3-034-631 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

A Highland shelter in a storm, 1871. 'The active sportsmen who frequent the Scottish moors and mountains at this season of the year must look out for occasional rude visitations of boisterous Highland weather. A tempest of wind and rain, coming suddenly upon a party of deer-stalkers or grouse-shooters...will make them more desirous to seek a harbour of refuge than to pursue their quest of game...They may be sure of a friendly reception...in this humble, but secure and not uncomfortable, household. Its humility, indeed, seems to give it a certain charm...The respectable master of this snug rustic abode...readily opens the door to all strangers...His fire of peat shall warm their limbs and dry their wet clothes; his bottle of whisky...shall restore the healthy flow of blood to their exhausted veins...the deerhounds, whose presence has terrified the cottage cat, will lie quietly stretched in sleep. Meantime, the attendant gillies will enjoy a Gaelic chat with the family, and Donald and Hamish may freely comment on the shooting performances of Sir Robert, the Captain, and the Oxonian, whom they faithfully serve for a week'. From "Illustrated London News", 1871.