The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-12-12
THE MORNING NEWS: TUESDAY, DECEMBER u. 1soa

Callum's Peggy is known to have about
20 saved bu. she Is not particulary
strong. Rory's IshaDd Is rather hgh y,
but She Is splendid worker and can
sing and knit as she carries her heavy
creel Of peats over the ulooreland so that,
taking IL all in all they think she will DO.
When some time after this they have &C.
casion TO visit St0ruoway 10 sell Holsters,
herring, or Harris tweed, they take care
10 bring back with them b-ttle of wills
KY and on the first dark night afterwar1
father and son SET out for the p Prospective
brides house. After their discussing the
Stornoway prices for tweed and herring
apd the local prospects, they hint TO he
nailen's father and mother what is their
business. They can see no object ons, II
Ishabei herself b. viking. Ishabel, who
with maideuly instinct felt what the OBJ
ject of the visit was has sappeared;~
but she is sought for and the matter ex-
planned, not that the affair is $50 sudden
but that she had her own thoughts of
some one else, and then she disappears
again. The visitors soon conclude That
business is not to be done there, and they
go out with the bottle unopened. Outside
father and son discuss what they ought T.
do. and the lad" suggests an5taer CT
whom he had himself been thinking, and
10 her home they make their way. Here
again they discuss affairs as b fore, AMI
again gradually come to the business Il
the evening. Here the young lady on be-
ing questioned, gives favorable reply.
The bottle is then produced and the heal
and prosperity Of the betrothed is drunk
and the arrangements discu sed. The
wedding day, which, If they are to be
lucky, must be a Tuesday or Wednesday,
if fixed, and IN doing so they take into
consideration whether the men Of the
township are all likely to be at home then,
as 1t would be most likely 10 have we'd
ding when any OF the men had gone 10
their Naval Reserves drill at Stornoway
or had followed the herring to the main
| land lochs.
Next day all know that Alasdair and
| Barbara are to let them have wedding
| sensation soon. An older man, especially
| If he be a widower, is much more cautious
as to how he makes his advances. His
plan is to do his courtship by deputy. He
| discusses his need of wife with a friend
or two. and after a lady has been fixed
on. the friends stay at her house, the even
ing is well spent, and he, knowing this to
| be a good sign, hopefully sets out about
| 10 o'clock with the liquor necessary to seal
| the bargain. After this the procedure is
| in all cases the samoa visit to Storno-
way to buy 'the Draws" and brilliant in
| color and glitter they are, the necessary
visit 10 the register, and not the sessions
| clerk, and to the minister, who names the
| time at which they must be In his kitchen.
/ anu GidN IS usually u NlOlG llOuI BtlOi e
| the time at which he expects them to ar
/ rive for punctuality is, not one of the most
| striking charac teristics of Lewis people.
| Every one for miles around knows of the
| wedding and gets ready TO attend, but be-
yond the dozen couples that accompany
| them to the minister no one has even up
| to the wedding day received an invita- ton.
| But at length. when the happy pair have
| returned from the minister messengers
are sent all around to invite the neigh
bors to the wedding feast which has been
| prepared for them. They are ready, and
soon over Dogs and bitches make their
way, and there find all the youngsters of
| the neighboring townships gathered
| around the door When the guest gets
| safely past the tails of the cows and the
| sheep tied across the passage he may see
| the large blazing fire which on the middle
of the floor boils the suspended kettle and
| the surrounding pots, and fills the whole
/ house with the redolent peat reek, which
may be trying 10 the eyes of the uninitiat
ed, but gives no trouble to the islanders.
Every available seat here is taken up by
| a hearty, happy company good-naturedly
| waiting their turn to enter the upper or
| best room. where the feast is spread On
one side of this "best' room are the shut
in wooden beds, which tonight are used
| to hold the good things, especially the
| whisky jar, over which the father of the
| bride usually keeps watch, and sees that
| all get plenty and none too much At the
upper end sits the bride with a wedding
| cap, fearfully and wonderfully made, and
| by her side the groom, who, when he gets
warm as relay after relay of guests sits
| down 10 the tea and bannocks, and beef,
and jams, and jellies, dOffs the black coat,
in which he feels uncomfortable, and then
/ sits benignly smoking and smiling until
all are served. When a relay has par
taken of a sufficiency each guest has a
| glass of whisky handed him or her and
| in turn they all rise, make a graceful,
| kindly little Gaelic speech, shake hands
with the bride and bridegroom after which
| the speaker, IL he be a man, drinks out
| his glass: but the women. after putting it
to their lips, hand it over to their part
ners, who are in honor bound to drink 1t
| for them, as IL would be discourteous to
return anything but the empty glass.
At last, after about a couple of hours,
! all are feasted, where aper and a me-
lodeon player keep playing, time about,
reels. reels, and only reels, to which two
| couples at a time dance for all they are
worth, and with the perspiration stream
ing down their faces, for the place is
! warm, as the crowd are all there looking
on, and when the dancers stop from sheer
exhaustion another quartette faces the
music, and so on, till at the first streak
\ of dawn the bridesmaids think il fit, in
| time-honored way, to get the bride ready
! to retire, and ere they leave her they
have a scramble for the three-penny piece
which she slipped into her stocking ere
| she went to the wedding ceremony. The
| fun goes merrily on, and not guest, old
or young. departs till 1t is broad daylight.
| Few scholars appear at the school that
morning. as they are snatching a bit of
sleep to be fresh for next nights revelry,
! for wedding festivities that do not last
| two whole nights at least would look mis-
| erly in the extreme. But in all cases the
"churching" on the Sunday ends the af-
| fair, and then the Lewis lass dons the
married woman's mulch and does all
she can to make her husband happy.
The announcement that the Rev. DR..
John Watson of Liverpool has been APP