New-York tribune., 1879-12-10


station and losing themselves amid the ridges and
bare undulations round about. We found ourselves
in full country and began TO see what wooing
constituency might mean among the wilder parts oi
Scotand-in the Highlands. eway from railways
and away even from roads. Yet this is only the
southwestern extremity Of populous, fertile ana
perfectly -farmed metropolitan county. IL was
chosen. doubt. n convenient rendezvous, CEN
tral TO those electors for whom neither Edinburgh
nor Dalkeith offered near rallying point. han OF
other place Of meeting there was uone-no perma-
nent building | saw that would nave heiu ooo
people. Solely for the purpose of hearing Mr.. Glad
stone a pavilion had been erected-for that is the
smart name awarded to tho rooted shed of un-
painted deal in which the third Of this series of
orations was to be delivered 1t held 5000 per-
sons and was in all respects well designed and
built and even decorated inside with bands of Gayy-
coored printed cloth and wreaths of tir and pine.
All the way from the station, or from where the
fast cottage bordered the road the simple folk VINO
live here had decked their house-fronts as
best they could. much the interior of the
pavilion was dccked. Evergrcens were strung
together. masts raised for flags, arches
had been run up for the display OF
notices. flowers and fancy work in cut paper that
wonld have been tawdry enough elsewhere relieved
the sombrc monotony of the stone. and the candles
ar illumination for the evening. 1t was all honest
and quaint perfectly unpretentious and effective
from its transparent simplicity and homthness. 1
have seen nothing like IL since drove through the
Rue Mouifetard IN the Oldest quarter OF Paris on the
day of the second Exhibition festival Of last
year That was far more rich IN device ana
various in effect than tins, and French taste
had transformed PLAIN materials INTO ar'suc
ornament, rs only French taste can. But
for all that thore Is something IN the feeling
which entered into both that curiously akin,
and appealed TO very similar sympathieS, and may
add that this is not the first tne nor tie ffteth
time that have chanced upon striking resem-
blances of one kind and another between the Gaul
and the Scot-recs of their long historical in
timacy.
Withal certain effort at ceremonous observ-
ance prevailed. The villages were in their SUNDAY
dress the farmers who had como many miles afoot
or driving their own carts wore rament OF severe
and antique cut, which had done duty at kirk and
at tenant dinners of dead landlords for some goner
ations back The women who stood about the doors
| kept smoothing the creases ont of gowns from
which came a faint odor of lavender, denoting their
| recent extraction from press and cupboard, where
these treasures are scrupulously boarded. Tie win
| dows of the ale-hOuses-so-callcd because of the
whiskey they sel-wcre freshly scrubbed have
| il on the authority of friend whom, IN serious
matters have commonly found trust worthy that
he saw several children with combed hair and faces
that bore marks Of water recently though inchec-
tuslly applied. More than that, the visitors who
| came by rail-those of us at least TO whom
privileged seats had been ailottedhad to pay the
| penalty that attaches to this distinction.
RECEPTION TO BE REMEMBERED.
Eager to sec the collection of people 10 the pav-
ion went straight 10 tho rear entrance. but only
| to find il closed and to be told-as indeed we had
been solemnly warned before by advertisement
that we must all repair TO the committee-room to
receive NJ. Gladstone" The cOmmittee-room
WAS in the school-honse; guarded by the police and
besei by reporters notebook in hand, and keen for
| the name on your ticket; less keen when they had
read il and found it a name to them unknown.
| hundred or two men loiter"d In the school-house
and hung about the door, A brass band
occupied strong strategica position at the en-
trance to the lane, and second was held In reserve
| at the door of the committee-room. The musicians
fumblcd neryously with the mouthpieces Of their
trumDets, and the gathered dgnitanes OF West Cal
der looked furtIvely at their watches. Neither had
10 wait long. Before the clock had struck 4 the
familiar sound OF cheers came family out OF the dis
| tance. Mr. Gladstone had driven, IL appeared. ali
the way from Dalmeny Park, encountering by the
road steady fire of salutes from every hamlet and
almost every house on his route. lie was
in An open carriage-and-four aud he must have had
his hat of quite half the time; through country
where the snow lay white on the uplands. and the
pools were skinned with ice freshly crystalliziug
| And at seventy years OF aye, with q two hours
speech to make He had left the carriage, know
| not where and walked toward stood in
double line TO receive him. his hat. as usual, any
where but on his head. felt like begging him to
| put il on The color of his hair-and there is none
too much Of twas too near In hue to
the snow that lay CHASTITY white about us.
The band that was out on picket at the head of
the lane struck mp; the other, fifty yards of, en-
tered instantly into competition with its rival with
a wholly different aud utterly hostile air. One of
| the dignitaries whom 1 shall always remember
gratefully, and whose name would mmortalze for
twenty four hours if knew il. slenced the nearest
offenders. The ceremony was over, we were free to
make the best of our way to the position with the
| front seats reserved for the heetest OF foot.
ENTHUSIASM THAT KNEW NO BOUNDS.
Mr.. Gladstone with bodygnard of the most VEN
erabe among the conscript fathers of West Calder,
followed at his leisure His seat, at any rate. was
| safe none the less did he need defenders for the
too oyerflowing zeal Of his friends lining the road
the road which, for tho reasons OF state aboye-nen
toned. il was Thought needfu he should travel
twice on foot with the mud anke-deep all the way.
| When he entered. the house rose to him as it had
risen OIL Tuesday In Edinburgh. and on Wednesday
| in the home of Buccleugh This is more pnrely than
either of the others audience of ten
ant-farmers the vertable constituency of
the county the actual cultIvators of
| the soil the men who plough the land and do the
voting; hard shrewd Scotchmen skilled in agricu-
ture ana dogmatic theology whose life is one long
struggle with the elements on week days and with
the Prince of Darkness on Sundays. Not much rap
turous enthusiasm TO be got out of them. surely
NUon ,nncll IN much less than Wnnld