Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1885-08-21

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my pocket TINS meeniJ-and there lUli De
when ye get Tower ither members o. the
congregation to pit doom their fifty pounds
apiece. Not but that there's several in
the church ADLER than me to pit doom as
much but we ken how it is, Mr.. Strang,
the man makes the money, and the wo-
man spends it and there's mair than one
family we ken o that should come fOrrit
on an occasion like this, but that the
money rims through the fingers o. feck-
less wife What think We, moo, o. Mrs.
Nichol setting up her powny carriage, and
it's no nine years since Geordie had to
make composition And they tell me
that Mrs. Paton's lasses, when they gang
doom the watter-and not for one month
in the year will they let that house o
theirs at Dunoon-they tell me that the
parties an dances they have is jist eX-
traordinar', and the wastry beyond a.
scrimp and deny themselves that's expect
ed to do everything in case like this
notwithstanding it's a public debt-mind,
it's u public debt, binding on the whole
congregation but what all say ah II stand
to-there's wan hundred pounds ready,
when there's Tower ithers WI fifty pounds
apiece-that's three hundred pounds
and wi such an example before them,
surely the rest o. the members will make
up the. remaining two hundred and fifty
surely, surely
Its lending to the Lord said the
minister's wife. sadly as she passed the
marmalade to the children.
! The conversation now took the form of
| n discussion as to which of the members
| might reasonably be expected to come
! fnrx urIn t i11n nc
! aid had no part or interest in this matter
| he made bold to turn to Mr.. Weems, who
sat beside him, and engage him in talk on
their own account. Indeed, he had rather
taken a liking for this timorous little man,
| and wished to know more about him and
! his belongings and occupations; and when
| Mr.. Weems revealed to him the great
trouble of his life-the existence of q
shrill-voiced chantcleer in the back yard
of the cottage adjoining his own, out
somewhere in the Pollokshaws direction
Ronald was glad to come to his help at
| once.
"Oh, that's all right" said he. "rll
shoot him for you"
But this calm proposal was like to drive
the poor little man daA with terror. His
nervous system suffered cruelty from the
skirling of the abominable fowl, but even
that was to be dreaded less than a sum
mons and a prosecution and deadly
feud with his neighbor, who was drunk.
en-, quarrelsome, cantankerous shoe
maker.
but God bless me :" Ronald said, cts
not to be thought of that any human be
ing should be tortured like that by prute
beast. Well, there's another way o set
Ting the hash O. that screeching thing
You just 90 and buy n pea-shooter or il
one of the laddies will lend you tin wills
tie, that will do; then go and buy two
pence worth of ambitious pills-indeed,
suppose any kind would serve-and Their
fire half dozen oyer into the back yard
My word, when the bantam gentleman
has picked up these bonny looking peas
and swallowed them, he'll no he for Hap
ping his wings and growing, I'm think
ing he'll rather be for singing the tune o
Annie Laurie But maybe you're not ,
good shot with pea-shooter? Well, II
come over and do, it for you-early some
morning when the beasts hungry
But it was difficult for any one to talk
even in the most subdued and modes
way, with that harsh and strident vOic
laying down the law at the head OF the tn
BILE. And now the large-wastcoated eide
was on the subject of the temperate
MISUNDERSTANDING the government
for not suppressing the liquor traffic alto
gether, denouncing the callous sclfishnes
} of those who were inclined to temporiZ
with the devil, aud laying at their doc
all the misery caused by the drunkenness
of their fellow creatures, and proud
putting in evidence his own position i
the city OF Glasgow, his authority In Tn
2 church. the regard paid to his advice, am
l the solid, substantial slice of the world
gear that he possessed, as entirely due t
the fact that he had never. not even as
l young man, imhlbed one drop of alcohol
= Now Ronald Strang was ordinarily
most absteminous person, and no credi
4 to him. nor to any one in the like CASE
: for his firm physique and his way of lily
7, ing hitherto had equally rendered him il
4 dependent of any such artificial al
+ Though glass OF whiskey on n wet da
!, on the hillside did not come amis
! to him, and his hard hea
d could steer him safely through a IA
amount of iolli1icatIon when those will
5 lads came down from Tongue. But h
: was irritated by that loud and raucor
n voice he resented the mans arroganC
l. and his domincerlng over the placid al
n phlegmatic Andrew, who scarcely opene
II his mouth; and here and there he bega
! to put in sharp saying or two that b
n tokened discomfort and also a comm
storm. They used to say that cleanl
4 ness was next to Ccdliness; but now
: days We would put total abstinence half
;; mile ahead of it, he would say or som
# thing of the kind and in due course the!
< twowere engaged N a hattle-royal of di
J. cussion. 1t shall not be put down hert
W for who was ever cOnyincel-in moral
n or art, or literature, or anything else-l
= an argument 1t need only be said TIL
n the elder, Icing rather hard pressed, toe
refuge in Scripturdi authority. But, ala
70 this was not of much avail; for the who
" family of the East Lothian farmer IN
\, merely the student one of them had bee
"a brought up with exceeding care, al
n oi a