Occasionally a man seized the hands of his partner, and sawed her up and down, as it were, before him; or, in taking the grand round in the reel, he would give a loud clap to the shoulders in advance, in sign of amicable encouragement. The reels now progressed in rapid succession. The five Miss Mac Neils were in constant requisition, being expected to dance with all who might claim the honour; the young men generally bowing low, and silently waiting for acceptance; but the old men of the glens, going up with some expression of homely endearment in Gaelic, would lead them away, holding their hand, or arm, in a triumphant grasp. Harold scarcely sat down after his initiatory reel; for the second, Ishbel led him up to the parish schoolmaster's wife, a good woman who could scarcely speak the English tongue; he asked her daughter to dance with him a third; and so on he went, heartily enjoying the capital exercise. Marchmoram and Auber mixed and moved through the scene, but did not join in the reels. They were both standing at the upper end of the barn, when Miss Christy approached, gesticulating in haste, her eye glancing along the seats. "Hiest ye, hiest ye!" she exclaimed. "The laird's waiting for a couple till dance, fornent him. Colonel, ye'll do fine! and she grasped Colonel Sternbotham by his arm. She waited for no reply or demonstration of refusal; but literally dragged him off. The pipes struck up-his voice was lost in the din, and he arrived, breathless with surprise and indignation, where Glenbenrough was already dancing. Miss Christy jostled him before her he was to be her partner. She caught hold of his hands, and calling out "Hie, hie!" with masculine enthusiasm began the sawing motion previously described. It was all accomplished in a few moments; but Esmé, who was standing near, saw the scene, sprang forward, and, releasing Colonel Sternbotham, substituted Ewen Mackenzie, with whom she had been about to dance. "Well, Miss Esmé, that was a gallant rescue on your part. I could not have ventured to dispute a prey with that strong lady." "Wasn't it absurd, Mr. Marchmoram? I think I must ask Colonel Sternbotham if he and Mrs. Sternbotham would not soon like to retire to the house. You are not tired of this yet, are you ? " 66 No, not in the least: why, I have not even danced. I have tried a little conversation, but I find the English tongue not favourable to it. only; and those who ligible." They almost all seem to speak Gaelic try English don't make it very intel No, there is no masculine in the Gaelic language; at least, they never translate it in speaking English: and if you asked even about the state of the weather, they would likely answer, 'She is a fine day.' Marchmoram laughed, as he answered, "Your remark reminds me of such an apropos absurdity. There was a huge black-bearded man seated in that direction a little while ago: there, I see him now. He had his arm rather affectionately placed round the waist of the slim little woman beside him; and, as I wondered if it was connubial or not, I asked him if he was a married man. He stared, and answered in stentorian voice, 'No, I am a Maa-ed man!' Fancy such a bachelor so profaning the sweet term of maid." Esmé could not help laughing, though she wished her poor countryman had not made such a fool of himself. She asked Marchmoram if he was not struck with the difference in personal appearance amongst the women present. 66 Yes, Auber and I especially noticed it; and we think the girls dispersed so few and far over the Dreumah country are more generally pretty than the tout ensemble here to-night. Some of these women are unfortunately plain." 66 Well, the two classes of plain and pretty in the Highlands divide very equally into agricultural and pastoral. I could point out the locale of the different women here almost from their appearance. Those old looking, weather-beaten women sitting on the other side, with their huge hands and ungainly figures, are all the sisters or wives of crofters; or they work as farm servants to the small arable tenants. They labour quite as hard as the men, and are exposed almost as much to the weather; they drive carts and load them, reap the corn, till the ground, and work from morning till night; they are ill fed, and lose all bloom and freshness at an early age. Those tall, erect women there, in a group, come from the hills beyond Dual Ghu, where herds of cattle feed on natural grass, and the goats scramble in flocks amongst the rocks; they make butter and cheese in their open-air dairies in summer, and spin the wool of their sheep in winter, and so have no rude labour to degrade them. All the country about Dreumah, not devoted to the deer, feeds only sheep and black cattle, so the people there are pastoral in appearance." Company now ceased dancing, and filed to the sides of the barn, as the Grieve now emerged from a side door with a large kettle in one hand and a glass in the other, two men following carrying plates of oat-cake. He approached Glenbenrough, and poured out a bumper of hot whisky toddy; other attendants appeared in succession, also carrying kettles, jugs, and glasses. Glenbenrough advanced to the centre, and then, uttering distinctly a few sentences, in Gaelic, of good-will and welcome to his people, quaffed off his bumper. A loud buzz and murmur ran round the room, as an old man, with long white hair and dressed in a suit of dark blue woollen, now advanced and, holding a glass full above his head, paused while glasses were filled round. He then with great gesticulation made a speech in Gaelic, and, clasping Glenbenrough's hand with one of his, turned and called out the Gaelic signal, at a toast, of "Neish, neish, neish! (now, now, now). The words were repeated with magic celerity by all the men, and then followed a burst of cheering, as they all drank to the clan of Mac Neil and the roof-tree of Glenbenrough. The excitement increased and subsided, then increased for several minutes. Some of the old men sprang forward and shook their beloved laird's hand; and exclamations in Gaelic and English continued, until all the people present had emptied their glasses: about a dozen of the latter doing duty for the whole company. Colonel Sternbotham saw Miss Christy drain off a glass-full, after three kilted men had just had the same glass at their lips. Miss Christy catching his eye in a glare of appalled interrogation, winked and nodded amicably to him from the distance. The colonel, shocked and disgusted, shut his eyes. "Whisky toddy will now make frequent circuit," Esmé said to Marchmoram; "there will be rounds after every few reels." She rose and went towards Norah, who was standing near the door with Lady Mac Neil and her cousins, and whispered a few words. Norah nodded, and Esmé stepped through the crowd of country people and went out at the door into the open air. CHAPTER VI. HIGHLAND CHARACTERISTICS. My golden flagons I would fill To many a sportive hour.-CAMPBELL. Ir was a still and lovely night, the moon shining in harvest brightness, and the pure cool air was a delightful change from the heated atmosphere of the barn, where the odours of peat smoke from homely garments, and the fumes of hot toddy were now becoming perceptible. The moonlight was brightening with its mellow radiance the grand scenery around, rocks and trees casting dark shadows that made the light appear more brilliant. The sound of the pipes and the shouts of the dancers came subdued on the open air as Esmé moved on to the road, and stood still for an instant. A step was heard, and Auber stood beside her. "Where are you going, Miss Esmé? You passed me like a ghost, as I stood without just now, also admiring this Highland moon." "I am going to the house to see if supper is ready, as Norah thinks Mrs. Sternbotham and Lady Mac Neil are tired," she replied; "and I shall tell Cameron to come and announce it as soon as possible. Do not come with me, for I must run." "And do you think I can't run, too, Miss Esmé ?" asked Auber, laughing. "Let us try who'll win the race." "Well-off!" Esmé laughed, and bounded forward like a young deer. They passed Florh with her son Huistan, the shepherd, who were coming thus late to the ball, from Lochandhu, and had just descended the Roua Pass. Florh turned and looked after Esmé and Auber flying side by side in the moonlight. She spoke in Gaelic to Huistan. "Where gaes my young roe with yon English fallow buck?" "Not far, ye may be sure, mither," Huistan replied: "its pretty rinning. “I dinna like the match." Florh said, drily. on to the dance." "Let us gae Auber's gallantry would not allow him to beat Esmé, and they reached the hall door together. Not many minutes after she re-appeared at the open door. "Good old Cameron promises to announce supper in halfan-hour, Mr. Auber, so I shall return to tell Norah now.' As they advanced, Auber suddenly started, and drew Esmé back by her arm, as an unearthly-looking spectre appeared in the path before them. Leaning against the trunk of a tall firtree, with head thrust forward as if intently listening, appeared a gigantic half-naked man, who waved them back with furious gestures. His face was gray and gaunt, and masses of coarse red hair hung matted to his shoulders; his naked brawny legs, covered with reddish hair, straddled Colossus-like in the moonlight. With his right hand he wielded a large gleaming hammer, and with the other he held together a grimy smoke-stained blanket, which formed his principal covering. "Hush!" said Esmé; "don't speak, Mr. Auber, it is Angus N'Ort (Angus of the hammer). The music from the barn is enraging him: he's not safe now." "How, in God's name, comes he here? What is he?" Auber exclaimed. "He's one of our fools," Esmé said, as she glanced nervously around for some way of getting past unobserved. Auber led her up the bank, and they passed close to him behind the trees, his eyes flashing restlessly in search of them. Suddenly he caught sight of Esmé's white dress, and, with a yell like a Gaelic battle cry, the madman darted from his tree and again stood in front of them. He threw his arms up vehemently in the air, and, foaming with rage, yelled out, "Approach not !-advance not! Hear ye the sound o' the timbrel an' dance? I'll cleave ye—I'll brain ye! I am here on the path o' the Lord to save ye from the perdition o' hell. Hear ye no hell in yonder? See ye no the flames from the door? Hear ye no the devilry of crackling mirth and the dancing of the damned within? See ye not Beelzebub blowing the pipes, and hear ye no the yowls o' the lost? Gae back, gae back! or I'll rend your souls out 'ere they gae dancing in there!" He made a rush up the bank, brandishing the hammer aloft. Auber had scarce time to exclaim in horror, when Esmé, disengaging herself from his protecting grasp, stood forward to meet the madman. Holding up her hands, she rapidly made the sign of the cross before him; as he advanced, she retreated |