By Train in Scotland

My husband and I were especially pleased to read the article by Christina Williams (“By Train in Scotland’s West Highlands,” Jan. 15), as we took that trip in May, 1994. We would like to recommend, in Mallaig, an excellent small hotel called the West Highland, overlooking the harbor and the Isle of Skye.

During the summer, Mallaig may be reached from the north. We traveled in May, 1992, from Edinburgh to Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh, thence by pedestrian ferry through the Sound of Sleat to Mallaig, returning to Edinburgh by way of Glasgow; a fantastic circle trip, all by BritRail.

ELIZABETH DICKINSON

Solvang

In her otherwise pleasant article, Christina Williams forgets to mention that the Glencoe Massacre was carried out, very willingly, by Scottish troops of the Earl of Argyll’s Regiment of Yost under Robert Campbell of Glenlyon. The “Fire and Sword” order to “Kill all under 70” was sent out by Mayor Duncanson (another Scotsman) of Argyll, whose prosecution was later demanded by the English Parliament. It really had nothing to do with William III, but had lots to do with the ordinary bloody-mindedness of clan warfare.

JOHN CROALL

Sun City

As a transplanted Scotswoman, I must point out that the massacre did not take place as a result of the delay in swearing allegiance to an English king, but was a purely Scottish action--the culmination of inter-clan warfare between the Macdonalds and the Campbells. Let’s not exacerbate the traditional Scottish-English rivalry, which I did my best to mitigate by marrying an Englishman 49 years ago!

MARGARET ELEY

San Marino

Editor’s note: In editing the story, some of the details that writer Williams had included about the 1692 massacre--including the fact that the Scottish Under Secretary issued the orders--were cut. However, she replies: “In all of Scotland’s troubled past, no incident has left such deep wounds or arouses such an intensity of feeling as the 1692 massacre. Certainly the clans were bloody-minded, engaging in frequent warfare, and the Campbells may have relished the excuse to inflict damage upon the Macdonalds. But all of my sources agree that: First, the massacre occurred indirectly as a result of the British government’s attempt to eliminate Jacobite sympathy in the Highlands, and second, King William III has been held responsible for initiating it. The Encyclopedia Britannica states, ‘William III signed the order for the massacre . . . but he may not have read it, for he often signed papers in haste.’ ”