The Highland monthly - National Library of Scotland

630 1 he Hi(rhland Montkiyface of a corpulent navvy who sat right opposite me. Hisfat cheeks wobbled about to every motion like two plates ofporridge, and the wonder is they didn't fall out.I felt myself to be an object of considerable curiosity. Iwas stared at by some fifty pairs of eyes as if I were somenew kind of animal, or a royal prince. Not a word wasspoken ; words could not be heard in the deafening dinwhich accompanied our progress. So they simply sat withtheir elbows on their knees, and smoked, and glared. Itried to look comfortable and at home;but am cognizantthat the effort was a dismal failure. My bright and polishedboots would obtrude themselves, and I felt almost ashamedof them, and tried to keep them out of sight. My glovesI covertly took off, and hid them away in my pocket in acowardly way. I tried to look as if my umbrella was anuisance, and there purely by accident. My ulster I coulddo nothing to ameliorate, so I had to brazen it out, an effortwhich nearly failed when the man with the wobbly cheeksput out his hand and calmly felt the quality of it. Theresult of his investigation was apparently satisfactory, for hewinked to me confidentially, and with profound gravity.As I have said, I tried to look comfortable, but I failed*The eyes of the working class were on me, and I was intrusiveand dandyfied and mean and worthless ;in short, I felt likea bloated capitalist.As it was equally possible to see through the windowsas to see through the wooden sides of the car, nothing ofthe new line or of the scenery could be seen ; andit wasnot until we stopped at the end of Loch Treig, where friendMacdougall said we must change carriages, that I had anopportunity of seeing anything. It was with a thankfulfeeling that I greedily filled my lungs with pure air. Itwas even more refreshing than a deep, deep draught ofpure water after an intolerable thirst. It was some timebefore I could get enough of it, and anything more refreshingor agreeable I have seldom experienced.However, there was no time for looking at scenery oranything else, for we had to hurriedly climb over a mass of