New-York tribune., 1874-11-25


lar feature.
"The next case, sirr, was an old wumman
We ken the wives come on Glasgee Green to
wash. Well, this auld wife had gone DOT at
the three stanes' to dip her stOup i the
water, and Overbalanced herself and gone In
heed first, and the stream carried her oot. The
cIy got up, there's wumman droonin.'
was lang way off, but / heerd 1t, and
ran down and into the water after her,
clothes and all. She was floating, SIR, but
her heed was doom, and her feet up. / never
saw the like in a. my life. soomed up to
her, and lifted her puir auld gray heed out O.
the water-a rale riverend face she had-and
BROUGHT her ashore on my arm as quiet as
lamb, and laid her doom"
"Was she insensble }"
"Not o. thegither think, but nigh hand it,
Just scared like oot O her senses, puir saul.
Vara sune she began to tremble oil over and
greet sair. l turned my book, mo- to greet
myself, and went aside and ridded my claes
Aweel, SIR, the first word she spoke was to
speer for me. She cries out, quite sudden,
'Whaur's the mon that gat me oot; for
Guides sake, whaur is her Sac the folk pushit
me, and I behooved to como forrud, and
maxi my confession. Wife, says ], Pm
the mon.' So she looks me all over. The
Lord protect ye,' she cried. The LORD
bless ye!-Pm a puir auld body says she,
Il hae naething but my washing bay (K).
But come you WI me and I'll pit it away,
and get ye twaree schellin for saving me fra
deeth.'"
"Hech, SIR, l felt it awful keen it was
lust her livelihood, ye ken, her washing bay !;
and she'd pit it i the pawn for me. 'Puir
auld body says /, and is that a. ye hae p
And just clappit schelin in her hand, and /
tell't her needed naething I'd a guido wife,
and q guide wage. l was warking at Somer-
ville's mill over the water; and says ], if
We wait for me Saturday afternoons, when |
lift my wage, Pll whiles hao q schelliu for
ye.n
"And did she 7"
"Na, ma" said he; then, thoughtfully, "She
was over puir to gle, and over decent to
take"
All our other provincial dialects are harsh
and ugly but tho Scotch is cultural on the
consonants, and on the vowels divinely meo-
dious wish / could convey the exquisite
melody of James Lambert's voice in speaking
these words, Puir-auld-body /! an is that a.
ye hae 7"
The story itself and the brave, tender hero's
tones were so manly, yet so sweet, that they
brought water into my eyes; and / thought
this tale at least must touch some chord even
in the dull domestic heart. But no 1 looked
at the young woman, and she sat all of a
heap, still wrapped in herself, dull, stupid,
and gloomy beyond description, and the mar
bon vn,
reached her. That was evident somehow.
Thought to myself, "Oh, but yare a dour
wife, " arr"
Perhaps you will be incredulous at my think
ing in Scotch; but the truth is, am little better
than chameleOn; l take the local color willy
nilly After day in France, ! began to think
in French in Scotland, Scotch. | think in bad
French and bad Scotch-very. But that is a
flimsy detail the broad fact remains. So |
dubbed her "dour (L) wife; y and really l
felt wrath that such pearls of true narrative
should be poured out before young Apathy and
ancient Mediocrity
OF Mediocrity there is no cure; but there is
of Apathy, at least in Scotland. That cure is
Whisky. When whisky will not thaw Scotch
body at all,
80 then DO D0lC 10 say BassanlOs-ucGd'
So bcckoned dirty but attentive imp, that
cleaned, all eyes, in a dark corner and sent
him out for great deal of whisky; and post
poned my inquiries till after The thaw.
But, before tho imp could return with
Apathys cure, several footsteps were heard on
the stairs, and three or four men entered, all
in good black suits. A few words Of subdued
greeting passed, and then they removed the
white linen cloth from what |, with my eagle
eye and love of precision, had inventoricd as
the best tea-service.
1t was the body of little girl, lying in her
little coffin. The lid was not yet on. She
looked like frozen wax.
After the first chilling surprise, / cast my
eye on the young woman. She never moved
nor looked, but she shivcred by the fire when
the men touched the coffin behind her.
She was the dead child's mother. Even /
in spite of my eagle eye-could see that now.
whispered to James Lambert, 81 have in
truded on you at a sad time"
aye haena intruded at ALL" said he out loud
Then he told me, before them all, what made
il worse was, th0t the father had gone away
and not been seen these three days.
"Ay, but" said Mrs. Lambert, "ye mauna
let the gentleman think he is ane that drinks.
Ma, he is a real, quite, sober, decent man.
"He is thaat," said the bereaved mother,
speaking for the first time, but in q crushed
and dogged way.
"Tm mo- exactly denying that" said James,
cautiously. "But whaur is heat the present
time"
1t was evident that this quiet, sober, decent
man, upon the death of his daughter, had gone
away on the fuddc, and left his bereaved
wife to bury the child how she could
Srch are the dire realities of life esnncinllr