Ten Thousand Wonderful Things: Comprising whatever is marvellous and rare, curious, eccentric and extraordinary in all ages and nations
History
Ten Thousand Wonderful Things: Comprising whatever is marvellous and rare, curious, eccentric and extraordinary in all ages and nations
Curiosities and wonders; Encyclopedias and dictionaries; Folklore
In August, 1827, John Macdonald expired in his son's house, in the
Lawnmarket, Edinburgh, at the advanced age of one hundred and seven
years. He was born in Glen Tinisdale, in the Isle of Skye, and, like
the other natives of that quarter, was bred to rural labour. Early
one morning in his youth, when looking after his black cattle, he was
surprised by the sight of two ladies, as he thought, winding slowly
round a hill, and approaching the spot where he stood. When they came
up, they inquired for a well or stream, where a drink of water could be
obtained. He conducted them to the "Virgin Well," an excellent spring,
which was held in great reverence on account of its being the scene of
some superstitious and legendary tales. When they had quenched their
thirst, one of the ladies rewarded Macdonald with a shilling, the first
silver coin of which he was possessed. At their own request he escorted
them to a gentleman's house at some distance, and there, to his great
surprise and satisfaction, he learned that the two "ladies" were Flora
Macdonald and Prince Charles Stewart.
This was the proudest incident in Macdonald's patriarchal life; and,
when surrounded by his Celtic brethren, he used to dilate on all the
relative circumstances with a sort of hereditary enthusiasm, and more
than the common garrulity of age. He afterwards turned joiner, and
bore a conspicuous part in the building of the first Protestant church
which was erected in the island of North Uist. He came to Edinburgh
twenty-three years before his death, and continued to work at his trade
till he was ninety-seven years of age.
Macdonald was a temperate, regular-living man, and never paid a
sixpence to a surgeon for himself, nor had an hour's sickness in the
whole course of his life. He used to dance regularly on New-year's day,
along with some Highland friends, to the bagpipe. On New-year's day,
1825, he danced a reel with the father, the son, the grandson, and
great-grandson, and was in more than his usual spirits. His hearing was
nothing impaired, and till within three weeks of his demise he could
have threaded the finest needle with facility, without glasses.
CATS WITH KNOTTED TAILS.
We extract the following paragraph from the narrative of a voyager in
the Indian Ocean, because it contains an account of a rarity in natural
history with which few, we believe, are acquainted.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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