16 EEMINISCENCES OF THE LEWS. 



compounds called scones, that alone are made 

 in the North, from meal, or barley, or flour, 

 or Heaven knows what. A female was that 

 servant, and she was the only one about 

 the premises that ever seemed to me to 

 do anything. She was both housemaid, par- 

 lourmaid, and washerwoman, — ^nurserymaid and 

 lady's maid, too, for she was sister to the 

 hostess of the inn, who was generally occupied 

 a great part of the year in either producing or 

 nursing babies. Poor, dear Mrs. M'Leod ! I 

 was nearly the death of her in one of the fre- 

 quent visits I afterwards made to her house. 

 Her husband insisted on my prescribing for her 

 one night when she was very ill, and the doctor 

 had not yet arrived from Stornoway, sixteen 

 miles off. Among my various reputations in 

 the country, I had one — that of being a good 

 medico. She was writhing with pains in the 

 stomach, and I prescribed the hottest of 

 brandy-and-water. Fortunately, my patient 

 rebelled against the mixture, and, in the mean- 

 time, the veritable man, dear old Dr. Millar, 

 arrived, and prevented the absorption of any 

 stimulant, which, in her state, would probably 

 have killed her ; and I was forbidden to prac- 

 tise — upon females, at least — in future. And 

 yet, with all its drawbacks^ many is the happy 



