CRAIGIELINN.

Bruce Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 3104, 3 October 1899, Page 2

CRAIGIELINN.

... ! : ♦ ';..-■'■* ■ •; i BY i E. EEIST WICK.

[Vincent Pyke.] " Aye he Zeal." PAIRT THIRD. It aye behoves bairns to Bpeak well o their parents, though it's to be feared that monymust do so with a sair heart, bein' forced till't by what Mr M'Gelpin oa'd " a pious fraud." But it's no flattery nor filial affeotion on my pairt gars me to say, that when my faither was dispensing hospitality he waa a prince in his demeanour. The M'Callnm Mobr himsel' couldna hae displayed mair dignity than the Laird o' Craigtalinn on sic occasions. Ifc was a sight to witness the efcately way he stappifc ben the house and bade his guest weloome. I observed Mr Renwick cast a quick, anxious glance at bim, as he oame through the door, as though he expecfcit something unusual : an' I fancied fche lioht died oot o' his een, an' a shadow creepifc owre hia faoe, after the first few words had been spoken at ween them. Supper bein' laid my faither bade the stranger an' Colin Davidson sit intil the table, an' partake o' the mercies. ,% We'll no be fash9d wi' business till the oravin's o' the natural man hae been satisfied," he said. An' now a singular thing happened ;— I dinna think onybody remarked ifc only myser. When the laird askifc a blessin' on the gude things sac bountifully provided for oor -sustenance, an' on a' the people in the hoose, he pit in a special petition for ** fche stranger under oor roof." Just at this point, Mr Renwick was visibly affected. His hand that rostifc on the table trembled, an' lookin' up till his face I saw a bfg tear drop fcricklin' douu his beard. But immediately he recovered himsel' an' joined in the conversation as canty aa ever. It seemed he bad been a great traveller ie i various pairts o' fche earth, an' maist specially in Australia and New Zealand. He tauld us o' the big sheep runs and cattle farms, the amazln' extent o' which fair astonished us a' ; an' when he eaid ane man aften held aB much aa fifty, an' even a hundred thousand acres o' land for a sheepwalk, payin' an inconsiderable trifle o' rent for fche use on'fc, we set it doun as pure romancin'. My faither wha fchochfc himsel' a man o' gude Bfcandin', on tha strength o' potsessiog nearly three hundred acres o' his ai", an' rentin' anither hundrod acres, evidently didna believe a word o'fc. He couldda contradict a guest in hia am boose, but I could see that his mauner changed. No man was mair keen to resent ony attempt atmisleadin' him, an' he thochfcMr Renwick was far exceeding the ordinary license o' travellers. " A'weel, Mr Reuwsck," quo' he ; " it's » far cry till thaa countries ye speak o', an' aiblir,B fcbe land eateth up the inhabitants thereof, as was reported o' Canaan. Ye ker ths auld sayin' — ' Better a wee hoose than nae beild.' 1 tak' ye for a countryman, though ye hae a foreign-like tongne in yonr heid, which comas nae doot o' bein' eae lang abroad. In fac' I dinna ken bnfc maybe we're sib. My am mither waß Renwick, frae Langholm, in Dumfries." If the laird's mither had been a gun. the firing o'fc couldna hae startled oor guest mair than this sudden mention o' htr name. H> didna immediately mall' ony answer, for ' wraatlin' wi' h'.a neb, which he blew baith j loud an' lang. When he had gotten the I mastery o'fc, he said very Siftly that it was '*« within fche limir-s o' possibility that we were biuif'M. '* And, indeed," said he, » I will be very eel P^aed if ib is so ; for I have aye be*rd James Cranston o'Craigieiinn spoken af wi' great reßpec*, Which am sure is weel deserved " This gracious speech restored my faither'u good humor ; and, Bupper being owre, he invited Mr Rsnwicfc to give the be-fchanked, which, he did in a maist eloquent manner, fervently beEeechiDg Providence to bestow his choicest gifts on tha family an' to prosper a' their undertakings. I mind ane pairt which made a great impression on me, when he askit help an' meroy for a' wanderers by sea and land, an' a speedy return to tbe fauld frae which they had strayed. My faither was sensibly affected ; an' frae that moment fche stranger rose in his estimation. I'm sure he pit aside ony vexation he might hae felt on account; o' Mr Renwick's havers aboot thae big sheep -farms ; for, biddin' Meg hae the guest -chamber got ready, he went ben wi' him till ihe best room room, tae hae a quiet twa-handed crack, leavin' ub young folk tiil oursels. I need scarcely say that Colin Davidson got sma' peace till he had tauld us a' he kent aboofc the stranger. Bufc its ill drinkin' frae a toom quaich ; an' ib sune appeared that Colin kent nae mair than that Mr Renwich cam' till the Sha^vs on the previous day an' bided on till the mornin'. He made searohin' inquiries, Colin Eaid, aboofc oor folk, an' frae his questions it wad seem that he had been acquent wi' the laird in his early days. "'Deed then," quo' Maggie; "gin that's a' ye ken aboot him what; for did ye bring him on here ?" "Wee', MiGs Maggie," said Colin, "I was comin' mysel', ony way, fco gie a hand afc the hairsfc, an, I fchochfc nae harm to let the auld man come wi' me. But I'll no deny I had some curiosity fco find oot mair aboot bim, an' I kent fine thafc Craigielinn wad Bune **ort him." I may say here, that Colin had been in the way o oomin' to help at the hairat frae the time he was a bit haflin'. Oor land lying mair intil the hills, the corn ripened later than in the open ground, an' it was a neighborly action on the pairt o' young men wha could be spared frae their am mailin'a to help at the ingathering. The weather was aye flokle towards tbe end o' the season, an' although Craigielinn lands were maiotly

pasture, an' no aae. fit for corn, it was desirable to get in what corn there was wi' great expedition. "Dae ye believe a' they soreeds aboot the big. farms in foreign pairts ?" speered Meg. Colin thooht awhile afore he answered. Then he Baid— "l hae been gatherin' information, and though I oanna say that I believe Mr Renwick's statements a'the-gither-j I'm free to admit that there's a great openin' in yon countries for young folk, no fear'd o' work, wha dinna mm' roughing it a wee at first startin'. There's a hanfcle o' folk gaun awa frae these pairts to mak' hameß in the wilderness at a plaoe cad Otago. I got tbe acoonnt o't frae the 'Greenock Advertiser,' an' there's a minister gaun oot wi' them, an' what's mair —he's sib to Rabble Burns." This was suoh extraordinary news that we clean forgot the stranger. Maggie an' I *at spell-bound as ye may say, while Colin gave us a' the information he had aboot this wonderfu' thing. " An' whanr's Otago ?" quo' I. "That's mair than I oan ricbtly tell," quo' he. •• A' I ken aboot it is that it's on the ither side o' the warl', an' mony thousands o' miles awa'." " But Colin," said I, " gin it's on the vera ither Bide o' tbe warl' how can folk stan'. The warld's round, ye ken, an' they wad fa' aff." Colin tried to explain the mttter, bu} we puir silly lassieß couldna awa wi' his talk. — "Hoot awa wi' your blethers," cried Maggie. "Ye'rejust tryin' to stu& us wi' havers. Wad ye hae me believe that a wheen douce folk, an' a minister tae, aboon a ' i_aro gaein tiil a oountry whare they maun walk wi' their headß dounmost. It's just impossible, an' maist outrageous, whatna kind o' limmers wad venture at ony bic doin'a? I'm rioht doun angered wi' ye Colin Davidson for lattin' on aboot sio a thing till the dochters o' Craigielinn." Afore he oould answer back, she was up an' out o' the epence in a huff. The puir lad looked sac vexed and dounoast at Mistress Maggie's rebuke that I felt sorry for him ; an' the mair because my nnfor. feunate question had provoked the storm. 1 couldna help gaein' owre till his hide. " Dinna mm' her flytin', Colin," quo' I. He took my hand intil his am very gently an' in a broken voice speered at me — "Ye dinna think I'm leein', Janet ?" There was an expression o' grea*} ptiin in hia face, but the clear licht o' truth ohone frae bia een, an' my heart went fairly out till him. " No, Colic," I said, " I'm car taia ye tauld nse lee. It's no that easy to understau' how ie can be as ye say, but I believe ye for a' that." Yo hae aften seen when the lift had been owrecasfc wi' darksome clouds, how the sun has brak through an' brightened a' the earth. The look o' gladness tbat spread owre Cohn's countenance at .ny 6imple words was just like that. "Ye canDa tell how much I'm behauden till ye," quo' he. " Mistress M3ggie can be as dorty aa she likes ; if you believe me, I winoa mm', Janet, latsie, I'm no gude at the explainin'. But I ken it's a true that I te'l'fc ye. I wadna an' I couldna lee to ye, Janet. Aye think that o' me." I promised aye wouid I. It was no muoh he asked at me. My heart was sac full o' sympathy for his distress at bein.' doubted that I wad hae done much mair than that to pleasure him. D dna somebody say that Pity was tha foater-mother o' L ye ?