THE EEL A. ^cyj 



accordance with our father's wishes and advice all his 

 children were teetotalers, although not pledged disciples 

 of Father Matthew, until we reached our majority. So 

 I had what was far better than a dram, some delicious 

 milk, which was more than half cream. Don't believe 

 a word about fish and milk being an incongruous 

 mixture. I never found them in the very least inhar- 

 monious. Charlie and Magnie had a shakedown in 

 the snug little barn. I had the ofifer of a box-bed all 

 to myself, but I magnanimously resigned it to Peter, 

 and elected to occupy a capacious arm chair by the 

 fireside. Wrapped in my ample old plaid, I never 

 slept more soundly or comfortably. 



A snow storm raged all that night and all next day. 

 It was utterly out of the question to return home by 

 sea, and almost as impossible to cross the barren road- 

 less hills to Baltasound. So we spent the day in 

 gutting and curing our piltacks. On the third day, 

 the storm having then considerably abated, we made 

 our way home by land, but it was ten days before we 

 could return for our boat and fish. 



As a general rule the Eela is attended with very 

 little danger, but on one occasion I had an experience 

 which very closely bordered on being dangerous. 



It was a fine summer morning early, that is about 

 three o'clock, when Magnie and I started in my little 

 pleasure boat, the Marie, for Hoonie, a small island close 

 to the mainland of Unst on the east side, and distant 

 about a mile south-west from the south point of Balta 

 island, already described. Our purpose was to have a 



