ines belong to
Lord Hopetoun; it has more stone houses than Wanlockhead, one large old
mansion, and a considerable number of old trees--beeches, I believe. The
trees told of the coldness of the climate; they were more brown than
green--far browner than the ripe grass of the little hay-garths. Here,
as at Wanlockhead, were haycocks, hay-stacks, potato-beds, and
kail-garths in every possible variety of shape, but, I suppose from the
irregularity of the ground, it looked far less artificial--indeed, I
should think that a painter might make several beautiful pictures in this
village. It straggles down both sides of a mountain glen. As I have
said, there is a large mansion. There is also a stone building that
looks like a school, and the houses are single, or in clusters, or rows
as it may chance.

We passed a decent-looking inn, the Hopetoun Arms; but the house of Mrs.
Otto, a widow, had been recommended to us with high encomiums. We did
not then understand Scotch inns, and were not quite satisfied at first
with our accommodations, but all things were smoothed over by degrees; we
had a fire lighted in our dirty parlour, tea came after a reasonable
waiting; and the fire with the gentle aid of twilight, burnished up the
room into cheerful comfort. Coleridge was weary; but William and I
walked out after tea. We talked with one of the miners, who informed us
that the building which we had supposed to be a school was a library
belonging to the village. He said they had got a book into it a few
weeks ago, which had cost thirty pounds, and that they had all sorts of
books. 'What! have you Shakespeare?' 'Yes, we have that,' and we found,
on further inquiry, that they had a large library, {19} of long standing,
that Lord Hopetoun had subscribed liberally to it, and that gentlemen who
came with him were in the habit of making larger or smaller donations.
Each man who had the benefit of it paid a small sum monthly--I think
about fourpence.

The man we talked with spoke much of the comfort and quiet in which they
lived one among another; he made use of a noticeable expression, saying
that they were 'very peaceable people considering they lived so much
underground;'--wages were about thirty pounds a year; they had land for
potatoes, warm houses, plenty of coals, and only six hours' work each
day, so that they had leisure for reading if they chose. He said the
place was healthy, that the inhabitants lived to a great age; and