Christian fiction; Fishers -- Fiction; Love stories; Scotland -- Fiction
“At len’th the butler cam in, an’ the prence signed till him, an’
he gaed near, an’ the prence drew him doon, an’ toot-mootit in ’s
lug--an’ his breath, the auld man said, was like the grave: he
hadna had ’s mornin’, he said, an’ tell’t him to put the whusky
upo’ the table. The butler did as he was tauld, an’ set doon the
decanter, an’ a glaiss aside it; but the prence bannt him jist
fearfu’, an’ ordert him to tak awa that playock, and fess a tum’ler.
“I’m thinkin’, my lord, that maun be a modern touch,” remarked
Malcolm here, interrupting himself: “there wasna glaiss i’ thae
times--was there?”
“What do I know!” said the marquis. “Go on with your story.”
“But there’s mair intill ’t than that,” persisted Malcolm. “I
doobt gien there was ony whusky i’ thae times aither; for I hard a
gentleman say the ither day ’at hoo he had tastit the first whusky
’at was ever distillt in Scotlan’, an’ horrible stuff it was, he
said, though it was ’maist as auld as the forty-five.”
“Confound your long wind!--Go on,” said the marquis peremptorily.
“We s’ ca’ ’t whusky, than, ony gait,” said Malcolm, and resumed.
“The butler did again as he was bidden, an’ fiess (_fetched_) a tum’ler,
or mair likely a siller cup, an’ the prence took the decanter, or
what it micht be, an’ filled it to the verra brim. The butler’s een
’maist startit frae ’s heid, but naebody said naething. He liftit
it, greedy like, an’ drank aff the whusky as gien ’t had been watter.
‘That’s middlin’,’ he said, as he set it o’ the table again. They
luikit to see him fa’ doon deid, but in place o’ that he begoud to
gether himsel’ a bit, an’ says he, ‘We brew the same drink i’ my
country, but a wee mair pooerfu’.’ Syne he askit for a slice o’
boar-ham an’ a raw aipple; an’ that was a’ he ate. But he took
anither waucht (_large draught_) o’ the whusky, an’ his een grew
brichter, an’ the stanes aboot him began to flash again; an’ my
leddy admired him the mair, that what wad hae felled ony ither man
ony waukened him up a bit. An’ syne he telled them hoo, laith to
be fashous, he had gi’en orders till ’s menyie to be all afore the
mornin’ brak, an’ wait at the neist cheenge-hoose till he jined
them. ‘Whaur,’ said the leddy, ‘I trust ye’ll lat them wait, or
else sen’ for them.’ But the yerl sat an’ said never a word. The
prence gae him ae glower, an’ declared that his leddy’s word was
law to him; he wad bide till she wulled him to gang. At this her
een shot fire ’maist like his ain, an’ she smilit as she had never
smilit afore; an’ the yerl cudna bide the sicht o’ ’t, but daurna
interfere: he rase an’ left the room an’ them thegither.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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