THE STORY OF HANNAH LAMOND. 71 



and in Norway. In the parish of Nooder-hangs in the 

 last country, a boy two years of age was carried off in 

 1737, though his parents were close at hand, and made 

 all the exertions in their power to scare the spoiler ; 

 nor were they able to follow her to the place of her 

 retreat. In Tinkalen (Faroe islands) a child was car- 

 ried off, and the mother climbed the hitherto unascended 

 precipice, but the child was dead. Ray mentions a 

 case in the Orkneys, where the mother was more for- 

 tunate ; and it probably is the foundation of the fol- 

 lowing tale, which appeared in Blackwood's Magazine 

 for November, 1826, and which bears the exquisitely 

 graphic stamp of Professor Wilson. 



THE STORY OF HANNAH LAMOND. 



" ALMOST all the people in the parish were leading 

 in their meadow-hay on the same day of Midsummer, 

 so drying was the sunshine and the wind, and huge 

 heaped-up wains, that almost hid from view the horses 

 that drew them along the sward, beginning to get green 

 with second growth, were moving in all directions 

 toward the snug farm-yards. Never had the parish 

 seemed before so populous. Jocund was the balmy 

 air with laughter, whistle, and song. But the tree- 

 gnomens threw the shadow of ' one o'clock ' on the 

 green dial-face of the earth the horses were unyoked, 

 and took instantly to grazing groups of men, women, 

 lads, lasses, and children, collected under grove and 

 bush, and hedge-row, graces were pronounced, and the 

 great Being who gave them that day their daily bread, 

 looked down from his eternal throne, well-pleased with 



