UMMERS
AND
INTERS
IN THE
ORKNEYS.
GORRIE
A 536658
DUPL
DA
880
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STORAGE
IN
HODDER AND STOUGHTON

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PRESENTED TO
THE LIBRARY
OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
I
Mr. J. N. Demision.
3)01
1881

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Summers and inters in the Orkneys.
DA
880
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CHESHIRE
THE "OLD MAN" OF HOY.
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7816
Summers and Winters
IN
The Orkneys.
BY DANIEL GORRIE.
HODDER
LONDON:
AND
STOUGHTON,
(LATE JACKSON, WALFORD AND HODDER),
27, PATERNOSTER ROW.
MDCCCLXVII,
NERAL LIBRARY
CHIGAN
:

3
London & Aylesbury :
WATSON AND HAZELL,
PRINTERS.

Fe-olast
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
RURAL ECONOMY AND PEASANT LIFE.
Northward, Ho!-Former State of the Orkneys-Causes Retard-
ing Progress-Primitive Farming-Change of System and Con-
sequent Improvements-Cottages-Stronsay Hut-Domestic
Animals-Character, Habits, and Condition of the Peasantry-
Popular Superstitions-Bessie Miller-Old Customs-New
Year's Eve Song-Native Airs and Legends-Dialect-Wedding
Incident-Names of Places and Persons.
CHAPTER II.
KIRKWALL.
Wick Bay-Noss Head Lighthouse-Sea-View of the Caithness
and Orkney Shores-String Sound-Kirkwall from the Bay-
Quaint Streets-Aspects of Social Life, Old and New-Character
and Habits of the Burghers-Pastimes-Battle of the Ball-
Lammas Fair.
бо
I
vi
Contents.
CHAPTER III.
THE CATHEDRAL OF ST. MAGNUS AND BISHOPS'
PALACE.
Exterior and Interior Views of the Cathedral-Its Historical
Interest-Arrival of the Northmen-King Olaf's Muscular
Christianity'-Martyrdom of Magnus-Founding of the
Cathedral and Bishops' Palace-The Last of the Sea-Kings-
Haco's Death and Burial-Memorial Tablets-Annals of the
Bishopric Estate
• 97
CHAPTER IV.
RULE OF THE
BASHAWS:
STEWART.
EARL
PATRICK
Ruins of the Earl's Palace-Character and Acts of Patrick Stewart
-Visit of the Duke of Sutherland-Return Visit of Earl Patrick
to Dornock-Quarrel Between the Earls of Orkney and Caith-
ness-Court Record-Insurrection in Orkney-Earl Patrick on
the Scaffold
- 120
CHAPTER V.
INTERIOR OF POMONA.
Wideford Hill-View of the Islands-Picts' House-Orkney Trows
-Maeshow-Standing Stones of Stennis
CHAPTER VI.
THE SEASONS IN ORKNEY.
Climate-Spring-time-Summer Walk-Orcadian Ornithology—
Rara Aves-Birds of Passage-Haunts of Sea-fowl-Egg-
gathering Exploit-Old Modes of Bird-Catching-Moorlands-
Links or Downs-Peat-casting-Midsummer Sunset-Autumn
Scenes-Sea-Colours-Beach-birds-Sports-Winter Scenes by
Day and Night-Aurora Borealis
- 158
· 199
Contents.
vii
CHAPTER VII.
SUMMER CRUISING-TACK FIRST.
Runto Rousay-Fowling-Gui rsay and the Wire Skerries-Roost of
Enhallow-Westness Swendrow-A Northman's Raid-On the
Hills-Summer shower-Egilshay and Eday-Calfsound-The
Pirate Gow-Redhead and Rapness Cliffs-Pierowall Bay-Nolt-
land Castle-Westray Dons-How of Habrahelia-Norse
Tragedy-Night Sail
CHAPTER VIII.
SUMMER CRUISING-SECOND TACK.
In a Cattle-Boat-Summer Squalls-Stronsay-Mill Bay-The
Mermaid's Chair-Vat of Kirbuster-Cliff Scenery-A Burial
Ground-Whale-Chase-Fair Isle and the Fair Islanders-Norse
Ward-Fires
254
297
CHAPTER IX.
WEST MAINLAND AND THE SOUTH ISLES.
Stromness and its Scenery-Hoy sound-Kame Echo and Hoy
Cliffs-View from the Ward Hill-Enchanted Carbuncle-
Dwarfie stone-Norna and Trolld-Under the Tocks-South
Isles-Longhope-Ruins of Snelsetter-Moodie Family-South
Ronaldshay-Sandwick-Old Province of Bergisherad—Birsay
Palace
339


CHAPTER I.
Rural Economy and Peasant Life.
Northward, Ho!-Former State of the Orkneys-Causes
Retarding Progress-Primitive Farming-Change of
System and Consequent Improvements-Cottages-
Stronsay Hut Domestic Animals Character,
Habits, and Condition of the Peasantry-Popular Su-
perstitions-Bessie Miller-Old Customs-New Year's
Eve Song-Native Airs and Legends-Dialect—
Wedding Incident-Names of Places and Persons.

ness.
HE position which the Orkney Islands.
occupy in the map of Great Britain im-
parts to them a peculiar aspect of remote-
As the Londoner, hunting up new autumnal
routes, runs his eye along the great stretch of coast
on the eastern seaboard of England and Scotland,
he pauses at Duncansbay Head, or the traditional
I
2
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
site of John O'Groat's House, and casts a timid,
pitying glance at the lonely groups of islands lying
far off in the North Sea. He may recall Long-
fellow's description of the Orkneyan skerries
answering the hoarse Hebrides, as if they were near
and friendly neighbours; but the Western Isles,
clinging closer to the iron ribs of the land, seem to
have a more attractive situation on the map, and so
the intending tourist fixes upon Mull or Skye as the
ultima Thule of his holiday trip. There is really,
however, nothing so very formidable in a visit to
Orkney, notwithstanding the apparent remoteness
of the islands, and the proverbial fierceness of the
Pentland Firth. Fine, swift, and roomy steamships
-the property of the Aberdeen, Leith, and Clyde
Shipping Company-now make bi-weekly trips in
summer and autumn between Granton, Aberdeen,
and Kirkwall, passing on also, one hundred miles
further north, to the quaint capital of Shetland.
The average time taken by the steamers on their
passage from Granton to Kirkwall, allowing for
detentions at Aberdeen and Wick, is only about
thirty hours, and the coast scenery is sufficiently
IN THE ORKNEYS.
3
varied and picturesque to enliven the sail.
Travellers, who prefer the overland route, can find
their way into Caithness by rail and coach, and
thence make a short cut across the Pentland
Firth in the mail steamer which has now begun
to ply six days a week, all the year round,
between the Scottish mainland and the port.
of Stromness. But easy as it now is to reach
Orkney, the enterprising tourist might have
felt the trip rather tedious in the years which
preceded the introduction of steam. At one
period the intercourse between the islands and other
parts of Britain was so limited, that the churches
in Orkney are said to have offered up the usual
loyal prayers for James II. three months after he
had retired to St. Germain's, and so formidable did
a jaunt to Edinburgh last century seem to
Orcadians that they were in the habit of making
their wills before leaving for the South, and of
celebrating a solemn "foy," or parting feast, with
their friends.*
*The following curious and amusing quotation from an
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
Any tourist visiting the Islands for the first time
in the summer and autumn months, and surveying
the stretches of grain and pasture-lands, might find
it hard to believe that from thirty years to forty
years only have elapsed since skill and energy
were generally applied to the cultivation of Orca-
dian soil. This, however, is really the case, not-
withstanding the antiquity of the island annals.
Grain, it is true, appears in the earliest rentals, and
the Norsemen long ago were in the habit of
old diary, kept by the son of Mr. Fea of Clestran-a
once famous but now extinct Orkney family-will serve to
indicate at once the expensiveness of a foy" or parting
feast, and the tedious delays that frequently beset Orca-
dian travellers in the olden time :-
(C
66 1721.
Septr. 16th. To Incidents (Expenses) at Kirkwall at my
departure for by ane Hogshead of Wine I got from
my Father to Drink my Foy with
£34 145.
"Octr. 15th. To my Journey South having taken my
departure from Kirkwall, 16 September, 1721, and did
not arrive there (Edinburgh) till the 15th Octr.,
being 12 days stormed at the Ferry as per the parti-
cular accott.
£44 9s."
Scotch money at the period named was nearly of the
value of sterling money now.
-
IN THE ORKNEYS.
5
returning from roving expeditions to reap their
bere harvests; but the primitive mode of farming
was still followed far on in the present century,
and agriculture as a science is of comparatively
recent introduction. Many causes combined to re-
tard progress and improvement. The feudalizing of
the Odal or freehold tenures produced grievous
anomalies. The rapacity also of successive crown
donataries, or tacksmen, impoverished the Islands,
and reduced the inhabitants to a state bordering
on serfdom. Superior duties, partly of Norwegian,
and partly of Scottish origin, were paid in kind,
and this pernicious system, a remnant of vassalage,
although not yet completely abolished, is rapidly
hastening to extinction. Until about the year
1835, the pundlar and bismar, importations from
Norway, were the weighing instruments in common
use. It unfortunately happened that the original
standards of the weights had been lost or destroyed,
and unscrupulous tacksmen took full advantage
of this circumstance to increase their exactions.
In the course of last century a number of Orkney
gentlemen, convinced that there had been a
6
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
gradual increase in the weights, withheld payment
of their feu-duties, and involved the Earl of
Morton, then grantee of the crown rents, in a
lawsuit before the Court of Session. This once
celebrated case was known as the Pundlar Process.
In order to fortify their position, the gentlemen
who instituted the case obtained from the
Burgomaster of Bergen, custodier of Norwegian
weights and measures, a certificated statement of the
original standards. Evidence was led to show
that the increase in the weights had extended over
a long series of years, and that the result of this
iniquitous proceeding had been to ruin proprietors,
to diminish the population, and to cripple every
branch of trade and industry. The Court-proba-
bly on the ground of usage beyond the years of
prescription—found that the landowners had not
established their case. A system of oppression
that rendered progress
thus continued that rendered.
impossible. To all classes the pundlar and bismar
afforded facilities for the exercise of fraud and
cunning, and the general use of such imperfect
instruments must have tended greatly to deteriorate
the moral character of the people.
was
IN THE ORKNEYS.
7
Kelp-making, which was prosecuted with consi-
derable success till the year 1832, aided also in
retarding agricultural improvement. Proprietors
employed their tenants, and tenants their cottars, in
gathering the seaweed, commonly called tangle,
that is drifted up in large quantities on the shores of
the Islands. After undergoing a process of drying
and burning, the seaweed is converted into kelp, a
substance once extensively used in glass-making, but
now almost entirely superseded by barilla. In the
palmy days of the kelp-trade, 3,000 tons have been
made in one year, giving an income to the country
of £24,000. But this manufacture, though a
temporary success, led to the neglect of farming
pursuits, and the result was ruinous to many when
a deterioration took place in the value of the
material. Tenants and cottars, who received a small
allowance per ton from the proprietors, spent the
best of the summer season in gathering the tangle
and preparing the kelp. To their lot fell the heavi-
est share of the severe labour connected with the
manufacture, while the landholders reserved for
themselves the lion's portion of the profits.
It is not surprising, since so many retarding and
8
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
Co
ruinous influences were at work, that agriculture in
Orkney, with a few exceptional cases, was still in
its infancy from thirty to forty years ago. Previous
to that period the arable and pasture-lands, lying
in "runrig" or intermixed, and divided into
conterminous townships, were separated from the
common wastes of moorland by hill-dykes built of
turf. In early summer, when the green braird
began to glimmer on the low-lying fields, the herds
of small cattle and swarms of native sheep, belong-
ing to the various proprietors and crofters, were
driven out into the hill-common where they
lived at large, like fcræ naturæ, till the close of
autumn. This practice prevented the necessity of
herding, but it proved destructive to the sheep,
many of the lambs being killed by ravens, hooded
crows, and the great black-backed gull. Swoop-
ing from their eyries on the Dwarfie Hammers
of Hoy, eagles wheeled and circled over the
hill-commons, selecting their victims at will. There
was no lack of feeding for birds of prey when
the flocks wandered unattended over lonely moors.
The cattle and sheep, thus left to shift for them-
IN THE ORKNEYS.
9
selves, remained quietly on the hill-common till
the lengthening nights and fading herbage im-
pelled them to seek sustenance and shelter
within the sacred precincts encircled by the turf-
dykes. The "infield," or land under cultivation,
was almost entirely destitute of enclosures,
and when the autumnal stampede of live stock
occurred, late crops invariably disappeared before
the hunger and hoofs of the invaders. During the
winter and spring months the infields became a
commonty, crowded with cattle, horses, sheep,
swine, and geese. The number of horses was
large in proportion to the population. When the
parish of Cross, in Sanday, contained only 581 in-
habitants, the horses amounted to 265. At the
commencement of each season, one of the princi-
pal occupations of landholders and tenants con-
sisted in repairing the turf-dykes, which were
frequently undermined by pigs' snouts, breached by
cattle and horses, and washed away by winter
rains. Although excellent quarries existed in the
Islands, it was considered an innovation when
Major Moodie, of Melsetter, a pioneer in agri-
•
IO
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
cultural improvement erected a freestone wall
around a piece of pastureland intended for winter
feeding of sheep. The want of enclosures, within
as well as without the hill-dykes, necessitated the
invention of an elaborate system of sheep-marks
to distinguish the ownership of the numerous
animals. A register of the marks was kept by
the baron bailie of each parish. The following
is a sample of an Orphir sheep-owner's mark :-
"The crop of the right lug and a bit behind, a rip
on the left lug and a bit before, and the tail off."
In North Ronaldshay at the present day the
sheep of the various holders feed in common on the
sea-margin outside a dry stone wall that makes
the circuit of the Island, and the old system of
multitudinous marking still prevails in that
quaint and primitive region of Orkney.
marks, wonderfully ingenious in variety, are entered
in the different leases, and a reference to these
infallible registers settles any dispute with regard
to ownership which may arise.
The
The "lugs" of the
unfortunate North Ronaldshay sheep, which have
a closer affinity to sacrificial goats than to cheviots.
IN THE ORKNEYS.
JI
or merinos, are cropped and "ripped” in a
hundred different ways, very curious and puzzl-
ing to behold.
While the runrig system of husbandry continued
the great proportion of the holdings were small,
and most of the farmers were tenants at will.
The few leases granted were mainly to tacksmen,
who sublet portions of the property to crofters,
occasionally exacting a certain number of days'
labour in payment of rent. In the generality of
cases rent was paid in malt, oatmeal, butter, poul-
try, peats, and kelp, delivered at a price below the
market value. It was not uncommon for proprietors
to stock the larger farms for incoming tenants, who
subscribed an obligation to deliver a similar value
in horses, cows, sheep, and farming implements.
This practice, vigorously defended by the late Rev.
Walter Traill, of Westove, in his "Vindication," must
have produced pernicious effects by tempting men of
no capital to take farms. It was called "Steelbow,"
and has now happily ceased to exist. So long as
the arrangements between landholders and tenants
remained in the unsatisfactory condition here indi-
I 2
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
cated, no attempts at improvement were made in
the erection of farm-steadings. Barns, cow-houses,
stables, and sheds stood single and detached. The
bollmen and cottagers, who were employed by the
larger proprietors and tenants, lived apart in nooks
and corners of the farms. These bollmen bore a
certain resemblance to the hinds of Berwickshire
and East Lothian. They were Jacks-of-all-work,
holding the plough in spring, labouring in ditches,
making kelp in summer, wielding the sickle in
autumn and the flail in winter. The wages they
received, in addition to maintainance, seldom ex-
ceeded £5 or £7 a year. The cottagers, who
laboured along with the bollmen in kelp-making
and on the harvest-field, generally kept a horse and
cow on their small crofts. In the harvest-season the
working-hours were long, extending from four in
the morning till ten at night. When daylight
failed the men-servants thrashed corn or twisted
straw-ropes in the barns by lamplight, while
the maid-servants, more comfortably quartered,
gathered around the ruddy glow of the peat-fire to
spin and knit stockings. Though hours of labour
IN THE ORKNEYS.
13
were long, and wages small, the farm-workers were
well fed, receiving in some districts no fewer than
five meals a day in all seasons. Many of the small
holders, then as now, combined the occupations of
farming and fishing, and drew a scanty subsistence
from sea and soil.
The middleman or tacksman system was, at its
best, a system of servitude, so far as the cottars or
small tenants were concerned. It placed them
at the mercy of the principal tenant, degraded
them as a class, and discouraged industry. Mr.
Scarth, in his statistical account of the Parishes.
of Cross and Burness, described the working of
this pernicious system. "A youngster," he said,
"when he has hardly attained to manhood, and be-
fore he can have saved as much as will purchase a
bed and blankets, makes an improvident marriage,
and only then thinks of looking for a hut to shelter
him and his fast-increasing family. Having got
the hut and a small piece of land, he has to go into
debt for the purchase of a wretched cow and a still
more wretched pony, and, paying his rent in small
but never-ending and ill-defined personal services,
14
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
or, as it is expressively called in the country lan-
guage, onca work, he becomes the slave of the prin-
cipal tenant, who is so blind to his own interests as
to prefer the slovenly half-executed work of this
hopeless, ill-fed, and inert being to the willing and
active services of a well-paid and well-fed farm-
servant." The writer of the statistical account
also states that the first blow to the cottar system
was given by Mr. Laing, of Papdale, who allotted
to the cottars on his farm, in a district by them-
selves, three Scotch acres of arable land each, with
about an equal quantity of grass ground. For
this holding they paid a rent of £5 5s, and were
left to their own resources. If they chose to work
kelp. Mr. Laing offered them the same price for
their labour which had been formerly paid to the
principal tenant, and the effect of this free system
was soon perceptible in the production of indus-
trious labourers.
Agricultural implements underwent little im-
provement while the runrig system continued. The
old Orkney plough was single-stilted and wanted
the mould-board. It was drawn by three and
1
จ
IN THE ORKNEYS.
15
sometimes four ponies or oxen, which were yoked
abreast and had their heads fastened to a beam of
wood. The driver, grasping this piece of wood
with one hand and plying his whip with the other,
walked backwards in front of the animals; and the
ploughman, following up in the rear, leant his
weight against one side of the implement, occasion-
ally using a pattle-tree to clear away clods, or has-
ten the pace of his refractory team. All this expen-
diture of energy was quite superfluous, as the plough
only scratched the surface of the fields, and the
trampling of so many feet and hoofs poached the
soil when soft, and hardened it when dry. The
back-bands were generally made of plaited bass-
matt, and the "wassies" or collars of twisted oat-
straw, sometimes covered with coarse woollen cloth.
Notwithstanding the imperfection of the instrument,
there must have been a delightful picturesqueness
in the rural scenes of spring-time, when teams of
oxen, rigged out in homespun harness, toiled slowly
up and down the infield patches of ground, drag-
ging at their indignant heels the ancient plough of
Egypt and Rome. When ponies were used, the
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
first or right hand one was called the fur horse, the
second the fur-scam, the third the volar-scam, and
the fourth the outend horse. The "single stilt" is
now rarely to be met with except in the antiquarian
museum; but I have certainly seen this curiosity
resting quietly against a barn-wall in a retired
farm-yard, as if it were still, from old use and wont,
surreptitiously employed in tickling the soil.* Sir
James Stewart, of Burray, was more than half a
century in advance of other Orcadians when he in-
troduced a wheel-plough, and it was not till the
early years of the French war that double-stilted
instruments, without a driver, crept into use among
a few landholders
The harrows, fitted up with wooden teeth, were
little better than the plough, serving only to comb
* David Vedder, in his sketch of the" Laird o' Yarpha,
describes the old Orkney plough as resembling" a large
Roman fallen to the ground, like Dagon before the
[Ind
Ark." The same writer gives an amusing account of the
appearance presented by an old "pickie laird" at the
plough-tale. "What a delightful treat," he says, " it would
have been to some Lothian Triptolemus to have seen him
on a spring morning ploughing his fields, like another
Cincinnatus, dressed in a sheep-black coat, waistcoat, and
IN THE ORKNEYS.
17
the ground that had been previously scratched.
They were sometimes dragged by women-a rude
practice, prevailing to this day in some parts of
Shetland and in the Isle of Skye. Box-carts,
drawn by oxen or small ponies, were also in common
use at the period when the single-stilted plough
was employed in tillage. In many districts, from
the absence of good roads, farm-produce was tran-
sported from place to place, in heather-creels and
straw-panniers, called cubbies and casics, which
were balanced by clibbers on the backs of ponies.
A similar custom prevailed in Devonshire, at the
southern extremity of the kingdom. The ponies
may no longer be seen trotting along rough byeways
with their equal-poised panniers, but the old box-
cart, creaking under a load of smoked fish, and
drawn by a sturdy steer, may still be noticed oc-
breeches, bedizened with large pewter buttons of his own
casting; long, lank, sandy hair issuing unpruned, unshorn,
from beneath his broad blue bonnet; a long, bare, scraggy
neck, bronzed with the suns of forty summers; nose some-
what aquiline, with a brown aqueous substance pendant
therefrom; upper lip begrimed with beggar's snuff; while
his legs were enveloped in twisted straw, generally known
by the name of strae-boots!'"
2
18
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
The flail
casionally on the streets of Kirkwall.
held fellowship with the antique ploughs, cubbies,
and box-carts. Instead of fanners, drumming and
droning and whisking away the chaff, the grain was
winnowed by being placed on some “fairy-knowe,”
or outspread on the barn-floor in a draught of air.
A primitive process was likewise followed by some
of the crofters, who were destitute of granaries,
in storing their corn. After the grain had been
thrashed, it was heaped up in stacks, shaped like
skeps, or bee-hives, and then thatched all round.
Those "straw-built citadels,” containing the wealth
of households, were guarded by the peasantry with
watchful care.
This brief sketch will suffice to indicate the
indifferent condition of Orcadian farming until the
almost simultaneous removal of the principal causes
of depression and stagnation enabled agriculturists
to commence that career of progress which, within
thirty years, has effected a complete change in the
appearance and rural economy of the Islands.* The
* It may be mentioned that Mr. Robert Scarth, the
present proprietor of Binscarth, was one of the first to
IN THE ORKNEYS,
19
failure of the kelp-trade turned the attention of
proprietors and tenants to the neglected soil, and
it fortunately happened that, about the same period,
steam communication with the South was intro-
duced, and several gentlemen of capital and enter-
prise purchased lands or rented farms in the country.
Under the runrig system pasture and arable lands,
belonging to the same proprietors, or held by
various tenants, were intermingled in a state of
confusion, and the separation of these lands formed
the first decided step in promoting agricultural
improvement. The process by which the runrig
lands were laid into severalty was called “plank-
ing." Each township, or group of small farms, in
Orkney goes under the denomination of so many
pennylands, farthinglands, cowsworths, settens, and
marklands.* These divisions-indicating no definite
move (in 1832-33) in the squaring and remodelling of
farms. He also introduced, in North Ronaldshay, the
plan of renting with an allowance for improvements,
which has contributed so much to promote the agri-
cultural prosperity of the Islands.
*The land divisions in Orkney are so curious and
complex that even shrewd surveyors and sharp-witted
20
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
extent of ground, and differing even in conterminous
townships-corresponded orginally perhaps to the
amount of feu-duty paid at some remote period.
In the process of planking, which threw the
commonfield into severalty, separate sections of
the arable and grass lands were assigned to the
various holders in proportion to the number of
pennylands, farthinglands, cowsworths, and other
denominations represented in their title-deeds.
The average extent of each plank was about an
acre, but the system of redistribution, thus com-
lawyers confess their inability to make them intelligible
to ordinary mortals. The earliest survey and valuation
was made under the direction of King Haco, in 1263,
on his return from the disastrous battle of Largs.
Weary and war-worn, the Norwegian monarch resolved
to winter in Kirkwall, and ordered the whole occu-
pied lands in Orkney and Shetland to be divided into
marklands, on each of which a fixed number of men
should be quartered. Each markland contained eight
urislands or ouncelands, the ure (ounce) being one-
eighth of a mark in Orkneyan mensuration. The mark
was a measure of valuation proportioned to taxation,
and indicated no definite extent of land. The first
division of land thus took place under the Norse regime
when the odal tenure remained intact, but other divi-
sions were subsequently introduced at unknown periods
IN THE ORKNEYS.
21
menced, was not satisfactorily completed until the
different heritors, renouncing their portions of land
that lay sparsim over entire districts, and receiving
equivalents elsewhere, succeeded at last in compact-
ing their properties, and in rendering agricultural
progress possible. From the want of any uniform
standard as regards the extent of the peculiar
land-divisions, the county surveyor had no light
task in apportioning the properties and straighten-
ing the marches. There is a bewildering variety
and intermixture of colours in the sectional plans-
by the Scottish earls. The subdivisions were denomi-
nated pennylands, farthinglands, cowsworths, settens,
and marks, which run thus in tabulated form:
22 Marks
3 Settens
3 Cowsworths
4 Farthinglands
I Setten
I Cowsworth
1 Farthingland
1 Pennyland
The pennyland is now the highest denomination, and it
varies in extent, like the original Norse markland, in
different townships, being also a measure of valuation
proportioned to taxation. In some districts another division
goes under the name of merkland, which makes confu-
sion worse confounded in the terms of extent and value.
In different pennylands there are eight, five and
one-third, four and three-quarters marks to the penny.
22
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
preserved in the surveyor's office at Kirkwall-which
exhibit the condition of the Islands when the old
chaotic confusion prevailed.
The redistribution of lands, legalised by ancient
acts of the Scottish Parliament, laid the foundation
of all subsequent improvements in Orkney. It
gave full scope to freedom of action, and called
forth individual energy. Farms were enlarged,
steadings were built, leases were granted, lands
were reclaimed, and more serviceable implements
came into general use. The gradual increase in
The pennyland in some townships is equal to four and
three-quarters arable acres, and in others to six acres.
In
The divisions and subdivisions vary considerably in the
different districts of the country. In the parish of St. Ola
the township consists of penny and farthinglands.
the Parish of Firth some of the townships are divided into
pennylands, farthinglands, and cowsworths, and others.
into penny and farthinglands. In the parish of Stennis.
the divisions are farthing, penny, and marklands, with
this peculiarity that, in some townships, six marklands
make a farthingland. In Harray, Deerness, Rousay, and
Sanday, the only divisions are penny and farthinglands. In
South Ronaldshay there are penny, farthing, setten, and
merklands. Westray is divided into penny and farthing-
lands, with the exception of one township which is divided
IN THE ORKNEYS.
23
agricultural exports showed the beneficial effects
of better cultivation, drainage, enclosures, rotation
of crops, and division of labour. Instead of the
soil being exhausted by alternate crops of oats and
bere, the "five-shift" system was adopted on all the
larger farms. Arable lands were sown with grass,
and superior kinds of live stock, fed on richer
pastures, supplanted the native breeds of cattle
and sheep which formerly wandered at will over
the hill-common. Progress has also been greatly
accelerated in recent years by the purchase, in
many cases, of the superior duties, the general
payment of rents in money instead of produce,
into meal scoups, a corruption of the Norse mœliscop,
equal, it is supposed, to one-sixth of a pennyland.
These Orcadian land divisions, which seem so peculiar,
imposed a difficult task upon the county surveyor at
the period when the system of "planking" was intro-
duced, and when separate sections of the arable and
grasslands were assigned to the various holders in pro-
portion to the number of pennylands, etc., represented
in their title-deeds. The Scottish earls, who multiplied
the divisions and improved upon King Haco's plan, had
doubtless good and sufficient reasons for causing some
confusion in terms and measurement.
24
SUM MERS AND WINTERS.
and the construction of excellent roads through-
out the Islands. From these and other causes
Orkney may now be regarded as well abreast of
the sister Northern counties in point of agri-
cultural development.
The returns of the county surveyor for 1865-66,
show that the estimated number of farming occu-
piers in the Mainland is 1,909; in the South Isles,
754; in the North Isles, 1,005; giving a grand
total of 3,668. There are 754 holdings with a
rental running from £10 to £20; 398 from £20
to £50; 106 from £50 to £100; and 49 with a
rental above £100. Rents range from five shil-
lings to £600. Housby, in the Island of Stronsay,
consisting of 1,240 acres, has the distinction of
being the highest rented farm in Orkney. There
are large numbers of holdings or crofts under a
rental of £10; extensive farms being still in the
minority. Many of the small low-rented patches
of ground are clearings recently reclaimed from
the moorland or old hill-common, which is rapidly
giving place to cultivation.
Pieces of waste,
sold some years ago for a mere trifle, now annu-
IN THE
25
THE ORKNEYS.
ally yield a fair return of crops.
There is still,
however, a large quantity of unreclaimed land, im-
parting in several districts a singularly sombre ap-
pearance to the landscape. On some estates,
like that of Melsetter in Walls, the stretches of
heath exceed by hundreds of acres the extent of
infield pasture and meadow ground. A dreary
and melancholy gloom invests these Orcadian
moorlands as they lie in their loneliness under
the dull leaden skies of December.
The better-class farms are now generally held
by lease, but many of the small occupiers are yet
tenants-at-will. When leases are wanted they are
seldom refused by the Earl of Zetland and other
extensive proprietors. The "hundred lairds of
Harray" are almost the sole remanent representa-
tives of the old Odallers, who cultivated their own
freeholds. Rents of farms, large or little, are
commonly paid in money, although in some
exceptional cases they are still paid, partly in
money and partly in kind. The tenants of two
proprietors pay the superior duties on the land, a
corresponding deduction being made from the rent.
26
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
Farmers complain of "high-pressure rents," and
there is good ground for believing that the com-
plaint is frequently too well founded. The time
has long gone by since benevolent landlords were
occasionally content to accept a "chuckie," fatten-
ed mayhap on their own corn, in lieu of rent.
Some few years ago a number of Aberdeenshire
farmers-ignorant of the moistness and change-
ableness of the climate, and misled by fanciful
descriptions of the excessive fertility of the soil-
leased farms at a higher figure than the native
holders, and thus affected the general rent-tariff.
The Aberdeenshire men struggled bravely under
the burden which they had imposed upon them-
selves; but most of them were unfortunately com-
pelled to succumb, and they terminated their
Orcadian career in clearing-out sales. While
admiring the energy of the strangers, and pitying
their misfortunes, the native farmers could not for-
get that they were the innocent means of causing
a rise in rent.
The soil of Orkney comprises mossy or yarpha
soil, clay, sand, and a rich loam, compounded of
IN THE ORKNEYS.
27
!
these varieties. It is of no great depth, but pro-
duces excellent crops of oats, bere, barley, and the
hardier kinds of grain. The humidity of the
climate, however, the shortness of the summer, and
the frequent lateness of the harvest, render it pre-
carious for the farmer to place his sole dependence
on his crops. Agriculturists, accordingly, are be-
coming every year more alive to the importance of
turning their chief attention to grazing—a purpose
for which the climate and the grasslands are alike
admirably adapted. The sweet and nourishing
quality of the pasture is supposed to be produced
in part by the impregnation of the air with saline
particles. The grazing capabilities of the Islands
are now so much appreciated, that well-nigh 10,000
head of cattle, mostly shorthorns, are annually
exported, and many farmers rely upon the sale of
live stock as the only means of paying their rent.*
*
*The quantity of live stock existing in Orkney and
Shetland on the 25th June, 1867, was returned as follows:
-Cattle, 43,113; sheep, 101, 104; pigs, 11,368. As
regarded the number of cattle, Orkney and Shetland
combined stood eighth in the list of Scottish counties at
the above date.
28
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
A superior class of stock has taken the place of
the native breeds in every district. The last of
the old Orkney sheep still survive in North
Ronaldshay, like the stragglers of a vanishing race;
but the original type of the "garron," or horse, and
the small native cattle, have quite disappeared
from the islands. These cattle, scarcely so small
as the aborigines of Caithness and Sutherland, were
black, white, brown, and brindled. In most districts.
they were fed on a coarse fare of bent-grass.
Captain Sutherland, of Burray, was among the first
to introduce the pure Dunrobin breed, and superior
cattle were also reared, early in the century, on
Mr. Baikie's farm in Egilshay, at Cliffdale in Sha-
pinshay, and at Melsetter in Walls. Inroads and
improvements were thus gradually made upon the
old stock. The type now prevalent in the Islands
is the shorthorn crosses. Sixty years ago the
native short-tailed sheep, which ran wild among
the hills, amounted to about 50,000. Mr. Malcolm
Laing, who was distinguished alike for his learning,
his enterprise, and his benevolence, took the lead
of other proprietors in improving the breed of
IN THE ORKNEYS.
29
sheep. In 1813, his flocks, numbering upwards of
a thousand sheep, consisted of pure merinos,
merino-cheviots, southdowns, and merino-Ork-
neys. More recently, Mr. Archer Fortescue, an
enterprising English gentleman, introduced a large
flock of cheviots on his estate of Swanbister in
Orphir, and the success of his experiment, in feed-
ing them on the hills all winter, induced others to
follow his example. In Shapinshay, Mr. Balfour
has obtained a valuable animal by crossing the old
Orkney breed with the southdowns, but the great
proportion of the flocks in the Islands are composed
of the Leicester cheviots, which thrive remarkably
well, and make no inconsiderable addition to the
agricultural exports. In Shetland three times more
sheep are reared than in Orkney-a circumstance
which need not occasion surprise, when we remember
that the Orcadian uplands are covered with heath,
while the hill-districts of Shetland abound in grassy
hollows that afford fine shelter and sustenance to
the flocks.
The residences of the leading proprietors-such
as Melsetter, Roeberry, Hall of Tankerness,
30
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
Balfour House, Grainbank, Papdale, Glaitness,
Binscarth, Skaill, and Holland-are commodious,
and, in some instances, handsome buildings.* Ten-
ants of the better class also inhabit substantial two-
story edifices, and the absence of trees makes the
numerous farm-houses conspicuous objects in the
landscape. An evidence of progress is furnished
by the fine steadings, fitted up with modern improve-
ments, that may now be found in every well-
cultivated district. Thrashing-mills, worked by
* In the lobby of the new House of Holland, built in
1814, there is a chair, the back of which is formed of a
quaint and curious inscription-tablet that once stood above
the mantlepiece in the old House of Holland, in Papa
Westray. The inscription—a hospitable welcome to stran-
gers-runs in the following rude rhymes:
66
Come, good folk, and make good cheer,
All cival people are welcome here,
And only for a good man's sake
What God doth send ye sall not lack;
For good he was to me indeed,
Forward then his name ye read.
T.T. and M.C., 1632.
The initials T. T. stand for Thomas Traill, and M. C.
for Marion Craigie. The old house was built between
1628 and 1632.
IN THE ORKNEYS.
31
steam, horse, or water-power, are in general use.
One or two examples may serve to indicate the
skill and enterprise of Orkney agriculturists in
farming pursuits. The proprietor of Papa Westray
owns the farm of New Holland, in the Parish of
Holm, one of the finest and most fertile districts
in Pomona. The farm, consisting of 300 acres, has
been all under tillage, and only a few years have
elapsed since the first plough-lines were laid down,
or an effort was made to subject the old moorland
waste to cultivation. Built somewhat in the
model-farm style, the steading is provided with a
spacious court of offices, a comfortable bothy for
the ploughmen, a steam thrashing-mill, and all the
best appliances of advanced agriculture. The
present state of S. Ronaldshay and Shapinshay af-
fords another illustration of progress. In 1848 there
were only 700 acres in the latter island under the
plough, while in 1863 there were 6,000, leaving only
some patches of "links" and moorland unreclaimed.
Notwithstanding improvements in steadings and
farm-houses, the cottages of crofters and labourers
are still too frequently small, primitive, miserable-
32
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
looking huts. Piles of peat-stacks and crazy out-
houses are huddled together in front of these dismal
dwellings, apparently for the purpose of breaking
the force of the wintry blasts. Round towers, of a
quaint and antique aspect, formerly used as kilns
for drying grain, are still attached to many of the
cottages. The doorway is generally so low-browed
that every man of ordinary stature must make
obeisance to the household gods as he enters and
retires. Cows and calves, which have a better right
to be called domestic animals in Orkney than else-
where, are occasionally quartered in one end of
the cabin, or share the "forehouse" with the family
when they require careful nurture. Overhead, on
the rafters," the red cock and the grey," celebrated
in Border ballad minstrelsy, roost composedly at
dusk beside their wives and concubines, and stir
the sleepers at dawn with their loud reveillé. A
peat-fire smoulders in the middle of the floor, or close
to the blackened wall, and the smoke, after rising
and lingering in wreaths about the rafters, escapes
by the same hole that admits the light-faint and
dim in the noontide of a summer day. In some
IN THE ORKNEYS.
33
1
cases, the hole in the roof is fitted up with a wind-
board contrivance which can be moved about from
within as the wind veers round, and thus assists, to
some extent, the egress of the smoke. The furniture
of the forehouse-corresponding to the "but" in
the south of Scotland-chiefly consists of an antique
high-backed chair, two or three" creepies," a small
table, a “tick-at-the wa'" clock, and a big box-bed.
This last indispensable article of furniture is fitted
up with lid-like doors, which the cottar or his wife
almost invariably close when they retire for
the night, believing themselves more snug and
comfortable when restricted to thirty cubic feet of
air till morning. The "ben," or parlour, contain-
ing a few better articles of furniture, is seldom used
except on great occasions, such as marriages, christ-
enings, and New Year merry-makings.
sanctum, rarely seen by the children, is frequently
panelled with wood, or papered, and can boast of a
chimney and grate.
This
Some of the huts rank no higher than "auld
clay biggins," and have undergone no change since
Sheriff wrote his Agricultural Report early in the
3
34
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
century. It is not unusual still to see the thatch
secured by stones suspended to straw-ropes, and
hanging over the eaves of the tenements. The mode
of thatching differs considerably from that adopted
in other parts of Scotland. The straw or heather
used for the purpose, is first twisted into thick ropes,
which are called simmons. These simmons are
then thrown over the joists in parallel rows from
eave to eave. A layer of straw, strapped down
with other rows of cordage, is next spread over the
roof, and thus the process continues, with alternate
strata of loose and twisted straw or heath, until a
rain-proof covering is obtained. An evidence of
the inferiority of this mode of thatching is afforded
by the frequency with which the cottage roofs
require repair. At one time fines of simmons were
imposed by kirk-sessions, upon a certain class of
backsliders, in such districts as Deerness and Tank-
erness. It is related that one minister made the
fine two balls of simmons; but when he found the
cases of fama clamosa falling off in number, he
reduced the tariff, and thus restored the buoyancy
of the revenue. Money fines sometimes took the
IN THE ORKNEYS.
35
;
place of simmons fines for the class of offences indi-
cated, and an amusing story is told of an elder,
who stood at the church-door on Sunday, rattling
the pewter collection plate with a timber ladle,
and singing out at intervals, "Scandals at any
price!
>>
Some of the most primitive kinds of huts adorn
the brown and green slopes of Rendall or Renen-
dal—a district bordering on Kirkwall Bay. One
of them, inhabited by an old crofter, who has
handled the single-stilted plough, almost beggars
description. The hut, which is of the smallest
dimensions, has been constructed partly of slab
and partly of turf, and the roof, fore and aft, is
ribbed with straw-ropes like a corn-stack in a barn-
yard. Instead of window or chimney, the rays of
light are only permitted to make their entrance,
and the wreaths of peat smoke their exit, through
one little circular hole which, being thus compelled
to perform the double duty of enlightener and purifier,
fails in botn departments. The door is reached by
a narrow passage, paved with dirty and slippery
slate-slabs, between the hut and a peat-stack. This
35
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
doorway is itself a curiosity. It has been apparently
designed for the purpose of compelling stray
visitors to bend their backs as well as bow their
heads when seeking ingress, and, indeed, the easiest
and most comfortable way of obtaining an entrance
is by getting down on all fours, if you are not afraid
of ruining your pantaloons. On entering the hut,
the smoky atmosphere claims from your eye
"the tribute of a tear," and five minutes elapse ere
you become sufficiently acclimatised to inspect the
interior or grope your way to a seat. The old in-
mate, hearing a strange footstep on the sadly-
encumbered floor, lays aside the bellows which,
seated on his "hunkers," he has been plying with
might and main upon the newly-laid peat-fire in a
corner, and motions the visitor to a handy seat on
a meal-sack, without showing any great signs of
surprise or discomposure. Seating yourself on that
chair of state in preference to the tripod that does
duty at milking-time, you begin to survey the
furnishings and the interior with no small bewilder-
ment. The hut, you at once perceive, has only
one apartment, which serves the triple purpose of
IN THE
37
THE ORKNEYS.
but, ben, and lumber-room. There is the box-bed
in a corner, and around it are piled sacks of
potatoes and meal; a small round table and a
high-backed chair, with other articles lying about
the foot of chair and table in tumble-down confusion,
the whole aspect of the apartment making you
aware that the solitary inmate must lay regular
siege to his box-bed every night before he succeeds
in rolling himself in the blankets and in oblivion.
The low roof is furnished with shelving, nailed
across the rafters, for cheese and cakes, milk-bowls.
and "three-lugged cogs," horn-spoons, purchased
from tinkers, and if the visitor rises from his seat
without circumspection he will immediately bang
his brow against a pendulous pork-ham, dried and
smoked till it resembles a real Westphalian. The
tenant of this dismal domicile may feel contented
with his lot when partaking of "halesome parritch,"
or bending over his peat-fire on the long winter-
nights; but his contentment is the outcome of habit
and ignorance, akin to that of the Esquimaux in
his snow-hut, of the Caffre in his cabin, of the
Indian in his wigwam among the forest-glades.
38
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
Huts of a similar description still exist in all
the inhabited islands. There is one in the well-
populated and prosperous island of Stronsay,
which recurs to my recollection as surpassing the
Rendall cabin in its aspect of wretchedness and
melancholy. It stands alone on a level plat of turf,
and resembles rather a decayed sepulchre than a
habitation for the living. The walls are mainly
composed of turf, with a few layers of slabs be-
neath; the roof is turf; the small chimney-top is
wisped with rotten straw-ropes; there is no window
in the walls, and a solitary nobbed pane of green
glass is the only bull's-eye of the dismal abode.
This crazy cot, when I first visited the island, was
inhabited by an old woman, named Effie Spence,
who depended for her subsistence upon a small cow
that cropped the grass by the wayside. Humble
as her lot was, and scanty as were her means of
living, Effie was not altogether destitute of spirit,
as she showed to the Parochial Board of Stronsay.
Some persons applied on her behalf for a small
weekly allowance from the poor-rates. The Board
agreed to give her the pauper's dole, on condi-
tion that she should dispose of the cow, which
IN THE ORKNEYS.
39
provided her with a livelihood. Effie, however,
spiritedly spurned the condition, and, throwing up
the proffer of the Board, she flung herself upon the
tender mercies of the coo! Can anyone despise the
old dismal cabin now when he knows that it once
sheltered an heroic heart?
In several cases, as already intimated, the door of
a dwelling is common to the cot and the cow-house.
Any stranger, unaware of this primitive arrange-
ment, on entering a cottage and meeting crummy
in the doorway, might be apt to imagine that the “cow
with the crumpled horn" had been paying a friendly
visit to the family inside, or that the wierd wife of
the clachan had assumed for the nonce this
questionable shape. A favourite cow is sometimes
accommodated in the forehouse, and calves may
frequently be seen frisking about the hearth to the
length of their tether. Burns describes the cottars'
dog as mingling his rapturous bark with their
mirth on festival nights; but it probably never
occurred to him that calves, in other districts of the
country, accompanied the domestic sports of children
with uplifted tails, and short, deep, delighted bellow.
This promiscuous rearing must have a tendency to
40
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
make the children "grow up like calves in the stall,"
although the practice of housing cows and their
progeny under the domestic roof may prove
advantageous to the animals themselves, leading to
their kindly treatment as members of the family.
The "Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals" might probably, on this account, find
their occupation gone in Orkney. At the Kirkwall
monthly markets and Lammas Fairs I have often
been amused to observe the friendly relations that
apparently subsisted between the homely-looking
cows and the rustic matrons with "buited" heads,
who waited patiently by their side for the arrival of
a purchaser. The occasional words of endearment
or correction addressed to the poor animals were
spoken in a tone that unmistakeably indicated the
existence of a mutual understanding and reciprocal
affection. It is like parting with a member of the
family when some grave and honest cow, long an
inmate of the moorland cottage, is towed by a rope
along the dusty roads to the Kirkwall, Stromness,
Dounby, or Wasdale markets, and I have little
doubt that the cottars' children would be almost
IN THE ORKNEYS.
41
beside themselves with joy were old Meg Merilies
to be brought back from the market-ground in the
evening unsold. An amusing illustration of the
familiarity subsisting between the cottagers and
their four-footed friends came under my notice one
day on the streets of Kirkwall. A cart-horse,
loosely held by a countrywoman, was standing
quietly at a shop-door, and giving alternate rest to
his limbs, when the sudden report of a discharged
gun made him prick his ears and toss his startled
head, as if indignant at being so rudely roused from
his mid-day snooze. The woman in charge of the
cart, instead of giving the horse a lash to mend
his manners, stroked him soothingly on the neck as
he slowly lowered his head, and said in a coaxing,
affectionate tone of voice-“ Hout, tout! no, no,
boy; did they fleg thee indeed?"*
The advantage to the animals in kindliness of
* Thou and thee supply the place of you in the
Orcadian vernacular. For thyself we have theesel', and
for myself we have mesel'. The Shetlanders also use the
Quaker-like form of thou instead of you, but in the sister
group of islands it is pronounced dou. Fleg signifies to
frighten or annoy.
4.2
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
treatment is gained at the expense of the moral and
physical deterioration of the people who herd under
the same roof with cows, calves, and sheep. The
practice to which I have referred was more common
in Orkney in former years than now; but it yet
prevails to an extent that would have increased the
last census considerably if four-footed animals had
been included in the returns of cottage inmates.
The Islands stand greatly in need of more com-
modious dwellings for the rural population, and the
entire separation of cots from cow-houses. It would
have been well had the old Orkney hut disappeared
with the pack-pony and cubbie, the pundlar and
bismar, and the single-stilted plough. The ex-
cellent farm-houses that meet the eye in all parts of
Pomona, South Ronaldshay, Stronsay, Sanday,
Westray, and other islands, only serve to make more
conspicuous the miserable condition of the cottages
inhabited by the humbler classes of crofters and
labourers. The large landholders are not altogether
to blame for the continuance of this state of things
as instances have occurred in which, after better.
buildings had been erected for their accommodation,
IN THE ORKNEYS.
43
the cottagers almost required to be evicted by
force from their old tenements.
The miserable appearance of many cottages does
not, however, invariably indicate poverty, as in the
Hebrides and in Ireland. The Orkney peasantry
are a frugal, thrifty people, who act upon the advice
contained in the old Scottish proverb, "Keep
something for a sair fit." David Vedder affirms
that the aphorism, "Son, get money, honestly if
thou canst, but get money," is familiar as a house-
hold word in the district of Holm, and it may
therefore be regarded as pretty well known in other
parts of Orkney. There are crofters and "pickie
lairds" living in earthen-floored hovels, and content
with the simplest fare, who have snug deposits in
the banking establishments of Kirkwall and
Stromness. It is also a noteworthy circumstance
that some, who seem to care least about the condition
of their dwelling-houses, are very attentive to
matters of dress, and rig out their families in
Sunday finery. The visitor need not be surprised
to see ample skirts and dainty hats, adorned with
red and white feathers, emerging from the craziest
44
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
cots, as he wends his way to the unpretending
island kirks. The white woollen coverings for the
head and shoulders, called buities, still generally
worn by grave and staid matrons, are now quite
discarded by their young gipsies of daughters.
Apart from cottage accommodation, Orcadian
crofters will bear favourable comparison in general
respectability with a similar class in more fertile
districts of the country. They are keen traders,
and find a ready market for all kinds of farm and
dairy produce. Of late years the annual exports of
eggs alone have risen in value from £12,000 to
£20,000, and the good prices now obtained for all
exportable articles have helped to improve the
condition of the cottagers. Farm-servants are not
so well paid as in the southern counties, but they
live more cheaply, and they have otherwise bene-
fited by the improvements in agriculture.
The peasantry as a class are frugal and indus-
trious, grave in demeanour, and quiet in their ways.
It is rare to find one of their number who can
neither read nor write, and they seem all to have
been well-grounded in the facts and doctrines of
IN THE ORKNEYS.
45
the Bible. Their piety is of the old, simple, sincere,
undoubting, unquestioning type. A certain rude-
ness of speech and manner, which once characterised
the people, has disappeared under the influence of
wider culture, and earnest, evangelical preaching in
the multiplied churches of the Islands. The
celebrated visit of the Haldanes, toward the close
of the last century, produced beneficial results, and
helped the formation of religious habits. Whatever
may now be the case in other parts of Scotland,
Sunday is still kept throughout the Orkneys in its
old covenanting integrity. In foul weather or fair the
people troop from their cottages regularly as the
day of rest returns, and the families that live farthest
from the church are generally first in their pews.
An increase in the number of churches has made
Sunday sailing less common or necessary than in
former years; but fisher-boats, laden with wor-
shippers-grey-haired old men and white-hooded
matrons may still be seen gliding across the ferries
between Egilshay and Rousay, or Papa Westray
and Westray.
While a high tone of morality and religion
46
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
pervades the mass of the Orcadian peasantry, it
must be acknowledged that the ghost of superstition
has not yet been finally laid in the old realm of the
Valkyrie. "Trow tak' thee," may be set down ast
an innocent bogy-phrase, intended to frighten chil-
dren, and indicating no real belief in the existence
of a nineteenth century malignant race of fairies
or dwarfs.
The fantastic notion, still preserved in
curious legends, that drowned people were changed
into seals, has also passed away. Old women,
however, still retain an unaccountable aversion to
turbot, and avoid naming this excellent and respect-
able fish when crossing sounds and bays in boats.
Some people also deem it unlucky to call things by
their proper names at particular times, and there is
a strange prejudice against turning a boat widder-
shins, or contrary to the sun, at the beginning of a
voyage. In certain districts the people only marry
when the moon is growing, believing that the
waning moon is "fruitless"-a superstition which
recals the words of Theseus in the "Midsummer's
Nights Dream”:—
Chanting faint hymns to the cold fruitless moon."
IN THE ORKNEYS.
47
Thursday is also esteemed the luckiest day
in the week for marriage. In former years the
belief prevailed that if a cow were killed when the
moon was in the wane, the beef would dwindle in
the pot. Should the first lamb of the season be
white, the omen is still regarded as fortunate, and
the appearance of a black lamb is deemed un-
lucky. So late as 1814 there lived an old beldame
in Stromness, named Bessie Miller, who sold
favourable winds to mariners at the low charge of
sixpence. Bessie is described as having been a
withered, sharp-featured woman, with two light-
blue eyes gleaming wierdly in her corpse-like face.
She must have been kith and kin to Sycorax, the
"blue-eyed hag," mother of Caliban,-
"That could control the moon, make flows and ebbs."
The Stromness Hecate boiled her
her kettle,
muttered her incantations, and so raised the wind
both for herself and her dupes. Kin to Sycorax,
she was also the "wierd sister" of Steine Bheag,
the Ross-shire witch, whose wonderful deeds were.
recorded by Hugh Miller in his "Scenes and
Legends." Though Bessie has left no successor in
48
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
the sale of winds trade, there are old crones
lingering about the Islands who possess charms
for curing toothache, and for ensuring safety in
childbirth. One of these charms is a little pamph-
let of two or three pages, containing a “Copy of
a Letter written by our Blessed Saviour Jesus Christ;
King Agbarus's Letter to our Saviour, and our
Saviour's Answer; His Cures and Miracles;
Lentulus's Epistle to the Senate of Rome concern-
ing Jesus Christ." The Letter of Jesus Christ,
"faithfully translated from the original Hebrew
copy now in the possession of Lady Cuba's family
at Mesopotamia," promises happiness and pros-
perity to the household in which a copy of it shall
be found, and thus the pamphlet is greatly prized
and carefully preserved by superstitious old
women. First introduced perhaps by a travelling
merchant, or "yagger," in the palmy days of the
great Kirkwall Fair, it still circulates quietly among
some of the cottages in Orkney and Shetland.
Within the last forty years the complete change
in the mode of conducting agricultural pursuits
has wrought a corresponding change in the customs,
IN THE ORKNEYS.
49
habits, and usages of the peasantry. They neither
"eat nor drink as they were wont to do," and the
festivities of other days live only in fireside tales.
Weddings were formerly celebrated with a hilarity
and profuse hospitality of which the young race
of Orcadians have little conception. The wedding
guests gathered from far and near, and held high
revelry for several days in succession, feasting and
dancing to their hearts' content, and passing the
night "quite promiscuous," as Mrs. Malaprop
might say, in straw-littered barns and commodious
outhouses. On such festal occasions the father of
the bride killed his fatted calves, slaughtered his
sheep by the dozen, smoked his best geese, and
drew from the "gealding vat" foaming flagons of
home-brewed. At intervals, amid the feasting and
dancing, hymeneal songs, peculiar to the Islands,
but now forgotten, were sung by groomsmen and
bridesmaids. It was customary for all the guests.
and musicians to accompany the bride and bride-
groom to and from the minister's house, and the
bridal party thus tripped merrily across fields and
moors to the inspiriting strains of the violin. The
4
50
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
wedding festivities were sufficiently serious, but
they were speedily succeeded, in some districts, by
the back-feast, given by the "best man," who
received assistance in contributions from other
young men in the neighbourhood.
It was also the custom, as still remembered by
some of the inhabitants, for companies of men to
go from house to house on New Year's eve singing
in full chorus the following song:-
ORKNEY NEW YEAR'S EVE SONG.
Peace be to this buirdly biggin'!
We're a' Queen Mary's men,
From the stethe * unto the riggin',
And that's before our Lady.
This is gude New Year's even nicht-
We're a' Queen Mary's men;
An' we've come here to claim our richt,
And that's before our Lady.
The morrow is gude New-Year's day-
We're a' Queen Mary's men;
An' we've come here to sport and play,
An' that's before our Lady.
Stethe-foundation.
IN THE ORKNEYS.
1751
The hindmost house that we came from-
We're a' Queen Mary's men;
We gat oat-cake and sowen's scone;
The three-lugged cog was standing fou;
We hope to get the same from you,
And that's before our Lady.
Gudewife gae to your kebbock-creel-
We're a' Queen Mary's men,
And see thou count the kebbock's weel,
And that's before our Lady.
Gudewife gae to your gealding-vat*
We're a' Queen Mary's men,
An' let us drink till our lugs crack,
An fetch us ane an' fetch us twa,
An' aye the merrier we'll gang awa,'
And that's before our Lady.
Gudewife gae to your butter-ark-
We're a' Queen Mary's men;
An' fetch us here ten bismar mark;t
See that ye grip weel in the dark,
And that's before our Lady.
May a' your mares be weel to foal,-
We're a' Queen Mary's men,
And every ane be a staig foal,
And that's before our Lady.
* Gealding-vat-Fermenting-vat.
Bismar-Old Orkney weighing instrument. Mark-the lowest
denomination of weights.
52
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
May a' your kye be weel to calve—
We're a' Queen Mary's men;
And every ane a queyoch calf,
And that's before our Lady,
May a' your ewes be weel to lamb—
We're a' Queen Mary's men;
And every ane a ewe and a ram,
And that's before our Lady.
May a' your hens rin in a reel—
We're a' Queen Mary's men,
And every ane twal at her heel,
And that's before our Lady.
Here we hae brocht our carrying-horse*-
We're a' Queen Mary's men;
A mony a curse licht on his corse;
He'll eat mair meat than we can get;
He'll drink mair drink than we can swink,
And that's before our Lady.
At the conclusion of the song the minstrels were
entertained with cakes and ale, and sometimes a
smoked goose was set before the company. The
singing-men at starting were few in number, but
every house visited sent forth fresh relays, and the
chorus waxed in volume as the number of voices
* Carrying-horse-Jester or "Baldy."
IN THE ORKNEYS.
53
increased. The original Queen Mary's men were pro-
bably the friars, many of whom considered them-
selves as much privileged mendicants, as the Edie
Ochiltrees and king's beadsmen of other days.
At all events the Orcadians who first sung this
quaint old rhyme, were good Catholics, addressing
the Virgin as "Our Lady of the Song." The
carrying-horse," mentioned in the last verse, was
the clown or jester of the party, who suffered him-
self to be beaten with knotted handkerchiefs, and
received double rations as the reward of his folly.
With the exception of the Queen Mary's men
rhyme, and a few floating fragments of old lays,
the songs of the Islands have died away from re-
membrance. Two or three native airs, sweet and
plaintive in their melody, are preserved in MS. by
Mr. Balfour of Trenabie. In a note on Norse Frag-
ments, Sir Walter Scott states that Mr. Baikie of
Tankerness, an Orkney proprietor, assured him of
the following curious fact :—“A clergyman, who was
not long deceased, remembered well when some
remnants of the Norse were still spoken in the is-
land called North Ronaldshay. When Gray's Ode,
54
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
entitled the 'Fatal Sisters' was first published, or
at least first reached that remote island, the rev-
erend gentleman had the well-judged curiosity to
read it to some of the old persons of the isles, as
a poem which regarded the history of their own
country. They listened with great attention to the
preliminary stanzas:-
'Now the storm begins to lower,
Haste the loom of hell prepare,
Iron sleet of arrowy shower
Hurtles in the darkened air.'
But when they heard a verse or two more, they
interrupted the reader, telling him they knew the
song well in the Norse language, and had often
sung it to him when he asked them for an old song.
They called it the 'Magicians, or the Enchantress.'
The Norse tongue has been extinct in the Islands
for upwards of a century, but the legendary tales
about trows and gyrcarlins, still preserved in the
most primitive districts, are all of Norwegian
origin. Versions of Dr. Dasent's "Norse Tales" yet
linger in the memories of the older inhabitants, who
dislike reciting them in the presence of strangers,
IN THE ORKNEYS.
or of people supposed to be superior to themselves.
in station. I have heard an Orkney gentleman give
an amusing account of a visit which he paid to the
cottage of a story-telling old woman, who resided
in the little Island of Wire or Veira, where Kolbein
Ruga, skatt-collector to the King of Norway, built
the castle of Cubberow. The gentleman was ac-
companied by Dr. Dasent, when that distinguished
translator of the Sagas was engaged in collecting
materials for his "Norse Tales." The old woman
was reputed to be a perfect thesaurus of legendary
lore. On entering the cottage, and making known
the object of their visit, she appeared surprised
that educated gentlemen could interest themselves
so much in old-world tales and trifles. No small
amount of coaxing and cajolery was expended.
upon her in vain, and she only yielded at last to
their urgent entreaties when informed that the
stories, though abounding in "havers," would be
useful to Dr. Dasent in the interpretation of Scrip-
ture! The good woman then seated herself on her
tripod by the hearth, and treated her well-pleased
visitors to an Orcadian Nights' Entertainment.
56
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
As a spoken language, the old Norn lingered
longest in the district of Harray, the only parish
in Orkney that nowhere borders upon the sea.
But several words of Norse origin, peculiar to the
Islands, still occur in the common speech of the
peasantry. Mr. Scarth, of Binscarth, gave a list of
these words in a valuable note to his statistical
account of the parishes of Cross and Burness, and
Mr. Edmonstoun, of Buness, has collected upwards
of one hundred in his Etymological Glossary of the
Shetland and Orkney Dialect. None of these col-
lections exhaust the words yet used by the people,
and it is expected that Mr. Edmonstoun will be
able to furnish a much fuller list when the next
edition of his excellent glossary is issued. The
dialect of Shetland is more distinctively Norse-
derived than that of Orkney, and it is peculiarly
rich in expressive words, having reference to
weather-signs and the various states of the tide.
The word marcel, applied by the Shetlanders to the
phosphorescent glimmer and flickerings of the sea,
has often struck me as a singularly fine, expressive,
and poetical word. Here are a few specimens of
IN THE ORKNEYS.
57
the more curious words in the Orcadian dialect:
Becrin, querulous; Craigluggs, the point of a rock;
Gri-oy, a great grandson; Eggalourie, a dish of
eggs and milk boiled together; Fatifu, affection-
ate; Frootery, superstitious observances; Hwinkle-
faced, lantern-jawed; Ringet-quoy, a circular en-
closure; Smovin, sly; Wheerney, a gentle breezė;
Tray-sitten, lazy; Unfiardy, overgrown; Wallowa',
the devil; Yagger, a pedlar; Yammel, born in the
same year. The common speech of the peasantry,
thinly spiced with such queer words as the above, is
merely a branch or offshoot of the Scottish dialect,
with a larger infusion of good English than we find
in districts nearer the border. The accent is pro-
vincial but pleasant, free alike from the sharp
snappishness of the Aberdeen tongue, and the
haar-muffled huskiness of the Caithnessman's utter-
ance. A quaker-like homeliness is imparted to the
colloquies of Orcadians by the constant use of
thou and thee, theesel' and mesel. An amusing
anecdote, told by a clergyman, when giving
reminiscences of his residence in Stronsay, may
serve as an illustration of the every-day speech of
58
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
the islanders.
"During my residence," said the
clergyman, "I was requested to unite a considerable.
number of couples in marriage, and I do not
remember of any person using the 'sign of the
cross' but one bride. When the ceremony was
concluded, and the schedule required to be filled
up, the bridegroom wrote his name at once. The
bride took the pen, but hesitated. Turning to her
bran-new husband she said (offering him the pen)
"Thou do it.' He immediately replied, with much
kindliness of tone, 'What for should I do it for
thee when thou can do it theesel'. Once more the
blushing bride took the pen, but again hesitated,
and coaxingly appealed to her husband, saying in
her sweetest tones, 'Oh, thou do it for me; yes
thou will!' This earnest appeal was granted, but
the troubles of the bride were not yet ended. A
merry shout of laughter rose from the wedding
guests when I requested her to make a cross beside
her name. Thou are well punished noo, lass!'
6
cried her friends; to which she replied, 'If I had
kent I had to make a cross I would hae written me
name mesel'!"
IN THE ORKNEYS.
59
A large proportion of the names of persons, as
well as of places, are of Norwegian derivation. The
following are some of the family surnames common
throughout the Islands: Baikie, Bea, Borwick,
Brough, Bews, Cormack, Calder, Corrigall, Gar-
rioch, Harcus, Halcro, Hourston, Hourie, Inkster,
Isbister, Foubister, Cursiter, Seater, Leask, Linay,
Marwick, Meill, Traill, Tulloch, Rendall, Twatt, and
Velzian. Such names as Baikie, Moodie, Tulloch,
and Traill have been traced to their Scandinavian
originals. In modern times Dr. Baikie, the cele-
brated African explorer, has given new distinction
to an Orkney name of great antiquity which was
borne by Paul Balkin or Baikie, a noted vikingr of
the thirteenth century. Moodie is supposed to be
derived from Mudadi, Tulloch from Tholack, and,
Traill from Trall or Trolld. In general, however,
while the family names indicate Norse lineage, the
family faces exhibit more of the Scottish than the
Scandinavian type.

CHAPTER II.
Kirkwall.
Wick Bay-Noss Head Lighthouse-Sea-View of the
Caithness and Orkney Shores-String Sound-Kirk-
wall from the Bay-Quaint Streets-Aspects of
Social Life, Old and New-Character and Habits of
the Burghers-Pastimes-Battle of the Ball-Lam-
mas Fair.

HERE is a pleasurable excitement, more
keenly felt by sea than by land, in gradu
ally approaching for the first time some
remote region of the country, which, though vaguely
imaged in the mind, is still unfamiliar in the main
features of its scenery. This feeling I fully realised
when, bound for the terra incognita of Orkney in
the Northern mail-steamer, the long rugged lines
of the Caithness cliffs and the dark-blue peaks of the
Morven mountains hove into view in the light of a
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
61
May morning. On the previous day there might
be much to attract the eye when we steamed along
the coast, passing the lonely Bell Rock and the ruins
of Dunottar; but my interest in the scenery continued
to increase with our northward progress, and novelty
lent a charm to the wild picturesqueness of Wick
Bay. The capital of Caithness is not enriched, like the
capital of Orkney, with the ruins of antique palaces,
but she can boast of rock ramparts, colossal arches,
and solitary sea-pillars more imposing than the
grandest fabrics reared by human hands.
On leaving Wick, her last port of call on the
Scottish mainland, the steamer holds on her course
to the far North, running close along the Caithness
shores. Awe, not unmingled with admiration, is
excited by the huge buckler-like promontory of
Noss Head. The lighthouse tower on its summit
is a structure of great strength and solidity, and
the mechanism that regulates the far-flashing lights
is of the most exquisite description. Standing
within the red-stained globes, and looking out upon
the waters and shores of Ackergill Bay, the view
is one that seldom fails to strike the beholder with
62
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
astonishment. The red glass changes the hue of
the water into pitchy blackness, and the foam of
the waves into seeming flakes of fire. Sea-mews
that dart swiftly past, or swoop over the waves,
are transformed into winged flames, and the ships,
tilting over the burning foam, appear rigged with
fiery shrouds.
To the wide stretch of Ackergill Bay the strong
towers of Ackergill, Girnigoe, and Castle Sinclair
impart a picturesque aspect. The scenery of the
east coast of Caithness gradually gains in wildness
until it culminates in the sea-shattering precipices
of Duncansbay Head. Cormorants and kittiwake
gulls haunt the shelves and mighty chasms, or
wheel with plaintive scream around the colossal
stacks," which impress the mind even more than
the scarred rampart of cliffs. The lines of Keats
addressed to Ailsa Crag might also be applied to
these "craggy ocean pyramids."
On passing the precipices of Duncansbay, the
steamer rolls with a livelier motion in the strong and
swift tidal currents that surge into the North Sea
through the Pentland Firth. The southern division
IN THE ORKNEYS.
63
of the Orkneys is now full in view, with Stroma
and the Pentland skerries lying between them and
the Caithness coast. Your eye ranges over a vast
extent of rocky, irregular, and foam-fringed shores,
which remind you of Trinculo's words in the
Tempest"- "Here's neither bush nor shrub to
bear off any weather at all." From the huge head-
land on its north-eastern extremity, the Caithness
coast dips down into the sandy reaches of Gills
Bay, and again on the west launches boldly out into
the towering promontory of Dunnet Head. On
the opposite side of the Firth the southern Orcades,*
running along leagues of sea with their serrated
shores, ending in defiant nesses, and receding in finely-
rounded hills, present the appearance of a continent.
which has been shattered into pieces by some
violent convulsion of naturę. On east and west,
*
* The group consist of two divisions. The North Isles
lie on the northern side of Pomona, and the South Isles
on the opposite side. This distinction was probably first
made by the Norwegians, who divided the Hebrides into
the Nordereys (Northern-isles) and the Sudereys (South-
crn-isles), the Point of Ardnamurchan forming the line
of separation.
C
64
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
to the German Ocean and the Atlantic, they oppose
formidable bulwarks of rock, rising in the great
cliffs of Hoy to the height of 1,000 feet above the
sea-level, but within the islands, embosomed in
sheltered flows and bays, the fields of grass and
grain mantle the sloping shores down to the waters
edge.
When the mouth of the Pentland is passed the
steamer skirts the eastern coast of South Ronald-
shay and Burray. Here the voyageur is reminded,
by the Norse names of bays and headlands, that
he is now in the ancient realm of the Sea-kings,
celebrated in countless sagas. Pomona, or the
Orkney Mainland, separated from Burray by the
beautiful Holm Sound, follows next in the pano-
ramic procession of islands, stretching away in a
line of irregular shore to the bold terminal pro-
montory of Moul Head. Copinshay, Corn Holm,
and the Horse of Copinshay-a massive rock thus
named from its peculiar configuration-lie off the
coast to seaward in a lonely, solemn, and romantic
group. When we have rounded the Moul Head of
Deerness, the steamer takes a westerly course,
IN THE ORKNEYS.
65
steering right into the heart of the islands, and
passing the mouths of Deersound and Inganess
Bay-two fine expanses of water which penetrate
like fiords into the interior of the mainland, and
afford convenient anchorage and excellent shelter
to vessels of the heaviest tonnage.
The sea now contracts to the channel of String
Sound, which curves like a noble river between the
shores of Shapinshay and Pomona. On the
Shapinshay side of the Sound, where it bends into
the Bay of Elwick-once a favourite resort of
Norwegian war-fleets-Balfour Castle, the new and
stately mansion of the island proprietor, stands
conspicuous, exciting an agreeable surprise by the
closeness of its resemblance to Abbotsford, though
wanting the adornment of rich woods and the
companionship of pastoral hills. Opposite Elwick
Bay, in the middle of the Sound, there lies cradled
on the waters one of those green islets, known by
the fine old Norse name of holms, which add so
much to the beauty of Orcadian seas. At the
mouth of String Sound there is another islet called
Thieves' Holm, where Earl Patrick Stewart, tyrant
5
66
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
of Orkney in the days of James VI., executed
malefactors of his own
"Jeddart justice" on
making.
Kirkwall Bay, and the fine amphitheatre of
engirdling islands, swelling as they recede into
ridges of brown hills, open out to the gaze in
beautiful and expansive prospect as the steamer.
emerges from the waters of the Sound. It may
happen, indeed, that the first view of the central
islands, with their low grassy shores and hills of
moderate elevation, scarcely accords with the
preconceptions of some visitors, who have formed.
their ideas of Orkney from the scenery of the
Hebrides; but in this softness of aspect and out-
line there is the beauty of unexpectedness, all the
more pleasing in contrast with the wildness of the
ocean wall of rocks. In its first rapid survey of
the island shores, the eye rests with livelier interest
on the Orcadian capital-quaint, grey, and old-
seated on the southern side of its spacious bay,
while the massive walls of St. Magnus Cathedral,
and the ruins of the bishops' and earls' palaces
tower in stately dignity above the circumjacent
IN THE ORKNEYS.
67
roofs. The waters of the bay seem to run up to
the very basement of the houses, which huddle
closely together, as if eager to find shelter and
protection under the great wide-spread wings of
St. Magnus. The site of the cathedral has been
so skilfully selected that the noble pile presents
an imposing appearance over leagues of the island
seas. How would the hearts of the Sea-kings throb
when, steering their course from "Noroway o'er the
faem," the red walls and familiar tower of St.
Magnus, burnished with the light of sunset, shone
over the waters of the quiet bay!
Passengers for Kirkwall were, until lately, rowed
ashore in small boats, but an iron pier, extend-
ing from the harbour, which is now completed, has
greatly expedited the serious business of disembark-
ation by enabling the steamers to run alongside in
all states of the tide. The town is very ancient, and
the name "Kirkwall," is a corruption of kirk-vaag
the church voe, or the church on the voe. A
chapel, dedicated to St. Olaf, antedated the cathe-
dral of St. Magnus, and the homesteads of the
Norsemen clustered around it. In the time of the
68
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
Norwegian occupation the town was erected into
a royal burgh, and this distinction was confirmed
by a charter of James III., when the islands were
annexed to the Scottish crown. Long, straggling,
and singularly antique in appearance, it recedes
from the bay along the margin of an "Oyce" or
inlet, locally termed the "Peerie Sea," which fills.
and empties at the flow and ebb of tide. The
line of road, leading from the town to the sister
burgh of Stromness, separates the Oyce from the
bay, and crosses a single-arched bridge, through
which the flowing and ebbing waters are ever
rushing to and fro. A ridge of rising ground
behind the town forms the eastern side of the
valley, little more than a mile in extent, that
stretches between Kirkwall Bay and Scapa Flow
on the opposite coast of Pomona. The original
founders of the capital appear to have exercised
their ingenuity in avoiding alike the sea in front
and the hilly ground behind, and thus the greater
portion of the main mile-long street is so exceed-
ingly narrow that there is only space for a strip
of causeway between the pavement on either side.
IN THE ORKNEYS.
69
This curious style of street-building might suit the
time when pack-ponies carried burdens like camels,
or went ambling along under the equal-poised
weight of pendant "cubbies." But the narrow
defiles between rows of houses, where "two wheel-
barrows tremble when they meet," are ill-adapted to
suit the requirements of improved means of
conveyance and increasing traffic. It takes skilful
steering on the part of drivers to avoid collisions,
and a runaway cart spreads consternation like a
war-chariot. From the main street, which expands.
into an open and airy oblong space in front of the
cathedral, and again contracts, there branch off
at intervals to right and left curious paved courts
and long dingy lanes. The houses at the heads of
the "closes" have generally their gables turned
toward the street, and this want of uniformity
gives a singularly quaint, old-world, and eccentric
appearance to the burgh. Ancient tenements
lean back to back, or front each other defiantly
only a few feet apart, and there is also an odd
intermingling of elegant new banks and time-
worn edifices. Some of the large and commodious
70
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
buildings huddled together and hidden from view
in back courts were, in former years, the abodes
of the leading families in the islands, who spent
the winter months amid the gaieties of the
Orcadian capital. The Stewarts of Brugh, Moodies
of Melsetter, Balfours of Elwick, Baikies of Tanker-
ness, Traills of Holland, and other families, had all
their town houses and country mansions, and some
proprietors still adhere to the good old plan of
maintaining urban and rural residences. Ancient
dates and defaced inscriptions and coats of arms
impart dignity to dwellings that have undergone
frequent renovations at the hands of the plasterer
and hodman. The Town House-an indifferent
structure which gains little by its proximity to
the cathedral was built partly by subscription and
partly with the fine imposed upon a fiery Jacobite, Sir
James Stewart, of Burray, for wantonly wounding
the sheriff clerk of Orkney when crossing Holm
Sound in a small boat.
In the rear of the houses along the main street
there are extensive gardens which refute, with their
flush of green foliage in summer-time, the oft-
IN THE ORKNEYS.
71
repeated statement that trees are unknown in
Orkney. From some elevated spot, like the out-
side gallery of the cathedral spire, considerable
numbers of trees are visible, growing singly in the
shelter of the gardens, or forming pleasant groups
and belts in the vicinity of the town. There is a
beautiful grove of oak, ash, and elm trees in front
of the Earl's palace, the leafy verdure of which
mantles the ruins in twilight gloom, and away down
in the very heart of the ancient burgh three stately
trees, that seem to have wandered from some
southern woodland, spread their benignant shadow
across the street. Apple, pear, and cherry trees
thrive pretty well in the best-kept orchards, and
there is no lack of goodly-sized currants, goose-
berries, and strawberries. But, while noting the
apple trees in the midst of the gardens, and giving
due prominence to the shady walks that engirdle
a few of the suburban villas, it may be well to
admit that woods are as rare in Orkney as snakes
in Iceland. The great roots and pieces of tree-
trunks, sometimes found deeply embedded in peat-
bogs and sandy bays, seem to afford evidence that
72
SUMMER AND WINTERS
the islands were once clothed with shaggy wood,
like the Norwegian hills now, in the same latitude,
with expanses of spruce and pine; but some myste-
rious agency has refashioned the country in the
lapse of centuries, and the primeval forests in their
beauty "have been left without a witness on the
seas." In the gardens of Kirkwall flowers of the
more familiar types grow in greater variety than
ornamental and fruit trees, which lose their
strength by frequent germination in the open
winters of Orkney. The utile, indeed, in garden
produce, is better understood and appreciated by
the generality of Orcadians than the dulce. Though
some flower-fanciers rear rare and delicate plants
in conservatories, the science of floriculture numbers
few enthusiastic votaries, and a flower-show would
be as great a novelty to the inhabitants as an in-
dustrial exhibition.
The shops and public offices in the most nor-
thernly royal burgh of Britain do not differ greatly
from similar places of business in southern pro-
vincial towns. Regular steam communication affords
the merchants facilities for visiting the great marts
IN THE ORKNEYS.
73
of commerce, and their triennial return with the
latest novelties in dress from the London, Man-
chester, and Glasgow markets is duly notified in
the advertising columns of the local newspapers.
In former years the shops very much resembled
bazaars, the same merchant being grocer, iron-
monger, stationer, draper, and druggist, all in one;
but a division of labour has now been introduced,
and this improved system makes competition less
keen. A few of the shopkeepers, however, still
conduct two or three branches of business, and
some of the most enterprising are part owners of
ships. Good speculations are occasionally made
by the cheap purchase of wrecked cargoes and the
carcases of ca'-ing whales, when a shoal has been
fortunately stranded somewhere among the islands.
In matters of dress the citizens of Kirkwall are
kept abreast of their neighbours, and seldom appear
in public with anything outrè in attire. Writing,
in 1814, the author of an old Agricultural Report
says "The gentlemen in Kirkwall, as well as the
meaner sort, have adopted the English dress; ex-
cepting that the latter wear bonnets instead of hats,
74
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
which are knit chiefly at Kilmarnock, and are
exceedingly cheap." The Kilmarnocks have now
quite disappeared from the streets, although old men
may still preserve them to cap their fireside com-
forts. In the sister town of Stromness the fondness
for finery is more strongly pronounced among the
fair sex ; but the reign of fashion extends to the
remotest islands, and crinoline is worn in its season'
by the daughters of Papa Westray.
There is
nothing in this circumstance to excite astonishment,
since Lord Dufferin informs us that the ladies of
Reikjavik, when invited to balls and parties, wear
low dresses of the conventional type, which ex-
pose the snowy charms of Icelandic beauty. The
citizens of Kirkwall have long been noted as a
church-going people, and this good habit has had the
happy effect of inducing, in matters of dress, a de-
cent carefulness that rarely passes into mere display.
Society, in this remote burgh, as in the generality
of Scottish provincial towns, has its distinct centres,
with separate circles revolving round them in calm
regularity. Few of the county families now reside
in the town over winter, and the aspects of social
IN THE ORKNEYS.
75
life have thus undergone a great change within the
memory of living citizens. "Tis sixty years since,"
says the old beau garçon with a sigh when he recalls
the departed gaieties of other days. Early in the
century, when French and Dutch privateers made
frequent raids upon the Islands, the presence of
military gave animation to the burgh, and subscrip-
tion assemblies were started in the Town House for
the entertainment of the officers. These weekly
dancing réunions, which lasted a number of seasons,
were patronised by the county families, and graced
by the presence of Orcadian beauty. Negus or
rum-punch, piping hot, was the refreshment
provided for the ladies who attended the balls.
The ordinary orchestra consisted of two violins, a
violoncello, and a tambourine, and those were gala-
nights to the Romeos and Juliets when minuets and
Scotch reels were danced to the more resonant
music of ships'-bands. The officers of a French
frigate, which had been cleverly captured off the
islands, found the assemblies quite to their taste,
as it enabled prisoners on parole to make conquests
in the enemy's country. At the period to which I
3
76
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
refer the early years of the century-there was
much stir and excitement in the town and through-
out the Islands. The noble harbour of Longhope
was then the great northern rendezvous of merchant-
men waiting for convoy. Kirkwall Bay was fre-
quently visited by war-ships, lying in wait for
privateers, or by trading vessels making their escape
from suspicious craft outside. Stories are still told
by the old people of the panic that was caused by
the sacking of Roeberry House, in South Ronald-
shay, and the hardships that were endured by the
people of Sanday, when 400 men, rescued from the
wreck of a Dutch war-ship, quartered themselves
upon the islanders.
The gaiety which manifested itself in balls, also
effervesced in festivities at the New Year season. A
practice, akin to first-footing, prevailed to an ex-
traordinary extent among the resident gentility of
the town on New Year's day.
In the morning two
or three choice spirits called at the first house in
the line of the main street where they were likely
to experience a cordial greeting. If the ladies of
the family offered no serious objections, they received
IN THE ORKNEYS.
77
a salute such as Advocate Pleydell administered.
so gallantly to Julia Mannering and Lucy Bertram
at Woodbourne. After exchanging the compli-
ments of the season, and partaking of a piece of
cake and glass of rum-the favourite liquor of the
time-the visitors departed to another house,
accompanied by any gentlemen belonging to the
family who might be disposed to join them in
their cruise. Thus the first-footers, growing in
number as they proceeded, continued their house-
to-house visitation until friendly counsellors advised
a "syncope and solemn pause.”
The decline in the spirit of sociality, which is
now remarked by the townspeople themselves,
may be regarded in part as the result of a decided
reaction from the drinking customs that were once
so notoriously characteristic of northern hospitality.
The carousals in which the Northmen engaged
during the winter months were imitated by their
descendants and their Scottish supplanters, down to
a period not very remote, since there are men still
living who can recall drinking bouts that would
have done no discredit to the days of Magnus Troil.
78
SUM MERS AND WINTERS
In those times it was considered a laudable action
to cheat the excise by consuming unlimited
quantities of smuggled rum and eau-de-vie, which
the islanders contrived to obtain, notwithstanding
the vigilance of revenue cutters. But so great have
been the changes wrought by the multifarious moral
influences of the age, that Kirkwall is now one of
the most sober and sedate towns in the United
Kingdom; and in some of the neighbouring islands
there is not even a hostelry where the wayfarer
may quench his noontide thirst with a stronger
liquid than butter-milk.
The townspeople in general are intelligent and
industrious, and frugal in their habits. The
large number of scholars attending the various
seminaries affords good evidence of the extent to
which the advantages of education are appreciated
among them. In the main elements of character
they resemble the mass of their fellow-country-
men, with certain superadded peculiarities which
serve to mark the distinction between Orcadians
and natives of the Scottish mainland. Some of
those peculiarities-such as the curious combination
IN THE ORKNEY S.
79
of reserve and inquisitiveness-are simply exagge-
rations of common Scottish characteristics. The natu-
ral reserve of the people, and their anxiety, like the
ancient Athenians, to hear something new, impart
a singularly undemonstrative aspect to their public
gatherings, and the decorous quietness that prevails
is apt to weigh down the fervid orator, who
may have been accustomed in southern cities to
rounds of applause. While clergymen from a dis-
tance seldom fail in expressing their admiration of
the decorum and apparently earnest interest mani-
fested by the different religious bodies in the town,
sensational orators, who address week-day audiences,
are often less hearty in their commendations.
their quiet, reserved habits, and grave demeanour,
Orcadians bear some resemblance to the existing
race of Norwegians, although Norse names are now
much more abundant in the Islands than Norse
blood. There may be difficulty in determining the
extent to which climatic influences affect character,
but it seems as natural to associate a grave and
staid deportment with the grey skies of the north,
In
80
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
as “dance and Provençal song and sunburnt
mirth" with the warmer and balmier climes of
the South.
The gravity of disposition, which I have remarked
as a characteristic of the people, has nothing in
common with the dull, phlegmatic disposition that
makes Dutchmen so slow and heavy. Whatever
their fathers may have been in the days of single-
stilted ploughs, run-rigs and kelp-making, Orcadians
of the present generation are distinguished for
enterprise, and the Islands are making rapid progress
in improvement. The agricultural prosperity of the
county has saved Kirkwall from the decline which
almost seemed inevitable when the manufacture of
straw-plait was annihilated. Some thirty or forty
years ago, the whole female population of the place
was employed in plaiting rye-straw, of which
material the Orkney Tuscans were made; but the
free importation of foreign straw superior in quality,
and the reduction of duty of foreign straw-plait,
altogether ruined this important branch of industry,
once carried on so extensively in the Islands.
When the manufacture was first introduced by a
IN THE ORKNEY S.
81
Dorsetshire gentleman, the straw-plaiters worked
together in shops fitted up for the purpose, but this
practice was found to deteriorate the morals of the
young women, and the industry was latterly
conducted by the workers in their own homes.
Before this desirable change was brought about, the
plaiting shops were the favourite howffs of young
men and loungers, and loose conversation had the
inevitable effect of corrupting good manners.
manufacture of kelp declined almost simultaneously
with the manufacture of straw-plait, and the con-
sequences would have proved disastrous to the
dwellers both in town and country had not the im-
provements in agriculture, of which an account was
given in the previous chapter, inaugurated a new
era of prosperity throughout Orkney.
The
The awakened enterprise of the people-indicated
in the formation of six fine Artillery Volunteer
Corps has received a new stimulus of late by the
starting of steam-communication between Kirkwall
and the northern division of the group of islands.
For this boon the inhabitants are indebted to a
native of South Ronaldshay, who made a successful
6
82
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
speculation during the time of the Crimean war by
running a line of steamers in the Black Sea. The
advantages of steam, as compared with the old slow
system of packet-conveyance, are already apparent
in the rapid development of trade, and the increase
of passenger traffic.
Though diligent in business and grave in dis-
position, the citizens of Kirkwall take an occasional
fancy for open-air recreations. Boating is with
many a favourite pastime in the summer and autumn
months, and it is pleasant on fine evenings to see.
the white sails of pleasure-skiffs dipping gracefully
across the blue waters of the bay. Game is not
super-abundant on the hills and moorlands, but the
seabirds that haunt every sound and shelvy shore
supply good sport to enterprising fowlers. For
parties of anglers there is no place of resort in Orkney
more delightful than the Loch of Stennis, bordered
with its wierd circle of standing stones, and over-
shadowed by the low brown hills of Harray. In
the winter season the only outdoor recreation which
finds general favour is the old game of football.
From time immemorial it has been the custom
IN THE ORKNEY S.
83
is
in Kirkwall for the inhabitants to take part in this
boisterous game on New Year's day. Regularly
as the day recurs there is a gathering of the populace
intent on preserving one curious and time-honoured
custom from extinction. The game-which should
have ended with the era of cockfighting
virtually a trial of strength, of pushing and wrestling
power between "up the street" and "down the
street," the grand object of the belligerents being
to propel the ball to one or the other end of the
town. Broad Street, where the struggle commences
under the shadow of St. Magnus, becomes the
centre of attraction about noon-tide. Sailors
and porters arrive in formidable force from the
purlieus of the harbour, tradesmen gather in groups,
and even hoary-headed men, feeling the old glow
of combative blood in their veins, hasten to the
scene of anticipated contest. At one o'clock a
signal pistol-shot is fired, the ball is tossed into the
air from the steps of the old cross, and around it,
soon as it bumps on the ground, there immediately
gathers from all sides a dense and surging crowd.
The wrestling and struggling mass sways hither
84
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
and thither, sometimes revolving like a maëlstrom,
and at other times stationary in a grim dead-lock.
At intervals, the ball, as if flying for dear life, makes
a spasmodic bound from the crowd; but a sudden
headlong rush encloses it again, and so the struggle
continues as before. For onlookers it is exciting
to observe the fierce red-hot faces of the com-
batants, while the only appearance of good-humour
displayed is a grim smile flickering fitfully across
an upturned visage. It is curious also to note the
eager, uneasy motions, outside the revolving ring,
of men long past their prime, who were wont to be
in the centre of the crowd in other years. Heavy
knock-down blows, both foul and fair, are freely
given and received. The struggle seldom lasts
much longer than an hour, and when the seamen
and porters win the day, they place the ball, as a
trophy of conquest, on the top-mast of the largest
ship in the harbour. It seems odd that a boisterous
pastime like this should continue so long in an
otherwise peaceable town; but the authorities per-
haps act wisely in declining to interfere with old
use-and-wont. Indeed the Provost and Bailies of
i
IN THE ORKNEYS.
85
the Royal Burgh appear to take a lively interest in
the proceedings, which they rightly regard as a less
eccentric celebration than the tar-barrel bonfires
that illumine the streets of Lerwick at the festive
season.*
Kirkwall is still full of stir and activity at the
period of the great Lammas Market, although the
glory of this once famous fair is now on the wane.
It is the same with other celebrated fairs that for-
merly attracted thousands of visitors from all
points of the compass. Shops in towns, villages,
and even hillside hamlets supply all the commo-
dities that travelling merchants, or "packies," as
* Advantage was sometimes taken of the New Year
game of foot-ball to pay off old scores when people
harboured a grudge at each other. This also, curiously
enough, was a custom of the Northmen, as we find from
the graphic description of their winter sports in the Saga
of Gisli, the Outlaw, so finely translated by Dr. Dasent.
There is certainly a family resemblance between the grim
humours of the ancient Icelandic and the modern Orcadian
game at ball. The following graphic passage from the
Saga may serve as an illustration: "So now the sports
were set a-foot, as though nothing had happened. Those
brothers-in-law, Thorgrim and Gisli, were very often
86
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
they are called in Orkney, were accustomed to
convey from fair to fair, while the opening up of
the whole country by improved communication has
rendered the great annual gatherings of people un-
necessary, as remote districts are now brought
almost into juxtaposition with the great centres of
industry and wealth. Kirkwall Fair has shared the
fate of many others, equally ancient, if not equally
renowned. It is now only the shadow of its former
self, deriving its main interest from the associations
which it recalls. Old inhabitants need hardly speak
of its faded splendours when even the young
generation can tell of its marked and rapid decline
matched against each other, and men could not make up
their minds which was the stronger, but most thought
Gisli had most strength. They were playing at the ball
on the tarn called Sedge tarn. On it there was ever a
crowd. It fell one day when there was a great gathering
that Gisli bade them share the sides as evenly as they could
for a game.
"That we will with all our hearts!' said
Thorkel, but we also wish thee not to spare thy strength
against Thorgrim, for the story runs that thou sparest
him, but as for me, I love thee well enough to wish that
thou shouldest get all the more honour if thou art the
stronger?' Now they began the game, and Thorgrim
IN THE ORKNEYS.
87
within the last dozen years. The mere preparations
for the "free mercat," as witnessed by Captain
Cleveland and Frederick Altamont, alias Jack
Bunce, in Sir Walter Scott's description, were of
an infinitely more animated character than the on-
goings of the fair itself in its now declining days.
The passage in the "Pirate," which pictures the fair,
may serve to recall the renown of the great annual
gathering. Cleveland and his companion left the
town and ascended the neighbouring hill of Wide-
ford. "The plain at the foot of the hill was already
occupied by numbers of persons who were engaged
in making preparations for the Fair of St. Ola, to
could not hold his own. Gisli threw him and bore away
theball. Again Gisli wished to catch the ball, but Thorgrim
runs and holds him, and will not let him get near it
Then Gisli turned and threw Thorgrim such a fall on the
slippery ice that he could scarce rise. The skin came
off his knuckles, and the flesh off his knees, and blood
gushed from his nostrils. Thorgrim was very slow in
rising. As he did so he looked to Vestein's house and
chaunted:
'Right through his ribs
My spear-point went crashing;
Why should I worry?
'Twas well worth this thrashing.'
88
SUM MERS AND WINTERS
It
be held upon the ensuing day, and which forms a
general rendezvous to all the neighbouring isles of
Orkney, and is even frequented by many persons
from the more distant archipelago of Zetland.
is, in the words of the proclamation, 'a Free Mercat
and Fair, holden at the good Burgh of Kirkwall,
on the Third of August, being St. Ola's day,' and
continuing an indefinite space thereafter, extend-
ing from three days to a week and upwards. The
fair is of great antiquity, and derives its name
from Olans, Olave, Ollaw, the celebrated monarch
of Norway, who, rather by the edge of his sword
than any milder argument, introduced Christianity
into these isles, and was respected as the patron of
Gisli caught the ball on the bound, and hurled it
between Thorgrim's shoulders, so that he tumbled
forward, and threw his heels up in the air, and Gisli
chaunted:
Bump on the back
My big ball went dashing:
Why should I worry?
'Twas I gave the thrashing."
Thorkel jumps up and says: 'Now we can see who is
the strongest or the best player. Let us break off the
game'' and so they did."
IN THE ORKNEY S.
89
Kirkwall some time before he shared that honour
with St. Magnus the martyr." Sir Walter speaks
of the lively bustle which extended between the
foot of the hill and the town, and then proceeds:
"The quay, with the shipping, lent additional
vivacity to the scene, and not only the whole
beautiful bay, which lies between the promontories
of Inganess (Carness, it should have been) and
Quarterness, at the bottom of which Kirkwall is
situated; but all the sea so far as visible, and in
particular the whole of the strait between the island
of Shapinshay and that called Pomona was covered
and enlivened by a variety of boats and small
vessels, freighted from distant islands to convey
passengers or merchandise to the Fair of St. Ola."
The two pirates, after gazing, not without admira-
tion, upon the busy scene presented to thei rview
from the summit of Wideford, descend the hill and
wend their way among the booths and tents which
are being erected in large numbers. Jack Bunce,
who is on the qui vive for a little fun and frolic,
says to his companion: "In merry England, now,
you would have seen, on such an occasion, two or
9༠
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
three bands of strollers, as many fire-eaters and
conjurers, as many shows of wild beasts; but,
among these grave folks, there is nothing but what
savours of business and commodity-no, not so
much as a single squall from my merry gossip
Punch and his rib Joan." Jack Bunce did not fail
to get that touch of fun and frolic which he so
much desired, when Captain Cleveland beheld some
of his own pilfered garments displayed on the
booth of Bryce Snailsfoot. The booth of worthy
Bryce and its contents are thus described: “Cleve-
land cast his eyes on some very gay clothes, with
other articles, hung out upon one of the booths, that
had a good deal more of ornament and exterior
decoration than the rest. There was in front a small
sign of canvas painted, announcing the variety of the
goods which the owner of the booth had on sale,
and the reasonable prices at which he proposed to
offer them to the public. For the further gratifica-
tion of the spectator, the sign bore on the opposite
side an emblematic device, resembling our first
parents in their vegetable garments with a legend
underneath."
Sir Walter Scott availed himself of the excellent
IN THE ORKNEYS.
91
opportunity which the fair afforded for bringing
down all his dramatis persone from Shetland to
Kirkwall, thus enabling him to include the Orkneys.
in his romantic tale of the Northern Isles. Thither
came the old Odaller Magnus Troil and his two
daughters; Norna, of the Fitful Head, with her
dwarf attendant; Mertoun of Jarlshof; and the
eccentric factor, Triptolemus Yellowley. In truth,
Kirkwall and its vicinity must have presented a
very animated appearance during the continuance
of the great fair, both at the period of which
Scott wrote, and down to a much later date.*
* Merchants belonging to various northern counties.
were in the habit, at one time, of attending the fair in
great numbers. This was the case in 1797, when the itine-
rant evangelists, Messrs J. A. Haldane and Aikman, made
their celebrated visit to Orkney. On the 10th of August.
of that year they sailed from Burghead for Kirkwall, and
their reason for so doing is thus stated in their journal of
the tour: " Having heard whilst at Elgin that a fair was
soon to be held in Kirkwall, at which there were usually great
numbers of people from the different islands of Orkney,
and having also heard of the deplorable state of many of
these islands from the want of religious instruction, we
resolved that two of us should embrace the opportunity
92
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
Strangers would then see the Bay covered with
coasters and small craft from the islands laden with
stock-fish, ling, smoked cheese, and tubs of butter-
long lines of booths decorated with more or less
artistic care, displaying all sorts of wares and
commodities, necessaries and luxuries, including
clothing and cheese, haddocks and hose, blankets,
beads, and old ballads—and the narrow streets of
the town crowded with Lammas lovers (innocently
designated" brothers and sisters"). Orkney, Zetland,
and foreign skippers steaming with smuggled
whiskey, and a motley multitude of people intent
on business or on pleasure. Scenes of riot and
uproar not unfrequently took place at the fair in
other years. So late as the commencement of last
century the magistrates were sufficiently barbarous
to convert the cathedral into a guard-house at the
time of the annual market. This unchristian
conduct stirred the wrath of the Presbytery, and
in their local records they indignantly speak of
of going thither with the merchants from Elgin, and
then return through Caithness, Sutherland and Ross-
shire to Inverness."
IN THE ORKNEYS.
93
the townsmen, "keeping guard within the church,
shutting of guns, burning great fyres on the
graves of the dead, drinking, fidling, pipering
swearing, and cursing day and night within the
church." These practices were not apparently
confined to week-days, for the record adds,
"Neither can the preacher open his mouth, nor the
hearers conveniently attend for smoke; yea, some
of the members of Presbytery have been stopped
in their incoming and outgoing to their meetings,
and most rudely pursued by the souldiers with their
musquets and halberts." The practice of opening
penny ball or dancing rooms, in connection with
the various inns and taverns, during the time of the
"free mercat," continued through the first decade of
the present century. Truly, the good old town
must have burst out into annual spates of wicked-
ness in those times, and if some regret the de-
parted glories of the fair, they may also rejoice
that better days have introduced milder manners
and more orderly conduct.
The fair, which in former years lasted about a
fortnight, is now generally finished in three days,
94
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
the last day being separated from the other two
by upwards of a week's interval. This last day of
the fair resembles an old sea-margin that marks
the wider space once filled by the receding waters,
The annual gathering now takes place on an
elevated tract of moorland, distant from Kirkwall
about a mile and a half.
Although the show of
live stock is now small and the business transacted
is slight, the force of old habit still draws together
a considerable multitude of people who flock from
all the districts of Pomona,* and cross the sounds
and firths from the neighbouring islands in every
variety of sailing-craft. While the fair lasts the
*The fancy-name, Pomona, applied to the Orkney Main-
land, has long puzzled the ingenuity of etymologists. In
Roman mythology Pomona is the name of the goddess of
gardens, but as gardens were the rarest things to be seen
on the Orkney Mainland, we must look to some other
language than the Latin for the root-meaning of the
word. It seems to me that Mona, the alias of the Isle
of Man, may be regarded as affording some clue to the
origin of the word. Mon (Greek Monos) is a Celtic word
signifying separate, and the Norse suffix a denotes an
island. This interpretation, however, still leaves the first
syllable of the name unexplained.
IN THE ORKNEY S.
95
road between Kirkwall and the place of gathering
is kept continuously alive with crowds of pedes-
trians, cattle-dealers and farmers mounted on sturdy
steeds and shaggy ponies, smart curricles, primitive
carts, and droves of cattle and horses. At intervals
may be seen an ancient Odaller, with his pre-his-
toric hat firmly fixed on the back of his head, and
his feet almost raking the road, jogging demurely
along on an unkempt Shetland pony. Old men, with
grave visages leading high-boned crummies equally
grave, and followed by white-hooded, brown-faced
matrons still more sedate, attract the serious gaze
of the stranger, and call up visions of lonely life in
dreary moorland huts. But the gay mingles with
the grave in these wayside groups, and a sense
of the ludicrous is sometimes excited by the
spectacle of buxom country girls, with ample
skirts and bespattered boots, progging in the rear of
a rebellious and contumacious two-year-old. From
scenes and incidents on the road the artist might
readily supply his portfolio with a pleasant variety
of Orcadian sketches. On the market-ground,
instead of the interminable vista of booths.
96
SUMMERS, ETC., IN THE ORKNEYS.
mentioned by Scott and David Vedder, there is
only now a sprinkling of refreshment tents, con-
fectionary stalls, and hawkers' carts laden with
trunkfuls of tinsel rings and brooches. Great,
truly, is the change since the days of Jack
Bunce, who saw nothing but what savoured of
business and commodity, and who lamented the
absence of fire-eaters, conjurers, and wild beasts.
The showman is now master of the situation, and
successive relays of curious sight-seers, attracted by
the pictorial presentment of an athlete in tights,
crowd into a canvas arena amid the clash of cymbals
and the hilarious shouting of a clown from "merrie
England." There is a charming simplicity about
many of the visitors from the remoter rural districts,
and the gains of the great annual gathering fall for
the most part into the adventurous hands of
hawkers and showmen.
1

CHAPTER III.
The Cathedral of St. Magnus and Bishops
Palace.
Exterior and Interior Views of the Cathedral-1ts Histo-
rical Interest-Arrival of the Northmen-King Olaf's
-Muscular Christianity-Martyrdom of Magnus-
Founding of the Cathedral and Bishops' Palace-The
Last of the Sea-kings-Haco's Death and Burial-
Memorial Tablets-Annals of the Bishopric Estate.
HE impressive memorials of antiquity,
which impart distinction to the capital of
Orkney, can scarcely fail to excite the
surprise and awaken the interest of all intelligent
travellers. They have probably been attracted to
the Islands by perusing the records of the reigns of
Norwegian and Scottish earls, and yet the feeling of
astonishment possesses them when they see, in the
old cathedral and the ruined palaces, so many

7
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SUMMERS AND WINTERS
indications and remembrancers of former greatness
connected with the remote town of Kirkwall.
Founded before the middle of the twelfth century,
and dedicated to St. Magnus, the martyr, the
cathedral is a grand, solemn, and stately pile,
venerable with memories of the old Norse renown,
and through its gloomy aisles, haunted by sceptred
shades, there still seems to sound the mournful.
tread of Norse warriors who, long ages ago, car-
ried Haco, the fallen flower of Scandinavian chivalry,
on his royal bier. This noble old edifice shares the
distinction with St. Mungo's in Glasgow, of being
still entire, with the exception of the tower, which
was once partially destroyed by lightning, and has
never been restored to its original form. The se-
cluded situation of St. Magnus preserved the build-
ing from the iconoclastic ravages of the Reformers,
and it was also fortunately saved at a later date
from the blind and wanton fury of the Earl of
Caithness, who, after quelling with difficulty an in-
surrection in Orkney during the reign of King
James VI., wished to crown his triumph by de-
molishing the cathedral church, from the spire of
which the insurgents had fired upon his forces.

GENERAL LIBRARY
IN THE ORKNEYS.
University o.
99
While the palace of the bishops has been wrecked
and spoiled by time, the older and nobler pile still
stands to commemorate the pious vow of an Orkney
Jarl, and the power of a vanished race. The out-
ward stateliness of the structure is more than sur-
passed by the magnificence of the interior, with its
lofty vaulted roof, its superb arches, and its double
row of colossal pillars.* Stealing silently in through
the narrow Gothic windows of the nave, daylight
seems to “thicken" as it mingles with the shadows
of seven centuries, and every footfall on the floor
wakes into ghostly life the sepulchral echoes that
* In general effect the interior view is most imposing,
but there is nothing within the edifice that surpasses in
architectural beauty the three doorways of the great
western portal. The late Mr. David Macgibbon, architect,
in a paper read before the Architectural Institute of Scot-
land, in Jan., 1866, noted a peculiarity in these doorways
which he believed to have been previously overlooked.
"My attention," he said, "was particularly arrested by these
doorways, being quite unprepared for anything so
interesting. They are of beautiful design and richly
carved; but what specially surprised me was to find here,
in the extreme north, examples of the use of coloured
stones in the external decoration of the building, which
are sought for in vain in the more southern parts of this
Dorm
ICO
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
pass away with a hollow murmur into dim recesses
of the outer aisles. The sound of the human voice
drops like a plummet into the solemn mediæval
silence, stirring its mysterious depths.
The interior of St. Magnus may not equal Mel-
rose Abbey and Roslin Chapel in richness of tracery,
or compare in magnificence and historic glories with
the most famous minsters in England, but in
symmetrical form, and beauty of design, it ranks
high among the marvellous creations of architec-
tural genius.
From east to west, the cathedral is 226 feet in
external length, 56 in breadth, and 71 in height from
country, or in fact anywhere north of Auvergne; but
they remind one most strongly of the coloured marbles
of Italy.
I have no hesitation in bringing forward these
doorways as genuine specimens of coloured decoration,
the natural colours of the local sandstone (from the
Island of Eday) being made available to produce the
beautiful design." Mr. Macgibbon was wrong in supposing
that the peculiarity in the western portal to which he
alludes had escaped observation. Wallace, in his curious
and quaint account of Orkney, published in 1693, says
that the 'three gates" at the entrance are "checkerd
with red and white polished stones, embossed and
flowered in a comely way."
Maou
IN THE ORKNEYS.
ΙΟΙ
the floor to the roof. The arms of the cross or
transept, which are 28 feet wide, extend a similar
number of feet beyond the side-walls to north and
south. The truncated spire is now little more than
135 feet in height, and thus appears disproportioned
to the arms and elongated western limb of the
cruciform structure. The roof is supported by
twenty-eight pillars, running from east to west in
paralleled rows, and forming a noble colonnade.
These pillars are fifteen feet in circumference and
eighteen in height; but the fine perspective of the
two massive ranges has been considerably marred
by fitting up the choir on the eastern end as a place
of worship, and screening it off with the eight
pillars which it contains. Four additional fluted
columns of still greater height and girth, connected
a top by four superb pointed arches, support the
tower in the centre of the cross. The columns,
varying in their capitals and tracery, display great
artistic taste and skill, while the loftiness of the
grand central arches imparts an aspect of aerial
lightness and beauty to the perfection of archi-
tectural strength. On the east end there is a re-
markably fine window that was added to the build-
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SUMMERS AND WINTERS
ing, along with other improvements, by Dr. Stewart,
who succeeded to the bishopric early in the six-
teenth century. The window is early pointed, with
three shafts or mullions, and a rose of twelve leaves
crowning it above, and completing its beauty. The
interior effect of this window, which is about thirty-
six feet in height, has been greatly lessened by the
partitioning of the choir to form the parish church.
In the southern transept there is another oriel win-
dow that fails in exciting a similar amount of
enthusiasm among connoisseurs. The skill of medi-
æval architects and builders is not only exhibited
in the gróined roof and the pointed arches of
Gothic windows and doorways, but also in the
elaborate variations of tracery that adorn the re-
cesses along the wall in the chancel and nave.
Even in the narrow and shadowy passages that
tunnel the wall and conduct to the bartisans over-
looking the central aisle, the same delicate, careful,
and tasteful workmanship is exhibited in the little
Gothic archways with their pillared sides. The
choir still contains some of those grotesque faces
and fantastic figures which the old masters of
IN THE ORKNEYS.
103
architecture seemed to design either in the spirit of
profane mockery, or in the mere wantonness of
exuberant humour.
The central cross and spire are the most ancient
portions of the cathedral, which was enlarged and
ornamented at various periods by enterprising
Scottish bishops. Besides constructing the fine
rose window, already mentioned, Dr. Stewart, early
in the sixteenth century, lengthened the choir at
the eastern end by adding three pointed piers and
arches. Bishop Maxwell, who succeeded in 1525,
provided the edifice with a chime of four bells, and
Bishop Reid, about twenty years afterwards, added
three pillars to the western end. These latest-
erected pillars are equal to the others in massiveness,
but inferior in point of workmanship, and the strain
or subsidence of the west-end wall has drawn them
slightly off the plumb. The bell-room, where
Bishop Maxwell's chime is fitted up, can only be
reached by ascending narrow, steep, and tortuous
stairs at opposite angles of the tower. This apart-
ment, however, as well as the exterior gallery of
the spire, is a favourite resort of visitors, and the
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SUMMERS AND WINTERS
chimes may thus frequently be heard pealing at
at all hours of the day during the summer and
autumn months,
St. Magnus Kirk possesses great historical interest,
as the noblest memorial of the Scandinavian occu-
pation of the Orkney Islands. In the latter part
of the ninth century successive swarms of Northmen,
alarmed by the threatened extinction of their old
Odal independence by Harold the Fairhaired,
crossed the sea from the Norwegian shores, and
gained possession with little difficulty of the
Orkney and Zetland Islands, the Faroes, the
Hebrides, and Iceland. At the period of the Scan-
dinavian invasion, the inhabitants of Orkney seem
to have consisted of " Peghts," and Irish hermit-
missionaries. The Norse name for the anchorite
fathers was Papar, and the word still lives in the
Island nomenclature. There are Papa Westray
and Papa Stronsay, where the hermits had their
cells, and Paplay is a frequent name of persons and
places in Pomona, South Ronaldshay, and other
Islands. It is probable that the Irish missionaries *
* Adamnan, in his life of St. Columba, affirms that
IN THE ORKNEYS.
105
partially succeeded in turning the Scandinavian
settlers from the worship of Odin to faith in Christ,
but the distinction was reserved for King Olaf, at
the close of the next century, to shiver with his
sword the hammer of Thor. Harold the Fairhaired,
enraged at the exodus of the Norsemen, and
annoyed by their retaliative expeditions to the
Norwegian coasts, fitted out a strong armament, and
soon succeeded in subduing the Orkney and Zet-
land Islands, which became dependencies of the
Norwegian crown. With Earl Sigurd, whom Harold
appointed to the viceroyalty, began the rule of the
Orkneyan Jarls-a rule that was destined to con-
tinue upwards of five and a half centuries. The
Norwegian kings, sufficiently occupied with their
own schemes of conquest, left the earls for the
most part to their own devices, and only interfered
at times for the purpose of settling the rival claims
of brothers and cousins by giving each a share of
the government of the Islands. Military service
was enforced from the Jarls when the Scandinavian
Cormac, a disciple of Columba, was the first Christian
Missionary, who visited Orkney (about A. D. 570).
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SUMMERS AND WINTERS
fleets mustered in Orkney for their western or
southern expeditions, and several of the kings
showed that the sovereignty of the Norwegian crown
was more than nominal, by exacting fines from the
Islands, or seizing the scatt or land-tax, the royal
right to which had been waived by Harold Harfagr.
From the Orkneyinga Saga and the pages of
Torfæus, readers may learn how the successive
Sigurds, Einars, Erlends, Rognvalds, and Thorfinns
extended the boundaries of their "kingdom by the
sea," flashed down upon the Scottish shores in
fierce Vor-Vikings, returned with their free peasant
warriors in time to reap the harvest, and drowned the
memory of stern shore-fights in the grim humours
and revelries of the Jol-feasts. The Vikingr bands,
who gladly joined the Jarls in their piratical ex-
peditions, seldom neglected to cultivate the lands
on their Odal holdings, and thus these fighting and
farming Norsemen never lacked abundance of
winter cheer.
In the time of the second Sigurd (A. D., 1000)
King Olaf Triguesson converted the earl and his
people to Christianity at the point of the sword,
IN THE ORKNEYS.
107
making a rough-and-ready finish of the work that
had been begun by the Irish anchorite fathers. So
rapidly did the religion, thus forcibly propagated,
appear to gain ground, that the son of the first con-
verted earl made a pilgrimage to Rome to obtain
Papal absolution, and on his return to Orkney he
built a great church at Birsay in the west Main-
land. In Egilshay another church-the ruined
tower of which still stands conspicuous on the
Island-was built about the same time, and these,
with the chapel of St Olaf at Kirkwall, seem to
have been the first places for Christian worship reared
by the Norsemen in Orkney. Kirkwall Cathedral,
although the most magnificent, was not the earliest
of their sacred edifices; but the martyrdom of St.
Magnus, which it serves to commemorate, was one
of the most tragic occurrences in the history of the
Norse occupation.
Hacon and Magnus, two cousins, had succeeded to
the Orkney Jarldom about the beginning of the
twelfth century.
The divided rule, as frequently
before, led to animosities and mutual estrangement,
and Hacon, by a treacherous plot, deprived his
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SUMMERS AND WINTERS
cousin of life in Easter week, on the Island of
Egilshay.
The tears and entreaties of the murdered earl's
grief-stricken mother induced Hacon to yield up
the body, which was buried in Christ Church,
Birsay, with solemn rites and amid great lamenta-
tion. In a superstitious age, when the shadows of
Odinism still lingered in the dull-red dawn of
Christianity, it was a happy device of priestcraft to
represent the spot where Magnus was entombed as
emitting a lustrous light and delicious odour, and
thus the grave of the murdered earl soon became
the shrine of the martyred saint. The King of
Norway, some years after this tragical event,
granted half of the Orkney earldom to Koli, sub-
sequently named Rognvald, or Ronald, who was
related to the sainted Magnus. Paul, the son of
Hacon, had meanwhile succeeded his father, and
this bold Jarl not only refused to give up any part
of the earldom to the new claimant, but defeated
the fleet of six sail with which Rognvald was
bearing down upon Orkney. The favourite of the
Norwegian crown returned home crest-fallen, but
IN THE ORKNEYS.
то)
he was soon provided with a larger armament, to
which the King contributed a royal galley. At a
meeting of friends previous to the embarkation,
Kol, the father of Rognvald, exhorted his son to
make a vow to St. Magnus that, if the expedition
were successful, he would dedicate to the memory
of the saint a more magnificent church than any
that had hitherto been erected in the Orkney earl-
dom. This advice was approved; the solemn vow
was made; St. Magnus was invoked; and when the
splendid armament set sail, the smooth sea, the
serene sky, and the favourable breeze seemed already
to be the harbingers and omens of good fortune.
By a successful stratagem Earl Rognvald prevent-
ed the ward-fires from being kindled on the hills.
as he approached the Islands with his fleet. He
thus succeeded in landing unawares at Westray
where multitudes flocked to his banner. The second
enterprise, in short, was a complete success, and
Rognvald speedily became sole Earl of Orkney.
No sooner was he settled in his new possession than
he remembered his solemn vow, and in the year
1130 the foundation of the noble Cathedral of St.
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SUMMERS AND WINTERS
Magnus was laid at Kirkwall. A year or two after
its commencement the work languished from want
of funds, but Earl Rognvald induced the freeholders
or Odallers to purchase immunity from confiscation
by the gift of a mark for each plough-land to assist
in the construction of Magnus-Kirk. Money was
thus obtained, and the work proceeded apace, al-
though the Odallers, by the lost subsequent privi-
lege they had purchased by rebelling against King
Sverrer at the close of the same century. When the
central cross was completed, the remains of St
Magnus were removed from their first resting-place,
and deposited in the Cathedral, which was conse-
crated to the memory of the Norwegian saint and
martyr.
Earl Rognvald, who had also the distinction of
being sainted for his faithful performance of a pious
vow, established a heirarchy as well as founded a
church. Previous to this period there had been
titular Bishops of Orkney, nominated, it is supposed,
by the Archbishops of York, but the building of
the Cathedral gave new importance to the Islands
as a papal province, and in the year 1136, William
IN THE ORKNEYS
III
became, by Romish consecration, Primus Episco-
pus Orcadum. This prelate had a seat in the
Council of Freemen, and it was probably during his
tenure of the prelatic dignity that the Odallers were
first compelled to submit to the imposition of tiends.
In accordance with ecclesiastical custom, the splen-
dour of the heirarchy required to be maintained in
harmony with the magnificence of the stately Mag-
nus Kirk. From the extensive ruins of the Bishop's
Palace adjoining the Cathedral, some impression
may be gathered of the great pomp in which the
old prelates lived, and the heavy burdens they
would impose upon land and labour to sustain their
almost regal state. Though historically associated
with the Cathedral for many centuries, the precise
period when the episcopal palace was erected is a
matter of conjecture. The Primus Episcopus resided
in the Island of Egilshay, and this circumstance may
safely warrant the inference that, in his time, no
bishop's tower had yet been built in the vicinity of
St. Magnus' shrine. But the probability is strong
that the edifice, which received additions at various
periods, was founded in the same century as the
I 12
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
Cathedral. So early as the year 1263, it sheltered
King Haco, when the last of the sea-kings, re-
turning broken-hearted from the battle of Larg,
remained at Kirkwall to die.
This ancient building is now in a very ruinous
state; but enough yet remains to indicate its former
extent and strength. From the irregularity of the
ruins, and the quaint mixture of various styles of
architecture, it may be concluded that the more
ambitious bishops, in making additions to the
original edifice, followed their own caprice or con-
venience. The principal part of the ruin is a strong
tower, circular without and square within, which
was built by the same Bishop Reid who added
three pillars to the Cathedral. On the outside wall
of the tower there is, in alto relievo, a rough-hewn
freestone statuette of this accomplished prelate.
The square tower, called the Mass or Meuse Tower,
which also stood on the north side, appears to have
been one of the oldest portions of the palace, and
hence the word Turris is applied to the entire
structure, in some old Latin documents.
The death of King Haco in the Bishop's Palace
IN THE ORKNEYS.
113
and the mournful pomp of the funeral pageantry in
the Cathedral-described with graphic beauty in
the Norse saga-impart romantic and pathetic in-
terest to the celebrated expedition of the last grand
cld Norwegian Sea-king. It formed the most re-
markable episode in Orcadian history, and the sad
splendour of Haco's setting sun seems yet to linger
amid the ruins of the ancient pile where the woe-
worn monarch heaved his last sigh, and to gild the
gloom of the solemn aisles where weeping warriors
saw him borne to his rest.
Early in the reign of the Scottish king, Alexan-
der III., the Earl of Rosse, and other chiefs, invaded
the Western Isles, which were subject by right of
conquest to the Scandinavian crown. The atroci-
ties perpetrated by these invaders stirred the wrath
of Haco, and he immediately issued orders for the
assembling of a large fleet and army. In the Norse
chronicle of the expedition there is a vivid account
of the royal preparations and the unrivalled mag-
nificence of the armament. On a beautiful mid-
summer day the great fleet set sail from Herlover.
The King's oaken galley, with its twenty-seven
S
114
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
banks of oars, and its dragon-prow overlaid with
gold, led the van of the Norwegian armada. Over
the North Sea fluttered the pennons of the ships in
the fair wind, glittered the shields and spears of the
Vikingr host. In two days the fleet reached Shet-
land, and anchored in Breydeyiar Sound. From
Shetland, King Haco steered to Orkney, and lay
in the harbour of Elwick (Elidarwick), in the Island
of Shapinshay, till St. Olaf's wake, when he sailed
for South Ronaldshay, and again cast anchor in
Ronaldsvoe or St. Margaret's Hope, where the
small squadron of the Orkney Jarl joined the arma-
ment, now numbering upwards of a hundred sail.
While the fleet lay at South Ronaldshay, there oc-
curred an annular eclipse of the sun, that "spread
a death-shade round the ships," and seemed to
portend the direful fate of the expedition. The
calculations of modern astronomical science have
assigned the eclipse to the 5th day of August,
1263. Undismayed by the dread omen, Haco
weighed anchor and set sail for the Western Isles.
After ravaging their coasts, and reducing the re-
bellious chiefs to subjection, he steered southwards,
and entered the Firth of Clyde with his entire arma-
IN THE ORKNEYS.
115
ment, which spread consternation to the shores of
Kyle and Carrick. The Scottish King, unable to
meet this formidable array, adopted the crafty
expedient of making overtures of peace, and so
detaining the fleet in the estuary of the Clyde until
the wintry storms began to blow. Alexander suc-
ceeded in his design. A succession of violent gales
burst out at the close of autumn, and the galleys,
crowded together in the confined firth, fouled each
other in the darkness, or drifted helplessly
ashore. The Northmen who had lost their ships.
were also fiercely assailed by armed peasants, and
only escaped total rout at the memorable battle of
Largs by the arrival of reinforcements from the
fleet. Disaster followed disaster, on sea and shore,
and those bold invaders, who never feared the face
of man, were baffled and beaten back at last by
the fury of the elements. Away past the wild shores
of the Western Isles, the cliffs of Cape Wrath, and
the grim portals of the Pentland Firth, relentless
storms pursued the shattered armada, and one ship
more, with all her gallant crew, was doomed to
perish amid the swelling tides of Orcadian
seas.
116
SUM MERS AND WINTERS
But the crowning woe of this disastrous expedi-
tion was yet to come. It was the 29th of October
when Haco arrived again in Orkney. Worn out by
the fatigues and anxieties of the autumn months,
and broken in spirit by the failure of the expedi-
tion, the King felt himself unable to resume the
voyage to Norway, and resolved to spend the
winter in Kirkwall. He retained a number of the
ships, and permitted the melancholy residue of the
once splendid fleet to return home. Along with
his principal attendants Haco was lodged in the
stately palace of Henry, Bishop of Orkney, who
had accompanied the expedition, and who had
formed one of the five commissioners sent to treat
with the King of Scotland. The officers and men-
at-arms, belonging to the retained ships, were quar-
tered on Urislands, or Ounce-lands, throughout the
Islands, instead of being billeted upon the inhabi-
tants. Shortly after the King had taken up his
residence in the palace a serious distemper, aggra-
vated by bitter disappointment, confined him to his
chamber. He again rallied sufficiently to visit St.
Magnus' shrine and hear mass celebrated under
IN THE ORKNEYS.
117
more peaceful auspices than amid the roaring of
the storm on the wild Cumbraes. A relapse, how-
ever, occurred, and he was soon unable, from increas-
ing sickness, to leave his sleeping apartment. The
Bible and the lives of the saints were read to him
as he lay helpless on his couch, but the old war-
spirit seemed to revive as his bodily strength
decayed, and the dying monarch commanded his
attendants to chant the saga-chronicles of his
ancestors, the Norwegian kings. On the twelfth of
December, when all hope was gone, the chief of
the nobility and clergy assembled in the royal
chamber, now hushed for the advent of death. It
was the eve of the festival of St. Lucia. Knowing
that his end was nigh, King Haco, ere the last rites
of the Church were administered, kissed the bishops
and nobles who stood round his couch, and affec-
tionately bade them all farewell. On the 15th of
December, the last of the sea-kings expired. "At
midnight," says the Icelandic chronicle, "Almighty
God called King Haco out of this mortal life. Im-
mediately on the decease of the King, bishops and
learned men were sent for to sing mass. On Sun-
118
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
day the royal corpse was carried to the upper hall,
and laid on a bier, the body was clothed in a rich
garb, with a garland on its head, and dressed out
as became a crowned monarch. The masters of
the lights stood with tapers in their hands, and the
whole hall was illuminated. All the people came
to see the body, which appeared beautiful and ani-
mated; and the King's countenance was as fair and
ruddy as while he was alive.
High mass was then
nobility kept watch by
sung for the deceased. The
the body during the night. On Monday the re-
mains of King Haco were carried to St. Magnus'
Cathedral, where they lay in state that night. On
Tuesday the royal corpse was put in a coffin, and
buried in the choir of St. Magnus, near the
steps leading to St. Magnus' shrine. The tomb
was then closed, and a canopy was spread over it,
and watch was kept over the King's grave all the
winter." When spring returned the body of the
King was removed from the Cathedral, and borne.
on a bier by Norwegian nobles to the shore of
Scapa Flow. There it was placed on board the
grand galley which had carried the warrior-king to
IN THE ORKNEYS
119
the Western Isles, and which now, with its mourn-
ful burden, steered slowly for Norway, that the
young prince and his people might bury the bones
of brave old Haco in the sepulchre of his fathers.
Towards the close of the same century the re-
mains of Margaret, the maiden of Norway, who
died in her eighth year, were buried in the choir of
the Cathedral. The sudden and unexpected death
of this young princess shook the heart of Scotland
with anguish, and the hopes of a nation were the
unseen mourners that hovered around her tomb.
Side by side with a silent guard of grim Vikingrs
the royal child was laid to rest. As centuries
revolved the dust of princes and princesses, of Scan-
dinavian and Scottish nobles, of warriors and priests,
accumulated around the hallowed shrine of St.
Magnus. In this place of sepulture, sacred to old
historic memories, the representatives of rival races
and creeds have mingled their ashes in the recon-
cilement and solemn rest of death.
Some few years ago, when the choir of the
Cathedral was undergoing repair at the expense of
Government, the sacrilegious hands of the work-
120
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
men rudely disturbed the age-long repose of nobles
and prelates. One of the tombs thus invaded was
that of the powerful bishop, Thomas Tulloch,
whose skeleton was discovered lying outstretched
between two pillars with an oaken staff at one hand
and a chalice and paten at the other. While the
repairs were in progress the skeletons of other mag-
nates were disinterred, and the excavators also
lighted upon the tomb of Lord Adam Stewart, son
of James V., and brother of Earl Robert of
Orkney. In addition to the choir the nave and tran-
septs were likewise used as places of sepulture.
sculptured stones, some of ancient and some of
modern date, which line the walls, give the nave all
the appearance of a vast burial-vault.
monuments of marble or freestone are inscribed the
"few and simple annals" of several old Orkney
families. The Latin and English epitaphs are in
general characterised by simplicity, but the visitor
may note here and there the crude lines of a versi-
fier turned into stone, or the virtues of a homely
The
On these
presbyter commemorated in flattering phrase and
learned superlatives. The Latinity of one un-
IN THE ORKNEYS.
121
fortunate epitaph is only excelled by the inscription
on a well-known tombstone in the graveyard of
Coldingham Abbey. Although the hour-glass,
death's head, and cross-bones, so highly favoured
by our forefathers, adorn many of the Cathedral
monuments, the ingenuity of the sculptor has occa-
sionally taken shape in curious, quaint, and even
grotesque devices. On one memorial a female form,
in the attitude of devotion, fixes her stony eyes on
a stony crown which is poised above in an out-
stretched hand. Below this kneeling figure the
customary emblems of mortality are carved.
Another monument exhibits the "image of a
crown," resting above a curtain of cloud supported
by cherubim. Underneath the crown and curtain
there is a grim and fantastic representation of the
Master-fiend, standing erect on his cloven hoofs.
The death's-head and cross-bones occupy the space
below this portentous figure. The words "AD
HOC, AB HOC, PER HOC," are inscribed opposite those
various parts of the device that are intended to
symbolise Heaven, Hell, and the Grave. On the
north side of the nave there is a marble monu-
122
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
ment erected to the memory of the distinguished
historian, Malcolm Laing, whose family name is
familiarly and honourably associated with the
modern annals of Orkney. The inscription runs
thus at the close: Hoc marmor desiderii et amoris
monumentum relicta conjux ponendum curavit."
ponendum_curavit."
In the Cathedral register, under date April 22nd,
1649, there is a curious entry which serves to indi-
cate the cheap and easy way adopted by the Island
potentates to procure marble monuments, and the
scandalous liberties they were in the habit of tak-
ing with the material of the church. The Earl of
Morton, one of the ravenous race of crown dona-
taries, was desirous of erecting a handsome tomb
"upon
upon the corp of his umquhile father," and as he
understood that there were some stones of marble
in the floor of the Cathedral which would be suitable
for the purpose, he requested the Kirk-session to
favour him by uplifting the stones, and handing
them over to his possession. "Whereunto," quaintly
adds the register, "the session condescended, with
this provision, that the places thereof be sufficiently
filled up with hewen burial stones." The marble
IN THE ORKNEYS.
123
slabs which once enriched the floor of the Cathedral
were thus removed by an obsequious session to
gratify the vanity and rapacity of Lord Morton.
In the time of the Romish Bishops the Cathe-
dral was preserved with great care, and consider-
able sums were expended at intervals in its enlarge-
ment and ornamentation. After the Reformation,
however, from insufficiency or misapplication of
funds, it frequently fell into a state of disrepair,
and the curators of the edifice made application to
the Court of Exchequer and other quarters for
assistance. In 1658, during the interregnum of
Presbytery, the minister and Town Council peti-
tioned the Justices of Peace for assistance, remind-
ing them that the bishop had formerly maintained
the Church, "partlie out of his revenues, and partlie
by the fynes of all adulteries, as occasion offered
throughout the whole countrie." This appeal to
the Justices does not seem to have been very suc-
cessful, but aid was obtained in the following year
from the Town Council of Edinburgh, who had
become tenants of the bishopric. In a memorial
addressed to the Court of Exchequer, in 1770, the
124
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
petitioners declared that the structure had been
maintained for the previous seventy years "by
burials, mortcloths, bills, marriages, and other
small perquisites, not exceeding £10 a year.”
Danger also threatened the Cathedral in other
forms. Irreverent and misguided men profaned it
to secular purposes. On the 3rd of December,
1620, my Lord Bishop and the Kirk-session sat in
judgment upon "anie particklar man" who had
been guilty of the great abuse of sawing timber in
the church. At the commencement of last century
the town-guard were in the habit of taking up
their quarters in the sacred edifice during the time
of Lammas Fair, and it is recorded of one bold
profaner of the temple that he "caused to tye his
horse to a pillar within the church where he stood
all the time of sermon." The Cathedral has happily
survived the desecrations of a rude age, and for
many years it has been maintained and preserved
with the greatest care. Early in the present cen-
tury Gilbert Meason, of Moredun, left a legacy of
£1,000, the interest of which was appointed to be
annually applied in upholding and beautifying the
IN THE ORKNEY S.
125
structure. A few thousand pounds were expended
upon it some years ago by the paternal Govern-
ment that disposed of the see for the ornamenta-
tion of the metropolis.
The Orkney Bishopric estate-which ceased to
exist in 1854-56at the fiat of the Board of Woods and
Forests had a somewhat curious and complicated
history. The hierarchy that was established by
the founder of the Cathedral continued to grow in
power and influence during the reign of the Nor-
wegian Earls. The imposition of tiends by the
first resident prelate was only the commencement
of a system of wholesale extortion. The church
was not a century old when one of the bishops,
who attempted to double the ecclesiastical impost,
was burned to death by the enraged Odallers. But
this fierce outburst of the priest-ridden people only
made the successors of the burned bishop more
crafty in the schemes they employed to increase
their extortions and the patrimony of the church.
The very crimes of the inhabitants were turned to
account in the enlargement of their estate. "The
old bishopric of Orkney," quoth Bishop Graham,
L
126
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
"became a great thing and lay sparsim throughout
the haill parochines of Orkney and Zetland.
Besyde his lands he had the teyndis of auchtene
Kirks; his lands grew daily as adulteries and
incests increased in the country." By confiscations,
seizures, and gifts, the church property gradually
intermingled with that of the earldom in every
Island, and the clergy tightened their grasp amid
the accumulation of disorders. This system of
priestly oppression reached its climax in the
fifteenth century, when Thomas and William
Tulloch were successively invested with the com-
bined powers of bishop, governor, and collector of
royal revenues. William Tulloch filled the see
and ruled the earldom when the Orkney and
Zetland Islands were pledged by Norway to Scot-
land as a security for the portion of the Princess
Margaret, the royal bride of James III. The
bishop-governor, who was also tacksman of the
Scottish, Crown, improved upon the practice of his
predecessors by feudalizing the Odal lands, and by
imposing new burdens while rigidly retaining the
old. The addition of Scottish to Norwegian taxes.
IN THE ORKNEYS.
1:7
diocese was held by
signalized, in the experience of the luckless inhabi-
tants, the impignoration of the Islands, and the
transfer of the church in Orkney from the rule of
the Archbishop of Drontheim to the jurisdiction of
the Archbishop of St. Andrews. A separation
subsequently occurred in the offices, which placed
so much power in unscrupulous hands, and this
beneficial change softened to some extent the
rigidity of ecclesiastical rule. During the first half
of the sixteenth century the
such eminent prelates as Stewart, Maxwell, and
Reid, who devoted large portions of their revenues
to the enlargement and ornamentation of the
Cathedral. Adam Bothwell, who performed the
marriage ceremony between Queen Mary and his
namesake, the Earl, was the first reformed Bishop
of Orkney. This prelate, who only once visited
his northern diocese, made a convenient exchange
of the temporalities of the bishopric with Earl
Robert Stewart for the abbacy of Holyrood. In
the time of Law, the successor of Bothwell, the
confusions arising from the intermingling of church
and earldom lands had become so great and
128 SUMMERS, ETC., IN THE ORKNEYS.
grievous that the bishop, in lieu of his scattered
patrimony, accepted an equivalent of conterminous
properties on the Mainland. When the General
Assembly excommunicated the episcopal order,
the see was filled by Bishop Graham, who resigned.
his office and declared it illegal, after having dis-
charged its functions for twenty-three years. After
the Restoration there was again a revival of Epis-
copacy, and, owing to the distance of the Islands
from the great centres of religious revolution, it
was not till 1700 that Presbyterianism was finally
and firmly established in Orkney. On the aboli-
tion of episcopacy the bishopric estate was vested
in the crown, but its changeful annals were not yet
closed. It was doomed to pass through the hands
of a long succession of factors and lessees, and
then, like a ghost at cock-crow, vanished from
history at the tap of the auctioneer's hammer.

CHAPTER IV.
Bule of the Bashaws: Earl Patrick Stewart.
Ruins of the Earl's Palace-Character and Acts of Patrick
Stewart-Visit of the Duke of Sutherland-Return
Visit of Earl Patrick to Dornoch-Quarrel between the
Earls of Orkney and Caithness-Court Record-Insur-
rection in Orkney-Earl Patrick on the Scaffold.
HE Earl's Palace, which holds fellowship
in decay with the more ancient palace of
the bishops, is another Orcadian structure
invested with historic interest. These contiguous
ruins, ecclesiastical and baronial, commemorate the
changes in Church and State which have affected
Orkney.
The grey old pile called the Earl's Palace—once
a princely castellated mansion, but now roofless,
dismantled, and desolate-was erected about the

9
130
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
year 1600 by Patrick Stewart of infamous memory.
With the exception of a roadway entering by an
arch on the side nearest the Cathedral, the space
between the two palaces is now covered with a
thick grove of trees which impart greater pictu-
resqueness to the ruins. On approaching the Earl's
stronghold through the gloom of the grove, it pre-
sents an impressive scene of desolation, with its
roofless walls, its vacant windows, and mouldering
turrets. The ornamental carvings, weather-worn
and defaced, deepen the suggestiveness of the
spectacle, and rebuke in their stony silence the
proud legend of the imperious Earl: "Sic fuit,
est, et erit." The palace, like most of the baronial
mansions of the period, forms three sides of an
oblong square-the residence of the bishops having
probably been intended to form the fourth side.
Entering by a low and massive portal at the right
angle, the visitor finds himself in an apparent
maze of long branching passages, where dim twi-
light reigns, greenly glimmering through dungeon-
like apertures. Vaulted apartments or cells, drip-
ping with wet, and filled with the cold gloom of
catacombs, open up in succession along the dismal
IN THE
THE ORKNEYS.
131
stretch of the passage to the left. Most of them
are provided with apertures for the use of mus-
keteers. The retainers of the despotic Earl were
doubtless lodged in some of these vaults, while in
others he stored up his ill-gotten booty for winter
feast and wassail; but the dreariest cells would be
reserved for unrecorded victims who vainly strug
gled against the oppression of the "lord of the
isles." At the foot of the staircase there is a deep
draw-well, and at the end of another dingy passage
we stumble upon the kitchen, the dimensions of
which, together with the great extent of the fire-
place, help to recal vanished scenes of festal revelry
Such scenes are still more vividly present to the
mind on ascending the spacious stone staircase by
three flights of hollow-sounding steps, and entering
the magnificent banqueting-hall with its huge fire-
place and great Gothic windows. The hall, which
communicates with projecting turret-chambers and
a bastioned gallery, has now the green grass for its
carpeted floor, and the blue or clouded heavens for
its ample roof. The thickness of the walls, the
bolt-marks in the door-ways, and the numerous
apertures in the turrets for the use of fire-arms, all
132
SUM MERS AND WINTERS
serve to indicate the labour and skill that had been
expended in giving strength and security to this
feudal fortress. Built on a rising ground, it com-
manded an extensive prospect, and the eye of the
watcher at the southern turrets could scan the
waters of Scapa Flow. In its combination of
strength and elegance the residence of Earl Patrick
Stewart was equally well adapted for war and was-
sail, for purposes of outrage and scenes of revel.
Historic records and reliable traditions give sub-
stantive shape to the shadow of old tyranny that
haunts the gloom of the ruins.
Earl Patrick Stewart, the founder of this baronial
mansion, swayed an iron sceptre over Orkney and
Zetland, and earned the execrations of an oppressed
people by his cruelties and crimes. After the
transference of the Islands from the dominion of
the Norwegian to that of the Scottish crown, they
were subjected to the misrule, frauds, and rapacity
of a long succession of donataries, or tacksmen,
many of whom were needy courtiers. The Stewarts,
father and son, exceeded the worst of the tribe in
their tyranny and extortions. Queen Mary made
a grant of the Islands to her natural brother, Lord
IN THE ORKNEYS.
133
Robert Stewart, and his heirs-male, although it had
been expressly stipulated in an Act of Parliament
that Orkney and Zetland were not to be given
away in time coming, except to one of the king's
sons "of lauchful bed." The grant made by Mary
to her natural brother was soon revoked, but Lord
Robert, notwithstanding the illegality of his claim,
succeeded in obtaining a renewal of the grant, and
prevailed on the young king to create him Earl of
Orkney. In his oppressions and peculations this
illegitimate prince found an energetic associate and
apt disciple in Earl Patrick, and when the father
died he bequeathed his evil spirit to his son, who
succeeded to the grant with the evident determina-
tion to make his rapacity still more conspicuous.
By using the most unscrupulous means to break
down the old system of Odal tenure, Earl Robert
had done much to facilitate the carrying out of
fraudulent practices by his successor.
Earl Patrick, who obtained the inheritance to-
wards the close of the sixteenth century, possessed
all the cruelty and craft, the rapacious and avari-
cious spirit of his father; but he excelled the elder
Stewart in force of character, in ambition, in luxuri-
134
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
ous tastes and in the passion for extravagant display.
Repellent opposites were reconciled in his character.
The man devoted to luxury and fond of extrava-
gance is frequently easy and generous in his dis-
position; but so intensely selfish was this princely
spendthrift, that cold, cruel cunning supplied in him
the place of generosity, and he stooped without
scruple to the basest exactions for the sole purpose
of gratifying his own appetites and ambition. He
had won the hand of a wealthy bride in the person
of the widow of Sir Louis Bellenden,* but the
dowry which she brought could not suffice to en-
chain the heart of her faithless lord, and her join-
ture added to his income only swelled the tide of his
splendid extravagance. He was, as remarked by
Chambers in his Domestic Annals, "a man of grand
and ambitious views, and his dream of life was to
make himself a sort of independent prince in the
remote group of Islands where lay his estate."
Those ambitions soon assumed a practical and sub-
stantial shape. As if the Palace of Birsay and
* The Orkney Bellendens, who resided at Aikerness in
Evie, were a family descended from Sir Patrick Bellenden,
one of David Rizzio's murderers.
IN THE ORKNEYS.
135
the mansion of Dunrostness in Shetland were not
amply sufficient to give distinction to his Island
sovereignty, he proceeded to build the castle of
Scalloway, and the Earl's Palace at Kirkwall.
This latter building, which was finished about the
year 1600, must have made rapid progress, since
many of the poorer class were compelled by their
hard task-master "to work for him all manner of
labour by sea and land; in rowing and sailing his
ships and boats, working in the stone quarry
loading his boats with stone and lime
bigging his park dykes, and all other sorts
of servile and painful labour, without either meat,
drink, or hire." The old burgh of Kirkwall, not-
withstanding the atmosphere of despotism that
rested upon it, must have presented an animated
appearance when the palace was in the course of
erection, and scenes of violence would doubtless be
frequent in the streets of the town when the
"sudartis," or rascally armed retainers of the Earl,
stirred the blood of the burghers by their wanton
insolence. The Island potentate would survey
with pride and satisfaction his new baronial resi-
dence which, with its splendid Gothic windows and
136
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
quaint mixture of architectural styles, had risen
from the ruins of numerous homesteads, and thus
possessed from the first all the features of a robber's
stronghold though adorned with the elegancies of a
palace. From the extent of the banqueting-hall
and the fine finish of the shafted Gothic window, it
may be surmised that the best artistic talent of the
time would be called into requisition for the adorn-
ment of the hall of revels. Amid the blaze of
festal lights, with trenchers smoking on the board
and great fires roaring up the chimneys of the hall,
the gloom of an Orkney winter would sit lightly
upon the spirit of the luxurious Earl. "He had
gude plenishing of beds and buirds," as we learn
from the quaint testimony of Bishop Graham, and
the whole appointments of the palace appear to
have been on a scale of royal splendour. In the
turreted chambers, now "tenantless save to the
crannying wind," the ladies, who graced the court
of the Orkney Earl, have haply sipped their cups
of malvoisie, or listened to the soft minstrelsy of
virginal and viol.
Mr. Robert Chambers rescued from the archives
of the Privy Council a contemporary writer's graphic
IN THE ORKNEYS.
137
description of Earl Patrick's princely pomp and
state. "His pomp was so great," says the annalist,
((
as he never went from his castle to the kirk, nor
abroad otherwise, without the convoy of fifty
musketeers, and other gentlemen of convoy and
guard. And sichlike before dinner and supper,
there were three trumpeters that sounded still till
the meat of the first serviee was set at table, and
sichlike at the second service, and, consequently,
after the grace. He had also his ships directed to
the sea to intercept pirates and collect tribute of
foreign fishers that came yearly to these seas.
Whereby he made sic collection of great guns and
other weapons for war, as no house, palace, nor
castle, yea all in Scotland were not furnished with
the like." It was probably the reports of the
princely state in which the Earl lived at Kirkwall that
induced the Earl of Sutherland to visit him in
1602, as recorded in the genealogical account of
the Sutherland family. In that year John, Earl
of Sutherland, accompanied by his brother, Six
Robert Gordon, the laird of Assynt, and other
gentlemen, proceeded to Orkney on a visit to
Earl Patrick. They embarked at Cromarty in the
138
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
Orkney Earl's war-ship, called the Dunkirk, and
landed at Kirkwall, where they were heartily re-
ceived and honourably entertained by Patrick
Stewart. The distinguished visitors remained eight
days at the palace at Birsay, in the West Mainland,
which was built by Lord Robert Stewart, and
another eight days in the palace at Kirkwall. They
then re-embarked, after concluding a "band” of
friendship with the Orkney Earl. On the home-
ward voyage Robert Gordon sickened and died—a
young gentleman, adds the chronicle, of good ex-
pectations. During this visit there would be high
revel in the palace-halls of Birsay and Kirkwall,
and the profuse hospitality of the Earl had haply
injured the health of the young gentleman of
good expectations who sickened and died. Two
years afterwards—so gracious was the friendship
between these Northern potentates-Patrick of
Orkney paid a return visit to John, Earl of Suther-
land, and the Islands for a short space were well
rid of his presence. The Orkney Earl was god-
father to the Earl of Sutherland's eldest son, "bot,"
interjects the genealogy, "the child livit not long."
IN THE ORKNEY S.
139
Earl John entertained his princely guest with come-
dies and all other sports and recreations, and after
spending some time thus pleasantly at Dornoch,
Earl Patrick returned to his own country to act out
the tragedy of his wicked career. Comedies and
stage-plays were at that period largely patronised
by the nobility throughout the country. It was
only a few years before Earl Patrick's visit to
Sutherland that a company of players had arrived
at Aberdeen recommended by his Majesty's
special letter, and on that occasion the Council of
Aberdeen conferred the freedom of the burgh on
Lawrence Fletcher, comedian to the king-this
Fletcher having belonged to the company of players.
in London which included Shakspeare in the num-
ber, and it is conjectured that "Gentle Willy" may
have visited Aberdeen at the same time.
While an interchange of visits strengthened the
bond of friendship between the Sutherland and
Stewart family, the relations between the Earl of
Orkney and the Earl of Caithness were not of the
most amicable kind. The then Earl of Caithness
was one of the most unruly spirits of a turbulent
140
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
time-little better than a ferocious freebooter and
outlaw, although subsequently honoured with a
royal commission against the rebel son of the
Orkney Earl. Three or four years after Patrick
Stewart's visit to Sutherland, some of his piratical
retainers were forced to land in Caithness by a
contrary wind and stormy weather. The Caithness
Earl first made the men intoxicated, and then
caused one side of their heads and beards to be
shaved. After mocking and deriding them to his
satisfaction he compelled them to put to sea while
the storm still continued. Although they made a
narrow escape from shipwreck amid the stormy
waters of the Pentland Firth, they succeeded in
landing safely in Orkney. Earl Patrick was in-
dignant at the affront and forwarded his complaint
to the King and Privy Council. His Majesty
wrote to the Council to punish the Earl of Caith-
ness severely, but as both Earls had made their way
to Edinburgh to inform against each other, recon-
ciliation was brought about by the mediation of
friends, and some acknowledgement was made by the
Caithness to the Orkney Earl.
Patrick Stewart, although addicted to luxurious
IN THE ORKNEYS.
141
living, was both by nature and the necessities of
his position, a man of restless activity and un-
bounded energy. Pomp and grandeur like his
could not be sustained in a remote region without
the vigorous use of all the means and appliances of
craft, cruelty, and violence. In carrying out those
lawless and relentless measures by which their lands
and substance were wrung from the islanders,
he did not want creatures and accomplices as cruel
and cunningly avaricious as himself. The
jurisdictions of justiciary and sheriffdom with
which the Earl was invested in addition to his right.
to the Earldom and church property, clothed him
with the highest powers which the law of Scotland
could confer, and placed the whole Islands within
his iron grasp. The Norwegian forms of law were
yet in force in Orkney and Zetland, so that the
government was vested in the Earl in conjunction
with a council of his creatures. Under this system
circuit courts were held, and also the Lawting cr
supreme court for cases of appeal and for final
decision. These courts were sometimes held in the
hall of the palace. In the time of the Norwegian
Earls this form of government might work well, as
142
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
the judicial tribunal was composed of independent
Odallers; but Earl Patrick put his own tenants and
servants in the room of the Odallers, and thus,
whether acting personally as judge or through the
agency of a subservient sheriff, he carried every-
thing his own way in the multiplication of enact-
ments, convictions, and punishments for trivial off-
ences. In the General Register House at Edinburgh,
there is preserved a Court Book for Zetland, in
which the judicial and legislative acts of Earl
Patrick are recorded. It is entitled "Register of
the Sheriff Court of Orkney and Zetland," but
although the Orkney part is missing, there can be
little doubt that the same lawless proceedings,
under the outraged name of law, were enacted in
both groups of Islands. An account of the Zetland
Court Book was given by Mr. James Mackenzie,
which was subsequently published in part in the
chaotic appendix to Sheriff Peterkin's "Notes on
Orkney and Zetland." Some of the decisions given
in that account display great severity. A few in-
stances may suffice as samples of the Earl's
judicial proceedings. Magnus Erasmussun, who
IN THE ORKNEYS.
143
had fallen and cut himself while in a state of in-
toxication, was not only severely fined for the
drunkenness, but a farther penalty of four marks
was imposed "for his bluid beneath the eyne."
Margaret "Peters-dochter" for stealing one sheep
was deprived of her whole goods, gear, and land,
and banished from the country, with this addition
to the sentence that if she committed a further theft
though to the value of one ounce only, she should
be "tane and drownit to the death." The stealing
of a sheaf of bere was punished with the "escheit"
of goods and gear, and banishment from the
country, Norway being then the penal settlement.
Here are two other remarkable cases, showing the
lengths to which the Earl could go under the
shadow of law. The entries are dated July, 1602:
"It is tryit and found that Janet Thomas-dochter
has slain herself upon the sea, and therefore
discerns her guids and gear escheit" Again: "Shone
Ollawson for hanging himself, his guids and gear
escheit." Many a hapless wretch was sent to the
Heading Hill of Scalloway Banks who deserved
that fate far less than the perfidious judge. Scott
:
144
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
in describing the summary measures adopted by
Mr. Mertoun, occupant of the old mansion at
Dunrostness, to silence the loud-sounding tongues
of his old housekeeper and Sweyn Erickson, "as
good a Zetlander as ever rowed a boat to the haaf*
fishing," gives us some idea of the tyrannical
memories that were associated with the name of
Earl Patrick in Zetland. Mr. Mertoun, after
rebuking Sweyn, pelted him out of the apartment
with his own fish. Scott then continues:
was so much of appalling and tyrannic fury in the
stranger's manner on this occasion that Sweyn
neither stopped to collect the money nor take back
his commodity, but fled at a precipitate rate to the
old hamlet to tell his comrades that, if they
provoked Mr. Mertoun any further, he would turn
an absolute Pate Stewart on their hands, and
hang and head without either judgment or mercy."
There
Though the Orkney Court Book is not now ex-
tant, the rental of Orkney pro rege ct episcopo, which
was lodged in Exchequer by Bishop Law in 1612,
and which received additions in the time of Patrick
* Haf-fishing—deep sea fishing.
IN THE ORKNEYS.
145
Stewart, affords abundant evidence that the system
of extortion was carried to the extremest limit, and
that the Earl, like another Shylock, tried to carve
his pound of flesh out of every holm or skerry
that was foolish enough to show its head above
water. Lands were "escheit" in every parish for
alleged witchcraft, theft, and suicide-the suicides
both in Orkney and in Zetland being suspicious in
point of quantity. Charges of witchcraft stood the
Earl in good stead, and many hapless victims were
condemned, in the Cathedral and in the hall of the
palace, to be "wyrried at ane stake and burned to
ashes." To obtain confessions of witchcraft or
trivial thefts, instruments of torture were mercilessly
applied, and the waters of the sea gave the miserable
creatures rest from their agonies, or the gibbet on
Thieves' Holm and the Heading Hill stiffened their
struggles into the rigidity of death. The cruelties.
to which Earl Patrick, among his other enormities,
could have recourse, are strikingly exemplified in a
case which may be found recorded in Pitcairn's
"Criminal Trials in Scotland." The violence of the
Earl had stirred up his own brothers against him,
ΙΟ
146
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
and they, as well as some of the larger farmers of
the Kirklands, had carried complaints against him
to the Supreme Courts, notwithstanding his im-
perious edict against suing in any Court beyond
the bounds of his Island dominion. On the 24th
of June, 1596, John Stewart was tried for the alleged
crime of attempting to destroy the life of his brother,
the Earl of Orkney, by witchcraft and other means.
The witchcraft was alleged to stand upon the
pretended confession of Alison Balfour, residing at
Ireland in Orkney. At the trial it was shown by
the counsel for the Earl's brother, that the so-called.
confession of the wretched woman had been made
after she was forty-eight hours in the cashiclaws-
an iron case for the leg to which fire was applied.
Her husband, ninety-one years of age, and her
eldest son and daughter were likewise kept under
torture. The father had been put in the "lang irons
of fifty stane weight," the son was fixed in the
boots with fifty-seven strokes, and the daughter in
the pilniewinks, in order, said the counsel, that they,
"being sae tormented beside her might move her
to make any confession for their relief." In this
IN THE ORKNEYS.
147
diabolical manner some agonised statment had
been wrung from the poor woman, and a confession
was also drawn under torture from Thomas Paplay
that he had conspired with John to poison his
brother. Paplay had been kept in the cashiclaws
eleven days and eleven nights, "twice in the day by
the space of fourteen days driven in the boots, he
being naked in the meantime, and scourged with
tows in six sorts that they neither left flesh nor hide
upon him; in the extremity of whilk torture the
said pretended confession had been drawn out of
him." It was also stated that Paplay and Alison
Balfour had both withdrawn their confession, the
woman doing so solemnly on the Gallow-hill, when
about to be executed for witchcraft. The criminal
annals of the country contain nothing more revolting,
cruel, and barbarous than these torturings of
young and old in Orkney.
The roll of the Earl's iniquitous proceedings is
not yet complete. His tyranny overshadowed town
and country, land and sea. In the summons, drawn
up in 1610, he was accused of forcing certain
persons into a Bond of Manrent, obliging them to
448
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
maintain his cause against all and sundry, and
to report within twenty-four hours any "skaith "*
affecting him, whatever might be the impossibilities
or impediments. There was included this clause,
that, should any contravention of the Bond not
come to the Earl's knowledge until after the
offender's decease, his heirs would be liable to trial
and punishment. Among other charges brought
against him were the treasonable usurpation
of the royal authority in remitting capital crimes;
depriving the King's faithful subjects of the freedom
of travelling and traffic by sea and land; incar-
cerating in stocks and irons the servants of James
Stewart of Graemsay for transporting Robert
Monteith without a license; compelling gentlemen's
servants to do servile labour without meat and hire;
ruining the holders of lands by exorbitant taxa-
tions and impositions; forbidding the inhabitants
of Orkney and Zetland to buy or sell commodities
without a license under great penalties; and inflict-
ing those penalties upon sundry inhabitants when
engaged in lawful traffic. In an Act abrogating
some illegal Acts within Orkney and Zetland
*Shaith-Anything injurious to his interests.
IN THE ORKNEYS.
149
special mention was made of the prohibition given
to relieve any ships that were in distress, and the
confiscation of the goods and money of such per-
sons as meddled with wreck or "weith" cast up
by the sea.
Ere the close of the first decade of the seven-
teenth century the thickening coils of the Earl's own
crimes arrested his career. From time to time com-
plaints had been made against him by persons of
position, and a heavy bill of indictment in 1606
was only set aside by Court favour. The appoint-
ment at this period of Bishop Law to the vacant
see, and the failure of the Earl to fulfil his con-
tracts with regard to the bishopric, roused up
against him an influential and powerful opponent.
In November, 1608, Bishop Law addressed a letter
to the King (James VI.), describing the miseries.
and grievances to which the oppressed people were
subjected, and declaring that he was moved to
undertake the task, not from covert covetousness
or ambition," but once to acquit myself of that
duty which, as I thank God, my conscience, my
calling, your Majesty's favour towards me, and the
fidelity of my bounden service do require at my
150
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
hands." Bishop Law was held in such respect for
his abilities and influence that it would have been
impolitic to overlook his appeal and complaint, and
accordingly in December, 1608, Earl Patrick was
summoned to Edinburgh " to answer to the com-
plaints of the puir and distressed people of Orkney."
On his arrival in Edinburgh-whither he seems to
have gone very quietly in the expectation of a
speedy return to his northern dominion-he was
consigned as a prisoner to the castle, and, although
there ought to have been little difficulty in convict-
ing him, the proceedings connected with the case
were slow and protracted in their movements. The
original indictment bears the date of August 2nd,
1610, and the counts against the Earl extend over
the period from 1590 to 1610. As he was sum-
moned in 1608, the inclusion of the two last years
seem somewhat inexplicable, unless it was for the
further offence of granting a commission of sheriff-
ship to his son, Robert Stewart. The King desired
to deal leniently with his cousin, and in 1612, he
was removed from Edinburgh to Dumbarton
Castle, the reason assigned in the warrant being
that the stay of the Earl of Orkney in Edinburgh
IN THE ORKNEYS.
151
was very predjudicial to many of the King's subjects
in Orkney and Zetland. During February and
March, 1614, attempts were made by the Privy
Council to induce the Earl to renounce his right
to the reversion of the earldom; but he invariably
gave evasive replies, and finally requested that he
might have liberty to go to Court and kiss His
Majesty's hand-a proposition which seemed to the
Council so outrageous that he was remitted to his
ward," to remain there while His Majesty's will and
pleasure be known to him." Bad as the Earl had
been it must be confessed that the transactions of
the Privy Council in the case were throughout of
an arbitrary character. The earldom had actually
been wrested from him by Act of Parliament ere he
was requested to renounce his reversionary right.
King James, it is supposed, was anxious to effect
a compromise with his cousin, and to grant him the
keepership of one of the royal palaces; but the
Earl still nursed the secret resolve to regain pos-
session of his old dominion, and, in 1614, he sent
instructions to his "base son," Robert Stewart-
instructions which brought his tenure of power to
a close and his head to the block.
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SUMMERS AND WINTER S
In June, 1614, Robert Stewart, gathering together
his father's retainers, and others whom he compelled
to take up arms, headed an insurrection in Orkney.
While Earl Patrick remained in ward, a commission
of sheriffship had been granted by the King to
his brother, Sir James Stewart, and the office of
sheriff-depute was held by John Finlayson. The
various residences of the Earl had accordingly been
committed to their keeping on behalfof His Majesty.
With part of the force he had raised, Robert
Stewart and his associate, Patrick Halcro, surprised
and took the Palace of Birsay, and expelled the
keeper, Bernard Stewart. They refused to sur-
render the palace on the summons of sheriff-
depute Finlayson, and the leaders of the insurrec-
tion went great lengths in compelling the West
Mainland people to rally to their standard. Leaving
Birsay, the rebels advanced to Kirkwall in “bat-
tle array," as stated in Earl Patrick's "Convictioune,”
with trumpets sounding, and drums beating, and
flags fluttering in the breeze. They took possession
of the Earl's Palace, the Cathedral, and the Castle,
all of which buildings they supplied with warlike
IN THE ORKNEYS.
153
stores in the expectation of the speedy arrival of a
beseiging force. The last melancholy remnant
of the stronghold called the Castle, disappeared so
late as the summer of 1865. It was built by Henry
St. Clair, the first Orkney Earl of that name, in the
fourteenth century, and subsequently became the
central fortress of successive St. Clairs and other
potentates, Bothwell, after waving his final adieu
to Mary on Carberry Hill, fled to Orkney and
sought refuge in this stronghold; but Balfour, the
Governor, refused admittance to the fugitive, and
he took to piracy, in desperation and revenge.
Along with the earldom the Castle came into the
possession of Lord Robert and Earl Patrick
Stewart, and the most interesting events in its his-
tory were those which immediately preceded its
destruction as a fortress at the period of the insur-
rection.
When the tidings of the rising under Robert
Stewart in Orkney reached Edinburgh, the Privy
Council met to consider what steps should be
taken in the emergency. The Earl of Caithness,
itso happened, was then in Edinburgh attempting
154
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
to obtain remission for offences committed against
the Earl of Sutherland and Lord Forbes, and, by
way of compounding with the Council, he offered.
to assist Government in punishing the insurgents.
The wily Earl, besides, considered the opportunity
favourable for revenging old quarrels upon the
people of Orkney, and for reinstating himself in
favour at Court. The Council at once accepted
his profferred services, the cheapness of the expedi-
tion being probably its greatest recommendation.
In the month of August, accompanied by Bishop
Law, the Earl of Caithness sailed from Leith with
a strong military force, and some pieces of ord-
nance which had been conveyed from Edinburgh
Castle. The expedition reached Kirkwall in safety.
Shortly after his arrival the Earl was joined by
some of his own countrymen under the command
of his natural brother, Henry Sinclair. On receiv-
ing this addition to his force he took the initiative
by summoning the rebels to surrender. The King's
herald, however, was seized by Robert Stewart's
followers when proceeding for this purpose to the
market cross, and was carried captive, along with
the trumpeter and witnesses, to the "Palace of the
IN THE ORKNEYS.
155
Yards." The Earl of Caithness immediately com-
menced active hostilities. The tower of the Cathe-
dral and the Earl's Palace were first 'beseiged and
captured; but Robert Stewart and several of his
associates escaped to the Castle, which they were
prepared to defend as the fortress of their last
fortune. The Castle was beleagued for about a
month, and during that time "many hundred shot
of cannon had been delashed at it in vain."
Robert Stewart had firmly resolved not to sur-
render, but the treachery of Patrick Halcro, his
chief associate, left him no other choice than to
yield himself up to the Earl of Caithness. The
Castle was thus captured in the King's name. Al-
though his expedition was ultimately successful,
the Earl of Caithness sustained some losses. One
of the Caithnessmen was killed by a shot from the
Castle while in the act of drinking a health and scoff-
ing at the beseiged. Robert Stewart and some of his
accomplices were conveyed as prisoners to Edin-
burgh. On the New Year's Day of 1615 the leader
of the insurrection was executed for treason and
rebellion, and five of his company shared the
same fate. The Castle of Kirkwall, which had
156
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
sheltered the rebels, was ordered to be demolished;
but a fragment of it still remained for two centuries
and a half, conserving the memory of the "lordly
line of high St. Clair." Several cannon-balls of
various sizes were found embedded amid the
débris of the ruin when the last vestige of the
ancient stronghold was recently removed.
The doom of Earl Patrick Stewart soon followed
the execution of his son. The confession of his
secretary and also of Robert, who died penitent,
left no doubt as to the Earl's guilt. He con-
summated with treason his long career of crime.
True to his character, when convicted and
condemned to death, he received the sentence
impatiently with a kind of defiant pride. An un-
successful attempt was made to induce the King
to extend the royal clemency to his cousin. It is
narrated in the records of the time that "the
ministers finding him so ignorant that he could
scarce rehearse the Lord's Prayer, entreated the
Council to delay his execution some few days till
he were better informed and received the Lord's
Supper." On Sunday, February 5th, 1615, the
Earl "communicated," and on the following day a
IN THE ORKNEYS.
157
great crowd witnessed the woeful spectacle of a
Scottish Earl, cousin-german to the King, led out
pinioned and guarded to a scaffold at the Market
Cross on the High Street of Edinburgh. His son was
described as a youth of tall stature and of a comely
countenance, and we may imagine that, when Earl
Patrick mounted the scaffold-although few might
feel much sympathy for his fate-many would look
with awe and admiration upon the proud and
princely bearing which proclaimed him of royal
lineage. On the scaffold there was no delay. The
haughty Earl laid his head on the block with the
stern resolution of a man resigned to his fate.
There was only the sudden gleam of the uplifted
axe, the hush of the motley crowd, the swift-glanc-
ing stroke, and away rolled the grisly head and the
shadow of lawless power. Sic fuit, est, et erit,-so
ran the proud legend of the Stewarts, and so fared
it with others of the race. "The feet of the avenging
powers," says a wise old proverb, "are shod with
wool," and thus behind Earl Patrick Stewart,
even in the very carnival of his wickedness-follow-
ing him step by step-trod the silent but sure feet
of Doom.

>
CHAPTER V.
Juterior of Pomona, or the Mainland.
Wideford Hill-View of the Islands-Picts' House-
Orkney Trows-Maeshow-Standing Stones of Stennis.

WALK into the interior of Pomona, on a
pleasant day of the brief Orcadian sum-
mer, may now afford an agreeable change
to my readers after lingering long amid the gloom
of St. Magnus, and under the shadow of antique
palaces. Wideford Hill, rising like a softly-rounded
land-wave to the westward of Kirkwall, is a favourite
resort of visitors, from the beautiful and extensive
view of the Islands which it commands. The road,
leading from the Bergen-like streets of the capital
to the slope of the hill, runs for some distance
between the Bay and the Oyce, or Peerie Sea.
SUMMERS, ETC., IN THE ORKNEYS. 159
"Peerie" signifies little in the Orcadian vernacular,
and it is somewhat curious that the same word,
with similar meaning, is in use among the natives.
of the South Sea Islands. Oyce, or Ouse, is the
name frequently applied in Orkney to an inlet of
the sea.
The road adjoining the Oyce is called the
Aire, which denotes in Icelandic a spit of land
flung up by the sea, or a river island of shingle.
The suffix ford, which occurs in the name of the
hill, is also Scandinavian, and indicates its proxi-
mity to the Bay of Firth-the Aurridarfjord of the
Norsemen. On the side of Wideford, fronting the
town, fertile fields of grain and pasturage clothe the
lower slopes; but the body of the hill yet wears its
primeval covering of soft spongy moss and wild
brown heath. In climbing the ascent, beyond the
last cultured patch of "infield," a delightful feeling
of solitude is awakened by the rustle of the springy
heath, the peaty flavour of the moss, or the sudden
whirr of a startled muir-bird. Some years ago the
hill abounded in coveys of grouse-a species of
game unknown in Shetland, but the zeal of sports-
men outran their discretion, and good shots now
find difficulty in bagging a brace.
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SUM MERS AND WINTERS
From the summit, which only rises five hundred
feet above the level of the sea that almost laves
its base, a superb view is obtained of the Orkneyan
archipelago. At the first rapid glance, when the
eye runs along the curves of numerous bays, and
follows the bewildering course of blue Sounds and
Flows, it seems as if some great river, entangled in
the land, were turning hither and thither, and
winding about in serpentine coils to find its old lost
channel to the deep. Including the uninhabited
holms, there are fifty-six islands insulated at low
water, but this number is increased in appearance
by the multitude of terminal nesses and long dip-
ping promontories. The contrasted yet harmonious
hues of sea and shore impart attractiveness to the
pleasant prospect. Green fields beautify the slopes
between the blue waters and brown heathy uplands,
and away across calm firths reaches of white sand
glimmer in the far-off sunshine. There is a fine
variety also in the forms and features of the islands.
Some lie low on the waters and others swell into
ridges of conspicuous hills, while the lines of
irregular coast bend at intervals into beautiful voes,
IN THE ORKNEYS.
161
or terminate seawards in dim and distant headlands.
Another element of picturesqueness is added to the
scene by the graceful motions and gleaming sails
of the island-vessels as they round some green
foreland, dipping into a strong run of tide, or float
in dream-like peace on the bosom of the nearer
bays. Under the brow of the hill to the north-
west, and in the centre of the long river-like Bay
of Firth, lies the fine little island of Damsay,
once the seat of a Scandinavian castle and of a
chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary. A popular
superstition long prevailed that no noxious animal
or creeping thing infested this sacred islet, which
still retains its beauty, though its sanctity is gonc.
Northwards, beyond the green slopes of Rendall,
rise the grey acclivities of Ronsay, or Rolfsey, a
wild and romantic island, famous in Norse annals.
Gairsay, the "wierd sister," of Rousay, springs
boldly from the waters in the form of a conical
hill. Under the older name of Gaarkesey, it was
held in high repute by the Scandinavians as the
stronghold and favourite retreat of Svein Asleifarson
-a daring sea-rover who captured Dublin in one
I I
162
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
of his dashing summer raids. On Egilshay-de-
serted now by earls and bishops, by Douglasses and
Monteiths-stands the far-seen tower of the old
Scandinavian church, which commemorates, with
Kirkwall Cathedral, the martyrdom of the tutelary
saint of Orkney. To the eastward lies Eday, "long
and lean and brown as is the ribbed sea-sand."
Shapinshay, less remote, shelters the central bay
from easterly storms, and sleeps quietly in the sun-
shine, with its cultured fields and cheerful farms.
North Ronaldshay, low and flat, and the Fair Isle,
"placed far amid the melancholy main," lie beyond
the range of our vision as we stand on this specular
mount; but away behind the nearer islands the blue
hilly ridges of Stronsay and Westray may be
descried on the distant horizon. On the opposite
side of the Orcadian Mainland, the South Isles,
with their numerous progeny of holms and skerries
extend in two divisions, leaving a clear reach of
central sea between Scapa Bay and the Pentland
Firth. There are Burrays, Hundas, Caras, Farays,
Flottas, Swithas, and Swonas in the southern
group; but the two principal islands are South
IN THE
THE ORKNEYS.
163
--
Ronaldshay to the East and Hoy to the West. In
South Ronaldshay, celebrated as the rendezvous of
Haco's armament, the fine village of St. Margaret's
Hope may be observed resting pleasantly on the
margin of its spacious bay. Hoy, or Haa-oe, the
High Isle, overtops the Mainland hills on its north-
western extremity, and then falls away with a long
slope to the south-east, ending in the dark promon-
tories of Cantick Head and Brims Ness. The
lower portion of the Island is named Walls or
Waas, this word being derived from the Scandina-
vian voes--a suitable appellation, since the eastern
side abounds in broad bays and inlets, which must
frequently have afforded shelter to the galleys of
the sea-rovers. Longhope, the largest of the voes
-hidden from our view by the island of Flotta
which shelters its mouth-is four miles in length
with a variable breadth, and is defended at its en-
trance by two Martello towers. This magnificent
bay is frequently enlivened with a forest of masts
when vessels, outward and homeward bound, seek
refuge in its quiet haven from the storms that sweep
the Pentland Firth.
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SUMMERS AND WINTERS
The summit of Wideford hill thus supplies an
excellent "coigne of vantage" for obtaining a gene-
ral survey of the northern and southern divisions
of the Islands. Pomona, extending thirty miles
from east to west, lies in the centre with her ocean-
brood of isles and islets resting in groups on either
side. In the valley below the hill, where the
"ancient borough rears her head," the twin bays of
Kirkwall and Scapa, gaining upon their sandy
shores, have only left a narrow isthmus to serve as
a connecting link between the two unequal parts
of the Mainland. The western is the most exten-
sive division of Pomona, and presents a fine pano-
ramic succession of heathy heights, undulating
westwards and northwards in separate ranges,
with a long intervening valley through which runs
the fine new post-road that connects the sister-
burghs of Kirkwall and Stromness. To the left lies
the range of the Keely Lang hills, which reminded.
Professor Munch of the saeter regions in Norway,
and beyond rises the brown summit of the Ward-
hill of Ophir, the highest eminence on the Main-
land. Below this hill, with a pleasant outlook to
IN THE ORKNEYS.
165
the southern islands, stood the ancient residence of
the Norwegian earls, celebrated for the great extent
of its guest-chamber. It was in the Palace of
Orphir, according to tradition, that Earl Harold
died in great agony from the effects of clothing
himself with the richly-embroidered but poisoned
garment, which his mother, Helga, had designed as
a fatal present for his brother Paul. The Wart or
Ward-hill derived its name from being the station
of the warders who watched the surrounding seas
to guard against surprise from hostile ships, and on
its far-seen summit, also, blazed the midnight
beacons which served the purpose of the Celtic fiery
cross in calling the Norsemen to arms. Away in
front, gleaming like a bright eye beneath the dark
brows of the Harray hills, lies the lonely Loch of
Stennis, with the mystic circle of standing stones
dimly discried on its margin. Still farther to west-
ward, beyond the last brown line of the land, the
broad Atlantic mingles with the sky in a glimmer
of changeful light.
The hill of Wideford, on its western side, is
covered with wild heath from the summit to the
166
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
base. Midway down the long brown slope, when
shaping our course to the Stromness road below,
we suddenly stumble upon a primitive Picts' house
-one of those mysterious subterranean structures
that stud the shores of the Orkney Islands, and
afford wholesome exercise to the speculative in-
genuity of antiquarians and anthropologists. All
that meets the eye at first is a green conical mound,
with an indescribable aspect of something cerie and
wierd about it, resting silently amid the moorland
solitude. On closer inspection we discover an
entrance passage, about eighteen inches high, and
two feet broad, leading from the lower side into the
interior of the pre-historic dwelling, which contains
four chambers connected with each other by pas-
sages, similar in dimensions to the first. The
central chamber is the largest, being ten feet long,
five feet wide, and nine feet three inches high. The
narrowest of the apartments only attains a breadth
of three feet seven inches. The circumference of
the mound at its base is about one hundred and
forty feet, and its height from the floor to the top
is twelve feet. In the usual style of such subter-
IN THE ORKNEYS.
167
In style
ranean buildings, it has been constructed of great
stones, converging to the top, and then fashioned
into a conical shape with clay and stones, which
were overlaid with an outer covering of turf. When
this curious edifice was first opened and explored in
1849, the bones of the horse, cow, deer, and other
animals were found mingled with the rubbish that
had accumulated on the floor of the various
chambers and their connecting passages.
of formation and general characteristics the Picts'
house at Wideford may be regarded as a fair
specimen of those chambered tumuli which abound
in Orkney, Shetland, and Caithness, and which,
though separated from each other by leagues of
sea, were evidently the workmanship of the same
unknown and primitive race. The ancient edifices
are called indifferently Picts' houses and Brochs; but
the latter, from certain peculiarities in their structure,
and the great strength of the unmortared walls,
are generally supposed to have been used as fortifi-
cations. In some of the Orkney barrows portions
of deer's horn, and the long curved tusk of the boar,
have been found intermingled with pieces of clay
168
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
vessels and bone combs, and fragments of other
household articles. This circumstance gives pro-
bability to the conjecture that the builders of the
subterranean dwellings were co-eval with the great
forests which once covered the hills and valleys.
The relics dragged to light by industrious antiquaries
from cist and cell-the arrow-heads of flint and
fragments of pre-historic pottery-ware-have hither-
to added little to our knowledge of the primitive
race, and even grave philosophical minds, groping
blindly amid the shadows of the past, may forgive
the simple superstition, long prevalent among the
inhabitants of Orkney and Zetland, that the strange
green mounds, rising by the seaside and on solitary
moors, were the abodes of supernatural beings,
popularly known by the name of Trows.
The trows, or drows, successors of the Northern
duergar, resembled the daoine shith of the High-
landers, in the malevolent feelings which they
generally entertained towards mankind. On occa-
sions, when it suited their convenience, they could
be propitious to the children of men, but the mortal
was unblessed on whom they foisted a favour.
¡
ΙΝ ΤΗ Ε
169
ORKNEYS.
Like the gnomes of German fairy-tales, they were
skilled artificers in iron and the precious metals, and
belated wanderers must often have listened with
awe to their nocturnal knockings in the hollow
mounds.* The belief in the existence of these beings
also prevailed in the Faroe Islands, where they were
called Foddenskencand, or subterranean people.
The subjects of the elfin queen, in the delicately-
beautiful fairy mythology of the Scottish Lowlands,
did their spiriting gently, but the northern trows
were more closely allied to the capricious and ma-
lignant race of goblins. In Orkney, at the present
day, an ill-conditioned or deformed person is some-
times compared to a trow. The superstitious
belief in the existence of a subterranean people
sprung naturally from the ignorance that prevailed
as to the origin and formation of the numerous coni-
-*- Among the Norsemen the warrior was believed
invincible who fought with a sword, like Graysteel,
which had been forged by the dwarves. "I tell thee
now," said Kol, in the Gisli saga, "that this sword
will bite whatever its blow falls on, be it iron or aught
else; nor can its edge be deadened by spells, for it was
forged by the dwarves, and its name is Graysteel.'''
170
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
cal mounds, and it is a curious circumstance that
the goblin and fairy legends, once common among
the peasantry in the south of Scotland, were con-
nected with those huge boulders and gravel-knolls
or tomans, which continued a mystery until the
glacial theory of geologists helped to dissipate popu-
lar delusions. When a huge block of stone, weather-
stained and grey with moss, lay embedded in a
field, and when the cottars in the neighbourhood
knew that there were no rocks of similar description
within fifty or one hundred miles, the tradition
gradually gained shape that some goblin had carried
the great block on his back, and rolled it into the
field as a memorial of his superhuman strength.
The tomans, or green gravel-mounds among the
moors-enriched with pebbles that had been
smoothed on sea beaches long centuries ago—were
also well calculated to awaken the wonder of simple
peasants, and then give birth to legendary visions
of fairy bands, with their dances on the dewy ridges,
and their low sweet music, heard by belated rustics,
mingling with the moonlight. Our superstitious
forefathers, who believed in elfin mounds and goblin
IN THE ORKNEYS.
171
stones, would have held the theory profane that
there was a period when Scotland was in the con-
dition of Greenland now-sheathed in ice, from the
summits of its mountains to the shores of its seas,
with great glaciers sliding for centuries over its hills,
and through its valleys, and with mighty icebergs
breaking away in shoals from the coasts, and bear-
ing along huge boulders to be deposited in remote.
arms of the sea, which are now rich valleys covered
with flocks and clothed with corn. Those ancient
icebergs were the strong goblins that bore down the
great fragments of rock from their native cliffs and
mountains. Geologists in the south, and antiqua-
ries in the north, have thus, with the cold light of
science, disenchanted alike the warlock boulders,
the fairy knolls, and the subterranean haunts of the
Orkney trows.*
* In addition to the trows, Orkney appears to have
been infested at one time by a race of sea-fairies, called
Finnmen. "Master James Wallace, minister of Kirkwall,"
who wrote a quaint and curious description of Orkney in
the latter part of the seventeenth century, gives the fol-
lowing veracious account of the Finnmen and their doings:
"Sometimes about this country are seen these men which are
172
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
From the Picts' House, on Wideford, we have an
easy descent to the Stromness Road, which, after
skirting the base of the hill, sweeps with its white
winding line between the brown hills and the blue
waters of the Bay of Firth, where the island and
holm of Damsey lie peacefully cradled. The lone-
liness of the road is something remarkable when we
consider that it connects two towns, scarcely fifteen
miles apart, which contain in their combined
parishes a population of well-nigh seven thousand
persons. Only at intervals is the solitude relieved
by a farmer's gig jogging leisurely along, a string
of carts joining the highway from some moorland
tract, or a group of female pedestrians trudging
townwards with bare feet and "buited" heads.
This comparative absence of the life, stir, and the
called Finnmen. In the year 1681 one was seen sometimes
sailing, sometimes mooring up and down in his little boat at
the south end of the Isle of Eday. Most of the people.
of the Isle flocked to see him, and when they adventured
to put out a boat with men to see if they could apprehend
him, he presently flew away most swiftly. And in the
year 1684, another was seen from Westra, and for a while
after they got few or no fishes, for they have this remark
here, that these Finnmen drive away the fishes from the
IN THE ORKNEYS.
173
cheerfulness of traffic, arises from the circumstance
that Stromness possesses, in her own beautiful bay,
an independent channel of communication with the
great outlying world; and Kirkwall, similarly
situated on her own home-waters, has also an inde-
pendent path for the conveyance of traffic. The
sister towns can thus afford to live apart, conduct-
ing their trade, and buying and selling all kinds of
commodities in a state of isolation from each other.
So slight, indeed, is the general intercourse between
the royal burgh and the burgh of barony, that
several old residents in the Orcadian capital know
as little about Stromness, from actual observation,
as they do of Thorshavn in Faroe, or Reykjavik in
Iceland. At the roadside village of Finstown, be-
yond the head of the Bay of Firth, the valley con-
tracts to a westward-running glen, cheerful and well
place to which they come. These Finnmen seem to be
some of these people that dwell about the Fretum Davis,
a full account of whom may be seen in the natural and
moral history of the Antilles, Chap. 18. One of their
boats sent from Orkney to Edinburgh is to be seen in the
Physician's Hall with the oar and the dart he makes use of
for killing fish."
174
WINTERS
SUM MERS AND
cultured, which gradually opens out into the central
plain of the Mainland, where the Loch of Stennis
lies embosomed amid an amphitheatre of hills, and
where the early inhabitants have left the most re-
markable memorials of their presence in groups of
grass-covered mounds, solitary monoliths, and
circles of stone pillars. Close beside the road, as
we enter the consecrated region, stands the cele-
brated Tumulus of Maes-howe, or the Maiden's
Mound.* Rising conical-shaped from a level surface
to the height of thirty-five feet, it presents a truly
singular and striking appearance, and seems to pos-
sess some mysterious relationship to the stone pillars
in the vicinity. A moat of considerable breadth
sweeps round the mound, like an enchanted circle,
at the distance of eighty feet from its base. The
interior, which was first explored so late as 1861, is
approached on the west side by a narrow passage,
fifty feet in length, constructed for the most part of
colossal blocks of stone.
Along this grim stone-
*"Howe," in Orkney, means a mound, while in the
South of Scotland, howe, means quite the opposite, viz.—
hollow ground.
IN THE ORKNEY S.
175
coffin gallery, sounding hollow to the tread, we
grope our way cautiously, with bowed head and
stooping shoulders, into the deep gloom of the cen-
tral chamber. The half-penny dips supplied by our
rustic circerone from the neighbouring cottage, only
serve to make the darkness visible, and we must
therefore extemporise a flambeau to assist us in
making a satisfactory inspection of the wonderful
structure, which is old beyond tradition's breath.
The walls of the central chamber, which is about.
fifteen feet square, converge as they ascend, in
overlapping layers of stone, and thus form a strong
and lofty vaulted roof. The buttresses at the
corners are mainly constructed of single blocks, ten
feet in height, placed on end like the stones of the
Stennis circle. These block-buttresses impart an
aspect of great strength and solidity to the chamber.
Above the floor on the north, south, and east sides,
three crypts or cells, four and a-half feet broad, and
varying from five and a-half to seven feet in length,
branch off from narrow entrance openings in the
wall. The appearance, position, and dimensions of
the crypts give probability to the supposition that
176
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
the structure was originally designed as the
chambered tomb of some great chieftain.
Around
the entrances to the side cells and along the edges
of the standing blocks of stone are engraved
numerous runic inscriptions, the fortunate discovery
of which, during the progress of the excavations,
was expected to decide the question whether the
building was the work of the Scandinavians or the
early Celtic inhabitants of the country. The runes,
however, while intimating that the Norsemen used
the mound as a place of refuge and resort, have
failed to throw any strong and certain light on the
origin of the singular structure. Various con-
jectures have been hazarded by the translators of
the inscriptions. Professor Rafn thought that it
was a sorcery hall for Lodbrok, a female magician;
Professor Munch that it was the burial place of a
woman named Lodbrok; and Principal Barclay,
who differs greatly from the other translators in his
reading of the runes, believes that the original haugr
or howe was the sepulchral mound of the sons of Rag-
nar Lodbrok, the Roland of the north, and that the
chamber, containing the inscriptions, was erected
IN THE ORKNEYS.
177
some centuries later by a wealthy lady named Ada.
The learned Principal thus translates one of the most
important inscriptions: "This sepulchral mound was
raised for the sons of the deceased hero, Lodbrok.
They were wise, brave, and powerful. Scarcely have
there ever been men such as they were in the north-
west. Great funeral honours were paid to them."
Another inscription, following the last, is thus in-
terpreted: "The Jerusalem pilgrims, Orm and
Leif, along with the blessed Earl, fulfilled their
VOWS. Great funeral honours were paid to them.
Ada, the wealthy, who succeeded to the inheritance,
erected these chambers." If there were any cer-
tainty as to the correctness of these translations,
and the identity of the deceased hero with Ragnar
Lodbrok, the barrow might be attributed to the
Scandinavians, and the period of its erection as-
signed to the latter part of the eighth century.
But the readings of the runes by home and foreign
archæologists vary so greatly that none of them
can be regarded as quite reliable, although Principal
Barclay, it must be confessed, has excelled the
other translators in giving greater intelligibility to
12
178
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
the engravings.
The last of the above-quoted in-
scriptions, he thinks, satisfactorily explains the
name of the structure, and shows that the tradition
had been faithful in handing it down long after it
had ceased to be understood. Mey, or May, is the
Icelandic word for "maid," and haugr, which be-
comes howe in Scotch, is the Icelandic for "mound."
The Maiden's Mound is thus the real meaning of
the name Maeshowe.
Upwards of a year after the discovery of the
runic inscriptions, Mr. Farrer, late M.P. for Durham,
an indefatigable antiquarian explorer, edited a
handsome work containing translations of the runes
by the late Professor Munch, and Professors Rafn
and Stephens of Copenhagen. Readings were
likwise subsequently furnished by Principal Bar-
clay, Professor Daniel Wilson, of Toronto, the
late Mr. J. M. Mitchell, and Dr. Charleton, of
Newcastle. There was an amusing variety in the
translations as a few examples will shew. One
inscription runs thus: "Thatir Vikingr (for) Akor
by Argar til."
The following are some of the very different
interpretations:
IN THE ORKNEYS.
179
"Tait the Vyking travelled to Acre."-Principal
Barclay.
"Thatir Wiking from came (mait) weary hereto."
-Professor Stephens.
"That which the Wicing came out erly here to."-
Professor Munch.
“This is a Vyking, come out is here to.”—Professor
Rafn.
In the above examples, the translation by Prin-
cipal Barclay is the only one that can be called
really intelligible. He supposed Teit the Vikingr
to have accompanied Earl Ronald to the Holy
Land. Earl Ronald left Orkney in the autumn of
1152, and, after wintering in harbours on the coasts
of France and Spain, anchored in the Bay of Acre
on the following summer. The Principal's transla-
tion has thus the advantage of tallying with an
historical fact. These ancient inscriptions were
certainly intended to express some meaning, and
the great discrepancies in the readings have arisen
from various causes. In the runes besides the want
of any space to separate the words, there is also
the absence of those distinctive dots which change
one letter into another, as u into y, b into p, and
180
SUMMERS AND VINTERS
which were first introduced into runic inscriptions
in the fourteenth century. Principal Barclay, in
writing me on this subject, remarked, "Not a few
of the discrepancies have arisen from overlooking
the power of the rune representing the letter m.
It is one of the peculiarities of the Maeshowe in-
scriptions that the rune is used indiscriminately for
m and for r. By not discovering this peculiarity, I
venture to think that the northern interpreters have
failed to make sense out of several inscriptions.
which, when correctly read, contain very distinct
ideas, expressed in correct language.” Keeping
this peculiarity in view Principal Barclay succeeded
in evolving sentences of pure idiomatic Icelandic
from several of the inscriptions. I shall now give
another example which shows still more strikingly
than the last his skill as a runic interpreter.
In Mr. Farrer's book the eighth inscription stands
thus :
"
'Inkibiorh, Hin, Fahra, Æhkia, Morlik, Kona,
Hoefer, Lut, in Hir Mikil Oflati."
Principal Barclay has the same inscription in the
following form :
IN THE ORKNEYS.
181
"Ingibiorh, Hin Fahra Ahkia, Morhk, Kona
hafer farit. Lytr ingir. mihkil oflati Aerligr."
(The last word is in Palm runes.)
Here are conflicting interpretations of the
inscription thus differently rendered into Ice-
landic:
(C
'Ingiborg, the fair lady (or widow). Many a
woman hath fared (gone) louting (bent) here, who
great wealth had. Erling."-Professor Stephens.
((
Ingiborg, the fair widow! Many a woman has
wandered stooping in here (although) ever SO
haughty."-Professor Munch.
((
'Ingibiorg, the fair widow, or Ingibiorg, the fair
the widow. Many a rather proud woman did walk
here, stooping (bent forward) or did walk here
stooping in (into)."-Professor Rafn.
"Ingiborg, the fair, the wife of Akki the dark, is
gone; a lady of faultless character, of graceful
manners, and of honourable descent."-Principal
Barclay.
In this instance, while the Christiania and Copen-
hagen Professors have quite failed in giving even a
shadow of meaning to their translations, the Princi-
182
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
pal of Glasgow University has made out, in the same
order as the Norse, a model epitaph, at once concise
and elegant. The northern interpreters, misled by
the absence of the dot or mark which changes u
into y, have read lutr instead of lytr, and thus
deprived the beautiful inscription of sense. They
neglect also to give any value for the final word in
Palm runes. Mr. Leask, of Boardhouse—an intel-
ligent Orkney gentleman, well acquainted with
Icelandic-has shown, in a scholarly analysis of
the Norse idiom in this inscription, that there is no
mere guess-work in Principal Barclay's interpreta-
tion of the runic characters. In Bohn's edition of
Mallet's Northern Antiquities there is a foot-note,
with reference to an inscription on a stone cross,
found in Nottinghamshire, which Mr. Leask has
turned to good service in ridiculing the extraordi-
nary readings of the Scandinavian professors, who
apparently belong to the Jonathan Oldbuck class
of runic interpreters. The inscription on the
Nottinghamshire cross consisted of thirteen legible
Anglo-Saxon runes, and was forwarded in 1618, to
the learned Olaus Wormius for translation. Wor-
IN THE ORKNEYS.
183
runes.
))
mius, believing that the inscription was old Norse,
transposed the runes, and made it say—" Rino Satu
Runo Stina,"-Rino set this Runic stone. Another
learned doctor extracted a Latin motto from the
William Grimm, without changing a letter,
read the Anglo-Saxon phrase-" Rices dryhtries.
the dominion of the kingdom. The cross, in all
probability, had served as a march-stone between
adjoining dominions, and thus the Agricola dicavit
libens lubens of the learned Latinist became the
"Aiken Drum's Lang Ladle," of William Grimm.
The mode of interpreting runic characters adopted
by Olaus Wormius and his successors, the northern
antiquaries, has been very happily caricatured by
the Reverend Homer Wilbur, A.M., in the Biglow
Papers. On the east bank of Bushy Brook, in
North Jaalam, a relic was discovered, which Homer
conceived to be an inscription in runic characters,
relating to the early expedition of the Northmen to
the American continent. He immediately busied
himself in endeavouring to decipher the characters,
and found that the best plan was to write down a
hypothetical inscription, and then proceed to extract
184
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
from the runes a meaning conformed to the à priori
product of his own ingenuity. His severest test,
his experimentum crucis, was to turn the stone up-
side down with scrupulous exactness, and when this
change of position effected no change in the sense
of the writing, he was justly satisfied as to the con-
scientious exactness of his interpretation. The Norse
words translated into English ran thus: "First
Drank Cloud Brother Through-Child-of-Land-and-
Water." The sagacious Wilbur at once divined
that the words meant "drew smoke through a reed
stem," and that the stone contained a record of the
first smoking of the herb Nicotiana Tabacum by a
European on the American continent.
The Maeshowe inscriptions, of which thoroughly
reliable translations may yet be obtained, appear
to have been carved at intervals extending over a
series of centuries. Several of them may be attri-
buted to the Jorsalafarar, Jerusalem pilgrims, or
Crusaders, who desired to commemorate the period
of their departure and return. Notwithstanding the
want of harmony among the translators, it may be
safely gathered from the runes that parties of
IN THE
185
THE ORKNEYS.
Vikingrs, turned into Maeshowe occasionally in the
course of their warlike expeditions, or when bound
on distant pilgrimages, and that some of them did no
more than, as it were, enter their names in the
Visitor's Book, while others indicated the circum-
stances that had compelled them to come thither,
and the quarter of the compass for which they were
bound. In one of the inscriptions reference is made
to a "great treasure hid in the north-west," and it
is a curious circumstance that, in the quarter thus
indicated, a very valuable and interesting hoard of
silver relics was discovered in the spring of 1858.
The relics which were found near the Bay of Skaill,
in Sandwick, consisted of ring brooches and brace-
lets, torcs and armillæ, and several coins, some of
them Cuffic, and others Anglo-Saxon, of the reigns
of Athelstan and Edward. One of the ring brooches
was upwards of a pound in weight, and among the
antique coins there was a solitary "Peter's penny,"
which had been coined in York in the beginning of
the 10th century. The entire hoard weighed up-
wards of sixteen pounds, and it is now safely pre-
served in the Edinburgh Antiquarian Museum.
185
SUM MERS AND WINTERS
From the dates on the coins, it is highly probable
that this was the great treasure indicated in the
inscription. The Northmen, on returning from their
Haust or Vor-Vikings, must have been frequently
under the necessity of hiding the valuable spoil of
their predatory expeditions.
On the large block in the south-eastern corner of
the chamber two figures are incised, which resemble
a winged dragon and a serpent twining round a tree.
Mr. Mitchell conjectured that the dragon was en-
graved as a special signal to the Northmen in some
of the ships of war in the royal squadrons, and that
the serpent-knot also referred to the arrival or
departure of some of the royal ships-the largest
galleys being named serpents. Principal Barclay
holds that the supposed dragon is the representation
of a wolf transfixed by a spear, and that the so-
called serpent is simply the "worm-knot," which
occurs on several runic stones in Denmark. The
transfixed wolf, it must be confessed, would make a
passable dragon, and there is small occasion for sur-
prise that the figure should have been mistaken for
the representation of a legendary monster.
IN THE ORKNEYS.
187
In the light of our flickering torch the dragon-
figure and the runes seem to glimmer with shadowy
meanings, but the gloom of old mystery still
envelopes the mound when we emerge into the sun-
light, recalling the rhyme of Gisli, the outlaw, in
the Icelandic saga—
"Few have the wit to understand
The riddle of this mound of land."
The real origin of the tumulus may never be
discovered, but from the resemblance which it bears.
to the chambered cairn in Ireland, where the kings
of Tara were entombed, the probability is rather
in favour of its being the workmanship of the early
Celtic inhabitants than of the Scandinavian invaders.
In Ireland, as in Orkney, the sacrilegious Norse-
men broke into chamber-tombs, and appropriated
old burial vaults for purposes of shelter or defence.
At a short distance from Maeshowe lies the Loch
of Stennis, with other monuments of antiquity
clustering around its treeless shores.
This ex-
tensive sheet of water consists of two unequal parts
connected together by a narrow channel, through
which the tide ebbs and flows with musical ripple.
188
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
A primitive causeway bridge, called the Bridge of
Brogar, leads across the channel, and forms the only
pathway of communication between the opposing
promontories. The loch possesses the striking
peculiarity of being partly fresh and partly salt.*
On the south-eastern side it communicates with the
Bay of Stromness at the Bridge of Waith, and is thus
impregnated with sea-water in all states of the tide,
while the upper and inland portion, resting at a
somewhat higher elevation under the shadow of the
low-browed hills, never loses its quality of fresh-
ness. This peculiarity, which enables it to sustain
various kinds of marine and fresh-water plants and
The
*Hugh Miller, in his "Footprints of the Creator," gives
an interesting account of the mixed flora and fauna of the
Loch of Stennis. The marine and fresh-water animals
have their respective reaches, " with certain debatable
tracts between," in which they expatiate at will.
fresh-water eel adventures farthest into the salt water, and
the flounder takes the lead of the marine fish in sporting
far into the fresh. The common fucoids of the sea-coasts,
which "stream in great luxuriance in the tideway," become
stunted and dwarfish as they approach the middle reaches
of the lake. (C
The lacustrine flora increases, both in
extent and luxuriance, as that of the sea diminishes; and
in the upper reaches we fail to detect all trace of marine
IN THE ORKNEYS.
182
animals, imparts great scientific interest to the
Loch of Stennis. But the archæologist no less than
the student of natural history may revel in the
riches of its shores. Two great stone pillars, stand-
ing on the southern side, and seeming to dilate as
we draw near, attract our steps as by some magic
spell. At their feet lies a prostrate giant of still
huger proportions. In the aspect of the solitary
group there is a rude grandeur, as if the standing
and fallen blocks of stone had been intended to
commemorate some tragical incident of primeval
times. A feeling of awe, deeper even than the
noblest work of heroic sculpture could create, is
plants; the algae, so luxuriant of growth along the straits
of the ‘minature Mediterranean,' altogether cease ;
and a
semi-aquatic vegatation attains, in turn, to the state of
fullest dvelopement anywhere permitted by the temperature
of the Northern locality." Miller also expresses his
opinion that a memoir descriptive of the Loch of Stennis
and its productions, animal and vegetable, such as old
Gilbert White of Selborne could have produced, would
be a valuable and interesting document. In the loch
there are a number of small grassy holms or islets, the
favourite haunts of water-fowl. Wild swans formerly
resorted thither in considerable numbers.
190
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
stirred within the heart of the beholder by the very
shapelessness of the colossal blocks, and the ab-
sence of every trace of artistic design.
The two upright stones, measuring respectively
seventeen and fifteen feet in height, and the pros-
trate stone, no less than eighteen feet long, formed
part originally of a cluster of pillars similar to the
Brogar circle on the opposite side of the loch.
The segment of a circular mound may still be
traced, and within the area there remain the stones
of a ruined cromlech, or sacrificial altar. Several
years ago, a huge obelisk, with a large hole
through it, called the stone of Odin, stood apart
from the circle in a north-westerly direction. To
this stone the victims intended for sacrifice are
supposed to have been tied with cords, but in more
modern times it was devoted to quite a different
purpose. Lovers were in the habit of plighting
their troth by joining hands through the opening,
and this vow to Odin was held as sacred and
binding as the most solemn oath. The Orcadian
rite of attestation corresponded to a ceremony pre-
valent among the Northmen, who, when an oath.
IN THE ORKNEYS.
191
was imposed, passed their hands in pronouncing it
through a massive silver ring. The Odin stone,
long the favourite trysting-place in summer
twilights of Orkney lovers, was demolished in 1814
by a sacrilegious farmer, who used its material to
assist him in the erection of a cowhouse. This mis-
guided man was a Ferry-Louper (the name formerly
given to strangers from the south), and his wanton
destruction of the consecrated stone stirred so
strongly the resentment of the peasantry in the dis-
trict that various unsuccessful attempts were made
to burn his house and holdings about his ears.
Adjoining the old site of the Odin stone, another
colossal pillar, sixteen feet high and six feet broad,
keeps solitary watch and ward on the south-eastern
side of the causeway-bridge that divides the loch.
Crossing this bridge, and passing the little farm of
Brogar,* situated near the point of a long low pro-
montory, we approach the great Stennis circle over
a stretch of mossy and heathy moorland, billowy
with ancient burial-mounds. The traces may still
* From the Old Norse Bru, a bridge, and Gardr,
farm or enclosure-the farm at the bridge.
192
SUMMERS AND WINTER S
be distinguished of thirty-seven stones, but sixteen
only now stand erect, varying in height from three
to fourteen feet. A broad and deep trench, broken
in its sweep by entrance mounds on the north and
south side, surrounds the circle which encloses an
area of two and a half acres. Seated silently in
the centre of the great ring we seem enveloped in
the folds of some inscrutable mystery. The hoary
locks of withered moss and the waving beards
of the lichens impart an aspect
aspect of super-
natural age to the wierd and weather-worn stones.
Solemn and motionless-locking up in grim
silence the annals of vanished races and the
memories of bloody rites; they stand as they have
stood through centuries of grey dawns, red summer
twilights, and wasteful winter storms. A thousand
years ago, in the light of the waning moon, may
their awful shadows have darkened the heath.
Each stone of the patriarchal group, rooted apart in
utter loneliness, seems to brood over its own buried
past.
Among the various conjectures that have been
made with reference to the origin and design of
IN THE ORKNEYS.
193
these remarkable monuments, the most probable
appears to be that the circle was erected by the
early Celtic inhabitants, and employed as a place
of sacrifice.* The Norsemen, who also had their
sacrificial altars, may have used the temple group
for the same purpose, but the fact, mentioned by
Professor Munch, that the name Steinsness
(Ness of the stones), was applied to the promontory
at the beginning of the Scandinavian occupation,
gives additional weight to the conjecture that the
(6
* Stone-circles have generally been considered Druidical.
Referring to this circumstance, Mr. John Stewart, Secretary
of the Society of Antiquaries in Scotland, has the follow-
ing passage in an address on the "Recent Progress of
Archæology." "From many investigations," he says,
"there can be no doubt that circles were places of sepul-
ture, and if they were designed for other purposes, we are
entirely without evidence of the circumstance. The name
of Druidical Temples applied to these structures is one of
recent origin, and is simply the result of a guess of two
English writers-Aubrey, who lived in the time of Charles
II., and Stukely, who wrote in the time of the two first
Georges. Perhaps we have no similar instance of a name
imposed at first, without any real ground, having become
so firmly rooted and so widely diffused. The term used
by our early chroniclers to designate such remains is
simply Lapides Stantes, or the Standing Stones."
13
194
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
circle was erected long previous to the settlement
of the Scandinavians in Orkney. Similar circles are
only to be found where the Celtic race was predomi-
nant, and I am therefore inclined to believe with
Professor Daniel Wilson that the Stennis stones
were "grey with the moss of centuries ere the first
Norwegian prow touched the shores of Pomona.'
The tradition which ascribed the stones to the
Scandinavians may have arisen from the circum-
stance that the Northmen held their Things, or legis-
lative assemblies, within the Domring of Stennis ;
* Dr. Wilson_remarks: "The common Gaelic phrase,
Am bheil thu dol d'on clachan? Are you going to the
stones?' by which the Scottish Highlander inquires at his
neighbour if he is bound for church, seems no doubtful
tradition of worship within the Megalithic ring at an
earlier date than that of the Norsemen." Lieutenant-
Colonel Forbes Leslie, in his work on the Early Races of
Scotland refers to the same curious circumstance. From
Perthshire to the Island of Harris, Highlanders more fre-
quently say, 'Have you been at the stones?' than Have you
been at the church?" "Glenorchy," says Colonel Leslie,
was formerly called 'Clachan Dysart,' and the place where
the parish church now stands was probably the 'Clachan,
or Circle of Stones,' which was succeeded by the Chris-
tian hermitage of some recluse.'
IN THE ORKNEY S.
195
and probably devoted it also to the celebration of
religious rites. The large number of Norse grave-
mounds scattered over the heathy promontory in
the vicinity of the circle, may also have helped to
conserve this tradition. With reference to these
mounds a very interesting passage occurs in the
"Recollections of Orkney," contributed by Pro-
fessor Munch to the Norsko Folke Kalendar.
"Of
the probable cause," he says, "why there are so
many Norse grave-mounds to be found in this
place, the old sagas of the Earls of Orkney
contain a remarkable explanation.
After Earl
Thorfin Einarson's death, about the year 960,
his sons succeeded him in the earldom. The
eldest of them Arnfinn, married the wicked
Ragnhild, daughter of Eric Bloody-axe, who caused
his death, and thereafter espoused his brother
Haavard. She soon, however, became enamoured
of his sister's son, Einar, and by her instigation,
Einar surprised and attacked Haavard, who, at the
time was at Stennis. There, it is said, they met
and fought; and it was not long till the Earl fell,
the place being afterwards called Haavard's-teig, or
196
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
the 'field of Haavard.' Old people still can remem-
ber when the plain round the standing stones was
called Howardsty, or Howardstey, in which we can
easily recognise the name Haavardsteig. In this
neighbourhood, therefore, Haavard fell, and with
him many of his own as well of Einar's people. If,
when he was surprised, he was at Stennis, it is
most likely that he would retreat as speedily as
possible to the bridge, where his smaller number of
men might the more easily defend themselves
against the greater, and that he at length had
been driven farther and farther back towards the
circle of Brogar, behind whose mound, trench, and
stones, he had probably made his last stand.”
It
Sir Walter Scott, who selected storied scenes with
the instinct of genius, and adapted them to the
exigencies of his romantic tales, has introduced the
Orcadian Stonehenge, with powerful effect, in some
of the most striking passages of the "Pirate."
must be admitted, however, that the brevity of Sir
Walter's visit was unfavourable to accuracy of
description, and that he occasionally takes con-
siderable liberties with the landscape. In one
IN THE ORKNEYS.
197
passage, Cleveland is represented as awaking from
sleep on the shore of the loch, and in the vicinity of
the stones, when "the grey dawn was already
mingling with the twilight of an Orcadian night.”
Around him in the glimmer of the dawning stood
the immense blocks like the phantom forms of
antediluvian giants; but the pirate, who must have
possessed the power of seeing the invisible, felt less
interest in these singular monuments of antiquity,
than in the distant view of Stromness! In another
chapter the Stennis circle forms the scene of the
appointed meeting between the pirate and Minna
Troil when the two sisters are carried off by
Cleveland's companions, who, unknown to him, had
laid an ambuscade for the purpose. From the
description of the pillars, in this scene, glimmering
a greyish white in the rising sun, and projecting
their long gigantic shadows to westward, it is
evident that Scott, with his quick poetic eye, had
noted the peculiar effects in the appearance of the
stones produced by certain combinations of light
and shade. Impressive at all times, the primeval
pillars wear an aspect of shadowy grandeur on
4
198 SUMMERS, ETC., IN THE ORKNEYS.
those still summer days, not unfrequent in Orkney,
when the sunshine oozes in silvery softness through
the fleeey curtain of clouds that overspreads the
heavens.


CHAPTER VI.
The Seasons in Orkney.
Climate-Spring-time-Summer Walk-Orcadian Orni-
thology-Rara Aves-Birds of Passage-Haunts of Sea-
fowl-Egg-gathering Exploit-Old Modes of Bird-
Catching-Moorlands-Links or Downs-Peat-casting
-Midsummer Sunset-Autumn Scenes-Sea-Colours—
Beach-birds-Sports-Winter Scenes by Day and Night
-Aurora Borealis.

M
ETEOROLOGISTS aver that the gene-
ral temperature of Orkney through-
out the year is equal to that of the
southern districts of Scotland, although the heat
in summer is never so strong, nor the cold in
winter so severe. The truth of this statement has
been fully borne out by observations extending
over a series of years, and carefully tabulated by
scientific men. But while this equable temperature
200
SUMMERS AND WINTERS.
caused by the action of the gulf stream, has its
recommendations, it is gained at the expense of
destroying to some extent the distinctive indivi-
duality of the seasons. In the south of Scotland,
and in the great agricultural counties of England,
the special characteristics and differences of the
four seasons make themselves palpable to soul and
sense. Spring, summer, and autumn may indeed
grow out of each other with imperceptible grada-
tions; but as the sun continues to pass from sign to
sign of the zodiac, the character of each season is
made manifest in turn. This well-defined dis-
tinction of the seasons, which imparts such beauty
and variety to the year, is somewhat marred in
Orkney by the equable temperature that delights
northern meteorologists. Winter, like an aggressive
despot, dispossesses spring of her fair sovereignty,
and sometimes makes stormy raids upon the ter-
ritories of summer and autumn, fierce and sudden
In other
as the old irruptions of the Northmen.
regions and more genial climes it may occasionally
happen that winter "chills the lap of May," but in
Orkney he sometimes breaks forth unexpectedly,
after a brilliant day in June, with wild blasts and
IN THE ORKNEY S.
201
bursts of rain, and—not content with blowing one
day into another in the month of December-he
frequently rends in rage the parting skirts of sum-
mer, and holds high carnival among the autumnal
sheaves.
Let it not be imagined, however, that this occa-
sional fierce fusion of the seasons desolates the
year, and makes it barren of attractiveness and
beauty. Spring may seldom dip down with
ethereal mildness, as in southern lands, upon the
heathy hills or rocky and sandy shores, but summer
fails not to come with days of sunshine and bland
airs, breathing her benison around beaked promon-
tory, and along the blue Sounds that wind among
the Islands. Autumn, too, has her gracious moods,
and when the equinoctial blasts are overblown, the
harvest season begins, and the pleasant time known
as the "Peerie summer"-corresponding to the
Indian summer of America-tides on the year into
the heart of brown October.
Travellers tell us how delightful it is to trace the
footsteps of spring by the banks of the Loire or
Guadalquiver, and on the sunny slopes of Alp and
Apennine. Although allowance must be made for
202
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
exuberance of spirits in travellers' tales, we may
unhesitatingly accept as true and genuine their
descriptions of vernal beauty in the valleys of
France and Spain, or on the mountain-sides of the
Italian peninsula. Wafts of warm air, like creative.
breath, winnow the long vales, and immediately
the earth glows with the glory of flowerage, and
trees flutter in the freshness of leafy life. Up the
slopes and terraces of the lofty hills, where winter
seems yet to linger, swells the benignant breeze,
and soon vivid verdure marks the swift ascent of
the ethereal mildness, while torrents leap into the
sunshine with a fuller and richer gush of mountain.
minstrelsy. In the southern lands of Europe
spring frequently breaks forth with the strange
suddenness of a tropical morning. This rapid
change of scenery has a startling effect as com-
pared with that gradation of the seasons which is
characteristic of the climate over the greater part
of Britain. It is only in those favoured districts of
the country, where wild and wooded ravines abound,
that the true deliciousness of spring is most keenly
felt. On the early days of the season the willows,
the alders, and the birches "seem almost tinged
IN THE ORKNEYS.
203
with a verdant light as if they were budding," and
then, when the breath of primrose banks embalms
the warmer air, the swelling buds burst into little
leaves of delicate green, and anon there is a flush
of foliage, vocal with birds and bees, twinkling
joyously in shower and sunshine.
From the absence of woodland seenery in Orkney
there is never the same delightful feeling of the
presence of spring, such as the dwellers in the
"sweet south" experience when the multitudinous.
leaves are trembling in the soft airs, and choirs of
singing-birds make the outgoings of the evening and
morning to rejoice. Indeed, the vernal season has
only a transitory and troubled existence, and
abdicates, ere seed-time is passed, in favour of sum-
mer. In occasional moods of relenting tenderness,
winter graciously grants to impatient spring the
morning hours of some special day at the beginning
of April; but the mood is of short continuance, and
no sooner have Orcadian farmers begun to con-
gratulate themselves on the return of oat-sowing
weather than the "rude ruler of the inverted year
reclaims his boon ere the sun has reached the
meridian, blots out with blustering blasts the
})
204
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
genial beauty of the day, and, with a wrathful
frown glooming on his brow, drives off the flower-
crowned spring weeping from his footstool. But
with tears and smiles the pleading spring returns,
leading summer by the hand, and we know that the
sister seasons, mingling into one, have prevailed at
last when the thick clouds fine away into fleecy
flakes that melt in the blue depths of heaven, and
the virgin verdure of the pleasant pasture lands is.
wooed forth by the balmy air and the still sunshine.
Signs on sea and shore, new sights and sounds
make known the presence of the Orcadian summer-
time, in which lives and moves the transmigrated
spirit of spring. You awake from sleep when the
dawn is breaking, and instead of the pitiless, pelting
storm, you hear delicious music warbled by a thrush.
from some bush or solitary tree nigh your chamber-
window. It may excite surprise that a bird with
voice so beautiful, and whose favourite haunt in the
south is the wooded dell, should take up his abode
in these remote groveless islands. Nevertheless,
you are grateful for the song of the morning,
pulsing abroad on the still air in liquid warbling
IN THE ORKNEYS.
205
gushes, and instinctively you bless the bird that
revives old memories of bygone springs and sum-
mers with his melodious notes.* In the summer
mornings of these northern regions there is a
delightful freshness. The breeze brings health and
a benison from far-off leagues of sea, and in the
calm translucent air the island hills and coasts lie
clearly and beautifully defined.
May-time in Orkney resembles April in the
Scottish Lowlands, and the fine freshness of the
season kindles an irresistible longing to wander
forth among the fields and moors, to climb the
brown slopes of heathy hills, or to saunter aimlessly
along the sea-shore. As we walk abroad the eye is
gladdened by the tender green of the grass, the plough-
man following his team, the sower with measured
tread and swinging arm scattering the seed abroad,
*
The song-thrush or throstle," says Dr Barry,
which we call the mavis, may be seen frequently among
the bushes in the glens of Hoy, and sometimes in the
gardens of Kirkwall, where it builds its finely-plastered
nest on the shrubs or stunted fruit-trees." I must confess
that I was agreeably surprised to hear the song of the
throstle shortly after my first arrival in Orkney.
206
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
and all those familiar accompaniments of rural
labour which leave so many pleasant pictures and
impressions on the mind. Not less charming and
gladsome are the sounds that salute the ear. Like
Miriam and her maidens, summer has come with
timbrels and with dances, and overhead the blue
vault of heaven rings with the rich running raptures
of countless larks. The Islands at this season can
almost afford to want the woodlands with their
vocal verdure when the sky seems to dissolve in
drops of liquid melody. The shower of enraptured
song falls over the green and furrowed fields,
mingles with the murmur of the sea on the shelly
shore, and comes wafted to the ear in trembling
notes from the far-off heathy slopes of the hills.
The skylark-beautifully addressed by the Ettrick
Shepherd as the "bird of the wilderness, blithesome
and cumberless"-is the chief songster of Orkney,
and he fears no rivals as he sings and soars. Ming-
ling with the minstrelsy of the lark, the mellow note
of the cukoo, soft and low as a dream-voice, may be
heard issuing at times from some sheltered patch of
stunted copse-wood. From the fields bordering on
IN THE ORKNEYS.
207
the moors and low-lying lands, where pools and
rushes abound, there comes another pleasant
voice of summer-the plaintive cry of lapwings
wheeling about in eccentric circles and suddenly
swooping to the ground on creaking wings. As the
nests of these birds lie exposed on the surface of the
soil, and may thus easily be found by marauding
farm-boys, Nature has endowed them with a curious.
and cunning instinct that enables them to feign
distress, and so decoy stragglers from their eggs or
young brood. It is interesting to
interesting to watch the
evolutions of this strange instinct, and observe how
the birds suddenly fall in their flight with shivering
wings and plaintive cry, only that they may rise.
again with graceful curve, and repeat the same
beautiful deception. From the abundance of moor-
and-marsh land, Orkney is a favourite haunt of the
lapwing. It is a migratory bird, spending the
winter in the south of England, or across the channell;
but it is not unusual for some pairs to remain in the
Islands all the year round.
year round. There is touching
beauty in the plaint of the lapwing as it shrills over
the moors in the long summer gloamings. Like
208
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
the peewit, the ringed plover is a frequenter of
marshy places, running rapidly up the grassy hillocks
as you approach its retreats, and giving utterance
to a soft, whistling cry as it whirls away on the
wing. The solitariest nooks and corners touched
by wandering foot are also enlivened by the
presence of the brown heather linnet, the red-shank,
with its delicately-pencilled plumage, and the
little wheatear, that darts from mound to mound
emitting a sharp harsh note. I have noted that the
voices of birds have ever something in common
with the loneliness or loveliness of their haunts and
homes. Seabirds utter a wild, dreary wail that
blends harmoniously with the mournful monotone of
the deep; the cry of the bittern rises like a natural
exhalation from the desolate pool; the plaint of
the lapwing accords with the wild brown waste of
the moors; and the blackbird's song seems the
mellow voice or the luxuriant summer woods.
While song-birds are comparatively few in
number, the varieties of sea-fowl and water-fowl
impart great interest to the ornithology of Orkney.
The fresh-water lochs and marsh-lands are the
IN THE ORKNEYS.
200
favourite haunts of water-hens, coots, teals,
widgeons, mallards, shieldrakes, garganeys, grebes
and wild ducks. The sea-fowl include, among
others, the puffin, cormorant, little auk, and several
varieties of divers, guillemots, gulls, and skuas.
Many of the fowls are birds of passage, some of
them spending the summer and others the winter
in the Islands. Wild swans, though fewer now than
formerly, come in October from the North. The
shieldrake (anas tadorna) and the barnacle make
their appearance in spring; the eider-duck and
brent-goose frequent solitary sounds in winter,
while the Iceland gull is seldom seen till the month
of May. After midsummer the golden plover, which
arrives in large numbers from the north, may be
seen haunting the moors and low shores, and shar-
ing the solitudes with curlews and whimbrels and
birds of the sandpiper species. Of the land and
water birds which remain about the Islands all the
season, the most numerous are the dunlin, dotterel,
tern, turnstone, redshank, oyster-catcher, and
several varieties of the gull and duck tribes. The
rednecked phalarope (tringa hyperborea) visits the
14
210
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
most northerly island cf the group about the middle.
of June, and departs early in September. This
bird, which is remarkably graceful in its motions,
frequents the lochs, making its nest among the
reeds, and laying four eggs of a dingy olive colour
with brown spots. A species of sea-fowl, called
the horra-goose, from its loud harsh cry, arrives in
Deersound, Hoy Sound, and Westray Firth towards
the end of December and remains till the close of
February.
The local names of aquatic birds are peculiar,
some of them being evidently of Norse origin.
The cormorant is called the scarff, and a similar
name seems to be in use in Faroe. The author of
"A Fortnight in Faroe," when alluding to the small
tongue of the cormorant, says that Faroese parents
frighten a noisy child by asking: "Qvuj rear
skarvur tunguleisur?" "Why is the scarff tongue-
less?" and then go on with the answer, "Tuj han
seje Ravenum fra quear Eavan alti": "Because he
told the raven where the eider-duck's nest was."
The black guillemot, which fishes in the firths in
all weathers, the common guillemot, the diver, the
IN THE ORKNEYS.
ΣΙΕ
shieldrake, the long-tailed duck, the razor-bill, and
the puffin, are known in Orkney by the names of
the teistie, skout, loon, sly-goose, caloo, baukie, and
Tammy Norrie. To Orcadians the scarff, teistie, and
common gull may be regarded as supplying the
place of the swallow, robin-redbreast, and common
crow, which only pay occasional visits to the islands.
Foreign birds, of beautiful plumage, driven by stress
of weather over leagues of sea, not unfrequently
take refuge in the district of Deerness on the East
Mainland. Weary with their long storm-driven
flight, and bewildered in a strange land, these poor
birds almost invariably fall an easy prey to mur-
derous fowlers. After a continuance of north-
easterly gales, such rare birds as the goatsucker, the
golden-crested wren, and the snowy owl, are occa-
sionally found in the remote island of North
Ronaldshay. Four years ago a magnificent
Demoiselle crane, belonging to a species which
haunts the shores of the Mediterranean, was cruelly
slaughtered in the district of Deerness, and the
publicity given to the circumstance, originated a
discussion in the Times on the barbarism of bird-
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SUMMERS AND WINTERS
murder.* From its position Orkney affords favour-
able opportunities for observing, at certain seasons,
the migratory flights of birds. Seated on a rock.
by the seashore, or lying outstretched on the
heathy hillside, and looking up into the blue
expanse, I have often seen the figures of birds fan-
ning the "cold thin atmosphere," in wavering lines.
or single file. Sometimes a faithful pair may be
descried winging their way in company to Norwe-
gian fiords or southern lakes, and sometimes also
-sublime, touching, and mysterious sight-the
eye catches the form of a solitary water-fowl float-
ing silently and steadily onward, and casting no
shadow on land or sea. The beautiful lines of
Bryant come involuntarily to the lips as the bird
fades away in its lonely flight-
Whither, 'midst falling dew,
While glow the heavens with the last steps of day,
* Mention is made of the occasional arrival of foreign
birds in Wallace's antique historical account of Orkney.
Sometimes," says the quaint divine, "they find exotick
birds driven in by the wind in time of a storm. I, myself,
saw one that had a long beak, a large tuft on the head in
the fashion of a crown, with speckled feathers pleasant to
behold, which I believe is the Upupa."
IN THE ORKNEYS.
213
Far through their rosy depths, dost thou pursue
Thy solitary way?
Seek'st thou the plashy brink
Of weedy lake, or maze of river wide,
Or where the rocking billows rise and sink
On the chafed ocean side?
There is a power, whose care
Teaches thy way along the pathless coast-
The desert and illimitable air-
Long wandering, but not lost.
summer.
Wending our way from the fields to the shore,
the strange cries and calls of sea-fowl of every
wing blend not unmusically with the land-voices of
The wailing screams that mingled with
the wintry tempest have lost much of their harsh-
ness in the joyance of the new season, and even in
the plaintive cry of the gull there is a jubilant
note, like the far-heard trumpeting of the wild
swan winging its flight to lonely meres. Flocks
of sea-birds are congregated about the sands,
flitting uneasily to and fro, or calling in chorus as
they lightly dip in the long shore-wave that melts
away in music and a sparkle of foam. Farther
out in the bickering gleam of the dimpling sea
families of teisties are luxuriating in the water like
Roman senators in their marble baths. Down
214
WINTE RS
SUMMERS AND
they dive, one by one, into the green domains of
the finny tribes, and their bills emit a chuckling
gurgle of delight when they reappear at intervals
upon the water. Truly Orkney is the Paradise of
sea-fowl, beloved by teisties and terns, scarffs and
kittiwakes, divers, oyster-catchers, and stormy
petrels, and now, when the summer sunshine is
sparkling on the waters, their many-voiced calls
and shrill pipings may be heard around all the
coasts from the Altars of Linay to the Brough of
South Ronaldshay. How is it that, while some
gulls and cormorants love to frequent sandy bays,
others manifest a strong attachment to wild cliff-
scenery, screaming among the rocks of the Holorow,
and watching the surge of the sea from their lofty
shelves? The circumstance is also worth the atten-
tion of naturalists, that colonies of sea-birds will
suddenly forsake their old haunts in a body and fly
miles away to untenanted rocks, where they settle
quietly down like immigrants taking peaceful
possession of a new territory. The Redhead of
Eday-a wall of red freestone rocks rising to the
height of three hundred feet-was in former years
IN THE ORKNEYS.
215
the resort of immense flock of sea-fowls, as the
whitened shelves still testify, but from some
mysterious cause they have now changed their
habitat, and only a few may be observed circling
around the higher ledges of the cliff. Similar in-
stances of unaccountable migration have occurred.
elsewhere. Some years ago the famous heronry
on the Findhorn in Morayshire, which had been
known as the favourite resort of a colony of herons,
was deserted on a sudden for an inexplicable
reason, and the multitudinous nests were left deso-
late on the wide-spreading trees. For many gene-
rations the Bass Rock has been the great haunt of
Solan geese, and it would only be in accordance
with the strange instincts of the feathered tribes
if they should one day select some other solitary
rock for colonisation.
The islanders in some parts of Orkney, such as
Westray and Papa Westray, formerly displayed
great skill and daring in gathering the sea-fowls'
eggs that were deposited on the shelves of the
rocks, and also in capturing the birds themselves.
Swinging from the face of a rock with a rope
216
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
round his waist, and hearing far beneath the
sullen plunge of the waves, the egg-gatherer fear-
lessly pursued his dangerous vocation. An anec-
dote, related by Mr. John Kerr, Inspector of
Schools, illustrates the extraordinary coolness
which some of the islanders, trained to this call-
ing, display, when placed in hazardous circum-
stances. On one occasion an egg-gatherer,
qreeping cautiously along the narrow ledge of a
precipitous cliff, came to a sharp angle round
which he must pass. The difficulty of rounding
the angle seemed something like an impossiblity
when he discovered to his dismay that he had
the wrong foot first. The man, however, simply
paused, took a sustaining pinch from his snuff-
horn, and then, making an agile bound, got his
right foot first, and so mastered the difficulty.
A friend, who had waited for his ascent, said to
him," Man, Johnnie, were ye no feared?"
"Eh
man, if I had been feared I wouldna be here." "I
daresay that," replied his friend; "but what made
thee think of taking a snuff when thou were in such
danger?" Weel," answered the egg-gatherer,
"C
IN THE ORKNEYS.
217
I thocht I was needn't." Some of the modes
once in vogue for catching sea-fowl on the cliffs
and in the "goes" or voes of Westray and Papa
Westray were also attended with danger. One
way was by means of a hair-noose attached to a
slender reed-rod. The fowler who used this snare
was suspended over the cliff by a number of ropes,
which were worked up or down or in a lateral direc-
tion, thus enabling him to noose the birds as they
sat napping quietly in their nests. By another
curious contrivance the fowler, equipped with a
triangular net fixed to a long springy rod, con-
cealed himself behind a projecting buttress of
rocks, and placed decoy birds, either alive or
skinned, on the neighbouring ledges. When the
seafowl came swooping along the face of the cliff
they were caught in the suddenly-uplifted net, the
opening of which lay in the line of their flight.
One person has caught as many as three hundred
auks in a single day by this device, which succeeded
best in a gale of wind. There was still another
ingenious plan, perhaps the most effective of all.
A boat, with two or three men and a large net on
218
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
board, was moored at the entrance of some great
cave or fowl-haunted hollow in the cliffs. On the
top of the rock stood two men, each holding a rope
attached to the corners of the net in the boat. By
means of the ropes the net was hoisted up until
it entirely covered the mouth of the sea-cave.
When this was accomplished the boatmen made a
rattling noise which resounded through the cave,
and the alarmed birds, dropping from their ledges
darted out seawards, and were forthwith caught in
the meshes of the net. By this ingenious and
wholesale method of bird-catching the proprietor
of Papa Westray sometimes "netted" upwards of
a thousand auks in one day, and thus succeeded
in "feathering his own nest." About £10 have been
known to be given for the feathers of auks caught
in a single voe by one boat.
Birds of prey were at one time numerous in
Orkney, including the golden eagle, white-tailed
eagle, osprey, gyr falcon, Peregrine falcon, hobby,
merlin, kestril, the marsh harrier, and varieties of
owls. The cessation of the commonty system,
however, thinned the ranks of the marauders, and
IN THE
219
THE ORKNEYS.
some of the species named are now seldom seen in
the Islands. Dunn, the ornithologist, found the
golden eagle so scarce, upwards of thirty years ago,
that he only saw a single pair on the western side
of Hoy. The white-tailed eagle, feathered to
the feet, and endowed with great strength, still
circled the cliffs of Hoy; but the stories of his feats
in carrying off children and squealing pigs live
only in tradition. Several years have elapsed
since the grey eagle, scared by the annual raids of
bird-catchers, deserted the cliffs of Westray, and
sought a safer retreat on the Hoy Hammers or the
Heads of Eday. The Peregrine falcon, which
haunts the wildest headlands, was much sought
after when falconry was in fashion, and indeed
many years have not elapsed since a certain.
number of hens was exacted from every parish in
Orkney and paid annually to the royal falconer.
Formerly, the devastations committed by the
"earn" on the hill-common flocks were so serious,
that rewards were granted to persons who should.
destroy the bird or its nest. "Anent slaying of the
earn" is the title of one of the county acts under
220
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
date 1626. It was ordained "that whatsoever
persone shall slay the earne or eagle shall have of
the baillie of the parochine where it shall happen
him to slay the aigle eightpence from every reik
within the parochine, except from cottars that have
no sheep, and twenty shill. from ilk person for ilk
earn's nest it shall happen him to herrie." In Hoy
and Walls birds of prey still commit great depreda-
tions upon the grouse, forestalling the sportsman.
The moorland solitudes of Orkney, variegated
with patches of verdure, and enlivened by springs
that well up silently amid the brightened moss,
possess a beauty of their own in the summer
months. Dreary enough are these desolate tracts.
when the heavens are closely canopied with grey
clouds, but solitary places are made glad by the
clear blue sky and the still sunshine. The thin
wreaths of smoke that rise from scattered cottages
impart an air of cheerfulness to the scene. Wild
flowers form their fairy rings amid the heath, and
there is a vivid green in the grass where the prat-
tling rill, fed from mossy fountains, bickers away
seaward beneath its tufted banks. When wandering
over the moors in the south of Scotland the way-
IN THE ORKNEYS.
221
farer sometimes lights upon a grey head-stone
which marks the grave of a peasant martyr, who
perished in the dark days of sturt and strife. Save
in one district there are no memorials of the Co-
venanters on Orcadian moorlands, but we occasion-
ally stumble in lonely spots on one of those grey,
grim, and solitary standing stones, "bearded with
moss," which are kith and kin to the pre-historic
obelisks of Stennis. The riddle of the Sphinx
seems not more deep than the riddle of these soli-
tary stones. Silently the sunshine of another
summer brightens the moss that covers them, and
thus it has been for century after century away
back to an unknown time. You may question
them as Horace Smith questioned the Egyptian
mummy in Belzoni's exhibition, but stern silence.
is the sole response. A feeling of absolute awe
creeps over you as you stand beside one of those
grim memorials of the past, alone with it alone,
and as your eye wanders from it to the wild flower
on the heath that to-day blooms and to-morrow
fades, the mind, musing on the mysteries of life
and death, loses itself in a maze of vain conjecture.
There is beauty also in the abounding links or
222
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
natural pastures, which occupy an intermediate
position between the moors and the cultivated
fields. In these stretches of wild meadow-land
great varieties of plants may be found, such as
mint, marsh marigold, tussilago, colt's-foot, trefoil,
thyme, and foxglove. On the sandy downs grasses.
grow luxuriantly, and conspicuous among them
are the red and white clovers, commonly known by
the names of the red and white curl-doddies. The
field-gentian, the bird's-eye primrose, and the
squill are the "neebors sweet" of the wild grasses
on the natural pastures. Where the links dip
down upon the sandy beaches there are plentiful
crops of bent-grass and sea-rockets, and the banks
overhanging blue sounds and bays are frequently
adorned with epilobium and cranesbill, thrift and
seapink. In cryptogamous plants the flora of
Orkney is peculiarly rich, and the algæ, found on
the Island beaches, amount to upwards of 130
species. While the varieties of algæ impart
interest to the loneliest shores, the queen-of-the-
meadow beautifies the barren fen, and sheds
abroad a sweet wild perfume,
IN THE ORKNEYS.
223
The period of summer known among farmers as
the "slack season" is almost universally devoted
throughout the Islands to the casting, carting, and
boating of peats. The peat-mosses in the moor-
land districts, to which the peasantry flock from all
quarters, then present for some weeks a lively
appearance. In the West Mainland parishes of
Harray and Birsay I have seen long lines of peat-
carts, forty and fifty in number, jogging across the
country, amid clouds of dust, like the baggage-
trains of an army. The carts are often driven by
grave matrons or buxom girls, who have "buities"
wrapped round their heads to defend them from
sun and wind. Casting peats is hard work on a
warm summer day, and any roadside hostelric
that has the good fortune to stand in the vicinity
of a peat-moss seldom wants brisk custom in the
slack season. The cart-loads of peats are stacked
close to the houses, and serve as the winter hap of
the huddled homesteads. Eday is the great peat-
emporium of the North Isles, and large quantities
of fuel are boated from it every summer. In North
Ronaldshay, which lies apart across a swirling tidal
224
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
firth, the islanders use a more primitive fuel than
peat, having recourse to an expedient which is
common to them and the Bedouins of the desert.
Shards of cow-dung, mixed with straw, are cut
into "scones," nine inches in diameter and three or
four inches in thickness. The scones are then
stuck on the walls of buildings to dry in the sun,
and when the baking process is completed, they
are used as fuel, emitting an unsavoury reek that
tickles the inexperienced nostril. The islanders.
eat with a relish fish that have been smoked with
these dried dung-cakes.
In fine weather the Orcadian sunsets of June
and July possess an unspeakable charm. Behind
or between the Islands, welling out lustrous rings,
sinks the great orb, gilding with radiance the
sinuous sounds and softly-rounded hills. But the
glorious light fades not at the set of sun. Hour
after hour a ruddy gleam lingers on the horizon,
and at midnight the mellow beauty of the ebbing
day mingles with the early flow of the morning
light. In the long golden gloaming isle and islet,
firth and bay glimmer before the gazer's eye like a
IN THE ORKNEYS.
225
dream of the Hesperides. From sunset to sunrise
the deep craik of the landrail echoes over the
fields, and at midnight, suddenly breaking out in
liquid trills and gushes, the voice of wakeful larks
may be heard mingling their vesper with their
matin songs.
At the time of the summer solstice,
when the clock in St. Magnus' tower was chiming
the "noon of night,” I have sat at an open window
reading, and hearing at intervals the carolling of
sleepless skylarks, and the pipings of sea-birds,
mellowed by distance.
Autumn in the Islands is also an enjoyable eas-
son, though liable to occasional interruptions from
wild blasts that shake the grain and shiver the seas
into sheets of foam on skerries and shelvy shores.
August may properly be regarded as belong-
ing to the summer months, since harvest, save
on exceptional seasons, is seldom general through -
out the Islands till the early weeks of October.
In September there are halcyon days when a
bracing healthfulness breathes in the air, and an
aspect of calm repose pervades the many-tinted
fields. In a fertile and early district like the
15
220
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
Lothians the grain-fields seems to ripen simul-
taneously, so that when harvest is about to
commence, the undulating surface of the landscape
is rich with one continuous golden hue, only
broken and relieved at intervals by woods and
shadowy belts of trees. In that favoured region
of Scotland the weather during harvest-time is
generally dry and warm, and thus, after the lapse
of a few weeks from the commencement of reaping,
the fields are shorn of their glories and tented with
up-piled sheaves. As the grain ripens simultane-
ously, so the whole district is simultaneously
covered with "straw-built citadels." But in Orkney,
from the changeableness of the climate and the
varying qualities of the soil, fields ripen irregularly,
and the green and yellow intermingled present a
more pleasing picture to the artistic than the agri-
cultural eye.
It is in the autumnal season that the
island landscapes are seen to best advantage. In
spring the newly-ploughed fields and expanses of
heathy moor impart a sombre appearance to each
scene, while in summer the hue of the cultivated
lands is too monotonously green. But in autumn
IN THE ORKNEYS.
227
we have the intermingled green and gold of pasture
and grain fields, relieved by the brown of the up-
land muirs, and bordered by the blue gleam of
the sea.
This rich and harmonious colouring
conveys an impression of pictorial warmth which is
unrealised in the earlier seasons, and which is blurred
and blotted out by the blasts of winter. Surveyed
from some "specular mount" the yellow fields, mantl-
ing the island shores in squares or irregular patches,
gleam out in the distance with strange distinctness
or glimmer faintly amid the autumnal haze. Though
miles of placid water stretch between, you can tell
by the hue of the fields on what portion of the
island coasts the plough has sped, clearing a path
for the golden grain. Restricting now the range
of our vision to Pomona (a pleasant misnomer), we
see, when harvest has begun, the glinting of scythes
in the sunshine as they shear down the grain, observe
the binders bending their backs to their arduous
but happy toil, and notice the encampments of
yellow sheaves rising magically in the scythesmen's
wake. In the distance may also be heard the rattle
of the reaping machine as it rolls rapidly aside the
228
SUMMERS AND WINTERS.
waves of grain, and announces its presence in these
remote Islands. What hosts of old associations,
what numberless snatches of old songs circle around
the "hairst-rig"! But scythes and reaping-machines
and the march of agricultural improvement have
well-nigh succeeded in Orkney as elsewhere in
scaring away the romance, mirth, and love-making
of other times from the harvest-fields. Happy the
young men and maidens in farms remote who can
yet shoulder the sickle, and buckle to their task
in company on the same rig!
When broken weather, too frequently experienced,
makes a belated harvest, the autumnal fields pre-
sent a less pleasing picture. Small farmers, who
can ill sustain the shock of bad seasons, are doomed
much oftener than a similar class in other parts
of Britain, to see their fields of bere and oats
lashed and "laid " by heavy rains and blustering
winds. For them the prospect is dismal when their
stooks" stand soaking in the stubble-fields in the
lengthening nights of late October, and great clouds,
the avant couriers of winter, come rolling in from
the wild Atlantic,
"Wielding the flail of the lashing hail,"
IN THE ORKNEYS.
229
and blasting all the joys of harvest home. A
barn-yard scantily furnished at the close of October
is one of the most cheerless prospects and bitter
experiences in rural life, and the Orkney farmer
in rainy autumns, may well envy the fortunate
Lothian lairds who survey with pride their cozy
rows of stacks, roped and thatched, basking in the
warm suns and glimmering in the white moon-
shine of September.
Orcadians are not wholly ignorant that autumn
is the season of the falling leaf, although the varie-
gated hues of the withering woodlands, outstretched
far and wide over hillside and plain, form no part
of the autumnal memories of the dwellers in the
Islands. They are thus deprived of the finest
picturesque effect and pathetic association of the
year's decline. Nature presents no spectacle more
pensively beautiful than an amphitheatre of high
hanging woods, touched with the colours and shades
of decay, while the kingly trees that upbore their
crowns of leafy splendour through all the heat of
summer-tide, shed their withered glories upon
every passing breeze that trembles through their
boughs. But the absence in Orkney of "quiet
230
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
woodland ways," with their pensive autumnal
associations, need not discompose overmuch the
sojourner from more genial climes so long as he
can stroll through the yellow harvest-fields to
the seaside where the seasons also leave their
footprints on the sand. Come with me to the
pleasant and secluded shores of Scapa Flow, with
its fine reach of sand and shingle, its fisher boats
rocking on the water or drawn up on the beach, its
mossy and grassy embankments, and its tide-and-
time worn border of rocks.
Historic interest
attaches to this bay, as the scene of the mournful
pageant when Haco's oaken war-galley, freighted
with the dead body of the last of the Sea-kings,
steered slowly away for the Norwegian shores.
How fresh, healthful, and bracing the sea-breeze on
this charming autumnal day as it comes wafted over
the rippling waters from the sounds and bays of
the South Isles, and the dim Pentland beyond.
Seated on this high grassy embankment in the
full fllow of the fresh breeze we feel profoundly the
"rapture of the lonely shore." Lonely it is in its
aspect, though fishermen are digging laboriously
ΙΝ THE ORKNEYS.
231
for bait on the sands below, though farms and
cottages are nigh at hand, and the swish of the
scythe comes from the neighbouring harvest-field.
Down there the low thatch-roofed cottage besides
the old mill is sending forth what Tennyson so
beautifully calls "the warm blue breathings of a
hidden hearth," and the light curls of smoke, with
a peaty flavour, relieved against the yellow upland
fields, deepen the seclusion and repose of the scene.
Light balls of thistle-down come floating up on the
breeze from the lower reaches of the embankment,
and thus we know that autumn is a sower as well
as a reaper, and that the silent processes of nature
suffer no intermission. There is a wonderful adapta-
tion of means to ends in the formation of these soft,
silky balls of floating seed, and as they alight and
rise again and silently wheel from one spot to
another, it seems as if some instinct or intelli-
gence were guiding them to their proper resting-
place.
There is nothing fanciful in the impression that
the sea changes its aspects and hues with the
changing seasons. The depth of colours and the
232
SUMMERS AND WINTERS.
special tints of the sky vary in spring, summer,
autumn, and winter, and as the sea spreads out
its great mirror to the heavens, we may thus
satisfactorily account for the changes in hue
which it seems to undergo. On a summer day
the depths of the sea are of an emerald green
beneath the long, glassy lazy heave of the surface
waves, while on a bright autumn day, when the
colour of the sky is a light, ethereal blue, the ocean
takes a softer tint, and reflects the milder hue of
the heavens.
Charmed with the varying tints of the waters,
we cannot fail also to note, especially at this
season of lovely lights and sailing shadows, the
beautiful ever-changing aspect of the opposite
island coasts. Within the course of a few hours,
on a day of breezy shadows, the Islands vary their
hues almost as rapidly and magically as the glasses
in the kaleidoscope. The lowest skerry looks
beautiful in the changing colours of sea and sky,
and Burray, South Ronaldshay, Flotta, and Walls
assume an aspect as ethereal as the fabled shores of
the Fortunate Isles.
IN THE ORKNEYS.
233
While the tints of autumn touch and mellow
the waters of the sea, the traces of the season may
also be noted on its margin along the grassy
embankments. The hollows that were feathered in
summer with a luxuriant growth of green ferns
have been blighted by the breath of decay, and the
ferns are withered alike in stalks and fronds. Wild
flowers and plants have felt the chill of the
lengthening nights, and the sea-border that looked
so fresh and beautiful in summer has already begun
to assume the dull brown hue which it will retain
till mantled with snow or breathed upon by the
reviving genial airs of another year. For the
fragrance of wild flowers there is now the rank
odour of withered grass and herbs, mingled with
the strong briny smell of the algæ heaped along
the subjacent shore. Among the pools on the
reach of sands sea-birds are disporting themselves
with many a shrill scream, the sound of which
seems to blend in fine harmony with the quiet
seclusion of the scene. It has been suggested by
an acute observer of nature, Thomas Aird, that the
rook has a "harvest-cry”—a peculiarly happy,
234
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
huddled, contented kind of sound, as if the creature.
rejoiced in the abundance of the season.
May I
also hazard the suggestion that the cries and calls
of sea-birds, so plaintive always, so eerie at times,
change into a softer note on a pleasant autumnal
day, when the blue waters rejoice from shore to
shore of the bays which they frequent? It may be
that the mellowing influence emanates from the
pure, pellucid air; but I have observed that, in the
finest days of autumn, the calls of gulls and
skads have a softer, happier, less lonesome sound.
Besides the larger species of sea-fowl there are
little beach-birds with tiny pipes that haunt the
shingle on the shore, carrying on clandestine court-
ships in shady nooks, and picking up a living in the
waste places of creation. It is not uninstructive to
watch the fitful motions of these "little dwellers
by the sea," and muse on the instinct that leads
them to frequent the sands and the surge. Dana,
the American poet, addresses some beautiful lines
to one of these to-and-fro-flitting frequenters of
the shore. He thinks of the sea as the sepulchre
and the pall of thousands, and as ever sounding a
IN THE ORKNEYS.
235
requiem over the dead from out its gloomy cells,
and then wondering why the beach-bird does not
rather rejoice through the fair land than haunt the
shore with boding cry, he concludes with the invi-
tation :
"Then turn thee, little bird, and take thy flight
Where the complaining sea shall sadness bring
Thy spirit nevermore.
Come, quit with me the shore
For gladness and the light
Where birds of summer sing."
Heedless of the clamour of the gulls and the
piping of beach-birds, an old cormorant or scarff
is plunging, diving, and fishing "on his own hook"
in the middle of the pleasant bay. Milton says
that when the arch-enemy made his felonious raid
into Paradise he "on the tree of life sat like a
cormorant." The poet has been assailed by critics
for the absurdity of supposing that a cormorant
ever took up his roost on a tree, but, as not un-
frequently happens, the poet was right, and the
critics are at fault. Milton knew perfectly well
that cormorants prefer shelving rocks to tree-
branches for their temporary resting-place, and in
236
SUMMERS AND WINTERS.
representing Satan as sitting "like a cormorant,"
he either meant that the great tempter sat uneasily
on his unwonted perch, or that he was a bird
of omen ill from the wildered deep which had for-
saken familiar haunts.
The short shrill notes of the robin redbreast are
associated with the fall of the leaf in districts.
where woodlands abound; but in Orkney that
homely bird is as rarely seen in autumn as the bat.
in summer. The sojourner from the south may
also miss the swallows congregated in clouds on
the house-roofs previous to taking flight on their
annual migratory trips to sunny lands, but he will
see instead bevies of starlings clinging around the
roofs and trees in the outskirts of Kirkwall, chirp-
ing in harsh chorus, and making short aimless
flights from tree to tree or from roof to roof. The
Orcadian starling is only a house-sparrow of bigger
build, equally homely and equally pert and
familiar. He seems to delight in "peat-reek," as
he often sits on the chimney-top. In some districts.
starlings are so numerous that no fewer than
twenty-two dozen have been taken from a dovecot
IN THE ORKNEYS.
237
in one morning. On the moors at the shooting
season there is sport enow for those who relish air
and exercise as much as the enjoyment of bag-
ging grouse. Sportsmen annually make their
appearance, filling their bags with aquatic birds
when muirfowl fail. The natives themselves are
experts in the use of the gun at all seasons, and
they are specially fond of tracking the footprints
of hares when there is a slight sprinkling of snow
upon the ground. Some years ago when much of
the now cultivated land was lying waste, large
quantities of hare and rabbit skins were exported
from the Islands. In one year as many as 30,000
rabbit skins were exported from Stromness alone.
Mr. Fortescue of Swanbister in Orphir, who owns.
a fine pack of harriers, gives capital runs to his
friends in the hare-hunting season, and has thus
introduced a novelty into Orcadian field-sports
The "Tally-ho" of the fox-hunter is a cry unknown
in the islands, but there is no lack of exciting
sport in seal-shooting and otter-hunting.
whale-chase, however (which I shall subsequently
describe) eclipses all other sports when a whole
The
238
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
fleet of boats set out in pursuit of a great shoal
of bottle-nosed or ca'-ing whales-the Delphinus
deductor of zuologists.
Autumnal nights in the Islands possess a pecu-
liar charm when the moon sheds her yellow rays on
yellow sheaves, on reaches of sandy shore and
rock-girt voes that mirror her brightness, girdling
the coasts with haloes of soft and tender beauty.
Meteors also abound as the season advances, and
the heavens are frequently glorified with the pale-
blue illumination of the Aurora Borealis, which
reserves its wildest splendours for the depth of
winter.
There are good people within the bounds of the
United Kingdom who believe that the Orcadian
winter bears a close resemblance to winter within
the Arctic circle, and who picture to themselves the
inhabitants of the Islands braving the rigours of
the season in Esquimaux attire, trudging from
place to place in yard-long snow-shoes, or careering
about in sledges drawn by a dozen of wolf-dogs.
It is possible that some such pleasant picture may
have been realised at a remote period ere the gulf
IN THE ORKNEYS.
239
stream warmed the Orcades with the waters of
Florida, and even now many of the older natives
can recall the time when frost was more prolonged
and severe, and when snow-storms, covering the
ground to the depth of several feet and blocking
up their dwellings, were of frequent occurrence
from December to March. For a long series of
seasons, however, with the exception of 1866-67,
the Orkney winter, considering the high latitude of
the Islands (lying between the parallels 59° 23′ 2″
and 58° 41' 24″ N.) has been remarkably open, and
heavy snow-falls when they occur are welcomed as
friendly visitants.
The returns of local meteorologists may enable
those who have never personally experienced the
pleasures of an Orkney winter to form a pretty
accurate impression of its general character.
Though the wildest storm-bursts take place in
January, February, and March, the dullest and
dreariest month is December, and yet its average
temperature is equal to that of more favoured
regions, notwithstanding the lack of sunshine and
the prevalence of strong gales blowing alternately
240
SUMMERS AND WINTERS.
Passing the
from all points of the compass.
December of 1865, which was exceptionally fine, I
observe, from the accurate meteorological returns
of the Rev. Charles Clouston of Sandwick, that
rain fell on twenty-five days in the December of
1864, the anemometer marked 386.3 miles of
wind per day, and the sunshine was calculated
to amount to only forty-nine hours. This register
may indicate a sufficiently dismal state of the
weather, and yet the month mentioned was superior
to the average run in previous years, the air being
so mild that the genial earth in sheltered gardens
yielded bouquets of Christmas flowers. The
gathering of bouquets in December should convince
the incredulous that Orcadians are far remote from
the region of snow-shoes and fur-cloaks. But,
after all, with a mean temperature in the shade of
40° 92', it is a miserable, dolorous month. Better
surely a hard griping frost and a mantle of snow
flung over the shivering shoulders of the hills than
twenty-five days of dismal, pitiless rain. How
suggestive, too, of leaden skies, of belated break-
fasts, and gaslight at noon are the forty-nine hours
IN THE ORKNEYS.
241
of sunshine thinly spread over four successive
weeks! In latitude 58°-59° N., the sun ought to
remain six hours above the horizon on the shortest
day; but in winter, Freya, the sun-god, may be
taunted in the words of Elijah, "Either he is talk-
ing, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or per-
adventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked."
Ever and anon to relieve the depressing dulness
of December, and to remind the islanders that they
dwell in Boreal regions, there bursts forth a strong
nor'-easter from the German Ocean, or a fierce
sou'-wester roaring in from the black Atlantic.
Then the island seas hold high revelry, struggling
through the narrow Sounds with their tumultuous
tides, or dashing in sheets of spray over skerries
and rocky shores. Far off on the waste of waters,
where the groaning ship reels from crest to hollow
of the green curling waves, there is terror and sub-
limity in the storm; but it gathers new elements of
grandeur when the great Atlantic rollers burst in
one long Niagara of thunder and foam against the
Hoy rampart of cliffs, or wildly rebound in broken
ranks from the rocky portals of the channels that
JorM
16
242
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
force a passage from sea to sea. Any one who has
beheld the western coast of the Islands on a day of
storm has witnessed a spectacle that time can never
efface from his memory. The great waves, white-
crested, rearing as if in agony under the lashing of
the tempest, come tumbling shorewards with
multitudinous uproar, and, shaking the very base-
ments of the cliffs, send their sheets of spray
streaming abroad on the wings of the wind.
Leagues on leagues the shattered coast is whitened
with flying foam, and it seems to the eye of the
spectator as if some mighty cataract were rolling
down headlong over the rocks in a tumult of stormy
spray. Huge boulders are sometimes propelled
great distances by the tremendous force of the
waves, and limpets, after a storm, have been found
adhering to the cliffs at the height of one hundred
feet. During the continuance of a violent gale,
not only is the air far inland impregnated with
saline particles, but the springs on the weather-side
have a brackish taste. In a strong easterly storm
the flakes of foam fly over the exposed island of
North Ronaldshay like snow-drift.
IN THE ORKNEYS.
243
;
The winter gales do not blow on with steady
strength until their fury is expended. They come
in fierce intermittent gusts, with ominous lulls of
silence between, resembling the pause of the long
billow ere it burst in thunder on the reef. These
gusts, which are characteristic of sea-born storms,
break out with all the suddenness of a tropical
tempest, and they are in general accompanied
by a rushing sweep of rain or the lashing of a
furious hail-shower. As the gusts roar through the
Sounds that separate the Islands there is a wilder
agitation of the waters, and the crests of the waves
gleam with a ghastly whiteness beneath the black
and winnowing wings of the storm-cloud. The
pauses between the successive gusts are of unequal
duration, and the length of an occasional lull is apt
to engender the belief that the tempest is overblown
almost at the very moment when the elemental
war is resumed with redoubled fury. Another.
peculiarity of Orkney wintry weather is the rapidity
with which it runs up and down the gamut of
change, giving the barometer no rest, and keeping
local meteorologists perpetually on the watch. In
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
the course of a single day the wind veers from
point to point of the compass, and then there comes
in quick succession a perplexing medley of frost
and snow, thaw and rain with a stiff gale, and a
stormy sunset followed by quiet moonlight and
frost. This remarkable changeableness of the
weather may be accounted for by the position of
the Islands. Lying in the confluence of two great
oceans, intersected by cross-currents, and subjected
to contrary tidal influences, they are exposed to all
the changes of temperature which the peculiarity of
their position naturally entails. Away in the heart
of some great continent there may be, for weeks
and months together, a continuity of serene and
settled weather, but those who dwell in the midst
of ever-restless seas must make up their minds to
accept all the variations of temperature with the
best possible grace, and to welcome, with an en-
thusiasm akin to that of Charles Kingsley when he
hails the "black north-easter," every wind that
blows from the engirdling deep. In regions subject
to frequent and sudden variations of weather it
was perhaps natural that superstition in other days
IN THE ORKNEYS.
245
should endow certain persons with the imagined
power of changing the direction of the winds.
There was a King of Sweden who gained the
soubriquet of windy-cap, because the wind immedi-
ately changed its course as often as the royal
magician chose to turn his cap, and I have already
referred to the famous Hecate of Stromness who
drove a profitable trade in selling favourable winds
for a moderate charge.
Pleasant is the change, after weary weeks of
dull, drenching, and blustering gales, when John.
Frost dances a hornpipe in February, ringing his
iron heels on the hardened roads, crunching the
white ice, and flapping his frosty fingers across his
shoulders. But the crowning charm of the season
comes with the fall of snow which transforms the
sombre fields and grey melancholy moors into
landscapes of virgin beauty that gleam with a clear
white radiance in the muffled sunshine. There is
fascinating loveliness in the island scenery when
winter, with his divining rod, has wrought his
magical transformations. Some people, skilled in
artistic or poetic effects, may probably contend that
246
SUMMERS AND Η ΙΝΤΕRS
A
cities look finer than the open country under a
covering of snow. Towers, spires, monuments, and
long ridges of lofty buildings, hooded and mantled
in white, present a picture, they aver, so strange
and beautiful that it seems rather the result of
supernatural agency than of a simple snow-fall.
city like Edinburgh, I am ready to concede, pre-
sents a superb spectacle when muffled up in snow,
but she gathers much of her beauty at such a time
from the ridges and rounded shoulders of environing
hills, glittering in their pure white robes. Moreover,
it is only when the snow is new-fallen that it effects.
a sort of magical transformation on familiar cities.
On the house-tops its early glory is soon dimmed
by envious smoke and falling soot-flakes, and the
horrors of a thaw on the streets must surely suffice
to soak out of the heart of the most sentimental
citizen the last lingering remnant of his attachment
to a fall of snow.
No, it is away from the smoke of cities, and
standing on eminences where the sea can be descried
winding among whitened isles, that the pure
splendour of winter's snowy robe can be fully seen
IN 247
}
THE ORKNEYS.
and appreciated. The fleecy covering looks dreary
and monotonous on a long boundless stretch of
level land, and recalls dismal tales of Siberia and
its exiles. But with hill and dale, beaked pro-
montory, and the low shores of sheltered bays in
view, all clothed in white, while beyond and around
rolls the encircling sea, to which the snowy land
imparts by contrast a deeper green or a darker hue
—then there is a spectacle of matchless magnificence
displayed, that seems a new revelation of the glory
of the world. The heights of Hoy no longer darkly
frown, but uplift their white coronals to the sky.
The seamed ridges of Rousay are filled up and
clothed with a more glorious mantle than they ever
wore in the heat of summer-tide. Across dark-
green sounds and firths the Islands lie like long
masses of unmelted snow, with all their curves and
outlines sharply defined. The sales of ships that
are wont to gleam out in summer sunshine look
brown and dingy in contrast with the whitened
shore, and even the sea-birds-disconsolate at the
changed aspect of sea and land-have apparently
lost some of the old brightness of their plumage.
2448
SUMMERS AND HINTERS
Where rocks rise along arms of the sea, how much
blacker than before seem their snoring snouts
beneath the white covering that mantles their
summits! How fine, also, above the whitened
shores and dark sea, is the play at evening of red,
orange, and purple lights in the cloud-masses up-
piled in fantastic forms. And after nightfall, when
the keen frost quivers in the air, the Orcadian.
heavens exhibit a sublime spectacle, with the stars.
bickering in brilliance over the snowy Islands-
Orion with his jewelled armour girded on, Sirius
sparkling from green to gold, and the Pole star
carrying imagination away to "seas where all is
dumb."
The splendid meteoric and auroral displays, which
frequently prove the most attractive of Orcadian
Nights' Entertainments in winter, may be more
aptly described in verse than in prose :
Down from the dark blue vault, like shattered star,
Dissolving swift in sparks of coloured light,
The silent meteor shoots. Up from the North
Gleams the Aurora, waving wild and free,
In shapes fantastic and in hues that change
From softest green to rosy red of dawn.
IN THE ORKNEYS.
249
Above the horizon's rim, point over point,
The spears of light seem now compacted close,
Like the old Scottish shiltrons roundel dread,
Impenetrably bright, and now again,
From east to west, in lengthened line they shoot,
Then upward to the zenith sudden charge
With whizzing rush, as if intent to hurl
The starry watchers from their silent towers.
In such celestial shows have men beheld
Shadows of things to come, prophetic signs
Of wheeling squadrons, armies on the march,
And battle's boom wide-bursting o'er the world.*
The farm-steadings and cottages, scattered along
hill-sides and valleys, look dismal and disconsolate
in their solitude, when rain-clouds are drenching the
wintry landscape, but they assume a more cheer-
* The celebrated meteor shower of November, 1866,
formed a splendid spectacle to expectant watchers in
Orkney. It seemed as if skirmishers were thrown out to
herald the coming of the magnificent array of meteors
which at midnight defiled along the heavens in brilliant
cohorts, flashing and flickering to north, south east, and
west. The blast of a cyclone striking among the stars
of the Milky Way, and whirling them off, with luminous
wakes, to all points of the compass, might have served a›;
an appropriate illustration of the wonderful scenical effects
of the spectacle.
?
250
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
ful appearance when embosomed among the snow-
covered fields. Then it is that an Orkney farm-
yard, with its rows of well-roped stacks, shaped like
bee-hives, its up-tilted carts, its piles of peats, its in-
dustrious poultry, its pigeons sunning themselves on
the barn roof, and its general aspect of repose, pre-
sents a pleasing picture of rural comfort and suggests
associations of contentment. The steady, dull tramp
of the horses making the round of the thrashing-mill,
and the sleepy drone. of the machinery, at distance.
heard, form the agreeable accompaniments of the
still picture of country life. There is little to indicate
that any great amount of labour is in progress,
but all hands about the farm are at work, and
only Luath is at liberty to trot about at his
leisure, stopping occasionally, in his springs after
a flock of sparrows, to snuff the cold snow with
his colder nose. The traveller, who passes the
farm after nightfall in his creaking gig, will see a
ruddy gleam from the lower windows of the house
falling in squares of light on the glittering snow,
the dim twinkle of a lantern blinking from door to
door of the outhouses as the careful farmer goes
IN THE ORKNEYS.
251
his nightly rounds, and when the snug steading is
far in the rear, the deep bay of Luath, borne on the
still frosty air, follows the traveller on his homeward
way. The pure covering of the snow spreads a
deep solemn hush over the night-shaded face of
Nature, softening the chime of bells and muffling
the voice of the sea.
During the winter months the two principal
towns of Orkney are sufficiently dull, owing, in
part, to the irregularity of mail communication, and
this dulness is still deeper in the remoter districts
where postal inconveniences are more strongly felt.
Those innocent people who imagine that the Orca-
dians wear snow-shoes in winter, and take occa-
sional excursions in sledges, will probably be
surprised to learn that such delightful winter re-
creations as curling and skating are practically
unknown among them. Strangers are they to the
rapture experienced by the skater when, on his
clear ringing steel, he "cuts across the image of a
star," and strangers are they also to the glow of
satisfaction that suffuses the heart of the curler
as he shoulders his broom on a frosty morning.
252
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
(C
to join the roaring play" on
some moorland
loch, scenting with keen nostril the yet distant
dinner of beef and greens, with toddy accompani-
ment. Football, or hockey, on the ice, as we
have seen from the saga of Gisli the Outlaw, was a
favourite winter sport of the Northmen in Iceland,
but the changeableness of the weather and the
consequent insecurity of the frozen ponds and
lochs, operate prejudicially against the maintenance
of winter-sports in Orkney. Although nearer the
Arctic Circle, Orcadians are thus placed at a great
disadvantage as compared with the great body of
their fellow-countrymen, and when John Frost does
pay them an occasional visit so suspicious are
they of his presence or purpose, that they can
scarcely bring themselves to admire the displays
of wintry jewellery which he hangs from the house-
eaves in the form of glittering tangles. In the
rural districts, at the "Auld Yule" and Old New
Year seasons, indoor amusements supply to some
extent the lack of open-air recreations. So recently
as the January of 1866 the older inhabitants of the
small Island of Wire or Veira entertained all the
IN THE ORKNEYS.
253
young men and women to a ball, and also extended
their invitations to some of the neighbouring
Islands. This festive gathering, which perhaps
continued some days, was devised by the young
women for the purpose of preventing the young
men from going off on roving expeditions during
the holiday time. It was an unconscious revival
or imitation of the old Norse Jol feasts, and the
memory of it would mingle with the glow of the
cottage peat-fires when friends gossipped with
friends on the long winter nights.

CHAPTER VII.
Summer Cruising-Tack First.
Run to Rousay-Fowling-Gairsay and the Wire Skerries
-Roost of Enhallow Westness Swendrow - A
Northman's Raid-On the Hills-Summer Shower-
Egilshay and Eday-Calfsound-The Pirate Gow—
Redhead and Rapness Cliffs-Pierowall Bay-Noltland
Castle-Westray Dons-How of Habrahelia-Norse
Tragedy Night Sail.
N a fine summer's-day I had the satis-
faction of beginning, in good company,
an easy-going and irregular cruise among
the North Isles of Orkney. Some young Orcadians,
home for their holidays from southern cities, had
planned a fowling-excursion to Rousay, and I gladly
availed myself of the opportunity to extend my
acquaintance with the Islands. A white-painted

1 N THE ORKNEYS
255
pleasure-boat, rigged with mainsail and jib, was
chartered for the trip. To this otherwise innocent-
looking craft the gleam of well-polished fire-arms,
disposed on the side seats, imparted a somewhat
piratical and marauding aspect.
The island, for which we were bound, is the
highest of the northern group, and its grey ridges,
as we left the harbour, could be seen basking in the
far-off sunshine. At the mouth of the fine bay of
Firth the breeze freshened, as if sucking through
a flue, and our lady-boat, Asgerda, shook out her
white wing. Anon wewere coasting along the green
shores of Rendall, with the conical-shaped hill-
island of Gairsay in front, and the ridges of Rousay
swelling up from the Sound beyond. The whole
contour of the Orkney mainland improves as you
recede from its shores, with the softly-sloping hills
finely relieved against the sky-Wideford and the
Orphir ranges and the rounded heights of Hoy
appearing as part of one extended chain. Around
the boat, in the lee of the land, the waters moved.
in soft, silent, glassy undulations, flashing in the
sunshine, and flickering in surf on the neighbouring
236
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
shore. It was a day of pastime for all manner of
seabirds, and as the skiff slid quietly into lonelier
waters, bevies of teisties were disporting themselves.
in front and rear, while a lazy scarff here and there
raised himself up at full length over the surface,
and waved his long wings by way of apology for
missing his fish. The temptation was too strong to
be resisted, and the weapons of war were eagerly
clutched amid a scene that looked the very image
of peace. Powder-flasks passed from hand to hand,
and the sharp clink of the ramrod was heard from
stem to stern. Bang went a fowling-piece, and the
report of the discharge echoed over the waters as
if it were
"the first that ever burst into that silent
sea." The shot was aimed at an audacious scarff
which had the good fortune to escape unhurt though
stretching out its neck and expanding its wings to
form a convenient target. Down dived the alarmed
but fortunate fisher into the emerald depths of the
sea, disappearing so suddenly that he seemed never
to have existed in air or water. Bang! bang!
bang! double-barrel and single blazed off simul-
taneously, and a leaden hail-shower of duck-shot
IN THE ORKNEYS.
257
scattered the plumage of a happy family of teisties,
dipping and diving on the gladsome waters. Some
disappeared below with the rapidity of cabin-boys
ducking down into the hold, two made short, des-
perate efforts to escape, fluttering "half-on-foot,
half-flying" over the rippling crest of the waves,
while others floated on their backs with their ver-
milion red web-feet quivering pathetically in the
death-struggle. A touch of the oar and a turn of
the helm soon brought the dead and dying seabirds
alongside the boat, and then, with belated interest,
we admired the rich and glossy green of their soft
plumage. Far to the left the old cormorant rose
once more, like an accomplished diver who had
performed a Blondin feat under water. Away he
scudded with startled speed, looking this way and
that with outstretched neck, and making dubious
turnings to and fro. There is an attractive beauty.
in all the motions of seabirds, whether they ride
upon the waters in unmolested joy, or paddle off
in the agitation of alarm. To this beauty the fowler
is not insensible, although he finds it hard to restrain
his murderous propensities. Mr. St. John, the dis-
17
258
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
tinguished naturalist and sportsman, had
an
affection for all varieties of birds and wild fowl as
strong as his passion for bringing them to grief
among the solitudes of Sutherland or on the shores
of Moray. It may be difficult to reconcile the af-
fection with the murderous propensity, but in the
case of Mr. St. John and others we certainly find
this curious combination of opposites.
The pursuit of the knowing old scarff brought
our skiff close up to the grassy shore of the
quaint island of Gairsay, or Gaarkesey which rises
abruptly from the water in the form of a cone-
shaped hill, and is about four miles in circum-
ference at the base. In the twelfth century this
island was the residence of Olaf, a brave Vi-
kingr, whose lady, Asleif, descended of a noble.
family, was also celebrated for her heroism. This
worthy pair had four children-a daughter called
Ingigerd, and three sons, named respectively.
Vallthiof, Gunn, and Swein. Gunn was the an-
cestor of all the Caithness Gunns, and the last-
named-Swein Asleifarson-was noted as the
most daring and powerful sea-rover of his day.
IN THE ORKNEYS.
259
He spent the summer in piratical expeditions,
and enjoyed his jol-feasts in Gairsay, where he
maintained a band of eighty followers on the fruits
of his Viking raids. Swein was that distinguished
Orkney landholder and gentleman-farmer who
surprised the city of Dublin, carried off a great
booty, and made all the aldermen prisoners. The
Dubliners, however, succeeded in regaining their
city by stratagem, and the great Vikingr, ere he
fell, amid a ring of fallen foes, exclaimed with a
loud voice : "I give you all here to know,
whether I end my life this day, or whether, I
escape, that I am one of Saint Ronald's guards,
and that, next to Almighty God, I hope for mercy
from him." On the summit of the hill-island
there is a grey cavern of stones where Tradition
sits, a meagre shadow, mumbling of the past.
Our skiff, with her freight of eager fowlers, was
dropping quietly across the sound that separates
Rousay from the district of Evie on the Mainland,
when a sudden detour was made in the direction
of the Wire Skerries. The island of Wire, or
Veira, where Kolbein Ruga, the King of Nor-
260
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
way's tax-gatherer, built a strong fortification,
lies in the middle of the sound between Gairsay
and Rousay, and the Wire Skerries, like brown
and black cubs, snooze about the feet of the
mother island. These skerries are favourite
haunts of seals which, on sunny days, delight in
basking in happy family groups on the rocks. By
the aid of a good binocular, seals were descried on
the skerries; but ere the boat could glide within
comfortable shooting range they dropped rapidly
down into their native element, the mothers carry-
ing the infant seals on their backs, and some old
fellows thumping the yunkers with their finny
paws while they tumbled headlong out of harm's
way. The seal is a comical fish, very affectionate and
attentive to family duties, but alive to the slight-
est indication of danger, and fierce when wounded
or driven to bay. Seal-shooting thus requires as
much tact and caution as deer-stalking, and none
but old hands ever attain any great success in it.
A feat in this kind of sport was recently performed
by a bold young islander who, after shooting a
seal, swam out from the shore several yards for
IN THE ORKNEYS.
261
his prize, seized hold of the flippers with his teeth,
and then struck back for land in dog-fashion,
breasting the waters and making sure of his victim.
The island of Wire lies low and secluded be-
tween the high hills of Rousay on the north and
of Gairsay on the south. At the present day it is
variously known by the names of Wire, Weir, and
Veira, while with Buchanan it was Vira, and with
Torfæus Foreroe. In common with most of the
other islands it can boast of the remains of an old
chapel, but it also contains the ruins of the Castle of
Cubberow, which occupy a piece of rising ground.
The castle makes some figure in Norse annals
and the Danish historiographer preserves the name
of its founder. It was built by Kolbein Ruga,
who collected the king of Norway's corn, or the
scatt-tax, in Orkney and who was considered to
be a youth of great spirit in those stirring times.
Kolbein built the castle very strong, and made it
fit to stand a siege. His wife was Sterbiorg, and
their children were-Kolbein surnamed Karl;
Biarn the Scald, sometime Bishop of Orkney;
Summerlid and Aslac; and a daughter named
262
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
Frida. The family, the annalists tells us, were highly
esteemed, and there can be no doubt that Kolbein
Ruga-collector of the king's corn and father of a
poet-bishop—would hold a proud head among the
Orkney magnates. About a century after it was
built, the stronghold of the then defunct Kolbein
was seized by Hanef, another collector of scatt,
who took part in the conspiracy which ended in
the death of Earl John. The friends of the assassi-
nated Earl laid seige to Cubberow, which Hanef
had seized, but the seige made very little progress.
and it was at last agreed, through the mediation of
Kolbein, of Rendall and others, to conclude a truce
all winter, and refer the controversy to King Hacon
on the following summer. We do not find in
Torfæus any further notice taken of the old
stronghold in Wire Island, but the glimpses we
have of its history suffice to show that it witnessed
scenes of warfare and wassail over a course of
centuries.
From the Wire Skerries, which yielded small
sport, we retraced our course along the sound, and
the prow of the skiff pointed to the little pier of
IN THE ORKNEYS.
263
Hullion in Rousay. The island whither we were
bound seemed close at hand though still a mile or
two distant-this optical illusion being caused by
the height of the hills. Rising suddenly and
abruptly from the sea-level, island-hills have a more
imposing and attractive appearance than continental
ridges of greater altitude. The Ward Hill of
Hoy, for example, is little more than fifteen hun-
dred feet high, and yet, proudly beetling over the
billows of the Atlantic, it may cope in grandeur
with the Alps of Glencoe. Although the Rousay
hills, are not so high and precipitous as the heights
of Hoy, they possess a lonely majesty of their own
as they roll up from the shore ridge after ridge.
The lower reaches of the range smile with the
verdure of cultured lands, and thus, from the fine
combination of the beautiful and stern in scenery,
Rousay may safely be pronounced the most pictu-
resque island to the north of Pomona.
Listen! and you hear a roar from the nor'-west, as
if the Atlantic were about to burst down upon us
with the thunder and tramp of irresistible waves.
It is the Roost of Enhallow, swirling, tossing, and
264
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
boiling in the ebb-tide—a terrible sea-cataract from
which unskilled navigators might well pray to be
delivered. The roosts, or tide-races, which abound
in Orkney and Shetland, and which possess a
dread significance for seamen under such names as
the Roost of Sumburgh, the Boars of Duncansbay,
and the Merry Men of Mey, are supposed to be
caused by the swell of the ocean encountering an
opposing tidal current. On the west side of Orkney,
as in the case of Enhallow, the roosts are in their
wildest state of agitation with ebb tides and wes-
terly swells, because the surge of the ocean and
the current of ebb are then opposed to each other.
On the east side, again, from a similar cause, the
races are liveliest with flood tides and easterly
swells. Some people have the idea that the roost
in Enhallow Sound is caused by the ebb-current
plunging suddenly over a submarine precipice, but
the meeting of waters, to which I have alluded,
accounts more satisfactorily for the phenomenon.
In this Sound the current runs at the rate of six to
eight knots in stream-tides, and three to five knots
per hour in neap-tides. The water, gliding swiftly
IN THE ORKNEYS.
265
along to the rapids of the roost, is so beautifully
transparent that objects can be distinctly seen at
the depth of four fathoms. It seemed a veritable
"sea of glass," that broke away in rippling, tinkling
eddies and wavelets from Asgerda's mirrored bows.
Happily our course did not lead us near the
foaming lips and roaring throat of the Maelstrom
of Enhallow, and we moored our boat beside a
fishing-yawl at the primitive pier of Hullion.
In
the vicinity of the landing-place there are farm and
cottar houses, and the green and glistening corn-
fields dip down almost to the margin of the Sound.
Between the slope of the hills and the sea-margin
an excellent road runs round the island, the whole
of which is the property of Colonel Burroughs, now
serving with his gallant Highlanders in India.
On leaving the boat we struck away up this road
in the direction of Westness. To the right the hills
rose in successive terraces of strange formation,
which looked as if they had been subjected to
glacial action, or tilted up at long-distant intervals
by volcanic agency. In truth, when surveying these
terraces, mounting one above another, and bearing
266
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
a close resemblance to deserted sea-margins, it was
difficult to resist the impression that Rousay had
risen to its present altitude by the successive up-
heavals of a subterranean force. There are volcanic
indications about the island, and the inhabitants
need not be greatly surprised although they should
find themselves and their belongings tilted up fifty
or sixty yards some fine morning before sunrise.
High up the terraces on the right, sheep were
nibbling the mountain-grass, and the call of the
shepherd to his sagacious dog echoed faintly among
the heights. Over one of the ridges a merlin
(falco asalon) was sailing, now hanging on mo-
tionless wings in the blue air, or swooping suddenly
down upon his prey. On the left and in front, ast
we ascended the winding highland road, there
was a glorious view of the beautiful river-like
sound, two miles in breadth, that shivered with silver
sparkles between Rousay and Evie. On the Evie
side the many-tinted fields, farms, and cottar-
houses, sunned themselves sleepily on the pleasant
slopes, recalling the words of Ross of Lochlee where
he speaks of "Pomona's bonny braes." In the
IN THE ORKNEYS.
267
middle of the Sound, near its Atlantic mouth, lay
the islet, or holm of Enhallow with cattle grazing on
its gentle green acclivities. Enhallow was one of the
favourite retreats of the Irish anchorite fathers, but
visitors may seek in vain for the cell which is said to
be still preserved in the little Isle. Between Enhallow
and Evie the roost boiled in the ebb, while at the
mouth of the Sound, on the Rousay side, a still
wilder roost was in full play, pouring down with
foamy breakers into the Atlantic. When the ebb-
tide ceases to run, and the flood begins, the roosts
are overflowed, and make no sign. Enhallow Isle,
once the residence of hermits and more recently of
cottars, is now quite deserted of inhabitants. It
has its own melancholy annals, though seeming
only to be a grassy, sea-girdled mound. Some
seven families, it is said, resided at one time on that
lonely spot, and when a fatal fever broke out
amongst them those who escaped infection fled
from the isle, leaving behind them the dead and
dying. In some parts of Orkney, such as Fair Isle,
any infectious disease is still regarded with super-
stitious horror. Beyond Enhallow Isle lies Costa
268
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
Head-a bold promontory which rises to the height
of 478 feet, and guards the entrance to the Sound.
This headland, frowning darkly over the waters of
the Atlantic, is "marked with many a seamy scar,"
the record of the veteran rock's long contest with
wintry storms.
There is a fine old-world aroma in the name
Enhallow, which is a corruption of the Norse
Eyinhalga, or Holy Isle. The islet, once a chosen
retreat of the Culdee fathers, is only about one mile
in circumference, and has continued uninhabited
for upward of fifteen years. In the summer months
it affords fine pasturage for sheep and cattle, and
presents a pleasant green appearance when surveyed
from the Rousay or Evie side of the Sound. On
the families who once inhabited it leaving the island
the remains of an old chapel were discovered, part
of which had been made to do duty as a stable or
cow-house. Sir Henry Dryden has given an ac-
count of the chapel in his notes on the ecclesiological
antiquities of Orkney. As the tradition existed
that Enhallow was once a favourite haunt of the
Irish anchorites, search has been made at various
1 N THE ORKNEYS.
2(9
times, but with indifferent success, for vestiges of
the ancient cells. The spots on the south side of
the island pointed out as the probable haunts
of the old hermits are believed to bear a
suspicious resemblance to plantie cruives-deserted
cottage kitchen-gardens. The Rev. Isaac Taylor
was therefore scarcely accurate when he stated, in
his "Words and Places," that at Enhallow one of the
ancient cells is still preserved. But even without
any vestige of cells now remaining, the Norse name
of Eyinhalga affords evidence enough that the
island was once a favourite retreat of the missionary
hermits, who first brought the softening influences of
Christianity to bear on the fierce Scandinavians.
We have an indication of the superstitious awe
associated with the memories of the hermits in the
long-prevalent popular belief that neither cats, rats,
nor mice would exist in the Holy Isle.
As the road topped the ridges we saw below us,
at the foot of a steep slope, the House of Westness,
which, with an adjoining farm-steading, stands on
the green margin of the Sound. This house is
supposed to have been erected on the site of the
270
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
dwelling, once occupied by the celebrated Sigurd,
who played a conspicuous part in Norse annals.
There is an extensive orchard attached to the house,
on the cultivation of which much care appears to
have been at one time bestowed. The luxuriance
of the trees and shrubbery takes one with agreeable
surprise, although the garden has now, for the most
part, been permitted to become a tangled wilderness.
It excites surprise that the remote and hilly regions
of Rousay can produce grapes, and the wealth of
flowers in the hothouses might startle strangers
who had only expected to find the heather-bloom,
the field-gentian, the squill, or the Epilobium
angustifolium which haunts the burn of Trumbland.
The garden, defended on all sides with high walls,
has a fine exposure, hanging on the slope full in
the glow of the noontide sun.
The plain some distance to the westward of the
house, in which the remains of ancient graves have
been found, is called "Swendrow," and it is supposed
to have been the scene of the capture of Earl Paul,
by Swein, the son of Asleif. There was romance
as well as treachery in the raid of the renowned
IN THE ORKNEYS.
271
X
Vikingr. With twenty stout followers on board his
long ship he entered Evie Sound, steering for the
Rousay side at a place where the coves in the rocky
shore were much frequented by otters. Observing
some people on the rocks, who were probably
beating about for otters, Swein ordered the most
of his men to cover themselves under their bedding
while the remainder gently plied the oars. The
people on shore, deceived by this ruse, imagined
the ship to be a merchantman, and called out to
the rowers to make for Westness, as Sigurd was
preparing a feast for Earl Paul, and a fresh stock of
provisions might not be unacceptable. From the
simple islanders, jabbering among the rocks, the
boatmen also learned that Earl Paul, who had
escaped to Rousay on the arrival of Earl Ronald
in Orkney, was hiding in one of the caves of the
promontory. Swein, on hearing this nice piece of
news, ordered the rowers to pull ashore, called up
his men, and flung himself in a trice on Earl
Paul's guards, who kept watch at the mouth of the
cave. The guards were all slain, after a hot fight;
Earl Paul was seized and forced on board the long
272
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
ship; and then the bold Norse bandit sailed away
with his prize to the coast of Moray, steering
between Hoy and Graemsay in his southward
course.
From Westness, where the son of Asleif spoiled
a princely feast, we struck up a rugged path,
winding around the slope of a steep and secluded
ravine. A quaint, primitive-looking mill with its
black water-wheel, fit haunt of "Whang the Miller,"
nestled snugly between the opposing slopes. The
channel of the stream was dry, but the careful
miller was hoarding for his own use the waters of a
hill-lochan, and the upraising of the sluice could,
at any moment, enliven the ravine with the cheerful
rushing noise of a 'headlong brook. There was a
cottage, the beau ideal of an Irish cabin, hanging
midway down the slope on the opposite side of the
ravine, and a bare-footed, short-petticoated damsel
standing in the low doorway, empress of all she
surveyed, completed the picture of secluded and
still rural life. At the top of gorge and on the
flank of the hills we found ourselves on a wild,
dreary, undulating, heathy plateau. Grouse, in
IN THE ORKNEYS.
273
braces and small coveys, whirred away from our feet;
but the shooting-season was not yet come, and the
gamekeeper was abroad, counting the feathers of
his moorland charge. In the middle of the desolate
plateau, the "Meikle and Peerie Lochs" slept their
sullen sleep. These lochans, or dark hill-tarns, are
many feet above the sea-level, fed by the torrents
that seam the neighbouring ridges in days of
storm. A steep height close beside the tarns
looked as if half of its substance had been washed
away with deluges of rain. Some wild fowls
fluttered about the margin of the lochans, but the
favourite haunt of aquatic birds in Rousay is the
Loch of Saviskeal-a fine sheet of water on the
north side of the island-
'Unto whose reeds on midnights blue and cold
Long strings of geese come clanging from the stars.”
From the tarns we directed our steps to a spot
known by the eccentric name of the "Camp of
Jupiter Fring." There can be little doubt that the
place, which presents the appearance of an old
Roman camp, is simply a natural ridge. Two large
eagles, according to tradition, haunted the camp
18
274
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
"for ages," but it is satisfactory to think that they
were not Roman eagles, left behind by Agricola.
The name Jupiter Fring has evidently been given
to the ridge by some Rousay dominie who dabbled
slightly in the classics. The camp is a hoax and
delusion, and it can only impose upon people who
are as credulous as Jonathan Oldbuck.
Kirfa Hill, which is covered with fine herbage
interspersed with plants of heath, commands a view
of the surrounding islands more picturesque, if not
more extensive, than the prospect from the top of
Wideford, in the vicinity of Kirkwall. We gazed
down upon the subjacent isles and holms as from a
balloon, and they exhibited such novel shapes that
it was difficult to recognise old acquaintances.
Down in the distance, for a watery haze had begun
to gather, we saw the blue smoky glimmer of the
capital of the Orcades. Hoy we saluted as he
loomed up grandly on the horizon. Below us the
sound, that laves the chequered fields of Evie, had
narrowed to a stream, and away beyond glittered
the "great bright eye" of the Atlantic.
The day was far spent, and the sky was overcast
IN THE ORKNEYS.
275
when we returned to the pier at Hullion where the
boat, Asgerda, rocked impatiently, waiting the
arrival of the footsore fowlers. My companions
were bent upon returning to Kirkwall, while I had
resolved to spend the night in the island, and
continue my cruise in some other craft on the
morrow. The summer day, that once gave promise
of dying slowly out with lingering radiance, was
rapidly settling down to a rainy and gusty night,
and already the cloud-skirts were trailing heavily
over the Kirfa and Nitching hills. Though the
pleasure-boat was ill-adapted for riding down spray-
crested waves, the fowlers stowed themselves on
board with good heart, and soon were dashing
through the swell and foam of the troubled sound.
"A yowl would have served them better to-
night," said honest Peter Fea, farmer and fisher-
man, as the mane of a wave tossed in at the prow
of the boat, and its wet tail splashed over the
bulwark astern. But the amateur boatmen, with
an old hand at the tiller, held their own and held
on their course, getting gradually soaked with the
summer rain, and occasionally soosed with an un
276
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
expected splash of spray. Dripping like Arctic
bears in a thaw they arrived at Kirkwall, as I after-
wards learned, when twelve o'clock chimed from
the old tower of St. Magnus.
More fortunate than the fowlers, I passed the
night in a quiet and quaint hostelrie near the shore
at Hullion. With the morning returned the wel-
come sunshine, and I was afloat betimes in an is-
and yawl, intending to catch the North Isles
steamer on her passage to Westray. Skirting the
little isle of Veira, we dipped across the mouth of
Howa Sound, and hovered about the shores of
Egilshay. This island, which is only about two
miles in length by one in breadth, was the favourite
residence of ancient earls and bishops, and more
recently of Douglases and Monteiths. Long cen-
turies ago the soil of the island was stained with
the blood of St. Magnus, and the hoar tower of
the old Scandinavian Kirk, conspicuous on a lonely
ridge, serves still to commemorate the tragic tra-
dition.
From Egilshay our yawl ran the gauntlet of the
middle passage between the Westray and Stronsay
firths, and after rounding the southern point of
IN THE ORKNEYS.
277
the long island of Eday, I was fortunate in being able
to hail the steamship, Orcadia, whose decks afforded
a better "coigne of vantage" for surveying the is-
land shores than fishing-yawl or pleasure-boat.
Bound for Pierowall Bay in Westray, my course
now lay along the east side of Eday. In the
middle of June, with the smooth sea fanned by the
summer breeze, it was pleasant to skirt the island
shores, observing the ongoings of rural life and
labour in the vicinity of quiet hamlets and solitary
farms. The fields of grass and grain were clothed
with a delicious green, and the verdure ran down
the gentle slopes till it met the sand and shingle of
the shore. The abounding stretches of moss and
moor, from which the famous peats of the island
are dug, seemed to impart a more vivid green to
the bordering fields. There was nothing, however,
specially attractive in the scenery, until we steamed
into the narrow and beautifully bending Sound that
separates the island from a pastoral holm, called
the Calf of Eday. The Sound is finely sheltered,
and flows like the curve of a noble river between
the island and islet which terminate northwards in
two magnificent promontories of red rock.
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SUMMERS AND WINTERS
On the Eday side of the fine natural harbour of
Calf-sound, Lord Kinclaven-who was created Earl
of Carrick by Charles I.,-built a mansion and
erected salt-pans, which were worked for a number
of years with considerable success. A village
which sprung up under the wing of the mansion
was made a burgh of baronry during the reign of
Charles, and went by the name of Carrick. On
the death of the earl, who left no issue, the little.
trading settlement of Calf-sound fell into decay.
Carrick House, the residence of the present pro-
prietor of the island, is a quaint old building, plea-
santly situated on the margin of the Sound. It was
in this mansion-if I may dignify it by so fine a
name—that Mr. Malcolm Laing wrote the greater
part of his history of Scotland.
Besides possessing the attraction of romantic
beauty, Calf-sound is also famous as the scene of
the capture of Gow, the pirate, by James Fea of
Clestran, in the year 1725. Some details of Gow's
exploits which were related to Sir Walter Scott, on
the occasion of his visiting Orkney in the light-
house steamer, induced him to compose the
IN THE ORKNEY S.
279
66
'Pirate,”—a novel in which, as regards the original
story, he has allowed himself the usual latitude of
the romancist. Respecting Gow and his marauding
exploits the traditions and records of the country.
are singularly imperfect, but the following excerpt
from Sir Walter's preface to his romance of the sea
may be regarded as giving a pretty accurate account
of the pirate's capture: "In the month of January,
1724-5, a vessel called the Revenge, bearing twenty
large guns and six smaller, commanded by John
Gow, or Goffe, or Smith, came to the Orkney
Islands, and was discovered to be a pirate by
various arts of insolence and villainy committed by
the crew.
These were for some time submitted to,
the inhabitants of these remote Islands not possess-
ing arms or means of resistance; and so bold was
the captain of those banditti that he not only came
ashore and gave dancing parties in Stromness, but
before his real character was discovered, engaged
the affections and received the troth-plight of a
young lady possessed of some property. A patri-
otic individual, James Fea, younger of Clestran,
formed the plan of securing the buccaneer, which
280
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
}
he effected by means of a mixture of courage and
address, in consequence chiefly of Gow's vessel
having gone on shore near the harbour of Calf-sound,
not far distant from a house [Carrick House] then
inhabited by Mr. Fea. In the various stratagems
by which Mr. Fea contrived finally at the peril of
his life (they being well-armed and desperate) to
make the whole pirates his prisoners, he was much
aided by Mr. James Laing, the grandfather of the
late Malcolm Laing, the acute and ingenious histo-
rian of Scotland during the seventeenth century.”
Other incidents of the story, as recorded by Sir
Walter in his prefatory note, may be held as some-
what apocryphal. In the appendix to his notes on
Orkney and Shetland, the late Sheriff Peterkin
gives a copy of the correspondence that passed be-
tween Fea and Gow, and also an account of the
adroit proceedings by which Fea gained possession
of the ship and men. The leader of the pirates
acknowledged himself to be the prisoner of Mr.
Fea on board his captured ship, and in the presence
of a number of Orkney gentlemen, including Sir
James Stewart, of Burray, Bart., Captain Archibald
IN THE ORKNEYS.
281
—a
Drummond, Robert Stewart of Eday, William
Fea of Whitehall, and James Traill of Westove.
The reason of so many gentlemen being gathered
together at Calf-sound, was that Fea of Clestran,
when he thought the opportunity favourable for
the capture of ship and crew, despatched messengers
to all the neighbouring islands for assistance. He
imposed upon Gow by pretending friendship for
him as an old school "commerad," a deception
which, however successful, could hardly be regarded
as honourable even when practised upon a pirate.
The spot where the celebrated Revenge ran aground
on the shore of the Calf of Eday, is still pointed
out by the dwellers at Carrick, and is surveyed
with interest by Orcadians. After rounding the
beautiful bow-like bend of the sound, the steamer
passed under the shadow of the towering promon-
tory of Redhead—a wall of red freestone rock ris-
ing in sheer ascent from the water to the height of
three hundred feet. From the top of the cliff, for
merly the resort of eagles, a peregrine falcon darted
off in wheeling flight as the vessel drew nigh
The headland of the Calf of Eday, on the opposite
282
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
side of the entrance to the sound, is not so lofty as
the promontory of Redhead, but it exhibits a
curious freak of nature, in the form of a high nar-
row arch through which the daylight gushes in a
blue stream. To Pierowall, on passing the Redhead,
the direct course lies nor'-west, but a divergence to
the westward enabled us to cruise along the Rap-
ness line of cliffs in Westray-the West Isle of the
Scandinavians. The Rapness sea-wall, stern and
wild in aspect, rises to the height of eighty or one
hundred feet, and is honeycombed with caverns,
into which the sea beats with hollow boom. One
of these caverns, which is believed to extend a long
way inland, and which has never been thoroughly
explored, is known by the name of "The Gentle-
men's Cave." It has been so called from the cir-
cumstance that a number of persons, who were
pursued after the battle of Culloden brought the
rebellion of '45 to a final collapse, took refuge in
the cave, which is said to have afforded them shelter
for an entire winter. Guillemots and kittiwake
gulls haunt the shelves of the Rapness rock ram-
parts, and their cries blended in unison with the
IN THE ORKNEYS.
283
breaking of the water on the cliffs. High above
the rocks, the greater black-backed gull, remarkable
for elegance of form, floated amid the blue air, and
circled round in graceful curves.
As we coasted along, the hills called Fitty, Skea,
and Gallo, and other heights in the interior of the
island, gave picturesqueness to the scene, while the
farms and cottages clustered on the slopes indicated
the presence of a numerous population. I could
not choose but admire the fine rounded and sheltered
sweep of Pierowall Bay, with its beautiful border
of white sand. At its entrance the bay is only
three-quarters of a mile broad, but it expands with-
in into a spacious land-locked basin, which affords
safe anchorage in all weathers to vessels under two-
hundred tons burden. The other large bays in
Westray-Tookquoy, Noop, and Rapness-are
exposed to the full force of the wind from one
quarter or another, and thus Pierowall is preferred
as a harbour of refuge by vessels caught in a storm.
In the bay were anchored a number of Hull fish-
ing-smacks, discharging their cargoes of Faroe cod,
which are cured in large quantities at a little strag-
284
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
gling village perched on the margin of the bay,
and bearing the same name. The crews of the
smacks, embrowned by the strong stiff air of the
North Sea, leant lazily over the bulwarks, and ap-
peared to enjoy the luxury of a grim and steady
stare.
Several small boats came dancing and dipping
alongside the steamer when she dropped her anchor,
and in one of these skiffs I was rowed briskly
ashore. Landing at a low stone jetty, I wended my
way along the dusty shore-road, and lighted upon
a Traveller's Rest close by the side of the bay.
The landlord of the Pierowall hospitium, where
visitors pass the night, kindly furnished me
with a pilgrim-staff, and I trudged off unaccom-
panied to the ruins of Noltland, or Noltaland
Castle. Close to the shore I passed a hamlet or
clachan of cottages, the dwellers in which are
nick-named, "Dons," being descended, it is averred,
from seamen of the Spanish Armada, who were
wrecked on Fair Isle, and who migrated to Westray.
The families so designated have certainly a swarthy
complexion and an Iberian cast of countenance.
•
IN THE ORKNEYS.
285
Soon after passing the cottages I came in sight of
the grim old pile of Noltland, which is reached by
field-paths, whose depth of soft white sand is trying
to feeble knees. The tract of sandy links or downs,
adjoining the ruin, was once greatly more extensive
than at present, its gradual diminution being caused
by the action of strong gales on the soft soil. On
a windy day there are sand-storms comparable only
to Arabian simooms, and the soil may be seen
drifting away in thick clouds to the bay which
cannot now, mainly from this cause, afford accommo-
dation to vessels of heavy tonnage.
Noltland Castle, as I approached it over sandy
field-paths, presented the appearance of a huge
grey oblong pile, with dismantled masses of
masonry attached. The ranges of embrasures in
the main portion of the pile, opening up like so
many tiers of port-holes, made the ruins resemble
the stranded and battered hulk of some huge old
line-of-battle ship that had borne the Admiral's
flag through war-fire and storm. Passing under an
arched portal of hewn work, and entering a spacious
court, I surveyed with interest the massive and
286
IF
SUMMERS AND INTERS
mouldering walls of the huge structure. Noltland
has its vaulted chambers, its vast hall, its great
staircase, yawning with grim gaps, its ornamented
windows above and its dungeon-like cells below.
On the ground flat of the main building, there is
an immense hall, sixty-two feet long by twenty-
two feet broad, and overarched with a strong stone
roof about twenty feet in height. The arch-built
fire-place in this apartment is of great extent, the
space under the wide tunnel of the chimney, which
admits a flood of light, being almost as large as
the "forehouse," in some Orkney cabins. The
principal staircase of the building is so dilapidated
that the ascent is dangerous to life and limb, but
the summit commands a wide and varied view of
hill and plain, sea and shore. From within as from
without a singularly stern and warlike aspect is im-
parted to the old stronghold by the number of
gaping gun-holes which have been so placed and
constructed that, on the alarm of danger, the walls
of the castle could bristle with fire-arms "like quills.
upon the fretful porcupine."
There is some obscurity connected with the origin
IN THE ORKNEY S.
287
and history of the castle, but it is believed to have
been built by the princely prelate, Thomas de
Tullock, who combined the powers of bishop,
governor, and collector of royal revenues, under
King Eric, of Denmark, from 1422 to 1434. Nolt-
land has been called the "Episcopal Buen Retiro or
Sans Souci," of this bishop-governor, who took
up
his residence in the castle, living there in a style
of great magnificence, sustained by unscrupulous
exactions. The last prelate possessor was Adam
Bothwell, who gifted over the stronghold to Sir
Gilbert Balfour, master of Queen Mary's household,
and it is surmised that some confusion respecting
the two Bothwells gave currency to the tradition
that Noltland was built by Sir Gilbert Balfour as a
refuge for the infamous Earl of Bothwell, the hus-
band of Mary. The arms of the Balfours, recently
renewed, have been placed over the ornamented
entrance to the main building, and the castle, with
adjoining lands, is at present in the possession of
the representative of the Balfour family. Noltland
was at least twice besieged-once by Sir William
Sinclair of Warsetter at the close of the fifteenth
288
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
century, and again by Earl Patrick Stewart, who
carried the castle by assault when it was occupied
by Michael Balfour of Westray. It is stated, as
another interesting historical incident, that the last.
surviving officers of the army of Montrose found
refuge in this stronghold. After it had become a
ruin, the castle—according to David Vedder-cele-
brated the births and marriages of the Balfours by
a kind of spectral illumination which, like the
tomb-fires that blazed over Roslin on the night
when the fair Rosabelle perished, was
"6 ...Broader than the watchfire's light
And redder than the bright moonbeam."
Old memories seem still to linger about the hoary
walls of Noltland, as it stands there on a remote
island, silent amid its solitude and wierd desolation.
The red rays of the summer sunset, streaming over
the ridge of the low-browed hills, shed a beauty
over the ruins as I wended my way back to the
quiet village by the shore.
On the next morning I was astir betimes, and
spent the greater part of the day in exploring the
west side of the island, where a long battlemented
IN THE ORKNEYS.
289
wall of wild cliffs, faces the wide expanse of the
Atlantic. Looking over the rim of the precipitous
rocks I could see below-sitting motionless on the
ledges or winging hither and thither-almost all
the varieties of sea-fowl for which the Islands are
famous. In the district of Akerness I lighted
upon the "natural curiosity," called the Fort, which
the dwellers in the village seldom forget to
include among the wonders of the island that are
worthy of a visit. The so-called Fort is a mighty
caldron of rock, into which the sea rushes with a
wild, booming, gurgling sound under lofty arched
portals, and between massive columned cliffs. The
sea-pillars standing farthest out have been dis-
mantled of their arches by the force of the waves
and their grand aspect of desolation increases the
sublimity of the scene. There is a certain resem-
blance between the Bullers of Buchan and the West-
ray cliff-fort, for ever assailed by the besieging
sea.
From Pierowall, as an excursion centre, I next
crossed the beautiful land-locked bay to the plea
sant little island of Papa Westray, which still com-
19
290
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
memorates in its name the zeal and devotion of the
Irish anchorite fathers. Papa is four miles in length
by one in breadth, swelling away up from the shore
in an easy slope, and terminating northwards in the
the bold promontory of the Moul.
The green
fields dipping down from the clustering dwellings on
the central ridge, with the House of Holland con-
spicuous in their midst, exhibit traces alike of
careful cultivation and of considerable fertility.
Mr. Traill, the proprietor of the island, is one of the
most intelligent agriculturists in Orkney, and he
has done his best to develop the resources of his
patrimonial possessions. A soil that yields sponta-
neously rich crops of red and white clover is capable
of being turned to good account in the hands of a
skilful cultivator. For the fineness of its pasture
and arable land Papa is not excelled by any of the
other islands.
On landing, I took one of the boatmen with me
as guide, philosopher, and friend, and he entertained
me with stories of egg-gathering exploits in his
younger days as we walked leisurely onwards to
the How of Habrahelia. The place, thus curiously
IN THE ORKNEYS.
201
named, is an immense cave in a headland of the
Moul. With its arched roof rising upwards of
seventy feet in height, its broad expanse of smooth
floor, and its echoing shadowy recesses, it resembles
some colossal temple, sacred once to mystic rites,
but forsaken now by priest and worshipper. Sur-
veying its vast proportions I thought that haply
the anchorite fathers, although they preferred cells
to cathedrals, had knelt down under the arched
roof of the temple-cave, and mingled their muttered
prayers with the murmur of the sea.
From the How of Habrahelia we had a pleasant
saunter, in the fine evening, to the southern ex-
tremity of Papa where a beautiful fresh-water loch
extends nearly across the island. The loch is a
favourite haunt of wild fowl, and amid its waters
there lies a fairy-isle, containing the ruin of a
chapel, said to have been dedicated to St. Tredwall.
So great was the veneration entertained for this
female saint that the first Presbyterian minister of
the parish could with difficulty restrain the people
from paying their devotions at the deserted shrine.
No doubt the sainted lady had won the savour of a
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SUMMERS AND WINTERS
good name by her miraculous cures of bodily in-
firmities. In another part of the island a ruin, in
an old unused churchyard, marks the site of a
second chapel, regarding which tradition is silent.
Lying close to the east side of Papa we saw the
little holm which abounds in varieties of sea-birds,
such as the black guillemot, the red-breasted mer-
gauser, the arctic tern, the black-backed gull, and
the herring-gull. Flocks of eider ducks regularly
frequented the holm at one time, but the visits of
these valuable birds have only been occasional for
a series of years. Dunn, the ornithologist, shot
two when he visited Papa Westray in his fruitless
search after the great auk-a rara avis which had
not been seen about the island for many years
previous to the time of his northern bird-hunting ex-
pedition in 1832. On the day when Dunn shot his
* A male and female great auk—the last of their race in
British seas-appeared in Orkney in 1824. Large rewards
were offered for their capture, dead or alive, and the poor
birds were speedily persecuted unto death. The female,
or queen of the auks, as she was familiarly called, was first
obtained by some fanatical bird-fancier, and the king-bird
subsequently fell into the hands of Mr. Bullock, a London
IN THE ORKNEYS.
293
pair of eider ducks twelve score of young gulls
were killed on the holm, and twenty score on the
preceding day. In a previous chapter I have
noticed the large quantities of auks sometimes
caught in one day by means of nets. Wise in
their generation, the proprietors of Papa Westray
found that the feathers of seabirds were "covered
with yellow gold," and the little holm, tenaciously
haunted by gulls, continued from year to year their
most productive preserve. The skorays, or young
gulls, frequently supplied the place of chickens on
the dining-table at Holland House, and the farm-
servants feasted like princes on kittiwakes and their
eggs. From my boatman guide I learned that the
side of the holm farthest from Papa was the princi-
pal breeding-place of seabirds in former years.
"Among the loose rocks and stones," he said, "the
eggs used to lie as thick as buckies on the beach,
collector. This last specimen of the remarkable race of
great auks is now preserved in the British Museum. Mr.
Scot Skirving, in an interesting paper on Shetland birds,
states that three eggs of the great auk were brought to
the hammer in London, in 1865, and realized the sum of
£100.
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SUMMERS AND WINTERS
and they often crunched under the feet of the egg-
gatherers." Though the holm is still frequented by
cormorants, divers, puffins, and birds of the gull,
kittiwake, and auk tribes, the number of seafowl
has greatly diminished of late years, and they seem
to be passing away, like aboriginal races before
the face of the white man.
Papa Westray is celebrated in Norse history as the
scene of the treacherous death of Earl Ronald, and
the leading incidents of the tragedy recurred to my
mind as we walked back to our boat when the
orange, crimson, and purple glories of the Orcadian
summer's night were mirrored in the calm sea.
Ronald, who won his spurs in Russia, and who ex-
celled his predecessors in stateliness of person and
nobility of mind, lived in great state at his palace.
in Kirkwall, attended by a strong force of guards.
In the winter of 1046, when the Yule days drew
nigh, he sailed with a number of attendants to Papa
Westray for the purpose of securing his usual stock
of malt for Christmas ale. One night during his
stay in the island, as he sat over the fire conversing
with his guards, an alarm was given that the building
IN THE ORKNEYS.
295
was in flames and surrounded by armed men
Thorfinn, Earl of Caithness and uncle to Ronald,
was the leader in this treacherous raid. Preferring
the chance of death by the sword to the certainty
of death by fire, Earl Ronald made a bold dash
through the burning doorway, cleared the blood-
thirsty crowd of assailants without, and disappeared
swiftly in the darkness. Thorfinn at once knew
that the earl, who alone could display so much
strength and agility, had made his escape, and
ordered his attendants to follow in pursuit. The
fugitive earl succeeded in reaching the seaside in
safety, but the barking of a favourite dog discovered
his place of retreat, and Ronald was inhumanly
butchered, Thorkel the Foster acting as chief
executioner. On the next day the ship of the
slaughtered earl, laden with malt, was steered
towards Kirkwall, having her poop and stern
adorned with the shields of the slain. The guards
whom Ronald had left at home, deceived by the
appearance of the ship, crowded down to the
shore to welcome the earl on his return with the
Christmas malt, but when the vessel reached the
1
296 SUMMERS, ETC. IN THE ORKNEY S.
land they were immediately set upon by Thorfinn's
retainers and shared the same fate as their hapless
chief. Thus Ronald died and Thorfinn reigned in
his stead, receiving absolution from the Pope for
murder and piracy.
From Papa to Pierowall we had a most delightful
sail in the stillness of the long, lingering, lovely
twilight. The colours of the sky were softened
into delicate saffron hues as they mingled with the
liquid sheen of the sea. Voices from the land-the
plaint of peewits, the far-heard craik of the rail,
and the wild notes of water-fowl-blended finely
with the shrill pipings of shore-birds and the mur-
muring wash of ebbing and flowing waves. It
was midnight when we hauled up the boat on
the sandy beach.
?

In
a
CHAPTER VIII.
Summer Cruising--Second Tack.
Cattle-Boat-Summer
Squalls-Stronsay-Mill
Bay-The Mermaid's Chair-Vat of Kirbuster-Cliff
Scenery A Burial Ground-Whale-Chase-Fair Isle
and the Fair Islanders-Norse Ward-Fires.
S
TRONSAY was the next island that I
purposed visiting, and I found, on the
following day, that I would be under the
necessity of continuing my course in a big, bulge-
sided, strong-timbered, sloop-rigged boat, which
had been chartered by some Stronsay farmer to
convey cattle to Kirkwall. The Oscar-thus was
she named-possessed little of the grace of a
Norse galley, and her heavy hulking form portended
a tedious sail. The boat was undecked, and her
↑

208
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
massive sides were veritable wooden walls, shoulder-
high as well as strong. At the bow there was a
small smoky crib, like an Esquimaux hut, which
might afford shelter from rain and spray, and the
formidable tiller at the stern resembled the handle
of a huge wooden pump. The crew consisted of
three hands, who seemed to stand to each other in
the relation of skipper, first mate, and second
mate. The only other passenger besides myself,
was a brawny cattle-dealer, hairy-faced and purple-
nosed, who spoke with a strong Sutherlandshire
accent.
This personage, who sat contentedly upon
a pile of potato-sacks, propitiated the Westraymen
at starting by cutting each of them a "fill" from
his roll of thick twist, and I also succeeded in
gaining their good graces by unbuttoning my flask
when we were fairly under weigh.
Malcolm Scollay, the grim weather-beaten
skipper of the Oscar, was a good seaman,
but somewhat self-willed and eccentric. Instead
of standing off from Pierowall Bay on the usual
course, he resolved on giving us a roundabout sail
through the Sound of Weatherness and along the
IN THE ORKNEYS.
299
west side of Eday. The cattle-dealer, who was
anxious to reach his destination within twenty-four
hours at least, remonstrated in guttural English
and classical Gaelic; but all in vain. Malcolm was
inexorable, standing at the tiller, with one eye on
the sea and another on the sky, and chewing his
quid in philosophical calm. I felt quite secure in
the old fellow's hand, and lighted a cigar in token
of resignation. Hitherto, the weather had not
belied the promise of the evening and morning
twilight, but teachery often lurks in the smiles of
beauty, and as we coasted along the Westray shores,
clouds began rapidly to overspread the island from
nor'-west, and the brown patched mainsail of our
boat swelled and creaked and swung her rasping
boon under the momentum of intermittent gusts of
wind. Between Westray and Eday lies the little
island of Fara with its attendant holm, forming
on east and west the twin sounds of Fierceness
and Weatherness. Our skipper, dodging the strong
run of tide in the westerly sound, and seeking such
shelter as the twin islands might afford, steered his
boat steadily into the Sound of Fierceness, whose
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SUMMERS AND WINTERS
waters were darkened with the shadow of the swift-
winged summer clouds. The sudden squall, with
its streaming skirt of poppling rain, did not linger
in its course, and when we emerged from the lee of
Fara the blue sky was again overhead. But brief
as the passionate outburst of the blast had been
we felt its effects in the swinging heave of the
Westray Firth, where the Atlantic waves come
swaying in with their superb swell. Fortunately
for us we were not called upon to encounter the
long rollers, quaintly named the Ribs of Ruskholm,
which frequently surge into the firth from the
open ocean, and I made desperate effort to enjoy
the plungings and tossings that only drew groans
from the now prostrate cattle-dealer. The squall
had left behind it a fine brisk breeze, and with this
favourable wind sitting full in her quarter the
Oscar pressed sturdily onward with straining
sail. Drifts of spray, that washed on board at
intervals, drove me for a time to the little smoky
crib, whither Malcolm's two mates-leaving the old
salt to steer and keep a look-out-had betaken
themselves to superintend the roasting of potatoes
IN THE ORKNEYS.
301
on a small cooking-stove. One of the twain, grow-
ing communicative over his pipe and roasted
potatoes, was in the act of telling me a long yarn
about a Westray fisherman who married a beautiful
woman that had once been a seal, when the sharp
shout of the skipper called them off to duty, and I
lost the close of the wonderful tale.
On emerging from the crib I found that we had
already passed Warness, at the southern extremity
of Eday, and that Malcolm needed the help of his
two "hands" in putting the boat about, and
standing off on another tack. The narrator of the
seal-story, in running aft struck his foot accidentally
against the ribs of the prostrate cattle-dealer, whose
fit of sickness in the firth had apparently subsided.
into a sullen sleep. This misadventure, however,
roused him from his lair with all his Highland
blood aglow, and a sudden lurch of the boat barely
saved the seaman from a formidable facer, which
rapidly followed up a round of maledictions. The
Sutherland hero evidently meant mischief, and as
the Westrayman shewed no disinclination to try a
tussle with his stronger antagonist, a serious hand-
3
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SUMMERS AND WINTERS
to-hand combat seemed imminent; but at this
juncture Malcolm Scollay, fiercely eyeing the pair
and striking in with a fiery oath, dared either of
them to make a cock-pit of his boat. Another
lurch of the vessel, which sent the dealer down
again among the potato-sacks, proved more
effective than the skipper's threat in keeping the
peace, and the sweep of a second squall drove the
seamen in haste to the ropes. Malcolm blew off
his anger in loud shouting, not unmingled with
oaths, and when the rush of wind and wet was
over once more, the dealer made no sign of dis-
playing a mutinous spirit. Indeed, the two
quondam foes were fast friends before we finished
our sail, so soothing was the influence upon them.
of a cup of hollands.
The set of the wind, as we dipped into the upper
reaches of the Stronsay Firth, made our tackings
tedious and our progress slow. Traversed by
opposing tidal currents, this firth is frequently in
a state of unrest, and it was our fortune to find its
spirit chafed. The waves bounded and tumbled
with a kind of wild revelry, while the shimmer and
IN THE ORKNEYS.
393
glitter of occasional gleams of sunshine, tossing on
their sides and white crests, dazzled the eyes with
strange effulgence. Far away down the firth
softened into blue in the distance, we saw the
Moulhead of Deerness running out into the waters,
with a sudden silvery gleam rising and falling as
the white surf broke unheard on its ironbound
front. At intervals on Our course there was
pleasurable excitement in witnessing the fierce.
strife of tidal currents. A strong tide-race, like a
cataract in midsea, would come rapidly down across
the bows of our boat, and in a moment we were
swinging on the swell, heaving on the heaving
waters.
Scollay, who noticed the interest I took
in the tide-races, regretted much that our course
did not lie through the foaming rapids of Lashy-
Roost, which runs nearly across the centre breadth
of the channel between Eday and Sanday.
The Stronsay shores were now before us, sweep-
ing round into Linga Sound, and running out to
the north-west at Linkness. Here and there along
the coast, streams of smoke drifted away from
heaps of seaware burning in kelp kilns. Late in
1
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SUMMERS AND WINTERS
the afternoon we rounded the most northerly point
"of the island, passing inside the fine fertile little
holms of Huip and Papa Stronsay, and steering
leisurely for our destination at the pier and village
of Whitehall. This pier, where I parted company
with the Oscar and her curious crew, was
erected by the late Mr. Samuel Laing of Papdale,
for the curing and loading of fish when Stronsay
became famous as the emporium of the Orkney
herring-trade. In the vicinity of the stone-jetty
there is a clean, tidy, and comfortable little inn, and
the hungry visitor, on landing, is all the more likely
to find his way thither, since no touters are on the
look out for victims in this Fortunate Isle.
On the morrow there was a return of fine
summer weather, and I set out on foot for the in-
terior of the island, intending to take up my abode.
for a day or two in the hospitable manse of a
clerical friend, the Rev. Peter Flett. A short
detour took me to a village called the Station,
pleasantly situated on the side of Papa Sound,
and erected by the late Mr. Laing for the accom-
modation of the herring-fishers. The village gave
IN THE ORKNEYS.
305
little sign of life or industry, but it would present
a busier scene, I was told, when the herring-season
came round, at which time numbers of people.
resort to the station to traffic with the curers and
fishers. Some years ago between three and four
hundred boats regularly assembled at Stronsay
in the months of July and August, but the
herring-fishing, from a variety of causes, has fallen
off recently, and the island is now the rendezvous
of few boats. Upwards of thirty sloops and brigs,
chiefly from the south-west of Scotland, have been
seen anchored at one time in Papa Sound, and the
islanders have some cause to regret that the fishing
does not now attract so many visitors.
From the village I turned my face to the
interior, and, after walking round a bend of the
beautiful Mill Bay, struck up a dusty farm road that
ran between fields glimmering green with young
oats and bere, over which larks were singing and
peewits were circling with plaintive cries. This
field-path led me to a new trunk road that sweeps,
with its broad white line, along the central ridge
of rising ground. In former days it was with the
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SUMMERS AND WINTERS
Stronsay people as with the Jews in the days of
Shamgar the son of Anath, when the highways
were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through
byeways; but the Orkney Road Trustees have
changed the old order of things by opening up lines
of communication throughout the Islands. From
the ridge as it trended away sou'-east with the
curve of the land, there was a fine view of the whole
expanse of the island, yielding on either side into
lovely bays, running out into peninsulas and head-
lands, and eyed here and there with sparkling little
lochs. On the left there was Mill Bay, cradled in
the arms of Grieness and Odness; on the right
there was Linga Sound with its grassy holm ; and
away in front, opening out upon the Stronsay
Firth, spread the waters of the Bay of Rousholm.
Stronsay is the Isle of Strands, and the numerous
bays, running up on all sides, give it the appear-
ance of a gigantic lobster. With the exception of
some bleak patches of unreclaimed moor, the
island bore abundant traces of advanced cultiva-
tion, one of the farms being upwards of a thousand
acres in extent. On the shoreward slopes herds of
IN THE ORKNEYS.
307
cattle cropped the sweet green grass, and the
sound of their lowing mingled pleasantly, in the
calm summer day, with the murmur of the surge
on the sand.
Mr. Flett's manse, where I arrived about noon
and received a cordial welcome, was equal in
comfort and commodiousness to the generality of
rural manses in the south of Scotland, and from
the garden plot in front, with its sun-dial and
flowers, a fine view was obtained of the blue
expanse of Mill Bay. My reverend friend, who
was the pleased possessor of a spacious and well-
furnished library, had made up his mind before
my arrival to spend the day in slippered ease, but
bachelors, lay or clerical, are always at the dis-
posal of their visitors, and we soon set out on the
first of a series of pleasant rambles. In the still
and sunny afternoon we strolled down to Mill Bay,
with its benty links and white reaches of sand.
Close to the downs there stood a substantial meal-
mill, with flour-dusted walls, and its huge black
wheel patiently waiting for the opening of the
sluice-just such a mill, in short, as the landscape
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SUMMERS AND WINTERS
artist would like to touch off on canvas, bringing
in with fine effect the gleam of the blue bay beyond.
The farmer-miller stood in the doorway with the
sunshine glistening on his grey locks, white and
comfortable as millers always are, and under his
wary guidance we mounted the ladders from floor
to floor, and faced the Indian heat of the kiln.
which recalled old memories of "
gowpens o'
groats." Dropping down upon the sandy beach
from the benty links, and pacing leisurely along,
we approached what seemed to be the ruins of an
old castle, built under an embankment, with its
foundations in the sand. This seeming ruin, how-
ever, was only a freak of nature, the winds and
waters having chafed the layers of a slaty rock into
the semblance of a dilapidated castle. A curious
recess in the face of the rock is known, in local
tradition, by the name of the Mermaid's Chair,
and it is averred that boatmen out on the bay have
noticed the silvery sheen of the mermaid at night,
sitting in her cold chair of rock and have heard
the wild melody of her sea-songs, charming the
waves to sleep.
IN THE ORKNEYS.
309
Leaving Mill Bay we crossed the wide neck of
the promontory of Odness, or Odinness, and then
walked along the summit of the sea-cliffs. On this
side of the island the cliffs rise to a considerable
height, but their real altitude can only be duly
appreciated when surveyed from below in a small
rowing-boat. In some places the rocks have been cut
and carved into massive sea-pillars, not detached
from the cliff-line like the Caithness "stacks," but
piled up in successive and regular layers of stone.
In our walk along the cliffs we came somewhat
unexpectedly upon the lion of Stronsay—the
famous Vat of Kirbuster. Here the sea has broken
a magnificent archway through the front barrier
of rocks, and, having once forced a passage, the
waves, dashing and lashing through the archway
for centuries, have formed an enormous excavation
among the rocks behind, which, being open to the
sky, presents, on a huge scale, some resemblance to
a vat. The archway may be likened to some
work of massive Titanic masonry, and there is a
wild sublimity in the hollow echoing boom of the
waves as they bound from side to side of the arch,
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SUMMERS AND WINTERS
and break in foam within the mighty caldron of
stone. Above the arch the rock rises to a consider-
able height, thinning as it ascends, so that it would
require a firm foot and steady eye to venture along
the ledge. Rock-pigeons have taken up their
abode among the sheltering shelves within the great
hollow of the vat, and as the plunging of a stone
into the hollow startles them in their lone retreat,
they swoop away on swift-darting wings through
the round of the arch, thus adding, in the fine curve
of their flight, strange beauty to the grandeur of
this romantic scene. Guillemots, too, with white
breasts and black wings, may be seen riding and
dipping joyously on the swell of the waves below
the arch, through the gigantic gateway of which
gleams a blue segment of the summer deep. The
grassy turf, that on the summits of the rocks
encircles the hollow round of the vat, is sprinkled
with delicate wild flowers, and as you stretch your-
self at ease on the soft and fragrant carpet which
generous nature there has spread, you may listen
in a kind of dreamy trance to the musical boom of
the waves below, mingled with the cries of the
IN THE ORKNEYS.
311
cormorants and gulls that flit about the ledges of
the neighbouring cliffs. In immediate proximity
to the vat there is a colossal cliff fronting the sea,
which has a striking appearance, being formed of
successive slaty layers with broad steps at its base
that might lead to the portals of some great temple.
From Odness to Lamb Head the coast scenery
possesses features of interest. Below this last
point the vestiges of an ancient pier, supposed to
have been constructed by the Scandinavians, may
still be seen. From the position of Stronsay, and
from such names as Tor (Thor)ness and Od (Odin)-
ness still clinging like primeval memories to the
headlands, I should imagine that the island was
carly over-run by the conquering Norsemen, and
that it was one of the first of the group to fall into
their possession. Standing with my friend on a
sca-cliff, and surveying the waters that stretched
beyond horizon to horizon to the Norwegian shores,
I amused my fancy by calling up the pomp and
pageantry of an old Norse war-fleet, splendid as
that with which King Haco sailed from Herlover
in the memorable year 1263. At first the mighty
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SUMMERS AND WINTERS
armament can scarcely be distinguished from the
far sheen of the sea, but as it comes nearer and
nearer, we see the long lines of galleys with oars
churning the waves into foam, the glittering armour
of knights, flaunting pennons, and over all the
royal glory of Haco's ship which, like Cleopatra's
barge, seems, with its dragon-prow overlaid with
gold, to "burn upon the waters." As the prow of the
king's galley flames in front, Fancy hears hoarse
voices chanting in chorus words like those of the
noble strain—
Kong Hacon stod ved Hoien mast."
After exploring the cliff-scenery of the coast, it
was a pleasant change, on the following day, to stroll
over the fine and fertile farms of Housby, Holland,
and Rousholm on the southern side of the island.
The grass had a richness unsurpassed in other parts
of Orkney, and the cattle in the fields, so sleek and
plump, might well have graced the pastures of
the Lothians. Steam thrashing-mills are attached to
several of the steadings, and throughout the island
there seems to be a wholesome rivalry among the
farmers in the growing of oats and the rearing of
IN THE ORKNEYS.
313
cattle. Ere leaving the south side of the island,
we stumbled upon a spot which my reverend friend
seemed rather anxious to avoid. Look over the stile,
good reader, and you see a walled enclosure of
some extent with a southern slope to the sea.
Heaps of stones, intermingled with nettles, have
been tumbled down here and there in the enclosure,
and a few sheep are cropping the rank grass. It
is a Stronsay grave-yard, and whatever good
opinion you may have formed of the islanders, I
am much afraid that you stand in danger of losing
it at this forlorn and neglected spot. There are
two or three standing slabs of stone at the most, and
all the rest is a dismal waste, with not even a single
memorial mound raised above the common sod to
mark where husband, or wife, or father, or child is
laid. Nothing but loose heaps of stones, as if only
dogs were buried there! It is not, remember, an
ancient and long-unused burial-place. The dead
are still borne into that walled space (call it not
graveyard, for you see no grave), and doubtless they
rest there peacefully enough, without murmur or
complaint, or audible word of reproach; but how
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SUMMERS AND WINTERS
can there be respect for the living where so little
reverence is shown to the memory of the dead? "It
is an unseemly sight," said my friend, "but Stronsay
is no worse than some of the sister islands in this
respect." The remark was only too true, as I had
often been grieved to see so little care, taste, and
feeling shown in preserving and protecting the
homes of the dead.
After visiting the headlands of Torness and
Odness, sacred to the memories of Thor and Odin,
the Vat of Kirbuster, the Mermaid's Chair, the old
Scandinavain pier, the ruins of Popish chapels, and
the Well of Kildinguie, whose medicinal waters
"cure all maladies but Black Death," I found that
we had well-nigh exhausted all the wonders and
antiquities of the island, which is only seven miles
in length, with a variable breath. But the greatest
treat was still in reserve, and it came upon us
somewhat unexpectedly.
At breakfast, on the third morning of my
sojourn in the manse, I startled my clerical host
by telling him that I intended to be off in the
course of the day, as Stronsay was now only com-
parable to a crushed orange.
IN THE ORKNEYS.
315
"Nothing of the sort," said the hospitable Mr.
"I forgot to
Flett, who was anxious to detain me;
show you the fine Picts' House over at Lamb Head,
and you really must see the chef d'œuvre of our
antiquities before you leave."
As I had already inspected a large number of
Orcadian brochs and barrows with some curiosity
but little profit, I was just on the eve of expressing
my indifference to Picts' Houses when a hurried
step along the lobby and a flurried tap at the door
of the breakfast parlour arrested the words which
would certainly have displeased my kind host.
"What can be wrong with the girl?-Come in,
Maggie," quoth the parson.
The servant-girl-Maggie Halcro by name-
instantly flung open the door, and stood before us,
in somewhat scanty morning attire, almost breath-
less with great tidings. "I was bidden to tell
thee," said Maggie, panting like an overrun pointer,
"that the bay is fu' o' whales, and half a hundred
boats after them!"
"Whales in the bay so soon in the season!"
exclaimed the clergyman, starting to his feet.
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SUMMERS AND I'INTERS
"Come away,” he continued, seizing me by the
button-"you have yet another day before you;
we imitate the great of old, who entertained their
guests with tournaments."
The manse garden, as I have already stated,
commanded a fine view of Mill Bay, and on rush-
ing out into the open air, we saw a long dark line
of boats, some with sails, and some with oars,
stretching across the blue waters of the broad voe,
upwards of a mile from the shore. The practised
eye of my host caught the gleam of dorsal fins in
front of the boats, and we immediately hurried
down the grass and corn fields to the beach,
scarcely drawing breath till we stood on the bank
of the links above the sands of Mill Bay. The
inmates of the neighbouring cottages had already
assembled in eager groups on the grassy downs,
and other islanders still came flocking from re-
moter farms and cabins to the shore. Several of
the men were armed with harpoons and instru-
ments resembling Irish pikes, while farm-lads,
running red-hot-faced, flourished over their should-
ers formidable three-pronged graips, and long-
IN THE
THE ORKNEYS.
317
hafted hayforks. Many of the matrons had their
heads encased in woollen "buities," and this
peculiar head-dress imparted a singular pictu-
resqueness to the excited groups on the sea-bank.
Other boats, with skilled hands on board, put off
from various points along the shore, and the fleet
of small craft in the bay was rapidly increased by
the arrival of fresh yawls, which rounded the shel-
tering headlands of Grieness and Odness. The
crowd of urchins on the beach, who thee'd and
thou'd each other, like little Quakers, in the
Orcadian vernacular, cheered lustily as boat after
boat hove in view around the headlands, swelling
the fleet of whalers.
The line of boats, crescent-shaped in order to
enclose the shoal, was now little more than a
quarter of a mile distant from the beach. The
bottle-nosed or ca'-ing whales (Delphinus deductor)
showing their snouts and dorsal fins at intervals,
seemed to advance slowly, throwing out skir-
mishers, and cautiously feeling their way. As the
beach was smooth and sandy with a gentle slope,
the boatmen in pursuit were endeavouring to drive
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SUMMERS AND WINTERS
the shoal into the shallows, where harpoons, oars,
hayforks, and other weapons could be used with
advantage against the floundering foe.
The excitement of the spectators on land
increased as the long line of the sea-monsters,
steadily advancing, drew closer inshore. From the
boats, following close behind, there came wafted
across the water the sound of beating pitchers and
rattling rowlocks, and the hoarse chorus of shouting
voices that swelled into the loud prolonged "O-0
—O,” familiar in popular sea-songs. This Babel
of noises, which the water mellowed into a wild
war-chaunt with cymbal accompaniment, was meant
to scare the shoal, and hasten the stranding of the
whales. But an incident occurred that changed
the promising aspect of affairs, turned the tide of
battle, and gave splendour and new animation to
the scene.
Eager to participate in the expected slaughter,
two or three farm-lads, whose movements had
escaped notice, suddenly shot off from the shore
in a skiff, rowing right in front of the advancing
line. The glitter and splash of oars alarmed the
IN THE ORKNEYS.
319
leaders, and the entire shoal, seized with a sudden
panic, wheeled simultaneously round with a rapid
rush, and dashed at headlong speed into the line of
pursuing boats. A shout rose from the shore as the
momentary flash of tail-fins, the heaving of the
boats, and the rapid strokes of the boatmen showed
all too plainly the escape of the whales, and the
success of their victorious charge. Away beyond
the broken line of the fleet they plunged in wild
stampede, rearing their gleaming backs along the
surface, and striking the blue waters into spangles
of silver foam. Arches of spray, blown into the.
air at wide distances apart, served to indicate the
size of the shoal and the speed of the fugitives.
Whew-whish!" exclaimed the Rev. Peter
Flett, allowing his pent-up breath to escape like
steam: "that was a gallant charge, and deserved
to succeed, but I hope our brave lads will yet put
salt upon their tails. A late minister of Lady
parish, in the neighbouring island of Sanday, who
was noted for homeliness of speech, used to say in
his public prayers, ‘O Lord, dinna forget the puir
island of Sanday! and so I trust Providence this
320
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
day will not forget the puir Island of Stronsay.
The boatmen have toiled hard for their share of
the fish, and great would be the pity if the whales,
escaping from the flinchers, made right off to
the open sea. It is not every day that a dravc
hundred-strong visits our shores, and there they go
round the headland of Odness in full career."
A commotion among the crowd at a short dis-
tance along the beach here arrested our attention,
and we both hurried to the spot. The exciting
spectacle of the grand charge and wild flight of
the whales had so absorbed our gaze that we failed
in noticing a mishap, which was fortunately more
ludicrous than alarming. The three youths who
foolishly rowed off from the shore, and caused the
stampede, had suffered for their rashness by getting
their skiff capsized when the sea-monsters, with
flying and flapping tail-fins, wheeled round to the
charge. On gaining the outskirts of the crowd we
found the three luckless whale-hunters already
beached. Bonnetless, dripping, and disconsolate,
they were the objects of mirth to some, of com-
miseration to others.
IN THE ORKNEYS.
·321
"Thou sees what comes o' fleggin the fish, Tam,"
said a sympathising young woman to the tallest of
the three, who grinned a ghastly smile.
"Burnt bairns dread the fire-thou'll think twice
afore thou goes into a boat again, Geordie Twatt,"
quoth a white-hooded matron to one of the
youths.
"Na, na, puir birds! away wi' ye, and cast off
yir dreepin' claes, and be thankfu'
be thankfu' ye wesena
droundit," exclaimed another matron, propelling
the youths with her palm to get them under weigh.
The three lads did not seem at all inclined to
move, until the urchins, who were wading about in
the shallow water, had fished up their bonnets and
hayforks. At last they made off, followed by a
number of sympathising women, and we imme-
diately set out in the direction of Odness to catch a
sight of the whales, which had quite disappeared
from the bay. The boats had turned in pursuit
when the shoal escaped, and they were now making
all haste to double the headland. On gaining the
top of the cliffs, after a rapid and trying walk, we
were glad to observe that the whales, recovered
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SUMMERS AND WINTERS
from their fright, drifted leisurely along the coast,
giving way at times to eccentric gambols.
"All right!” cried Mr. Flett, handing me back
my binocular vade-mecum; "the brutes are coast-
ing away famously around Lamb Head, and they
are almost certain to take a snooze in Rousholm
Bay, which is the best whale-trap I know in Orkney.
Let us sit down here on the top of the cliffs till
the boats come abreast, and then we shall take a
nearer way to Rousholm than following the line of
the coast."
The summit of the rocks, softly carpeted with
grass, moss, and wild flowers, afforded a pleasant
resting-place, and commanded a picturesque pros-
pect. To eastward there was a wide expanse of
sea, stretching away without a break to Norwegian
fiords. Afar on the horizon I caught sight of a
great ship, under a cloud of white sail, with prow
pointing to the north, and when the line of
Wordsworth-
"Where lies the land to which yon ship must go?"
came involuntarily to my lips, Mr. Flett quietly,
but prosaically, rejoined: “She is, I take it, a Ger-
IN THE ORKNEYS.
323
man emigrant ship bound from Bremen to New
York, and the skipper seems disposed to run down
Fair Isle ere he turns his fraulein figure-head to
the west. These German liners are always knock-
ing their noses against the islands. One of them
lately went bang full-sail in a fog against the low
shores of Sanday, as if she had been trying to
strike out for herself a new north-west passage."
The whale-hunting fleet, composed of all varieties
of small craft, was now well abreast of our resting-
place. A fine and favourable breeze had sprung
up, and the fishing-yawls, with their brown sails
outspread, coasted briskly along. The rear-guard
of the fleet consisted of row-boats, manned by
patient and determined boatmen, who pulled hard
at the oars in the prospect of winning some share
of the spoil. We remained a short time on the
moss-crowned cliffs, gazing on the animated scene,
and listening to the voices of the boatmen, the
plash of the waves below, and the plaint of restless
sea-birds. On leaving our lair we dropped down
upon a neighbouring farm-house, feeling our need
of what in most parts of Scotland is modestly
324
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
termed "refreshment." Although the farmer him-
self could nowhere be found, his helpmate gave us
hospitable entertainment, and we quenched our
thirst with liberal draughts of home-brewed beer.
A couple of shelties, were then placed at our
disposal, and away we trotted along field-paths and
rough tracts to the head of Rousholm bay on the
south side of the island. This bay deeply indents
the land, running up between the parishes of Lady
and St. Nicolas. From all the cottages and farms
in the district the islanders were flocking to the
shore of the bay, and we had thus good hope that
a portion of the shoal at least had run blindfold
into the whale-trap of Rousholm. On nearing the
shore we were delighted to find that Mr. Flett's
prediction was fulfilled. A large detachment of
the whales, supposed to number one hundred and
fifty, had entered the bay, while the rest of the
shoal had disappeared amid the reaches of the
Stronsay Firth.
Rounding the point of Torness, and stretching
across the mouth of the bay, the fleet of small
craft again hove into view, and pressed upon the
IN THE ORKNEY S.
325
rear of the slowly-advancing and imprisoned whales.
Among the onlookers there was now intense excite-
ment, the greatest anxiety being manifested lest
the detached wing should follow the previous
practice of the main army, and again break the
line of the boats in a victorious charge. The
shoutings and noise of the boatmen recommenced,
and echoed from shore to shore of the beautiful
and secluded bay. A fresh alarm seized the
monsters, but instead of wheeling about, and rush-
ing off to the open sea as before, they dashed
rapidly forwards a few yards, pursued by the boats,
and were soon floundering helplessly in the shallows.
The scene that ensued was of the most exciting
description. Fast and furious the boatmen struck
and stabbed to right and left, while the people on
the shore, forming an auxiliary force, dashed down
to assist in the massacre, wielding all sorts of wea-
pons from roasting-spits to ware-forks. The poor
wounded monsters lashed about with their tails
imperilling life and limb, and the ruddy hue of the
water along the stretch of shore soon indicated the
cxtent of the carnage. The whales that had
326
SUMMERS AND HINTERS
received their death-stroke emitted shrill cries,
accompanied with a strange snorting and humming
noise, which has been not inaptly compared to the
distant sound of military drums pierced by the
sharp piping of fifes. As the blood of the dead
and dying more deeply incarnadined the sea, it
gave a dreadful aspect of wholesale butchery to
the murderous close of the summer whale-chase.
Some of the larger whales displayed great tenacity
of life, and survived repeated strokes and stabs,
but the unequal conflict closed at last, and no fewer
than a hundred and seventy carcases were dragged
up the beach. One or two slight accidents occurred,
but to me it seemed marvellous that the boatmen
did not injure each other as much as the whales
amid the confusion and excitement of the scene.
The carcases, as I was informed, would realise be-
tween £300 and £400, and grateful were the people
that Providence had remembered the island of
Stronsay by sending them a wonderful windfall of
bottle-noses, fresh from the confines of the Arctic
Circle.
The narrative of my cruising expedition should
IN THE ORKNEYS.
327
have included visits to the islands of Sanday and
North Ronaldshay, but as there is a sameness in
the scenery, which might communicate tedium to
any prolonged description, I shall conclude this
chapter with some account of Fair Isle-the lonely
Patmos of the North Sea-the Pariah sister of the
Orkney and Shetland groups. This island forms.
part of a Shetland parish, and belongs to a Shet-
land proprietor; but as it lies midway between the
two groups, being about fifty miles distant from
Kirkwall and Lerwick, we may rightly regard it as
a Pariah—an outcast child of the ocean. The name
Fair Isle is evidently a corruption of Faroe, which
signifies in Icelandic, Isle of Sheep. Torfaeus calls
it Fara, in his historical account of the Orkneys.
Rising abruptly from the sea, and standing aloof
alike from the Orcadian and Shetland groups,
there is sublimity in the awful loneliness of the
rock-girt Fair Isle. It is very difficult of access,
and on dark stormy nights, when vessels are ex-
pected, a beacon-fire is kindled on the Fair-hill or
Sheep Craig, not in imitation of the Cornish wreck-
crs, but for the laudable object of giving the bear-
328
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
ings of the outlying rocks. Much of the land is
unreclaimed and unreclaimable, and the culti-
vated portions, lying in runrig, shew evident traces
of the most primitive modes of husbandry. The
spade is the chief implement employed in turning
over the soil, which grows scanty crops of oats,
bere, and potatoes. Field-labour is prosecuted
with little energy, and only by fits and starts, when
the weather or the season is unfavourable for fish-
ing. Hitherto the island and the fishings have been
let by the proprietor to tacksmen on a lease of
nineteen years, the inhabitants possessing from
year to year under the principal tacksman. It is
scarcely possible to conceive a more pernicious
system than the one thus described, and I am not
aware that the last purchaser of the island has yet
done much to redeem the people from their condi-
tion of poverty and serfdom. The tacksmen have
been in the habit of taking the fishings on lease
along with the land, and the inhabitants, who occupy
their small holdings from year to year, pay their
rents in the fish caught around the coast. An
amphibious life, leading only to privation, is the
IN THE ORKNEYS.
329
inevitable consequence of this arrangement, and no
improvement is possible until the relations between
tacksmen and tenants, are entirely changed, and the
people are permitted, under a better system, to enjoy
the fruits of their industry. Less than half a century
ago, a somewhat similar state of things existed to a
large extent throughout the whole of Orkney, and
if a thorough change had not been effected, the now
flourishing Islands of the group would still have
been in the same helpless condition as their forlorn
and outcast sister.
The Fair Islanders, despite the privations they
endure, are an ingenious, industrious, and intelligent
race of people. The admiral's flagship of the
Spanish Armada, as previously mentioned, was
wrecked on the island, and as several of the
survivors clung to the spot where the sea had cast
them, it is believed that many of the present in-
habitants, like the Dons and Donnas of Westray,
have a mixture of Iberian blood in their veins.
They are, from whatever cause, a race per se, being
distinguished by certain peculiarities alike from
Orcadians and Shetlanders. The females are
330
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
famous for their skill in making curiously-coloured
woollen stockings and mittens, which are exceed-
ingly comfortable, and wear well. This manufac-
ture is stated to have been introduced by the ship-
wrecked Spanish seamen, but it is just as likely to
be an industry of native growth, like the knitting of
frocks in Faroe. The men display equal ingenuity
in the construction of canoe-shaped skiffs, which
have all the buoyancy of life-boats, and which run
little risk of being swamped in stormy seas. These
skiffs are rowed or paddled with great dexterity by
the islanders themselves, but they are very unsafe
in the hands even of skilled boatmen who are un-
acquainted with their management, and amateur
oarsmen have not unfrequently rued their temerity
when, after capsizing the skiffs, they were
dragged dripping and disconsolate to the shore.
The natives of Fair Isle feel safe in their frail craft
in all weathers, and they fearlessly follow vessels.
many leagues from land. When ships, outward or
homeward bound, are descried from the island,
numbers of skiffs, freighted with woollen goods,
fish, and eggs, are immediately launched and
IN THE ORKNEYS.
331
pulled away for miles, and their swift motion, dart-
ing over the crests of the waves, seldom fails to
excite attention and interest on board the stranger
vessels. The skiffmen make good bargains in
bartering, and as the island, from its solitary situa-
tion, affords excellent facilities for smuggling, it is
shrewdly surmised that a brisk trade is carried on
in hollands, corn-brandy, tobacco, and other con-
traband articles. It occasionally happens, however,
that the islanders outwit their customers who wish
surreptiously to evade payment of the customs
duties on tobacco and liqueurs. The corn-brandy,
which tastes so rich and refreshing as it gurgles
from the bottle, not unfrequently turns out to be a
very commonplace and colourless liquid when pur-
chased in a keg. Amusing stories are told of the
blank dismay that has more than once fallen upon
the jovial faces of eager and expectant guests
when a Fair Isle keg-produced by the happy
host, and pronounced to be brimful of invigorating
aqua vita-disgorges only a liquid insipid and
brackish as the water of a coastside spring. The
difficulty of detection tempts the islanders to evade
332
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
}
payment of custom, but the scantiness of their
agricultural produce forms also an inducement for
trafficking in contraband commodities. This im-
moral practice does not now exist to the same
extent as in former years, but he must be a very
innocent person who believes that it has altogether
ceased. Some lawlessness may naturally be
expected in a dependency where no legal function-
ary resides, and where the Gospel is preached as
the land is cultivated-by fits and starts. Some
years ago the Home Mission of the Church of
Scotland appointed a clergyman to act as evange-
list among the islanders, but the worthy divine
soon wearied of his exile in the northern Patmos,
and stepped across to Shetland. A successor has
recently been found in a gentleman who endeavours
to combine the functions of minister and school-
master. But the dwellers on that lonely spot do
not all belong to one religious sect. Denomination-
alism extends to Thulè, and Methodism has its
sectaries in the Fair Isle. To do the islanders
justice, however, it must be admitted that they are
no bigots, since they give a rapturous welcome to
IN THE ORKNEYS.
333
anything in the shape of a clergyman, and follow
in crowds the itinerant Baptist preacher. Strangers,
in fact, who intend visiting the island would do
well to provide themselves with a volume of manu-
script sermons, as an invitation to conduct reli-
gious service in the school-house is almost irresist-
ible. The arrival of a bona fide minister is con-
sidered a perfect windfall, and the poor people
have recourse to all sorts of devices to retard his
departure. When the visitor has been plied in
vain with arguments and entreaties to prolong his
stay, some old skiffman, turning suddenly round to
the weather-side of the island, looks knowingly
across the sea, snuffs the briny breeze with a
sagacious shake of his head, and predicts a heavy
gale from the nor'-east or sou'-west.
Although the Fair Islanders dwell apart, like the
remnants of a lost tribe, they are by no means
destitute of intelligence or of the desire for infor-
mation. Reading is an art which they seem to
have picked up intuitively, and every scrap of
printed matter-half-sheet of newspaper or leaf of
book-that comes in their way is perused with an
334
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
So
avidity which might shame their more fortunate
fellow-country men, who too frequently abuse their
ampler opportunities of gaining instruction.
anxious are the islanders to know what is doing in
the great world, that they often lie in wait for the
Shetland mail-steamer, and call lustily to the pas-
sengers for newspapers as they dash boldly forwards
in their light skiffs amid the foam seething away in
white-green waves from the revolving paddles.
Four or five years ago when a number of these
primitive people emigrated to Canada, it was
noted, as a highly creditable circumstance, that the
greater portion of them could read and write.
The islanders are warmly attached to their
remote island-home and to each other. They are,
in fact, so closely connected by intermarriages, that
they may be regarded as forming one extensive
family, united by patriarchal affinities. Lerwick is
preferred by them to Kirkwall as a place of call,
but they hold comparatively little intercourse with
the groups of islands on either side. Some years
ago they were in the habit of coming to Kirkwall
IN THE ORKNEYS.
335
about the time of the Lammas fair, to barter for
provisions, but their canoe-like skiffs are now
rarely seen in the harbour or the bay. They have
a great dread of approaching any place where an
infectious disease exists, and they seldom ventured
on shore when they visited Kirkwall until assured
that the town was free from fever. There is a wise
instinct in this dread of infectious disease, as the
miserable cottage accommodation which they
possess would accelerate and increase its ravages if
once introduced.
During the Norse occupation of Orkney, Fair
Isle was regarded as an important outpost. Ward-
fires to signal the approach of hostile long-ships
seem to have been first used in the twelfth century,
when Earl Paul was threatened with invasion by
Earl Ronald. From its position, midway between
the two groups of islands, Fair Isle was recognised
as the principal signal station, and the kindling of
its great beacon started an answering flame on all
the ward heights, as if some unseen messenger had
sped from island to island, firing the hill-tops with
336
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
his torch.* The leader of Earl Ronald's expedition
* The animated description in the "Lay of the Last
Minstrel" of the lighting of the Border beacons must be
familiar to my readers
:
"Is yon the star o'er Pencrhyrst Pen
That rises slowly to her ken
And, spreading broad its waning light,
Shakes its loose tresses on the night?
Is
yon red glare the western star?—
O! 'tis the beacon blaze of war
*
The ready page with hurried hand
Awaked the need-fires' slumbering brand,
And ruddy blushed the Heaven;
For a sheet of flame from the turret tower
Wafed like a blood-flag on the sky
All flaming and uneven.
And soon a score of fires, I ween
From height and hill and cliff were seen,
Each with warlike tidings fraught,
Each from each the signal caught
Each after each they gleamed to sight,
As stars arise upon the night.
Then gleamed on many a dusky tarn,
Haunted by the lonely carn;
On many a cairn's grey pyramid
Where urns of mighty chiefs lie hid."
*
IN THE ORKNEYS.
337
In
hit upon a notable device to cause Dagfinn, the
warder or signalman in Fair Isle, to give a false
alarm, and thus excite suspicions of treachery.
Shetland he got together a number of small boats,
and ordered the boatmen when they sighted Fair
Isle to hoist their sails to the middle of the mast,
and gradually to raise them higher until the sails
reached the masthead. The ruse succeeded;
Dagfinn was deceived; the beacon blazed up into
thenight, and the islanders hurried to the standard of
Earl Paul only to discover that they had been made
the victims of a hoax, not unlike the celebrated
Fenian raid on Unst. The signalman was acquitted
of treachery, but the beacon was committed to the
charge of another. Eric was equally unfortunate
with Dagfinn. An assistant whom he employed to
protect the pile of wood turned out to be a scout of
Earl Ronald's party, lately arrived from Shetland.
In the absence of Eric this knavish Norseman
deluged the faggots with water, and thus prevented
the beacon from taking fire when the hostile fleet
was seen at last from Fair Isle.
The stratagem
proved a complete success, as Earl
Ronald landed
22
Q
338 SUMMERS, ETC. IN THE ORKNEYS.
unawares in Westray, and soon wrenched the Islands
from the grasp of his rival. These incidents may
serve to show that the system of fire-signals was
really of little use among a people so treacherous
as the Scandinavians.


السريالية
CHAPTER IX.
Test Mainland and the South Isles.
Stromness and its Scenery-Hoy Sound-Kame Echo
and Hoy Cliffs-View from the Ward Hill-En-
chanted Carbuncle-Dwarfie Stone-Norna and Trolld
-Under the Rocks South Isles-Longhope—
Ruins of Snelsetter-Moodie Family-South Ronald-
shay Sandwick-Old Province of Bergisherad-
Birsay Palace.
HE scenery in the vicinity of Stromness
is the finest in Orkney, and I have re-
served this district until now as a kind
of bonne bouche. On the occasion of my first tour
through the Mainland I was agreeably surprised,
after traversing the somewhat monotonous road
between Kirkwall and the Bridge of Waith, to
catch a glimpse, from the heathy ridges above the

..40
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
road, of Stromness quietly resting under a canopy
of blue smoke on the margin of its lovely land-
locked bay, while the heights of Hoy rising beyond
added grandeur to the beauty of the scene. The
town, which consists of one narrow mile-long ser-
pentine street, with branching lanes and angular
high-perched houses, is picturesquely situated on
the lower slopes of the hills that form the western
border of the bay. The houses on the higher
grounds command fine and far-extended views of
sea and shore, and the general appearance of the
place has been greatly improved of late years by
the erection of some handsome public edifices. In
this town, so quaint and quiet, the sea is a domestic
institution. It ripples familiarly up the short lanes
between rows of houses, and the bows of vessels
stretch across second storey windows. Pilots can
row up to their own doors in boats. It is doubtless
owing to this circumstance that so many of the
youth of Stromness take early to the water, and
embark on board ship for all quarters of the world.
Several of the houses, adjoining the harbour, are
provided with little stone jetties, which enable the
IN THE ORKNEYS.
341
inmates to step dry-shod from their firesides into
fishing-yawls.
The population of Stromness is mainly composed
of traders, shopkeepers, and shipowners, many of
whom are the proprietors of houses and small
pieces of land. At the period of a general election
they grow in importance, since their votes can turn
the scale either for or against the county candidate.
At one time, when the commodious and splendid
harbour of Stromness formed the great rendez-
vous of the Davis Straits' whalers and the Hudson's
Bay Company's ships, the trade of the town was
very considerable, and few sea-ports in Scotland of
similar size were in an equally prosperous condi-
tion. But the whalers no longer resort to the har-
bour, and the change in the circumstances of the
Hudson's Bay Company has made the annual visits
of the vessels occurrences of slight importance.
From three to four hundred men went every year
from the town with the whale-ships, and numbers
of labourers and artisans were also hired annually
to go out to the settlements in British America
when the Hudson's Bay vessels made their appear-
342
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
ance in the month of June. In the palmy days of
the Company, the arrival of the ships to engage
their complement of hands, and lay in a stock of
provisions, created no small stir and animation in
the little trading seaport. The officers of the Fur
I'leet exchanged hospitalities with the leading in-
habitants, and a succession of routs and balls made
the midsummer season the gayest of the year. It
is worthy also of record that the discovery ships
of Captain Cook, Sir John Franklin, and Sir John
Ross remained some days at Stromness in going
out or returning from their celebrated expedi-
tions.
The burgh of baronry cannot compete with the
sister royal burgh in interesting antiquities, but it
possesses what Kirkwall lacks a well-arranged
and extensive museum, the property of the Orkney
Natural History Society. The principal hotel of
the place, commodious and well-appointed, would
do no discredit to southern towns of fashionable
resort. Tourists are invariably loud in its praises,
and Mr. Weld almost went into ecstacies when he
found in every bed-room combs and brushes, night-
IN THE ORKNEYS.
343
caps and slippers. Though the town, from the nar-
rowness of its zigzag main street, and the singular
sites selected for some of the houses, has a wonder-
fully auld-farrant appearance, it is comparatively
modern, and the best buildings are of recent erec-
tion. At the time when the Pretender was skulk-
ing in the Isle of Skye, it consisted only of half-a-
dozen houses with slate roofs, and a few scattered
huts, the abodes of poor fishermen. Ten years
after the defeat of the rebels at Culloden, it con-
tained no more than six hundred inhabitants. The
monopoly of trade, vested at that period in the
royal burghs, prevented the growth of less privi-
leged communities, and the struggling traders of
Stromness seem to have suffered from this cause.
In those old days the royal burgh of Kirkwall
considered itself entitled, in terms of an act of
William and Mary, to impose an assessment upon
Stromness for the payment of cess or stent. This
burden-galling enough there can be little doubt—
was borne for a series of years, but the villagers,
alive at last to the injustice of the tax, rebelled
against its imposition, and the matter in dispute was
*
344
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
referred, in the first instance, to the Convention of
Royal Burghs. It then found its way to the Court
of Session, where a decision was given in favour of
Stromness. The case was appealed to the House.
of Lords, and with Mr. Wedderburn, afterwards.
Lord Chancellor Rosslyn, for counsel, the villagers
succeeded in getting the decision of the Court of
Session affirmed. The battle thus stoutly fought
by the plucky little port benefited the whole of
Scotland, and broke down the trade monopoly of
the royal burghs. As regards Stromness the re-
moval of the impost had a most beneficial effect,
and in 1817, when the population numbered two
thousand, the rising town was erected into a burgh
of baronry. It is not improbable that the above
incident in the annals of the two towns may ac-
count for the continued existence of rivalries and
jealousies, although the old battle in the law-courts
has become a dusty tradition.
The publication of Hugh Miller's Asterolepis
of Stromness gave celebrity to the neighbourhood
of the town as one of the most interesting geo-
logical districts in the northern counties of Scot-
IN THE ORKNEYS.
345
land. The country round is rich in fossiliferous de-
posits, and the followers of the stony science may
not unfrequently be encountered wandering about
the hills, knapsack on shoulder and hammer in
hand. It was after reading Miller's attractive ac-
count of his geological explorations in the vicinity
of Stromness, and his summer evening rambles
round the loch of Stennis, that I first felt a strong
desire to visit the Orkney Islands. The perusal
of that remarkable work had enabled me to form a
mental image of the scenery surrounding the West
Mainland town, but the reality was even finer than
the picture which fancy had hung in the "cham-
bers of imagery." From the Look-Out and the
other heights behind Stromness the view is of the
most superb description. Climb with me these
heathy and breezy slopes on a pleasant autumnal
day, and away to westward you see the waters of
the Atlantic glittering in the afternoon sunshine,
while ever and anon light fleecy clouds, sailing
over the heavens, checker the surface of the sea.
Opposite, on the southern side, across the Sound,
with its swift-rushing tides, rise the dark and pre-
346
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
cipitous hills of Hoy, which hold, as with some
wierd attraction, the spectator's eye. Seamed and
scarred by the storms of centuries, they have an
aspect of wild loneliness and desolate grandeur.
The sea smiles in the sunlight, but they never lose
their look of dark sublimity. In the great hollow
between the heights the shadows condense into a
gloom that might be felt. The effects of light and
shade, on this autumnal afternoon, are profoundly
touching in their almost unearthly beauty. Here
and there, on the lower grounds, patches of green
come out vividly in sudden gleams of light, form-
ing a striking contrast to the overhanging gloom
of the wierd and withered hills. The low emerald
isle of Graemsay, with cattle grazing amid its plea-
sant pastures, lying along the waters beneath the
lowering brows of the giant heights, enhances still
more the wonderful effects of contrasted beauty
and gloom. Wreaths of misty vapour, wafted from
the wide Atlantic, seem ever ascending and de-
cending the precipitous sides. No sooner has one
mist-cloud drawn up its thin skirts to the topmost
pinnacle and melted into thinner air, than another
IN THE ORKNEYS.
347
W
descends, and again the white wreaths rise seething
and curling out of the gloom below.
At the turn of the tide, observe how the swift
waters from the Atlantic rush through the mouth
of the sound between the Black Craig and Hoy
Head. Eddying and swirling like a great river in
flood, they sweep onwards with resistless strength.
With sails set, for the breeze is favourable, a fish-
ing yawl has gained the centre of the rushing
stream, and she tears along with giddying speed,
swifter than if propelled by the power of steam.
An hour before flood-tide, which sets from the north-
west, a strong current flows from the north, keep-
ing the Stromness side of the sound, while at half-ebb
another stream, setting from the south along the
opposite side of the sound, continues till high
water. Borne on the run of these currents, when
wind and tide set from the same quarter, fisher-
boats dash through the sound as if racing for a
regatta-cup. Stromness (Strom-ness) literally signi-
fies the ness in the current, and thus we find that
the Norse name of the promontory, in which the
hills terminate, has been transferred to the town.
348
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
Looking beyond the sound and the green isle
of Graemsay with its two massive lighthouses, which
mark out the channel in Hoy Mouth by day as
well as by night, the eye wanders delightedly over
the wide expanse of the land-locked bay. There
lie the beautiful holms, sweet nurslings of the
waters, lapped by the tidal waves. On the eastern
side the shadows are sleeping in their course on
the brown braes of Orphir. Farm-steadings, pictu-
resquely scattered abroad, nestle by the shore and
below the hills. The entire view, in its fine com-
bination of sea and land scenery, stimulates the
fancy and exhilarates the heart. Seated on the
Stromness side of the sound at sunset, nothing can
surpass the mingled beauty and sublimity of the
spectacle, when the weather-worn hills of Haa-oe
loom grimly above the waters, while over their
dark summits and through the great gorge be-
tween, streams a silent flood of yellow and un-
earthly light, gilding the swift currents as they
glimpse out of the dark purple shadows.
The town of Stromness, lying amid this beautiful
scenery, forms excellent head-quarters for tourists,
IN THE ORKNEYS.
349
:
who like to lead an amphibious life during the
Excursions may be
summer and autumn months. Excursions
made by land and sea to all points of the compass,
and visitors who have heard about the Dwarfie
Stone, the Old Man of Hoy, the Kame Echo, and
the Enchanted Carbuncle generally select the first
clear and settled day for a run to the most ro-
mantic of the Orkney Islands. Clear weather and
a good start in the morning are absolutely neces-
sary to make the trip enjoyable. The sail between
Stromness and Salwick Little-the usual landing-
place in Hoy-gives us an opportunity of admiring
the dexterity with which the boatmen handle their
craft in order to take due advantage of favourable
currents. So capricious is the wind in the vicinity
of Hoy that some of the crew almost invariably sit
with the ropes of the sails held firmly in their
hands, ready to spring the sheets should any sud-
den energency arise.
About three miles from the landing-place we
reach the meadow of the Kame, which is haunted
by a mocking spirit that gives back song for song,
shout for shout, yell for yell. There is something
H
350
SUMMERS AND WINTER S
absolutely ceric in the awful distinctness of this un-
seen mocker's hollow peals of laughter. The sound
is fitted to recall the description in Guy Manner-
ing of Dominie Sampson's dreadful and ogre-like
"ha! ha! ho." From the echo-haunted plain we
strike off in the direction of the Old Man, scaling
the western slope of the steep hills with labour
dire, and bathing our hot brows at last in the cool.
delicious breeze that comes streaming over leagues
of sunny waves. Our course now lies due southward
along a "path sublime"-the summit of a colossal
wall of precipicies that rise one thousand feet from
the sea in sheer ascent. Grasp the ledges with
firm hold, and looking over the face of the cliffs,
try to fathom with your eye the dizzy depth. The
crows and choughs' observed by Edgar from the
summit of Dover cliff, "showed scarce so gross as
beetles," and here you see the gulls, that wing the
midway air, diminished to the size of butterflies.
There is no samphire-gatherer hanging half-way
down to assist your estimate of the depth-no
fisherman walking on the beach-no " tall anchor-
ing bark diminished to her cock, her cock a buoy;"
:
IN THE ORKNEYS.
351
but you see the billows far below breaking at the
foot of the rocks, and the low voice of the sea is
like the sound in the cavities of the sea-shell when,
"Pleased it remembers its august abodes,
And murmurs as the ocean murmurs there."
The rock called the Old Man of Hoy is a huge
primeval pillar, standing out from the line of cliffs,
like the stacks of Duncansbay, in solemn and
solitary grandeur. It has a singularly wild and
majestic appearance, and forms a conspicuous object
in the seaward view from the Caithness coast.
Malcolm, the soldier-poet of Orkney, has likened
the insulated cliff-pillar to
"A giant that hath warred with Heaven,
Whose ruined scalp seems thunder-riven."
Deaf to the seamew's plaint and the sullen
plunge of the waves in the arches below, blind to
the beauties of sunset and moonrise, heedless alike.
of calm and storm, the Old Man of the Sea, like a
grim and veteran sentinel at his post, keeps silent
watch and ward amid the lonely waters.
Walking inland from the grand rampart of
battlemented cliffs, we descend into a still and
352
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
secluded valley, watered by the pleasant little
burn of Berriedale. In this and other ravines of
the island there are low bushes of mountain-ash,
birches, and dwarf willows. Wild flowers and
plants are also abundant, and some of the lone-
liest hollows, haunted by the golden plover, are
veritable casquets of botanical gems. On the
side next Berriedale valley the Ward Hill, which
rises to the height of 1,555 feet, is of compara-
tively easy ascent, but the magnificent view from
the summit might well repay the exertion re-
quired in a longer and stiffer pull. Looking back
as we climb the slope we see far out in the At-
lantic the wild conical rock and outflying reef
called the Stack and Skerry, while away to the
south, beyond the broad Pentland, the peaks of
Morven and Benhope gladden the heart with a
glorious vision of "Scotia's mountains blue."
crown of the hill
Now we stand upon the bald
with our backs to the western ocean, and lo!
the whole Orcadian Archipelago, with its islands,
holms, stacks, and skerries, lies at our feet like
the scattered fragments of some ingenious and
*
IN THE ORKNEYS.
353
parti-coloured toy-map. It would be difficult to
match the spectacle in fineness and unexpectedness
of scenical effect. There is in it something dreamy
aërial, mystical, unreal. We seem to be looking
down upon isle and islet, cape and bay from the
car of a balloon, or the balcony of a lofty tower.
The far hum of the sea, stealing through the
silence of summer noon, deepens the dreamy im-
pressiveness of the scene, and the spectator might
imagine himself spirited away to the summit of
some fabled mount, " sole sitting by the shores
of old romance."
From the top of the Ward we have also a fine
bird's-eye view of the bold and romantic outline.
of Hoy, with its ranges of eminences on the
east and west sides trending away in the direction
of Longhope, where the island, almost severed in
two, takes in its lower division the name of Walls,
Waas, or Waes. The various eminences have curi-
ous names, by which they are amiliarly known
to the scattered crofters. In the one range we
have the Berry, Skird, Binyafae, Wiafae, Starigar,
Ginyafae, and Snook, or Summer o' Hoy. The
23
354
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
Skird is also called the " Bakein' Stane hill," as it
supplied the people with flat stones which served
the purpose of yettlins, or girdles for firing
cakes and scones. In the other range we have
Shell-hill, Pegal, Lyro, Wart (Ward), Skyafae,
Moyafae, Withagill, Melfa, Muafae, Roray, the
Coolicks, and the Kame.
Near the top of the Ward Hill there is a fine
clear spring of water, and it is probable that this,
or some other trickling runlet, was the Enchanted
Carbuncle of tradition, which sparkled so brightly
about midday in the months of May, June and
July. "Often," said Norna, "when watching by
the Dwarfie Stone, with mine eyes fixed on the
Ward Hill, which rises above that gloomy valley, I
have distinguished among the dark rocks that won-
derful carbuncle, which gleams ruddy as a furnace
to them who view it from beneath, but has ever be-
come invisible to him whose daring foot has scaled
the precipices from which it darts its splendour."
The author of Waverley made good poetic use of the
tradition, which seems also to have suggested to
Nathaniel Hawthorne the groundwork of one of
his attractive tales.
IN THE ORKNEYS.
355
Instead of spending the summer afternoon in a
fruitless search after the Enchanted Carbuncle, we
shall drink of the clear mountain spring, and hie
away down to the valley where lies the wierd
Dwarfie Stone, by the side of which Norna watched
the ruddy gleam of the mystical splendour break-
ing out on the rocks above. This remarkable relic
of antiquity-cell of hermit or haunt of dwarf—
catches the eye at some distance as we descend the
south-eastern slope of the hill. It is a mass of
sandstone about twenty-eight feet in length, fourteen
in breadth, and from two to six feet in height. The
upper end of the huge block has been hollowed by
iron tools, of which the marks are yet visible, into
a central apartment with a bed on each side, the
largest measuring five feet eight inches long by two
feet broad. On the west side there is an entrance
of little more than three feet square, and a hole in
the top serves the purpose of a skylight window.
The favourite conjecture of antiquarian visitors is
that the stone was the residence of an anchorite
father, who chose, like Jacob, a cold and hard pil-
low; but popular superstition invested the relic with
terrors, as the unhallowed abode of Trall or Trolld.
356
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
an elfin dwarf, and his wee weird wife. Scott
made effective use of the popular tradition, and now
that we are gazing upon the famous rock-fragment
with eager curiosity, not quite devoid of awe, it
may deepen the impressiveness of the lonely scene
to read Norna's account of her rencontre with
Trolld when she seated herself on the larger stone
couch and wondered whether her singular place of
retreat was the work of the dwarf, the tomb of
some Scandinavian chief, or the abode of a devoted
anchorite.
Norna loquitur: "Sleep had gradually crept on
me, amidst my lucubrations, when I was startled
from my slumbers by a second clap of thunder;
and, when I awoke, I saw through the dim light
which the upper aperture admitted, the unshapely
and indistinct form of Trolld the dwarf, seated
opposite to me on the lesser couch, which his
square and misshapen bulk seemed absolutely to
fill up. I was startled but not affrighted, for the
blood of the ancient race of Lochlin was warm in
my veins. He spoke; and his words were of Norse
so old, that few save myself or my father could
IN THE ORKNEYS.'
357
have comprehended their import,-such language
as was spoken in these islands ere Olave planted
the cross on the ruins of heathenism. His mean-
ing was dark also and obscure, like that which the
Pagan priests were wont to deliver in the name of
their idols, to the tribes that assembled at the
Helgafels. This was the import,-
"A thousand winters dark have flown,
Since o'er the threshold of my stone
A votaress passed, my power to own.
Visitor bold
Of the mansion of Trolld
Maiden haughty of heart,
Who hast hither presumed,—
Ungifted, undoomed,
Thou shalt not depart;
The power thou dost covet
O'er tempest and wave,
Shall be thine thou proud maiden,
By beach and by cave,—
By stack and by skerry, by noup and by voe,
By ayre and by wick and by helyer and gio,
And by every wild shore which the northern winds know,
And the northern tides lave.
But though this shall be given thee, thou desperately brave,
I doom thee that never the gift thou shalt have,
358
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
}
Till thou reave thy life's giver
Of the gift which he gave.'
"I answered him in nearly the same strain, for
the spirit of the ancient scalds of our race was
upon me, and, far from fearing the phantom though
I sat cooped within so narrow a space, I felt the
impulse of that high courage which thrust the
ancient champions and Druidesses upon contests.
with the invisible world, when they thought that
the earth no longer contained enemies worthy to
be subdued by them. Therefore did I answer him
thus:
"Dark are thy words and severe,
Thou dweller in the stone,
But trembling and fear
To her are unknown,
Who hath sought thee here
In thy dwelling lone.
Come what comes soever,
The worst I can endure;
Life is but a short fever,
And death is the cure.'
"The demon stared at me as if incensed and over-
awed; and then coiling himself up in a thick and
sulphurous vapour, he disappeared from his place.
1
IN THE ORKNEYS.
359
I did not till that moment feel the influence of
fright, but then it seized me. I rushed into the
open air, where the tempest had passed away, and
all was pure and serene."
After all, though Sir Walter does introduce the
dwarf and the Dwarfie Stone with some effect, this
scene strikes one as smacking overmuch of the
melodramatic, and the rhymes put into the lips of
Trolld and Norna sound tame and unimpressive
when read by the side of the elfin stone, and under
the shadow of the Ward Hill. A short walk of a
mile or so from the dwarfie's deserted domicile
takes us back to the seashore where we again
embark for Stromness, running along the east side
of the little green island of Graemsay. The
celebrated “Druid" relates an amusing anecdote of
a Hoy crofter who made a peaceful descent upon
this low and pleasant island for the purpose of
replenishing his "but" and "ben." The happy
crofter, on requesting Lord Macaulay's uncle to
officiate at his marriage thus addressed him:
"Oh! sir, but the ways of Providence are wonder-
fu'! I thocht I had met wi' a sair misfortune when
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SUMMERS AND WINTERS
I lost baith my coo an my wife at ance ower the
cliff twa months sine; but I gaed ouer to Graemsay,
and I hae gotten a far better coo and a far bonnier
wife." It is not every day that the wounds of
adversity are so happily healed as in the case of
the Hoy "hawk." The dwellers in the different
islands and districts, I may here interpolate, have
all characteristic and collective nicknames of old
standing. There are the Hawks of Hoy, the
Sheep of Shapinshay, the Limpets of Stronsay,
the Seals of North Ronaldshay, the Mares,
of Rousay, the Starlings of Kirkwall, the Crabs
of Harray, and other epithets of similar kind. A
story is told of some Shapinshay men who, hearing
the sound of baa, baa, baa, from a passing boat, and
thinking the sound was meant to indicate their
nickname, pursued the offenders in another boat
only to discover, after rowing two or three miles,
that the baa-ing proceeded from genuine black-
faces!
The visitor must not delude himself with the
idea that he has exhausted the sublimities of Hoy
by gazing at the Old Man from the summit
of the precipices, or sitting on the top of the
IN THE ORKNEYS.
361
Ward Hill as on a throne. He must spend a long
summer day in coasting along the western rampart
of stupendous cliffs, and his enjoyment will be all
the greater if he borrows or buys a fowling-piece.
At the breakfast table in the Commercial Hotel he
is almost sure to meet some eager fowler or
enthusiastic ornithologist, and a boating excursion
may be arranged with ease. Above all let him
make an early start, and take a kindly interest in
the contents of his flask and provision-basket. There
you are, my good friend, happy as a king in the
fresh morning air, while the cutwater of your boat
strikes a rippling music from the brisk bickering
waves of Hoy Sound. Be thankful you have a
steersman who knows the channel and the cur-
rents, otherwise the pleasures of the sail might
be materially impaired. Gallant vessels have
frequently been seen entering this sound in full sail
before a favouring breeze, and compelled ere long
to beat a retreat when they encounted the strong
rush of the ebb-tide. In passing out between the
grim portals of Hoy Head and the Black Craig,
you are shown Johnston's Cave, in which a poor
seaman, the sole survivor of the Star of Dundee
362
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
was immured for an entire week when his vessel
was wrecked in 1834, and succeeded at last in
clambering up the face of the cliff, more dead than
alive, striking terror into the hearts of all beholders.
Now you have rounded the Head, and as the boat
rises gracefully on the lazy lift of the Atlantic, your
cye runs along the wall of mighty cliffs, and your
heart is hushed in wonder and awe. On a nearer
approach you observe that all the nooks and
crannies, all the ledges and shelves from the bottom
to the top of the rocks are tenanted by myriads of
seafowl, "sitting in rows like charity children, with
black heads and white tippets," as Miss Sinclair has
graphically described a similar spectacle in the
island of Copinshay. On the lower ledges rest
groups of watchful razor-bills, and on the higher
sullen-looking scarffs may be descried, while the
intermediate shelves and crevices shine with myriads
of white-breasted kittiwakes. Some of the warier
birds launch off into the upper air with a swoop
and a scream, some sidle along the whitened
projections, moving their heads hesitatingly from
side to side, and others sit with an aspect of stolid
IN THE ORKNEYS.
363
The
indifference, as if conscious of security from danger
in their rocky fastnesses. A gun is suddenly dis-
charged, and, lo! the whole white face of the
nearest cliff seems to fall away, and then whirl wildly
aloft in a screaming, rushing, riven cloud.
kittiwakes, seized with sudden panic, rend the air
with frenzied shrieks, but when the tumult is
overpast you may still see solitary scarffs sitting
calm and unconcerned far up the cliff. Though
different kinds of seafowl occupy the same rock, you
will generally find, on visiting in succession a
number of the Hoy helyers or inlets, that certain
tribes have their favourite fastnesses which they
religiously guard against all intruders. In coasting
along the line of the cliffs it may be your good
fortune to see a kingly eagle, sitting enthroned on
the topmost pinnacle of the Old Man, and the
crowning grandeur of the scene will come when
the entire range of precipices, rising from the sea
like a wall of fire, glows in the red light of sunset.
From Stromness pleasant excursions may also
be made on the east side of Hoy among the islands
that stud the stretch of sea between Pomona and
364
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
the Pentland Firth. A trip, inside the Islands, to
the fine harbour of Longhope, which I once enjoyed,
lingers in my mind as a sunny memory. In two
or three tacks we dropped down the firth between
the island of Hoy and the coast of Orphir, and
glided into the sheltered waters of Scapa Flow,
giving a wide berth as we passed to the "Barrel of
Butter" a dangerous skerry on which seals bask
in warm weather. In spring and early summer
the Flow is the favourite resort of such migratory
birds as the great northern diver, the goldeneye, the
velvet scoter, and the scaup, and the frequent
flights of varieties of seabirds increased the charm
and interest of a boating excursion among the
South Isles. The scenery of Cava, Rysay,
Pharay, and Flotta presented few features of interest.
Pope, the translator of Torfaeus, was mistaken
when he described the last-named island as the resi-
dence of the Norwegian who wrote the Coder Flate-
yensis, or "Book of Flotta," from which the Dane
derived the most reliable materials in compiling his
history of Orkney. Flotta is about three miles in
length by two in breadth, and it forms a sort of
IN THE ORKNEYS.
365
Like a
natural breakwater opposite the entrance of Long-
hope which affords secure anchorage for vessels in
all weathers. The mouth of this magnificent land-
locked bay is defended by martello towers and a
useless battery. During the last French war the
bay was the rendezvous for merchantmen waiting
for convoy to the continent and America.
Norwegian fiord or Sutherland sea-loch, it extends
five miles in length from east to west, intersecting
the parish of Walls in Hoy, and all but severing
the one portion of the island from the other. The
waters of Longhope bay are separated from those
of the Pentland Firth by an isthmus about two
hundred feet wide, and this aith, ayre, or spit
of land may be seen flooded for days at the time
of spring tides, when an impetuous current rushes.
over the isthmus. As we sailed up the bay, passing
several large liners on our course, and admiring
the noble situation of the mansion-house of Mel-
setter, it deepened our interest in the scene to
know that we were now in the Vaga-land of the
old sagas. Walls, or Waas is derived from "Voes,"
and literally signifies the "Island of Inlets." In
366
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
addition to Longhope, there are numerous natural
harbours in the island, such as Kirkhope, Orchope,
and Osmondwall, and this circumstance, taken in
connection with the proximity of the voes to the
Pentland Firth, accounts for the frequent mention
of Vaga-land in the sagas.
After beaching our boat we sauntered across the
southern extremity of the island, which lies
between Longhope and the Pentland Firth, and
lighted upon the ruins of the mansion of Snel-
setter, or House of Walls, the residence for several
centuries of the Moodies, one of the most ancient
and distinguished Orcadian families. The ruins
are situated near the Bay of Osmondwall—the
Asmundar-voe of the Norsemen. It is believed
that the Moodies (Mudies) were descended from
Harold Mudadi, one of the last Norse Earls of
Orkney, and the adventurous spirit displayed by
the race, down to the latest generation, has done.
no discredit to this high ancestry. Major Moodie,
the last resident proprietor of the name, was
grandson of Captain James Moodie, a distinguished
naval officer, who was assassinated on the streets
IN THE ORKNEYS.
367
of Kirkwall in 1725, by Sir James Stewart of Bur-
ray and his brother. From a paper on the Stewarts
of Brugh and Burray, contributed to Notes and
Querics, by Mr. W. H. Fortheringhame, the es-
teemed sheriff-clerk of Orkney, I learn that
Captain James Moodie, besides commanding the
ship of war that conveyed George I. from the con-
tinent to England on his accession to the British
crown, was also commodore of a squadron of war-
ships in the Mediterranean during the succession
war, and received from Queen Anne an honourable,
augmentation to his arms. Sir James Stewart of
Burray was a red-hot Jacobite, and a man of
violent temper. For some imagined affront he
entertained deep enmity towards the gallant officer
and vowed the vengeance which he carried delibe-
rately into effect. One day, when Captain Moodie,
accompanied by the sheriff and other gentlemen,
was passing along the street in Kirkwall to the
Court House, he was suddenly assaulted by Sir
James and Alexander Stewart who first beat their
victim with a stick and then drew their swords. In
the midst of the melic pistols were fired by the
368
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
servants of the Burray baronet, and Captain
Moodie received a wound which shortly afterwards
proved fatal. When the brave old commodore fell,
murdered in broad daylight on the public street,
the two Stewarts rushed through the town with
their swords still drawn, and ultimately escaped on
horseback unpursued. Through the intercession
of friends at Court they were pardoned for this
gross and cowardly crime, and Sir James Stewart
lived to take part in the rebellion of '45. But the
whirligig of time brings round its revenges, and
this vindictive Jacobite was made prisoner in 1746
by Captain Benjamin Moodie of the English army,
son of the officer whom he had so foully assassi-
nated. The widow of Captain James Moodie,
whose maiden name was Christian Crawford,
appears to have been a bold-spirited woman from
the stories related of her, since she did not scruple
to frighten the minister of Evie from his charge by
confronting him in the church with a dirk-armed,
ferocious-looking Highlander, who handled his
weapon in a threatening manner during sermon. It
is also told of this worthy dame that she sent
IN THE ORKNEYS.
369
The
boats manned by armed crews of the Melsetter
tenantry to prevent the minister of Hoy from
making use of a peat-moss which she claimed as
her property. Major Moodie, the last proprietor
of the name, resided in the mansion-house of
Melsetter, and at his death, in the year 1814, the
estate passed into the hands of creditors.
Major had five sons, all of them largely endowed
with that adventurous spirit which imparts a
romantic charm to the annals of the Moodie
family. The eldest son, Benjamin, after trying in
vain to save the family property from the grasp of
creditors, `emigrated to South Africa in 1815,
where he lived as a settler till the year 1856, at
which time he died, leaving behind him four sons
and four daughters. Thomas, the second son,
obtained a lieutenancy in the East India Com-
pany's service. Being distinguished for his pro-
ficiency in the Hindostanee, Persic, and Arabic
languages, he was appointed assistant to the agent
of the Governor-general in Bundelcund, and ren-
dered good service to the Company. He died at
Culpee in 1824. James, who entered the navy,
24
370
SUMMERS AND INTERS
became first lieutenant to Admiral Sir Josias
Rowley, and was killed in action at the attack on
Leghorn, in 1813-14. Another son, Donald, was
a midshipman in the same ship, and was after-
wards promoted to the rank of Lieutenant. In
1820, when on half-pay, he emigrated to South
Africa, and after holding various important offices,
one of which was that of Colonial Secretary under
the Lieutenant-Governor of Natal, he died in the
sixty-eighth year of his age near Peter Maritzburg
in that colony. The remaining son, Mr. J. W.
Dunbar Moodie-to whom I am indebted for these
family annals-cntered the army in 1813 as second
lieutenant of the 21st regiment of foot.
only seventeen years old he was present at the
disastrous night-attack on Bergen-op-Zoom, and
was severely wounded by a musket-ball in the left
wrist. In 1829 he returned to London, after
spending a number of years as a frontier settler
along with his elder brother in South Africa. At
the house of Mr. Thomas Pringle, secretary to the
Anti-slavery Society, he met the lady to whom he
was subsequently married-Susanna Strickland,
When
IN THE ORKNEYS.
37 I
youngest sister of Agnes Strickland, the well-
known author of the "Queens of England." In
1832 he emigrated to Canada, and a few years
afterwards was appointed sheriff of the county of
Hastings. On account of some alleged informality
in appointing a deputy, he lost the sheriffship
after long and able service, and was compelled in
his old age to devote himself to literature as a
means of supporting himself and his partner in
life. An interesting book written by him, entitled
"Scenes and Adventures of a Soldier and Settler
during Half a Century" was published in Montreal
in 1866, and attracted the attention of the people
of Canada.
From the ruins of Snelsetter a short walk, with the
swirling tides of the Pentland full in view, took us
to the shores at Kirkhope, where the ancestral tomb
of the Moodies adjoins the vestiges of an old chapel.
In this tomb, up to the close of last century, four
or five mummies lay extended on a stone table in
a fine state of preservation, but they were at last
decently interred to satisfy the superstitious scruples
of some female relative of the family. It has been
372
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
supposed that the particles of sea spray communi-
cated an antiseptic quality to the air of the vault,
and thus equalled the effects of Egyptian spices in
preserving the bodies. The old vault was an object
of some dread to the dwellers in the district so
long as the mummies remained above ground, and
children, gathered around the winter peat-fire, haply
listened in eager groups to wierd tales of ghostly
midnight meetings
"In the sepulchre there by the sea
In the tomb by the sounding sea.
An excursus to the harbour of Longhope may
also include a visit to South Ronaldshay-a fine
and flourishing island, about eighteen square
miles in extent, situated on the eastern side of the
Flow. The arable and pasture-land, all over the
island, is in an excellent state of cultivation, and
the farmers are noted for the superior quality of
their corn and cattle. On the northern side lies
the sheltered roadstead of St Margaret's Hope-
the Ronaldsvoe of the sagas, where Haco's mighty
armament cast anchor, and where also an annular
eclipse of the sun shadowed the ships. The village
IN THE ORKNEYS.
373
of St. Margaret's Hope, which contains superior
houses, shops with some pretensions to elegance,
and a thriving banking establishment, occupies a
pleasant site on the shore of the voe, so famous in
the Norse annals of Orkney. In a westerly direc-
tion from St. Margaret's, and on the slope of Hoxay
Head, is situated an old burg or broch, called the
Howe of Hoxay, minutely described by Dr. Daniel
Wilsonin the "Pre-historic Annals of Scotland." It
is similar in character to the celebrated building
with unmortared walls of immense thickness, which
has given its name to the neighbouring island of
Burray, evidently a corruption of Burg-ay or Broch
Island. On the opposite side of the island, and in
the vicinity of Halcro Head, there is a remarkable
cavity known to the inhabitants by the name of
"The Gloop." In a heath-covered mound, some
two hundred yards or so distant from the shore,
there is an opening like the crater of a miniature
volcano, and far away down in the abyss you hear
the sullen plunging, gurgling, and groaning of the
imprisoned sea. The waves have excavated a
long subterranean passage or gallery which echoes
with their thunder-boom in the day of storm.
374
IF
SUMMERS AND INTERS
South Ronaldshay, owned in large part by the
Earl of Zetland, is better provided with schools than
churches. At the southern extremity of the island
Tomison's Academy forms a conspicuous object in
the landscape. William Tomison, from whom the
institution takes its name, was a native of the south
parish. About the year 1770 he imitated the ex-
ample of many other Orcadians, and entered the
service of the Hudson's Bay Company. By his
fidelity and industry he rapidly rose to positions of
trust in the service of the Company, and succeeded!
in amassing a considerable fortune. At the time
of his death, some sixty years ago, he left his gains.
for the first twenty-five years for the endowment of
a free school to the innabitants of the then united
parishes of South Ronaldshay and Burray.* Tomi-
The Academy is provided with three spacious, high-
roofed, and well-lighted school-rooms, which are capable
of accommodating 600 scholars. The actual attendance,
however, seldom exceeds 100. The boys and girls are
taught in separate rooms by a male and female teacher
In the girls' department instruction is given in music
drawing, sewing, knitting, and embroidery.
and embroidery. Besides
receiving good salaries, the teachers are furnished with
IN THE ORKNEY S.
375
son also bequeathed a considerable amount in aid
of the poor's fund of his native parish, and a sum
for the endowment of a female school, which is con-
nected with the Academy. The children of the
district may thus have the best education without
school fees, and it is no fault of the founder if the
free system has not succeeded to expectation.
The progress in agricultural improvment, which
has taken place of late years throughout the whole
of Orkney, is strikingly exemplified in the present.
advanced state of South Ronaldshay. It was only
in 1862 that a comprehensive excambion, or ex-
change of lands, was carried out by the principal
proprietors, and the beneficial effects of the change
from the old system are already apparent in the
•
free houses. The funds in the hands of the trustees
which have accummulated in terms of the deed of
mortification, now amount to between £7,oco and £8,000.
The education of the founder of the Academy had been
so much neglected that he only learned to write on board
ship, when proceeding to the Hudson's Bay Territory,
and it is stated that the disadvantages under which he
laboured in this respect first suggested to his mind the
idea of endowing a free school in his native island.
376
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
increase of fine farms, and the higher style of cul-
tivation now in vogue. The fields forming one
holding now lie side by side, and tenants have the
satisfaction of knowing the exact size and shape of
the lands they occupy. Since the time of the ex-
cambion a number of new farms have come into
existence, and are yielding good returns. One of
the most extensive is Berriedale bordering upon
Water Sound, in the parish of St. Peter's. It is
worthy of note that this farm, which consists of
450 acres, and which is rented from the Earl of
Zetland, has been all reclaimed, like an American
clearing, within the last four or five years. A fine
new steading, erected on the farm, is fitted up with
all the latest improvements in use in that class of
buildings, and in completeness it is not surpassed
by any suite of farm offices to the north of Aberdeen.
In addition to Berriedale there are about a dozen
estates and farms in the island consisting of up-
wards of a hundred acres. The majority of the
farms have a less extent of acreage, but greater
care than formerly is now bestowed upon the culti-
vation of the smallest holdings. The soil of the
IN THE ORKNEYS.
377
island, a strong red clay, is of superior quality,
and produces excellent crops. It also grows fine
nutritious grass, and the farmers of late years have
taken advantage of this circumstance to rear large
herds of cattle, which are shipped for the southern
markets at St. Margaret's Hope.
This secluded little port, resting quietly on the
side of its fine sheltered bay, may now stand
favourable comparison with places of similar size
in any part of Scotland. It is not a second Scalloway,
or wretched collection of fisher huts, such as one
may see scattered along the Banff and Aberdeen-
shire coast of the Moray Firth. The houses, besides
being two storeys high, are all slated, and have the
air of being inhabited by well-to-do people.
Bankburn and Blanster, two villas in the immediate
neighbourhood, are houses of a superior class.
Besides butchers and bakers, and such useful handi-
craftsmen as tailors and shoemakers, the village has
its banker, its doctor, its dominie, its inspector of
poor, and its fishery officer. There is also an inn
or lodging-house, cleanly and well-conducted,
which provides good accommodation for visitors.
Though the village is pleasantly situated, it is
378
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
somewhat awkwardly, built and strangers would do
well not to venture out of doors after nightfall with-
out a guide. Saturday is the busiest day in all the
week at St. Margaret's Hope, when the people of
the island come from far and near to make pur-
chase of provisions and enjoy a chat with their
acquaintances. Farm-servants, male and female,
have invariably "bits of business" to do at "the
Hope," and Saturday evening seems to suit them
better than any other evening of the week. And
when they do visit the village they take things
leisurely, making no haste to get away again, as
they know quite well there will be no want of
company on the way home. An excellent road
from Cara and St. Margaret's Hope to Burwick has
opened up the island from end to end, and people
can thus walk distances of six and eight miles after
nightfall more comfortably than in the days, not so
very remote, when rough or sloppy tracts traversed
the fields and moors.
In the West Mainland districts of Sandwick,
Harray, and Birsay, to which Stromness affords
easy access, there are several interesting scenes,
and many relics of antiquity that are calculated to
IN THE ORKNEYS.
379
excite the euthusiasm of the archaeologist. Some
stretches of landscape in this quarter, it must be
confessed, are sufficiently tame and monotonous,
with their undulating ridges of bare hills, their
expanses of peat-moss, patches of "blasted heath,"
sandy tracts] honey-combed with rabbit-burrows,
and tangled tufts of tiny reeds and rushes that
shelter the plover and the snipe. In the grey and
sombre moorland regions of Harray, it needs all
the purple glories of summer sunset to make the
wilderness rejoice and blossom like the rose. The
districts of Sandwick and Birsay, which lie to the
north of Stromness Parish, and adjoin the sea, are
the most fertile and the best cultivated portions of
the West Mainland. A spirited proprietor, the late
William Graham Watt, of Breckness, set a good
example to all the agriculturists in the district by
the skill and energy which he devoted to farming
pursuits. The ploughing-matches and other competi
tions that now take place, under the auspices of the
West Mainland Farmer's Club, may serve to indicate
the agricultural advancement of Sandwick and
Birsay. Of late years farms have risen greatly in value,
and many of the tenants pay £1 per acre of rent.
380
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
A range of low hills, sending off spurs to east-
ward at the northern and southern extremity, forms
the western boundary of Sandwick, with a break
at the bay from which the parish derives its name.
The hills that trend eastward have fine old Norse
names. On the south side of the parish, there are
Gyran and Lingafiold, and on the north side Ves-*
trafiold, and Yonbell. Vestrafiold, signifying West
Hill, is upwards of three-hundred feet high, and
two sandy eminences near the bay are named res-
pectively Sandfiold and Kierfiold. Words of Nor-
wegian origin have adhered tenaciously to the hills.
and homesteads in the district, and this circumstance
helps to recall the fact that holdings in Sandwick
were much sought after by the Norwegians.
Aumund, the father of the famous Thorkel Foster,
resided in the district, and was esteemed, accord-
ing to Torfaeus, "the most considerable proprietor
in Orkney, both for riches and good sense." In
truth, riches and good sense would seem to be
hereditary among some of the proprietors in that
highly-favoured parish.
The whole district is singularly rich in antiquities,
such as brochs, Picts'-houses, chambered tumuli,
IN THE ORKNEY S.
381
vitrified cairns, and great blocks of ancient stones
resembling the obelisks of the Stennis Circle. The
stones of Via, lying between the top of Lingafiold
and the Loch of Clumly, are believed by anti-
quarians to be remains of a cromlech or heathen
altar. The graves in some of the tumuli were found,
when opened, to contain urns, burnt bones, and
pieces of charcoal. In a grave, on the farm of
Dounby, a skeleton was discovered in a sitting pos-
ture, and at the right hand lay a finely polished
mallet of gneiss, which is still preserved in the
museum at Stromness.* The burghs or brochs in
the district, regarded by Dr. Daniel Wilson as the
earliest native architectural remains which We
possess, exhibit the usual constructive features of
these primitive buildings. In a subterranean house
and adjoining kyokknmodding, at Skaill, which
Mr. Samuel Laing zealously explored, stone flakes,
circular discs, pounders, and other articles in the
course of manufacture, were found; but these relics
*The Rev. Dr. Clouston, in his statistical account
of the parish, has given a full, minute, and interesting
account of the Sandwick antiquities.
382
SUMMERS AND WINTERS
have done little else than supply implements of
warfare to members of antiquarian societies.
The parish manse at Sandwick has been for many
years one of the stations of the Scottish Meteo-
rological Society, but it cannot now be regarded as
an outpost, since observations are made at Reyk-
javik and Stykkisholm in Iceland, and Thorshavn
in Faroe. The Rev. Dr. Charles Clouston, the clergy-
man of the parish, is one of the most intelligent
meteorological observers in the country, and his
carefully-tabulated statistics of the temperature.
and pressure of the atmosphere, the direction and
force of the wind, and the amount of rainfall have
proved of the greatest service to the society,
being formed from extensive data. Mr. Clouston's
meteorological observations do not exhaust his
scientific attainments. He has knowledge of
geology, and has also contributed eighty-three new
species to the Orkney flora. The seclusion of a
quiet rural parish in the West Mainland has thus
been turned to good scientific account.
The extensive tract of country, lying to the
north and east of Sandwick, and forming the united
parishes of Birsay and Harray, was known to the
IN THE ORKNEYS.
383
Norsemen as the Province of Bergisherad, or the
hunting-territory. On east and south it expands
into the great central plain of the Mainland,
bounded by the circling hills of Sandwick, Orphir,
and Rendall. The district seems the beau ideal
of a hunting territory, and the numerous little lochs
that stud its expanse, frequented by swans, wild
ducks, and other species of aquatic birds, still
afford good sport to fowlers. The superior advan-
tages of the province as a hunting-ground induced
the Norwegian earls to fix their chief residence in
Birsay, where they erected a palace in a romantic
situation on the seashore. A second palace was
built by Earl Robert Stewart, on the same spot,
after the model of Holyrood, and its mouldering
ruins, standing solitarily by the sea are still
*One day, in the month of February this year (1868)
when the West Mainland was swept by a terrific gale,
about 30 feet of the strong western façade of the Palace,
along with two tall chimney-stacks, were blown down,
and fell inwards 50 feet across the quadrangle. In the
part of the building damaged only four feet in height
of the wall is left standing above ground, and the impos-
ing effect of the ruins on that side has thus been greatly
impaired.
384 SUMMERS, ETC. IN THE ORKNEYS.
stately in decay. Away to westward of the ruined
pile, and sheltering it from the strong sweep of the
Atlantic winds, lies the Brugh of Birsay-a
mound-shaped segment of land, which is only
accessible when the tide has ebbed. The name
"Brugh" is the word usually applied in Orkney
to fortified souterraines. A fragment of ruins,
yet remaining on the brugh, marks the site of the
original shrine of St. Magnus, once the resort of
devout pilgrims when the reflux of the tide per-
mitted access to the sacred precincts of Christ
Church. The coast scenery in this vicinity is the
finest in the West Mainland, and it derives a
romantic charm from the memories that still cling to
the deserted shrine and hoary walls of the famous
Palace of Birsay. When the eye, in the stillness of
summer noon, wanders over the old Bergisherad of
the Norse earls, it seems as silent and visionary as
the mystical hunting-ground beyond the sca that
glimmered before the dying gaze of Indian warriors
in the forests of the west.
Trinted by WATSON AND HAZELL, London and Aylesbury.


UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
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