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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1960-01-21, Page 6The Fairy Well in the Highlands The Fairy Well belongs to the Fairy Glen jn the highlands of Scotland a few miles front the small town of Cromarty,, birth. place of Hugh Millar, the famous Scottish author and, geologist. To reach the well, you turn off the busy main road that goes to Cro- marty and enter a thick wood of hazels,, beeches, and birches. Ivy and honeysuckle festoon thetrees and the labyrinth of green is pleasantly cool on a hot summer day. The rutty, moss - grown track feels easy to tread even while it winds uphill for almost a mile• And every sound in the Glen is sweetly muted. The "whirr" of a pigeon in flight and the soft "cooing" as the bird settles into the nest. The gentle gurgle of a burn almost hidden by ferns. Even the chatter of magpies building in sand cliffs on the edge of the wood is softly subdued. The last twist of the path re- veals a woodland garden of white and pink lox -gloves, tall and erect, looking like fairy candles among the ferns and green bracken. And there a waterfall issues from a rock high above the flowers, sending tiny cascades of foam onto the fox- gloves. This is the water that feeds the Fairy Well nearby. It is made to look as lovely as its surroundings, composed of shining white pebbles over which the spring water glistens like crystal; ice-cold water that has the quality of an elixir. You can go down on your knees to drink, DecOrci'tOr's Love ream,4 Wked24 Embroider this dainty Victo- rian bouquet to use as a picture, pillow -top or chair seat. Swift, easy 8 -to -inch cross- stitch. Pink -to -red, yellow to gold roses, or a favorite color scheme. Pattren 989: transfer 10 x 14 -inches; color chart. Send THIRTY-FIVE CENTS (stamps cannot be accepted, use postal note for safety) for this pattern to Laura Wheeler, Box 1, 123 Eighteenth St., New Tor- onto, Ont. Print plainly PAT- TERN NUMBER, your NAME and ADDRESS. New! New! New! Our 1960 Laura Wheeler Needlecraft Book is ready NOW! Crammed with exciting, unusual, popular de- signs to crochet, knit, sew, em- broider, quilt, weave—fashions, .home furnishings, toys, gifts, bazaar hits. In the book FREE — 3 quilt patterns. Hurry, send 25 cents for your copy. staring into the crystal depths,, listening for one moment to the "drjp,drip" of water falling into the well, It is a high, fluting sound, and never 'quite on the same note, fascinating and sooth- ing. And every "drip" makes its Own peculiar pattern over the surface of well water, . How good that water tastes, scooped in the hollow of a sun- burned hand! And how refresh- ing it feels, spilled over neck and arms before the long jour- ney, home with a brimming pail. As one well after another dried up during the amazing British summer of 1959, many people in the Highlands had to carry wa- ter from far-off places in the hills. For much of the tap water introduced to isolated parts with- in the past decade still depends for its source en the wells that are fed from springs issuing from the mountains. Aunt Jessy never allowed more than one pail of water to be taken from the Fairy Well each day; she considered it her just portion. Often during my stay with her she entertained me with tales of famous wells familiar to her youth, when wells sup- plied all the available drinking water The Fairy Well was always different, since it was long con- sidered a private well. The man who made it was jealous of any- one who trespassed on his prop- erty and polluted the water. But those who' succeeded him 'were different; they decided to make their Fairy Well part of the Glen and free to everyone in need of water. Like all reputable evells..-InT the north of Scotland it is steeped in legend and folklore. Aunt Jessy vows that if anyone is Glar- ing enough to fetch water from the Fairy Well at midnight, the wee folk will pursue him be- cause they have been disturbed in their ploys among the fox- gloves, From the flowers they fashion their elfin gloves; hence the name of the plant, And the particular foxgloves that make a garden round the Fairy Well are reputedly finer and larger blooms than anywhere else. When I asked who was res- ponsible for the perfect condi- tion of the well in the Glen, Aunt Jessy informed me that people in the neighborhood took turns emptying and scrubbing it clean once a year. The tin mug fastened to a tree close to the well is in constant use, for one legend insists that the water is a magical potion, invigorating and beautifying those who drink it. By Marion Henderson in the Christian Science Monitor. Mi91➢a�n Wives Support Husbands "Trend of the Times" is "viewed with alarm" by some folks who stop to think — our economic loss in the steel strike, the copper strike and accom- panying layoffs. But here's a fellow who has another angle on modern-day living, This was for- warded to us by one of our readers. "When Columbus discovered America, it was inhabited by men who hunted and fished all day while the women did the work. They paid no taxes. They had no national debt. They were savages. "It took us 467 years to get so civilized that some men now chart their course of life on lines of lounge-ltude and lass-itude. A government guarantee on pur- suit of happiness isn't enough. They want it to run interference. too. "Maybe we're going back to the Indian system. Reports show that a million wives now sup- port their husbands. And one man's excuse for not paying a bill was, 'My wife lost her job and this left me as my sole means of support.'" —Golden (Colo.) Transcript. kAVING A BALL — Charlotte Ford, 18, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. ;Henry Ford 11, is the centre of attraction for some unidentified ushers at her lavish debut ball 'in Detroit. More than 1,200 :guests attended the ball at The Country Club of Detroit. GETTING A BOOT OUT OF IT? >- Two kittens show off at the home of Luella Lone in Jamaica, N.Y. Gva¢.r.d clime P. Clarke Our television had been acting a little queerly for some weeks; sometimes it was all right, some- times it wasn't. Finally we sent for a repair man. He came the next morning; put in one new tube, adjusted the picture — it had been a little off centre — screwed the back on again. closed his kit and said — "I think it will be all right now. That will be $7.75—$4.25 for the tube, $3.50 for the call." And do you know we didin't grumble — even though the job had taken only fifteen minutes. We knew the man to be honest, reliable and good at his job. His time, plus gas, was worth something and the tube was standard price. After all a television set is an expensive piece of equipment. At least it seems so when- repairs are necessary — but, just like a car, if you can't afford necessary repairs then you can't afford to keep one at all. Certainly the best guarantee against trouble is to have a good repair man and stay with him, for both car and television. But, oh dear, how easily one can lose faith when things go wrong. A few night after our TV was fixed the picture was so snowy we couldn't watch it. That didn't suit Partner .. , not with wrestling in full swing! "Now, what's the matter with' the . thing now? What's the good of a television set if it goes out of commission just when you want it most?" I didn't bother to an= swer — just went on getting supper. But suddenly I noticed the lights were sort of dim and the stove elements not as hot as they should be. Then we knew the answer — power lines over- loaded. During supper there was. a click, lights went up and the picture came in on the TV screen as clear as a bell. We just won- dered how many calls went into the hydro office and the repair shop. Can a dog think or reason? That question has been asked scores of times and I don't think anyone has ever come up with a conclusive answer. Taffy has us wondering all over again. Sev- eral children cross our lot as a short-cut on their way to and from school. They all make a fuss of Taffy and he makes a fuss of them. He is often outside in his kennel when t:..y go by in the morning but generally in the house when they go home in the afternoon. Round about three o'clock he starts getting restless SALLY'S SALLIES' 'Now, dear, we can take up what you promised fine Now Year's Eve," — runs back and forth, from the glassed -in front porch to a chair in theliving-room from whence he can see out of the window. Back and forth, back and forth he goes, sort of whimpering, his ears straight up and his sturdy little body quivering with ex- citement. Eventually the chil- dren come by, talk to him through the window and he is satisfied. After that he settles down quietly. But if they forget and pass without speaking he is a very worrisd little dog. Then comes Saturday and Sunday and he never looks for them at all. How does he know? Holidays, of course, get him something con- fused. Weekdays he still looks for them but after a few days gives up hope. Another little incident has me puzzled. One evening a little neighbour girl came in while her parents were out to a meeting. She is rather an unpredictable child, not particularly friendly t0 animals, except her own kitten. She sat on the chesterfield read- ing aloud. Taffy sat close beside me — watching. Presentlyhe started sidling over towards her, obviously uncertain, stopping every few inches, waiting for en- couragement. He didn't get it -- the the child just watched him and finally ,Taffy came back and sat by me again. Was there some antipathy between them — the girl and the dog? Had the child at some time teased him when he was tied up and did he re- member? Otherwise what made Taffy so distrustful = so differ- ent from Ditto who jumped right on to the child's lap and was purring quite happily. Who can fathom the instincts of animals? Speaking now of children I saw the cutest thing when I was Christmas shopping in Toronto — forgot to tell you before. Along the sidewalk by Simpson's came about twenty children, two by two and holding hands, none of them more than three or four years old, shepherded by two youngish girls, in their twenties, I would say. And did they look worried! Evidently it was a kin- dergarten group, out to see Santa Claus. I'll bet those girls were glad when the expedition was over. For the children it wuuld mean a lot, probably giving them their first conscious recollection of Christmas festivities. Incidentally that same day 1 was soon tired of shopping and went to a "Porgy and Bess" mat- inee. Good, music, wonderful act- ing but some of the characters portrayed were rotten to the point of spoiling one's enjoyment of the picture, Q. What is the proper way for a man to . bow when greeting someone? A, His bow should be a slight bending forward from the waist with feet together, but not too pronounced, not stiff, and with- out any heel -clicking, Many well- mannered men automatically bow slightly as they shake hands. Men always rise (or half - rise at a restaurant table) be- fore bowing. ISSUE 3 — 1960 Nouse Values Climb Way Up If you own a house in the United States, you can take some satisfaction in these days of inflation that your house is woriia.r at least one-half again what -ft cost in 1950, the land is valued' at more than twice that of 10 years ago, and mortgage —rates ;today .aro about 2 per cent higher, Those estimates come from a housing specialist who has log- ged more than a half -million miles through the airways of the 1950's to find that builders are ' putting up better houses and buyers are getting more for the money they spend. Prices have gone up largely because homes are much better equipped, families are demand- ing more special equipment, and prices are up on virtually every- thing that goes into the building of a home. Clarence Hausmann of Allied Chemical Corporation • says that buyers are dble to obtain better houses because they can spread the mortgage payments over longer periods and hence under- take higher mortgages with con- fidence, The average mortgage of today appears to be running in the vicinity of $12,000 com- pared with $7,000 in 1950. Many one -family homes are being built without basements, but Mr. Hausmann found that in the Northeast and in the north central states, three out of four new units have basements, writes W. Clifford Harvey in The Chris- tian Science Monitor. Unlike old-style basements, many of.yyiie new ones are par- tially finished with noise -reduc- ing perforated ceiling tiles, in- sulated wall planks, and other materials to provide needed recreation area, he said. The old belief that it isn't neighborly to build high fences around your house is going by the board in many new home designs. Families are showing a growing interest in enclosed gardens and private patios with colorful translucent plastic pan- els playing a key role in elim- inating glaring sun and provid- ing a welcome retreat. • If you are considering build- ing an addition to your home, Mr. Hausmann recommends planning your floor area in even multiples of four, and making your ceiling eight feet high as economy measurements. UIIAVY READING Denise Robins,' England's presi- dent of the Romantic Writers Assn., says her latest book is about "the tragedy of being a fat girl." Sew -Easy Trio PRINTED PATTERN, 4946 SIZES 10-16 How clever of you to double your wardrobe with dashing separates. Dandy vest (terrific with Bermuda shorts, too) tops flaring skirt and simple blouse. Printed Pattern 4946: Teen Sizes, 10, 12, 14, 16. Size 12 ,skirt, vest take 2% yards 45 -inch fab- ric; blouse 1% yards 39 -inch. Printed' directions on each pat- tern part. Easier, accurate. Send FIFTY CENTS (stamps cannot be accepted, use postal note for safety) for this pattern Please print plainly SIZE, NAME, ADDRESS, STYLE NUMBER. Send order to ANNE ADAMS, Box 1, 123 Eighteenth St, New Toronto, Ont. A PAIR OF QUEENS — A new bride and a new queen, Farah Dibah (top photo) makes friends with a caged bird on that grounds of her husband's private palace in Tehran, Iran. -The 21 -year-old queen is the Shah's third wife. Princess Soraya (bottom), divorced by the Shah for failing to bear a male heir, wears an enigmatic smile as she leaves the select "84 Club" in Rome. It Is believedshe may marry Prince Orsini, a blue-blood- ed Roman.