Inverness Courier, Wednesday, January 27, 1841.
Scenes on the Coasts of Sutherland and Ross. Part G
The Gaelic Psalm
The Emigrants. William
McTaggart 1883
“Suddenly, as if by common consent, our Highland passengers raised a gaelic psalm tune. The peculiarly wild and plaintive character of the Gaelic sacred melodies we had often been struck with - we had heard them and admired them come floating upon the ear, blended with the rush of the river, or the sough of the wind through the birchen trees, where a congregation had assembled upon a sacramental occasion in the open air, among grassy knolls and fern-covered knows – but never could we have conceived the singularly wild effect of the low wailing air, mingled with the plunge of the boat and the deep bass of the surf, now rising high and loud into the night air, and then dying sorrowfully and lowly away. At length the psalm was hushed; and the howl of the wind and the sea were again the only music that struck our ear”.
“Oh, that long dismal night! Never was the grey dawn of morning watched for with more anxiety than that with which we looked towards the east. At length the day did come, cold and grey and wretched, but still welcome. The low outline of the coast, partially concealed in the white driving mist, became visible, and the glow of the lighthouse, streaming with rain, appeared dim and pale in the rapidly brightening morning. The shore was close under our lee: and little objection had we to change the captivity of our ark for terra firma, dreary and desolate as it was”.
My Comments:
Once the author and his companion had disembarked at Tarbat Ness the transit ship would have sailed further round the coast to Cromarty. Cromarty served as an emigration port for the dispossessed of Sutherland, Easter Ross and the Moray Coast. These emigrants from Helmsdale would have arrived at Cromarty cold, wet and miserable. Passengers often arrived some weeks before embarkation, so Cromarty found its population mushrooming with heavy demands on provision of food and accommodation. www.cromartyhistory.scot
The Emigration Stone, Cromarty 
“The Cleopatra as she swept past the town of Cromarty was greeted with three cheers by crowds of the inhabitants and the emigrants returned the salute, but mingled with the dash of the waves and the murmurs of the breeze, their faint huzzas seemed rather sounds of wailing and lamentation than of congratulatory farewell”.
The Sailing of the Emigrant Ship. William McTaggart
An emigrant ship is seen moving off under a stormy sky, with a hint of a rainbow in it. On the shore, older members of the clan have been left behind desolate.
