A CHAPTER ON ANNUALS. 501 



at me ; an* says he, ' Margaret/ says he, ' tell your husband to bide at hame 

 the nicht, and no gang to the fishin', or ye'll may be rue it when ye canna' 

 mend it.' And wi' that he turned roun', and gaed awa' again, or ever I had 

 pooer to speak till him ; an' I startit up, and vvaukenet wi' the fricht. But 

 do, Allan !' and Margaret again burst into a flood of weeping : ' it's na for 

 nocht that I've seen the auld man this nicht. Be ruled by the warnin' he 

 gied me, and dinna gang to the fishin.' 



" ' Hoots, bairn,' exclaimed her husband, ' your father liked na' me. It 

 was mair like he wad warn ye no' to let me gang, to hinder me from some 

 good than from ill. No, no, Margaret dear, gang I must, this night/ 



" Margaret again wept, wrung her hands, and implored her husband not 

 to go. But superstitious as every Highlander is, on this night it appeared 

 that his wife's mysterious dream made no impression upon Allan Mac Tavish. 

 His spirits, on the contrary, had seldom seemed so high or so excited. He 

 led Margaret to the door ; shewed her the calm, clear sky, brilliant with 

 stars, and the full spring-tide coming so tranquilly into the little bay ; asked 

 her with a kiss, if this were a night to let a dream frighten him from his 

 fishing ; and without awaiting farther remonstrance, strode to the place 

 where his boat was moored ; and as he pushed it from the shore, turned his 

 head, once more to utter a light and laughing farewell. ' Gang to your bed, 

 my bonny Peggy/ he said, ' and be up belyve the morn, to see the grand 

 boat load o' fish that I'll bring ye back/ 



" Margaret stood upon the shore and watched his boat as it doubled the 

 headland, until, through the darkness, her straining eye could no longer 

 discern it ; heedless the while of the still advancing tide, that now laved her 

 feet. She dried her tears, and looked up to the calm heaven, where not a 

 cloud obscured the dark-blue bosom of night ; till at last, half reassured by 

 her husband's cheerful anticipations, half cheered by the serene aspect of the 

 weather, she returned to the cottage, and after commending him in a fervent 

 prayer to the protection of heaven, she replenished the fire with peats, and lay 

 down beside her child, where, in a short time, she fell into a tranquil sleep. 



" How long Margaret had slept she knew not ; but it could not have been 

 very long, for, except the fitful flashes of the firelight, all was darkness in the 

 cottage, when she was suddenly awakened by a loud and prolonged sound. 

 She started up in bed, and listened, in an agony of apprehension that almost 

 froze the blood in her veins. It was no dream, no delusion, she distinctly 

 , heard the loud wild howling of the awakened blast, raging overhead as though 

 it would tear off the very roof of the cotttage, and scatter it in its fury. She 

 had sunk to sleep when all was stillness on earth and in heaven. She awoke 

 to a tumult as' awful as though all the winds had at once been set free from 

 their cave, and dispatched to waste their wrath upon the vexed bosom of the 

 sea. But, deeper and more awful than the winds, there came another sound 

 the raging of the waters, as they rose in their might, and dashed themselves 

 with a loud booming roar upon the cliffs. Margaret sprang from her bed, 

 and, undressed as she was, rushed to the cottage door. The instant she raised 

 the latch, the force of the tempest dashed it open against the wall. She 

 looked out into the night. A pitchy darkness now brooded over all things ; 

 every star seemed blotted from the face of heaven ; but dimly through the 

 gloom she could descry the white crests of the waves, as they surged and 

 lashed the beach within a few yards of the cottage door. The tide had risen 

 to a height almost unexampled on that coast beneath the influence of a vernal 

 storm ; it had far overpassed its usual limits within the Cove of Craignavarroch; 

 and on the rocks, beyond which it could not go, it was breaking high, high 

 over head, with a noise like thunder. Never was change in the weather 

 more sudden and more complete. Margaret stood for a minute in speechless 

 horror and dismay ; then, rushing back into the cottage, she fell upon her 

 knees, and held up her hands to heaven : ' Lord God !' she exclaimed 

 ' have mercy ! have mercy !' She could not utter another word. She hid her 

 face in her hands, and sobbed in agony. 



