122 MYSTERIOUS ANXIETY. 



this bothy, a shepherd lad had come to the door and in 



quired for Captain M , and that the Captain went out 



with the shepherd, and they walked away together, leaving 

 the rest of the party in the bothy. After a time, Captain 



M returned alone. He said nothing of what had 



passed between him and the lad, but looked very grave 

 and thoughtful, and from that time there was observed to 

 be a mysterious anxiety hanging about him. It was re- 

 membered that one evening after dusk, when Captain 

 Macpherson was in the bothy, some of the party that were 

 standing saw a fire blazing on the top of the hill which 

 rises in front of it. They were much surprised to see a fire 

 in such a solitary place, and at such a time, and set out to 

 inquire into the cause of it ; but when they reached the top 

 of the hill, there was no fire to be seen ! It was recollected, 

 too, that on the day before the fatal night, Captain Macpher- 

 son had shown a singular obstinacy in going forth upon 

 his expedition. No representations of the inclemency of 

 the weather, or of the dangers he would be exposed to, 

 could restrain him. He said he must go, and was resolved 



to go. Captain M 's character was not spared, in order 



to give probability to these fancies ; it was popularly, but 

 very unjustly, reported, that he was rapacious and cruel ; 

 that he had got money by procuring recruits from the 

 Highlands, an unpopular mode of acquiring wealth ; and as 

 these recruits were said to be from Atholl, it was the 

 opinion of the less superstitious Highlanders, that the 

 party was murdered by the Atholl men.' 



" This interesting story was communicated by Lord 

 Webb Seymour to Sir Walter Scott, who published it as 

 an ' example of those accompaniments of the rude popular 



