Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1885-09-11

Frae Sutherland, say We, mistress ?"
the big skipper said as he reached over
for the lemons. " Ye should ca him your
kissin fra the Helans, then. DO We ken
that story, I.aidlaw? Dye ken that yin
about the Hielan kissns, Jaap? Man,
that's guide yin have We no heard it ?
Have ye no heard 1t, mistress -
Tell us what it is first, and We'll tell
you afterward,' said she sauCiy.
"Weel, them said he-and he desisted
from his preparations for the punch-mak-
ing, for he was famous along the Broom
ielaw as storyteller and liked to keep
up his reputation" it was twa young
lasses, twa cousins they We're. frae the
west side O. Skye-and if there's ony
place mar Hielan than that, it's no me
that ever heard o't-and they were ta'en
into service IL an inn up about Galrloch
or och lnver, or one o the lOchs. Both
o them were good loo king lasses, mind
ye; but one O them Just unusual hand
some. Weel, then. there happened to
come to the inn an English tourist-a
most respectable old gentleman he was;
and it was one o they two lasses-and no
the brawest o them either-that had to
wait on him but he was "A FRIENDLY auld
man: and on the mornin' O his gaun away
he had to ring for something or other,
and when she brought it to him, he said
to her. jist by way O compliment, ye ken
You are very good blocking girl, do we
know, Flora y And of course the lass was
very we'll pleased; but she was modest
lassie too; and she said, oh no, sir: but
! hef heard them say my kissin was peau-
tiful " Your what . said he. My kiss
in, sir Get away, YOU bold hussy Off
with you Mt once or I'll ring for your mas
ter-you brazen baggage and to this
very day, they tell me. the poor lass
| doesna ken what on earth it was that
made the auld man into mailman: for
what harm had she done in telling him
that her cousin was better-looklng than
herselfH -
This reconcile joke was received with
much laughter by he company: and even
Ronald had to admit that the Clyde
shippers imitation of the Highland ac-
cent was very fairly well done. But Joke
making is dull work with empty glasses
and so Captain McTaggart set himself Sc
riously to the business Of brewing that
bowl of punch, while Kate Menzes pol
/ lshed the silver ladle to an even higher
extreme of brllancy.
Now these three old cronies of the
widows had betrayed a little surprise on
finding a stranger installed in their favor
lite howl and perhaps they might have
been inclined to resent the intrusion had
not Kate MenzieSS very speedily intimated
her views upon the subject, in unmStak-
able language. Her cousin Ronald" was
all her cry; it was Ronald this and Ron
aid that; and whatever Ronald said, that
was enough, and decisive. For, of course,
after glass or so of punch the new
they took to be politics; and Ronald,
when he was invited to express his
opinion, proved to be on the Unpopular
side: nor did he improve his position by
talking with open sCOrn of great public
agitation then going on-indeed. he so far
forgot himself as to define stump-Oratory
as ONLY another form of foot aud mouth
disease. But at least he had one siren
nous hacker; and neither Mr.. l.aidaw
nor Mr.. Jaap nor the big skipper was anx-
/ a rt siul ist b,,
had such abundant stores of hospitality
at her command. Moreover, Kate Men
lles was in the habit of speaking her mind:
was 1t not better, for the sake of peace and
| Quietness, to yield little? This cousin of
hers from the Highlands could parade
some book-learning, it is true and he had
/ plenty of cut-and-dried theories that
| sounded plausible enough and his appar
ent knowledge of the working of Ameri-
can institutions was sufficiently good for
an argument-sO long as one could not get
at the real facts but they knew, of course,
that, with time to get at these facts and
to furnish forth replies to his specious
reasonlngs, they could easily prove their
own case. In the meantime they would he
magnanimOus. For the sake of good fell
/ lowship-and to oblige lady-they shifted
the subject.
/ OR rather, she did.
81 suppose you'll be going to the IIar-
mony Club tonight ~ she said.
For while, at least, ~ replied the cap
tain. MIR, Jaap's new song is to be sung
the nlcht; and we maun get him an en-
core fort. Not that it needs as: Gale
d.na's hills and dales will be a over
Glasgow before fortnght's out and it's
young Tam Dalswinton that's to sing it.
Tamil do his best, no fear"
It's little ye think" observed Mrs.
Menzies, with a kind of superior air. "that
there's somebody not hundred miles frae
/ here that can sing better than a. your
members and n your professionals put the
| either. The Harmony Climb If the Har-
mony Club heard him, they might tax
| tent and learn lesson "
CTO DE CONTINUED