A book of Highland minstrelsy . is any distinct tradition of the ancientHighlanders having, like the English, attributed the ferocity of this for-midable brute to the malevolence of an old woman in league with is not at all improbable, when we recall the number of animals whomthe more modern Highlanders endowed with supernatural the goat was supposed to have more than human sagacity, and tobe a secret ally of the fairies, to whom it betrayed the affairs of itsmaster, and enabled the elf to take the mortal at advantage. The magpiewas held to possess the gift of foreknowl
A book of Highland minstrelsy . is any distinct tradition of the ancientHighlanders having, like the English, attributed the ferocity of this for-midable brute to the malevolence of an old woman in league with is not at all improbable, when we recall the number of animals whomthe more modern Highlanders endowed with supernatural the goat was supposed to have more than human sagacity, and tobe a secret ally of the fairies, to whom it betrayed the affairs of itsmaster, and enabled the elf to take the mortal at advantage. The magpiewas held to possess the gift of foreknowledge, the hare had its influenceover events, and the cat was generally looked on as a witch in we have quite a similar superstition of more recent date, themountain-cat being almost as fierce and dangerous as the wolf. The Diii Moir, or Reay forest, is a wild and desolate region ex-tending over much of the western side of Sutherland, which has alwaysbeen famous for deer, and a variety of birds and beasts of THE WOLF (W EDERACHILLIS. A BOAT and a ghastly freight,A boat and a shuddering crew,— Where are ye bound so late ?What is the work ye do ?And whose is that face so thin and paleThat lies betwixt ye two ? Ci)e moU of (£t(ciaci)ini£i. 255 On Ederachillis shore Why do the women stand,Beating the swan-white breast, Wringing the farewell hand ?Why do their mingled cries and prayers Echo along the strand ? Why does that old man sage, In the name of the Holy Three,Solemnly bless the bark That now puts forth to sea ?And why do ye bind your fisher-coats With a cross of the rowan-tree ? To Handas isle we go With our silent freight, the dead ; UncofHned he lieth now, And the sea-spray wets his head ;For the couch of fir where he should liave lainWould sink our boat like lead. To Handas isle we go, Our graveyard in the deep,Where the tombs stand all a-row, Safe in that rocky keep ;And never a loot of man or brute Disturbs our kinsmens sleep. 256 CI)f moU of (JBt
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