The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Highland glen

This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.

Title: The Highland glen

or, plenty and famine

Author: Matilda Wrench

Release date: May 16, 2023 [eBook #70779]

Language: English

Original publication: United Kingdom: B. Wertheim, 1847

Credits: Bob Taylor, Fay Dunn and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HIGHLAND GLEN ***

THE HIGHLAND GLEN.

THE PROFITS WILL BE GIVEN FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE SUFFERING HIGHLANDERS.

THE

HIGHLAND GLEN;

OR,

PLENTY AND FAMINE.

BY
MATILDA WRENCH.

LONDON:
B. WERTHEIM, ALDINE CHAMBERS,
PATERNOSTER-ROW.
M DCCC XLVII.

MACINTOSH, PRINTER,
GREAT NEW-STREET LONDON.

THE HIGHLAND GLEN.

Reader, have you ever visited the western Highlands of Argyleshire? If you have, you will doubtless retain many a pleasant memory of the wild glens and the fair lakes, and the picturesque and magnificent mountains that make up the lovely scenery of these regions of the beautiful. If you have not, trust yourself for a few brief minutes to our guidance, while we strive to recal the impressions of one day, out of many happy days, passed in a Highland village there, not very long ago.

The traveller who visits this spot, seldom leaves it without exploring the upper shores and the Serpent’s Fall, at the head of Loch ——, nor did I and my companion; and, as we were slowly rowed up it against the tide, we gazed in admiration at the pyramidal and craggy mountains that towered majestically above the deep blue waters of the lake, shelving into them, and jutting out in little promontories that almost met on either side, damming up the current so as to make it discharge itself with tenfold impetuosity as it escaped from the narrowed channel. One of our guides was a student of St. Andrew’s, the son of one of the smaller tenantry on the Lochiel estates, and, during the vacation, he was endeavouring, by rowing visitors about the lake, to raise a small sum of money for the purchase of books to enable him to pursue his studies on his return to college. He was a fine athletic-looking lad, with a countenance of remarkable intelligence, and was perfectly well versed in all the legends of the locality. Indeed, his older and more staid fellow-labourer at the oar now and then allowed a half incredulous smile to steal over his weather-beaten face, as Mr. —— related how the shepherd of the glen, in ages past, had, after many warnings, been changed into a mountain on the Inverness side (where, alas! he was wont to stray), and how his faithful wife, who had many a time strained her eyes in vain in watching for his return, was rewarded for her fidelity and devotion, by finding herself and the stone, on which she used to sit in the dim twilight, gradually growing into the shapely mountain that still bears her name,[1] so that, while the world lasts, she shall never again lose sight of her gude man. It was truly an idle tale, and yet not, perhaps, altogether vain, for it might suggest a thought of sin and sorrow, that pair inseparably united by a decree which none may break. But we must not linger thus, lest minutes turn to hours, and patience be tired before her time.

After many a vigorous stroke, and many a long pull, that caused the beads of dew to stand thick upon the brows of our almost-exhausted boatmen, who with all their efforts could scarcely keep their course among the eddies of opposing currents, we at length saw the water of the fall, flowing into the lake, and gazing on it in admiration, like a silver line upon a field of ultramarine, soon after landed.

I will not stop to tell of sketching and climbing, and of boggy swamps that threatened to impede our way to the most desirable points of view. I will only say that we were thoroughly exhausted with fatigue and hunger, when, after some hours spent in exploring, we turned our steps towards a “house of refreshment” which our boatmen had pointed out. They had promised to announce our approach, and accordingly we found the table spread with freshly-made oat-cake, still hot and crisp, a large bowl of rich cream, fresh butter, a bottle of whisky, and a drinking-horn.

The “house of refreshment” was, however, nothing more than a rough Highland hut, situated at the foot of the old road up the glen, if road that could be called which was formed of a succession of vast ledges of rock from three to five feet high; such as it is, it is the only opening among the mountains that, bare and rugged, rise abruptly on all sides, and it is bordered by a narrow track, down which the drovers still conduct their flocks and herds, unless when it is flooded by the mountain torrents, that rush thundering through the glen, and discharge themselves through a chasm in the rock to the left of the hut, forming one of the small streams that feed the lake. A huge, shapeless mass of rock rises just opposite this rustic shelter, and must serve to break the violence of the blasts that sweep the glen, though it also hides the romantic beauties of its entrance.

A little group of three or four children were clambering over the rocks, and dragging huge branches of the bracken, which they had been out to get, as litter for the favourite cow that stood in a byre or shed at one end of the hut. At the sound of their ringing laughter as they drew near, a rough, wiry-headed tabby cat, that had been basking in the sun, put up her back, and after leisurely stretching herself and pawing, walked to meet the merry ones, and purred and rubbed herself against each in turn, turning up her green eyes as if she expected a caress in answer to her greeting. The bracken was dragged to the cow-shed, and then with a yell of self-gratulation, or of hunger, we cannot precisely say which, the whole number rushed into the room we occupied, and as suddenly disappeared through a side door.

Our meal despatched, and neither waiter nor hostess appearing, we had leisure to survey the apartment. The centre was supported on what was literally a roof tree, for a venerable beech, that had, perhaps, been the original attraction to the site, still upheld the simple framework of the roof, raised aloft on its double-twisted stem, selected, doubtless, for its promise of double strength. In one corner of the room stood a solid oaken chest, the receptacle of the meal that supplied the family with food; opposite was a bed, or rather shake-down, for it was on the floor, but looked very clean and comfortable; on the third side the peat was giving out its red heat from a spacious hearth, and indeed induced such a feeling of suffocation, that we would fain have opened the window for a little fresh air from the mountains. The massive framework, however, was not made to open; it seemed calculated rather to exclude light as well as air, for the proportion of glass was small indeed; so in despair I went to the side door, and, in opening it, nearly tumbled through, for the earth (there was no flooring) had sunk so much at the threshold as to have left a sort of trench. I recovered myself and stepped over, and there were the four barefooted urchins with their curly heads and their rosy cheeks, the very picture of health and glee, standing round a three-legged stool on which their mother had set a large bowl of smoking potatoes and milk. They were sipping and eating, and just as I entered the room, the elder boy having fished up a particularly attractive, flowery bit of potato between his finger and thumb, ran to the baby, a fine child of some ten or eleven months old, who was sitting on its mother’s knee, and began to cram its tiny mouth with the delicious morsel which broke and crumbled and fell into the infant’s lap; the petted baby smiled and laughed, and helped to pick up the crumbs, and put them, not into her own mouth, but her mother’s. “That’s a braw bairn,” exclaimed the mother, “a right Highland lassie, aye to gie the bit and sup afore you tak’ it yoursel;” and the child, at the sound of its mother’s voice, turned to her, and forgot the potato and nestled in her bosom, and she bent her head over the bonnie wee thing, and gave it a long fond kiss, as though it had been her first-born. She was seated on a low oaken bench, such as in England is called a settle, and a high screen behind her prevented her seeing our entrance.

We stood for a moment looking on the scene of simple domestic happiness before us, and then introducing ourselves by a few words of greeting to the group around the bowl, we thanked the hostess for our seasonable refreshment, and asked what we should pay. “Oh, naething, just naething,” was the reply; “ye’re wanderers and far frae hame, and ye’re welcome.” We remonstrated. She shook her head, saying, “God has gi’en us plenty, and he bids us use hospitality, and ye winna gainsay his bidding, so just gang in peace,” she added, laughing goodhumouredly, “for ye’re far frae ——, I guess, and ye’ll hae a long pull hame.”

It was indeed getting late, and the thought of four hours on the lake in the dark, had a hurrying tendency, so pointing to the Bible and hymn-book on the shelf above the children’s bed, we bade her remember us in their evening worship, and, slipping some silver into the children’s hands, we took our leave. We had not gone many yards before we met a Highlander with a net at his back, and a basket of fish before him, and the shout of delight which in another moment burst from the cot, proved him to be, as we had supposed, the father of the group within. Before we had gone far, we heard a sonorous voice raising the evening hymn, and anon the sound of shrill and infant voices mingling with it. We could not stop to listen, but we joined in heart, and as a fresh breeze from the mountain pass brought the sweet sounds once more to our ear, we fervently exclaimed (as again they died away), in the words of their native poet:—

“May He who stills the raven’s clamorous nest,

And decks the lily fair in flow’ry pride,

Yet, in the way his wisdom sees the best,

For them and for their little ones provide,

But chiefly in their hearts with grace divine preside.”

Such was the condition of a Highland family in the autumn of 1845. And now we are about to reverse the picture; to show our Highland family under other circumstances, and we would entreat the reader to remember that since the joyous and the grievous, the bright days and dark days, are alike of God’s appointment, it must be good for us to look upon both,—to look, to meditate, to minister, and it may be, in so doing, to learn a lesson that may be to our profit as well as theirs. May God of his infinite mercy grant it, to the glory of his holy name, through Jesus Christ!

Eighteen months had passed over the Highland cottage, and in their brief course had swept away almost all that it had once contained of the appliances of domestic usefulness and comfort; for the scarcity which had been felt on the partial failure of the potato crop in 1845, had, in consequence of the general failure of the following year, advanced through the successive stages of privation and destitution, till it might now truly be said in the simple, but emphatic language of Scripture, that “the famine was sore in the land,” for “their food has been destroyed, and means of purchasing other food they have not.”[2]

It is about the second week in January, 1847, that we would again introduce our friends to the home of the M’Kenzies. An air of desolation now reigned around it,—all was still. There was no hum of children’s voices making glad the lonely glen; the fowls that had gathered round the cottage-door were no longer to be seen, the pig-stye was empty,[3] the stream was frost-bound.

The thatch which had been secured by birch twigs linked together in the Highland fashion, and kept down by a great stone suspended from the twisted ends, and dangling in front, was half off. The elder bush that had grown beside the shed was gone, and its hollow branches no longer creaked in the wintry blast, for when labour was scarce, and peat was three times its usual price, any thing that would serve for firing was little likely to be spared. The interior of the cottage offered a sad and striking contrast to the scene of joy and plenty it had presented before.

The table, formerly so hospitably spread for us, was gone; the meal-chest, the children’s bed, the comfortable settle, each in its turn had been parted with for food; the inner door was open, and there were the bairns, no longer fresh, rosy, full of life and vigour; they had ceased to attend the school; they had ceased to climb the overhanging rocks, and splash and dabble, like so many wild birds, in the stream that foamed beneath the ledge on which the cottage stood. Poor children! they were all lying huddled together on a mattress, with a dirty blanket over it: their old pet the grey cat curled up among the group. They were scarcely covered, for the one scanty, tattered garment which did not reach the knees, showed the deep poverty that had fallen on the parents. They were anxiously waiting for the hour when the little portion of milk which the wretched half, no, not half-fed cow, still yielded, was to be divided among them. It was now three days since they had tasted any other nourishment, and M’Kenzie and his wife began to think it would be better to sell or kill their cow, than thus to see their little ones pining away beneath the united pangs of cold and hunger. But there had been no fire upon the hearth that day; for the few peats that remained were husbanded to dress the meals that they were daily hoping might, through some providential channel, come to them. And the children awoke at night, crying with cold; and one of them sobbed, and said,—“Collie is always warm. Oh! mither, let me gang sleep wi’ Collie; for Robin and Moggie are like the frost to me.” The father spoke not! but he went to the shed and led in the poor miserable-looking cow, that staggered from weakness as it stepped over the stones at the door. He brought it to the side of the children’s bed, and, when it lay down they stretched themselves upon it, and the gentle creature, that in happier days had been caressed and often wreathed with garlands of the broom and heather by them, turned its head and fixed its large mild eye upon them, as though sensible of their sufferings, and pleased to minister to them, and for some hours suffering was forgotten in sleep.

The following morning word was brought that there was work to be had at ——, across the hills, and that, perhaps, M’Kenzie might be able to get some. He sighed heavily, but he nodded assent, and, bidding his wife get the Bible from the shelf, and beckoning to the children to come and stand around him, he read the twenty-third Psalm, and his voice became firm and clear as he said,—“I shall not want,” for he said it in David’s spirit, and he believed it in his heart, and the sense of his failing strength that had clouded his brow, gave place to the assurance of faith, as he read the promise of the Staff that is of power to support the weak. And when he had prayed that in the might of the promise he might go forth, he lifted the hymn as usual; and it was a hymn of praise, so that the passing stranger might still have thought it went up from light and happy hearts. And so, indeed, it did; for how “shall the righteous be made sad, whom I have not made sad? saith the Lord God.”

The morning worship over, M’Kenzie started on his long and toilsome walk. The embankment, which was the scene of labour, was full ten miles off, over moor and mountain, but he got there after two hours’ hard walking, and applied for employment. He was received, and at the end of the day was paid one shilling for his toil; and he went further ere he turned towards his home, to spend his earnings in meal for his family. It was late ere he reached his cabin, his little ones had cried themselves to sleep. His wife, after watching long for his return, oft turning to her sleeping children in the sickness of hope deferred, and then again straining her eyes to look through the casement for her husband, had seated herself at the foot of the bed with her hands clasped tightly together, the indication of a strong mental effort to repress the feelings of anxious suspicion that were busy at her heart, and thus M’Kenzie found her. He shewed the bag of meal, and told her that he had no doubt of being employed at the embankment while the works were in progress; but as he spoke, his words became tremulous, his hand dropped, and he would have fallen, if his wife had not supported, and half dragged him to the bed. Reader, you have read in books of fancy and fiction, scenes of imaginary faintings from imaginary sources of emotion and of suffering, and, perhaps, you have wept at them; and for such imaginary distresses, your tears were enough, nay, all too much. They will not suffice here. M’Kenzie had walked ten miles to his labour. He had honestly put forth all his strength to his appointed task, he had made a circuit of six miles to get the oatmeal for his children ere he set out on his homeward path. All this he had done, and he had not tasted food that day. His wife succeeded so far in reviving him, that he raised his head and looked around, but he could not speak. She looked for a sup of milk in the earthen jar—their only remaining vessel of any kind,—but it was empty. The poor respited cow gave what she could—a scanty supply, all thin and watery! and unlike the rich abundance she had formerly yielded; still it was precious, and as Margaret saw the colour stealing over her husband’s wan face, she was thankful that Collie had been spared. If they could but manage to keep her alive still, but the skin hung in huge wrinkles over the projecting bones, and except the dry and withered bracken, fodder there was none for her.

To kindle the few smouldering peats that lay upon the hearth, and to prepare a mess of porridge for her husband, was Margaret’s next care, but M’Kenzie protested that he was abundantly refreshed already, and that he was too sleepy to wait for the cooking of the porridge. Margaret urged him, but he would not be persuaded, and they closed the day with prayer and reading, and together joined in praising Him who had made good his promise of the morning, and supplied their need,—“I shall not want;” and as they lay down on their heather mattress with their little ones, all sense of want was gone, and filled with the consciousness of their Heavenly Father’s presence with them, and of his love towards them, his everlasting love in Christ Jesus, they slept in peace! Reader, what would they have had to sustain their fainting spirits if they had been living without God in the world?

But morning came again, and with it the cries of the little ones for bread. The elder children tried to hush them, but they had had nothing except an occasional sip of milk the day before, and their cries were only to be stopped by food. Margaret soon rose and prepared the porridge, asking God’s blessing on that which He had given. They stood round and eat by turns, beginning at the youngest save one, who was an infant at the mother’s breast. But when it came to M’Kenzie’s turn, he shook his head, and looked away. “Nae lassie, nae, I canna eat the children’s bread,” he exclaimed. But now the wife would not be refused; “And what is your strength but the children’s bread?” she replied, “ah, man! ye maun eat, or ye canna work; and neither bit nor sup shall pass my lips till ye hae eaten what’s there. I’ve mair on the fire for the bairns, and you’re wanting to be awa’, for its a sair, sair bit, that ye hae to gang till your work.”

“Dinna ca’ it sair, lassie, and I’ll do as ye would hae me, for oh, its mony and mony a braw Highlander that looking on a family o’ hungry weans would bless God for the like, even if the wage were less;” and he eat up the porridge as he was bidden (there might be a matter of a tea-cup full).

Again the blessed book was read aloud; again he led the prayer, that was prayer indeed, for it arose from a sense of actual want, and it arose in the assurance that, through the merits of the Redeemer, that want, the temporal as well as the spiritual, would be supplied. And the thought of the mercies of yesterday quickened his faith, and gave animation to his voice as he raised it in the hymn of praise: and then he “went forth to his labour,” for that was his part, and he felt strong to do it.

We will not prolong our history by recording the details of days that came and went in like manner: for about three weeks the father continued to work at the embankment, returning to his family with the fruits of his labour every evening. But day by day his strength declined, and on the fifth of February, it was two hours past midnight before he returned to his anxious wife. He found her in earnest prayer, and as he stepped over the threshold, the words, “Lord, wilt Thou leave us to perish, the mother with the little ones?” fell on his ear in accents wrung from an agonized spirit. In the intenseness of her supplication she had not heard even his approach. Her head which had been flung back was suddenly bent forward, her hands relaxed somewhat of the tightness of their grasp, and the anguish seemed to have passed away as she fervently and firmly added,—“Yet not my will, but Thine be done.” It must be so indeed, for would our gracious God have bidden us “cast our burden upon him,” unless it had been his purpose to receive it from us?[4]

Her eye now fell upon her husband, and a strange chill crept over her as she remarked his wild and haggard look. Yes, the plague had begun! nature overtasked day by day, could hold out no longer; and though the spirit of the man had sustained his infirmities, his strength had failed at last. For some days he had been struggling with low fever, but he felt that he could struggle no more, and that the hand of death was upon him. He looked round upon his wife and children, but he remembered who had said,—“Leave thy fatherless children to Me, and let thy widows trust in Me;” and he felt that in exchanging the weak ministry of his unnerved arm for the strength of the “everlasting arms,” there was no room for lamentation.

He tried to read the chapter as usual, but his sight failed, and he lay back upon the clay floor, and never rose from it again. The fever rapidly assumed the worst form of typhus, and ere the third day closed in, Margaret M’Kenzie was a widow indeed, and desolate. We will not linger over details too painful to be needlessly dwelt upon; we will not unveil a sorrow too sacred to be exposed and dissected; but we must observe, that there is one feature in the Highland character which exercised a painful influence on the poor family in this their hour of deepest affliction. From the rareness among them of such visitations, any disorder of a contagious or epidemic kind is regarded by the Highlanders with such a degree of horror as leads them to shrink from any offices involving contact with the sufferers, and thus there was none to help; and oh, who but those who have known what it is to feel the loneliness of sorrow, can realize the strong consolation that the M’Kenzies found in the assurance of the sympathy of Christ, and in the remembrance that of him in his sufferings, it is written,—“Of the people there was none with me?”

The elder boy had been sent to the nearest place to procure a coffin, and to promise the cow in payment,—it was their only remaining possession, except the heather mattress, and that none would take, from dread of the fever,—and Margaret’s wedding gown, which her husband had tried to exchange for money or for food; but no one had either to give for it.

When the carpenter heard the boy’s name, he shrunk back, and bade him be gone, in a voice in which terror predominated over sympathy.

In due time, however, the coffin was brought to the door, and there deposited; and of the few clansmen who attended to bear their kinsman to the grave, not one would enter the dwelling to assist in moving the remains of him to whom living or dying, under any other circumstances, they would have refused nothing. Poor Margaret! that was a trial! but not greater than the promise,—“As thy day, so shall thy strength be.” It was indeed a dark, dark day; but the promise could not be hidden, even though it was a darkness to be felt. How it was accomplished, the poor widow knew not. The first-born had helped, and fallen panting at the threshold, fainting with exertion and with horror; and when the door was opened, those without drew back, and bade her, though in tones of solemn pity, lay her burden in its narrow bed herself; and then they signed to her to retire. She closed the door behind her, and in a few minutes they drew round the coffin, closed, and bore it to the boat, and rowed in silence to the island resting-place of the M’Kenzies, in the middle of the lake.

There is something peculiarly solemn in standing on an island of graves. The very dust that the summer breeze wafts over us, may indeed remind us of our mortality,—suggest a thought that it, perhaps, was once animated: but the complete isolation of such a spot as this, fixes the mind to the contemplation, as though thought for once were fettered, and the subject of her meditations were bound upon her, like the wave upon that sepulchral shore,—and so it was felt by all now, and not a word was spoken as they laid M’Kenzie in his long home.

But we must return to the cabin where the roof-tree had thus fallen in its prime, and where yet, through faith and hope that is in Christ Jesus, the widow was enabled, amid the desolation of all things earthly, still to bear up, and amid her first tears, to thank God that her husband had departed in peace. The delirium had ceased about an hour before his death, and he had bade his Margaret remember that, though while spared to his family they had a right to look to him for support, yet he had been but the instrument, in God’s hands, for providing it; and that now he was taken from them, God would be sure to supply their necessities through some other channel, rather than be wanting to his promise of being a “husband to the widow, and a father to the fatherless.” He bade her read him the eighth chapter of Romans, “that blessed chapter,” he said, “which begins with no condemnation and ends with no separation.” When she came to the words “killed all the day long—accounted as sheep for the slaughter,” he fixed his eyes upon her; and as she read on, “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us,” he repeated after her “more than conquerors through Him,” “more than conquerors.” And as she read further, “I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus,” he bowed his head as if in experimental assent, and his spirit departed to God who gave it.

Such had been M’Kenzie’s end; and his widow as she thought of his freed spirit rejoicing before the Throne and with the Lamb, was comforted, and found peace in the expectation of the time when she and his little ones should also be summoned to that land where “they neither hunger nor thirst any more.”

That night she read the latter part of the seventh chapter of the Revelation with her children; and as she told how their father was now among this “great multitude,” little Moggie cried, and asked as she shivered with the cold, why they might not go to him; for “O mither, though ye hae read that there’s nae heat there, onie mair than here, yet gin there’s nae hunger, it wadna be sae sair to bear.”

The tears fell fast from Margaret’s eyes, the first tears she had shed, as she took the child upon her knee, and told her that none could enter that land, but those whom God was pleased to call there, and that till he gave the summons we must patiently abide here, suffering his will, and enduring unto the end whatever he sees fit. “And oh, Moggie, lass,” she added, “ye ken I bless God ye hae aye kennit, since ye were auld enoo’ to understand, ‘that our Heavenly Father so loved the world that he gave his only Son to die for us;’ ‘and now shall he not with him also freely give us all things?’ And as he gives hunger and cold to us now, it’s because they’re best for us, for he could give food and firing just as easily. And oh, my dear bairns, doesna’ it soften your pangs to think that your Father in Heaven sends them?”

Moggie put her arm round her mother’s neck and nodded assent and tried to smile, but the shivering that had seized her was the beginning of the fever, and she too drooped and died. Margaret told her that the summons had now come for her, and she asked her if she would like to go to the Lord Jesus, the good shepherd who had said, “Suffer the little children to come to me?” The child could not speak, but she stretched her arms upward, and ere they fell again at her side, she knew what it was to be gathered among the lambs of the heavenly pasture; she knew (oh, may we all one day know too), what it is to “be with Jesus.”

The little stock of meal that the clansmen had brought with them on the day of M’Kenzie’s funeral, was now exhausted; the cow had ceased to yield any milk, and would have been killed for food, but none had strength to deal the fatal blow. The extremity of destitution had now come upon the bereaved family. The poor infant sought in vain for the nourishment that was no longer supplied, and cried and mourned upon its mother’s knees. The two elder boys were down with the fever, but they struggled hard with it, their summons was not sounded yet.

And do you ask how Margaret and her children were supported? She shall answer for herself. “We lived upon the promises of God’s Word, and when they seemed to tarry, we just read the fourth of Philippians, and so were enabled to wait, though they tarry, through Christ that strengtheneth us in the spirit.”

Oh, the blessings of a Bible education; if those who undervalue, or would substitute something else in its stead, could just contrast the peace of a Highland family, with the despair of an Irish cabin, where the Scriptures are unknown, and the way of salvation is hidden from their eyes; they would surely be content to give the Scriptures, at all events, to those to whom they can secure no earthly good beside. And may those who have the Scriptures and have with them the good things of this life, learn to prize them the more highly, when they see those who have received them into their hearts and minds, “thankful and contented amid the horrors of starvation.”[5]

But we digress,—two days had come and gone without food of any kind, and as she had no breakfast to give them, Margaret had let her children sleep late in the morning; and when, ere she lay down at night by their side, she had looked on their pale wan faces, the skin prematurely shrivelled and wrinkled, the bones projecting in place of the dimpled roundness of childhood, she felt that their hours must be numbered, and often instead of sleeping, she rose and put her ear close to each, that she might be sure they still breathed. And she shrunk overpowered from the thought of passing another night thus; and then the weary day that followed—deserted by all, not a living thing came near the dwelling. Still strong in faith, Margaret cheered her remaining little ones till evening came, and they asked her to pray that they might go to their father and Moggie. She asked if they would leave her then alone? they said she should ask to go too. And then the second girl Jeanie asked why, if God heard prayer, he had not heard theirs and given them bread? It is written, “He giveth not account of any of his matters,” said the mother solemnly. “It is written, too, ‘He doth not willingly afflict the children of men,’ and (in pity to the weakness of our faith, and as if to meet the very cravings of our questioning), it is most graciously written also, ‘What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter.’” This was said, as is generally the case with the Scotch in speaking directly of Scripture, in the pure English of the authorized version; it was also said, in a tone of rebuke, for perhaps nothing could have excited her feelings so deeply as the idea of unbelief of God’s Word, or distrust of God’s love in any of her children. It was as though the enemy had found entrance; as though the wolf, seeking whom he might devour, had got into her little fold. She took the child on her knee, “Jeanie, lass,” she said, “It is nae sae lang syne that you should forget the day your father corrected ye and kept you withouten yer parritch for dinner or supper, because ye’d displeased and disobeyed him; and did ye think then either that he could na’ have bidden me gie ye the parritch; or that he had nae gude reason for not bidding me. Ye thinkit nae siccan a thing, Jeanie, and ye maun ken that your Heavenly Father has a right to chasten ye, as well as your earthly, and ye maun feel as well as ken that he does it for your profit.” The little girl leant her head against her mother’s shoulder and wept; and Margaret kissed her, and continued soothingly,—“I dinna expect ye to find it pleasant, lass, ‘for no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous.’ And this is grievous above measure, in especial for weans like ye; but remember we ‘do not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord.’ And pray, pray to him to forgive you the thought of your heart, and to make you ‘trust him, though you canna trace him;’ he says, ‘I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.’ You saw that he was with your father and Moggie, yet they died, but He was with them as the life of their spirit, and now they are with Him for ever.” The child, soothed by her voice and warmed by her embrace, ere long fell asleep in her arms; and thus Margaret passed the dreaded night. She would not move for fear of breaking the deep, sound sleep; but the presence of her God was with her, and none of the terrors of darkness were suffered to approach her.

The morning dawn showed Margaret her other children stretched on their mattress as usual; but the grey cat, their constant companion had disappeared. Stiff and weary, the mother laid herself down by them and fell asleep; and the day was far advanced when she again opened her eyes on the scene of so much suffering. The fever had not attacked the others; and the boys who had had it, were recovering, though so weak that without nourishment as they were, it was plain they could not long survive. The baby seldom unclosed its eyes, it lay and slumbered either on its mother’s lap, or on a bundle of rags in a corner of the room. The rest had become too weak to cry, too faint to talk, and except when the chapter was read, and the prayer arose, or when Margaret repeated aloud some promise from God’s Word to support the hearts of her little ones, silence reigned in the cottage. Exhaustion produced drowsiness, and quieted the pangs of hunger. The hope of procuring food had almost deserted her; the only dwelling within two miles, was a solitary cabin, whose tenants were little likely to be better provided than herself; and Margaret felt that she had now only to wait in patience, till He who hath the keys of death, should open the portals of the shadowy valley and lead them all through it, to the mansions prepared for them above. Her own strength was wonderful; it could not be natural strength, for that had been drained by her infant, and by long abstinence and painful watching; it was the strength of woman’s devotedness, upheld by faith in the Word of God.

She led the morning worship as usual, and she prayed in calm resignation that she might be enabled to submit her will with cheerfulness to the will of God; and she praised the loving Saviour for his gracious assurance, in his invitation to the little children, that he would receive them. To Him in death, as she believed, she now committed them; but the thought, that she had not yet fully done her part, sunk upon her conscience; and giving the baby into the charge of the elder ones, she bade them pray that God would guide her way while she went in search of food to keep them all alive. But she had overtasked her powers, and as she met the current of fresh, cold air, her head swam, her steps tottered, and she fell as she crossed the threshold. And it was a shriek of ecstasy such as she little thought her famishing bairns could have raised, such as for many a day, many a week had never fallen on her ears that roused her again to consciousness. She rose, and supporting herself by the wall, re-entered the room. And oh, what a sight met her eyes, there was the grey cat with a large fish in its mouth upon the children’s bed. He who had formerly fed his prophet by the ravens, had now in this affecting providence shown his care of them.[6] The fish was brought as one of the boys suggested, from an old yare, or fish trap at the head of the lake. Hunger had overcome the instinctive dislike of the cat to water, and the instinct which leads the species to play with its prey before despatching it, had thus been overruled for the sustenance of his people, by him “who ordereth all things.”

The cat dropped the fish between the children, and purring and rubbing herself against them, jumped down, and made her way through the opened door. She returned with a second supply, and for three days the family were kept alive in this manner. If Margaret’s faith had been firm and unwavering before, we need not wonder that now all care for the future seemed taken from her heart. God had begun to restore, he would not mock her hopes; and the desire of life and the thought of better, no not better (for never had she lived so near her God), but brighter days revived. It was at this time that the deputation from the Destitution Committee arrived in Argyleshire. They visited the glen, and awarded to Margaret, in common with about 120 of the most destitute families, an allowance of meal, sufficient for the support of herself and her family for six weeks.

And now we would, ere we part, say a few last words to the reader. Have you as you read felt moved by the tale of suffering, such as perhaps you never even imagined before? Then if you have, let the feeling work; for it has been well said, “When such relations in real life are listened to, without any efforts for the relief of the sufferer, the emotion is gradually weakened;” and that moral condition, “so abhorrent to our fellow creatures, so alien from the Divine Nature, is produced, which we call selfishness and hardness of heart.” And we might appeal even to this very selfishness; for that which is the case of our brethren now, may ere long be our own. We trust that through the sparing mercy of our God, and his blessing on our harvests, sought by our humiliation through the merits of the Redeemer, it may be averted from us. But “as” in such a case, should it ever be your own, “ye would that men should do unto you, even so do unto them.” “To-day harden not your hearts.”

The Highlander too has a peculiar claim on our bounty, for he has ever been ready to minister to the wants of the stranger and the traveller. During a tour of some weeks among the mountains and the glens, we very frequently closed an evening ramble by a visit to their cottages. And never in one single instance, though we were a party of five, were we allowed to depart without partaking of their hospitality; nor would they receive remuneration in return. Their hospitality they can no longer offer, their meal chest is empty, their cow has long been gone, and is it not the time for us to render back what we so freely received? But they have a higher claim. It is written,—“Do good unto all men, specially unto them that are of the household of faith,” and such are they.

“And oh, may we all have grace so to deny ourselves that we may be enabled to follow the example of His compassion, Who, ‘though He was rich, yet for our sakes became poor.’ And Who, though content for our sakes to endure himself the pinching pains of hunger and want, yet suffered not the multitudes to go hungry away.”

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Caillian, the gude wife.

[2] Second Statement of the Destitution Committee.

[3] “In many of the islands the pigs, being left without food, have literally disappeared, and the fowls, no longer fed at home, have wandered, and eagles, ravens, and carrion crows have fallen on them and devoured them.”—Second Report.

[4] “Cast thy burden upon the Lord;” and it may be some man shall say, How? Roll it on him with the two hands of faith and prayer.—Leighton.

[5] From a letter by the wife of a Clergyman in Argyleshire, dated March 25, 1847.

[6] Letter from Dr. Aldcorn.

BOOKS

PUBLISHED BY B. WERTHEIM,

ALDINE CHAMBERS, PATERNOSTER ROW.

By the late Right Rev. M. S. ALEXANDER, D.D., Bishop of the United Church of England and Ireland in Jerusalem.

FAREWELL SERMON, preached at the Episcopal Jews’ Chapel, Bethnal-green. Published by request. Third Edition, price 1s.

The GLORY of MOUNT ZION. A Sermon preached at the Hebrew Service in the Episcopal Jews’ Chapel. Price 1s.

The FLOWER FADETH (Isa. xl. 7); Memoir of SARAH ALEXANDER. 18mo., cloth, Second Edition, 2s. 6d.

By the Rev. A. M’CAUL, D.D., Rector of St. James’s Church, Dyke’s Place, and Prebendary of St. Paul’s.

The OLD PATHS. 10s.

A SERMON preached in St. Paul’s Cathedral, Monday, October 19, 1846, on the occasion of the VISITATION of the Right Honourable and Right Reverend the Lord BISHOP of LONDON. Published at the request of his Lordship. 1s.

The CHRISTIAN SANCTUARY CONTRASTED with the LEVITICAL TEMPLE. A Sermon preached before the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs of London and Middlesex, on the Occasion of the Re-opening of the Church of St. James, Duke’s-place. 1s.

An APOLOGY for the STUDY of HEBREW and RABBINICAL LITERATURE. 1s.

PLAIN SERMONS, on Subjects Practical and Prophetic. 12mo., cloth lettered, price 6s. 6d.

The CONVERSION and RESTORATION of the JEWS; Two Sermons preached before the University of Dublin. 8vo., Second Edition, 2s.

ISRAEL AVENGED. BY Don ISAAC OROBIO. Translated and Answered. Parts I., II., III., 1s. 6d. each.

The ETERNAL SONSHIP of the MESSIAH. A Sermon preached in the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, on the Feast of the Annunciation; and in the Chapel of Trinity College, Dublin, April 29th, 1838. With Notes and an Appendix. 8vo., 2s.

The PERSONALITY and WORK of the HOLY SPIRIT, as revealed in the Old Testament; a Tract for the House of Israel. 6d.

NEW TESTAMENT EVIDENCES, to prove that the Jews are to be Restored to the LAND of ISRAEL. Second Edition, 4d.

“INQUISITION FOR BLOOD;” or, the Eternal Obligation on States and Governments to inflict the PENALTY of DEATH for WILFUL MURDER. Respectfully addressed to Her Majesty’s Prime Minister, and to all whom it may concern. By A Witness for “Judgment, Mercy, and Faith.” Price 6d.

Second Edition, with New and Original Details,

The APOSTOLICAL CHRISTIANS, and Catholics of Germany: A Narrative of the present Movement in the Roman Catholic Church. Edited by H. SMITH, Esq. With a Recommendatory Preface, by the Rev. W. GOODE, M.A., F.S.A., Rector of St. Antholin. Fcp., 8vo. cloth, 3s. 6d.

“Is decidedly the best collected narrative which has hitherto appeared on the subject.”—Continental Echo.

JOURNAL of MISSIONARY LABOURS in JERUSALEM. By the Rev. F.C. EWALD. Second Edition, Fcp. 8vo., 4s. 6d.

“This work, dedicated to the Chevalier Bunsen, cannot fail to be read with great interest, and more especially at a time when many eyes are directed to ‘the holy city,’ when, it is to be hoped, a growing anxiety is felt for the spiritual welfare of Israel. We have laid before our readers the commencement of a series of letters from our excellent friend Mr. Veitch, for a season the fellow-labourer with Mr. Ewald in the East; and we think that correspondence will fully bear out the accuracy of Mr. Ewald’s statements, and bear full testimony to his zeal, devotedness, and energy to the work of his Divine Master. The mission of Bishop Alexander has, in some quarters, been viewed with an approach to jealousy; let those who thus view it read the volume from which the above is extracted.”—Church of England Magazine.

The CHURCH of ST. JAMES; the Primitive Hebrew Christian Church at Jerusalem; its History, Character, and Constitution. By the Rev. J. B. CARTWRIGHT, A.M., Minister of the Episcopal Jews’ Chapel. 12mo., cloth, price 6s.

The TWO SERMONS preached at the EPISCOPAL JEWS’ CHAPEL, Palestine-place, Bethnal-green, on Sunday, December 28, 1845, on occasion of the Death of the Right Rev. Michael Solomon Alexander, D.D., late Bishop of the United Church of England and Ireland at Jerusalem. With an Appendix. By the Rev. J. B. CARTWRIGHT, A.M., Minister of the Chapel. Price 2s.

The RETURN of JESUS CHRIST to our EARTH, with its attendant Events; Five Lectures preached at Trinity Episcopal Chapel, Cannon-street-road, during the Season of Advent, A.D. 1813, by the Rev. A. B. EVANS, Minister, Price 1s.

Lately published, foolscap 8vo., stitched.

TRACTS FOR CHURCHMEN.

No.1. The ENGLISH REFORMATION NEITHER UNNECESSARY NOR SCHISMATICAL. By the late Rev. W. NICHOLSON, M.A., Second Edition, price 2d.

No. 2. The RIGHT of PRIVATE JUDGMENT INSEPARABLE from PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY. By the Rev. W. WILLIAMS, M.A. Second Edition, price 2d.

No. 3. The SCRIPTURE DOCTRINE of JUSTIFICATION BRIEFLY STATED. By the Rev. W. MARSH, D.D. Second Edition, price 1½d.

No. 4. A BULL for the DEPOSITION of QUEEN ELIZABETH, issued by Pope Pius V., A.D. 1570, with other interesting information respecting the event. Price 2d.

No. 5. The CHURCH. By the Rev. H. RAIKES, M.A. Second Edition, price 3d.

No. 6. BAPTISM as TAUGHT in the BIBLE and PRAYER-BOOK. By the Rev. E. HOARE, M.A. Second Edition, price 2½d.

No. 7. CHURCH GOVERNMENT and NATIONAL ESTABLISHMENTS. By the Rev. T. GISBORNE, M.A., Price 1½d.

No. 8. CHRISTIAN INTEGRITY. By the Rev. G. RENAUD, M.A. Price 1½d.

No. 9. A DEFENCE of LUTHER against the CALUMNY contained in a TRACT called “MARTIN LUTHER’S CONFERENCE with the DEVIL.” By the Rev. C. S. BIRD, M.A., F.L.S. Price 3d.

No. 10. The APOSTOLICAL INSTITUTION of EPISCOPACY DEMONSTRATED. By the Rev. W. CHILLINGWORTH, M.A. Price ½d.

No. 11. A POPULAR ADDRESS on the CLAIMS of the CHURCH of ENGLAND upon the AFFECTION and VENERATION of the PEOPLE. By the Rev. W. MARSH, D.D. Price 1d.

No. 12. The SCRIPTURE DOCTRINE of ORIGINAL SIN BRIEFLY CONSIDERED. By the Rev. F. O. SMITH, B.A. Price 2d.

No. 13. TRADITION as a RULE of FAITH shown to have NO AUTHORITY. By HERBERT MARSH, D.D., F.R.S., late Lord Bishop of Peterborough, and Margaret Professor of Divinity of the University of Cambridge. A reprint. 2½d.

Also, just published, Vol. I, comprising Nos. 1—12, cloth lettered, 2s. 6d.

Succeeding Numbers are in preparation.

“They have our hearty commendation. The principles advocated are excellent, the doctrines scriptural.”—Church of England Mag.

“They are admirable in design, and all of them respectable in execution; and we warmly recommend them to the attention of our readers, as fitted, by their extensive circulation, to be highly useful in these critical times.”—Record.

“A very valuable series of tracts.”—Christian’s Monthly Mag.

By the Rev. W. W. CHAMPNEYS, Rector of Whitechapel.

TENDER GRASS for CHRIST’S LAMBS. Price 6d., cloth, 1s.

Contents.—Creation, the first three days—Creation, the last three days—The Sabbath—Man, God’s Image—The Tempter—The Fall—The Redeemer—The new Creature—The new Heavens and Earth—Abel and his Sacrifice—Enoch walking with God—Noah and the Ark—Babel—Abraham, a Pilgrim—Abraham offering Isaac—God giving his Son—Moses, the King’s Ambassador—Christ, the King’s Son—Moses choosing the true riches—Christ, our Passover—Christ, our Manna—The Serpent lifted up—Christ lifted up—Sin, the transgression of the Law—The Law is spiritual—Death, the punishment of Sin—God will not clear the Guilty—Christ, our Surety—Christ fulfilling the Law—Christ suffering our punishment—Faith working by Love—Love, the proof that we are born of God—Hope, the Anchor of the Soul—The Veil of the Temple—The Day of Atonement—Christ the Rock—The Leprosy—Cleansing the Leprosy—Balaam—Caleb and the Spies—Crossing the River—The Fiery Furnace—The Word, a Lamp—Bad Companions—Seeking God early—Make the tree good—Jesus the Saviour—The Law and the Gospel—False Ways—The Rock and the Water Floods—The Sick Beggar and his Rags.

PRAYERS for LITTLE CHILDREN. Price 2d.

IMAGES. First and Second Series. Price 1s. each.

BRIEF SKETCH of PATRICK KENNEY, Late Scripture Reader. Price 2d.

BREAD UPON THE WATERS. Price 3d.

HELEN S—. “An example of suffering affliction and patience.” Price 1d.

FANNY, the FLOWER GIRL. By Miss BUNBURY. 6d., or cloth, 1s.

The BLIND GIRL of the MOOR. By Miss BUNBURY. 4d.

The CASTLE and HOVEL. By Miss BUNBURY. 6d., or cloth, 1s.

The following, Price 2d. each.

A HAPPY NEW YEAR—THE INDIAN BABES—I AM SO HAPPY—ST. WERNER’S CHAPEL—VICTORY TO JESUS CHRIST—THE BROTHER’S SACRIFICE—THE LITTLE DUMB BOY—THE INFANT’S PRAYER—IT IS ENOUGH.

Second Edition, 6d.; or cloth, 1s. with Fac-simile Engravings.

The AUTOBIOGRAPHY of THOMAS PLATTER, a Schoolmaster of the Sixteenth Century. Translated from the German, by Mrs. Finn.

Contents.—Thomas becomes a Goatherd—Becomes a Travelling Scholar—Begins to Study—Becomes a Ropemaker and Hebrew Professor—Becomes Armour-bearer, and then Schoolmaster—In the War in Basle—Turns Printer—Becomes Professor again, and Dies.

Just published, in foolscap 8vo., cloth, price 3s.,

EMILY BATHURST; or, At Home and Abroad. By the Author of “A Book for Young Women,” and “A Book for Wives and Mothers.”

“The individuals to whom this book is addressed form a large and influential class of the community; its design is twofold,—to meet some of the objections which are constantly urged against undertakings in which every female ought to be interested, and to point out certain defects which are often visible in the social circle. If it should be instrumental in awakening in but one young lady a livelier sense of her duties and responsibilities, the writer will not consider her time and labour uselessly employed.”

A BOOK for YOUNG WOMEN. By the Wife of a Clergyman. Second Edition, stiff cover, 6d., or cloth lettered, 1s.

“A book which may most advantageously be placed in the hands of young women.”—Church of England Magazine.

A BOOK for WIVES and MOTHERS. By the Wife of a Clergyman. 6d., or cloth, 1s.

For Parochial Distribution.

HOW SHALL I COME to the TABLE of the LORD? Ninth Edition, 2d.

“One of the most useful little books that have appeared for a long time. The objections that are so frequently made to attending the Lord’s table are met in a singularly simple and happy manner, and we can strongly recommend it, either for young or old.”—The Teacher’s Visitor.

By ELIZABETH MARIA LLOYD.

WE ARE SEVEN; or, the Little Mourner Comforted. Third Edition, 6d., or cloth lettered, 1s.

“The Author has made Wordsworth’s beautiful poem the groundwork of a narrative for communicating Evangelical truth, and it is written in so pleasing a style, that we think it cannot fail to interest and be useful to the young.”—Teachers’ Offering.

SANCTIFICATION, the BELIEVER’S PRIVILEGE. Second Edition, price 2d.

THIRZA; or, the Attractive Power of the Cross. Translated from the German. Eighth Edition, 6d., or cloth lettered, 1s.

SELIGMANN and NATHAN. Two Authentic Narratives. Translated from the German by SOPHIA LLOYD. Second Edition, 18mo., 6d., or cloth lettered, 1s.

LIGHT at EVENING TIME. By A Sunday School Teacher. Second Edition, price 4d.

Works by the Rev. MOSES MARGOLIOUTH.

The JEWS of GREAT BRITAIN; Being a Course of SIX LECTURES, delivered in the LIVERPOOL COLLEGIATE INSTITUTION, on the Antiquities of the Jews in England. 12mo., price 7s. 6d.

An EXPOSITION of the FIFTY-THIRD CHAPTER of ISAIAH; Being a Course of SIX LECTURES, preached in Glasnevin Church, near Dublin. 8vo., price 7s. 6d.

The FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES of MODERN JUDAISM INVESTIGATED; Together with a Memoir of the Author, and an Introduction; to which are appended a List of the SIX HUNDRED and THIRTEEN PRECEPTS, and Addresses to Jews and Christians. With a Preface by the Rev. Henry Raikes, M.A., Chancellor of the Diocese of Chester. 8vo., price 10s.

ISRAEL’S ORDINANCES EXAMINED; A Reply to Charlotte Elizabeth’s Letter to the Right Rev. the Bishop of Jerusalem. 8vo., price 2s.

The GERMAN SHOEMAKER and his FAMILY; or, the Blessings of Industry. By MARGARET FISON. Price 4d., in stiff cover.

GIUSEPPE, the ITALIAN BOY. By the Author of “The German Shoemaker.” With Engravings. Price 6d., or cloth lettered, 1s.

A TRIBUTE to the MEMORY of THOMAS H. P. BECKWITH, a Christ’s Hospital Boy. Price 4d.

LUCIE, the SWISS COTTAGER. A Tale. By Mrs. McGREGOR, Author of “Little Mary,” &c. Price 6d., or cloth lettered, 1s.

WHAT SHOULD I DO AFTER THE NATIONAL FAST? By the Author of “Shall I keep the Fast? and How?” Just published, price 1d.

ROUGH RHYMES for FARMERS’ BOYS. By Miss PARROTT. Price 4d.

“They are excellently adapted to their purpose, and are worthy, in all essential points, to take their place by the side of Watts’s ‘Moral Songs.’”—Englishwoman’s Magazine.

“Miss Parrott talks most sensibly and appropriately on humanity to animals, industry and fidelity in performance of duty, the fear of God, filial piety, and many other important subjects; and though some of her ‘Rhymes’ are rather ‘Rough’, they are so well adapted for the class of persons for whose use they are designed, that we wish them a place in every agricultural village school library.”—Church of England Quarterly Review.

If the TIMES are BAD, WHAT are YOU DOING to MEND THEM? 1d.

GROUNDS for COMMUNION with the CHURCH of ENGLAND.

Transcriber’s Notes

pg 32 Changed: begining at the youngest save one
to: beginning at the youngest save one

*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HIGHLAND GLEN ***

Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will be renamed.

Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away—you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark license, especially commercial redistribution.

START: FULL LICENSE

THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE

PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK

To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work (or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project Gutenberg™ License available with this file or online at www.gutenberg.org/license.

Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works

1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg™ electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property (trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in your possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.

1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg™ electronic works even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project Gutenberg™ electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.

1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the United States and you are located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™ works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg™ name associated with the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg™ License when you share it without charge with others.

1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project Gutenberg™ work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any country other than the United States.

1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:

1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must appear prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg™ work (any work on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, copied or distributed:

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.

1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg™ trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is posted with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked to the Project Gutenberg™ License for all works posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.

1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg™ License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg™.

1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project Gutenberg™ License.

1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg™ work in a format other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official version posted on the official Project Gutenberg™ website (www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.

1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™ works unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works provided that:

• You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from the use of Project Gutenberg™ works calculated using the method you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, but he has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.”

• You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™ License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™ works.

• You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of receipt of the work.

• You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works.

1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.

1.F.

1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment.

1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further opportunities to fix the problem.

1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.

1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.

1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any Defect you cause.

Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg™

Project Gutenberg™ is synonymous with the free distribution of electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from people in all walks of life.

Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg™’s goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™ collection will remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure and permanent future for Project Gutenberg™ and future generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org.

Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation

The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws.

The Foundation’s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact

Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation

Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations ($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt status with the IRS.

The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate.

While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who approach us with offers to donate.

International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.

Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate.

Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg™ electronic works

Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg™ concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.

Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several printed editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.

Most people start at our website which has the main PG search facility: www.gutenberg.org.

This website includes information about Project Gutenberg™, including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.