long and toilsome journey with a
few handfulls of oatmeal and two or three onions, renewed from time to
time, and a ram's horn filled with whisky, which he used regularly, but
sparingly, every night and morning. His dirk, or SKENE-DHU, (that is,
black-knife), so worn as to be concealed beneath the arm, or by the
folds of the plaid, was his only weapon, excepting the cudgel with which
he directed the movements of the cattle. A Highlander was never so happy
as on these occasions. There was a variety in the whole journey, which
exercised the Celt's natural curiosity and love of motion. There were
the constant change of place and scene, the petty adventures incidental
to the traffic, and the intercourse with the various farmers, graziers,
and traders, intermingled with occasional merry-makings, not the less
acceptable to Donald that they were void of expense. And there was the
consciousness of superior skill; for the Highlander, a child amongst
flocks, is a prince amongst herds, and his natural habits induce him to
disdain the shepherd's slothful life, so that he feels himself nowhere
more at home than when following a gallant drove of his country cattle
in the character of their guardian.

Of the number who left Doune in the morning, and with the purpose
we have described, not a GLUNAMIE of them all cocked his bonnet more
briskly, or gartered his tartan hose under knee over a pair of
more promising SPIOGS, (legs), than did Robin Oig M'Combich, called
familiarly Robin Oig, that is young, or the Lesser, Robin. Though small
of stature, as the epithet Oig implies, and not very strongly limbed,
he was as light and alert as one of the deer of his mountains. He had
an elasticity of step which, in the course of a long march, made many a
stout fellow envy him; and the manner in which he busked his plaid
and adjusted his bonnet argued a consciousness that so smart a John
Highlandman as himself would not pass unnoticed among the Lowland
lasses. The ruddy cheek, red lips, and white teeth set off a countenance
which had gained by exposure to the weather a healthful and hardy
rather than a rugged hue. If Robin Oig did not laugh, or even smile
frequently--as, indeed, is not the practice among his countrymen--his
bright eyes usually gleamed from under his bonnet with an expression of
cheerfulness ready to be turned into mirth.

The departure of Robin Oig was an incident in the little town, in and
near which he had many friends, male and