randfather was a small farmer in Ulva,
where my father was born. It is one of that cluster of the Hebrides thus
alluded to by Walter Scott:

"And Ulva dark, and Colonsay,
And all the group of islets gay
That guard famed Staffa round."*

* Lord of the Isles, canto 4.

Our grandfather was intimately acquainted with all the traditionary
legends which that great writer has since made use of in the "Tales of a
Grandfather" and other works. As a boy I remember listening to him with
delight, for his memory was stored with a never-ending stock of stories,
many of which were wonderfully like those I have since heard while
sitting by the African evening fires. Our grandmother, too, used to
sing Gaelic songs, some of which, as she believed, had been composed by
captive islanders languishing hopelessly among the Turks.

Grandfather could give particulars of the lives of his ancestors for
six generations of the family before him; and the only point of the
tradition I feel proud of is this: One of these poor hardy islanders
was renowned in the district for great wisdom and prudence; and it is
related that, when he was on his death-bed, he called all his children
around him and said, "Now, in my lifetime, I have searched most
carefully through all the traditions I could find of our family, and
I never could discover that there was a dishonest man among our
forefathers. If, therefore, any of you or any of your children should
take to dishonest ways, it will not be because it runs in our blood: it
does not belong to you. I leave this precept with you: Be honest." If,
therefore, in the following pages I fall into any errors, I hope they
will be dealt with as honest mistakes, and not as indicating that I have
forgotten our ancient motto. This event took place at a time when the
Highlanders, according to Macaulay, were much like the Cape Caffres,
and any one, it was said, could escape punishment for cattle-stealing by
presenting a share of the plunder to his chieftain. Our ancestors were
Roman Catholics; they were made Protestants by the laird coming round
with a man having a yellow staff, which would seem to have attracted
more attention than his teaching, for the new religion went long
afterward, perhaps it does so still, by the name of "the religion of the
yellow stick".

Finding his farm in Ulva insufficient to support a numerous family, my
grandfather removed to Blantyre Works, a large cotton manufactory on
the beau