Stormont

“ CHAPTER XVIII Stormont Forces the Game STORMONT left the taxi a little later, giving Lottie urgent instructions to look after her father carefully. Then, after a bite of supper, he left for Elm House. He had much to think about on the way. If on that crumpled half-sheet of notepaper his late clerk had told the truth precisely, the damning document—curse Lismore!—was now on its way to Elm House, and would be delivered there between eight-thirty and nine o'clock. ”

“ We were threatened with destruction, extinction, so far as our business interests was concerned. As a lonely man, I dare say I felt it less than Lismore; yet—but that would not interest you. So there was destruction coming swiftly nearer, and there was salvation—our rightful shares in that hoard of platinum—where? Imagine the situation! Of Douglas Grant's whereabouts we were in sublime ignorance, and every hour brought the danger nearer!” Stormont's voice sank in its appeal. ”

“ Is it settled then?"
"Thanks," said Trooper Stormont, reddening. They clasped hands. Then Stormont went about and lighted the candles in the room. Clinch's face, again revealed, was still faintly amused at something or other. The dead have much to be amused at.
As Darragh was about to go, Stormont said: "We're burying Clinch at eleven to-morrow morning. The Ghost Lake Pilot officiates."
[259] "I'll come if it won't upset Eve," said Darragh.
"She won't notice anybody, I fancy," remarked Stormont.
He stood by the veranda and watched Darragh take the Lake Trail through the snow. ”

“ He is the only minister of the church of Scotland on whom a knighthood or peerage was ever conferred. As a peer he attended a meeting of the convention of estates; but on 10 Aug. 1643 it was, 'after much reasoning,' decided by the assembly of the kirk 'that my Lord Balvaird should keep his ministry, and give over voicing in parliament, under pain of deposition and further censure' (Robert Baillie, Letters and Journals, ii. 91) . On the death of the second Viscount Stormont in March 1642, Lord Balvaird succeeded to the lands, lordship, and barony of Stormont, but not to the title. ”

“ I added, “that I am going to Augsburg in the course of next month, where I shall confer with the Earl of Stormont as to the liberation of the adept, under the pretext of a mission from the Portuguese Government. For these purposes I shall require a good letter of credit, and some watches and snuff-boxes to make presents with, as we shall have to win over certain of the profane.” ”

“ Polwart, Cardross, Ross, and others now joined with that worthy prince, Duke Hamilton. M. Douglas is now a great knave, as well as beast; as is Glencairne, Morton, and Eglinton, and even Cassillis is gone astray, misled by Gibby. [583] Panmure keeps right, and at home, so does Strathmore, Southesk, and Kinnaird. Old Airly is at Edinburgh under caution, so is Balcarras and Dunmore. Stormont is declared fugitive for not appearing. All these will break out, and many more, when the King lands, or any from him. Most of the gentry on this side the Forth, and many on the other, will do so too. ”

“ I don't think anyone would want to stay more than a week at a time in Stornoway. The town itself is just like the fishy part of Boulogne-sur-Mer, only more so. There is a pervading odour of mussels, bait, and herring, and the gulls go flapping overhead in crowds everywhere.{33} If the tourist remained a week in the place, he would go every day to the Castle grounds. Here, if anywhere, is the paradise of the Lews. There is a profusion of dells, burns, glades, ivy-grown bridges, and far-extending vistas over sea, moorland, and town. ”

“ There was an old grey weather-beaten stone tower standing on the top of a high rocky promontory, which formed the western side of a deep bay, on the south coast of England. The promontory was known as the Stormy Mount, which had gradually been abbreviated into Stormount, a very appropriate name, for projecting, as it did, boldly out into the ocean, many a fierce storm had, age after age, raged round its summit and hurled the roaring, curling waves into masses of foam against its base, while the white spray flew in showers far above its topmost height. ”

“ The Good Hope touched at several islands, the entire population of which had become Christians not only in name but in deed, as they evinced by their lives and their totally changed characters. She got a thorough refit at Valparaiso, on the coast of Chili, to prepare her for her voyage round Cape Horn, and five months after Jack got on board she sighted the shores of Old England. Captain Blount felt sure that he could pilot her safely into Stormount Bay, but the wind fell somewhat, and the shades of evening came on before the schooner could beat up to it. ”

“ It would be hard to find anywhere in the world another sea coast of the same length as that from Cape Clear in the south to Inishowen in the north, where there is so much to be seen of the grand, the terrible, and the beautiful. If the mountains on the coasts of Norway are higher, if its fiords penetrate further inland, and if in some places the shining glacier may be seen from them, there is not such astonishing variety of scenery on the coasts of Norway as there is in the west coast of Ireland. ”

“ Stornoway—The ball—At sea—Go out to tea on the Atlantic—Among the ice—Sighting land—A sleepy sight—York Factory and Bachelors’ Hall.
The harbour of Stornoway is surrounded by high hills, except at the entrance, where a passage—not more, I should think, than three hundred yards wide—admits vessels of any tonnage into its sheltering bosom. Stornoway, a pretty, modest-looking town, apparently pleased with its lot, and contented to be far away from the busy and bustling world, lies snugly at the bottom of the bay. ”

“ The headway of the Empress, however, swung the Storstad around in such a way as to twist the Storstad’s bow out of the hole, and to bend the bow itself over to port.
The Empress at once disappeared in the fog. The Storstad sounded her whistle repeatedly in an effort to locate the Empress of Ireland, but could obtain no indication of her whereabouts until cries were heard. The Storstad was then maneuvered as close to the Empress as was safe, in view of the danger of injury to the persons who were already in the water. ”

“ What ought, in fact, to be considered as Ireland proper consists, then, of the eastern province or Leinster, the southern or Munster, and the western or Connaught. Ulster is in reality, as well by the nature of its soil as by the race and habits of the majority of its inhabitants, an annex and dependency of Scotland. The three other provinces, on the contrary, form a whole, as distinct from England or Scotland by the constitution and aspect of the land, as it is different by the race, genius, the traditions and beliefs of the population. ”

“ Notwithstanding this campaign of slander, groups of would-be settlers came straggling along from various places to the port of rendezvous, Stornoway, the capital of the {39} Hebrides. When all had gathered, these people who had answered the call to a new heritage beyond the seas proved to be a motley throng. Some were stalwart men in the prime of life, men who looked forward to homes of their own on a distant shore; others, with youth on their side, were eager for the trail of the flying moose or the sight of a painted redskin ”

“ The little town is prettily situated in the valley and on both sides of a meandering stream. Cultivated fields and low hills stretched on all sides and cheered the eye. Above and around them the dark pines shaded the sides of high mountains whose tops were bleak and bare, and were covered with patches of snow. Leaving this beautiful town our train rapidly ascended until we crossed the Kionlen mountains and the frontier between Sweden and Norway, (about 2000 ft. above the sea-level) and reached Storlien, the first station in Sweden. ”

“ This fiord, or narrow sea loch, is one of the most splendid harbours, not only in Ireland, but in the world, with not only complete shelter from winds from all points, but with depth of water enough to float the biggest ship that ever has been or ever will be built. But, unfortunately, there is little to attract commerce to these desolate shores, where there are no large towns, and only a sparse population. It has been said by some who have seen almost all the fiords of Norway, that there are few of them superior to the Killaries in everything that constitutes beauty, sublimity, and wildness. ”

“ Stornoway is a very busy place, and has at this time of the year a population of 2,500. In May and June it is busier still, as at that time there will be as many as five hundred fishing boats in the harbour, and a large extra population are employed on shore in curing and packing the fish. In the country behind are lakes well stocked with fish, and mountains and moors where game and wild deer and real eagles yet abound. But a great drawback is the climate. An old sportsman writes:—“The savagery of the weather in the Lewes, the island of which Stornoway is the capital, is not to be described. ”

“ From an old watchtower, which stands on the top of the first sharp hill above the harbor, is a sweeping off-look, seaward and coastward, to north and south: long promontories, green and curving, with low red roofs here and there, shot up into relief by the sharp contrast of color; bays of blue water breaking in between; distant ranges of mountains glittering white; thousands of islands in sight at once. Stavanger's 223 approach strikes Norway's key-note with a bold hand, and old Norway and new Norway meet in Stavanger's market-place. ”

“ No one came; the stream of tourists went up and down Stordalen and left our little Reisa valley deserted. If only the Northern Railway could have come to Reisa with Cook's and Bennett's tours--then Stordalen in its turn would have lain deserted. Meanwhile, the cotters who are cultivating the soil will probably go on harvesting half the crop of the outlying fields for the rest of time. There is every reason to think so--unless our descendants are more intelligent than we, and refuse to be smitten with the demoralizing effects of the tourist traffic. ”

“ On the south-easternmost coast of Scotland, they would not only have been separated from their countrymen in the north of England by two intervening counties, but also divided by a broad sea from their kinsmen in Denmark and Norway. Such a situation would have been much more exposed and dangerous for them than the opposite coast, where they had in their neighbourhood the counties of Cumberland and Westmoreland, inhabited by the Northmen, as well as the Scandinavian colonies in Ireland and the Isle of Man. ”

“ Next the Northmen anchored in a deep bay, which they called Straumfjord, on account of its currents, and they then reached an island frequented by eider-ducks in great numbers. They named it Straumey, and it is supposed to be either Martha's Vineyard or Nantucket. They wintered at Straumfjord, and, resolving to plant their settlement on its shores, landed their flocks, built booths, and spent the spring in cultivating the land, fishing, and exploring the country. But when the next winter came their resources were nearly exhausted, and Thorfinn was deserted by some of his companions. ”

“ And at the last the King stood up and cried, “True is the message that the head has brought. Ulster lies bound before her enemies, while we rust here in sleep. By all the gods my nation loves, I swear, unless the stars of heaven shall fall upon our heads, or the strong solid earth give way beneath our feet, I and my chiefs will restore each captive woman to her child [150] and home, each cow to her own meadow, and each stolen piece of land to its own lords, so that in shame with heavy loss the foes of Ulster shall return to their own country.” ”

“ Would not they suddenly resolve to leave London and its ways and people, even this monotonous sea out there, and speed away Northwardly till they came in sight of the great and rolling Minch, with its majestic breadth of sky and its pale blue islands lying far away at the horizon? Then the happy landing at the Stornoway—her father and Duncan and Mairi all on the quay—the rapid drive over to Loch Roag, and the first glimpse of the rocky bays and clear water and white sand about Borva and Borvabost! ”

“ Tromsö, the chief town in Finmarken, numbers fifty-five hundred inhabitants; it is situated upon an island with a background of snow mountains across the gleaming fjord. Above the town, a number of pleasant villas and wooden houses extend along the heights, one of which was pointed out by a Norwegian passenger as his home. This gentleman during the journey had conversed with equal fluency in Norwegian, English, French, and German. The Norwegians are good linguists, and it is surprising to find so many who speak such excellent English. ”

“ Between Christiania and the western coast is a broad mountain range extending hundreds of miles north and south. No railroad crosses that gigantic barrier. True, the town of Trondhjem, in the north, can now be reached circuitously by rail. But all the great southwestern coast, including the towns of Bergen and Molde, and the large fjords, can only be approached by several magnificent highways, of which the finest here awaited us, the one extending for a hundred and sixty miles from Lake Mjösen to the Songe fjord. And here one naturally asks, "What is the mode of traveling in Norway? ”