ashes in Nithsdale, happen when it will; and, if all tales be true, a jour'ney he must undertake betwixt and Rood-day, either by moonlight or otherways. The wayfaring man calls not for another bottle as heretofore. The farmer shakes his head at the ugly sock, and the ill-faur'd coulter. The guidewife banns and flytes, and shrugs up her shoulders at every sheep's head the bungler singes; and a yell of thanksgiving arises from young Gowkbiggin's dog - kennel, whenever an ailing steed passes by on his way to Jonathan's College-so much for the fellow's boasted skill in horse surgery, &c.! Reader, seest thou a pleasant habitation arising by the Greenwoodside, and the newly awoke moon brightening its white walls, and the graves giving up their dead? Welcome is the vision to me, and dear the recollections it brings to my remembrance, for the dwelling is Maggie Simpson's, and the semblances of men and women gliding along the paths leading thereto, are no strangers to me. I feel the spell-wizard seizing on every pass, whereby reflection can find access to the abode of my understanding. He knocks at my heart with the free rattat of an old acquaintance, and compels me to take the road-staff in hand. I tirl at the pin, and Maggie Simpson makes her appearance. She lifts up her hands, drops a respectful curtsey, and accosts me with her wonted affability:-" Gude be wi' us, Maigrumbraes, what wind has blawn you here sae late? but I'se warrant ye've heard tell o' the miller's disaster, and are no doubt anxious to ken how it fares wi' the gudewife. What news ha'e ye brought frae hame? Has Mr Archy gotten his kail-dibbling machine set to wark, and his grand hydraulic contrivance for milking a' the kye i' the byre at ance, ready for the Society's inspection? and when did ye hear frae Sam? Oh the dear wee fallow ! he's ay uppermost in my thoughts. May Providence watch owre him in a strange land, and guide his feet frae the paths that lead unto temptation! A livelier laddie never ran owre a knowe, and a bonnier never blest a mither's e'e. Mony a time ha'e I clapped his wee curlie head, and said, wi' as meikle sincerity as ever fell

frae the tongue of woman, 'Oh, Sam, Sam, it's a thousand pities but thou had been a bit lassie!" "

Such was Mrs Simpson's salutation to me on Monday night, before I had even passed the threshold of her door; and now that the circumstance freshens my memory, I have some recollection of replying to all her queries, particularly the first, second, and third; but as these replies are of no material consequence, I shall abstain from even noticing their import, and proceed to state my motives for visiting Toddyburn Smithy that evening.

A rumour, some how or other, found its way to Maigrumbraes, that Miller Morrison's young wife had ta'en the rue, given him the slip, and committed herself to the clutches of Jamie Reilly, the Irish Troggar, whose depredations on conjugal felicity are too well known; and further, that Drumbreg, young Lintylinn, and Hughie Paisley the fiddler, were sitting in council at Meg Simpson's, devising a plan for beating up Pat's quarters, and restoring the deluded woman to her friends. This idle story gave me much uneasiness, though I certainly doubted its veracity, being no stranger to Mrs Morrison's private character; yet it struck me at the time, that my good old friend the miller might possibly have got into some sort of a scrape; and wishing to befriend him to the utmost of my power, I called for plaid and bonnet, and set off to Maggie Simpson's without delay.

The reader, no doubt, possesses bowels of compassion, and a heart that grieveth not at the good of his neighbour, and an eye that speaketh unutterable things, when an evil wind bloweth him good; if he will, therefore, have the goodness to feel precisely as I did, on ascertaining the said report to be a base fabrication, a great deal of valuable time may be saved, and also much ink shed; but it pains me to declare, that the whole gossip of Meg's parlour, prior to my arrival, must for ever remain a book shut, and a foun

tain sealed. The residue of what transpired is all that can be reasonably expected from me, and I shall not fail to give it verbatim. These are the words that met mine car on

opening the parlour door, and be it remembered, they proceeded from the lips of Willie Dandison. "Weel," quoth I to mysel, "it's only a mile gate to the gudeman's; haith, I may just as weel gae there, and ha'e a forenight's daffin wi' the lasses. Trysting time o' night's drawing near, and no doubt some o' them will be at the house-end." Sae aff gaed I, at the shepherd's trot, for Balachan Grange, jumped the burn, glowr'd owre the stack-yard dyke, and there I espied a white mutch and a blue bannet gaun owre ither, and owre ither." Haith, Linty, that was a sight worth looking at," quo' Mrs Morrison; "I'se warrant, now, it was just as gude as siller in thy pouch." Willie Dandison smiled in the affirmative, and continued his story. "The moon," quoth he, "was playing at hide-and-seek amang a wheen dark, though comely clouds, and it was a gude blink before I cou'd tell headum frae corsum; but when she had done wi' her daffin, and glided awa frae 'mang them to the clear blue sky, and bannet cou'd be distinguished frae mutch, lo and behold! wha d'ye think it shou'd be but Harmless Habbie, as they ca' him, tousling Aggie Dinwoodie ahint the pea-stack, just as wiselike as a woman cou'd wish for."

"Very likely," observed Jamie Scott o' Drumbreg; "the lad may ha'e lucid intervals. Transient blinks o' jocularity, and even beams o' reason, are not unfrequent where derangement is comparatively mild; and Habbie's mental faculties being scattered here and there, and wandering to and fro, like sheep without a shepherd, wha kens but the glint o' a bonny blue e'e, and the beek o' a lilly-white hand, may rally the fugitives, and even bring them back again to the bught; but that's an event more to be wished for than expected. He's owre far gane, poor fellow, ever to enjoy the comfort o' a clean hearth stane." "Conscience," quo' Hughie Paisley, setting down the mug, and wiping his lips, "I'm no athegither sae clear about that. It strikes me that I ha'e seen this same blade, or a chiel unco like, I ken na whilk, wi' a better mawn beard, and a better kaim'd head, and a better coat on his back; but when

and where the de'il a bit o' me can tell, for this memory o' mine's just as frail as an auld fiddle-stick.”

"He comes frae somewhere about Lockerby," observed Mrs Morrison, "and very likely ye may ha'e seen him, Hughie, at ane o' the merrymeetings o' that merry town; for Adam Dinwoodie, the only person o' my acquaintance wha kens aught about his parentage, tauld me at Wattie MacClowney's house-heating, that Habbie was a cheerfu', light-hearted lad, and, what was mair to his credit, a dear fallow amang the lasses, before the Provost's dochter herried his peace o' mind. But daft though he be," concluded Mrs Morrison, casting a sly glance at her auld gudeman, "was thy grey head happed, I'd sooner ha'e Habbie in his sark, than Aggie Dinwoodie's gouff o' a dominie, wi' a' his uncle's gear, and his ain to boot." Thirlamwhairn was a man who knew the value of a harmless joke too well to let it pass unheeded-" Thou's a lang tongued, out-spoken cutty," quo' the miller, and pinched her ear so very good humouredly, that she actually laughed at the disagreeable sensation, by his finger and thumb; "and blithly would I put a bridle on thy lips," continued he, "was I no sae frightened for getting my fingers bitten. Hech, Sirs, how glibly the seasons glide awa! It was only the day before yesterday, figuratively speaking, that I was a spanking young fellow-a straight, weelfaur'd sappling, blest wi' abundance o' sap, and bark, and green leaves; and what am I now? just an auld frail forest tree, Tibby, gude for naething in God's warld but nursing thy loveliness, thou delightful ivy, that winds about it sae green and sae gracefully. Jump up, my woman, and shaw the company how lovingly thou clings to the auld stem, when we are down the house by our twa sels." The gudewife's eye reproved him most severely for what she very justly deemed an indelicate request, as she arose, for the express purpose of shifting her quarters; and it required a whole half wink of the miller's to make her sit still. So ended the matrimonial fracas. Before we again proceed to business, perhaps it may be as well to observe,

once for all, that it is not my intention to eulogize the report of any particular cork, because the departing bangs of these ale-keepers are so widely different, that it would require a much lustier stock of language than my warehouse contains, to do them justice; and as for the here's t'ye's, and the thank ye kindly's, I beg leave to discard them altogether. Modesty, of course, will debar me from saying a word about my own share of the conversation; and I have fully made up my mind carefully to abstain from recording a morsel of minor discourse, such as may be supposed to have passed between Andrew Simpson and Sandy Watt, who sat at opposite sides of the fire; the former being a man who was never famed for hammering out a good marketable story in his life, and the latter never tried it; and I also have it in contemplation to spare myself the trouble of comparing Maggie's score with the empty bottles, and leave my ingenious reader to calculate the probable consump tion of home-brewed at his leisure, which may be done very readily, by watching the progressive flow of animal spirits during the evening, and taking, for his intoxicating data, the soul and substance of Jamie Reilly's letter to his brother in Drogheda.

"Och, Dennis, and will you belaive it? one bottle o' Moggie's ramtam makes two men merry, and one mortal." These plain Rules of Court I humbly propose to put on the file, being perfectly well aware, that ex cluding a smytrie of quoth I's and quoth he's, &c. would greatly improve the tone of my narrative, and in this determination do I resume my labours once more.

Miller Morrison, having settled matters in an amicable way with the gudewife, gradually resumed his wonted serenity; and being a man who never felt himself perfectly at ease, whilst an unsolved problem re mained on the list, deliberately wet the fore-finger of his right hand, in the tipple spilt on Meg Simpson's parlour table, and proceeded to delineate certain signs and figures, whose respective degrees of consanguinity, with the important matter concocting under his bonnet, would have puzzled the most experienced genealogist

VOL. X.

to ascertain, much more the compiler of this curious memoir, who bothereth not his head with unriddling mysteries, and decyphering hieroglyphical conundrums. He will therefore content himself, for the present, with briefly stating, that the old man continued to figure away for a couple of minutes or so, then folded his arms, examined the evidence of his theorems with great care, and finally delivered himself of a speech, of which the following is a correct likeness: "I ha'e seen a fallow," quo' the miller, "fleeing owre the Firth o' Forth-mair's the pity, he was a papist, and I believe in wheels within wheels, though I never saw them; but de'il cadge my bouk in a midden creel to the Lady o' Babylon's bed-stock, if I can make out how a bouncing young quean, o' Aggie Dinwoodie's appearance, cou'd ever think o' throwing hersel' awa on that coof o' a dominie."" The kittlest looking pirns," observed Jamie Scott, "are aften the easiest to reel; and I believe there's a possibility of expounding the paradox, and unriddling the riddle, that has bothered mony a lang head forbye yours. Now, ye'll please to observe, that what I'm gaun to tell ye is nei what he said, nor what she said, but a portion o' pure information, drawn frae a source that may be depended on. Gawin, ye maun ken, had thrown sheep's een at the lassie for lang and mony a day, and aften made up his mind to tell her wha he liked best; but aye when the twasome forgathered in a convenient place, the lad's heart failed, and deel be licket had he in his head but a sheep's tongue, to speer her price.

"Weel, Sir, he gaed dangling after Aggie to the kirk and hame again, enquiring kindly for the gudeman and the gudewife, and a' the lave; but never a syllable cou'd Gawin bring to bear on the gude auld subject. He lounged on the langsettle i' the forenights, and dodged her about the house wi' his e'e, and hurkled doun beside her when the beuk was ta'en: but ne'er a straebreadth nearer his purpose was the dominie. Ae dribble o' thy gudeman's nappy mither wit, quo' Jamie, addressing himself to Mrs Morrison," wou'd ha'e tuned his

3 Q

heart in a twinkling, and tauld him to sing Lassie, will you gang wi' me?" Thirlamwhairn's young spouse acknowledged the justice o' Drumbreg's remark with an expressive nod, and the facetious story-teller proceeded without further digression: "Weel, Sir, to shorten a lang tale, when auld Hughie Twaddle gaed to his bed for gude, he called the dominie to council, and no doubt many subjects were discussed, both spiritual and temporal. Amang the temporalities, it wou'd appear that Aggie Dinwoodie was mentioned, for an express was sent off to the gudeman's that very night; and, if my information may be credited, baith John Dinwoodie and Nanse were at Hughie's bed-stock a gude while sooner than a couple sae far advanced in years cou'd ha'e reasonably been expect ed. The conversation that ensued anent our auld friend's future prospects, which, being far owre godly for yill-house clishmaclaver, I'se neither beg, borrow, nor steal a morsel o't, but proceed to state, that, when spiritual matters were discussed, Hughie Twaddle lifted his head frae the bolster, put his hand under his haffet, and said, wi' a voice that seemed not o' this world, • Will ye ha'e the goodness, Nanse, to open that bit kist?' Mrs Dinwoodie put forth her hand, turned the key, lifted the lid, and beheld what few will believe-some say a heaped sowen-kitfu' o' minted gould, and some say twa!" "Hughie was a plodding, penurious, poort body," quo' Miller Morrison, "and clauted siller out o' every sheugh merely to enjoy the glint o't; but commend me to the fallow wha gathers gear and tak's the gude o't." So saying, our philosopher sprung a cork, decanted anither bottle, and dismissed a portion of its contents" to the memory o' Lucky Lowden's auld gib cat, wha ne'er partook o' the haggis without slokening his drouth i' the kirn." Jamie Scott proceeded, "When Mrs Dinwoodie had ta'en the evidence o' her senses anent the gould, Will ye do me the favour, gudewife,' quo' Hughie Twaddle, to see that a's right i' the girnal?' Nanse and the gudeman accordingly set to wark, and opened an auldfashioned oak kist, that had mair

the appearance o' a meal ark than aught else in Gude's creation, being nae less than three Scots ells lang i' the clear; and if the wee kist astonished them much, the meikle ane astonished them mair.

"Half a dizzen webs o' prime hame-made braid claith, brown, blue, and drab, parson-grey, laverockfreckle, and bottle-green; thirteen dittos o' fine burn-bleached sarkinforty-five ells to the web; aught dittos o' maud plaiden; seven pieces o' naipray, curiously fine; seven dittos o' tweelled sheeting; three dizzen and a half o' special tuphornspoons, ladles, queghs, blue bonnets, and auld shoon, forbye hanks o' yarn, woollen night-caps, Sanquhar hose, and sundries in abundance, constituted the wonderfu' stock o' the most wonderfu' depository ever rummaged by human hands.

"John Dinwoodie and his wife stood perfectly like twa statues when they beheld the immensity o' valuable needfu's in a state o' positive inactivity-and what confounded them still mair, nae less than three bladders o' Glasgow particular rappee, and twa siller-mounted green-horn mulls were also i' the catalogue, whase brain-kittling contents they weel kend had never been fingered by Hughie, and must undoubtedly ha'e belanged to his great-grandfather, auld Abraham Twaddle, the only individual o' the family wha ever treated his nose to a particle o' luxury.

"When our friend jealous'd that the gudeman and his wife had satisfied their een i' the girnal, John Dinwoodie,' quo' the dying man, 'draw near unto me, and hearken to the hindmost words o' Hughie Twaddle:

'The eyes o' his soul's weelwishers ha'e beheld the abundance o' substance appertaining to the Twaddle family, that has been accumulating for many generations; and now that the last o' the race is gaun the gate o' a' flesh, and about to bequeath his all to the last o' the Gowkspittles, what a thousand pities it wou'd be was Gawin also to be gathered to his fathers without making unto himself a name! He's a pious, weel-faur'd lad,' continued Hughie, and though a drap o' our family blude wasna in his veins, the whole o' my gudes and

gear shou'd be his portion, for a godlier-inclined young man was never seen, nor yet heard tell of; and it rins strangely in my head, gudeman, that was your Aggie and the Maister to make it up, ye understand me, there wadna be a more douce, genteel couple in a' the dale, and that's a wide word. Gawin tauld me himsel' that the lassie had smitten him, and was there a possibility o' mastering his bashfu'ness, likely enough she might incline her ear, and listen to the lad's. maen. O, my gude auld friends, tak' her through hands. Gawin, poor fallow, is my right e'e, and your dochter's the left; but the sun o' life's setting on Hughie Twaddle. O, Nanse Dinwoodie, ye maun exercise a mither's influence. Yoke her when ye gae hame-tell her frae mė-nae denial, Nanse, I douna bide it, and I winna bide it.' Hughie was as gude as his word, for he departed this life before Nanse had time to open her lips. There's a something," observed Jamie Scott, "i' the last words o' an auld acquaintance, however trifling they may be, that associate wi' our bettermost thoughts, and dwell ever after amang our dearest remembrances.

"Hughie Twaddle's dying request coudna miss waukening the sensibilities o' a couple whase minds were sae peculiarly liable to receive douce impressions, and the twasome ponder ed on what had passed a' the gate hame, and communed wi' Aggie ben the house, and plied her sae weel wi' paternal counsel, that the lassie haflins consented. Gawin was sent for i' the morning, and helped the auld folk to wheedle the poor thing out o' the ither half o' her wits.". "I understand," quo' Hughie Paisley, "that her brither Adain was neither to haud nor to bind, when he heard tell o' what was brewing; but it would now appear that Adie sees the match in a more propitious point o' view; for when he ca'd at our house, and spoke to me about playing at the bridal, I never heard a young fallow joke sae funnily. Hughie,' quoth he, thou maun put Nelly Weems in her merriest mood, and bring plenty o' roset wi' ye, for there's no knowing how meikle may be wanted before we ha'e done wi' the dance that's in contemplation.

Now, ye auld devil, if ye dinna play The rin-awa Bride, and Owre the Moor amang the Heather, in prime style, the morn's morning, never mair look me i' the face. Adam's a hearty chield, and Aggie's a bonny lass, and the dominie has gotten a hantle o' lear in his head; but waes me, poor man, it's unco like Patie Halliday's pea stack-naething but hools and strae." During the whole of Hughie's speech, and indeed towards the close of Jamie Scott's narrative, Thirlamwhairn repeatedly stroked his beard, and as repeatedly set his bonnet a-gee, right and left alternately-sure symptoms that an oration was quickening under its canopy; and so continued his manœuvres, until such time as the subject was fairly hatched, and triumphantly burst the shell.

"Fearfully and wonderfully is man made," quo' Miller Morrison o' Thirlamwhairn; "he's a phenomenon to himsel'-a conundrum that mocks a' philosophical speculation. The brute beasts ha'e their instincts in great perfection; and an equalization o' that grand substitute for reason is very observable amang them; but in our species, we may just as weel look for twa faces precisely alike, as think o' clapping thumb on twa cargos o' intellect precisely o' the same quality. It appears to me, that the human mind is a kind o hot-house, where ideas are generated, ripened, and brought to perfection, by the heat o' the imagination, in the same manner as our modern Egyptians hatch cocks and hens; and it also wou'd appear, that the quality o' the fruit in a great measure depends on the quality and temperature o' the latent warmth applied. Hence it is that we daily see young men coming hame frae Edinburgh, Glasgow, St Andrew's, and elsewhere, wi' wamefu's o' Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and so forth, that neither will nor can be expected to thrive, and a' for lack o' constitutional heat, to promote vegetation. Sic unnatural stuffings aften fill the Professor's chair wi' spunkless stupidity, and defraud the honest plough-stilts o' mony a fine fallow. But let us ha'e done wi' far awa fowls," quo' the miller, as he shifted his chair a couple of inches nearer the fire; "let us look