A summer in Skye, Volume 2 (of 2)

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About this book

"A summer in Skye, Volume 2 (of 2)" by Alexander Smith is a travelogue written in the mid-19th century. It traces a reflective journey across the Isle of Skye, blending lyrical landscape description with portraits of island life, customs, and class relations among lairds, tacksmen, cotters, and fishermen. The narrator dwells on place, memory, and change, moving between scenic wonder and social observation. The opening of this volume immerses the reader in Skye’s antiquated atmosphere, then sketches the paternal, clanlike household of Mr M’Ian—a tacksman who keeps rent-free cotters, dispenses porch‑door justice, and binds the community through old obligations—before contrasting him with “the Landlord,” a wealthy, India-hardened reformer who manages tenants directly, runs a “penal” crofting scheme on reclaimed “black land,” and oversees a plain but purposeful school.