Page:Martha Spreull by Zachary Fleming.pdf/106

94 day to see a muckle stane that they mak’ a heap o’ here, and on oor tellin’ the guide that we feared it wis magnifeet, he assured us that it wis a much bigger stane than we supposed, as there wis a guid bit o’t under the grun’. The guide-books are unco impressive readin’ by themsels, but ye dinna hauf realise the cleverness o’ the men wha write these books till ye gang and look at the things they describe for yersel’. The play o’ fancy, and the force o’ imagination they bring to bear on their wark, is most beautifu’ to see, and wud mak’ their fortune if they took to writin’ romances.

We have had some wonnerfu’ experiences since we cam’ here, the which I must set doon in their order. The hooses are not only sma’ but scarce. The only place we could get oor heads into when we landed wis a bit room and kitchen in a lang, straggly raw o’ hooses at the fit o’ a great range o’ hills. It wis whitewashed ootside and papered inside, and seemed suitable enough for the bursar laddie and mysel’; so, efter makin’ the bargain, we went back to the rock where we had left oor kist, and brocht it hame. Willie has an unco craze for fishin’, so, efter dinner, naething wud dae but we must hae a boat and gang oot to fish. For weeks before, the callant had been preparing lines and hooks, and wis workin’ awa’ wi’ pieces o’ auld silver spoons, the which he worket into most curious shapes, and made sic an impression on my mind wi’ his talk aboot savin’ butcher-meat that I let him hire a boat; and as it wis a’ the ae expense, I thocht I wud invite Mrs. Wamock to accompany us for the sake o’ the sail and the sea-air. As neither Mrs. Warnock nor I kent onything aboot rowin’ a boat, we engaged a big raw callant at sae much an hour to manage the oars.

Considerin’ that the island is nearly oot o’ sicht o’ lan’, the sea wis unco calm; so Willie, wha wis sittin’ at the hin’-en’ o’