Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 14, 1903.djvu/417

 Old- World Survivals in Ross-shire. 375

Rory, " You can hang every man in Ross-shire and bury them there in rows on the shore, and that won't keep the herrings away if they want to come." And he proceeded to explain learnedly to Ian and myself why the herrings had deserted the loch, which at one time had a flourishing fish- ing industry. And he wound up with, " It's only an ignorant Macdonald like yourself that would believe in any such old wives clash." Up rose Ian in a fury, and I am certain that memories of Glencoe lurked in his angry eyes as he shouted, " Pig of a Campbell, would you dare to call me ignorant? " And there is no saying how the quarrel would have ended if I had not laughingly interfered and turned the discussion into other channels. And yet ignorant Sassenachs declare that the clan feeling is dead !

Though Rory was sceptical as to this particular belief, he is by no means such an unbeliever in other matters. In second sight he has a most profound belief, and to illustrate this, he told me the following story.

On one occasion one of the neighbouring farmers im- ported a new shepherd from the Outer Isles, and Rory was sent to show him round. While they were walking along the road, the shepherd suddenly seized Rory and dragged him off the road to one side. Rory^ not unnaturally, was quite indignant at being hustled about in this peremptory fashion, and wondered if his companion had suddenly gone mad. The other man, pale as death and overcome with emotion, explained that he had just seen a funeral, and had pulled him aside in order to let the procession pass. Rory, though he had often heard of people who had second-sight, was somewhat doubtful of such a thing being possible. But the shepherd said, " Now as a sign to you that what I have told you is true, you were in that procession yourself ; and moreover, you were wearing a plaid, which I saw you fling suddenly about your shoulder." Some three weeks later at that identical spot, Rory was in a funeral procession, and while changing hands as one of the coffin-bearers, his plaid