urable an opinion of its character
and qualities. Mine host, filling up a glass, raised it to his mouth,
and, sipping a little of the liquor, smacked his lips, in token of high
relish of its excellences. He then handed the glass round the company,
all of whom tasted and approved, after the same expressive fashion; and
thus, without a word being said, a collective opinion, hollow against
Donald, was obtained.

"Well, well, trink the apominations, and be curst to you!" said Donald,
who perfectly understood that judgment had gone against him, "and much
goot may't do you! but mysel would sooner trink the dirty bog water of
Sleevrechkin. Oich, oich! the dirts! But I say, lanlort, maype you'll
have got some prandies in the house? I can make shift wi' that when
there's no whisky to be cot."

Fortunately for Donald, mine host of the Golden Eagle at once understood
the word brandy, and, understanding it, lost no time in placing a
measure of that liquor before him; and as little time did Donald lose
in swallowing an immense bumper of the inspiring alcohol.

"Ay," said Donald, with a look of great satisfaction, on performing
this feat, "that's something like a human Christian's trink. No your
tam vinekar, as would colic a horse." Saying this, he filled up and
discussed another modicum of the brandy; his followers, in the meantime,
having done the same duty by the two bottles of wine, which were
subsequently replaced by another two, by the order of their hospitable
entertainer. On Donald, however, his libations were now beginning to
produce, in a very marked manner, their usual effects. He was first
getting into a state of high excitation; thumping the table violently
with his fist, and sputtering out furious discharges of Gaelic and
English, mingled in one strange and unintelligible mess of words, and
seemingly oblivious of the fact that not a syllable of what he said
could be comprehended by his auditory. This, then, was a circumstance
which did not hinder him from entertaining his friends with a graphic
description of Eddernahulish, and a very animated account of a
particular deer-chase in which he had once been engaged. In short, in
the inspiration of the hour, Donald seemed to have entirely forgotten
every circumstance connected with his present position. He appeared to
have forgotten that he was in a foreign land; forgotten the purpose that
brought him there; forgotten his brother; forgotten those associated
with him were