The keeper, who, unconsciously, was calmly enjoying the contemplation of
his own righteousness, observed that "the kintra was a hantle decenter
than the toon". But in a better and more kindly spirit he said to Jock,
"I’ll stan’ yer friend, Hall, especially sin’ his lordship wishes me to
help you. Ye hae got guid claes in that bundle, I’se warrant--the verra
claes, mark ye, that were on himsel’! Pit them on, and jist think
_what’s_ on ye, and be dacent! Drop a’ drinkin’, swearin’, and sic
trash; bend yer back tae yer burden, ca’ yer han’ tae yer wark, pay yer
way, and keep a ceevil tongue in yer head, and then ’whistle ower the
lave o’t!’ There’s my han’ to ye. Fareweel, and ye’ll hear frae me some
day soon, whan I get a place ready for ye aboot mysel’ and the dougs."
"God’s blessin’ be wi’ ye!" replied poor Jock.
They then rose and parted. Each after a while looked over his shoulder
and waved his hand.
Jock ran back to the keeper when at some distance from him, as if he had
lost something.
"What’s wrang?" asked Spence.
"A’s richt noo!" replied Jock, as again he raised his hand and repeated
his parting words, "God’s blessin’ be wi’ ye"; and then ran off as if
pursued, until concealed by rising ground from the gaze of the keeper,
who watched him while in sight, lost in his own meditations.
One of the first things Jock did after thus parting with Hugh was to
undo his parcel, and when he did so there was spread before his
wondering eyes such a display of clothing of every kind as he had never
dreamt of in connexion with his own person. All seemed to his eyes as
if fresh from the tailor’s hands. Jock looked at his treasures in
detail, held them up, turned them over, laid them down, and repeated the
process with such a grin on his face and exclamations on his lips as can
neither be described nor repeated. After a while his resolution seemed
to be taken: for descending to a clear mountain stream, he stripped
himself of his usual habiliments, and, though they were old familiar
friends, he cast them aside as if in scorn, stuffing them into a hole in
the bank. After performing long and careful ablutions, he decked
himself in his new rig, and tying up in a bundle his superfluous
trappings, emerged on the moorland in appearance and in dignity the very
lord of the manor! "Faix," thought Jock, as he paced along, "the
Sterlin’ wasna far wrang when it telt me that ’a man’s a man for a’
that!’"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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