The principal fault of the Gairloch and other Highlanders has been variously designated indolence, lethargy, carelessness, sloth, idleness, and laziness,--all meaning much the same thing. It is often said "time is no object on the west coast," and so it would appear; nearly all meetings (except Sunday services) are from half-an-hour to an hour later in commencing than the time named; an eternal current of talk, talk, talk, accompanies every transaction, and not seldom interrupts or delays the most pressing work. It is only the male sex who are chargeable with this indolence, and amongst them it is fast giving way to greater activity; sometimes it is due to a love of dram-drinking, for which it forms an excuse; indeed it is often rightly laid at the door of whisky. All writers on the Highlands have remarked upon it, and some quotations will be given in connection with agriculture which will illustrate it. More continuous occupation is the remedy required. It is remarkable that the Highlander never displays indolence when he emigrates, and it is principally in his agricultural attempts that it is manifested. There is every reason to believe that it is gradually disappearing. The Gairloch population cling with marvellous tenacity to old ways of doing things, and thus general improvement is slow. On the whole they are a worthy religious people. "Man made the town: God made the country," is a saying that means more than the literal meaning of the words conveys. In the pure air and unpolluted water of the Highlands, there is less that is akin to sin and moral impurity than in the filthy crowded manufacturing town. The general sobriety, honesty, and piety of these Gairloch people, seem to me to outweigh their shortcomings. It is a pity that some of the younger people affect a certain contempt for the old Highland characteristics, and seem determined to resemble their lowland neighbours as closely as possible. The Highland dress has for several generations been laid aside, and other distinctive ways and peculiarities, some of them ennobling and good, have fallen into disuse. Surely the people would best support their demand for a national recognition of the peculiar position they claim, by maintaining the old Highland _esprit_, rather than by disowning the nobler characteristics that have so long distinguished the inhabitants of the "land of the hills and the glens and the heroes." In concluding this chapter I beg leave to propose what must prove a beneficial stimulus to the people of Gairloch, if it were efficiently carried out. It is the establishment of an annual prize meeting for competitions in-- Home-spun cloth, plaids, and carpets produced within the parish; Gairloch hose; Vegetables, fruit, and flowers grown by Gairloch people; Highland games and athletic sports; Pipe music by local pipers; Gaelic songs by Gairloch bards.