But the will of the dead must be scrupulously
obeyed, even when we weep over their pertinacity and self-delusion. So,
gentle reader, I bid you farewell, recommending you to such fare as the
mountains of your own country produce; and I will only farther premise,
that each Tale is preceded by a short introduction, mentioning the
persons by whom, and the circumstances under which, the materials thereof
were collected.
JEDEDIAH CLEISHBOTHAM.
INTRODUCTION TO OLD MORTALITY.
The remarkable person, called by the title of Old Mortality, was we'll
known in Scotland about the end of the last century. His real name was
Robert Paterson. He was a native, it is said, of the parish of Closeburn,
in Dumfries-shire, and probably a mason by profession--at least educated
to the use of the chisel. Whether family dissensions, or the deep and
enthusiastic feeling of supposed duty, drove him to leave his dwelling,
and adopt the singular mode of life in which he wandered, like a palmer,
through Scotland, is not known. It could not be poverty, however, which
prompted his journeys, for he never accepted anything beyond the
hospitality which was willingly rendered him, and when that was not
proffered, he always had money enough to provide for his own humble
wants. His personal appearance, and favourite, or rather sole occupation,
are accurately described in the preliminary chapter of the following
work.
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