The chief and his guest had by this time reached the house of
Glennaquoich, which consisted of Ian nan Chaistel's mansion, a high
rude-looking square tower, with the addition of a lofted house, that is,
a building of two stories, constructed by Fergus's grandfather when he
returned from that memorable expedition, well remembered by the western
shires under the name of the Highland Host. Upon occasion of this crusade
against the Ayrshire Whigs and Covenanters, the Vich Ian Vohr of the time
had probably been as successful as his predecessor was in harrying
Northumberland, and therefore left to his posterity a rival edifice as a
monument of his magnificence.
Around the house, which stood on an eminence in the midst of a narrow
Highland valley, there appeared none of that attention to convenience,
far less to ornament and decoration, which usually surrounds a
gentleman's habitation. An inclosure or two, divided by dry-stone walls,
were the only part of the domain that was fenced; as to the rest, the
narrow slips of level ground which lay by the side of the brook exhibited
a scanty crop of barley, liable to constant depredations from the herds
of wild ponies and black cattle that grazed upon the adjacent hills.
Pages:
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355