INVERNESS CONNECTIONS

Grandpa Robert McDonald was all that Maggie could have wished him to be. He had a ruddy complexion and even though he was getting gray, the red in his hair was still to be seen. He had a long white beard. It looked like snow to Maggie\'s eyes. His father had been captain of a sailing vessel and had been to India for many voyages. While doing this he had caught leprosy and many people in the district caught this too causing many deaths in the district. His sister and husband died then, leaving two little girls whom Grandpa and his late wife had reared as their own. They were in his charge a few years before he got married. They had reared their own family and they too were getting old. - Ella Robert , William\'s father, was the owner of a small croft endeavoring to make a living from the bare highland land. He had the added hardship of slowly going blind. Willie\'s father had a great wish to see his son become a doctor, the desire of many of the Crofter race; so much had been sacrificed to send him to Edinburgh University. Robert\'s wife Janet [should be Margaret] had been an only girl with two unmarried brothers who were willing to help support their nephew at university. - Ella