Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1888-05-12
The I.oaeliest spotin Europe.

as If the world were very small, with
its railways and telegraphs lying
around its surface like a fine-meshed
net, there are lonely spots where
strangers are hardly seen from one
years end to another, and the inhabi-
tants live on, much the same as they
did centuries ago.
One hundred and forty miles from
the northwest coast of Scotland, and
forty miles from the nearest land
the extreme point Of the Hebrides
Islands-lies little archipelago or
group of islands, called the Hirt or
Hirst, and more commonly known
by the name of one of the islands, st.
Kilda.
st. Kilda is almost lost island, so
far is it out in the broad Atlantic, so
completely deserted by therest of the
world, and SO wildly beaten upon by
the storms. But in spite of its
remoteness. and the fact that the
island has but very small extent of
cultivable soil, st. Kilda is inhabit-
ed by nineteen families, numbering,
in 1881, seventy-seven souls.
The strange and lonely life that
those people live here is a matter of
pity even for the poor and almost
deserted inhabitants of the Hebrides,
who have a large and populous re-
gion compared with st. Kilda.
But not only is the population Of
st. Kilda as large as it was in the
middle of the last century, in spite of
the unhealthiness Of the peoples way
of life and very high death-rate,
but the island has sent few emil
grants to Australia.
The children all are subject to
attacks of fits, brought on, the doc
tors believe, by the peculiar food
given them. From the day of their
birth, they are made to swallow a
decoction of oil taken from the petrol,
mixed with port wine. Out of every
nine children born, five die in in
fancy.
st. Kilda is formed almost wholly
of steep cliffs, rising to a height of
one thousand two hundred and
twenty feet, and access to it is possible
only through a cleft in the rocks.
Vessels approach it only during the
three months of summer. Only
during these three months are any
mails received on the island; and
formerly the case was still worse, for
the loyal subjects of the queen at st.
Kilda did not hear Of King William
Tvs death, and Victoria's accession
to the throne, until three years after
the event.
During all this time the pastor o.
the church on the island continued tc
read the prayers for the kings life
Some time ago a dreadful tempest
ragged at st. Kilda, and the inhabi
tants having lost much of theil
property, and being in distress, ant
having several months to wait before
the mail-boat would reach them
wrote the story of their suferings
put it in bottle, as the survivors O
a wreck at sea sometimes do, anC
threw it into the water.
The bottle was picked up, delivered
into the hands of the directors of tn,
Free Kirk of Scotland at Edinburgh
to whom it was addressed, and .
small steamer was sent to st. Kid;
with supplies.
The life of the st. Kilda people i
so primitive that only lately hav
tea, sugar, and tobacco been solC
among them. When the merchan
who went there from Scotland t.
establish this trade arrived at tn
island, he found that the st. Kildaite
were three hours behind the rest @
the kingdom in time, as the pastor
watch, the only time-piece on tn
island, had lost that amount of tim
during the nine months that ha,
interviewed since vessel had bee
there.
In spite of their hard struggle 70
existence, the people of this lonelies
place in all Europe think that ther
is no isle like st. Kilda, and woul
not exchange it for an earthly para
disc.