d
you will see Miss Sheila back again in the Lews, and it wazna allwas
you would lif away from your own home where you was born and the
people will know you from the one year to the next. John McNicol of
Habost he will be verra bad three months or two months ago, and we waz
thinkin he will die, and him with a wife and five bairns too, and four
cows and a cart, but the doctor took a great dale of blood from him,
and he is now verra well whatever, though wakely on the legs. It would
hev been a bad thing if Mr. McNicol waz dead, for he will be verra
good at pentin a door, and he haz between fifteen pounds and ten
pounds in the bank at Stornoway, and four cows too and a cart, and he
is a ferra religious man, and has great skill o' the psalm-tunes, and
he toesna get trunk now more as twice or as three times in the two
weeks. It was his dochter Betsy, a verra fine lass, that waz come to
Borvabost, and it waz the talk among many that Alister-nan-Each he waz
thinkin of makin up to her, but there will be a great laugh all over
the island, and she will be verra angry and say she will not have him
no if his house had a door of silfer to it for she will have no one
that toesna go to the Caithness fishins wi the other lads. It waz blew
verra hard here the last night or two or three. There is a great deal
of salmon in the rivers; and Mr. Mackenzie he will be going across to
Grimersta, the day after to-morrow, or the next day before that, and
the English gentlemen have been there more as two or three weeks,
and they will be getting verra good sport whatever. Mairi she will be
writen a letter to you to-morrow, Miss Sheila, and she will be telling
you all the news of the house. Mairi waz sayin she will be goin to
London when the harvest was got in, and Scarlett will say to her that
no one will let her land on the island again if she toesna bring you
back with her to the island and to your own house. If it waz not too
much trouble, Miss Sheila, it would be a proud day for Scarlett if you
waz send me a line or two lines to say if you will be coming to the
Lews this summer or before the winter is over whatever. I remain,
Honored Mrs. Lavender, your obedient servant,

"DUNCAN MACDONALD."

"This summer or winter," said Sheila to herself, with a happy light
on her face: "why not now?" Why should she not go down stairs to the
coffee-room of the hotel and place this invitation in the hand of her
husband and his friend? Would not its garrulous