THROUGH SCOTLAND WITH SANDY
The warm air of spring was pleasant. The Craig family's supper was
spread out before the door of their cottage. They ate outdoors so that
they could enjoy the beauties of the evening.
It would not be dark here until very late. Ian's father could sit
before his cottage door, reading his paper by daylight until almost
eleven o'clock.
Now it was only seven. Mrs. Craig was ringing a bell, which echoed
through the hills.
This was the way she called her husband and son to the evening meal.
Toward her came Ian, and some one was with him. Mrs. Craig strained her
eyes to see, but she could not make out the stranger's figure.
As they came closer, Ian ran toward his mother, calling, "Mother, I've
brought Sandy to tea!"
The old piper politely removed his cap and stood before Ian's mother.
"Your son has brought home an old traveler, mistress," he said.
Mrs. Craig smiled and, shaking Sandy's hand, said, "And glad I am, for
a friend of Ian's is welcome to the house of his mother. Sit down,
sir."
Ian told his mother the story of the lamb.
[Illustration: BARRIE'S "WINDOW IN THRUMS"]
He explained how, if he performed his task, he would by next spring be
the owner of bagpipes.
Mrs. Craig smiled at Sandy and said, "You trust the laddie, sir?"
Sandy MacGregor replied, "Ay; for will he not be a piper in the band
one fine day?"
Alan Craig and Roy soon returned, and Sandy was introduced to them.
After the little repast, Ian beckoned Sandy to him. Nodding his head
toward the hills, he said, "Come away and tell now about your travels
through Scotland, Sandy."
The two sat on the hill and watched the smoke curling up from the
cottage chimney. And while Sandy smoked his pipe he told Ian once more
of his wondrous adventures.
Traveling through Scotland is like going through many different
countries. For Scotland's beauties are varied. Here in the hollow is a
lovely, quaint village. Its thatched roofs and white walled cottages
make a picture sweet to behold.
As you go along, soon you pass the peaceful, hilly country and come to
rocky, steep, and rugged land. You might be in the mountains, for it is
wild and desolate except for the sheep, which are everywhere.
Around a corner, another village looms into space. This one is cold and
bleak. You pass through it without sight or sound of human beings. Its
buildings are tall, stony, and gray. In the center is a pump, where the
people come to draw their water, but no one is about.
With a shiver you pass on. As you gradually leave the village behind,
you find yourself again in pastoral land. Thatched cottages come into
view. Bluebells begin to dot the road. How sweet is the smell of hay
and cows and clover!
Once more a village, and now you wonder whether this can be the same
country. For in the narrow streets are children, dogs, women, peasants,
bicyclists, and more children.
Little girls walk along knitting. Everyone is walking in the middle of
the cobbled street. Sandy has difficulty in going through the crowd
with his cart.
This is Kurrimuir, better known as Thrums. It is the scene of many of
J. M. Barrie's delightful stories. Here on the corner is the dear
little cottage made famous by Barrie's "A Window in Thrums."
[Illustration: BOYS PLAY CRICKET IN SCOTLAND]
Passing a field, Sandy stops to watch some boys playing cricket. This
game is very popular in Scotland. All the boys play it, just as
American boys play baseball.
Doune Castle! Sandy climbs over the fence and starts up toward the
towering mass of rock. He thinks of the many battles fought around this
ancient stronghold. It was here that King Robert Bruce made some of
Scotland's history.
Stirling Castle! Another massive stone memorial of the days of
Scotland's stormy wars.
Sandy passes on until he comes to the city of Perth. Here he stops
before the old, old house in which lived "The Fair Maid of Perth," made
famous by Sir Walter Scott.
[Illustration: DOUNE CASTLE]
In St. Andrews is the oldest golf links in the world. From everywhere
people come to play the royal and ancient game. It is said that no
course is at all like the old course at St. Andrews.
As you perhaps know, golf originated in Scotland. St. Andrews is the
place where it started. Some say that it was first begun by the
shepherds. It is thought that they used to knock small stones with
their crooks as they strolled behind their sheep.
On went Sandy to Melrose. He passed the Eildon Hills where King Arthur
and his knights are supposed to be buried. This is the spot where, 'tis
said, Sir Walter Scott used to stop his horses every day.
He paused here because he loved to look at the glorious view behind.
His horses knew the spot so well that they would stop here of their own
accord. On the day of Sir Walter's funeral, when they were taking his
body to the Abbey, the horses stopped once more.
In Alloway is the house where the great Scotch poet, Robert Burns,
lived. Every day it is shown to hundreds of visitors, who pay to go in
and look at the curious old place.
Its quaint furniture and interesting manuscripts and pictures are all
connected with the beloved poet. In the gardens are statues
representing many of the characters in Burns' poems. "Poosie Nancy,"
"Tam O' Shanter," and many others are there.
Another town made famous by a Scottish character is Maxwelltown, or
Maxwelton, where Annie Laurie lived.
Passing an ancient graveyard, Sandy stops to marvel at some huge slabs
of iron. These are still kept to show how, in the seventeenth century,
the dead were held down in their graves.
[Illustration: THE HOME OF "THE FAIR MAID OF PERTH"]
These heavy slabs were put on top of the dead. This was done to keep
them from being dug up by robbers. The thieves would steal and sell
them to doctors and medical students.
The signing of the Covenant was to Scotland what the signing of the
Declaration of Independence was to America. It was the beginning of
freedom!
James VI of Scotland tried to force the people into his own religious
beliefs. They refused to be led. On the first day of March, 1768, in
the Old Greyfriars Churchyard, the Covenant was signed.
The signing was done on a flat gravestone, which is there to this day.
And so, just as America has a Liberty Bell, Scotland has a Liberty
Stone.
As Sandy's old handcart rattles through each little Scottish town, he
is impressed with the many bookshops he sees in his country. The Scotch
are enthusiastic readers. Their love and desire for education are
national traits.
Often Sandy passes young boys or young girls sitting by the roadside,
absorbed in their books. The colleges and schools of Scotland are fine
indeed.
When Sandy asks a direction, he is sure to receive a courteous reply.
The children who come to his side are polite and kind and anxious to
help. They will gladly do what they can for a stranger and do not ask
any pay in return.
Over many stores and buildings Sandy reads names which start with
"Mac," such as MacNiel and MacKenzie. He smiles as he thinks about
these names. He knows that these people, like himself, are the
descendants of the old clan leaders.
They gave the name "Mac," which means "son of," to their children. So,
if a clan leader was named Gregor, the children of his clan would be
MacGregor. In the olden days, the word "clan," which comes from an old
Gaelic word meaning "children," was like a great family. Their chief
was like a father, whom they all obeyed.
To-day, you no doubt know people named MacDonald, MacRae, etc. These
are the descendants of the "clansmen," as they were called.
Each clan has a tartan of its own. A tartan is what you would probably
call plaid. It is the heathery mixture of many colors and designs.
Each tartan is different from every other. To-day in Scotland you will
see the children wearing kilts or ties or tams made of their own family
tartan.
The town of Paisley is famous for its Paisley shawls. These are very
much admired by all the world and worn by ladies of fashion.
The Shetland shawls, also famous, are dear to old ladies, because they
are soft and warm. The Shetland ponies are dear to children, for they
are so little that they are more like large dogs than like horses. Both
come from the Shetland Islands, which are north of Scotland and are
ruggedly wild.
Through all of Sandy's travels he never saw the thistle, which is
supposed to grow so thickly in Scotland. The thistle, as you perhaps
know, is used on Scottish crests and banners. No doubt it existed, long
ago, but to-day it is nowhere to be found.
Here is Loch Drunkie, a queer name with a queer history. It was on the
shores of this lake that men made whisky--which was against the law.
One day the men saw officers of the law coming toward them. They knew
that they would be arrested if they were found out. To avoid arrest,
they emptied their whisky into the lake. People say that the waters
have remained half whisky from that day to this.
Sandy jogs along toward Aberfoyle. It is the day he delivers his
injured lamb to the mercies of his young friend. During this time, he
passes another "loch," the well known and much beloved "Loch Lomond."
Sandy stops on the shore. He gazes below on the shining blue waters,
upon which ply the tiny white steamers. He shoulders his bagpipes and
plays the melody known in every clime, "On the bonny, bonny banks of
Loch Lomond." Here the fairies were wont to dwell. A tale is told of
fairy dyers, who worked for the clans of Loch Lomond in the days of
yore.
[Illustration: "ON THE BONNY, BONNY BANKS OF LOCH LOMOND"]
A joke was once played upon the wee elfin folk by a boy. The lad asked
to have the fleece of a black sheep dyed white. Angered by this
request, the fairies overturned their pots of dye into the lake and
never more returned.
But the color from their dye turned the lake an unearthly shade of
blue. This color is different from that of all other lakes, and thus it
has remained.
Again Sandy pipes:
"For me and ma true love will never meet again
On the bonny, bonny banks of Loch Lomond."