The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-09-12
he STRANGE SONG or the MOOR,
John Buchan in MacMilans Magazine.

MS is a story when l hsaIu from lne
the Numdians. who with his tat
D. r.,irne eucamps behind the peat
II van ask me where and when It
-s1 fear that am scarce ready
~ m answer. But I will vouch my word
'- s. ruth. and if any one seeks further
let him so east the town and west
Pr. ,,., and over the fields Of Nomans-
,o the Long Moor; and if he find not
ling there among the peat-ricks. and
" rot n courteous answer to his ques-
+,er times have changed in that part
H.. country, and he must continue the
"a his maiesty's castle in Spain.
,.,s 1rnon a time, says the tale, there
ersat cody man, a shepherd to
w.. who lived in q cottage among the
...nsr If YOU looked east in the morn
r,n saw miles of moor running wide
-ts DANES Of sunrise; and if you turned
W. aves west in the evening, you saw
W confusion of dim peaks with the
,-1,5 eve of The sun set in a crevlce. If
I,,l.cd north. too, in the afternoon,
-, the life Of the day is near its cad
..s.sa world grows wise, you might have
-, country of low hills and haugh-
..-ss with many waters running sweet
'-,,g meadows. But if you looked south
= sa dusty forenoon or at hot midday,
~, SAW the far-off glimlner OF WhIte
va The roofs of the ugly little clachan
- Kumac1avers, and the rigging or the
S,s new kirk Of Threepdaidle.
!, OF tor
-.s.bsr and the man had been to kirk all
vs. morning. He had heard a grand SER
~, from the minister, fine discourse
nth ffreen heads and three parentheses.
W. bad all the parentheses and fourteen
n tbs heads in his memory, but he had
S..ro+-sn the fifteenth: wherefore, for the
-arross of recollecting it, and also for
10 sake Of a walk, he went forth in the
afternoon into the open heather. The air
was mild and cheering, and with an even
ssn he stroled over the turf and into the
deep Of the moor.
The whaups were crying everywhere,
rosing the air hum like the twanging of
how. "Poo-eelie, poo-eelie," they cried,
at..l4v llirlew," "whaup wha-up;" and
e,netimes they would come so close about
him all brushing him, that they fairly
dr1ya all settled thoughts from his head.
Often had he been on the moors, but never
had he seen such a stramash among the
faatbtrei clan The Wailing iteration VeXed
him and he strove to scare the birds away
with his arms; but they seemed 20 mock
him and whistle in his very face, and at
The fan Of their wings his heart grew
sore. He waved his great stick; he pick
cd I'd hlts of loose moOr-rock and flung
them wildly; but the goddess crew paid
never a grain Of heed. The mornings
sermon was still in his head, and the
grave words of the minister still ratified
in his ear, but he could get no comtors
for this intolorable piping. At last his
patience failed him and he swore I'M
Christian words. Dell raX the birds
thIapplasl" he cried.
At this all the noise was hushed, and
in a twnklng the moor was empty. Only
one bird was left, standing on tall legs
before him, with its head bowed on its
breast and it's beah touching the heather.
Then the man repentea his words and
started at the thing in the moss. What
bird are ye?" he asked GROSSLY.
II am a respectable whaup' said the
bird, "and I kenna why We have broken
in on our family gathering. Once in hun
dred years we foregather for decent con-
yersauon, and here we are interrupted by
a muckle, sWeerin' man"
Now the shepherd was a fellow of great
,
thing that be should be having talk in the
ml-moss with a bird; to tell the plain
truth, he had no mind on the matter.
'What for were We making siccar din,
then?' he asked. "D'ye no ken We were
disturbing the afternoon of the holy Sab
bath?'
The bird lifted his eyes and regarded him
solemnly. The Sabbath is a day of rest
and giadness," it said; land is it not rea-
sonable that we should enjoy the like?'
The shepherd shook his head, for the pre-
SUMPTION staggered him. aye little ken
what We speak Of" he replied. 1.-The Sab
bath is for them that have the chance of
salvation, and it has been decreed that sal
walton is for Adams race and no for the
beasts that perish"
Inc Whaup save a whistle of scorn. i
nave heard all that Ions ago.In my great
gandmothe1's time, which i'll be thou
SAND years and mair syne, there came a
people from the south with bright brass
ulngs on their heads and breasts, and ter
r0Ie swords at their thighs. And with
tlem were some lang-gowned men who
hshned the stars. and would come out o
A3als to talk to the deer and the corbies
III lher ain tongue. And one. 1 mind, fore
el.1ered with my great-grandmother and
lo-l her that the souls O. men fitted in the
elI 20 Draw meadows where the gods bide,
VI g9ed down to the black pit which they
"a nell But the souls O. birds. he said,
ue VII their bodies and that's end O
gsM Likewise in my mothers time, when
~, ale was great abbey down yonder by
NY l4reepdaidle Burn, which they called
wv mouse of Kilmaclavers, the aud
. IoLAs would walk out in the evening to
, pOA NERDS for their distillings, and some
tSvle wise and kennel the ways of bird and
go 90 They would crack often O. nights
GU S,a my ain family, and tell them that
ll..'Sl Aad saved the souls O. men, but that
S S~as ana beasts were perishable as the
CO.. heaven. And now We have a black
o."uel man in Threepdaidle who threeps
s va 'ue same overcome. Ye may a ken
slNns O your ain kitchen-midden, but
ite MI" niue o the "arid peyohu
81 TOW l'R this augered the man and he rebuk-
fo .Ie oifd. These are great mysteries"
n 'N'u which are not to be mentioned in
car eaIs Of unsanctiied creature. What
tps IMag like you WI a lang neb and
VOL, IL. s IS like sults ken about the next
tho ell we'll" said the whaup, wen let
trS5. matter be. Everything to it's ain
ma,a,, ana / will not dispute with We on
abogps .eslcs. But If We ken something |
t. sb1 C1s next warld, We ken terrible lit
he NV "1is angered the man still more. for |
sfU 49, " shepherd reputed to have great |
judge SHeep and esteemed the incest |
trva4 "a A0% and wether in all the coun- |