The whisky came forth in abundance to crown the cheer. The
Highlanders drank it copiously and undiluted; but Edward, having mixed a
little with water, did not find it so palatable as to invite him to
repeat the draught. Their host bewailed himself exceedingly that he could
offer him no wine: 'Had he but known four-and-twenty hours before, he
would have had some, had it been within the circle of forty miles round
him. But no gentleman could do more to show his sense of the honour of a
visit from another than to offer him the best cheer his house afforded.
Where there are no bushes there can be no nuts, and the way of those you
live with is that you must follow,'
He went on regretting to Evan Dhu the death of an aged man, Donnacha an
Amrigh, or Duncan with the Cap, 'a gifted seer,' who foretold, through
the second sight, visitors of every description who haunted their
dwelling, whether as friends or foes.
'Is not his son Malcolm taishatr (a second-sighted person)?' asked Evan.
'Nothing equal to his father,' replied Donald Bean. 'He told us the other
day, we were to see a great gentleman riding on a horse, and there came
nobody that whole day but Shemus Beg, the blind harper, with his dog.
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