2 
THE AUTHOE’S ANCESTOES. 
Intkod. 
ill the ‘ Tales of a Grandfather ’ and other works. As a boy I 
remember listening to liim with delight, for his memory was 
stored with a never-ending stock of stories, many of which were 
wonderfully like those I have since heard while sitting by the 
African evening fires. Onr grandmother, too, used to sing Gaelic 
songs, some of which, as she believed, had been composed by 
captive islanders languishing hopelessly among the Turks. 
Grandfather could give particulars of the lives of his an¬ 
cestors for six generations of the family before liiin; and the 
only point of the tradition I feel proud of is tliis. One of these 
poor hardy islanders was renowned in the district for great 
wisdom and prudence ; and it is related that, when he was on his 
deathbed, he called all his cliildren around him and said, “ Now, 
in my lifetime, I have searched most carefully tlmough all the 
traditions I could find of our family, and I never could discover 
that there was a dishonest man among our forefathers. If there¬ 
fore any of you or any of your children should take to dishonest 
ways, it will not be because it runs in our blood; it does not 
belong to you. I leave tins precept with you: Be honest.’' If 
therefore in the folloAving pages I fall into any errors, I hope they 
will be dealt with as honest mistakes, and not as indicating that 
I have forgotten our ancient motto. This event took place at a 
time when the Higlilanders, according to Macaulay, were much 
like the Cape Caffres, and any one, it was said, could escape 
punishment for cattle-stealing by presenting a share of the plunder 
to Ins cliieftain. Our ancestors were Roman Catholics; they w^ere 
made Protestants by the lamd coming round with a man having 
a yellow staff, which would seem to have attracted more attention 
than his teaclnng, for the new religion went long afterwards, 
perhaps it does so still, by the name of “ the religion of the 
yellow stick.” 
Finding liis farm in Ulva insufficient to support a numerous 
family, my grandfather removed to Blantyre Works, a large 
cotton manufactory on the beautiful Clyde, above Glasgow ; and 
liis sons, having had the best education the Hebrides afforded, 
were gladly received as clerks by the proprietors, Monteith and 
Co. He himself, higlily esteemed for his unfiincliing honesty, 
was employed in the conveyance of large sums of money 
from Glasgow to the works, and in old age was, according to the 
DSI 
