I can do to mak' ye comfortable? Betty'll no' be lang till she's wi' ye. She

us, so I concluded that, decent, well-mean

ation, 'I have no doubt your intentions are all right.

at ye are an invali

I'm afraid I mu

erstaun that that gied his women-fouk a glauff. Weel, suddenly he lookit up an' asked for a gless o' whisky, an' they thocht frae that that he was better. He did kind o' revive after his dram, an' wi' nae sma' trauchle they got him to his bed. Next mornin' he was dreich o' risin', an' when he got to his breakfast he couldna eat, an' still he didna sweer, so they sent awa' doon for the doctor. Weel, whenever the doctor cam' an' saw him he ordered him at aince to be put in his bed. "Bed!" said Cairnie. "Bed in the guid daylicht! I think I see mysel'! I never in a' my life gaed to my bed except at nicht an' to s

fed audibly, 'it was a very big funeral, was Cairnie's. He was buried in Dalgarnock-a damp, d

han?' said Betty, who had

eepin' Maister Weelum here cheery till ye come up;' and he rose, with a sigh of

case I looked at the sonsie, kindly face of my old nurse. '

ve a wee bit pleased laugh. 'Ha'e ye been mis

as been ca'in' the crack; but, Betty'-and I lowere

d. 'I'm sorry, noo, to ken that. He must h

etty; he t

juist a wee bittie doon i' the mooth the noo, an' ye'll be easily putten aboot; but keep your pecker up, like a guid laddie, an' ye'll soon be better in health an' better in spirits. Efter a', an' when a''s co

d grateful. Why, Betty, when I think of it, it is a downright sin in me to allow myself to become depressed. It would be much more to the purpose were I to bestir myself a

Weelum, I was

'I was sure I heard

-blind and drew the curtains together. 'Oh, you're quite richt; you dootless did hear greetin', b

use,' you an' me speakin' aboot Tom Jardin

t courtyard, a haggard, worried face, and a golden-haired bairn. Intuitively I saw more-trou

tin' in the kitchen, an' I'm juist dyin' to speak to you, for what she has telt me is

and Tom Jardine are concerned, nothing is, or

ed and counted her stitches,

lly expected to be able to clear off ten pounds of that auld balance this back-end term; but I'm beginning to be feart that'll no' be possible."

odd

the last twal'months he has selled an awfu' lot. But it appears that seed rins to money quickly, an' the twae accoonts ootlyin', an' aboot which he was so anxious, are, as it were, in this department. The want o' this money has keepit him very ticht, an' he's been aff baith his meat an' his sleep ower the heid o't. Weel, to mak' a lang story short, the farmers ha'e baith failed. Tom got word yesterday, an', as it's thocht they're gey bad failures, an' very little ootcome expected, he's nearly demented. He has gane ower his books, an' he sees he can pey twenty shillin's in the pound; but, to do that, it means handin' ower his stock, furniture, an' hoose, an' he'll come oot o't wi' nocht but the claes on his back. His wife, puir lassie, was in the nicht tellin' me a' aboot it. It was her ye heard greetin'. She has keepit a stoot he'rt an' a smilin' face to Tom; but whenever I put my haun kindly an' mitherly-like on her shooder she broke doon an' gra

understand, Betty, that you are willing to step into the breac

k it wad be you

put your arms round my neck and give me a kiss

ks of auld langsyne. Betty, as an interested party, favoured us with her company part of the time, for Nathan was sleeping the sleep of the just and the tired, and the kitchen fire had long gone out. She was surprised to know that Tom's difficulties could be overcome a

left off on Nathan's coming into my room, and the paragraph opposite my thumb is as follows: 'I will pass through this world but once. If, therefore, th

gh she may not have the faculty of thus beautifully and poetically ex