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Literary
August 28, 1840
Southern Christian Advocate
Charleston, Charleston County, South Carolina
What is this article about?
A Scottish highland couple loses their third child. The grieving father seeks a lamb for the funeral feast during a storm and meets a stranger who, through a metaphor of sheep and lambs, implies he is God, lamenting human resistance to divine will before vanishing.
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
MISCELLANY.
A SCOTTISH LEGEND.
A married couple of the Scottish highlanders had thrice lost their only child, each dying at an early age. Upon the death of the last, the father became boisterous, and uttered his plaints in the loudest tone.
The death of the child happened late in the spring, when, in the more inhabited straths, sheep were abroad; but, from the blasts in that high and stormy region, they were still confined in the cot. In a dismal, stormy evening, the man, unable to stifle his anguish, went out, lamenting aloud, for a lamb to treat his friends with at the wake (or funeral feast.) At the door of the cot, he found a stranger standing before the entrance. He was astonished, in such a night, so far from any frequented place!
The stranger was plainly attired, but he had a countenance expressive of singular mildness and benevolence; and addressing the father in a sweet, impressive voice, asked what he did there, amidst the tempest.
He was filled with awe, which he could not account for, and said he came for a lamb. "What kind of a lamb do you mean to take?" asked the stranger. "The very best I can find," he replied; "as it is to entertain my friends; and I hope you will share of it."
"Do your sheep make any resistance when you take away the lambs?" "Never." was the answer
"How differently am I treated." said the traveller, "when I come to visit my sheep-fold. I take, as I am well entitled to do, the best lamb for myself, and my ears are filled with the clamour of discontent by these ungrateful sheep, whom I have fed, watched, and protected."
He looked up in amazement, but—the vision had fled.
A SCOTTISH LEGEND.
A married couple of the Scottish highlanders had thrice lost their only child, each dying at an early age. Upon the death of the last, the father became boisterous, and uttered his plaints in the loudest tone.
The death of the child happened late in the spring, when, in the more inhabited straths, sheep were abroad; but, from the blasts in that high and stormy region, they were still confined in the cot. In a dismal, stormy evening, the man, unable to stifle his anguish, went out, lamenting aloud, for a lamb to treat his friends with at the wake (or funeral feast.) At the door of the cot, he found a stranger standing before the entrance. He was astonished, in such a night, so far from any frequented place!
The stranger was plainly attired, but he had a countenance expressive of singular mildness and benevolence; and addressing the father in a sweet, impressive voice, asked what he did there, amidst the tempest.
He was filled with awe, which he could not account for, and said he came for a lamb. "What kind of a lamb do you mean to take?" asked the stranger. "The very best I can find," he replied; "as it is to entertain my friends; and I hope you will share of it."
"Do your sheep make any resistance when you take away the lambs?" "Never." was the answer
"How differently am I treated." said the traveller, "when I come to visit my sheep-fold. I take, as I am well entitled to do, the best lamb for myself, and my ears are filled with the clamour of discontent by these ungrateful sheep, whom I have fed, watched, and protected."
He looked up in amazement, but—the vision had fled.
What sub-type of article is it?
Prose Fiction
Fable
Vision Or Dream
What themes does it cover?
Death Mortality
Religious
Moral Virtue
What keywords are associated?
Scottish Legend
Grieving Father
Divine Stranger
Lamb Metaphor
Child Death
Funeral Feast
Literary Details
Title
A Scottish Legend.
Key Lines
"How Differently Am I Treated." Said The Traveller, "When I Come To Visit My Sheep Fold. I Take, As I Am Well Entitled To Do, The Best Lamb For Myself, And My Ears Are Filled With The Clamour Of Discontent By These Ungrateful Sheep, Whom I Have Fed, Watched, And Protected."
He Looked Up In Amazement, But—The Vision Had Fled.