Ebenezer moved that Mr. Sangster should take the chair (a tall slender-legged stool), and that the proceedings should be minuted in the Session books, as a continuance after adjournment of the meeting which had just broken up. Mr. Sangster objected to so irregular a course, and declined to mount the chair. He would be happy to hold an informal conversation with his friends there assembled, but he would take no part in a hole-and-corner meeting not duly called, and held without the knowledge of their minister, who of right should preside. Ebenezer coughed behind his hand, cleared his voice, and stood forth. He had been planning something very energetic in the way of resolutions and minutes of Session, which by and by would be produced in the Presbytery with his name as prime mover and leader; but now he had got them together, it did not appear such plain sailing as he had anticipated, and he began to have qualms and misgivings. The position of prosecutor or accuser did not appear so desirous, now that he stood in the midst of that silent and expectant circle, as it had done when he was merely planning it. He coughed again, but the silence remained unbroken. No one else desired to speak, so he had to go on. He told them that it was unnecessary for him to name the reason for his having requested them to reassemble there, as they knew it already. Mr. Sangster interrupted, that he for one had not an idea of the object of their meeting, and was waiting to hear it. Ebenezer replied that the whole glen was ringing with reports of the evil living of the person acting as pastor over them,--that it was a crying scandal, and that the enemy would have good cause to exult over the subversion of their Zion, if they did not cast the unclean thing out from among them.' 'What do you allude to. Mr. Prittie?' asked Mr. Sangster. 'To the minister's bairn, sir!' replied Ebenezer; 'ye hardly need to speer that.' 'But Mr. Brown's adoption of a foundling infant affords no ground of censure that I can see. I confess, indeed, that I have always thought he had set us an example of Christian charity we would do well to copy.' 'Do ye mean to say, sir, ye dinna ken wha's acht that bairn?' 'I do. Whose is it?' 'His ain, of course!' 'How do you know?' 'A' body kens that by noo, 'at bides in Glen Effick.' '_I_ don't, for one; and I should like to know how _you_ know it.' 'What a' body says maun be true! Ye'll allow _that_, Mester Sangster. An' what's mair, the mither's kenned as weel.' 'And who is the mother? Has she said so?' 'A body wadna just look for that, ye ken, sir. Folk dizna cry stinkin' fish e'y open market. An' ye wadna be lookin' to hear auld Tibbie Tirpie cryin' 'cuttie' after her ain dochter!' 'How then do you make it out? For myself, I don't believe one word of it.'