mong those
who have been for a time to Glasgow or Greenock; and our own language,
the Gaelic, is unknown to strangers; and our way of speaking
English--that is only made a thing to laugh at. And yet I do not laugh
at all at the blunders of our poor people in a strange tongue. You may
laugh at us for our way of speaking English--the accent of it; but it is
not fair to laugh at the poor people when they will be making mistakes
among the verbs. Did you ever hear of the poor Highlander who was asked
how he had been employing himself, and, after a long time, he said, 'I
wass for two years a herring fish and I wass for four months or three
months a broke stone on the road?' Perhaps the Highlanders are not very
clever at picking up another language; but all the same that did not
prevent their going to all parts of the world and fighting the battles
of other people. And do you know that in Canada there are descendants of
the Highlanders who went there in the last century; and they are proud
of their name and their history; and they have swords that were used at
Falkirk and Culloden: but these Macnabs and Mackays, and Camerons, they
speak only French! But I think, if they have Highland blood in them,
and if they were to hear the '_Failte Phrionsa!_' played on the pipes,
they would recognize that language. And why were you asking about
Aberdeen?"

"That is not a Highland but a Scotch way of answering my question," said
she, smiling.

"Oh, I beg your pardon," said he, hastily; "but indeed I have never been
to Aberdeen, and I do not know what it is they speak there; but I should
say it was likely to be a mixture of Scotch and English, such as all the
big towns have. I do not think it is a Highland place, like Inverness."

"Now I will answer your question," said she. "I asked you because papa
and I propose to go there before returning to England." How quickly the
light fell from his face! "The fact is, we have some friends there."

There was silence. They all felt that it was for Macleod to speak; and
they may have been guessing as to what was passing in his mind. But to
their surprise he said, in almost a gay fashion,--

"Ah, well, you know they accuse us Highland folk of being rather too
importunate as hosts; but we will try not to harass you; and if you have
friends in Aberdeen, it would not be fair to beg of you to leave them
aside this time. But surely you are not thinking of going to Aberdeen
yet, when it is many a place