Introduction
In 1803, William Wordsworth, his sister Dorothy and their friend Samuel Coleridge travelled to Scotland, taking in beautiful Loch Lomond and the Trossachs. They begged bed and board from a startled Scottish farmer, and at breakfast the following morning (it was Saturday August 27th) the Macfarlanes told them in their slow English about Rob Roy.
Speaking of another neighbouring laird, they said he had gone, like the rest of them, to Edinburgh, left his lands and his own people, spending his money where it brought him not any esteem, so that he was of no value either at home or abroad. We mentioned Rob Roy,* and the eyes of all glistened; even the lady of the house,* who was very diffident, and no great talker, exclaimed, “He was a good man, Rob Roy! he had been dead only about eighty years, had lived in the next farm, which belonged to him, and there his bones were laid.”* He was a famous swordsman. Having an arm much longer than other men, he had a greater command with his sword. As a proof of the length of his arm, they told us that he could garter his tartan stockings below the knee without stooping, and added a dozen different stories of single combats, which he had fought, all in perfect good-humour, merely to prove his prowess.
* Rob Roy was the affectionate name for Robert Roy MacGregor (1671-1734). See posts tagged Rob Roy MacGregor.
* Mrs Macfarlane comes very well out of Dorothy’s account. She was “a tall fine-looking woman, neatly dressed in a dark-coloured gown, with a white handkerchief tied round her head”, and despite the alien surroundings of a Scottish croft “she did not differ in appearance from an English country lady.” She spoke English, unlike her children, though it was not her first language, and bustled about, pressing tea and barley cakes on her unexpected guests, drying out Dorothy’s clothes (she had been caught in a rain shower), sharing out soft, new-made woollen blankets, and generally “behaved to me with the utmost attention and kindness.”
* In fact, Robert Roy MacGregor lies buried in Balquhidder, Stirlingshire, sixteen miles as the eagle flies across the Trossachs National Park from Tarbet on Loch Lomond, and twice the distance by road. Mrs Macfarlane was also not quite right about Rob Roy’s dates: he died in 1734, and the sixty-ninth anniversary of his death was coming up on December 28th.
Précis
In the summer of 1803, Dorothy Wordsworth, her brother William and Samuel Coleridge stayed with the Macfarlanes, farmers living near Loch Lomond. Over breakfast, Mrs Macfarlane spoke glowingly of Rob Roy, his struggles against the abuse of power, his prodigious reach, the advantage it gave him in swordplay, and her pride that, as she supposed, he lay buried nearby. (59 / 60 words)
In the summer of 1803, Dorothy Wordsworth, her brother William and Samuel Coleridge stayed with the Macfarlanes, farmers living near Loch Lomond. Over breakfast, Mrs Macfarlane spoke glowingly of Rob Roy, his struggles against the abuse of power, his prodigious reach, the advantage it gave him in swordplay, and her pride that, as she supposed, he lay buried nearby.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: although, despite, may, or, ought, unless, whether, who.
Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Jigsaws Based on this passage
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
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