Scotland -- Description and travel -- Juvenile literature
Mr. George got over the difficulty in this case in a very pleasant
manner to all concerned. The rain ceased entirely about noon, but the
paths on the mountain he knew would be too wet to make it agreeable to
ascend that day; so he told the boys that if they would find the boat
and the man, and make all the arrangements, he would go out with them on
the lake; and that, if they would agree to write a chapter for his
journal, and write it as well as they had written their accounts of
their excursion to Greenock, he would stop an hour on the way, to let
them fish.
"And then," said he, "we'll all ascend the mountain together to-morrow."
This proposal was readily agreed to on the part of the boys, and the
compact was accordingly made. They engaged the boat and the man, and
after dinner they all three embarked. The rain had ceased, but the sky
was covered with clouds, and heavy masses of mist were driving along the
sides and over the summits of the mountains. The weather, however,
remained tolerably favorable until the boat had nearly reached the
opposite shore of the lake; but then a dense mass of clouds came down
from the mountains on the eastern side, and the whole shore was soon
concealed from view by the driving scuds and the falling rain. The
boatman pulled hard to reach the shore before the shower should come on.
The gust overtook them, however, when they were about a quarter of a
mile from the landing. Fortunately the wind, though very violent, was
fair, and it drove them on towards the shore. Mr. George and the boys
sat down in the bottom of the boat, at the stern, and spreading a large
umbrella behind them, they sheltered themselves as well as they could
from the wind and the rain. The poor boatman got very wet.
They found shelter when they reached the land, and soon the shower
passed away. Then, after rambling about a short time among the huts and
cottages of the village where they landed, they set out again on their
return. They stopped to fish at a short distance from the shore on the
eastern side, and were quite successful. The boys caught several trout,
which they resolved to have fried for their breakfast the next morning.
While they were fishing Mr. George sat in the stern of the boat,
studying his guide books, and learning all he could about the
remarkable events in the life of Rob Roy, the great Highland chieftain,
who formerly lived on the shores of Loch Lomond, and performed many
daring exploits there, which have given him a great name in Scottish
history.
It was a little after nine o'clock when they returned to the inn.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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