IIEMINISCENCES OF THE LEWS. 229 



was tried, condemned, and executed on Gallows 

 Hill, protesting to the last that he never had 

 any ill-will to poor Willie, but only killed him 

 in a fit of passion ; but that he deserved his 

 fate for not giving himself up at once and 

 confessing the deed. 



Ever since this occurrence this rock, under 

 which the bones of the murdered Willie were 

 found, was considered to be haunted. And the 

 strange part of the story was that no one ever 

 saw the ghost on the road to, but always on the 

 road back from, Stornoway. Now, I am going 

 to account for this. The rock was situated 

 about four miles from Soval, on the right-hand 

 side of the road, at the bottom of the hill, by 

 a little stream. As you walked down the hill 

 from Soval you saw nothing of the rock, be- 

 cause it was level with the heathy hill. As 

 you walked down the hill upon this rock from 

 Stornoway, it stood on the contrary — a blufi*, 

 bare, grey rock, white in part towards the top, 

 as many of these rocks often are. At one 

 time, for some years, I had to go into Storno- 

 way regularly once a week, and, if the weather 

 permitted me at all, I returned the same night 

 — particularly in the woodcock season — if pos- 

 sible. Well, one horrid day, I had walked in, 

 as the morning was Lewisian, and I wished to 



