d poetry, _duans_, riddles, proverbs, and Highland customs.
It will be necessary to give a great part in the original Gaelic,
especially the poetry; but translations of the legends, riddles, and
proverbs, will be given when convenient.

The house is such as we have above described. The good-man is bordering
upon five-score. He is a bard of no mean order, often delighting his
circle of admiring friends with his own compositions, as well as with
those of Ossian and other ancient bards. He holds a responsible office
in the church, is ground-officer for the laird as well as family bard.
He possesses the only Gaelic New Testament in the district. He lives in
the old house with three sons whose ages range from 75 to 68, all full
of Highland song and story, especially the youngest two--John and
Donald. When in the district, drovers from Lochaber, Badenoch, and all
parts of the Highlands find their way to this noted _Ceilidh_ house.
Bards, itinerants of all sorts, travelling tinkers, pipers, fiddlers,
and mendicants, who loved to hear or tell a good story, recite an old
poem or compose a modern one--all come and are well received among the
regular visitors in the famous establishment. As we proceed, each of the
strangers and local celebrities will recite their own tales, not only
those of their own districts but also those picked up in their
wanderings throughout the various parts of the country.

It was a condition never deviated from, that every one in the house took
some part in the evening's performance, with a story, a poem, a riddle,
or a proverb. This rule was not only wholesome, but one which became
almost a necessity to keep the company select, and the house from
becoming overcrowded. A large oak chair was placed in a particular
spot--"where the sun rose"--the occupant of which had to commence the
evening's entertainment when the company assembled, the consequence
being that this seat, although one of the best in the house, was usually
the last occupied; and in some cases, when the house was not
overcrowded, it was never taken up at all. In the latter case the one
who sat next to it on the left, had to commence the evening's
proceedings.

It was no uncommon thing to see one of the company obliged to coin
something for the occasion when otherwise unprepared. On one occasion
the bard's grandson happened to find himself in the oak chair, and was
called upon to start the night's entertainment. Being in his own house
he