Page:A Companion and Useful Guide to the Beauties of Scotland.djvu/352

334 afflicted is dipped in the well, and afterwards tied (I believe naked) in the kirk hard by, and there left alone all night. If the saint comes and unties the poor object, and in the morning he or she be found loose, they are pronounced cured. I should imagine death, and no saint, in most instances, must break the cords of life, and thus release those unhappy sufferers. The inn at Tyndrum is a tolerable one for so desolate a place: when I was there, I was very fortunate in having arrived early in the afternoon, before a most violent stormy rainy night came on, and such a crowd entered, that at last every corner in the house, and out-houses too, was crammed. There is one large room, with two beds in it, shut up in cupboards; but as they roll out, I took possession of one of them, and had it drawn to the middle of the room, reserving the other for my maid. It happened that Falkirk fair was just over; many of the sellers of black cattle and sheep were on their return to the Western Highlands, and islands, and began to fill the inn. The rain and wind were excessive, and the night so dark, that it was impossible to see. In this dreadful weather, nothing but rap, rap, at the door. "Who comes?" was the frequent question: "Drovers,