Scotland -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Fiction
"Dinna think 'at we juist lay in our beds or sat round the fire
shakkin' wi' fear. Everything 'at could be dune was dune. In the
daytime, when naething was heard, the masons explored ae place i' the
farm, in the hope o' findin' oot 'at the sound was caused by sic a
thing as the wind playin' on the wood in the garret. Even at nichts,
when they couldna sleep wi' the soond, I've kent them rise in a body
an' gang all ower the house wi' lichts. I've seen them climbin' on the
new steadin', crawlin' alang the rafters, haudin' their cruizey lamps
afore them, an' us women-bodies shiverin' wi' fear at the door. It was
on ane o' thae nights 'at a mason fell off the rafters an' broke his
leg. Weel, sic a state was the men in to find oot what it was 'at was
terrifyin' them sae muckle, 'at the rest o' them climbed up at aince to
the place he'd fallen frae, thinkin' there was something there 'at had
fleid im. But though they crawled back an' forrit there was naething
ava.
"The rockin' was louder, we thocht, after that nicht, an' syne the men
said it would go on till somebody was killed. That idea took a richt
haud o' them, an' twa ran awa back to Tilliedrum, whaur they had come
frae. They gaed thegither i' the middle o' the nicht, an' it was
thocht next mornin' 'at the ghost had spirited them awa.
"Ye couldna conceive hoo low-spirited we all were after the masons had
gien up hope o' findin' a nat'ral cause for the soond. At ord'nar
times there's no ony mair lichtsome place than a farm after the men hae
come in to their supper, but at the Bog we sat dour an' sullen; an'
there wasna a mason or a farm-servant 'at would gang by 'imsel as far
as the end o' the hoose whaur the peats was keepit. The mistress maun
hae saved some siller that spring through the Egyptians (gypsies)
keepin' awa, for the farm had got sic an ill name, 'at nae tinkler
would come near 't at nicht. The tailorman an' his laddie 'at should
hae bidden wi' us to sew things for the men, walkit off fair skeered
one mornin', an' settled doon at the farm o' Craigiebuckle fower mile
awa, whaur our lads had to gae to them. Ay, I mind the tailor's
sendin' the laddie for the money owin' him; he hadna the speerit to
venture again within soond o' the cradle 'imsel. The men on the farm
though, couldna blame 'im for that. They were juist as flichtered
themsels, an' mony a time I saw them hittin' the dogs for whinin' at
the soond. The wy the dogs took on was fearsome in itsel, for they
seemed to ken, aye when nicht cam on, 'at the rockin' would sune begin,
an' if they werena chained they cam runnin' to the hoose. I hae heard
the hale glen fu, as ye micht say, wi' the whinin' o' dogs, for the
dogs on the other farms took up the cry, an' in a glen ye can hear
soonds terrible far awa at nicht.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account