THE AUTUMN CAMPAIGN. 99 



eating that the proposed action on the part of the officers 

 would not be allowed. At this stage, Beaton, the ground- 

 officer, declined to go further to point out the houses, the 

 enterprise threatening to be accompanied with danger. 

 Shortly thereafter Mr. Macdonald said, "Very well, good- 

 bye, ladies and gentlemen". Some women replied, " Good 

 morning and a half to you, sir". The officers and the police 

 force the "dismal brigade," as they were once happily 

 termed turned their backs on the Braes, marched to the 

 spot where the waggonettes were awaiting them, and re- 

 turned to Portree, bearing with them the undelivered writs 

 of the Court of Session. 



During the interview with the officers, some of the women 

 were weeping, and even at a distance from the crowd could 

 be heard exclamations in Gaelic about the number of help- 

 less widows and orphans that were in the Braes. Some 

 called out that the curses of the orphans and widows would 

 follow all these things. One woman said she would not 

 like to see any one suffer greatly, but if those over them 

 continued these actions much longer she did not know 

 what she might wish them. Once a man was heard to 

 say that the officers seemed to have come in a friendly 

 way; but he was replied to with a chorus of voices that they 

 came in no friendly way, that they were come to ruin poor 

 people, and that they would not be allowed to go further. 

 The police came in for a considerable share of the angry ex- 

 pressions of the women. One person reminded the police 

 that there were people there who yet suffered from wounds 

 they received in April. Actions and expressions were fre- 

 quently greeted with cries on the part of the crowd, which 

 were very far from encouraging to the officers. Occasion- 

 ally, however, there were signs of good humour ; but these 

 were few, and disappeared as soon as the officers tried to go 



