PEEFATOEY NOTE. 



THE contents of this volume made their first appearance in the 

 shape of a series of papers from " Nether Lochaber " in the 

 Inverness Courier, a well-known Northern Journal, long and ably 

 conducted by the late Dr. ROBERT CARRUTHERS. They are now 

 presented to the public in book form, in the hope that they may 

 meet with a friendly welcome from a still larger constituency 

 than gave them kindly greeting in their original shape, as from 

 fortnight to fortnight they appeared. 



At one time it was the Author's intention to rewrite and 

 rearrange all, or almost all, these papers, adding, altering, or 

 expunging as might be considered best. On second thoughts, 

 however second thoughts, besides, approved of by many literary 

 and scientific friends, in whose judgment and good taste the 

 Author has the utmost confidence it was resolved to let them 

 retain very much the form in which they first attracted attention, 

 in the belief that any good that could residt from a rewriting 

 and reconstructing of them would be dearly purchased if it 



