YULE-TIME. 135 



scattered far apart ! Moreover, life in all its aspects, 

 conditions, and circumstances has materially changed. 

 Now there are roads and wheeled vehicles all over the 

 islands. A powerful and commodious steamer plies 

 between Lerwick and the North Isles. And yet more, 

 the telegraph wires have brought the inhabitants of 

 the most northerly of the Shetlands into immediate 

 communication with the rest of the world. The " new 

 style " is superseding the old, and Christmas taking 

 the place of Yule, which latter, I sadly fear, will soon 

 be known only as a tradition. 



But after all, will the generation that is now in its 

 sprightly youth be happier for all these changes than 

 we were ? I don't know. We had manifold com- 

 pensations. Chief of these, we were all in all to one 

 another. We knew from experience all that is implied 

 of sweetness and tenderness and sacredness in that 

 choicest of characteristic English words — home. ■ Ours 

 was indeed a happy home ; and looking back over the 

 many long years that have elapsed since we all lived 

 together in peace and happiness, I can truly say, that 

 next to the holy lessons we learned from the lips of a 

 saintly mother, my brightest memories are associated 

 with " Yule " in the " Old Eock," as we fondly term 

 those isles of our nativity. 



