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Updated: August 31, 2025
"Miss Sheila!" cried the girl, looking up to her friend's face with a sudden fright seizing her heart, "what is the matter with you? You are going to die!" "There is nothing the matter, Mairi. I am going away." She uttered the words placidly, but there was a pained look about the lips that could not be concealed, and her face, unknown to herself, had the whiteness of despair in it.
Perhaps, indeed, Mairi managed to fall in love with him a little bit herself, merely by force of example and through sympathy with Sheila; and she was rapidly forming very good opinions of the English race and their ways and their looks. But when Lavender took away Sheila from Borva a change came over Mairi's sentiments.
Just as Frank Lavender went down stairs to meet Ingram, a letter which had been forwarded from London was brought to Sheila. It bore the Lewis postmark, and she guessed it was from Duncan, for she had told Mairi to ask the tall keeper to write, and she knew he would hasten to obey her request at any sacrifice of comfort to himself. Sheila sat down to read the letter in a happy frame of mind.
With that he went out, and Sheila, with a wild commotion at her heart, saw him walk away through the square. She was afraid Mairi might have arrived before he left. And, indeed, he had not gone above a few minutes when a four-wheeler drove up, and an elderly man got out and waited for the timid-faced girl inside to alight.
"Oh. it wass of no consequence," said old Mackenzie carelessly: indeed he was not sorry to have met with this rebuff. "Mairi is a ferry good girl oh yes but there are many who would not forget she is a servant-lass, and would not like to be always taking her with them. And you hef lived a long time in London "
This is called Ushi no toki mairi, or "going to worship at the hour of the ox," and is practised by jealous women who wish to be revenged upon their faithless lovers. " 4 a.m. " " ox. 4 a.m. " 6 a.m. " " tiger. 6 a.m. " 8 a.m. " " hare. 8 a.m. " 10 a.m. " " dragon. 10 a.m. " 12 noon " " snake. 12 noon " 2 p.m. " " horse. 2 p.m. " 4 p.m. " " ram. 4 p.m. " 6 p.m. " " ape. 6 p.m. " 8 p.m.
Thus, in the days older than this present generation, but still within this century, as the writer has witnessed, it was the custom of women betrayed by their lovers to perform the religious act of vengeance called Ushi toki mairi, or going to the temple at the hour of the ox, that is at 2 A.M. First making an image or manikin of straw, she set out on her errand of revenge, with nails held in her mouth and with hammer in one hand and straw figure in the other, sometimes also having on her head a reversed tripod in which were stuck three lighted candles.
Then the happy landing at Stornoway her father and Duncan and Mairi all on the quay the rapid drive over to Loch Roag, and the first glimpse of the rocky bays and clear water and white sand about Borva and Borvabost!
And then suddenly, with a strange sob, she threw herself into his arms and hid her head, and burst into a wild fit of crying. "Sheila," he said, "what ails you? What iss all the matter?" Mairi had covertly got out of the room. "Oh, papa, I have left him," the girl cried.
I think you and I must also be settling soon where we mean to go. I don't think we could do better than go to the Tyrol." She did not answer. It was clear that he had given up all intention of going up to Lewis, for that year at least. But she would not beg him to alter his decision just yet. Mairi was coming, and that experiment of the enchanted room had still to be tried.
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