. . . ivy, the Farquharsons with their fir, and the Mackays with their clenched fist and dagger, and then to see the races afterwards. The Queen said, “And what for are ye a hurrying the children?” and the woman said, “I want them to see the Queen at Braemar.” Well, the woman gets some meal out of the girnel and makes some parritch, and the Queen must ha’ some, too. So she sat down on a little creepie (stool), for the parritch was set oot on the floor, and ate her breakfast with the rest and crackit with ‘em. When they were a’ through wi’ ut, she said, “Ye need na hurry, for ye’ve had breakfast with the Queen.” And the Queen’s saucer and spoon, and the little creepie, were put on the top of the drawers, and never used again, but kept to look at.
As we talked of the hale and sturdy folk of the Highlands, I recalled Hugh Miller’s daily lunch in the stone quarry, namely, a handful of dry oatmeal and a glass of water. The shepherd agreed, and continued, “But do you know what the old Scottish carriers used to have? When they had stoppit at their inn for the night, they called for a pint of whiskey, a pint of porter, and two spoonfuls of oatmeal. They mixed it together, and that was their breakfast, and they went to the end of their journey on that. That was what the old Scottish people used to take. But it wad na do the noo, with whiskey at nine shillings the bottle, and more likely ‘twill be eleven and sixpence. ‘Tis nae for the like of you and me to get ut.”