, 1890-11-27


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cies within tho warp and wool OF
his spiritual nature.
A HARD LIFE.
There Is little romance about the
crotters everyday aud home life.
IT he can make his rent partially
from his land, he tills It In the hard
old priinitive way, with the rudcst
OF tools; and In skye, the Hebrides,
In remote parts of the North, and
here In shetland, the crooked wood
eh spade, or arth-fork. is still to be
seen. III he can not, he IL forced to
] cave the croft to the care of his wife
and children, and turn fisherman.
Often his wife and grown daughter
leave the croft and join the herring
curer's crews on the coast, for sew
eral months of the summer. His
subsistence gained from the croft Is
always precarious; and were 1t not
that his wants are few, he could not
live at all. His principal crops are
oats and potatoes; but the variable
nature of the climate renders u
steady return doubtful. Often the
oats fail TO ripen, Again, when they
mature, the little crop Is frequently
destroyed by rain. Potatoes of late
years occasionally blight or rot.
When both the oats and potatoes
fail, actual famine comes. BY the
greatest vigilance enough grass may
be cured for the long winter supply
for the few animals; but there is
always peat to be had for the one
bright spot in all the croIter's life,
the great, open fireplace of his
cabin. After the cows are milked
in the morning, the younger chill
dren, accompanied by the collie dog,
set out to herd them, for the crotts
are seldom enclosed. Old coats or
jackets are thrown over their shout
ders, and they listlessly move about
like a bevy of automatic scare-crows,
keeping the cattle or sheep within
bounds the whole day long. Dreary,
lonesome business this, in the old
days or in these days; but of late
some of the soddenness of this life IL
relieved by the books good folk have
put in the youthful herder's hands;
and the winter school is gradually
opening new world to their eager,
childish eyes.
IL is customary where there are
only one or two beasts to- "tethern
them with chain or rope. The horse
or "slieltle," If the crotter have one,
Is also "hobbled" Sometimes half
dozen sheep will be tethered by
day and put into the sheepcot ut
night. Such croft sheep are uni
versally called pets" The world
has heard of
THE FAMOUS "PET LAME" CASE
between the great American deer
stalker, w. j.. Winans, who controls
II Highland game preserve of over
$50, 900 acres, and the shoemaker of
kintal. The shoemaker's only lamb
strayed from the highway; tres
passed on the great mans acres; was
pounced upon and slaughtered by II
gamekeeper, and finally caused an
action at law that agitated the whole
of Great Britain, and became the
subjectof many an eloquent out
burst in and out of the house of
commons.
The crofter's home Is often n sod
hut with II sod thatch. More fire.
| quently 1t consists of four low walls
OF apparently uncemented stones,
with thatch pf straw, or fir
branches and straw, held in its
place by stones, anchored from the
caves by straw ropes. The structure
usually encloses but one room.
There is low, wide door, perhaps n
window or two, but in some eases
only "boal," or rsquare aperture for
admitting light aud air, will be
found. A bunk answers for bed
for the old folks. The children are
disposed of in the loft. A few rude
benches, or square block of stone
near the fireplace, answer for seats.
a spinning-wheel, here and there
hand-loom, more or less
fishing gear, some iron pots
u little earthenware, and often the
square wooden drinking-cups, of
'methers" of the ancient Gaels, will
be found. A few of the more for
tunate crofters may possess a "but
and ben" house, that Is IA house with
two rooms, when "gangin' butn of
ben" is the aristocratic possibility.
The crofter's food almost universally
comprises porridge and milk, aud
perhaps bread and tea, for breakfast.
At dinner he may have hammock
of rye with an egg. The supper will
be the breakfast repeated without
tea. Sometimes the dinner Is varied
by herrings and potatoes. He is n
total stranger to fruit, as we know
it, though there are sometimes few
wild mountain berries to be got.
He is utterly devoid of amuse-
meats. The old Highland games
have entirely disappeared in the
Highlands. In the old days the
''ceilidh" pronounced "kailey") or
gossiping party, occupied the long
winter evenings. 1t fingers still
where the clergy's sharp eyes do not
too often come; aud in 1t are whis-
peringly preserved all the old tales
of clan and tartan, witch and war
lock, and the sweeter folklore of
this tender-hearted, long-sutiering,
hospitable, hopeless peoples
EDGAR l.. WAKEMAN.
practical farmers have told me,"
said Senator Squire TO the REVIEW yes
terday afternoon, that it costs about so