Montana oil and mining journal., 1935-01-26

for there sre not 50 many pure HE.
landmen nowadays ia the glen-
Asy naanse and kirk ara isolated o.
one side q Tire burn. but on the o&hel
side, 50 close that I can keep visiiani
eye On them. are tae Five Hoszses IN s
Row, which the English say, incorrectly
but with no evil design contain ali the
congregation can depend upon for 9
wet day. On the contrary there is
hantie Of small farms in the glen, for
bye shepherds sl1eilings and bothies
and an occasional roadside bigging oi
clay and divot IN which may be both
man and beast: truly, when chap
seldom know which win come to the
door.
The English, who make use Of many
old words that even our Highlandmen
have forgotten, call the Five Houses
the @clachan." They are one story
houses, whitewashed and thached, and
they all open on TO the glen road, as
If not to miss any diversion that may
be passing By. A coarse grass grows on
the road in lines as straight as potato
drills, and carriage folk who do not
keen the ruts are shaken most terrible.
One Of the English told me that his
machine sometimes threw him so high
In that air that when he was up there
he saw small lochs hitherto unknown
to man, and stopped his horse and
fished them. The English, however, who
have many virtues though not Of a
very solid kind. are great exaggerators.
The carriage folk. except when she
lets what Is faniaarly called the Gand
House of the English, consist Of MIST
ress Iindinnock alone, who Is called
Oout never to her face) the Old Lady.
She has two spirited ponies, but not so
spirited as herself. She goes to Edin-
burgh while the Grand House Is let,
and excepting myself (on account Of my
office), Is the chief person in the glen.
She has been q fine friend TO me,
but I have sometimes to admonish her
for little coarseness In her language.
I grieve to say that this lady Of many
commendable parts plays cards, and I
once saw her at It. Her adversary was
a travelling matchmaker, one Of those
who traverse the whole land carrying
a wooden box of watches on his back,
with a dozen more ticking IN his many
waistcoat pockets. They were playing
for high sums, too. the old lady sitting
inside one Of her windows and the man,
body outside it, on a stool. think
this is done to preserve the difference
in rank, but when I denounced her for
it she said the object was to make
all right for her future, as the players
being on different sides Of the window
took away the curse.
The English, of course, have depart
ed long since, and win not be seen
again till next years shooting time
comes round. On the day they left
they came up to the manse to remind
me that they were looking forward to
the diary, and when protested that
did not even know how to begin, they
said in their audacious way, you could
begin by writing about US Il have
taken them at their word. though they
little understand that I may have been
making a quiet study OF them white
they thought / was the divert.
AS say, I have found them TO be
very pleasant persons, so long as you
make allowances for them that one
could not be expected to make for his
own people. The bright array Of their
kits is a pretty bit Of color to Us.
the trousered people Of the glen. They
have a happy way Of skinming LIE that
has q sort Of attraction for deeper but
undoubtedly slower natures. The way
they riot with their pockets Is beyond
words: I am credibly informed by Posty
that they even have worms sent 70
them by post In tins. They are easy
to exploit for gain, as Posty was quick
to see, and many a glass Of -- has
he, to my grief 0or I am totaller). got
from them by referring to himself as
she" / have written that with dash
because, now I come to think Of It,
1 have never heard it spoken by thel
glen folk One might say that 1t Is thus
pronounced by them.
They invite you TO partake, and you
are duh IN the uptake II you don't un-
derstand Of what you are being asked
to partake. They make a complete
sentence by saying Of friend He Is
one who on a market day" and leav-
ing the rest 10 the listeners common
sense. Similarly they say, he never
unless he Is IN company" or, He just
at q time, because he is lonelylike.
NOW the English In this matter as IN
many others are different, and they
give the thing It's name and boldly say,
with pride Ia knowing the word, Usque-
bach. In this / hold that they come out
of the murlxy affair with greater hon
ssty but more shameiessly than we do.
They were hospitable 10 me, and hadi
me up at the Grand House once, Civ
ing me the most attractive Lady To-
AXE In on my arm 70 dinner, and put