Evening star., 1902-03-01

she conned her lessons al the open window.
Inc girls indeed. aoouta equally divided the
general admiration. Mostly the gayer
wooers-bold young farmers. riding their
own horses, smart young veterinary sur
geons, with fluent tongues and vanished
gigs, even lairds' sons, bound to market for
lack lack OF ANYTHING else'sto ue. toasted the
elder, and even Fairlie's admirers agreed
that Kate Glendinning deserved it. She was
tall, handsome. independent ready of
speech. free-eyed and ofree-handed-a girl
VINO looked her best when carrying two
brimming pitchers Of water (Which she
never did when there was, any one near to
do it for herr or, she ofttimes loved to
stand, with her elbows on five.barred
gate, and a firm and rounded chin just
dimpling the back of her plated fingers as
she looked thoughtfully into the sunset.
Since the death of her mother. six years
before. Kate had kept house for her father.
wooers were prone to call him when his in
evitable tongue acted as kill-joy and spoil
sport, knew her value far too we'll to be
very deslrous of parting with her.
Little Fairlie's admirers, on the other
hand, though they said less, were perhaps
more numerous Many, indeed most, sighed
in secret, and though they may never have
done more than walk beside the girl from
the Bridgend Of Kilgour to her fathers
house on some winters afternoon, they are
apt to keep to their dying day a corner of
their hearts for the purpose Of enshrining
the memory OF little Fairlie Glendinning.
AS for David's particular and inherited
grievance you could not be long in his COM
pany without hearing him declare the be-
ginning, middle and end Of that.
AYE, and what news haze he? Does this
auld gisoned, rotten, worm-eaten tub the
'kirk-an' State still manage to stick the
gither? Ow aye. mony is the time in my
lang life I hae seen the lawyers an doctors
o divinity patchin' at her-clootin' the auld
bottles to baud the new wine, mending the
auld buddy rags O patronage and Gospel
by-act-o parliament wi pectifu hppen..
course caa ed Kirk Extension an Chapels O
Ease!
DR.. Caesar noo-mitchy in word an deed in
the bit hole-and-corner meetin's they caa
Church C0orts! He breaches sermons aft
loof like Boanerges himself, they tell me.
hobnobbin' wi King Solomon himself In a
his glory. He walks the streets to the
soond O. trumpets. The grund fair trem-
bles afore him. But tell me what 1t a
comes to, and I'll thank ye. Hae q his
words and gestures ever convertit ony man
frae the erlror O. his ways? BE guid
bairnes, that's the sum an substance o
what he tells We, for If We dinna We will
maist likely injure your health and forbye,
think on the moral virtues and the Ten
Commands as exemplified by me!
"Oh. I'm no sayin' a word again him!
The doctor is the best O. bad batch, am
tellin' We! No that the ither side are wan
whit better. For your Chalmerses and Can
dishes and Kinnigums 1 am no sayin-I
ken nocht aboot them. They may be trum-
pets o the grace O. God, or mere soundin'
brass and tinklin' cymbals. But for the
kind O. folk they send hereaway to raise
the auld blue banner in the wund, I hae nae
goo O. them. They are weak, fushionless
craiters, their mouths filled wi great swell
in words, as sayeth Jude, the brother Of
James.
LET them gang to the doctor and be gol-
dered at to Minister Aiblins an be bleated
at; to Master kirkstane and be battered