“Doctor Davidson, ye've been an honest man in the pulpit an' oot o't a' thae years, an' yir warks hev aye gane afore yir words. A 'll tell ye ma secret afore a' dee; ou ay, a' ken a'm deein', an' a'm rael pleased. “Ye 'ill no mind that forty-five year syne a' workit a hale winter near Kildrummie, gaein' and comin' nicht an' mornin'. “A' met... a lassie there, an' a' cam tae luve her aince an' for ever. No that a' wud hae spoken tae her, for a've been an ill-made, ill-tempered, thrawn body a' ma days, an' she... she wes as gude as Marget Hoo, though different. What mair can man say? “The day ma wark wes dune a' said gude-bye tae her, an' that micht hae been the end, but a' turned sudden, an' a' saw the luke on her face. “She cud hae taen her pick o' a' the lads roond Kildrummie, but nae man can lay doon the law tae luve; she... tuke me, that hed naething but a faithfu' hert, an' we gied oor word ane tae the ither for life... an' deith, as a man an' wuman sud aifter Christ's comin'. “We cudna be mairrit till the summer, an' we agreed tae write nae letters tae set the foukes' tongues gaein; we wantit tae hae oor ain secret. “So we trysted tae meet aince a week at a stile in the woods atween here an' Kildrummie, an' we hed... seeven evenings thegither; that wes a' we ever saw o' ane anither in this warld. “It wes the month o' May in an early spring that year, and the leaves were oot in their bonnie first green, an' the birds were busy wi' their nests, an' the lambs were still wi' their mithers in the field. A' nature wes glad wi' us, an' blessed oor luve. “The gate hes fa'en tae pieces lang syne, and the gap's built up wi' a dyke, an' the trees are cut doon an' the hawthorn rooted up, but it's... the same place tae me. “A' can see the tree where we sat, an' the primroses at oor feet, an' the sun shinin' on her face, an' the look in her eyes; a' see her wavin' her hand tae me on the road aifter we pairted, an' the glint o' her goon through the firs the last nicht. “When a' cam the next day she wesna there, an' a hoddit amang the trees for a ploy, but it wes lang waitin', for she didna come, an' a' gied hame wi' fear in ma hert. “It micht be that she cudna get awa, a' said tae masel as a' worked at a dyke, but the dread wes hangin' ower me, an' when there wes nae-body at the stile the next nicht, a' cud bide nae langer. “A' set aff tae her hoose, and ilka turn o' the road a' lookit for Menie. Aince ma hert loupit in ma briest like a birdie in its cage, for a wumman cam along the near road frae Kildrummie, but it wesna Menie. “When a' saw her brither wi' his face tae Drumtochty a' kent, afore he said a word, that he wes seekin' me, an' that Menie wes dead. Never a tear cam that day tae ma een, an' he telt me, stannin' in the middle o' the road where it begins tae gae doon the hill.