to his employers
came in sight, the grin vanished — unless he was very
far gone — and he precipitately fled.

His odd manner of jerking out his sentences (even
when quite sober), his bashfulness, his peculiar smile,
and sidelong glances caused him to be well re-
membered by anyone who had seen him only once,
but no one could think of him with any feelings
except those of pity and kindliness. He was the soul
of honour, and under his uncouth exterior and many
eccentricities, was a kind and faithful heart with the
feelings of a gentleman, and a most amiable and
obliging disposition. When sober, he was a most
Invaluable clerk, and he wrote a beautiful hand, and
showed great skill, carefulness, and neatness in every-
thing he did, even in the very mending of pens, which
many ladies, knowing that this was a special forte of
his, used to employ him to do for them.

There are no clerks like him now ; they have died
out like the old shopkeepers and the old servants ; l^e

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l66 CHARACTERS OF OLD INVERNESS.

was perhaps the last of the race in Inverness, old-
fashioned, quaint, humble, respectful, eccentric, shy,
with one failing, but with a heart of gold t

There was another character who was as well-known
at the street comers of Inverness as Knockie himself.
This was John Macrae, who went by the name of
" Macrae the Poet," and who might have been seen
every day sauntering along High Street, in a blue coat
with brass buttons, a grey plaid, and wide hat,
murmuring to himself, and with his "eye in a fine
frenzy rolling ". Macrae had once been head waiter
in an hotel in Inverness, and was an amiable and
inoffensive man. He got a book of poems and songs
printed in the year i8i6, and a pamphlet in the year
1832, and continued to get various pieces printed
from time to time until his death. When any person
of good position died in Inverness, Macrae was sure to
compose a lament for the occasion, for which he
usually got a present of money. If any acquaintance
addressed a remark to him on the street, he generally
replied to it in rhyme, which seemed to come more
readily to his lips than anything else, so that people
often accosted him for the sake of puzzling him with
some word with which another could not readily be
found to correspond in sound. He was generally
followed by a dog, on whose collar was the inscrip-
tion, " I am John Macrae's dog. Whose dog are
you ? "

jNGoogie

"COCKLE CUMMING." 167

Another character well-known in days of old, was
" Cockle Gumming " (son of Mr. Lachlan Gumming of
Muiriield House), whose name was probably a cor-
ruption of " Goggle Gumming," as he had peculiarly
round staring eyes. He was a tall slender young man,
with a very red face, and always wore a broad
H^hland bonnet on the side of his head, checked
trousers, and often a plaid across his shoulders. He
took particularly long strides as he went along the
road, and swung his arms in a most conspicuous
manner, glancing from side to side with an expression
which signified that he considered himself "the
glass of fashion and the mould of form, th' observed
of all observers ".

He was a harmless individual, and spent the greater
part of his existence in fishing in the lochs and burns
of Inverness -shire, and in admiring the fair sex. He
was as susceptible as Dalmigavie, and the objects of
his adoration were generally young ladies in a higher
social sphere than his own, and with whom he had
never exchanged words. The manner in which he
testified his devotion for any lady was always by
leaving a basket of trout of his own fishing at her
door, with " Mr. Cumming's compliments " ; and
often the lady for whom they were intended had no
idea who the swain was to whom she was indebted for
the offering.

One favourite resort of " Cockle Cumming's " was

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l68 CHARACTERS OF OLD INVERNESS.

Dnimmond wood. He might often be seen saunter-
ing along the side of the Aultnaskiah burn, with his
fishing basket slung across his back, or else stretched
on the mossy bank, gazing sentimentally on the bits
of blue sky, seen through the overhanging branches,
and evidently musing on some lady love — perhaps
composing "A woful ballad to his mistress' eyebrow".

Kennedy Macnab was a character who mixed much
more in local public affairs than any of those hitherto
named, and was far from being harmless, being, in
fact, held in almost universal dread. His uncle had
been tutor in the CuUoden family, and ,his father
factor on the Culloden property, and Kennedy himself
was for a long time clerk in the Culloden tile-works,
and might have risen to a good position, for he was
singularly clever and intelligent ; but he became the
slave of debasing habits, and turned his talents to no
good account

For a long time he was Editor of a newspaper in
Inverness called The Reformer, in which he merci-
lessly held up to ridicule and abuse every person to
whom he had the slightest dislike. There was hardly
any gentleman in Inverness who escaped having some
scandal narrated about him in The Reformer. Even
ladies had their behaviour commented upon in the
pages of this dreaded newspaper, which was particu-
larly severe upon such among them as were not gifted
with much humility. There was no race of men to

jNGoogie

A DREADED EDITOR. 169

whom Macnab seemed to have such a dislike as
lawyers. No copy of The Reformer ever appeared
without one of the profession being attacked, and on
many occasions the Editor was taken before the
SherifT for Hbel, and was once even lodged in jail ;
but in many instances he had some slight foun-
dation on which to build his fabric of scandal,
and this made him a foe to be dreaded all the more.
There were only one or two lawyers in the town
towards whom he seemed to have no ill-will, and
whose names were never mentioned in the columns of
his paper.

Kennedy used to go about the streets dressed in a
slovenly manner, as if he had slept all night in his
clothes ; and with his hands always stuck in his
trouser pockets, and his broad Highland bonnet
perched on the side of his head. There were many
people who shrank from the gaze of his keen, bold,
black eyes, and turned down the nearest lane or close
to avoid him, for the objects of his hate and mockery
were many — theobjects of his respect and approval few.
He was, however, capable of feeling intense gratitude
for trifling favours — gratitude which lasted long after
the remembrance of the favours had entirely faded
from the minds of the bestowers ; and this trait in
his character, combined with his ready appreciation of
consistent and unostentatious excellence, may be
considered not only as redeeming him from deserving

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170 CHARACTERS OF OLD INVERNESS.

to be considered entirely evil, but as proving that he
possessed at least two good qualities which are too
often wanting among those who rank high in the
world's esteem.

N Google

CHAPTER IV. ■

THE WANDERERS OF OLD INVERNESS.

^ those days there were few public
charities in Inverness, and subscrip-
tion lists were rarely published in the
papers, but an immense deal was given
away in private charity, and a strong personal interest
was felt in the recipients. Each family had its own
pet be^ars, who called regularly on particular days
of the week, and received hot broth — for a pot was
boiled on these days specially for them — and had
their aprons or baskets filled with broken bread and
meat, potatoes and meal, besides r^[ularly receiving
money and old clothes at longer intervals. Many of
these pensioners consisted of idiots or half-witted
creatures such as are now always confined in asylums
or poorhouses, but some of them had only a " want,"
and were able to earn a precarious livelihood by
going errands, putting in coals, or carrying luggage
to the coach.

Prominent among those latter was Walter Sim,
the town porter, a respectful and courteous individual

n,gN..(jNGoogie

1/2 WANDERERS OF OLD INVERNESS.

of unimpeachable honesty and fidelity, who might be
seen hanging about the doors of the principal shops,
with a rope round his neck, his lank black hair
hanging down to his shoulders, his mild brown eyes
beaming with pleasure at the sight of any of his
patrons.

Walter did not like to be classed with b^^ars,
and always declined eating with them. His great
ambition was to be considered a footman at one of
the houses which he frequented several times a week.
On one occasion, while seated in his ragged clothes
and nearly soleless shoes, in the kitchen of one of the
families that patronised him (all alone, as the servants -
were busy up stairs), a messenger arrived with a letter,
vtfhich she declined leaving until she could deliver it
into the hands of one of the servants, " It will be
quite safe with me," said Walter, solemnly and
grandly, " for I am the footman." " I did not know
they kept a footman," said the girl, laughing. " I am
the daily footman," was Walter's reply ; " I do not
reside in the house."

Walter wrote a great quantity of what he styled
" poetry ". If a birth, marriage, or death occurred
among the families of his patrons, or if any one
related to them sailed for abroad, Walter always
made the event the subject of one of his poems,
which seldom contained less than twenty verees,
and he used at once to proceed to the house with a

N Google

WALTERS LOYALTY. 175

;opy of his poetical effusions, and request that it
ihould be sent upstairs with " Walter's compliments ".

When he had made up his mind to get married,
he called at the office of a solicitor who had always
been very kind to him, and requested the head clerk
to lend him a coat to wear at the ceremony. The
loan was granted, but we need hardly say that
Walter was not permitted to return it He was
very loyal, and named his eldest daughter for the
Queen, while the second was called " Patricia," for a
gentleman who had befriended him.

Walter was never known to ask for money, but a
message from the kitchen that " Walter had called
to inquire for the health of the family," was always
taken as a hint that he was badly off, and there were
several families where that modest hint was never
given in vain, for poor Walter — always obliging,
polite, gentle and trustworthy — was a universal
favourite. He picked up a precarious livelihood by
putting in coals (for they were not then sent round
in b^s), and by shovelling away snow from the
pavements in winter, as well as by doing occasional
errands ; but long fasts and exposure to the weather
at last quite broke down his slight and delicate frame,
and a time came when Walter's well-known form was
no longer seen at any shop door, fmd his low and
humble bow, and meek, pathetic smile, no longer
greeted his benefactors.

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174 WANDERERS OF OLD INVERNESS.

" Water Lexy " was an aged woman who had
acquired that name from having maintained herself
in her earlier days by carrying pails of water from
the river to the houses in town, at the time when no
water had been introduced there by pipes. With the
introduction of pipes into the houses, Lexy's occupa-
tion ceased, and she was reduced to beggary, for she
was by that time too old to learn to support herself
in any other way.

She resided in Grant's Close, off High Street,
together with a sister, who, being in weak health, was
confined to the house and was dependent on Lexy
for support, but who was able occasionally to earn a
trifle by taking in a few light articles of clothing to wash
— ^having been a good laundress in her younger days.
That Lexy sometimes throve well by her be^ng
may be inferred from the fact that a neighbour, who
called to see them one morning on business, found
the two sisters enjoying a luxurious breakfast, con-
sisting of tea, bread and cheese, a roasted haddock,
and a dram for each 1

Lexy was bent nearly double, and her enormous feet
had never any better covering than footless stockings
and carpet shoes, so tattered that they had to be tied
on with pieces of twine. She had a very melancholy
and mild expression, and spoke very little and in a
low and humble voice.

Walter Sim and she frequented the same houses.

jNGoogie

"WATER LEXY" AND "BIG BELL". 175

and invariably met there on such days as Christmas,
but the briefest possible greeting passed between them
then, for Walter, although humble and deferential to
his superiors, had a particulariy distant manner to his
fellow-pensioners, and considered himself several pegs
above this poor, broken-down water-woman. Lexy
never resented his manner, nor did she ever answer
back when found fault with by any one. All spirit
seemed to have been crushed out of her, as well as all
pleasure in life. However, when a sixpence or shilling
was dropped into her lai^, bony, shaking hand, or a
plate of hot broth was placed before her, she never
failed to make a low and deferential curtsey and to
utter courteous and grateful thanks. Children were
very fond of her, for her manner to them was always
tender, and they never failed to hear her address each
of them as " M'eudal bhochd ". She must have been
a great age when she died, but she predeceased her
acquaintance Walter by many years.

" Big Bell " was superior in appearance to either of
the individuals we have just described. She was
always exquisitely clean and neat, and invariably
wore a blue printed cotton gown with white spots
(what is called the " bird's-eye " pattern), a scarlet
shawl, a snow-white muslin cap with frills, a yellow
silk handkerchief bandaged across her brow, white
woollen stockings and carpet slippers or neat shoes.

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1/6 WANDERERS OF OLD INVERNESS.

Her manner was particularly gentle and courteous,
and she dearly loved young people.

Her favourite place of resort was the " Grocery " on
High Street (where she and many other old women
used to assemble to receive presents of tea and sugar
from Mr. Simpson), but there were several kitchens in
private houses which she honoured with frequent calls,
and she would have been indeed indignant had she been
treated there in the light of a beggar. She resided
in a garret on Tomnahurich Street, of which she used
to give terrifying accounts to the children of her
patrons, for it was infested by rats, and Bell had
always to keep a big stick beside her bed during the
night, with which to frighten them away.

A brother of Bell's having died in the West Indies,
left ;^i8o to be equally divided among herself and a
brother and sister, but her relatives — thinking that
they might easily outwit so weak-minded a creature —
tried to defraud her of it, and Bell discovered tiiat
her brother and his wife were on the eve of starting
for America with her share of the monqf. She at
once consulted a solicitor in whose kitchen she had
been a frequent guest, and he not only undertook her
case, but caused her to come forth victorious, though,
of course, his services were rendered gratuitously.
Bell was deeply grateful, and at once bought a large
quantity of cakes, fruit, and confections for the
children of her benefactor, and declared her intention

N Google

"NANNY DO DOLAN." 1/7

of making them her legatees. This desire of hers,
however, was over-ruled, but she could not be pre-
vented from making a will in which the lawyer's
sister-in-law, nephew, and cook were named as her
heirs.

She never made arrangements to change her abode
or to buy any piece of furniture without first going to
her legatees to ask whether they approved or whether
they considered that their legacy might be too greatly
diminished by so much outlay. Of c6urse their
approval was always obtained, and they were not the
least surprised that when poor Bell died, all the money
that was left was only what sufficed to cover the
expenses of her burial.

Nanny Do Dolan was a very different kind of in-
dividual from either " Water Lexy " or " Big Bell ".
Although half-witted like them, she had none of their
amiability and kindliness, their love for children, or
their good principles and trustworthiness. On the
contrary, she was the terror of all the children in the
neighbourhood, and her drunkenness and love of
quarrelling were proverbial. She maintained herself
principally by buying fish for several of the shop-
keepers and carrying it to their customers in the
country, and she sometimes had to carry her basket
as great a distance as thirty miles from Inverness.

Well does the writer remember when at the age of
six years, being on a visit twenty-four miles from

N Google

1/8 WANDERERS OF OLD INVERNESS.

Inverness and at play on the banks of Loch Ness,
hearing; one day the loud and dreaded tones of Nanny
Do Dolan shouting out from between the birch trees
at the top of the bank above the loch, " I have found ,
you at last ", Nanny was then on her way with fish
to the Inn at Invermoriston, and having rect^nised
one of the Inverness children whom she loved to
torment, she thought it good sport to shout out this
remark, and then go away leaving her victim half
dead with fright.

It was quite sufficient for the nursery maids of In-
verness at this period, when their charges were
naughty or would not go to sleep, to whisper, " I will
send for Nanny Do Dolan," for all they wished for
was then at once effected. The servant girls them-
selves used also to dread her, for she delighted in
tormenting them, and at the time when all the water
had to be conveyed from the river, she used to come
behind and overthrow their pails. Several anecdotes
illustrative of Nanny's quarrelsome propensities and
great bodily strength are related in the Second Part
of Munro's Recollections of Inverness, which was pub-
lished in 1870 — seven years later than the First Part,
to which we have already alluded.

Her honesty was far from unimpeachable, and her
love for drink was notorious, but she possessed a con-
siderable amount of humour and shrewdness. The
writer well remembers seeing her conveyed quite help-

N Google

NANNY'S MOTHER. 179

less and intoxicated in a wheel-barrow to the old "Black
Hole " on Bridge Street amid the shouts and jeers of
a crowd of boys. During her latter days she became
better conducted and more amiable, but still there are
many middle-aged citizens of Inverness, both at home
and abroad, who can hardly recall without a shudder
the vision of old Nanny as she shook her fist in their
faces on the street, with the question hissing from her
lips, " Are you good bairns the day ? " A cousin of
the writer's took a portrait (in crayons) of her in
this attitude, which is still in good preservation.

For a long time Nanny and her mother resided
together in a thatched cottage on the site of Mr.
Smith the hairdresser's present shop. The mother
attained a great age, and was long bedridden before
she died. The fact of her being Nanny Do Dolan's
mother caused her to be regarded by the young
people of that period as something " uncanny ". A
lady, who was a little school girl at that time, told
the writer that she and her young companions used
to find a strange fascination in going, on their way
from school, to have a peep in at one of the windows
of the cottage, in order to watch the old woman
sitting up in bed, combing her white hair, and mutter-
ing to herself. They were always in fear and trem-
bling, however, lest Nanny should appear on the
scene and chastise them for taking such a liberty.

" Foolish Mary " had at one time been a servant in

N Google

l8o WANDERERS OF OLD INVERNESS.

many respectable families, but an unfortunate love
affair had upset her reason. She lived alone in a
garret at the foot of Academy Street, and had no
means of subsistence except the charity which was
given to her in the kitchens which she frequented.
She always wore an old knitted cap, a little shawl and
an apron of printed cotton, and was celebrated for
anything but cleanliness. She was rarely heard to
utter any word except " ay " or " no," and her expres-
sion was that of deep moodiness and gloom. If
teased or irritated, she could be roused to the fiercest
anger and rage, and has often been known to fling a
knife at whatever servant girl might have offended
her, or to chase her with the kitchen poker, her eyes
meanwhile blazing with maniacal fury. At other
times, however, she was quite harmless and subdued.
Servants who were inclined to be lazy often em-
ployed Mary to help them in such offices as picking
fowls, cleaning knives, brushing shoes, &c., and as
Mary knew quite well that they disobeyed their
mistress's orders in doing so, she always consented to
be locked in the cellar, at the sound of any footstep
coming downstairs from the dining-room, if engaged
in any of these avocations. She was always, how-
ever, permitted to have a meal of good broth or meat
in a number of kitchens in Inverness, for her miser-
able fate had gained the pity of all who were
acquainted with her former history. Although she

N Google

TWO "FOOLISH MARYS". l8l

connived with the servant girls in concealing the
shirking of their work, she had not sufficient sense to
cany out the deception when questioned, and when
asked, " What were you doing in the cellar, Mary ? "
she would always reply, " Pickee hen," or " Blackee
shoe ".

She sometimes liked to get an old piece of faded
ribbon to put in her knitted cap, for it seemed to
remind her dimly of former days when she had been
a young servant girl as smart looking and as giddy as
those who now made her their slave and butt

Another " Foolish Mary," more commonly called
" Mary Stoddart " to distinguish her from the other,
was quite a different kind of individual. She was a
stout, rosy-cheeked, barefooted, jovial character, who
went about the country without shawl or bonnet,
singing and dancing, but who could, nevertheless, be
roused to rage if teased, and chased and pelted with
stones any children who tormented her.

She was a much greater favourite than the other
" Foolish Mary," on account of her high spirits and
love of fun, and could easily be induced by the promise
of a penny or a cup of tea, to sing a Gaelic song or
dance the Highland Fling. Her entrance into any
kitchen was generally preceded by loud yells called
forth by the jeers of the boys who had followed her
along the street, and it generally took some time to
pacify her, but once her good humour was restored.

N Google

l82 WANDERERS OF OLD INVERNESS.

she was ready to contribute everything in her power
to the general merriment

She and the other Mary had a great dislike to,
and a great jealousy of, each other. It was no joke
when they met in the same kitchen, for the slightest
circumstance roused their ire, and caused them to be
at daggers drawn, and it often occasioned the greatest
ingenuity to separate the two enemies, and induce
one of them to withdraw quietly and leave the field
open for the other. When every other means failed,
a penny proved the most efficacious and successful
resort

" Ally with the Petticoats " was so named on
account of his always wearing, instead of trousers, a
long petticoat down to his ankles. He was a big,
stout man, and was generally barefooted, but always
wore a broad Highland bonnet, jacket and waistcoat,
and a long blue and white checked apron, filled with
meal and potatoes, which he got in the various
houses he frequented, and which he kept devouring
as he waddled along the streets. He was very quiet
and inoffensive, but used to be constantly muttering
or singing to himself, and generally cairied about
with him a hall of worsted and a darning needle,
with which he attempted to darn his long petticoat
when he sat down to rest on a doorstep.

His principal enjoyment consisted in attending all
the sacramental gatherings which took place in con-

jNGoogic

"ALLAIDH NA H-tlBHALA." 183

nection with the various Presbyterian churches in the
Highlands, especially those which were held in the
open air. Whenever the Rev. Doctor Kennedy of
Dingwall held a sacramental service in the Inverness
Chapelyard, Ally was sure to be there, making
tremendous strides from one tombstone to another
sometimes even trying to step over the bowed heads
of the congregation, as they sat listening to the
minister's address, and thereby having a most dis-
turbing effect on their devotions. His love and
admiration for ministers were extreme, and great
indeed was his glee if one of them condescended to
take notice of him, and address a few friendly words
to him.

When the Rev. Alexander Clark of the West
(Established) Church died, leaving behind him a
fragrant memory, which will long be cherished in
Inverness, poor Ally attended his funeral, one of the
truest mourners there. When night came on, and
the poor wanderer had not returned to his humble
dwelling, search was made for him, and he was found
stretched on his benefactor's grave, weeping and
wailing with a grief that refused to be comforted.

There was another foolish Ally, who sometimes
went by the name of " Allaidh na h-ibhala," on
account of his having no palate, and at other times
by the name of " Lady Saltoun's Fool," because that
lady — grandmother of the present Lord Saltoun —

N Google

184 WANDERERS OF OLD INVERNESS.

allowed him a small yearly income and the run of
her kitchen, whenever he liked to go there.

When the writer remembers him, he was a very
old man of a weak, bent frame, and with white hair,
and a long, n^ged beard. He was quite harmless,
but owing to the want of a palate, his voice always
sounded peculiar and uncouth, and it was so
difficult to understand any word he uttered, that
he generally had to make known his requests by
signs.

He lived on Lady Saltoun's estate, and used to
come into town to do mess^es for her^ household on
market days. He also r^ularly attended church in
Inverness on Sundays, and often was allowed to come
in on the back seat of Lady Saltoun's carriage He
was arrayed in cast-ofF, faded livery with brass
buttons, under a r^ged cloak, and regarded himself
as one of the servants at Ness Castle, although he did
not consider it beneath his dignity to receive a penny
or a bowl of meal in many an Inverness kitchen.
There was nothing he liked better than being ques-
tioned about Lady Saltoun.

In his younger days it had been the fashion for the
old County families in the Highlands to keep a
character like Ally always hanging about their
kitchens, who got regular wages, cast-off livery, and
plentiful meals, and was expected in return to afford
mirth to both master and servants. To have a

N Google

"LORD JOHN RUSSELL." 185

regular " Fool " in the kitchen was always a mark of
aristocracy.

There was an old man who came to reside at Nairn,
and who used to visit Inverness twice a year — never
failing to come at the time of the Northern Meeting,
when he attended the games and listened with delight
to the pipe music He went by the name of " Lord
John Russell," as he fancied he was that nobleman,
and actually bore a strong resemblance to him. He
always went about bareheaded and barefooted, and
though often offered a hat and shoes, no power could
induce him to wear them. His hair was snow-white
and his appearance very striking. No one knew
where he originally came from, what he had been, or
what his real name was, although it was generally
believed to be Russell. He always expressed himself
in the language of an educated man, and his manner
was so superior — even refined — as to give rise to the
opinion that he had at one time held the position of a
gentleman. The mystery about him was never solved,
nor what had overthrown his intellect ; but there can
be no doubt that the poor wanderer had once moved
in a much higher social sphere than that in which he
was known in the North. There are many Invemes-
sians who still speak of him as " the gentleman," and
no one who remembers him at all could speak without
kindliness and pity of poor " Lord John ".

" Eeldy Aldy " was the nickname of a poor idiot

N Google

l86 WANDERERS OF OLD INVERNESS.

lad, who roamed about the streets barefooted and
bareheaded, and clad in a very long shepherd-tartan
kilt His principal amusement consisted in running
away with the door-mats from all the houses in town,
so that his old mother, who was an honest, decent
woman, was obliged to neglect her home and other
children and follow Eeldy wherever he might wander,
so as to keep guard over his purloining propensities.
Sometimes, however, he was too quick for her, and
would have seized a mat and rushed away with it
round the comer of the street before she had time to
stop him. It was a very usual thing for Eeldy's mother
to arrive at some gentleman's kitchen late at night
with a mat which her son had carried away during
the day. She soon learnt to recc^ise the various
mats in town, and seldom made a mistake in carrying
the right ones to their respective owners,

Eeldy did not always coniine his depredations to
mats. If he could only get inside a house, nothing
came amiss to him, but his poor mother's aim was to
prevent his entering any house at all. When evening
came she always tried to keep him locked up, but this
was no easy task, and he often eluded her vigilance.

The writer recollects when very young being once
seated alone in the dining-room when the table was
laid for tea, and being suddenly startled by the
entrance of the tall, bare-legged Eeldy Aldy, who
seized a loaf from the table, held it high above his

N Google

"EELDY ALDY." 1 8/

head with a triumphant grin, and glided out with his
prize as noiselessly as he had entered. He had come
in by the back entrance, had run up a stairs leading
from the lower regions, and now made his exit by the
same route, without being heard by any of the ser-
vants, and before the child who saw him had time to
give the alarm.

Eeldy was very good-natured, and never got into
rages although often teased by boys. He was rarely
seen without his poor mother running after him, or
hangingon to his jacket, so that the expression,"Always
together like Eeldy Aldy and his mother," became
quite a proverb in Inverness, and was used to denote
inseparable companions.

John Morgan was a half-witted creature, who picked
up a precarious livelihood as a porter, like Walter
Sim, and might often be seen going about with a
hurley, whistling and singing to himself. He was
very good-natured and ready to do any errand.

At an earlier date three idiots, named Bobby All,
Big John, and Ally Watson, had gained much cele-
brity in Inverness. Bobby All was a miserable-looking
little creature, who was full of impish tricks, and used
to roam about the streets — often through the night as
well as through the day — uttering extraordinary

Big John was a tall powerful man, who was kindly
permitted by Mr, Wilson of the Caledonian Hotel to

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l88 WANDERERS OF OLD INVERNESS.

have his bed and board there, and who used to hang
about the door of the hotel speaking to every one who
passed in or out He was excessively fond of snuff,
and used to go to all the shops and accost every
passer-by with demands for some to put into his snuff-
box. Visitors to the hotel were in the habit of giving
him not only plenty of snuff but plenty of money.

Ally Watson was a tall, erect man, who always
went about without any covering on his head or feet,
and was so good natured and obliging, that he was a
universal favourite. When asked where he had slept
during the previous night, he always answered, " In
the wherry " — meaning the ferry — and added, when
asked if he had felt it uncomfortable, " It was like an
icicle ".

Ally Watson always did whatever he was told
however ridiculous it might be. If carrying a pail of
water from the river, and told to pour it out on the
street or leave it standing there, he did so at once.
One day while holding a little child in his arms and
playing with it, a mischievous boy told him to throw
it down, so without a moment's hesitation, he dashed
it on the pavement, and it died from the effects of
the injuries received. Poor Ally was from that time
banished to the Infirmary, where he was kept in
confinement among the lunatics, and died soon
afterwards. ■ His death had no doubt been hastened
by his being deprived of his freedom, and debarred

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"SEtiN NAM p6CAIDEAN." 1 89

from the rambles to which he had been accustomed
all his life.

Many years ago an extraordinary little woman
used to visit Inverness, who is remembered by hardly
any one living now. She was called " Seitn nam
picaidean," or "Jenny of the pockets," on account ,
of her upper garment — which could hardly be called
a gown — being covered with pockets from her neck
to her ankles.

Once, after a long absence in Glen-Urquhart, she
entered " Donald Iron's " shop, and he said to her,
" Where have you been all this long time, Jenny ? "
" Oh, I have been to the moon." " Indeed ! And
how did you manage to get up there ? " " Oh, the
going up was nothing, it was the coming down that
was difficult." " And how did you manage that ? "
" I went into a shop in the moon, and I bought
twopence worth of soft soap, and rubbed it on the
soles of my feet, and then I slipped down on a
rainbow."

At a still earlier period, Inverness was occasionally
visited by a veiy remarkable character, who belonged
to the Aird, and whose real name was James Mac-
kenzie, but who was better known in the country by
the appellation of " the Ceannaiche " (or merchant), as
he used to roam about with a bundle of books and
pamphlets for sale, through Glen-Urquhart (where he
had a brother a schoolmaster) and also through Glen-

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igo WANDERERS OF OLD INVERNESS.

moriston and Kintail. In these districts he was always
gladly welcomed, and got a night's lodging in many a
farm-house.

It was in his youth that he was thus a wanderer,
and there is no one now alive who was acquainted
with the Ceannaiche then, but there are a very few
people who remember him as he was in his old age,
when his wanderings were over, and he had settled
down in Glenmoriston, which he had so long fre-
quented, that he felt more at home there than in his
birthplace, the Aird.

The Ceannaiche was half-witted, but he was a great
reader of poetry, and a lover of books in general,
especially dictionaries, which he used to devour from
beginning to end, so that he was always able to afford
information as to the signification of any word not in
general use.

He had also actually taught himself French, Latin,
Greek, Hebrew, and astronomy ! It was a most re-
markable thing that one who had a decided " want,"
and was quite incapable of managing the ordinary
affairs of life, should have possessed such intellectual
tastes and such a power of application for study. He
always expressed himself like a well-educated person,
and had an extraordinary love for the society of ladies
and gentlemen. In fact, he quite shrank from inter-
course with persons in his own rank of life.

The late Mr. James Murray Grant of Glenmoriston

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THE CEANNAICHE. 191

paid for the Ceannaiche's board in the Glen, and
entirely supported him, so that he always had leisure
for his favourite pursuits, and although he always
assisted in threshing com at some of the farms, he used
often to rest in the midst of doing so in order to write
down translations from some Greek or Hebrew book.
When the family in whose kitchen the Ceannaiche
had for years been permitted to take his meals — and
to sit by the fire pouring over his books, before retiring
to rest in his little room above the stable — quitted
their home at the top of the Glen, the poor old man
mourned their departure with a grief that refused to
be consoled. He had now no educated persons near
him with whom he could converse. According to
himself, he had " no society but that of clowns ".
There was no one to whom he could read the trans-
lations which he daily wrote down from his beloved
books, no one who could appreciate or enter with in-
terest into his studies of the planets and stars. His
favourite pursuits now lost their charm for him, since
no kindred spirit was at hand to encourage and sym-
pathise, and his intellect rapidly began to become more
and more clouded and confused. He gave up writing
and reading, and used to spend hours in the company
of a little dog and a lame chicken which his benefac-
tors had left behind, and to speak to them as if they
could understand and could enter into all his grief and
desolation.

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192 WANDERERS OF OLD INVERNESS.

There was a little old woman who lived in a little
turf-roofed cottage on the same farm, and whom he
considered better fitted than any other human being
to enter into his feelings, for not only was she as
courteous and gentle-mannered as himself, and as
elevated in her ideas, but her attachment to the family
on whose farm she had long lived was equal in inten-
sity to his own. Her name was Mary Macdonald, but
she generally went by the name of " The Lady," or
" Lady Hood," from being in the habit of constantly
talking about Lady Hood, mother of the late Seaforth.

Mary was in her way quite as remarkable a cha-
racter as the Ceannaiche himself, although there
certainly was no deficiency in her intellect, On the
contrary, she possessed extraordinary shrewdness,
sense, and intelligence. In her youth she had gone
regularly to the shearing, not only in Ross-shire and
various northern counties, but in Midlothian, and had
thus been able each year to lay by a little sum of
money. She had very often been shearing in the
neighbourhood of Brahan, and had thus acquired her
knowledge of the lady who became her favourite
heroine.

Mary could not speak a word of English, and
could neither read nor write, but she possessed
a most poetical nature, and expressed herself in
language which would not have disgraced an orator.
She was famous for her composition of Gaelic songs,

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"LADY HOOD." 193

set to the most exquisite airs, and filled with the
most beautiful ideas and images. No event of con-
sequence ever occurred in the family of the gentleman
on whose fann she had long lived, without Lady Hood
composing an ode for the occasion. The beauty of
the language, the elevation of the sentiments, and the
true poetic fervour which -pervaded all her effusions,
were most singular when we consider that she was
perfectly uneducated and could speak only the Gaelic
tongue.

Both the Ceannaiche and his friend Lady Hood
lived to see more than ninety years. The former had
sunk into a state of complete idiocy for some time
before his death, but the intellect of Lady Hood was
clear and vigorous to the last. She did not die of old
age, but fell a victim to the kindness of her heart.
She had always been extremely generous to all who
were poorer than herself, and one evening when a
beggar woman knocked at her door and craved a
nighfs lodging, on the plea of feeling very ill, the
request was cordially grants. The illness turned out
to be a malignant fever. Lady Hood nursed the
beggur woman, took the infection from her, and died.

The like of herself and the Ceannaiche will never
be met with in Inverness-shire again. They, like
many of the characters described in this book, could
have existed only among the peculiar associations and
surroundings of a time " Before Railways ".
13

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Works PublisheQ bv A. and \V. Mackenzie, t

RECENTLY PUBLISHED.
Price, Demy 8vo, 25s.; Demy Quarto, 42s.,

THE HISTORY
CAMERON S,

With Authentic Genealogies of Ihe Principal Families of the Name, to the
present time. By Alkxandeh Mackenzie, F.S.A., Scot. In r hand-
some volume of close upon 50a pages. Demy 8vo, printed in dear bold
old-faced type (Small Pica), on superfine, thick, toned paper, Roxburghe
binding, uniform with the "History of the Maclteniies" and the ■' History
of Ihe Macdonalds and Lords of the Isles ". The iisat is itricify limiltd
losoo Copia. Demy Sso, and H Co^i, Danj 4to. The work embraces the
history and genealogy of the family of Lochiel, from the eiirliest limes to
the present ; as also, under separate headings, Erracht, Fassiefem, Glenevis,
Worcester, Lundavra, Dawnie, Barcaldine, and several of the minor
branches of the Clan, with (heir marriages and other connecUons, and an
account of Dr. Archibald Cameron of the Forty-five, and of bis desceodanta.

Lochiel, the chief of the Camerons, writes: — "Your History ef the
Camirons nalQmlly possesses greater interest for me than for most peop?«,
and I congratulate you on the ability which enabled you to add so valuable
a contribution to our acquaintance with the Highland Clans ".

" Mr. Mackeniie has already earned for himself a very high reputation
for his histories of the Mackenzies. the Macdonalds, .ind Ihe MalhesonK ;
and now, within an incredibly short space of time, Scottish histoiy is made
richer by an elaborate and most interesting history of the important
Cameron clan. The industry of Mr. Mackenzie is beyond all praise.
Those who may have had occasion to trace the genealogies of some of our
great families know what a laborious task it is, and how little there is often
to show tor the work involved. The material is frequently of Ihe scantiest,
and however much those most closely associated with the families are willing
to assist, it is sometimes beyond their power to give very much help. When
the labour of tracing the origin and history of a single family is so great, it
~ will readily be understood that the preparadon of a history of a whole clan is
a truly herculean taslt To Mr. Mackeniie, however, the work has evidently
been a pleasure. He has selected the post of historian of the Highland
dans from pure love of the subject ; he has set himself to his work with true
Highland ardour, and the volumes he has already produced have been

jNGoogie

3 ^yoRKS Published by A. and W. MackeHzie

emlnentlf satisCactoiT. The present mluroe we regard as one of the moat
valuable and iniereilinB of the whole. The Clan Cameron fills a large ptets
in Highland history, and the work thronghout is, consequently, full of
stirring; episodes, while the origin of the clan and the history of the main
branches are traced in the most painsuking and amlienlic manner. The
book throughout is very interesting, and the index is most copious and
accurate, adding very much to the value of the book as a work of cefer-
eaae."^Ferlhihin Corutiliilnmal.

" Mr. Alexander Mackenzie has added another volume (o his memoirs
of Highland famiUes. In addition to the histories of the Mackenzies and
the Macdonalds, previously published^ be has completed and issued the
History of ikt Cametvru, a handsome, well-printed volume, extending to
nearly five himdred pages. The author, as usual, has spared no pains to
auive at the genealogy of the vaiions brunches of tbe Cameron race. The
value of the work is enbanced by a carefully com[Hled and copious index."
—lavtnusi Cimritr.

" Having in previous years produced histories of the Mackendes, the
Macdonalds, and the Mathesons, Mr. Alexander Mackenrie, the editor of
the Ctllic Magaiini, now favours us with a fourth massive volume of nearly
five hundred pages, giving a History of Ikt Camerati, with Genealogies oif
tlie Principal Families of the name. Tbe record is remarkable for its com-
pleteness, especially when we take into account the difficulties that had to
be overcome in the execution of the herculean task— a task made all the
niore laborious by the fact that very little help could be afforded even by
the heads of the leading families of the clan, however willing they may have
been to give it. One peculiarly attractive feature of the noble volume is the
very full and vivid account that is given of the career of General Sir Allan
Cameron of Erracht, K.C.R, and equal justice is rendered to another illns-
soldieiof the clan, Colond John Cameron of Fassiefem. It is deeply

sting to trace the stories of tlie numerous branches of the house, many

of whose members distinguished themselves in every walk of life, not only
in the land of their nativity, but also in England aod in the oolonies." — Tm
AuiAort/" lAterary Notit " imOi North British Daily Mail.

Jn Paper Covers, 6d., Clotk Gilt, is. By Post, 2d. extra.

EIOHTY PAoea, DEMY Svo.

A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE REPORT OF
THE CROFTER ROYAL COMMISSION.

Bt ALEXANDER MACKENZIE, F.S.A., SCOT.

Lord Napier writes :— " Your Analysis of the ' Report of the Royal
Commission,' which I have read, is far the most accurate acoooat of tba
Imparl of oui proposals which 1 have seen ",

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Works Pubusukd bv A. amd W. Mackenzie. 3

" Mr. Mackeniie, the well-known edilor of the CeUic Magazini, knows
more about the Highlands and Highlanders than any man now living, and
for this reason his Analysis of the Report of Ihe Royal Commissioners who
recently inquired into the condition and grievances of the croflers is
eminently worthy of public attention. Mr, Mackeniie not only analyses
and epitomises the Report, but he criticises il likewise, pointing out its
defects, as well as its excellencies. Many persons who could not find time
to wade through the Report itself will be thankful lo Mi. Mackeniie for
famishing them with the careful and discriminating analysis of it. from
which they will be able to gather alt they care to know, and Indeed all that
they require to know In order to an intelligent understanding of the question."
— Dundet Adi^rliitr.

" Prepared by the man, who, of all men, Is best filled fbr ihe execution
of such a task. . . . Drawn up with conspicuous fairness, most
admirable temper, and in a manner to which no one can take the slightest
ob)eclion,"— Z<flifcr in Grcauxi TtUgraph.

" Upon all who are desirous of becoming acquainted with the leading
features of the Ciofter Commissioners' Report on the condition of the
Highlands and Islands, Mi, Alexandei Mackenzie, Inverness, the energetic
editor of the CtllU Magaiine. has conferred a real boon by issuine a pamoh-
let, extending to about So pages, containing a careful
analysis of the ponderous volume." — PtopU s Journal.

"In a well got up pamphlet of 80 pages Mr, Alexander Mackeniie,
editor of the CeltU Magazine, gives a capital Analysis of the Report of the
Crofter Comniisslon. He also tests the several recommendaiions of the
Commissioners by his own knowledge of the drcumstances of the High-
lands, and shows wherein they are inadequate as a remedy for existing evils.
The pamphlet is a valuable contribution to an understanding of the CrofKr
question and the proposals of the Commissioners."— ft rWjAire AdverHser.

"An able paper." — Northern ChraaitU.

"Admirable Analysis. . . . It is written by one who is a thorough
master of the subject, and who writes with moderation, good sense, and
inost admirable temper." — Leader in Kilmarnock Standard

Crofters and Cottars." — Leader ia Aitrdeen youi

"A most excellent Analysis. . . • brought out the m
points [n a highly snccessful manner."— Cai/*n«j Courier.

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4 Works Published by A. and W. Mackknzo.
Price IS. 6d. : By Post 8j.

THE HISTORY
HIGHLAND CLEARANCES,

From the Battle of Cullodeo to the present time ; containing a reprint of
Dotutld Madeod's " Gloomy Memories of the Highlands " (now not fnt-
euraUt for any aumPf), wilh a full Account of (he Glengairy, Knojnlart,
Stialhglass, Kintail, Glenelg, Skye, Noith and South Uist, Baira, Rum,
Coigeach, StrathcoDsn. Glencalvie, Leckmelia. Gtendesseray and Loch-
Arkaig, Breadalbane, Rannoch, Athol, Motvem, Mull, Locbcsnon, and
several other evictions throughout the Highlands of Scotland.

Also a full Account of "The Battle of the Braes," and a complete State-
ment ofalllhepioceedingsinthelSLEOPSKVEDUBiNO 18S3,
nith a Vtriaiint Stport ^tkt

TRIAL OF THE BRAES CROFTERS,

y Alssander Mackenzie, F.S.A., Scot.. Editor of the "Celtic
• Av, oibi ixtotdt It

OBDER FROU.THE PUBLISHERS—

A. & W. MACKENZIE, Celtic Ma^situ Office, Inverness.

OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.
" Burning ind^ation takes the place of regret, as one comes to know
the ruthless savageij Yiith which the Highlands were cleared, and the
people driven fonh from the lands that were their own. It is indeed*
fearful and shameful story thai Mr. Mackemje's pages (ell, and he m^
well print OD his title-page the weeds, Trtilk it ttraagtr IhoKfitlU*. .

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Works Published by A. And W. HACtMsta.

S

Ud MacIceDsecoald not have pablished his book at b more opportnoe time.
People who want to know wbat is wrong witb Ibe Highlandi will find in )U
foges what thef seek. , . . Tlie production of this history must lia\4
inndved much patient labour, but it has beea a labour of love. No matt
mi better fitted to onderlake the task thau Mr. Mackeode, and we are
glad to congratulate him on the completeness of his success. Every High-
lander, every lover of his country, should read and read again this ' Tala
of what Rome once hath borne — of vhat Rome yet may bear '.'-"Dailjf

" lliera have been few contributloDs to the Uterature of the Land Laws
of late years more striking and important, ... the only autheotic and
coosecntive work upon the history of this sobject. , , . To those who
wish to know the oppression they [the Highlanders] have groaned nnder
for countless years, we must recommend Mr. Madcenzle's ^sdnatillg
pages." — Dtiitdtt Advtriistr.

"Apart from Ibis valuable repnbUcation [Donald Madeod's 'Gloomy
Memories'] the volume before us deserves a careful study at the bands of all
our politicians." — Livirfoel Metciay.

" Contains a series of ta.bles showing the poptdation of the counties of
Roth, Argyll, Inverness, Ross, and Qforaarty, .Sutherland, and Caithness,
at each decennial period from iSoi to 1881, both inclusive, with a tabulated
statement showing the population of the parishes within those counties in
iSji, 1G41, 1851, and 1881 ; and !□ the case of Sutherland, the population
b given for each decade since iSoi. These tables will be found of much
value Iqr those engaged in the study of the causes which have led to the
decrease of the rural popnlalion in the Highlaads during the piesent
century." — Edinhurgh Courant.

" Mr. Mackenzie has produced a volume that ought to be in the hands
of every member of the Legislature, and which is simply indispensable ts
all who would rightly understand the problem now awaiting solution. Him-
self the son of a croOer, be has rendered a service to that class which wDl
Kcnre for his name en enduring place in the annals ef Scottish patriotism."
—The aitkor of •'Literary Notes,- in the Daily Mail.

"The stoiy from first to last of the unjust usurpation of which (he
Highland tenants and crofters have been the victims, as unfolded in a
volume of encyclopsediac fulness, published this week by the able and
patriotic editor of the Celtic Magatint, is one of the saddest that was ever
told concerning a patient, God-fearing, and in every way most deserving
people." — /CilntanxKi Standard.

" Mr, Mackeniie's hook appears opportunely for those Members of
Pariiament who are interested in the motion [for a Royal Commission] on
the position of the Highland Croflers, A considerable portion of the work
Is taken up with ... a description of the present state of the High-
ands, a survey of tbe portion held by the Braes Crofters, and by statistical
tables that give sad confirmation to most of Mr. Mackenzie's statements.
Ti» luiTativT (htousbont is deeply, often painfully, inteie3tii]g."-^£Mit

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6 WOKKS PUSLISHSD BY A. AND W. MaCSEHZiB^

"Mr. Maekeiuie't book ii well gstup, ondibmu » handsome volame,
— /nvnuu Omrier.

'' Id a remarkably opportuae goloine, invested with a higher than a men
litenuy imereil, Mr. Mackenzie supplies ample malerials for aniviag aX a
judgment on die subject of the Highland Qearances. , . . We thank
Mr. Mackemie lor his volume ; it is one of the most leasinable that was
ever issued fnini the Scotdsh press, and we have no doubt Ihal it will
speedily tie in the hands of tnerj Membec of Parliament who is desirous
rf doing hb duty."— Ciriiftajir Leader,

" It has been the task of Mr. Mackemie to publish in a collected fonn
much of the floating liiei^Cure upon this subject, and to bring down the tad
story of evictloii to pur own day. His fluent style makes his book emineatly
readable, and his extensive knowledge of Celtic afiairs al home and abroad
ensures taaaacj in his statement*. . , , The tale is a tragical and
moving one, putting to shaoK Ihe wildest mgaiiei of rcmance."— Ait^'j

" Of the maleriab al his disposal Mr. Mackenae has made eiceDEht tise>
and not only that, but he shows commendable coaiage in publishing it at
Ihe present time. . . . It is the only publication that attempts to give
anything approaching a fall accoDitt of the desolation of the Highlands,
and the eipatristion of the Highlanders. It is thus a valuable addition to
the historical Uleralure of the Gael ; and no one can fijrm an intelhgent
opinion on the present agitation in the Highlands, and the general condition
of the people, which fiods expression in periodical mendicancy, without
first studying the facts which Mr. Mackenzie has so fully, and so well,
placed before the public in the handsome volume before us— a volume
which we cordially recommend to the attention of oar readers." — Abirdetn
Daily Free Press.

" Your book suii^lies a decided detidemtum In the economical history of
the country, and I will lose no opportunity of pres^g it on the atteotiOD
of intelligent reaien."~Fniftssar John Sluart BlackU.

The Prime Minister's secretary writes :~" 1 am directed by Mt. Glad-
stone to thank you for sending him your ' Highland Clearances,' and to My
thai he viill examine it tuitk inltresl. '

"The book has made Its appearance at an opportune moment. Hie
relation oF the Highlanders to the lords of the soil forms one of Ihe burn-
ing questions of the day ; and here we have a complete history of that
question, and a collection of facts amply suffidenl to enable every unbiassed
mind to arrive at just and sound conclu^ons regarding it, , . . We
are certain that it will do important service in hastening Ihe enlightened
settlement of a question regarding which hitherto mocb ignorance as well
as much indifferente has prevailed."— Aiw/Awn Entign,

" No friend of the Crofter shonhl be without Ibis book, and the land-
lords will be all the belter of ordering it for their libraries. . , . Mr.
Mackenzie has spared no troutde to make it a thoroughly reliable work.
His temerity in publishing details . , is on a par with the |ustnesi
with which be metes out merit and demerit lo Ibe actors in what tew win

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Works Pubushbd by A. and W. Mackenzie 7

say were necassarf proceedings. . . . One thing iha book bu a»-
^ed to do — to make capiidous eviction} !□ the Highlands in fCloie im-
posable."— Oian Timei.

"There aie few tales more pathetic than that of the thonssnds at
Sulheriand Croflera wbo .were driven from their native soil and turned oul
of the homes to which they had a tieller claim than ttiose who expelled
Ihem.' ' — A thai/tum .

" The events which are transpiring in Skye and Otbel districts in the
North of Scotland render this volume one of great national Inteiesl, and
oite which should be in the bands of all who desire to have an intelligent
acquaintance with the important questions involved. A great port of the
work deals with the events of past years, but these events are so closely
linked to (he present that they may be held to be of the most vital and
pressing interest. ... No one who shuts bis eyes to the facts which are
here recorded can claim (□ speak with any authority upon the land question
in the Highlands of SxaVisai"— Perths&irt ConstituHeKat.

• ' We heartily commend Mr. Mackenzie's volume of 538 closely-printed
pages as a valuable storehouse of information to all who are interested la
the grievances of the Highland Cmflers. , . . We would especially
advise those who have derived their ideas of the crofteis' grievances from
the grossly one-sided and sensational statements of (he Scotsman, to read
(he plain, unvarnished taleof Mr, Mackenzie, who has stndied the qaestioa
on the spot, and has n*persoiul interest to serve in misleading the pubhc"
— L^HJon Eehe.

"A page of history having a most deep and monmfnl interest. Wherever
and whenever recited the old (ale of the Highland Clearances will excite the
most intense horror and commiseration. . . . The present history may
be described as a carefutly-edi ted nu»«iw of all that is worth reading on (he
mdancboly topic in question." — Livtrfeel Daily Post.

" Mr. Mackenzie's volume shows how much of suffering and tragedy
belong to these Islands [Hebrides] and (he mountainous mainland which is
so fair to see. The History of the Highland Clearances contains a thousand
(iBgedies in ical life." — MiaiclusUr Bxatxintr.

" The publication of this work at the present time is peculiarly opportune.
. . . The author, who is profoundly versed in Celtic history, has col-
lected with care the opinions on the subject held by the most eminent
thinkers of Etuope. Moreover, while due attention is given to the past,
ample details bib famished as to the present. All who are anxious to
undeistand the unrest of the Hebrides may study Mr. Mackenzie's volume
with advantage."— A'raeai/iSr Cirenult.

"The value of the book Is greatly enhanced by the inclusion of the
statements of contemporary writers, just as they originally appeared.
Dot only because the evidence would have been less strong if it bad
been put In the words of the author, but also because some of the old
books referred to were outofprintand almostimpossibietoobtain. . . ,
Titf iriiole K017 is a record of a tyianuical lue of legal power* donbtlnlly

L,: ,.,i-,CH)Ogie

° Works Published by A. ahd W. Mackkkza

acqolRd. . , . We stronglj recommend the book to the attention of
all who desire to nnderstaad the portion taken up by the Highland Crollen
and their supported." — Mart Lumi Exfrat.

" It is not a novel, and yet (here ii that oorellj in the woik to make It
fascinating enough, even to ordinaiTRadeti. . . . Mi. Mackendedoet
not pretend to write the history ai his counti;, and yet be has sncceeded in
giving US some toy important facts which could not be found in any wodc
laying claim to tliat tiOe."^^74riiWirji Unitn.

" This ii an extremely interesting book. . . . Mr. Macketlde, Kying
in the present as well as in the post, carries on his thrilling nairatite down
to the oppression of the Skye Crofters of to-day, and bis statement all
through, Erom first to Ust, is nothing less than a ghastly iccord of landlord
rapacity and tenant suBering. . . . The details of Iha Sutherland
Clearances are barrowing, and they read like a description of the perfcr-
mances of our own crowbar brigade in the bmine period. The ruthless
violation of rights, the oppression, the barbarous heartlessness, the tyranny,
the legalised wrong-doing, the misery, and the wrelcbedness were the same
in both countries. The landlord greed was the same in both, and the
odious cant about cootracts . and God's mysterious dispensations were the
same also." — Fretman's yoiimal.

"Mr. Mackeniie's ' Hisloiy of the Highland Clearances,' In some
respects, tells even a more terrible tale than do the records of Irish eviction,
aod hi all respects goes to prove that landlordism is as deteslalde an institu-
tion in Scotland as in Ireland." — Tlu NalieH.

Recmtly Puilished, in Paper Covers, price One Shilling,

THE TRIAL OF PATRICK SELLAR,

FACTOR ON THE SUTHERLAND ESTATES

(Prom 1810 to 1S18),

FOR THE CRIMES OF

COLPABIE HOMICIDE, REAL mJURY, AND OPPRESSION,

Befart tkt Cauri afJiaUdarj, luld at Imotmat at tkt ^jrd
^ April, 1S16.

By the Hon. DAVID MONYPENNY, Lord Fltmilly.

Tie anginal Sefort, published in 1816, has Umg dien very ran, and
nkCH a copy turns up ii realises a very high price. Tlu present isttie it

limiiid.

A> ft W. Mackemzis, " Cdttc Hogadne " Office, lavemesfc

n„jN.«j-v Google

Works Published by A. and W. MACKENzia g

Only • few Cepiu remain, Price aj/ and 42/,

THE HISTORY OF THE MACDONALDS AND
LORDS OF THE ISLES,

wrm

AUTHENTIC GENEALOGIES OF THE PRINCIPAL

FAMILIES OF THE NAME,

B7 ALEXANDER HACKENZXE, P.S.A., Scot,

Editor of " Celtic MaKaiine,"

Anthor of "The History uid Gcneidcigies of the Clan Mackamc^"

" The Prophede* of the Bmhan Seer,"

" The Historical Tale* and Legends of the Highlands^"

" The Highland Clearances," Slc, &e.

Tit Wiri it ptMiikcd in Ont Vaiume of 534 faga, Dai^ Sntf,
prmted in dear, bald, elit-faeed type, on thick iontd paper, Rexhurgk
tlI'dHigt top gilt, uniform wilA " Tht Hiitory and Gemalogitt (f Iht
Ci^RJbrafitMnr," and the issue is limited to 425 copies^ DemySvo, ataj/,
~ ' ~~,, Demy 4to, at 41/ ; only a small number of which now remain

:sa''

OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.

"This is, beyond all question, Mr, Mackenrie's chtf-feemire—m
crery sense the completest and best clan histoir that has ever been
written. If Mr. Mackenzie, instead of the great deal that he has other-
wise done for Celtic literature and the elucidation of folk-lore, had done
no more than give us this history of one of the best and brAvest of High-
land dans, he wonld, by this work alone, have richly merited the grati-
tude and goodwill of every gcnerom and, gcnmne Celt at home and
■broad. If the reader has not already supplied himself with a copy of
diis work, we wonld take leave to hint that his library, whatever dse it
Kay contain, is to t)e considered very laijely incomplete until he has
added to it Mackenzie's 'History of the Macdonalds and Lords' of the
laics'." — " Ndhtr-L^haber" in Iht Jnvemai Courier.

" The anthor deserves credit for the industry and research which he
has employed in tradng the respective pedigrees of the three great High'
land families of Sleat, Glengarry, and Clanranald, from 'the Royal
Somerled ' of the twelfth centory down to the present day. If there i>
■ good deal of disputable matter in hi* PBges there b also much stdid
smd interesting iniormation. , . . The vroik it one which no fiitiutt
historian of Celtic Scotland will be in a poution to overlook." — St^

' " Show* deep fcMan^ baa family annal*." — Glasgen Ntat, '

n,gN..(jNGoogie

10 Works Pubushed by A. and W, Mackbmzih.

" AltboD^ it hu iUTolved enormoDS woric. U b well worth all the
' '"' '■ ir Rnd his patrons. The histoiy

. __ moat searchioglji, and acolleo-

tian of moat Talnable Infonnatioa hu been obtained, and has been pre*
tmted u attnctivcl;, we daie say, as cculd be possible under tht
drclimituicei. All the dan are under a debt of obligatioa to Hr.
Mackenzie for his painstaking and skilful work. The book ii got np in
a mbstaatial vaA hindsome style." — Daiiy Resiaa.

' ' ' The Hiltoiy of the Macdonalds and Lords of the Isles ' is a per*
feet example of what a eeaealogical work should be. . . . The
labonr involved in preparing Bach a work can only be adequately appre-
daled by those who have been engaged in similar pursuits ; yet thoi^h
we have tested the genealogies given by Mr, Mackeniie rather sevemy
we have found them invariably correct. His discrimination in bringing
his vast stores of knowledge to bear upon his subject has enabled him to
make his work authoritative. Those acquainted with his literary style
know that he has the rare art of making dry topics interesting and
cloudy points luminous ; and the many thrlUiug and pathetic anecdote*
of bis heroes which he weaves into the history serve to transform what
would otherwise be a musty genealogy into an enlrandng ' tale of the
day* of other yean '. From Somerled, the celebrated Thane of Argyll,
he traces the descent of the family of Macdonald in all its braochei to
the present date. His work is certain to become the foundation irf all
fature writings upon this subject" — DuruUt Aducrtair.

"A monument of laborious investigation. . * . The three diitf
bouses of the clan — Sleat, Glengarry, and Clanranald — with their cadet
o&hoots, will find their respective pedigrees and histories given in A
fbller and fairer manner in this book than in any other single work.
. . , It is a valuable contribution to the rapidly accumulating of
Gaelic history vnitten in English," — Nerihtm Chreaiele.

' ' Gives evidence of a great deal of care and research, the bert
anthorit; in existence on the subject. It is highly interesting, matt
carefiilly written, ezhauitive, and the best that was ever written."—
Mirtitm Stuign.

" Not less painstaking accurate, and exhaustive than its pradecesior.
. . . The History at tBe Macdonalds, like its predecessor, is char-
acterised by a painstliking fullness and Inddity of statement that l^v«
nothing to DC desired. Sir, Mackenzie seems to have overlooked no
source <d information ; and be know* bow to use the abundant materials
which bis painstaking industry has accumulated. " — Granixi Tdtgr^A,
' ' Those who have foUowed this history must have been stmck by the
careful research and literaiy ability displayed by the antbor, and when
completed it will take it* iHaoe among the standard works relating to
the History of the Hi^hlnnds, . . . The patjent historical leseaidi
and literary ability which has previotisly chaiactccised it is agtun mb-

r' moni, a list of^the authorities qnoted showing tlie enonnoas amoont
labonr which must have been .bcftowed npon it* com[nl«tiaa.'' —
JmvtrgBrdan Tima. .-•

"Hr, Mackende has afaesdy shown that he is wdl able to gra^l*
with tbe papledng details of Clan bistcsy, and in the work bdlim «

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Works Published by A. and W. Mackbhzik f.

be presents th« molts of his invetEigitions in a wsy that ii so fiill, clar,
Biid interesting, that tbe book at once takes its position as the leading
aDtfaority on tlie subject. . . . . It is a work wbich must have
oott enonnouB labour, but Mi. Mackenzie seema to have entered upon
liis task with true Celtic enthusiasm, and be has Bccomplished it in B
■way that wilt add considerably lo his leputation as a wnter of Clan
Histories. "—ArCij*<re Cenitilulioiial.

"The work is most creditable, and the Large Paper Edition an
antaxaeaV—CharlaFraier-Matiinloih, F.S.A., Scot., M.F.

Rsently PuUiihed. price 7/6, Issue limUed in 150 Copies,

THE MACDONALDS
CLANRANALD,

BY

ALEXANDER MACKENZIE, F.S.A., SCOT.,

Editor of tbe "Celtic Magazine," Author of "The Histoty and Genea-
logiea of the Clan MaelEeazje," " The History of the Maedonalds and Lords
of the Isles," "Tbe Prophecies of the Braban Seer," "The Historical Tales
and Legend* of tbe Highlands," "The Highland ClearBnces," etc, etc.

IWBKHHSS I A. ft W. MACKENZIE.
Steently FtMshed, price 7/6, Jssue limitai ta 1 50 Cofiiet,

THE MACDONALDS

GLENGARRY.

ALEXANDER MACKENZIE, F.S.A., SCOT.,

Editor of Ilu "Cdtio Magadne,'* Author of "Tlie History andOene*-

logtesoftbe Can MackemJe,' " The History of the Macdonalds and Loid«

of (be Isles," "ThePiophedeicf the BnlianSeer,* " The Hiiloiiol T*1m

udL^g^dj of the Highlands," ''Tlie Hl^itand Qearaoces," et(x> etc

IirrxKHESi I A. k W. MACKENZIE.

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n WOIKS PUBUSHID BY A. AKD W. MacKBKZIS.

ONLY IE COPIES REMAINING— PRICE lO/e.

HISTORY AND GENEALOGIES OF THE
MATHESONS:

By ths SAUK Adtrok.

OrJertto detititiB

A. & W. MACKEKZIE, INVERNESS.

SECOND EDITION. NOW SEADV, Pric4 3u6d.i fy Peit. 3$. pd.,

THE LIFE OF FLORA MACDOHALD,

AND HER ADVENTURES WITH PRIKCE CHARLES.
BT the late Rbv. ALEXANDER MACGREGOR, M.A.

BtAlzxandek Mackenzie, F.SA., Scot., "E^tot at Ctltit Atag<a,

PUBLISHBKS:

A. & W. MACKENZIE, CelHc Magazine Office, Invksmess ;
m THROUGH jure B

N Google

Works Published by A. and W. Mackenzie. i3
LIFE OF. FLORA MACDONALD.

OPINIONS OF THE PRESS OF THE FIRST EDITION.
"The first complete and aulhentJc actount ot Flora MacdonaM's life, a-rf
btf EaeDiorable achlevemeal in coalriving the escape ot Charles Edward, that
baa yet been writlen. . . . Tbe narralive is written Id a Angularly ^mple

._J „.__...;. .1. „_J ...J_......J... ( ,..-u. ...;. ;-_ .J Ujg

" Tbe book ii one of great value, occupying a anlque place as the only
Mtdioijtive life of a woman whose heroic conduct has won universe admiratioa.
. . . Alimited number has been thrown off iu a superior style of paper and
Unding, with the &ne bread maigin which readers prefer who are in tne habil
of makiiig annotations. ... No wdl-fumished library can afford to di^
peme with it" — Itttitrmea CmirUr,

e met with in the most

""nie adfenluret of Flora Macdonald . . . have never been recounted
irithaoohandnuteiBgardfortruCh as bythe present writer."— Oiaa Ttltgrapk,

" No better contiftmtian to the hlstorr of tbe stirring times of the middle of
Ian oeotoiy than an authenticated account of Flora, and her share in Che events
of her time, could bardljr, at ibis dme of day, be given to the world. . . .
Hm adventmcs are most graphically given. . . . The interest is sustained
thron^out, and the whole narrative is in ' interest and sensatioc ' more like a
masterpiece of ficlloit than the relation of real events in a lonely comer of the
Highlands. . . . It is a volume unexcelled in interest, of considerable
lIleiBiy eicelleace, and invaluable to all who desirale a correct knowledge of
thdr country's hiscorlcal characters." — Brechin Advirtisir,

." The vay noblest romance in all oui history is-the stoiy of Flora Mac-
donald— Bilr. Macgiegor's life of tier smacks of the Highland hills, and there is
A toudi of Highlit music in it as from some old time hatpischord that few
can taay.*— CrwBMK* Advirtiscr.

"A pleMUitlT written and most interesting volume, the a^i really

■ntheatic and trustworthy History of Flora Macdonald i

. . . Stripped of every shred-of- sensational fiction, and yet more

intmstmg to me thoughtful reader, and even more ^nuinely romantic

w a simple narrative of well-authenticated facts, than if presented to our

attention with all the embellistmients of ballad poetry and romance." —

Ndhtr-Ijichaba:

"FM of vitality and tealiwn.'—A'artAo-B Ckrvnicli.

" "Die simple and unaflceted stvle of the QBnutive lends an additional <AanQ
to H. Unfortunately the anlhor did not survive lo see his work through the
ntesi, and the appreciative memoir of his life prefixed to it by his fnend, Mr.
A. Mackende of the Celtic Magatint, forms a graceful tribute to his momoiy,"
— 'Daitdtt Advtriiilr.

"The only complete aulhenlie account of our distinguished oountiy-woman
that has yet been published, . , . Told with all the warmth of an enthusi-
Mtic admirer, and the grace of an accompUshed ytAtsi'—Ptrt/uhiri Cmiiitu-
timuU,

Fmr COFIBS were printed on large paper, crown quarto, fine thick qoalilf,
gMrf* bandioma margin, of which only a very few copies now remain.
FHoBOftblsqiedal edition, 73. 6d.i by Post, 8s.

14 Works Pobushkd by A. and W. Uackxnzik.

Third Edilio*, uniform ail/t " Flora MacdataU attdPriiut CkarUt,"
- Price ax, ftd., by Po« ar, grf,,

THE PROPHECIES OF THE BRAHAN SEER

(Oolnnanch Odhu- FIohIcIh),
B; AI.EXANDER Mackenzie, F.S.A., Scot., Editor of llie CiiHc
Afagtaiiu, &c, &c
Wtb an Appendix of 66 pges. on " Kigtaland Snpeistitioii, Second Sghl,
Fairies, Hallowe'en. Elniidism, U^lcbcisft, Sacred WeOi and Loclu, &c.,
ftc," by the Rev. Albxakdes Maccbegos, M.A.. iattxaca.
Abo,
A SHILLING EDITIOl^

IH PAPBS COVBIS.

OPINIONS OF THE PRESS ON THE FIRST EDITION.

"May be safely commended to the bven of Qhs marrelloia u a
tweet morsel" — SeeUnuii.

" Welcome with avidity thii trochim. " — Edinbtirgk Cmtrani,

" Remarluble prophecies. ... A cnrion* and readable book."
—Glosgam Htrald.

" A weird prediction foiMelling the dowubQ of the Seafinthi."— ~
Chamber]' I Jeurnai.

" A clump of wonders. " — Dunda Aivertistr.

•' Most wonderful fiilfilmeiiL "^PafUs Fritni.

" Very singular and interesting. " — Nerthern Emign.

" Remukable utterances — exact fiilfilment — hard nuts to omclc." —
Grtmaci T^tgraph.

" If you wish to know «U about the stoiy of Seaforth, which is told
with a terrible realism, get this book." — Pk^i Jmtmal,

"It is certain that such a prediction was prevalent before Its (alfit>
aent • > the coincidence was remarkable. " — Ittatmat Ctmritr.

FIPTV COPIES art primUi em Larp Pi^, Cnrnn Quarb, fint
thick quality, giving a kandiBme margin, un^rm viilk lie Larp Pa^
tdititme/" The Life ff Flitra Macdenald".

Price 7/6 ; by Poit, 8/.

PDBLisRnts I A. & W. MACKENZIE, iHvnmn,

■vGoogle '

Wducs fpwiiWHUn By A. and W. Mackenzie, ij
STARTED IN JULY, zSSs,

'-'The Scottish Highlander;

MMI FBIDA! IPIEBSOON, AT ONE PEHSI.

EDITED BY

ALEXAMDER MACKENZIE, F.S.A., Soot.

WK luwe for some time been strongl]' urged, from [nfluential quarten at
home and abroad, to take Che necessary steps for starting an Independent
Weekly Newspapra- in Inverness, for Ibe ^wdal pnipose of adiocatlng the
dainu and promoliiiK tbs inlereals of the Highland people.

It has lieen suggested that the present time is specially opportune lor a
movement in this direction ; and that our Mr. Alexander Mackeniie's special
knowledge of his countrymen, [heir history, and wants in the present crisis,
paints to bim as the most suitable to conduct such a paper.

Veiy liberal support has now been offered, and as nothing was wanting
to induce us and Mr. Mackenzie to move in the matter, but a certainty that
the paper should be widely and energetically supported by Highlanders,
and by their numerous friends at home and abroad, we have reiiolved to
icait Ibe paper ; tor which suitable offices have been spedally erected in
High Street, Inverness.

All who feel interested in the portion and prospects of the Highland
people ; and who care for the Language, Literature, Traditions, and the
Diaterial interests of a noble but ill-used race, will, il is hoped, aid us in
making the paper a complete success.

It IS believed that the manner in which the CetHc Magatitu baa been
conducted to such a successfid issue, will be accepted as a siimcieni guarantee
that the same prudence, firmness, and energy which secured that success
will be applied. With even greater results, to the conduct of a Highland
Newspaper.

The friends of the Highland people are satisfied— since the Report of
the Royal Commission has been issued and fully considered — that the real
work of those who demand and will insist upon a change in the present
Land Laws is only beginning in earaest. This points strongly to the
neoestity of Highlanders having a spedal and powerful organ of their own
to advance their claims, not merely in the Highlands but in influential
quarters in the South and abroad.

A Gaelic Department will form a feature of the paper ; and special
attention will be given to District News from every Strath, Glen, and
Hamlet, where Highlanders are to be found.

The paper wW consist of Sixteen Pages Iblio. and will be issued EVESZ
Fbidat Aftkhnoon, at One Penny,

Orders for the paper should be forwarded to

A. a W. MACKENZIE.

C4IIU Mt^tmit* Office, High Sueet, Inverness.

■vGotjgIc

i6 Works Published bv A. ahd W. Mj^cKBHa&
In the Press — Price js. 6d. By Post, js. fid,

"Inverness before Railways."

Br

ISABEL ANDERSON

This work win consist of Four Chaplcis. The Snt wfll be Jargdj fatei^

spersed wilh interesting anecdotea, illustrative of Oid iDvenwss Mannen
and Customs, and the changes wliich have taken place during the last half
centuiy. The Second Chapter deals with the Buildings and Walks of
Inverness in the Olden lline ; their Histoiy and Associations ; the next
pcesents Pen-and-ink Representations of Oid layerness " Cbatacters," and
embraces such well-known names as, the late Laird of Dalmigavie and his
sisler, Mrs. Fyvie, Miss Cwynnc (Fort- Augustus) ; Phinnjr Mackintosh,
Miss Annie and Miss Peggie Grant (Kilmonivaig) ; '' Dandj Charlie," Ibe
Laird of Inshes, Gordon Cumming', Captain Finch, and many others. The
concluding Chapter will also awaken very interesting memories, dealing as
it does with ''The Wanderers of Old Inverness," of whom there were not a
' few well-kDown to local fame. Among the number pourtrayed are Nanny
Do Dolan, Walter Sim, and Walter Leiy. Altogether, the work must
prove highly interesting to readers in general, and very specially so to tMd
Invemessians, who can recall the days when these social fossils hved and
mo»ed, as well as to the present generation of tnveraessianSi who will read
wilh warm hiierest aboat the scenes, and men, and rnanners, of the town
before the advent of Railways to the Northern CapitaL

TSS ISSUE IS UMITED.

rHB PUBLIEHBBS,

A. & W. MACKENZIE,

"CELTIC MAGAZINE" OFFICE, INVERKESS.

Works Published by A. and W. Mackenzie. 17

CrpDH Jbr>, Clsth,titfagtt,sa. BjiPert.S'- <U1

lIKETCHES OF THE CHARACTER, INSTITDTIOKS, AND
CDSTOHS OF THE HIGHLANDERS OF SCOTLAND.

MAJOR-GENERAL DAVID STEWART OF GARTH.
NE W EDITION.

This book is admitted by all the authorities to be by far the best book ever
wriilen on the Highlands.

Profeasoi Blackie says that ' ' its excellence sbioea forth on evety page " ;
while Ibal true patriot and noblci-Bpirited Highlander,

Mr. John Mackay, CE., Hereford, refers to it in the following tennl ; —
" Without any doubt, Stewart's Sketches is one of the beat, if not the very
best, on the subject. It has formed the groundwork for all the subsequent
publications on the Highlands and Highland Clans. It ought lo be in the
hands of every Highland lad ; on the book-shelf of eve^y Highland home,
next to the Hble. It is iovaluable to eve:y one who 'desires to know all
about the heroic past of the Highland people. The author, bom amongst
the hills of Perthshire, was reared amidst the people he loved so well,
respected so much, before they became contaminated with Sajion ideas and
maimer?, before chiefs divorced themselves from their retainers, before
sheep became the golden image to be worshipped, before the lust for gold
look the place of love for the people, and respect and affection for the

fallant defender? of their country in danger ; when willing hands and brave
earts, like himself, were pouring out, year after year, from every hill and

conquer or die for it on every battlefield from Fontenoy lo Waterloo. This
was Ibe heroic era of the Highlands aod Higblaaders. Well did they
deserve of their country and cUefs. General Stewart sets all this forth in
his Sketches, in his own kindly language. Fortunate it was for the High-
landers lo find in their midst such a tuslorian of their prowess and heroic
conduct as the gallant General, whose pen was as ready to do them justice,
and to record their valour, as his sword was keen lo lead them inlo battle.
.... Stewart's Sketches ough! to be found in every library, in the
hall or in the cottage. Every Highland lad should have the book in hb
hands as soon as he is able to read."

A. & W. MACKENZIE,

PUBLISHERS, "CELTIC MAGAZINE" OFFICE,
HIGH STREET, INVERNESS.

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1 9 Works Published by A. and W. Mackenzie

^ii Siilli ««iSii5i

(Establish SD in 1875),

WRITTEN ALMOST ENTIRELY IN ENQLISH,

Ana devoted to the Literature, Hisloiy, Antiquities, Folk-Lore, TradlBons,

aod the Moral aiid Material interests of the Celts at Home and Abroad,

Condncted bj ALEXANDER MACKENZIE, F.S.A. Scot,

HiuhanagaiK ENLARGED andi^lurwiitmialiiKtprsBtiL lliiitrwfrimUd
OH Tkki Paftr, m a aao/aiml ^cliar and held 0ld-/a4ld Tjtfl.

PRIOEInAdvance— Single Numbered. I Price Per Annum W

Priacipal Sfaajrp ; Professor Blackie ; His Grace the Duke oF A^yD ; Rev.
Alexander Stewart, F.S.A. Scot., " Nelher-Lochaber; " Charies Fraset-
Maekincosh, M.P., F.S.A. Scot. : Res. Thomas Maclauchlan, LL.D.,
F.S.A. Scot. ; late Rev. Alexander Macgregor, M.A, ; late Archibald
Faiquharson, Tiree; late Rev. George Gilfillan ; late Dr., Buchan ; late

tohn Cameron Macphee, President, Gaelic Society of London ; late D. C,
lacpherson, Advoi^les' Ubraty ; late Alexander Fraser, Registrar ; Rev.
P. HalelTWaddell, LL.D. ; Patrick Macgregor, M.A., Author of "The
Genuine Remains of Ossian": Hector Maclean, Islay: Nigel Macneil ; H.
Gaidoi, Editor Reimi Cilliqui. Paris; Rev. John Macpherson, Lairg;
William JoUt, Her Majesty's Inspector of Schools ; William Allan ; Mary
Mackellar ; Evan MaoColl ; Charles Mackay, LL.D. ; D. Macgregor Crerar,
New York; Ndl Macleod; Rev. And. D. Mackeniie, M.A.. Kibnoiack ;
Lachlan Macbean ; WiUiam Mackenzie, Secretary of the Gaelic Society of
Inverness ; Rev. Tohn Darroch, M.A. ; James Barron, F.S.A. Scot., Editor
aiMxInvemeitCoKriir; Rev. A. C.Sutherland, B.D. ; Rev. John Dewar,
aD., Kilmartin; John Mackay, C.E. ; Rev. Alex. Cameron, Brodick;
Lachlan MacdonaM of Skeabost ; John Mackeniie, M.D., ex-Provost of
Inverness; K. Macdonald, F.S.A. Scot., Town-Cleric of Inverness; H. C.
Macandrew, F.S.A Scot. ; Charles Innes, Chairman of Inverness School
Board ; Thomas Sirallon, M.D., R.N. ; Alex. Mackay, Edinburgh ; Wm.
Bcockie, Sunderland ; J. S. Tenam, M.A., Oxon. ; late James i&cknigbt,
W.S. ; Rev. Allan Sinclair, M.A. ; Rev, John Sinclair, B.D. ; Angus Mao-
"ihail ; A, C. Cameron, M A, ; Alex. Mackintosh Shaw, '-'' ' ■"" -

g

Angel,'" &s. ; George Cupptes ; "M, A. Rose;" Rev. Archibald Mac-
donald : Major James D. Mackenzie of Findon ; Colin Chisholm, ei-
Presidentof the GaeUc Society of London; Major-General A. Stewart Allan,
F.&A. Scot ; Captain Colin Mackensie, F.&A. Scot. ; Donald Macleod,
M.A ; Rev. A. Maclean Sinclair, Nova Scotia; Farquhar Macdonald, the
Poet; Donald Ross. Nova Scotia; George Miller Sutherland, F.S.A. Scot;
late Angus Macdonald, the Gaelic Bard ; Rev. Archibald Qerk, LL,D. ;
Rev. Donakl Masson, M.A., M.D. ; Mary T. MacColl ; John Campbell,
Ledaig ; W. A. Sim ; Alex. Logan ; Charles Ferguson ; Riev. A. Macgregor
Rose, and many others.

Thi Magatini is couducttd entirely apart from Politics in CAurtA and StaU,
ititltrj OMd Gtmiaiagy of Uigkiand Familitt art iiading ftattu-a, [OVEB.

Works Published by A, and W. Mackenzie, jg
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.

This magarine. having a spedfic character, and illusirating the hirtotj
anil (radilions of the Highlands, occupies a place which no other magaano
can supply. The Editor may be congratulated on the success it has
attained. Jx has already made foi itself a position in periodical lileiaturo.
— lavemtst Cimritr.

The continued supply of piquant and atlraetive papers proves that In
Gaelic legendary and historical lore there is a valuable vein which will repay
the working, and which augurs well for the future volumes of this well-edited
and speciaUy hiteresting periodical.— C/i^^no Herald.

Abty conducted by Alexander Mackenzie, F.S.A., an enthusiastic High-
lander, who thoroughly understands the traditions, halnts, and desires of
the Celtic people. It appeals to all who take an interest in matters litetaiy,
scientific, or social, pertaining to Che North. That il has taken bold of the
public mind a evident. The letterpress is of a high character . , . .
The wiiting is altc^ether vigorous and sensible, and bespeaks even a

le Magaiine. — Duniet Advii

We cut and read the pages of this, the enlarged series, with a. feeling of
admiratbn for the enterprise of the Editor, mingled with doubt as to the
wisdom of giving such a quantity of excellent matter on paper of the best
quality and type of the ' ' aged portion " fount for the low price of this
Magoane. The Ciilii: is fast becoming a national periodical, and the
present number should tend to double its constituency. It is the best wo
have lead, and that is saying a good deaL — O&art Times,

The contents are rich both as to variety of subject and quality. Its
MicceU has transcended the most hopeful expectations of its most sanguine
friends .... Mr. Mackenzie, the laborious Editor, exhibits tact and
industry ot a high order in the production of a work which, to the uninitiated
Lowlander, might seem to have a hmited basis ; but perusal will convince
the reader thai Gaelic literature is not by any means so restricted in its
range as might ignoranlly be supposed. — Greenock Teligmph,

journal of Scotland

speaking people, and to those who do not speak

that language, it possesses attractions of a high order. Being greatly en-
larged and otherwise improved, the journal should receive a great "

of popularity. — Creauxh Advtrlistr.

St strength and vigorous efficiency.— Zj'nimrii

i The Editor seems determined, if possible, to improve the contents of his
publication. We are far from saying that they were in need of being iot-
provcd. . . . Il is full of splendid articles. — liroergordon Timtl,

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20 Works Pubushkd by A. and W. litACKENziB.

Id a flourishing state both at home and in tbe colonies.-— Ariiiitir*

CmulitutiintaL

As usual the contents are valuable and interesting, not only to those
guage, literature, a "
ad^ ... la
h the appreciation i

" This popular and ably-conducted Magazine appears in a form COD-
^de'rably ealari^ed and improved. . . . warranleil from the continued
success which has attended it Trom tbe first — a success which must lie hiahly
gratifying to all Hij^hUnders and lovers of Celtic literature. The subjects
4re tr^ted in a manner which entitles the CtUic to be ranked among tbe
leading Magaunes of tbe day." — Rethtiay Eipna.

" A very able monthly periodical. Peculiarly interesting; and instnictivt
There is a conticued supply of piquant and attractive papers." — Coliraiiu

something of pleasure, profit, o

"In affordinj!; a means of interchan;^ of opinion among students o(
phi!oiozy and admirers of Celtic literature, the Maganne is doing a good
vrorlc, deserving of all the success It has attained. All the articles are welt
wntlen." — Naocaslii Chrotiicli,

" Its general eicellency has exceeded our expectations.'— flafanwu.

We have ancere pleasure in commending this able, interesting, and
~ "' e Magazine to all who take an interest in the literature and
of the Gael"— 0*fl« Tiligrafh.

" We are glad to Bee this well-edited Magaiine conducted with all tha
vigour and freshness which characterised it from the beiinning. The Editor
displays great care and judiment in the selection and arrangement of bis

d a Tciy large circnbtion."—/*-

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