ENTERING THE HIGHLANDS.
The Highland district of Scotland occupies almost the whole of the
western part of the island north of the valley of the Clyde. It consists
of mountains, glens, and lakes, with roads winding in every direction
through and among them. Of course the number of different Highland
excursions which a tourist can plan is infinite. Most visitors to
Scotland are, however, satisfied with a short tour among these
mountains, on account of the great uncertainty of the weather. Indeed,
as it rains here more than half the time, the chance is always in favor
of bad weather; and the really pleasant days are very few.
The valley by which tourists from Glasgow most frequently go into the
Highlands is the valley of Loch Lomond. The lower end of this lake comes
to within about ten miles of the Clyde. The upper end of it extends
about twenty-five miles into the very heart of the Highlands. There is
an inn at the lower end of the lake, that is, the end nearest the
Clyde, called Balloch Inn. At the upper end of the lake is another
resting-place for travellers. A small steamboat passes every day through
the lake, from one of these inns to the other, touching at various
intermediate points on the way, at little villages or landing-places,
where roads from the interior of the country come down to the lake.
From Balloch there is a railroad leading to the Clyde, though it does
not extend to Glasgow. Travellers from Glasgow come down the Clyde in a
steamer about ten miles to the railroad landing. There they take the
cars, and proceed down the river, along the bank, amidst scenery of the
grandest and most beautiful character, to Dunbarton Castle, where the
road leaves the river, and turns into the interior of the country,
towards the valley of Loch Lomond.
The road terminates at Balloch. Here the travellers are transferred to
the steamer, and pursue their journey by water. It was this route Mr.
George had determined to take on leaving Glasgow.
He got ready to leave Glasgow on the afternoon of a certain Thursday.
"Now, boys," said he, "we are ready to go to the Highlands. Find out for
me when the boats and trains go, while I settle the bill."
So saying, Mr. George rose and rang the bell.
In Europe we do not go down to the office or bar room, when we are ready
to leave a hotel, to call for and settle our bill there, as we do in
America, but we ring the bell in our room, and ask the waiter to bring
the bill to us.
"I have found out already," said Waldron. "There is a boat at four
o'clock. It starts from the Broomielaw."
"And is there a train that connects with that boat?" asked Mr. George.
"Yes, sir," said Waldron.
"Then," said Mr. George, "we will go at four o'clock; we shall just have
time."
I am not certain that Waldron was entirely honest in giving this
information to Mr. George, for he concealed one very important
circumstance; or rather he omitted to mention it. This circumstance was,
that there was no boat from Balloch to connect with the train, so that
if they were to go to Balloch that night, he knew that they could not go
any farther till the next morning. He liked this, for he and Rollo had
both begun to be tired of Glasgow, and he thought that if they should
get to Balloch two or three hours before dark, there might be some
chance for him and Rollo to go out fishing on the lake.
Very soon, however, he reflected that he should enjoy his fishing less,
if he resorted to any thing like artifice or concealment to obtain it;
and so, after a little hesitation, he frankly told Mr. George that they
could go no farther than to the foot of the lake that night. There was
only one boat each day, he said, on the lake, and that left Balloch in
the morning, and returned at night.
Mr. George said that that made no difference. He was tired of being in a
great city, and would like to see the country and the mountains again;
and he should, therefore, prefer going to spend the night at Balloch,
rather than to remain in Glasgow.
So the party set off. They embarked on board the steamer at the
Broomielaw. They ran rapidly down the river to the railroad landing.
They found the train waiting for them there, and were whirled rapidly up
the valley. There were most charming views of the mountains on either
hand, with hamlets and villages scattered along the slopes of them. At
length they arrived at Balloch. There was no village here, but only a
pretty inn, situated delightfully on the margin of the lake, very near
the outlet. There was an elegant suspension bridge across the outlet,
very near the railroad station. There were several thatch-covered
cottages near, and two or three castles were seen through openings
among the trees on the hill-sides around. As the party crossed the
suspension bridge, Rollo and Waldron, to their great delight, saw
several boats floating in the water near the inn, and there was a boy on
the bridge fishing over the railing. They stopped to talk with this boy,
while Mr. George went on to engage rooms at the inn, and to order a
supper.
When the boys came in they gave such fine accounts of the fishing on the
lake, and of the facility with which they could obtain a boat, and a
boatman to go out with them, that Mr. George was half persuaded to allow
them to engage a boat, and to go out with them for an hour or two.
"And we want you to go with us, too," said Waldron, "if you can; but if
you have any thing else to do, we can go by ourselves, with the
boatman."
"Yes," said Rollo, "and if you think it is not best for us to go at all,
we can fish on the bridge."
Mr. George was much pleased to hear the boys speak in this manner in
respect to the excursion. He was particularly glad to hear Waldron say
that he desired that _he_ should go with them. It is always an excellent
sign when a boy wishes his father, or his mother, or his uncle, or
whoever has the charge of him, to go with him, and share his pleasures;
and those parents and uncles who take an interest in the plans and
enjoyments of their children, and sympathize with them in their
feelings, in such a manner that the children like their company, place
themselves in a position to exercise the highest possible influence over
their conduct and character.
"Shall we have time?" asked Mr. George.
"Yes, sir," said Waldron. "It is not dark here till half past ten, and
it is only half past six now, so that there are four hours."
The farther you go north the longer the evenings are, in summer; and at
the time when our party made this visit to the Highlands, the evenings
there were so long that you could see to read very well till nearly ten
o'clock. The dawn, and the sunrise, too, come on proportionately early
in the morning. The boys forgot this one morning, and finding that it
was very light in their room when they woke, they got up, and dressed
themselves, and went down stairs, thinking that it was nearly breakfast
time. But they found, on looking at a clock in the hall of the inn, that
it was not quite three o'clock!
But to return to the story.
Mr. George told the boys that if they would arrange the boat party,
that is, if they would engage the boat and the boatman, and also some
fishing lines, he would go with them. They would have supper first, and
then set out immediately afterwards.
This plan was carried into effect. Mr. George himself cared nothing
about the fishing. His only object was to see the lake, and talk with
the Highland boatmen. Still he took a line and fished a little, for
company to the boys. The excursion proved a very pleasant one. The lake
was beautiful. The surface of the water was studded with pretty islands,
and the shores were formed of picturesque hills, which were every where
adorned with cottages, castles, groves, fields, and all the other
elements of rural beauty.
The excursion itself was very much like any fishing excursion in
America, only the peculiar dialect of the boatman continually reminded
the travellers that they were in Scotland. For "I don't know," he said
"I dinna ken;" for "trouble" the word was "fash," and for "not," "na."
The boys had heard this phraseology before. The railway porter, when he
put Mr. George's valise in the carriage, crowded it under the seat,
where he said it would not "fash the other travellers;" and at the inn,
where Mr. George asked the servant girl if she would let them know when
their supper was ready, she said, "Yes, sir, I will coom and tak ye
doon."
Waldron enjoyed the fishing excursion very much indeed. He said that he
should like to make the whole tour of Scotland in a boat, round among
the islands on the western and northern shores. These islands are,
indeed, very grand and picturesque. They are groups of dark mountains,
rising out of the sea. To cruise among them in a yacht would be a very
pleasant tour, were it not for the incessant storms of wind and rain to
which the voyagers would be exposed.
Waldron said he particularly desired to go to the Shetland Islands, on
the north of Scotland, in order to buy himself a pony.
"My father has promised me," said he, "that if ever he goes to the
Shetlands he will buy me a pony."
"I should like a Shetland pony," said Rollo.
"Yes," said Waldron. "They are very hardy animals, and then they are
very docile and gentle. Some of them are as gentle and sagacious as a
dog. I read a story in a book once of one that saved the life of a
child, by plunging into the water, and seizing the child by the clothes,
between his teeth, and bringing it safe to land. The child fell into the
water off of a steep bank, and the horse jumped after it."
[Illustration: THE SHETLAND PONY.]
Here is a picture of the horse which Waldron read about, climbing up the
bank of the stream, bringing the child.
The party returned from the fishing excursion about eight o'clock; but
as it was still half an hour before sunset, Mr. George proposed to take
a walk to one of the castles. The waiter at the hotel had told them that
he could give them a ticket, and then the porter at the castle would let
them in at the gate, and allow them to walk about the grounds and
around the castle, but they could not go into it, for the proprietor and
his family were residing there.
Accordingly, when the party reached the landing, at the end of their
excursion, they left the boat, and walking across the bridge, they took
their course towards the castle. The road was as smooth and hard as a
floor, but it was bordered by close stone walls on either side, with
trees overhanging them. At length, after one or two turnings, they came
to the great gate which led to the castle. The gateway was bordered on
each side with masses of trees and shrubbery, and just within it was a
small but very pretty house, built of stone. This was the porter's
lodge. When they came up to the gate, and looked through the bars of it,
a little barefooted girl came out from the door of the lodge, and opened
the gate to let them in.
On entering they found themselves at the commencement of a smoothly
gravelled avenue, which led in a winding direction among the trees
through a beautiful park. They walked on along this avenue, supposing
that it would lead them to the castle. They passed various paths which
branched off here and there from the avenue, and seemed to lead in
various directions about the grounds. The views which presented
themselves on every side were varied and beautiful. They saw several
hares leaping about upon the grass--a sight which attracted the
attention of the boys very strongly.
At length they came in sight of the castle. It stood on a swell of
ground, at the foot of a high hill. The body of it consisted in part of
a great round tower, with turrets and battlements above. The walls were
covered with ivy.
After viewing the edifice as much as they wished, the party followed
some of the winding walks, which led in various directions over the
grounds; and, though every thing had a finished and beautiful
appearance, still the whole scene wore a very sombre expression.
"It must be a very solitary sort of grandeur, in my opinion," said Mr.
George, "which a man enjoys by living in such a place as this."
"Why, I suppose he can have company if he wishes," said Rollo.
"Yes," said Mr. George. "Perhaps he lives in Edinburgh, or in London, in
the winter, and in the summer he has company here. But then when he has
company at all he must have them all the time, and he must have all the
care and responsibility of entertaining them; and that, I should think,
would be a great burden."
Mr. George and the boys rambled over these grounds about half an hour,
and then they returned to the hotel. They were obliged to walk fast the
last part of the way, for dark, driving clouds began to be seen in the
sky, and just before they reached the hotel some drops of fine rain
began to fall.
"To-morrow is going to be a rainy day, I expect," said Rollo.
"Very likely," said Mr. George.
"And shall you go on over the lake if it is?" asked Rollo.
"I think we shall go as far as to the foot of Ben Lomond," said Mr.
George.