Oor ain folk times

14 THE GLEN FOLK
them had the run of more than the proverbial three
acres.
The population, scattered as it was, amounted to a
pretty fair total when the census of the whole Glen was
taken. The scanty crops of barley and oats, with
sometimes a patch of rye, potatoes, and turnips, eked
out the winter forage for the live stock — this gave
work sufficient for the ' cottar ' and his family ; and
then there was always the annual task of cutting the
peats in the peat-moss up the hillside, drying them,
carrying home, and stacking them ; thus laying in an
ample supply of that delightful old Highland fuel for
the long cold nights of winter.
In sober truth it was rather a hard, unlovely life ;
not much of the aesthetic about it from a modern point
of view ; and yet the entire peasantry was of such
sterling character, that very simple pleasures sufficed to
meet their social wants ; and a deep love of all the
beauties of nature, scattered with such lavish hand
on every side, warmed the hearts of these homely
people. Indeed all the old-fashioned virtues of thrift,
plodding industry, absence of pretence, genuine hos-
pitality, and deep, sincere piety, were characteristic of
the Glen people as a whole. Of course there were
here and there some exceptions to the usual rule. The
more lawless spirits, for instance, did not think it
morally wrong to spear the salmon, or snare a hare,
or even bring down a royal stag, if the opportunity
came in their way ; and, as I have already hinted, their
notions in regard to His Majesty's revenue in the
matter of excise were very lax.
The little clachan of Tarf-side was the centre of