New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1868-08-30
JOHN orc aOAT's House.

JOHN O'G BOATS HOUSE.
correspondent of Packdrds Monthly for
June, 1868, writes the following interesting
sketch
On Monday, September 26th, the wealth.
| being favorable, ] set out on my last day /,
walk northward with sense Of satisfaction
could hardly describe. The road was perfect
up to the last rod; as well kept as if it ran
through a nobleman's park. The country
most of the way was well cultivated, oats
being the principal crop. Here, almost
within sight of the 0rkneys, / heard the
CHATTER of the reaping machine, which, doubt.
| less, puts out the same utterance over and
upon the sea at Lands End. 1t has travelled
fast and far since 1851, when it first made its
appearance in Europe in the Crystal Palace
as one of the wild, impracticable notions" of
American genius. In Wick visited news
paper establishment, and saw in operation
| one of the old Columbians," or the Amer
| lean printing press surmounted by the eagle
of the Republic. The sewing machine is in
all the towns and villages on the island. If
there is not an American clock at John
| 0'Groat's hope some OF my fellow towns
men will send one there, Bristol built. They
are pleasant tokens of free labor genius no
land titled by slaves could produce them.
saw many large and highly cultivated farms
| on these last miles of my walk. The coun-
| try was proportionately divided between
| food and fuel. Oats and barley constitute
the grain crops. The uncultivated land in.
terspersed with the yellow fields OF harvest,
is reserved for peat-the mans fuel and his
| wealth. For, were it not for the mex.
| haustible abundance of this cheap and &C
cessible firing, he could hardly inhabit this
region. 1t would seem strange to an Ameri-
can, who had not realized the difference of
! the two climates, to see fields full Of reapeTs
on the very threshold of October, as l sow
them on this last days walk. / counted
twelve women and two men in one field
plying the sickle, all strongly built and
good looking and well dressed withal.
The sea was still and blue as lake. A
lark was soaring and warbling over it with
as happy and hopeful voice as it were
singing over the greenest acres OF an Eng
lish meadow. When ! had made half of the
seventeen miles between Wick and John
O'Groats, began to look with the liveliest
| interest for the first glimpse Of the Orkneys,
but projecting and ragged headands inter
cepted the prospect: About P. NJ, as the
road emerged from behind one of
them, those famous islands burst sud
denly into view. There they we're
in full sight, so near that their grain
| fields and white cottages, and all their dis
tinguishing features seemed within half
miles distance. This was the most inter
esting coup dell that ever caught in any
my journey. Through all the days of this
period had faced northward, and here was
| the Ultima Thule, the goal and termination
of my tour. The road 10 the sea diverged
| from the main turnpike, which continued
around the coast to Thurso. ! followed this
| branch couple of miles, when it ended at
| the door of a quiet, onestory inn, on the
very shore of Pentland Firth. 1t was a mo-
ment of enjoyment to me. When Ileft Lon
don about the middle of July, was slowly
recovering from severe indisposition, and
hardly expected to make more than few
miles of my projected walk. But had gath
cred stt length daily, and when | brought up
at this little inn, at the jumping-off end of
Scotland, was fresher and more vigorous
on foot than at any previous stage of the
| journey.
Having found to my great satisfaction
that they could give me bed for the night,
went with two gentlemen of the neighbor-
hood to see the site of the celebrated John
| O'Groat's House, about mile and a half
from the inn. There was only footpath to
it across intervening fields, and when we
reached it a rather vigorous exercise of the
organ of individuality was necessary to
locate the foundations OF 1.-THE house
that Jack built" Indeed, pilgrims to the
shrine of this famous domicile are liable to
much disappointment at finding SO little re-
| naming of a residence so historical: liter
ally, not one stone is left upon another. A
| large stone granary standing near is said to
| have been built of the debris Of the house,
and this idea. helps out ones faith when
struggling to believe in the existence of
such a building at all. A certain ridgy
rising in the ground, to which you try to
give an octagonal shape, is pointed out as
Indicating the foundations; but an unsatis-
factory obscurity rests upon the whole his
tory of the establishment. Whether true
or not, that history of the house which one
would prefer to believe runs thus:
I'm the reign of James Nv of Scotland,
three brothers, Malcolm, Gavin, and John
de Groat, natives of Holland, came to this
coast of Caithness with letter in Latin
from that monarch, recommending them to
| the protection and countenance OF his sub
| jects hereabout. They got possession of q
large district of land, and in process of time
multiplied and prospered until they num-
| bered eight different proprietors. by the
name of Groat. On one of the annual din
ners instituted to commemorate their ar
! rival in Caithness, a dispute arose as TO the
| presidency in taking the door and the
head OF the table. This waxed very
serious, and threatened to break up
these annual gatherings, but the wisdom
and virtue Of John prevented this
rupture. He made q touching speech
to them, soothing their angry spirits with
an appeal to the common and precious
memories of their native land, and to all
their joint experiences in this. He en-.
treated them to return to their homes
quietly and he would remedy the current
difficulty at the next meeting. Won by his
kindly spirit and words, they complied
with his request. In the interval, John
built house expressly for the purpose, of
an octagonal form, with eight doors ano
windows; he then placed a table of oak, of
the same shape, III the middle, and when
the next meeting took place, he desired
each head of the Groat families to enter at
his own door and cit at the head of his own
table, r.l ....
This happy and ingenious plan restored
good feeling and happy footing to the
sensitive families, and gave to the good
Dutchman's name a historical interest and
prominence which it will carry with it
forever.
Vermont holds her election on Septem-
Der /. State officers aud Congressman are
to be chosen. The candidates for Govern
or are John G. Page, Republican, the pres
ent executive, and j. l.. Edwards, Demo-
IA T. u, = D. -