Sidney Bellews Volume 2; A Story (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1870 Excerpt: ...pass, and coming towards you, and the effect is inexpressibly wild, striking, and harmonious. And Sidney could not help thinking so too, as he remounted the dog-cart, and once more took his seat by the piper. Turning a bold shoulder of lofty rock which half blocked the gorge, they came upon a widened space--a kind of small plateau behind it--upon which were the roofless ruins of two or three cabins. The walls had evidently been pulled down, so that mere lines of stones, but a few feet in height, marked the spot where the walls had stood; a ragged stone fence, enclosing about an acre of ground, and a mass of rubbish and mouldering rafters, half overgrown, alone remained to indicate what had once been the habitation of man. The situation had been well chosen, being sheltered on three sides from the fierce winds which swept the gorge. At the back, a little mountain rill fell tinkling from rock to rock into a rude basin composed of three or four blocks of granite. 'And that was Evan's cabin, and yonder lived the auld folks, and ane or twa neebors, ' said Alaster, pointing to these remains; and forthwith he related the promised history of Evan, the facts of which were briefly these: --'Evan and his family and his forefathers had for generations dwelt upon this spot. The old man had been a shepherd, but was well-nigh worn out, and Evan supported him to the best of his ability by tilling the little plot of ground which was enclosed, and by other means; for active and daring, and an inveterate lover of the sports of his native soil, the birds of the air, and the fish of the stream--and if reports lied not, occasionally the red deer of Ben Liddich--found him profitable occupation, and contributed to feed the larder and support the necessities of the family. The M'Clun.