Page:Littell's Living Age - Volume 128.djvu/189

179 picture; Yorke was summoned to join the Umbeyla expedition, and by no man in the army was the distraction of active service more eagerly welcomed. To a man suffering from distaste for his own life, there is no medicine so effectual as helping to take the lives of other people. In that short but very sharp campaign Yorke received his first wound, not, however, before he had done enough good service both to gain and to earn another step of brevet rank. A still greater distinction — shortly afterwards, while on sick-leave on the hills, he was offered the vacant command of a smart regiment of native cavalry; and exchanging his staff-duties with delight for his old congenial employment, he hurried down to assume his new command. But although his wound was healed at the time, he had returned to duty too soon. A sharp attack of illness followed; the wound broke out afresh; and although he would now have wished to remain a little longer in the country, to identify himself with his new regiment, he was fain to act on the doctor's advice, and set off to Calcutta as soon as he was well enough, there to appear before the medical board and start on sick-furlough for England.

 

 From Macmillan's Magazine.

following is a copy of a letter addressed to a lady living in Hyde Park Gardens, London, by Alister-nan-Each, of Borvabost, in the island of Lewis, Hebrides: —

, the 20th of June, 1875. Honoured Madam and Dear Mistress to command, — You waz writen to Alister Lewis, the schoolmaster, that I would tell you the whole story of the Black Horse I sah at Loch Suainabhal; and I am not good at the writen whatever; but I will tell you the story, and I will tell you from the verra beginnin of it the whole story. It waz John the Piper he will go about tellin a foolish tale about me; and it waz many a time I will think of going and breaking his pipes over his head, that he will tell such foolish lies. There is no man in the island will drink more as John the Piper himself, not one; and so you will not believe his foolish lies if you will be hearin of them, Miss Sheila.

Now the verra beginnin of it waz this, that Dugald MacKillop, that lives by Loch Suainabhal, and his father was my wife's father's first cousin, ay, and a verra rich man mirover, for he had more az forty pounds or thirty-five pounds in the bank at Styornowa, he will be going away to Portree to marry a young lass there, and Dincan Peterson and me would be for going with him too, and I waz to be the best man. And you will not mind John the Piper's lies, Miss Sheila, for it waz only one gallon of good whiskey we took aboard the "Clansman" steamer when we waz going away to Skye — as sure as death it waz only the one gallon that Dincan and me we waz for taking to the young lass's father — but it waz verra wat on board the boat, and verra cold whatever, and what harm is there in a glass of the goot whiskey? Sez Dincan Peterson to me, he sez, Alister, there is plenty of goot whiskey in Skye, and what for should we keep the whiskey? and both me and Dugald MacKillop the two of us both together said he waz a sensible man, and not a foolish man, like John the Piper. And it waz only the one gallon in the char we had on board the steamer.

I, will tell you now. Honoured Madam, that the wonderful big ship took us quick to Portree, which is a great distance away; but we did not go to bed that night, for there waz two or three waiting for us, and we had a glass mirover and a dance or two. And the next morning we went away to the farm where the young lass waz; and that waz among the hills; and there waz never in the world such rain as there is in Skye. Ay, in the Lews we have the bad weather, and the goot weather; but Gott knows there is no such watter falling anywhere az there is in Skye; but we had a glass and a dance, for the two pipers waz with us; and in the evening of that day there waz a grand supper at the young lass's father's house. And it waz not ten gallons of whiskey we took in the cart; and Gott knows I will mek John the Piper answer for that some day; but only six gallons; and there waz a goot many people there for a dance and a song. And there waz no one wished to go to bed that night either, for there waz many people in the house, and a good dram and a dance for every one; and the way the two pipers played the pipes that night would hef made a dead man jump in his grafe if he had been dead for two hundred years, ay, or one hundred years mirover. And you will mind, Miss Sheila, that the story about the ten gallons of whiskey is only the lies of that foolish man, John the Piper, who is trunk oftener az any man on the island of Lews.