See this dear, shaggy little donkey; doesn’t he look full of mischief? Many a happy drive these children have over the roads about Thurso, in Scotland. They are on their way now to the village store. This looks like a very pleasant road, with its long stretches of field and meadow.
From Thurso are sent out cattle and sheep and grain, so you see it is a farming country around there. Do you know where Thurso is? Look on your map of Scotland and you will find it, away up in the very northern part on the sea-coast. Like many places near the water it is very rocky, and many paving stones come from there.
Scotland is an interesting place; the scenery is beautiful, and there are many wonderful old castles famous in history. Perhaps you have read the stories written by Sir Walter Scott about some of them. His home was in Scotland, and Robert Burns lived there, too. Have you read any of Burns’s poems?
In olden times the northern part of Scotland was owned by the Highlanders, who lived by raising sheep and cattle, and by hunting. They were divided into clans, or large families of relatives, and were very loyal to one another. Many stirring tales are told of these old times; probably you will read them some time. Now most of the large estates in the Highlands are owned by English or American people, who spend a short time there every year in shooting and fishing.
Young Citizens of Thurso, Scotland, on the Way to the Village Store
From Stereograph, copyright by Underwood & Underwood, New York
OFF FOR A HOLIDAY IN A JAUNTING-CAR
Here is a happy family, off for a long holiday. Grandfather usually has to take passengers about in his jaunting-car; but to-day is a holiday for him too, and he is going to take the family all off for a long drive. Have you ever seen a jaunting-car? They are used a great deal in Ireland, and sometimes we see them in America—at Newport or other summer resorts. Before one gets accustomed to riding in them he has to hold on tightly when going around corners; but after a while he gets used to the jolting motion and is not afraid of being tipped out.
See the house in the picture. Many cottages in Ireland are like this, of stone or earth with the roof thatched with straw; but a great many have no windows except holes cut in the walls, and the door is so low that one has to stoop to go in. Of course the houses in the cities are different.