ON THE COAST OF ARRAN 97 



miniously into the water, the ladies on the 

 shore clap their hands and scream with delight 

 When Tom M'Murdo at last wins the prize, he 

 swims to the beach, holding the mutton aloft in 

 one hand. Corrie rings with plaudits; and it 

 is a pretty sight to see Tom's wife take the 

 mutton from her dripping husband, and, after 

 wiping the salt water from it with her apron, 

 bear it away to the cottage on the hillside. The 

 * weans ' will have an unusual feast to-morrow. 

 After dark there are fireworks coloured 

 lights on the beach, and audacious rockets 

 which pretend that they are going up among 

 the stars, and then come down precipitately 

 and extinguish themselves with a fizz in the 

 water. But, best of all, we thought, were the 

 torches carried rapidly up and down among the 

 trees in the upland garden, behind the inn, and 

 casting the most fantastic and inexplicable 

 shadows across the road and on to the sea. It 

 is all very grand, and the young folks have 



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