The morning call., 1890-12-25

above, and then the hill had gently shook
itself and everything had quietly slid down
its side. and finally got comfortably settled.
fronts, rears and gables, all inextricably yet
description of Kendall: "They (the houses)
seem as though they had been dancing
a country dance and were out They
stood back to back, corner to cor
But Lerwiek is deliciously more SO. 1t is
up HILL down hill and all around itself.
Yet there is some little method in it all, for
it is all alongshore, and all upon, over.
under and near delightfully."- crooked and
nes e s ssors a sns
modern street or road that at last
was beaten along the top of the
hlll. where the more pretentious but
altogether uninteresting new town lies.
numerous lanes from three to seven feet
wide, at an angle of IS degrees. These with
no end of still narrower wynds and
closes give one longing for game of
hide-and-seek," and recall few of the
shadowy old ways at Mayence on the
nues Of Old Town, in Algiers. Odder
than all else are the old houses, now
reaching to the waters edge and, in former
times. standing out into and above the
water The ancient burghers could not
only fish out Of their back windows, but
some houses were SO constructed that
yawl-load of smuggled goods could, in case
OF pursuit, be shot into convenient openings,
and the latter as instantly closed. Numbers
OF buildings had secret apartments, ana you
may still find structures at some distance
from the shore to which spacious subter-
ranean passages lead from the bay.
THE SIMPLE DUTCH TRADERS
OF those olden times knew how to fear
God and thrive. Two of the most interest
ing, though somewhat grewsome. objects of
interest in the little islands are the Pictish
Tower of Mousa, and Fitful Head, of both
OF which you have caught glimpses from
your steamer. TIE Shetland mainland in its
general conformation extends north and
south in narrow strip of land about
seventy miles long and from three to five
miles wide, with an arm perhaps twelve miles
long extending westward from its center,
something in the form of a Greek cross,
with its eastern arm Topped off. Lerwick
and harbor are located where the eastern
arm would fit into the socket; and about
midway from Lerwick to- Sumburgh Head
the islands southern extremity, ON the east
ern coast, is the island of Mousa. A good
walker can journey from Lerwick to Fitful
Head, opposite Sumburgh Head, seeing the
tower OF Mousa on the way, and return in
one day; thus inspecting the southern
nearly one-half of Shetland, and vet never
stand on single SPOT where either the Ger
man or Atlantic Ocean are not visible.
The road to Mousa and Fitful Head
traverses the Township Of Fladdabister,
where you will find nearly all the ''peerie
lairds," or little lords who own their lands
in freehold and sulk and pOut in poverty and
10 pride OF their pure Morse descent now re-
naming in Shetland. A boat must be hired
at Sandlodge, seat of the Shetland Bruces,
to cross the sound 10 the utterly dreary
Island of Mousa. The brooch or tower
stands at the southwest corner of the island,
and is remarkable from an ANTIGUA
rian standpoint in being the largest and
finest example of the old Pictish towers of
defense now remaining in Europe. They
are very numerous in, Northern Scotland
and the OEkneys and Scotland. ADDER
son gives 60 for Sutherlandshire, 70 in
Caithness, 20 in the Orkneys and 20 in
Shetland. The MOusa tower has the ap-
pearance of gray. raggeds and gigantic
dlce-box; Is butt OF uncemented stones
like the great Dun IKngus on the Irish Aran
Islands; is about 100 feet in circumfer-
ence; and it is still fully 40 feet high,
The walls, which are about 10 feet thick,
are really double, or rather consist of two
concentric circles OF stone five feet thick,
with an Intervening space of equal width.
This space, chambered by making the
floor OF one tier answer for the ceiling of
the next one below, light and air only be-
ing admitted from the open interior, con-
tanned ali the barracks accommodation the
hardy warriors OF old, knew how, or cared,
to provide. A curious like stone stair
case, built into the inner wall, winds around
within the tower communicating with the
tiny stone chambers; and on the ground
floor are three large detached chambers 10
feet long, 10 feet high, the width of the
space between the walls, in which are square
Storage-holes or ambries. Mousa is
A woNDRoUs OLD RELIC
OF pagan times. Its age is certainly 1900
and perhaps 1000 years. Strange chronicles
fash along the pages of Morse history re-
garding the orgies. sieges and tragedies
known within this ancient tower: and we
can easily learn that among its other uses it
was held in high repute 1000 years ago by
Morse lovers OF noble blood as a sort of i'm
pregnable Grelna Green. Many a Morse
Viking has besieged the sturdy place in vain
for daughter or sweetheart. who has found
protection, husband and honeymoon
within its gray old walls.
BY f0ot-path across the moorland wastes
1t is but about seven miles to Fitfu Head.
1t is the White Mountain of the Norsemep.
on account of the luster OF its slate forma-
tion. Its highest crag rises fully 1000 feet
above the sea, but the legendary habitation
of Norna-a bold, almost detached cliff, lift
ing its sea-front into a point as sharp
as church spire e. is not more than
three-tourths that elevation. 1t is quite
accessible after rough scramble, and
its sides are the haunts of myr-
lads of sea-fowl. Horrible indeed must be
the spot IN time of storm. But when
had accomplished the task of scaling its
heights, nature seemed asleep and dream
ing peacefully. Away down thrre below,
the sea was as calm as Highland loch
From the higher headland the whole of
Shetland could be seen with a glass
waste, moor, hillock. valley, glen; land
without forests, split and serrated by the
ceaseless cravings OF the sea- Tremen-
dous precipiceS rose everywhere. Lochs
and tarns showed without copse or verdure
Shadowy "hellyers" cut the sea-walls
where the tide is ever at ebb or
flow. Here fishing station; there a
dreary hamlet. Yonder gravelly
beach, with fsh-curers and their sodden
toll; beyond weird go with herd Of
seals turning their shining sides to the low,
red sun. Over all fimy, DIRE amy, tender
presence; for in the brief days before the
dark, long winter sets in, il is "peerie SUM-
mer" in the Shetland Isles
sCopyriphL EDGAR L. wAKEMAN.