SUPERSTITION IN THE HIGHLANDS. 361 



gun was broken in two. Late it was that night ere 

 he reached his cot. "Whiskey and gun alike abandoned, 

 he was never after known to swear, and, so sedate 

 and thoughtful had his reformation made him, that 

 to the end of his days he was alluded to as " the mon 

 that winna smile." 



I was surprised to find in these enlightened days, 

 and particularly among Scotsmen, who are usually 

 well educated, the amount of superstition in the 

 Highlands still existing. If some foresters, when 

 going out deer-stalking, meet an old Avoman with 

 nothing on her head and feet, they pronounce her 

 a witch, and give up the sport of the day as hope- 

 less ; having crossed her path is a fact of ill luck, 

 rendering all human skill in vain. It is a peculiarly 

 unfortunate thing, this idea of theirs, because, if you 

 do meet an old woman, she is sure to be so denuded ; 

 and the chances, therefore, are very much against 

 you. If a blue hare appears, and ceases from her 

 very odd and elfish-looking flight, to sit up on her 

 hinder legs on the sky line, or anywhere else, to muse 

 on those who have alarmed her, that also is enough 

 to make some foolish Highlanders deem that all luck 

 for the time is over. Indeed, I know an instance of 

 superstition still more ridiculous in the eyes of a 

 sensible man. A friend of mine missed his forester 

 from behind him, and, on looking back, discovered 

 him on his knees, busy with his hands in tearing up 

 the ground. On asking why he did not come on, 

 the forester seriously assured him " that he had seen 

 a mouse, and, if he did not catch her and get her 

 blood, they should kill no deer that day." If by 

 accident you put up a blue hare, and she muses over 

 you, some foresters would risk the disturbing of the 



