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 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
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 PHINTEO IN U.S.A. 
 
 PR4074.S4T922"""""'"-"'"^'' 
 Sentimental Tommy. 
 
 3 1924 013 211 473 
 
The original of tliis bool< is in 
 tlie Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924013211473 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
THE WORKS OF J. M. BARRIE. 
 
 NOVELS, STORIES, AND SKETCHES. 
 Uni/ortH Edition. 
 
 A9LD LIGHT IDYLLS, BETTER DEAD. 
 
 WHEN A MAN'S SINGLE. 
 
 A WINDOW IN THRUMS. AN EDINBURGH 
 
 ELEVEN. 
 THE LITTLE MINISTER. 
 SENTIMENTAL TOMMY. 
 MY LADY NICOTINE, MARGARET OGILVY. 
 TOMMY AND GRIZEL. 
 THE LITTLE WHITE BIRD. 
 PETER AND WENDY. 
 Also 
 
 HALF HOURS, DER TAG. 
 ECHOES OF WAR. 
 
 PL A YS. 
 Uniform Edition. 
 
 A KISS FOR CINDERELLA 
 
 ALICE SIT-BT-THE-FIRE. 
 
 WHAT EVERY WOMAN KNOWS. 
 
 QUALITY STREET. 
 
 THE ADMIRABLE CRICHTON. 
 
 ECHOES OF THE WAR. 
 
 Containing: THE OLD LADY SHOWS HER 
 MEDALS — THE NEW WORD — BAR- 
 BARA'S WEDDING— A WELL-REMEM- 
 BERED VOICE. 
 
 HALF HOURS. 
 
 Containing: PANTALOON— THE TWELVE- 
 POUND LOOK— ROSALIND— THE WILL. 
 
 Othtrs in Preparation. 
 INDIVIDUAL EDITIONS. 
 
 PETER PAN IN KENSINGTON GARDENS. 
 
 Illustrated by AKTBtiR Rackhau. 
 PETER AND WENDY. 
 
 Illustrated by F. D. Bbdtobd. 
 TOMMY AND GRIZEL. 
 
 Illustrated by Beknasd Fastkidgb. 
 
 MARGARET OGILVY. 
 
 •*, For particulars concerning The ThisUt 
 Edition of the Works of J. M. Earsie, sold only 
 by subscription, send for circular. 
 
 NEW YORK: CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 
 
• I WOULD GIVE A POUND NOTE TO KNOW WHAT YOU LL BE 
 TEN YEARS PROM NOW " 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 BY 
 J. M. BARRIE 
 
 NEW YORK 
 CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 
 1922 
 
Copyright, i8g6, by Charles Scribser's Sons; 
 
 BRINTED AT 
 
 THE SCEIBNEE PRESS 
 
 NEW YORK, U. S. A. 
 
 s^^ 
 
TO 
 
 MY WIFE 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 THIS is not in the smallest degree the book I 
 meant it to be. Tommy ran away with the 
 author. 
 
 When we meet a man who interests us, and is 
 perhaps something of an enigma, we may fell a- 
 wondering what sort of boyhood he had ; and so 
 it is with writers who become inquisitive about 
 their own creations. It was Sentimental Tommy 
 the man that I intended to write of here ; I had 
 thought him out as carefully as was possible to 
 me ; but I suppose I saw the end more clearly than 
 the beginning, for when I sat down to make a 
 start I felt that I could not really know him at one 
 and twenty unless I could picture him at fifteen, 
 and one's character is so fixed at fifteen that I saw 
 I must go farther back for him, and so I journeyed 
 to his childhood. Even then I meant merely to 
 summarize his early days, but I was loth to leave 
 him, or perhaps it was he who was loth to grow 
 up, having a suspicion of what was in store for 
 him. " Let us have one more game in the Den," 
 he cried, and I was a tool in his hands. But though 
 we may put off the evil day as long as we can, 
 come it must in the end. 
 
 vii 
 
CONTENTS 
 Part I 
 
 PAGB 
 
 I TOMMY CONTRIVES TO KEEP ONE 
 
 OUT 1 
 
 II BUT THE OTHER GETS IN .... 16 
 
 III SHOWING HOW TOMMY WAS SUD- 
 
 DENLY TRANSFORMED INTO A 
 
 YOUNG GENTLEMAN 27 
 
 IV THE END OF AN IDYLL 42 
 
 V THE GIRL WITH TWO MOTHERS , . 56 
 
 VI THE ENCHANTED STREET 66 
 
 VII COMIC OVERTURE TO A TRAGEDY . 78 
 
 VIII THE BOY WITH TWO MOTHERS . . 90 
 
 IX AULD LANG SYNE 106 
 
 X THE FAVOURITE OF THE LADIES . .117 
 
 XI AARON LATTA 133 
 
 XII A CHILD'S TRAGEDY 148 
 
 XIII SHOWS HOW TOMMY TOOK CARE 
 
 OF ELSPETH 166 
 
 XIV THE HANKY SCHOOL 173 
 
 XV THE MAN WHO NEVER CAME . , .184 
 
 XVI THE PAINTED LADY 197 
 
 XVII IN WHICH TOMMY SOLVES THE W ,>- 
 
 MAN PROBLEM 207 
 
 XVIII THE MUCKLEY 217 
 
 XIX CORP IS BROUGHT TO HEEL— GRI2EL 
 
 DEFIANT 232 
 
 XX THE SHADOW OF SIR WALTER ... 245 
 ix 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Part II 
 
 XXI THE LAST JACOBITE RISING . . 
 XXII THE SIEGE OF THRUMS . . . 
 
 XXIII GRIZEL PAYS THREE VISITS . . 
 
 XXIV A ROMANCE OF TWO OLD MAIDS 
 
 AND A STOUT BACHELOR . 
 
 XXV A PENNY PASS-BOOK 
 
 XXVI TOMMY REPENTS, AND IS NONE 
 
 THE WORSE FOR IT . . . . 
 XXVII THE LONGER CATECHISM . . 
 XXVIII BUT IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN MISS 
 
 KITTY 
 
 XXIX TOMMY THE SCHOLAR .... 
 
 XXX END OF THE JACOBITE RISING . 
 
 XXXI A LETTER TO GOD . . • . . 
 
 XXXII AN ELOPEMENT 
 
 XXXIII THERE IS SOME ONE TO LOVE 
 
 GRIZEL AT LAST 
 
 XXXIV WHO TOLD TOMMY TO SPEAK 
 XXXV THE BRANDING OF TOMMY . . 
 
 XXXVl OF FOUR MINISTERS WHO AFTER- 
 WARDS BOASTED THAT THEY 
 HAD KNOWN TOMMY SANDYS 
 
 XXXVII THE END OF A BOYHOOD . . . 
 
 PAOK 
 
 261 
 
 «77 
 292 
 
 30s 
 32.1 
 
 335 
 348 
 
 358 
 364 
 378 
 39» 
 405 
 
 4*3 
 438 
 45 « 
 
 470 
 49> 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 PART I 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 THE STORY OF HIS BOYHOOD 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 TOMMY CONTRIVES TO KEEP ONE OUT 
 
 THE celebrated Tommy first comes into view 
 on a dirty London stair, and he was in sex- 
 less garments, which were all he had, and he was 
 five, and so though we art looking at him, we 
 must do it sideways, lest he sit down hurriedly to 
 hide them. That inscrutable face, which made 
 the clubmen of his later days uneasy and even 
 puzzled the ladies while he was making love to 
 them, was already his, except when he smiled at 
 one of his pretty thoughts or stopped at an open 
 door to snifi" a potful. On his way up and down 
 the stair he often paused to sniff, but he never 
 asked for anything; his mother had warned him 
 against it, and he carried out her injunction with 
 almost unnecessary spirit, declining offers before 
 
 1 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 they were made, as when passing a room, whence 
 came the smell of fried fish, he might call in, " I 
 don't not want none of your fish," or "My mother 
 says I don't not want the littlest bit," or wistfully, 
 "I ain't hungry," or more wistfully still, "My 
 mothei says I ain't hungry." His mother heard 
 of this and was angry, crying that he had let the 
 neighbours know something she was anxious to 
 conceal, but what he had revealed to them Tommy 
 could not make out, and when he questioned her 
 artlessly, she took him with sudden passion to her 
 flat breast, and often after that she looked at him 
 long and wofully and wrung her hands. 
 
 The only other pleasant smell known to Tommy 
 was when the water-carts passed the mouth of his 
 little street. His street, which ended in a dead 
 wall, was near the river, but on the doleful south 
 side of it, opening off a longer street where the 
 cabs of Waterloo station sometimes found them* 
 selves when they took the wrong turning ; his home 
 was at the top of a house of four floors, each with 
 accommodation for at least two families, and here 
 he had lived with his mother since his father's 
 death six months ago. There was oil-cloth on 
 the stair as far as the second floor; there had been 
 oil-cloth between the second floor and the third — 
 Tommy could point out pieces of it still adhering 
 to the wood like remnants of a plaster. 
 
 This stair was nursery to all the children whose 
 2 
 
TOMMY KEEPS ONE OUT 
 
 homes opened on it, not so safe as nurseries in the 
 part of London that is chiefly inhabited by boys 
 in sailor suits, but preferable as a centre of adven- 
 ture, and here on an afternoon sat two. They 
 were very busy boasting, but only the smaller had 
 imagination, and as he used it recklessly, their po- 
 sitions soon changed; sexless garments was now 
 prone on a step, breeches sitting on him. 
 
 Shovel, a man of seven, had said, " None on 
 your lip. You weren't never at Thrums your- 
 self" 
 
 Tommy's reply was, "Ain't my mother a Thrums 
 woman ? " 
 
 Shovel, who had but one eye, and that blood- 
 shot, fixed it on him threateningly. 
 
 " The Thames is in London," he said. 
 
 "'Cos they wouldn't not have it in Thrums," 
 replied Tommy. 
 
 " 'Amstead 'Eath's in London, I tell yer," Shovel 
 said. 
 
 " The cemetery is in Thrums," said Tommy. 
 
 " There ain't no queens in Thrums, anyhow." 
 
 " There is the Auld Licht minister." 
 
 " Well, then, if you jest seed Trafalgar Square ! " 
 
 " If you jest seed the Thrums town-house ! " 
 
 "St. Paul's ain't in Thrums." 
 
 " It would like to be." 
 
 After reflecting. Shovel said in desperation, 
 " Well, then, my father were once at a hanging." 
 
 3 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 Tommy replied instantly, " It were my father 
 what was hanged." 
 
 There was no possible answer to this save a 
 knockdown blow, but though Tommy was van- 
 quished in body, his spirit remained staunch; he 
 raised his head and gasped, " You should see how 
 they knock down in Thrums ! " It was then that 
 Shovel sat on him. 
 
 Such was their position when an odd figure in 
 that house, a gentleman, passed them without a 
 word, so desirous was he to make a breath taken 
 at the foot of the close stair last him to the top. 
 Tommy merely gaped after this fine sight, but 
 Shovel had experience, and " It's a kid or a cofEn," 
 he said sharply, knowing that only birth or death 
 brought a doctor here. 
 
 Watching the doctor's ascent, the two boys 
 strained their necks over the rickety banisters, 
 which had been polished black by trousers of the 
 past, and sometimes they lost him, and then they 
 saw his legs again. 
 
 "Hello, it's your old woman!" cried Shovel. 
 " Is she a deader "? " he asked, brightening, for fun- 
 erals made a pleasant stir on the stair! 
 
 The question had no meaning for bewildered 
 Tommy, but he saw that if his mother was a 
 deader, whatever that might be, he had grown 
 great in his companion's eye. So he hoped she 
 was a deader. 
 
 4- 
 
TOMMY KEEPS ONE OUT 
 
 " If it's only a kid," Shovel began, with such 
 scorn that Tommy at once screamed, " It ain't ! " 
 and, cross-examined, he swore eagerly that his 
 mother was in bed when he left her in the morn- 
 ing, that she was still in bed at dinner-time, also 
 that the sheet was over her face, also that she was 
 cold. 
 
 Then she was a deader, and had attained distinc- 
 tion in the only way possible in that street. Shovel 
 did not shake Tommy's hand warmly, the forms 
 of congratulation varying in different parts of 
 London, but he looked his admiration so plainly 
 that Tommy's head waggled proudly. Evidently, 
 whatever his mother had done redounded to his 
 glory as well as to hers, and somehow he had be- 
 come a boy of mark. He said from his elevation 
 that he hoped Shovel would believe his tales about 
 Thrums now, and Shovel, who had often cuffed 
 Tommy for sticking to him so closely, cringed in 
 the most snobbish manner, craving permission to 
 be seen in his company for the next three days. 
 Tommy, the upstart, did not see his way to grant 
 this favor for nothing, and Shovel offered a knife, 
 but did not have it with him; it was his sister 
 Ameliar's knife, and he would take it from her, 
 help his davy. Tommy would wait there till 
 Shovel fetched it. Shovel, baffled, wanted to know 
 what Tommy was putting on hairs for. Tommy 
 smiled, and asked whose mother was a deader, 
 
 5 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 Then Shovel collapsed, and his wind passed into 
 Tommy. 
 
 The reign of Thomas Sandys, nevertheless, was 
 among the shortest, for with this question was he 
 overthrown : " How did yer know she were cold ? " 
 
 " Because," replied Tommy, triumphantly, " she 
 tell me herself" 
 
 Shovel only looked at him, but one eye can be 
 so much more terrible than two, that plop, plop, 
 plop came the balloon softly down the steps of the 
 throne and at the foot shrank pitifully, as if with 
 Ameliar's knife in it. 
 
 " It's only a kid arter all ! " screamed Shovel, 
 furiously. Disappointment gave him eloquence, 
 and Tommy cowered under his sneers, not under- 
 standing them, but they seemed to amount to this, 
 that in having a baby he had disgraced the house. 
 
 " But I think," he said, widi diffidence, " I think 
 I were once one." 
 
 Then all Shovel could say was that he had bet- 
 ter keep it dark on that stair. 
 
 Tommy squeezed his fist into one eye, and the 
 tears came out at the other. A good-natured im- 
 pulse was about to make Shovel say that though 
 kids are undoubtedly humiliations, mothers and 
 boys get used to them in time, and go on as 
 brazenly as before, but it was checked by Tom- 
 my's unfortunate question, " Shovel, when will it 
 come ? " 
 
TOMMY KEEPS ONE OUT 
 
 Shovel, speaking from local experience, replied 
 truthfully that they usually came very soon after 
 the doctor, and at times before him. 
 
 " It ain't come before him," Tommy said, con- 
 fidently. 
 
 " How do yer know ? " 
 
 " 'Cos it weren't there at dinner-time, and I been 
 here since dinner-time." 
 
 The words meant that Tommy thought it could 
 only enter by way of the stair, and Shovel quivered 
 with delight. " H'st I " he cried, dramatically, and 
 to his joy Tommy looked anxiously down the 
 stair, instead of up it. 
 
 " Did you hear it ? " Tommy whispered. 
 
 Before he could control himself Shovel blurted 
 out : " Do you think as they come on their feet ? " 
 
 " How then "? " demanded Tommy ; but Shovel 
 had exhausted his knowledge of the subject. 
 Tommy, who had begun to descend to hold the 
 door, turned and climbed upwards, and his tears 
 were now but the drop left in a cup too hurriedly 
 dried. Where was he off to ? Shovel called after 
 him, and he answered, in a determined whisper; 
 " To shove of it out if it tries to come in at the win- 
 der." 
 
 This was enough for the more knowing urchin, 
 now so full of good things that with another added 
 he must spill, and away he ran for an audience, 
 which could also help him to bait Tommy, that 
 
 7 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 being a game most sportive when there are several 
 to fling at once. At the door he knocked over, 
 and was done with, a laughing little girl who had 
 strayed from a more fashionable street She rose 
 solemnly, and kissing her muff, to reassure it if it 
 had got a fright, toddled in at the first open door 
 to be out of the way of unmannerly boys. 
 
 Tommy, climbing courageously, heard the doer 
 slam, and looking down he saw — a strange child. 
 He climbed no higher. It had come. 
 
 After a long time he was one flight of stairs 
 nearer it. It was making itself at home on the 
 bottom step; resting, doubtless, before it came 
 hopping up. Another dozen steps, and — It was 
 beautifully dressed in one piece of yellow and 
 brown that reached almost to its feet, with a bit 
 left at the top to form a hood, out of which its 
 pert face peeped impudently ; oho, so they came 
 in their Sunday clothes. He drew so near that he 
 could hear it cooing: thought itself as good as 
 upstairs, did it ! 
 
 He bounced upon her sharply, thinking to carry 
 all with a high hand. " Out you go ! " he cried, 
 with the action of one heaving coals. 
 
 She whisked round, and, " Oo boy or oo girl ? " 
 she inquired, puzzled by his dress. 
 
 " None of your cheek ! " roared insulted man- 
 hood. 
 
 " Oo boy," she said, decisively. 
 8 
 
TOMMY KEEPS ONE OUT 
 
 With the effrontery of them when they are 
 young, she made room for him on her step, but 
 he declined the invitation, knowing that her design 
 was to skip up the stair the moment he was oft 
 his guard. 
 
 " You don't needn't think as we'll have you," he 
 announced, firmly. "You had best go away to 
 — go to — " His imagination failed him. " You 
 had best go back," he said. 
 
 She did not budge, however, and his next at- 
 tempt was craftier. " My mother," he assured her, 
 " ain't living here now ; " but mother was a new 
 word to the girl, and she asked gleefully, "Oo 
 have mother ? " expecting him to produce it from 
 his pocket. To coax him to give her a sight of 
 it she said plaintively, " Me no have mother." 
 
 "You won't not get mine," replied Tommy 
 doggedly. 
 
 She pretended not to understand what was 
 troubling him, and it passed through his head 
 that she had to wait there till the doctor came 
 down for her. He might come at any moment. 
 
 A boy does not put his hand into his pocket 
 until every other means of gaining his end has 
 failed, but to that extremity had Tommy now 
 come. For months his only splendid possession 
 had been a penny despised by trade because of a 
 large round hole in it, as if (to quote Shovel) some 
 previous owner had cut a farthing out of it. To 
 
 9 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 tell the escapades of this penny (there are no ad- 
 venturers like coin of the realm) would be one way 
 of exhibiting Tommy to the curious, but it would 
 be a hard-hearted way. At present the penny was 
 doubly dear to him, having been long lost and 
 lately found. In a noble moment he had dropped 
 it into a charity box hanging forlorn against the 
 wall of a shop, where it lay very lonely by itself, 
 so that when Tommy was that way he could hear 
 it respond if he shook the box, as acquaintances 
 give each other the time of day in passing. Thus 
 at comparatively small outlay did he spread his 
 benevolence over weeks and feel a glow therefrom, 
 until the glow went, when he and Shovel recap- 
 tured the penny with a thread and a bent pin. 
 
 This treasure he sadly presented to the girl, and 
 she accepted it with glee, putting it on her finger, 
 as if it were a ring, but instead of saying that she 
 would go now she asked him, coolly, 
 
 " Oo know tories ? " 
 
 " Stories ! " he exclaimed. " I'll — I'll tell you 
 about Thrums," and was about to do it for love, 
 but stopped in time. " This ain't a good stair for 
 stories," he said, cunningly. "I can't not tell 
 stories on this stair, but I — I know a good stair 
 for stories." / 
 
 The ninny of a girl was completely hoodwinked ; 
 and see, there they go, each with a hand in the 
 muff, the one leering, oh, so triumphantly; the 
 
 10 
 
TOMMY KEEPS ONE OUT 
 
 other trusting and gleeful. There was an exu- 
 berance of vitality about her as if she lived too 
 quickly in her gladness, which you may remember 
 in some child who visited the earth for but a little 
 while. 
 
 How superbly Tommy had done it! It had 
 been another keen brain pitted against his, and at 
 first he was not winning. Then up came Thrums, 
 and — But the thing has happened before ; in a 
 word, Bliicher. Nevertheless, Tommy just managed 
 it, for he got the girl out of the street and on to 
 another stair no more than in time to escape a 
 ragged rabble, headed by Shovel, who, finding their 
 quarry gone, turned on their leader viciously, and 
 had gloomy views of life till his cap was kicked 
 down a sewer, which made the world bright again. 
 
 Of the tales told by Tommy that day in words 
 Scotch and cockney, of Thrums, home of heroes 
 and the arts, where the lamps are lit by a magician 
 called Leerie-leerie-licht-the-lamps (but he is also 
 friendly, and you can fling stones at him), and the 
 merest children are allowed to set the spinning- 
 wheels a-whirling, and dagont is the swear, and the 
 stairs are so fine that the houses wear them outside 
 for show, and you drop a pail at the end of a rope 
 down a hole, and sometimes it comes up full of 
 water, and sometimes full of fairies — of these and 
 other wonders, if you would know, ask not a dull 
 historian, nor even go to Thrums, but to those 
 
 11 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 rather who have been boys and girls there and now 
 are exiles. Such a one Tommy knows, an unhappy 
 woman, foolish, not very lovable, flung like a stone 
 out of the red quarry upon a land where it cannot 
 grip, and tearing her heart for a sight of the home 
 she shall see no more. From her Tommy had his 
 pictures, and he colored them rarely. 
 
 Never before had he such a listener. " Oh, 
 dagont, dagonti" he would cry in ecstasy over 
 these fair scenes, and she, awed or gurgling with 
 mirth according to the nature of the last, de- 
 manded "'Nother, 'nother!" whereat he remem- 
 bered who and what she was, and showing her a 
 morsel of the new one, drew her to more distant 
 parts, until they were so far from his street that he 
 thought she would never be able to find the way 
 back. 
 
 His intention had been, on reaching such a spot, 
 to desert her promptly, but she gave him her hand 
 in the muff so confidingly that against his judg- 
 ment he fell a-pitying the trustful mite who was 
 wandering the world in search of a mother, and so 
 easily diddled on the whole that the chances were 
 against her finding one before morning. Almost 
 unconsciously he began to look about him for a 
 suitable one. 
 
 They were now in a street much nearer to his 
 own home than the spurts from spot to spot had 
 led him to suppose. It was new to him, but he 
 
 12 
 
TOMMY KEEPS ONE OUT 
 
 .ecognized it as the acme of fashion by those two 
 sure signs ; railings with most of their spikes in 
 place, and cards scored with the word "Apartments." 
 He had discovered such streets as this before when 
 in Shovel's company, and they had watched the 
 toffs go out and in, and it was a lordly sight, for 
 first the toff waggled a rail that was loose at the 
 top and then a girl, called the servant, peeped at 
 him from below, and then he pulled the rail agam, 
 and then the door opened from the inside, and you 
 had a glimpse of wonder-land with a place for 
 hanging hats on. He had not contemplated do- 
 ing anything so handsome for the girl as this, but 
 why should he not establish her here? There 
 were many possible mothers in view, and thrilling 
 with a sense of his generosity he had almost fixed 
 on one but mistrusted the glint in her eye, and on 
 another when she saved herself by tripping and 
 showing an undarned heel. 
 
 He was still of an open mind when the girl of 
 a sudden cried, gleefully, " Ma-ma, ma-ma ! " and 
 pointed, with her muff, across the street. The 
 word was as meaningless to Tommy as mother 
 had been to her, but he saw that she was drawing 
 his attention to a woman some thirty yards away. 
 
 "Man — man!" he echoed, chiding her ignor- 
 ance ; " no, no, you blether, that ain't a man, that's 
 a woman ; that's woman — woman." 
 
 "Ooman — ooman," the girl repeated, docilely, 
 
 13 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 but when she looked again, "Ma-ma, ma-ma," she 
 insisted, and this was Tommy's first lesson that 
 however young you catch them they will never 
 listen to reason. 
 
 She seemed of a mind to trip off to this woman, 
 and as long as his own mother was safe, it did not 
 greatly matter to Tommy whom she chose, but if 
 it was this one, she was going the wrong way about 
 it You cannot snap them up in the street. 
 
 The proper course was to track her to her house, 
 which he proceeded to do, and his quarry, who 
 was looking about her anxiously, as if she had lost 
 something, gave him but a short chase. In the next 
 street to the one in which they had first seen her, 
 a street so like it that Tommy might have ad- 
 mired her for knowing the difference, she opened 
 the door with a key and entered, shutting the door 
 behind her. Odd to tell, the child had pointed to 
 this door as the one she would stop at, which sur- 
 prised Tommy very much. 
 
 On the steps he gave her his final instructions, 
 and she dimpled and gurgled, obviously full of 
 admiration for him, which was a thing he ap- 
 proved of, but he would have liked to see he' 
 a little more serious. 
 
 « That is the door. Well, then, I'll waggle the 
 rail as makes the bell ring, and then I'll run." 
 
 That was all, and he wished she had not giggled 
 most of the time. She was sniggering, as if she 
 
TOMMY KEEPS ONE OUT 
 
 thought him a very funny boy, even when he rang 
 the bell and bolted. 
 
 From a safe place he watched the opening of 
 the door, and saw the frivolous thing lose a valu- 
 able second in waving the muff to him. " In you 
 go ! " he screamed beneath his breath. Then she 
 entered and the door closed. He waited an hour, 
 or two minutes, or thereabout, and she had not 
 been ejected. Triumph ! 
 
 With a drum beating inside him Tommy 
 strutted home, where, alas, a boy was waiting to 
 put his foot through it 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 BUT THE OTHER GETS IN 
 
 To Tommy, a swaggerer, came Shovel sour-vis- 
 aged; having now no cap of his own, he ex- 
 changed with Tommy, would also have bled the 
 blooming mouth of him, but knew of a revenge 
 that saves the knuckles: announced, with jeers 
 and offensive finger exercise, that " it " had come. 
 
 Shovel was a liar. If he only knowed what 
 Tommy knowed! 
 
 If Tommy only heard what Shovel had hearn ! 
 
 Tommy was of opinion that Shovel hadn't not 
 heard anything. 
 
 Shovel believed as Tommy didn't know nuthin. 
 
 Tommy wouldn't listen to what Shovel had 
 heard. 
 
 Neither would Shovel listen to what Tommy 
 knew. 
 
 If Shovel would tell what he had heard, Tommy 
 would tell what he knew. 
 
 Well, then. Shovel had listened at the door, and 
 heard it mewling. 
 
 Tommy knowed it well, and it never mewled 
 
 How could Tommy know it ? 
 i6 
 
BUT THE OTHER GETS IN 
 
 'Cos he had been with it a long time. 
 
 Gosh ! Why, it had only corned a minute aga 
 
 This made Tommy uneasy, and he asked a 
 leading question cunningly. A boy, wasn't it? 
 
 No, Shovel's old woman had been up helping 
 to hold it, and she said it were a girl. 
 
 Shutting his mouth tightly, which was never 
 natural to him, the startled Tommy mounted the 
 stair, listened and was convinced. He did not 
 enter his dishonored >\ome. He had no intention 
 of ever entering it again. With one salt tear he 
 renounced — a child, a mother. 
 
 Ort his way downstairs he was received by 
 Shovel and party, who planted their arrows neatly. 
 Kids cried steadily, he was told, for the first year. 
 A boy one was bad enough, but a girl one was 
 oh lawks. He must never again expect to get 
 playing with blokes like what they was. Already 
 she had got round his old gal who would care for 
 him no more. What would they say about this 
 in Thrums? 
 
 Shovel even insisted on returning him his cap, 
 and for some queer reason, this cut deepest. 
 Tommy about to charge, with his head down, now 
 walked away so quietly that Shovel, who could not 
 help liking the funny little cuss, felt a twinge of 
 remorse, and nearly followed him with a mag 
 nanimous offer: to treat him as if he were still 
 respectable. 
 
 17 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 Tommy lay down on a distant stair, one of the 
 very stairs where she had sat with him. Ladies, 
 don't you dare to pity him now, for he won't stand 
 it. Rage was what he felt, and a man in a rage 
 (as you "may know if you are married) is only to 
 be soothed by the sight of all womankind in ter- 
 ror of him. But you may look upon your handi- 
 work, and gloat, an you will, on the wreck you 
 have made. A young gentleman trusted one 
 of you; behold the result O! O! O! O! now 
 do you understand why we men cannot abide 
 you? 
 
 If she had told him flat that his mother, and his 
 alone, she would have, and so there was an end of 
 it. Ah, catch them taking a straight road. But 
 to put on those airs of helplessness, to wave him 
 that gay good-by, and then the moment his back 
 was turned, to be off through the air on — perhaps 
 on her muff, to the home he had thought to lure 
 her from. In a word, to be diddled by a girl 
 when one flatters himself he is diddling! S'death, 
 a dashing fellow finds it hard to bear. Never- 
 theless, he has to bear it, for oh. Tommy, Tommy, 
 'tis the common lot of man. 
 
 His hand sought his pocket for the penny that 
 had brought him comfort in dark hours before 
 now ; but, alack, she had deprived him even of it. 
 Never again should his pinkie finger go through 
 that warm hole, and at the thought a sense of his 
 
 18 
 
BUT THE OTHER GETS IN 
 
 forlornness choked him, and he cried. You may 
 pity him a little now. 
 
 Darkness came and hid him even from himself. 
 He is not found again until a time of the night 
 that is not marked on ornamental clocks, but has 
 an hour to itself on the watch which a hundred 
 thousand or so of London women carry in their 
 breasts ; the hour when men steal homewards 
 trickling at the mouth and drawing back from 
 their own shadows to the wives they once went 
 a-maying with, or the mothers who had such 
 travail at the bearing of them, as if for great ends. 
 Out of this, the drunkard's hour, rose the wan face 
 of Tommy, who had waked up somewhere clammy 
 cold and quaking, and he was a very little boy, so 
 he ran to his mother. 
 
 Such a shabby dark room it was, but it was 
 home, such a weary worn woman in the bed, but 
 he was her son, and she had been wringing her 
 hands because he was so long in coming, and do 
 you think he hurt her when he pressed his head on 
 her poor breast, and do you think she grudged the 
 heat his cold hands drew from her warm face 1 He 
 squeezed her with a violence that put more heat 
 into her blood than he took out of it. 
 
 And he was very considerate, too : not a word 
 of reproach in him, though he knew very well 
 what that bundle in the back of the bed was. 
 
 She guessed that he had heard the news and 
 19 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 stayed away through jealousy of his sister, and by 
 and by she said, with a faint smile, "I have a 
 present for you, laddie." In the great world with- 
 out, she used few Thrums words now ; you would 
 have known she was Scotch by her accent only, 
 but when she and Tommy were together in that 
 room, with the door shut, she always spoke as if 
 her window still looked out on the bonny Mary- 
 wellbrae. It is not really bonny, it is gey an' mean 
 an' bleak, and you must not come to see it. It is 
 just a steep wind-swept street, old and wrinkled, 
 like your mother's face. 
 
 She had a present for him, she said, and Tommy 
 replied, "I knows," with averted face. 
 
 " Such a bonny thing." 
 
 " Bonny enough," he said bitterly. 
 
 " Look at her, laddie." 
 
 But he shrank from the ordeal, crying, "No, no, 
 keep her covered up ! " 
 
 The little traitor seemed to be asleep, and so he 
 ventured to say, eagerly, "It wouldn't not take 
 long to carry all our things to another house, would 
 it ? Me and Shovel could near do it ourselves." 
 
 " And that's God's truth," the woman said, with 
 a look round the room. " But what for should we 
 do that?" 
 
 "Do you no see, mother?" he whispered ex- 
 citedly. " Then you and me could slip away, and 
 — and leave her — in the press." 
 
 20 
 
BDT THE OTHER GETS IN 
 
 The feeble smile with which his mother received 
 this he interpreted thus, " Wherever we go'd to 
 she would be there before us." 
 
 " The little besom ! " he cried helplessly. 
 
 His mother saw that mischievous boys had been 
 mounting him on his horse, which needed only one 
 slap to make it go a mile; but she was a spirit- 
 less woman, and replied indifferently, "You're a 
 funny litlin." 
 
 Presently a dry sob broke from her, and think- 
 ing the child was the cause, soft-hearted Tommy 
 said, " It can't not be helped, mother ; don't cry, 
 mother, I'm fond on yer yet, mother ; I — I took 
 her away. I found another woman — but she 
 would come." 
 
 "She's God's gift, man," his mother said, but 
 she added, in a different tone, " Ay, but he hasna 
 sent her keep," 
 
 " God's gift ! " Tommy shuddered, but he said 
 sourly, " I wish he would take her back. Do you 
 wish that, too, mother ? " 
 
 The weary woman almost said she did, but her 
 arms — they gripped the baby as if frightened 
 that he had sent for it. Jealous Tommy, suddenly 
 deprived of his mother's hand, cried, "It's true 
 what Shovel says, you don't not love me never 
 again ; you jest loves that little limmer I " 
 
 "Na, na," the mother answered, passionate at 
 last, " she can never be to me what you hae been, 
 
 21 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 my laddie, for you came to me when my hame 
 was in hell, and we tholed it thegither, you and me." 
 
 This bewildered though it comforted him. He 
 thought his mother might be speaking about the 
 room in which they had lived until six months 
 ago, when his father was put into the black box, 
 but when he asked her if this were so, she told 
 him to sleep, for she was dog-tired. She always 
 evaded him in this way when he questioned her 
 about his past, but at times his mind would wan- 
 der backwards unbidden to those distant days, and 
 then he saw flitting dimly through them the elusive 
 form of a child. He knew it was himself, and for 
 moments he could see it clearly, but when he 
 moved a step nearer it was not there. So does 
 the child we once were play hide and seek with 
 us among the mists of infancy, until one day he 
 trips and falls into the daylight. Then we seize 
 him, and with that touch we two are one. It is 
 the birth of self-consciousness. 
 
 Hitherto he had slept at the back of his mother's 
 bed, but to-night she could not have him there, 
 the place being occupied, and rather sulkily he 
 consented to lie crosswise at her feet, undressing 
 by the feeble fire and taking care, as he got into 
 bed, not to look at the usurper. His mother 
 watched him furtively, and was relieved to read 
 in his face that he had no recollection of ever hav- 
 ing slept at the foot of a bed before. But soon 
 
 22 
 
BUT THE OTHER GETS IN 
 
 after he fell asleep he awoke, and was afraid to 
 move lest his father should kick him. He opened 
 his eyes stealthily, and this was neither the room 
 nor the bed he had expected to see. 
 
 The floor was bare save for a sheepskin beside 
 the bed. Tommy always stood on the sheepskin 
 while he was dressing because it was warm to the 
 feet, though risky, as your toes sometimes caught 
 in knots in it. There was a deal table in the mid- 
 dle of the floor with some dirty crockery on it and 
 a kettle that would leave a mark, but they had 
 been left there 'by Shovel's old girl, for Mrs. San- 
 dys usually kept her house clean. The chairs 
 were of the commonest, and the press door would 
 not remain shut unless you stuck a knife between 
 its halves; but there was a gay blue wardrobe, 
 spotted white where Tommy's mother had scraped 
 off the mud that had once bespattered it during a 
 lengthy sojourn at the door of a shop ; and on the 
 mantelpiece was a clock in a little brown and yel- 
 low house, and on the clock a Bible that had been 
 in Thrums. But what Tommy was proudest of 
 was his mother's kist, to which the chests of Lon- 
 doners are not to be compared, though like it in 
 appearance. On the inside of the lid of this kist 
 was pasted, after a Thrums custom, something that 
 his mother called her marriage lines, which she 
 forced Shovel's mother to come up and look at 
 one day, when that lady had made an innuendo 
 
 23 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 Tommy did not understand, and Shovel's mothei 
 had looked, and though she could not read, was 
 convinced, knowing them by the shape. 
 
 Tommy lay at the foot of the bed looking at 
 this room, which was his home now, and trying to 
 think of the other one, and by and by the fire 
 helped him by falling to ashes, when darkness 
 came in, and packing the furniture in grotesque 
 cloths, removed it piece by piece, all but the clock. 
 Then the room took a new shape. The fireplace 
 was over there instead of here, the torn yellow 
 blind gave way to one made of 'spars of green 
 wood, that were bunched up at one side, like a 
 lady out for a walk. On a round table there was 
 a beautiful blue cloth, with very few gravy marks, 
 and here a man ate beef when a woman and a boy 
 ate bread, and near the fire was the man's big soft 
 chair, out of which you could pull hairs, just as if 
 it were Shovel's sister. 
 
 Of this man who was his father he could get no 
 hold. He could feel his presence, but never see 
 him. Yet he had a face. It sometimes pressed 
 Tommy's face against it in order to hurt him, 
 which it could do, being all short needles at the 
 chin. 
 
 Once in those days Tommy and his mother ran 
 away and hid from some one. He did not know 
 from whom nor for how long, though it was but for 
 a week, and it left only two impressions on his mind, 
 
 24 
 
BUT THE OTHER GETS IN 
 
 the one that he often asked, " Is this starving now, 
 mother?" the other that before turning a corner 
 she always peered round it fearfully. Then they 
 went back again to the man and he laughed when 
 he saw them, but did not take his feet off the 
 mantelpiece. There came a time when the man 
 was always in bed, but still Tommy could not 
 see his face. What he did see was the man's 
 clothes lying on the large chair just as he had 
 placed them there when he undressed for the last 
 time. The black coat and worsted waistcoat which 
 he could take off together were on the seat, and 
 the light trousers hung over the side, the legs on 
 the hearthrug, with the red socks still sticking in 
 them : a man without a body. 
 
 But the boy had one vivid recollection, of how 
 his mother received the news of his father's death. 
 An old man with a white beard and gentle ways, 
 who often came to give the invalid physic, was 
 standing at the bedside, and Tommy and his 
 mother were sitting on the fender. The old man 
 came to her and said, " It is all over," and put her 
 softly into the big chair. She covered her face 
 with her hands, and he must have thought she 
 was crying, for he tried to comfort her. But as 
 soon as he was gone she rose, with such a queer 
 face, and went on tiptoe to the bed, and looked 
 intently at her husband, and then she clapped he» 
 hands joyously three times. 
 
 25 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 At last Tommy fell asleep with his mouth open, 
 which is the most important thing that has been 
 told of him as yet, and while he slept day came 
 and restored the furniture that night had stolen. 
 But when the boy woke he did not even notice 
 the change; his brain traversed the hours it had 
 lost since he lay down as quickly as you may put 
 on a stopped clock, and with his first tick he was 
 thinking of nothing but the deceiver in the back 
 of the bed. He raised his head, but could only 
 see that she had crawled under the coverlet to es- 
 cape his wrath. His mother was asleep. Tommy 
 sat up and peeped over the edge of the bed, then 
 he let his eyes wander round the room; he was 
 looking for the girl's clothes, but they were no- 
 where to be seen. It is distressing to have to tell 
 what was in his mind was merely the recovery of 
 his penny. Perhaps as they were Sunday clothes 
 she had hung them up in the wardrobe? He 
 slipped on to the floor and crossed to the ward- 
 robe, but not even the muff could he find. Had 
 she been tired and gone to bed in them ? Very 
 softly he crawled over his mother, and pulling the 
 coverlet off the child's face, got the great shock 
 of his childhood. 
 
 It was another one ! 
 
 26 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 IHOWING HOW TOMMY WAS SUDDENLY TRANSFORMED 
 INTO A YOUNG GENTLEMAN 
 
 It would have fared ill with Mrs. Sandys now, had 
 her standoffishness to her neighbours been repaid 
 in the same coin, but they were full of sympa- 
 thy, especially Shovel's old girl, from whom she 
 had often drawn back offensively on the stair, but 
 who nevertheless waddled up several times a day 
 with savory messes, explaining, when Mrs. Sandys 
 sniffed? that it was not the tapiocar but merely the 
 cup that smelt of gin. When Tommy returned 
 the cups she noticed not only that they were 
 suspiciously clean, but that minute particles of 
 the mess were adhering to his nose and chin 
 (perched there like shipwrecked mariners on a 
 rock, just out of reach of the devouring element), 
 and after this discovery she brought two cupfuls 
 at a time. She was an Irishwoman who could 
 have led the House of Commons, and in walk- 
 ing she seldom raised her carpet shoes from the 
 ground, perhaps because of her weight, for she 
 had an expansive figure that bulged in all direc- 
 tions, and there were always bits of her here and 
 
 27 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 there that she had forgotten to lace. Round the 
 corner was a delightful eating-house, through whose 
 window you were allowed to gaze at the great 
 sweating dumplings, and Tommy thought Shovel's 
 mother was rather like a dumpling that had not 
 been a complete success. If he ever knew hei 
 name he forgot it. Shovel, who probably had an- 
 other name also, called her his old girl or his old 
 woman or his old lady, and it was a sight to see 
 her chasing him across the street when she was in 
 liquor, and boastful wjis Shovel of the way she 
 could lay on, and he was partial to her too, and 
 once when she was giving it to him pretty strong 
 with the tongs, his father (who followed many pro- 
 fessions, among them that of finding lost dogs) 
 had struck her and told her to drop it, and then 
 Shovel sauced his father for interfering, saying she 
 should lick him as long as she blooming well 
 liked, which made his father go for him with a 
 dog-collar ; and that was how Shovel lost his eye. 
 For reasons less unselfish than his old girl's 
 Shovel also was willing to make up to Tommy at 
 this humiliating time. It might be said of these 
 two boys that Shovel knew everything but Tommy 
 knew other things, and as the other things are best 
 worth hearing of. Shovel liked to listen to them, 
 even when they were about Thrums, as they usu- 
 ally were. The very first time Tommy told h^n 
 
 28 
 
TOMMY A YOUNG GENTLEMAN 
 
 of the wondrous spot, Shovel had drawn a great 
 breath, and said, thoughtfully: 
 
 " I allers knowed as there were sich a beauty 
 place, but I did n't jest know its name." 
 
 " How could yer know ? " Tomrpy asked 
 jealously. 
 
 " I ain't sure," said Shovel, " p'raps I dreamed 
 on it." 
 
 " That's it," Tommy cried. " I tell yer. every- 
 body dreams on it ! " and Tommy was right ; 
 everybody dreams of it, though not all call it 
 Thrums. 
 
 On the whole, then, the coming of the kid, who 
 turned out to be called Elspeth, did not ostracise 
 Tommy, but he wished that he had let the other girl 
 in, for he never doubted that her admittance would 
 have kept this one out. He told neither his mother 
 nor his friend of the other girl, fearing that his 
 mother would be angry with him when she learned 
 what she had missed, and that Shovel would crow 
 over his blundering, but occasionally he took a 
 side glance at the victorious infant, and a poorer 
 affair, he thought, he had never set eyes on. Some- 
 times it was she who looked at him, and then het 
 chuckle of triumph was hard to bear. As long as 
 his mother was there, however, he endured in 
 silence, but the first day she went out in a vam 
 search for work (it is about as difEcult to get 
 
 29 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 washing as to get into the Cabinet), he gave the 
 infant a piece of his mind, poking up her head 
 with a stick so that she was bound to listen. 
 
 " You thinks as it was clever on you, does yer ? 
 Oh, if I had been on the stair ! 
 
 " You needn't not try to get round me. I likes the 
 other one five times better ; yes, three times better. 
 
 " Thievey, thievey, thief, that's her place you 
 is lying in. What ? 
 
 "If you puts out your tongue at me again — ! 
 What do yer say? 
 
 " She was twice bigger than you. You ain't got 
 no hair, nor yet no teeth. You're the littlest I 
 ever seed. Eh ? Don't not speak then, sulks ! " 
 
 Prudence had kept him away from the other 
 girl, but he was feeling a great want : someone to 
 applaud him. When we grow older we call it 
 sympathy. How Reddy (as he called her because 
 she had beautiful red-brown hair) had appreciated 
 him! She had a way he liked of opening her 
 eyes very wide when she looked at him. Oh, 
 what a difference from that thing in the back of 
 the bed ! 
 
 Not the mere selfish desire to see her again, 
 however, would take him in quest of Reddy. He 
 was one of those superior characters, was Tommy, 
 who got his pleasure in giving it, and therefore 
 gave it. Now, Reddy was a worthy girl. In sus- 
 pecting hei of overreaching him he had maligned 
 
 30 
 
TOMMY A YOUNG GENTLEMAN 
 
 her: she had taken what he offered, and been 
 thankful. It was fitting that he should give her a 
 treat : let her see him again. 
 
 His mother was at last re-engaged by her old 
 employers, her supplanter having proved unsatis- 
 factory, and as the work lay in a distant street, she 
 usually took the kid with her, thus leaving no one 
 to spy on Tommy's movements. Reddy's reward 
 for not playing him false, however, did not reach 
 her as soon as doubtless she would have liked, be- 
 cause the first two or three times he saw her she 
 was walking with the lady of his choice, and of 
 course he was not such a fool as to show himself 
 But he walked behind them and noted with satis- 
 faction that the lady seemed to be reconciled to 
 her lot and inclined to let bygones be bygones; 
 when at length Reddy and her patron met, Tommy 
 thought this a good sign too, that Ma-ma (as she 
 would call the lady) had told her not to go far- 
 ther away than the lamp-post, lest she should get 
 lost again. So evidently she had got lost once al- 
 ready, and the lady had been sorry. He asked 
 Reddy many shrewd questions about how Ma-ma 
 treated her, and if she got the top of the Sunday 
 egg and had the licking of the pan and wore flan- 
 nel underneath and slept at the back; and the 
 more he inquired, the more clearly he saw that he 
 had got her one of the right kind. 
 
 Tommy arranged with her that she should al* 
 
 31 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 ways be on the outlook for him at the window, and 
 he would come sometimes, and after that they met 
 frequently, and she proved a credit to him, gur- 
 gling with mirth at his tales of Thrums, and pinch- 
 ing him when he had finished, to make sure that 
 , he was really made just like common human 
 beings. He was a thin, pale boy, while she looked 
 like a baby rose full blown in a night because her 
 time was short ; and his movements were sluggish, 
 but if she was not walking she must be dancing, 
 and sometimes when there were few people in the 
 street, the little armful of delight that she was 
 jumped up and down like a ball, while Tommy 
 kept the time, singing "Thrummy, Thrummy, 
 Thrum Thrum Thrummy." They must have 
 seemed a quaint pair to the lady as she sat at her 
 window watching them and beckoning to Tommy 
 to come in. 
 
 One day he went in, but only because she had 
 come up behind and taken his hand before he 
 could run. Then did Tommy quake, for he knew 
 from Reddy how the day after the mother-making 
 episode. Ma-ma and she had sought in vain for his 
 door, and he saw that the object had been to call 
 down curses on his head. So that head was hang- 
 ing limply now. 
 
 You think that Tommy is to be worsted at last, 
 but don't be too sure ; you just wait and see. 
 Ma-raa and Reddy (who was clucking rather 
 
 V- 
 
TOMMY A YOUNG GENTLEMAN 
 
 heartlessly) first took him into a room prettier 
 even than the one he had lived in long ago (but 
 there was no bed in it), and then, because some- 
 one they were in search of was not there, into an- 
 other room without a bed (where on earth did 
 they sleep?) whose walls were lined with books. 
 Never having seen rows of books before except 
 on sale in the streets. Tommy at once looked 
 about him for the barrow. The table was strewn 
 with sheets of paper of the size that they roll a 
 quarter of butter in, and it was an amazing thick 
 table, a solid square of wood, save for a narrow 
 lane down the centre for the man to put his legs 
 in — if he had legs, which unfortunately there was 
 reason to doubt. He was a formidable man, whose 
 beard licked the table while he wrote, and he wore 
 something like a brown blanket, with a rope tied 
 round it at the middle. Even more uncanny than 
 himself were three busts on a shelf, which Tommy 
 took to be deaders, and he feared the blanket might 
 blow open and show that the man also ended at 
 the waist. But he did not, for presently he turned 
 round to see who had come in (the seat of his chair 
 turning with him in the most startling way), and 
 then Tommy was relieved to notice two big {ett 
 far away at the end of him. 
 
 " This is the boy, dear," the lady said. " I had 
 to bring him in by force." 
 
 Tommy raised his arm instinctively to protect 
 
 33 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 his fece, AJs being the kind oi* man vrho o^>ulvl hit 
 hard. But presiently he was oonluiit'ii, and alM\ 
 alas, leering a little. You may remember that 
 Reddy had told him slie must not gv> beyond the 
 lam]>-ix>st, lest she should be lost again. !^e hat^ 
 given him no details ot* the adventure, but he 
 learned now from Ma-ma and Piipa <^the n\an\s 
 name was Papa) that she had strayetl when Ma-ma 
 was in a shop and that some good kind Kn' had 
 ibund her and brought her home; and what do 
 yo\j s.iy to this, they thoxig^t Tommy was that 
 boy! In his amazement he very nearly blurted 
 out that he was the other boy. but just then the 
 lady asked Papa if he had a shilling, and this ab- 
 ruptly closed Tommy's mouth. Ever ai'terwards 
 he remembered Papa as the man that was not sure 
 whether he had a shilling until he iVlt his pockets 
 — a new kind of mortal to Tommy, who gpiibbed 
 the shilling when it was oiRred to him, and then 
 looked at Reddy imploringly, he was so a!raid she 
 would tell. But she behaved splendidly, and 
 never even shook her head at him. Alter this, as 
 hardly need he told, his one desire was to get out 
 of the house with his sliilling helore they discov- 
 ered their mistake, and it was well that they wvre 
 unsuspicious people, for he was making strange 
 hissing sounds in his throat, the result of trying 
 hard to keep his sniggers under control. 
 
 There were many ways in which Tommy could 
 34 
 
TOMMY A YOUNG GENTLEMAN 
 
 have disposed of his shilling. He might have been 
 a good boy and returned it next day to Papa. He 
 might have given Reddy half of it for not telling. 
 It could have carried him over the winter. He 
 might have stalked with it into the shop where 
 the greasy puddings were and come rolling out 
 hours afterwards. Some of these schemes did 
 cross his little mind, but he decided to spend the 
 whole shilling on a present to his mother, and it 
 was to be something useful. He devoted much 
 thought to what she was most in need of^ and at 
 last he bought her a colored picture of Lord Byron 
 swimming the Hellespont. 
 
 He told her tliat he got his shilling fi-om two 
 toffs for playing with a little girl, and the explana- 
 tion satisfied her ; but she could have cried at the 
 waste of the money, which would have been such 
 a God-send to her. He cried altogether, how- 
 ever, at sight of her face, having expected it to 
 look so pleased, and then she told him, with ca- 
 resses, that the picture was the one thing she had 
 been longing for ever since she came to London. 
 How had he known this, she asked, and he clapped 
 his hands gleefiilly, and said he just knowed when 
 he saw it in the shop window. 
 
 " It was noble of you," she said, " to spend all 
 your siller on me." 
 
 " Wasn't it, mother?" he crowed. " I'm think- 
 ing there ain't many as noble as I is ! " 
 
 35 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 He did not say why he had been so good to 
 her, but it was because she had written no letters 
 to Thrums since the intrusion of Elspeth ; a strange 
 reason for a boy whose greatest glory at one time 
 had been to sit on the fender and exultlngly watch 
 his mother write down words that would be read 
 aloud in the wonderful place. She was a long 
 time in writing a letter, but that only made the 
 whole evening romantic, and he found an arduous 
 employment in keeping his tongue wet in prepara- 
 tion for the licking of the stamp. 
 
 But she could not write to the Thrums folk 
 now without telling them of Elspeth, who was at 
 present sleeping the sleep of the shameless in the 
 hollow of the bed, and so for his sake, Tommy 
 thought, she meant to write no more. For his 
 sake, mark you, not for her own. She had often 
 told him that some day he should go to Thrums, 
 but not with her; she would be far away from him 
 then in a dark place she was awid to be lying in. 
 Thus it seemed to Tommy that she denied herself 
 the pleasure of writing to Thrums lest the sorry 
 news of Elspeth's advent should spoil his reception 
 when he went north. 
 
 So grateful Tommy gave her the picture, hop- 
 ing that it would fill the void. But it did not. 
 She put it on the mantelpiece so that she might 
 just sit and look at it, she said, and he grinned at 
 it from every part of the room, but when he re- 
 
 36 
 
TOMMY A YOUNG GENTLEMAN 
 
 turned to her, he saw that she was neither looking 
 at it nor thinking of it. She was looking straight 
 before her, and sometimes her lips twitched, and 
 then she drew tb^m into her mouth to keep them 
 still. It is a kind of dry weeping that sometimes 
 comes to miserable ones when their minds stray 
 into the happy past, and Tommy sat and watched 
 her silenMy for a long time, never doubting that 
 the cause of all her woe was that she could not 
 write to Thrums. 
 
 He had seldom seen tears on his mother's face, 
 but he saw one now. They had been reluctant to 
 come for many a day, and this one formed itself 
 beneath her eye and sat there like a blob of blood. 
 
 His own began to come more freely. But she 
 needn't not expect him to tell her to write nor to 
 say that he didn't care what Thrums thought of 
 him so long as she was happy. 
 
 The tear rolled down his mother's thin cheek and 
 fell on the grey shawl that had come from Thrums. 
 
 She did not hear her boy as he dragged a chair 
 to the press and standing on it got something 
 down from the top shelf She had forgotten him, 
 and she started when presently the pen was slipped 
 into her hand and Tommy said, "You can do it, 
 mother, I wants yer to do it, mother, I won't not 
 greet, mother I" 
 
 When she saw what he wanted her to do she 
 patted his face approvingly, but without realizing 
 
 37 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMM\ 
 
 the extent of his sacrifice. She knew that he had 
 some maggot in his head that made him regard 
 Elspeth as a sore on the family honour, but ascribing 
 his views to jealousy she had never tried seriously 
 to change them. Her main reason for sending no 
 news to Thrums of late had been but the cost of 
 the stamp, though she was also a little conscience • 
 stricken at the kind of letters she wrote, and the 
 sight of the materials lying ready for her proved 
 I sufficient to draw her to the table. 
 
 " Is it to your grandmother you is writing the 
 letter ? " Tommy asked, for her grandmother had 
 brought Mrs. Sandys up and was her only surviv- 
 ing relative. This was all Tommy knew of his 
 mother's life in Thrums, though she had told him 
 much about other Thrums folk, and not till long 
 afterwards did he see that there must be something 
 queer about herself, which she was hiding from 
 him. 
 
 This letter was not for her granny, however, 
 and Tommy asked next, " Is it to Aaron Latta ? " 
 which so startled her that she dropped the pen. 
 \ " Whaur heard you that name ? " she said 
 I sharply. " I never spoke it to you." 
 
 " I've heard you saying it when you was sleep- 
 ing, mother." 
 
 "Did I say onything but the name? Quick, 
 tell me." 
 
 " You said, ' Oh, Aaron Latta, oh, Aaron, little 
 38 
 
TOMMY A YOUNG GENTLEMAN 
 
 did we think, Aaron,' and things like that Aie 
 you angry with me, mother ? " 
 
 " No," she said, relieved, but it was some time 
 before the desire to write came back to her. Then 
 she told him, " The letter is to a woman that was 
 gey cruel to me," adding, with a complacent purs- 
 ing of her lips, the curious remark, " That's the 
 kind I like to write to best." 
 
 The pen went scrape, scrape, but Tommy did 
 not weary, though he often sighed, because his 
 mother would never read aloud to him what she 
 wrote. The Thrums people never answered her 
 letters, for the reason, she said, that those she wrote 
 to could not write, which seemed to simple Tommy 
 to be a sufficient explanation. So he had never 
 heard the inside of a letter talking, though a post- 
 man lived in the house, and even Shovel's old girl 
 got letters; once when her uncle died she got a 
 telegram, which Shovel proudly wheeled up and 
 down the street in a barrow, other blokes keeping 
 guard at the side. To give a letter to a woman 
 who had been cruel to you struck Tommy as the 
 height of nobility. 
 
 " She'll be uplifted when she gets it ! " he cried. 
 
 " She'll be mad when she gets it," answered his 
 mother, without looking up. 
 
 This was the letter °. — 
 
 My dear Esther.,— I send you these few scrapes to let 
 you see I hare not forgot you, though my way is now grand by 
 
 39 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 youra A spleet new black silk, Esther, being the second in s 
 twelvemonth, as I'm a living woman. The other is no none 
 tashed yet, but my gudeman fair insisted on baying a new one, 
 for says he " Rich folk like us can afford to be mislsurd, and 
 nothing's ower braw for my bonny Jean." Tell Aaron Latta 
 that. When I'm sailing in my silks, Esther, I sometimes pic- 
 ture you turning your wincey again, for I'se uphaud that's all 
 the new frock you've ha'en the year. I dlnna want to give you 
 a scunner of your man, Esther, more by token they s^d if your 
 mither had not took him in hand you would never have kent 
 the colour of his nightcap, but when you are wraxing ower your 
 kiul-pot in a plot of heat, just picture me ringing the bell for 
 my servant, and saying, with a wave of my hand, " Servant, 
 lay the dinner." And ony bonny afternoon when your man is 
 cleaning out stables and you're at the tub in a short gown, 
 picture my man taking me and the children out a ride in a car- 
 nage, and I sair doubt your bairns was never in nothing more 
 genteel than a coal cart. For bairns is yours, Esther, and chil- 
 dren is mine, and that's a burn without a brig till't. 
 
 Deary me, Esther, what with one thing and another, namely 
 buying a sofa, thirty shillings as I'm a sinner, I have forgot to 
 tell you about my second, and it's a g^rl this time, my man say- 
 ing he would like a change. We have christened her Elspeth 
 after my grandmamma, and if my auld granny's aye living, you 
 can tell her that's her. My man is terrible windy of his two 
 beautiful children, but he says he would have been the happiest 
 gentleman in London though he had just had me, and really his 
 fondness for me, it cows, Esther, sitdng aside me on the bed, 
 i two pounds without the blankets, about the time Elspeth was 
 born, and feeding me with the fat of the land, namely, tapiocas 
 and sherry wine. Tell Aaron Latta that. 
 
 I pity you from the bottom of my heart, Esther, for having 
 to bide in Thrums, but you have never seen no better, your 
 man having neither the siller nor the desire to take you jaunts, 
 and I'm thinking that is just as well, for if you saw how the 
 
 40 
 
TOMMY A YOUNG GENTLEMAN 
 
 like of me lives it might disgust you with your own bit house. 
 I often laugh, Esther, to think that I was once like you, and 
 looked upon Thrums as a bonny place. How is the old hole ? 
 My son makes grand sport of the onfortunate bairns as has to 
 bide in Thrums, and I see him doing it the now to his favourite 
 companion, which is a young gentleman of ladylike manners, as 
 bides in our terrace. So no more at present, for my man is 
 sitting ganting for my society, and I daresay yours is crying u> 
 you to dam his old socks. Mind and tell Aaron Latta. 
 
 This letter was posted next day by Tommy, 
 with the assistance of Shovel, who seems to have 
 been the young gentleman of ladylike manners 
 referred to in the text. 
 
 4* 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE END OF AN IDYLL 
 
 Tommy never saw Reddy again owing to a fright 
 he got about this time, for which she was really to 
 blame, though a woman who lived in his house 
 was the instrument. 
 
 It is, perhaps, idle to attempt a summary of 
 those who lived in that house, as one at least will 
 be off, and another in his place, while we are giv- 
 ing them a line apiece. They were usually this 
 kind who lived ' through the wall from Mrs. San- 
 dys, but beneath her were the two rooms of 
 Hinkey, the postman, and his lodger, the dreariest 
 of middle-aged clerks except when telling wist- 
 fully of his ambition, which was to get out of the 
 tea department into the coffee department, where 
 there is an easier way of counting up the figures. 
 Shovel and family were also on this floor, and in 
 the rooms under them was a newly married couple. 
 When the husband was away at his work, his wife 
 would make some change in the furniture, taking 
 the picture from this wall, for instance, and hanging 
 
 42 
 
THE END OF AN IDYLL 
 
 it on that wall, or wheeling the funny chair she had 
 lain in before she could walk without a crutch, to 
 the other side of the fireplace, or putting a skirt of 
 yellow paper round the flower pot, and when he re- 
 turned he always jumped back in wonder and ex- 
 claimed : " What an immense improvement I " 
 These two were so fond of one another that Tommy 
 asked them the reason, and they gave it by pointing 
 to the chair with the wheels, which seemed to him 
 to be no reason at all. What was this young hus- 
 band's trade Tommy never knew, but he was the 
 only^ prettily dressed man in the house, and he 
 could be heard roaring in his sleep, '■'■And the next 
 article ? " The meanest looking man lived next 
 door to him. Every morning this man put on a 
 clean white shirt, which sounds like a splendid be- 
 ginning, but his other clothes were of the seediest, 
 and he came and went shivering, raising his shoul- 
 ders to his ears and spreading his hands over his 
 chest as if anxious to hide his shirt rather than to 
 display it. He and the happy husband were nick- 
 named Before and After, they were so like the 
 pictorial advertisement of Man before and after he 
 has tried Someone's lozenges. But it is rash to 
 judge by outsides ; Tommy and Shovel one day 
 tracked Before to his place of business, and it 
 proved to be a palatial eating-house, long, narrow, 
 padded with red cushions ; through the door they 
 saw the once despised, now in beautiful black 
 
 43 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 clothes, the waistcoat a mere nothing, as if to give 
 his shirt a chance at last, a towel over his arm, and 
 to and fro he darted, saying " Yessirquitesosir " to 
 the toffs on the seats, shouting " Twovegonebeef 
 — onebeeronetartinahurry " to someone invisible, 
 and pocketing twopences all day long, just like a 
 lord. On the same floor as Before and After lived 
 the large family of the little Pikes, who quarrelled 
 at night for the middle place in the bed, and then 
 chips of ceiling fell into the room below, tenant 
 Jim Ricketts and parents, lodger the young wo- 
 man we have been trying all these doors for. Her 
 the police snapped up on a charge that made 
 Tommy want to hide himself — child-desertion. 
 
 Shovel was the person best worth listening to 
 on the subject (observe him, the centre of half a 
 dozen boys), and at first he was for the defence, 
 being a great stickler for the rights of mothers. 
 But when the case against the girl leaked out, she 
 need not look to him for help. The police had 
 found the child in a basket down an area, and be- 
 ing knowing ones they pinched it to make it cry, 
 and then they pretended to go away. Soon the 
 mother, who was watching hard by to see if it fell 
 into kind hands, stole to her baby to comfort it, 
 " and just as she were a-kissing on it and blubber- 
 ing the perlice copped her." 
 
 " The slut ! " said disgusted Shovel, " what did 
 she hang about for ? " and in answer to a tremb- 
 
 44 
 
THE END OF AN IDYLL 
 
 ling question from Tommy he replied decisively, 
 " Six months hard." 
 
 " Next case " was probably called immediately, 
 but Tommy vanished, as if he had been sentenced 
 and removed to the cells. 
 
 Never again, unless he wanted six months hard, 
 must he go near Reddy's home, and so he now 
 frequently accompanied his mother to the place 
 where she worked. The little room had a funny 
 fireplace called a stove, on which his mother made 
 tea and the girls roasted chestnuts, and it had no 
 other ordinary furniture except a long form. But 
 the walls were mysterious. Three of them were 
 covered with long white cloths, which went to the 
 side when you tugged them, and then you could 
 see on rails dozens of garments that looked like 
 nightgowns. Beneath the form were scores of lit- 
 tle shoes, most of them white or brown. In this 
 house Tommy's mother spent eight hours daily, 
 but not all of them in this room. When she ar- 
 rived the first thing she did was to put Elspeth on 
 the floor, because you cannot fall oflF a floor ; then 
 she went upstairs with a bucket and a broom to a 
 large bare room, where she stayed so long that 
 Tommy nearly forgot what she was like. 
 
 While his mother was upstairs Tommy would 
 give Elspeth two or three shoes to eat to keep her 
 quiet, and then he played with the others, pretend- 
 ing to be able to count them, arranging them in 
 
 45 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 designs, shooting them, swimming among them, 
 saying "bow-wow" at them and then turning 
 sharply to see who had said it. Soon Elspeth 
 dropped her shoes and gazed in admiration at him, 
 but more often than not she laughed in the wrong 
 place, and then he said ironically : " Oh, in course 
 I can't do nothin' ; jest let's see you doing of it, 
 then, cocky ! " 
 
 By the time the girls began to arrive, singly or 
 in twos and threes, his mother was back in the 
 little room, making tea for herself or sewing bits 
 of them that had been torn as they stepped out of 
 a cab, or helping them to put on the nightgowns, 
 or pretending to listen pleasantly to their chatter 
 and hating them all the time. There was every 
 kind of them, gorgeous ones and shabby ones, old 
 tired ones and dashing young ones, but whether 
 they were the Honorable Mrs. Something or only 
 Jane Anything, they all came to that room for 
 the same purpose : to get a little gown and a pair 
 of shoes. Then they went upstairs and danced to 
 a stout little lady, called the Sylph, who bobbed 
 about like a ball at the end of a piece of elastic. 
 What Tommy never forgot was that while they 
 danced the Sylph kept saying, "One, two, three, 
 four; one, two, three, four," which they did not 
 seem to mind, but when she said, "One, two, three, 
 four, picture 1" they all stopped and stood motion- 
 less, though it might be with one foot as high as 
 
 46 
 
THE END OF AN IDYLL 
 
 their head and their arms stretched out toward tke 
 floor, as if they had suddenly seen a halfpenny 
 there. 
 
 In the waiting-room, how they joked and pirour 
 etted and gossiped, and hugged and scorned each, 
 other, and what slang they spoke and how pretty 
 they often looked next moment, and how they 
 denounced the one that had just gone out as ^ 
 cat with whom you could not get in a word edge- 
 ways, and oh, how prompt they were to give a 
 slice of their earnings to any " cat " who was hard 
 up! But still, they said, she had talent, but no 
 genius. How they pitied people without genius. 
 
 Have you ever tasted an encore or a reception? 
 Tommy never had his teeth in one, but he heard 
 much about them in that room, and concluded that 
 they were some sort of cake. It was not the girls 
 who danced in groups, but those who danced 
 alone, that spoke of their encores and receptions, 
 and sometimes they had got them last night, 
 sometimes years ago. Two girls met in the room, 
 one of whom had stolen the other's reception, and 
 — but it was too dreadful to write about. Most 
 of them carried newspaper cuttings in their purses 
 and read them aloud to the others, who would not 
 listen. Tommy listened, however, and as it waa 
 all about how one house had risen at the girls and, 
 they had brought another down, he thought they 
 led the most adventurous lives. 
 
 47 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 Occasionally they sent him out to buy newspa- 
 pers or chestnuts, and then he had to keep a sharp 
 eye on the police lest they knew about Reddy. 
 It was a point of honour with all the boys he 
 knew to pretend that the policeman was after 
 them. To gull the policeman into thinking all 
 was well they blackened their faces and wore their 
 jackets inside out; their occupation was a con- 
 stant state of readiness to fly from him, and when 
 he tramped out of sight, unconscious of their ex- 
 istence, they emerged from dark places and spoke 
 in exultant whispers. Tommy had been proud to 
 join them, but he now resented their going on in 
 this way ; he felt that he alone had the right to fly 
 from the law. And once at least while he was 
 flying something happened to him that he was to 
 remember better, far better, than his mother's face. 
 
 What set him running on this occasion (he had 
 been sent out to get one of the girls' shoes soled) 
 was the grandest sight to be seen in London — an 
 endless row of policemen walking in single file, 
 ill with the right leg in the air at the same time, 
 ben the left leg. Seeing at once that they were 
 ♦fter him, Tommy ran, ran, ran until in turning a 
 corner he found himself wedged between two legs. 
 He was of just sufficient size to fill the aperture, 
 but after a momentary lock he squeezed through, 
 and they proved to be the gate into an enchanted 
 land. 
 
 48 
 
THE END OF AN IDYLL 
 
 The magic began at once. "Dagont, you 
 sacket!" cried some wizard. 
 
 A policeman's hand on his shoulder could not 
 have taken the wind out of Tommy more quickly. 
 In the act of starting a-running again he brought 
 down his hind foot with a thud and stood stock still. 
 Can any one wonder? It was the Thrums tongue, and 
 this the first time he heard it except from his mother. 
 
 It was a dull day, and all the walls were dripping 
 wet, this being the part of London where the fogs 
 are kept. Many men and women were passing to 
 and fro, and Tommy, with a wild exultation in his 
 breast, peered up at the face of this one and that ; 
 but no, they were only ordinary people, and he 
 played rub-a-dub with his feet on the pavement, 
 so furious was he with them for moving on as if 
 nothing had happened. Draw up, ye carters ; pe- 
 destrians, stand still; London, silence for a mo- 
 ment, and let Tommy Sandys listen ! 
 
 Being but a frail plant in the way of a flood, 
 Tommy was rooted up and borne onward, but he 
 did not feel the buffeting. In a passion of grief 
 he dug his fists in his eyes, for the glory had been 
 his for but a moment. It can be compared to 
 iK)thing save the parcel (attached to a concealed 
 string) which Shovel and he once placed on the 
 stair for Billy Hankey to find, and then whipped 
 away from him just as he had got it under his arm. 
 But so near the crying. Tommy did not cry, for 
 
 49 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 even while the tears were rushing to his aid he 
 tripped on the step of a shop, and immediately, as 
 if that had rung the magic bell again, a voice, a 
 woman's voice this time, said shrilly, " Threepence 
 ha'penny, and them j imply as big as a bantam's ! 
 Na, na, but I'll gi'e you five bawbees." 
 
 Tommy sat down flop on the step, feeling queer 
 in the head. Was it — was it — was it Thrums ? 
 He knew he had been running a long time. 
 
 The woman, or fairy, or whatever you choose to 
 call her, came out of the shop and had to push 
 Tommy aside to get past. Oh, what a sweet foot 
 to be kicked by. At the time, he thought she 
 was dressed not unlike the women of his own stair, 
 but this defect in his vision he mended afterward, 
 as you may hear. Of course, he rose and trotted 
 by her side like a dog, looking up at her as if she 
 were a cathedral ; but she mistook his awe for im- 
 pudence and sent him sprawling, with the words, 
 " Tak' that, you glowering partan ! " 
 
 Do you think Tommy resented this ? On the 
 contrary, he screamed from where he lay, " Say it 
 again ! say it again ! " 
 
 She was gone, however, but only, as it were, to 
 Jet a window open, from which came the cry, 
 "Davit, have you seen my man?" 
 
 A male fairy roared back from some invisible 
 pUce, " He has gone yont to Petey's wi' the dam- 
 brod." 
 
 50 
 
THE END OF AN IDYLL 
 
 " I'll darabrod him ! " said the female fairy, and 
 the window shut. 
 
 Tommy was now staggering like one intoxicated, 
 but he had still some sense left him, and he walked 
 up and down in front of this house, as if to take care 
 s){ it. In the middle of the street some boys were 
 very busy at a game, carts and lorries passing over 
 them occasionally. They came to the pavement to 
 play marbles, and then Tommy noticed that one of 
 them wore what was probably a glengarry bonnet. 
 Could he be a Thrums boy ? At first he playcil 
 in the stupid London way, but by and by he had 
 to make a new ring, and he did it by whirling 
 round on one foot. Tommy knew from his 
 mother that it is only done in this way in Thrums. 
 Oho! Oho! 
 
 By this time he was prancing round his dis- 
 covery, saying, "I'm one, too — so am I — da- 
 gont, does yer hear ? dagont ! " which so alarmed 
 the boy that he picked up his marble and fled. 
 Tommy, of course, after him. Alas ! he must have 
 been some mischievous sprite, for he lured his pur- 
 suer back into London and then vanished, and 
 Tommy, searching in vain for the enchanted street, 
 found his own door instead. 
 
 His mother pooh-poohed his tale, though he 
 described the street exactly as it struck him on 
 reflection, and it bore a curious resemblance to the 
 palace of Aladdin that Beddy had told him about, 
 
 51 
 
SENT)%IENTAL TOMMY 
 
 leaving his imagination to fill in the details, which 
 it promptly did, with a square, a town-house, some 
 outside stairs, and an Auld Licht kirk. There was 
 no such street, however, his mother assured him ; 
 he had been dreaming. But if this were so, why 
 was she so anxious to make him promise never to 
 look for the place again? 
 
 He did go in search of it again, daily for a time, 
 always keeping a look-out for bow-legs, and the 
 moment he saw them, he dived recklessly between, 
 hoping to come out into fairyland on the other 
 side. For though he had lost the street, he knew 
 that this was the way in. 
 
 Shovel had never heard of the street, nor had 
 Bob. But Bob gave him something that almost 
 made him forget it for a time. Bob was his favour- 
 ite among the dancing girls, and she — or should 
 it be he ? The odd thing about these girls was 
 that a number of them were really boys — or at 
 least were boys at Christmas-time, which seemed 
 to Tommy to be even stranger than if they had 
 seen boys all the year round. A friend of Bob's 
 emarked to her one day, "You are to be a girl 
 *iexf winder, ain't you. Bob ? " and Bob shook her 
 head scornfully. 
 
 " Do you see any green in my eye, my dear ? " 
 she inquired. 
 
 Her friend did not look, but Tommy looked, 
 and there was none. He assured her of this so 
 
 52 
 
THE END OF AN IDYLL 
 
 earnestly that Bob fell in love with him on the 
 sppt, and chucked him under the chin, first with 
 her thumb and then with her toe, which feat was 
 duly reported to Shovel, who could do it by the 
 end of the week. 
 
 Did Tommy, Bob wanted to know, still think 
 her a mere woman ? 
 
 No, he withdrew the charge, but — but — She 
 was wearing her outdoor garments, and he pointed 
 to them. " Why does yer wear them, then ? " he 
 demanded. 
 
 " For the matter of that," she replied, pointing 
 at his frock, " why do you wear them ? " Where- 
 upon Tommy began to cry. 
 
 " I ain't not got no right ones," he blubbered. 
 Harum-scarum Bob, who was a trump, had him 
 in her motherly arms immediately, and the upshot 
 of it was that a blue suit she had worn when she 
 was Sam Something changed owners. Mrs. San- 
 dys " made it up," and that is how Tommy got 
 into trousers. 
 
 Many contingencies were considered in the mak- 
 ing, but the suit would fit Tommy by and by if 
 he grew, or it shrunk, and they did not pass each 
 other in the night. When proud Tommy first 
 put on his suit the most unexpected shyness over- 
 came him, and having set off vaingloriously he 
 stuck on the stair and wanted to hide. Shovel, 
 who had been having an argument with his old 
 
 53 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 girl, came, all boastful bumps, to him, and Tommy 
 just stood still with a self-conscious simper on his 
 face. And Shovel, who could have damped him 
 considerably, behaved in a most honorable man- 
 ner, initiating him gravely into the higher life, 
 much as you show the new member round your 
 club. 
 
 It was very risky to go back to Reddy, whom 
 he had not seen for many weeks ; but in trousers ! 
 He could not help it. He only meant to walk up 
 and down her street, so that she might see him 
 from the window, and know that this splendid 
 thing was he; but though he went several times 
 into the street, Reddy never came to the window. 
 
 The reason he had to wait in vain at Reddy's 
 door was that she was dead \ she had been dead for 
 quite a long time when Tommy came back to 
 look for her. You mothers who have lost your 
 babies, I should be a sorry knave were I to ask 
 you to cry now over the death of another woman's 
 child. Reddy had been lent to two people for a 
 very little while, just as your babies were, and 
 when the time was up she blew a kiss to them and 
 ran gleefully back to God, just as your babies did. 
 The gates of heaven are so easily found when we 
 are little, and they are always standing open to let 
 children wander in. 
 
 But though Reddy was gone away forever, 
 mamma still lived in that house, and on a day she 
 
 54 
 
THE END OF AN IDYLL 
 
 opened the door to come out. Tommy was stand< 
 ing there — she saw him there waiting for Reddy. 
 Dry=eyed this sorrowful woman had heard the sen™ 
 tence pronounced, dry-eyed she had followed the 
 little cofBn to its grave ; tears had not come even 
 when waking from illusive dreams she put out her 
 hand in bed to a child who was not there; but 
 when she saw Tommy waiting at the door for 
 Reddy, who had been dead for a month, her bosom 
 moved and she could cry again. 
 
 Those tears were sweet to her husband, and it 
 was he who took Tommy on his knee in the room 
 where the books were, and told him that there was 
 no Reddy now. When Tommy knew that Reddy 
 was a deader he cried bitterly, and the man said, 
 very gently, " I am glad you were so fond of her." 
 
 " 'Tain't that," Tommy answered with a knuckle 
 in his eye, "'tain't that as makes me cry." He 
 looked down at his trousers and in a fresh out- 
 burst of childish grief he wailed, " It's them ! " 
 
 Papa did not understand, but the boy explained. 
 " She can't not never see them now," he sobbed, 
 "and I wants her to see them, and they has 
 pockets ! " 
 
 It had come to the man unexpectedly. He 
 put Tommy down almost roughly, and raised his 
 hand to his head as if he felt a sudden pain there. 
 
 But Tommy, you know, was only a little boy. 
 
 5S 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 THE GIRL WITH TWO MOTHERS 
 
 Elspeth at last did something to win Tommy's 
 respect ; she fell ill of an ailment called in Thrums 
 the croup. When Tommy first heard his mother 
 call it croup, he thought she was merely humour- 
 ing Elspeth, and that it was nothing more distin- 
 guished than London whooping-cough, but on 
 learning that it was genuine croup, he began to 
 survey the ambitious little creature with a new 
 interest. 
 
 This was well for Elspeth, as she had now to 
 spend most of the day at home with him, their 
 mother, whose health was failing through frequent 
 attacks of bronchitis, being no longer able to carry 
 her through the streets. Of course Elspeth took 
 to repaying his attentions by loving him, and he 
 soon suspected it, and then gloomily admitted it 
 to himself, but never to Shovel. Being but an 
 Englishman, Shovel saw no reason why relatives 
 should conceal their affection for each other, but 
 he played on this Scottish weakness of Tommy's 
 ivith cruel enjoyment, 
 
 56 
 
THE GIRL WITH TWO MOTHERS 
 
 " She's fond on yer ! " he would say severely. 
 
 "You'saliar." 
 
 " Gar long ! I believe as you're fond on her ! ' 
 
 " You jest take care, Shovel." 
 
 "Ain't yer?" 
 
 "Na-o!" 
 
 "Will yer swear?" 
 
 " So I will swear." 
 
 " Let's hear yer." 
 
 "Dagont!" 
 
 So for a time the truth was kept hidden, and 
 Shovel retired, casting aspersions, and offering to 
 eat all the hair on Elspeth's head for a penny. 
 
 This hair was white at present, which made 
 Tommy uneasy about her future, but on the whole 
 he thought he might make something of her if she 
 was only longer. Sometimes he stretched her on 
 the floor, pulling her legs out straight, for she had 
 a silly way of doubling them up, and then he 
 measured her carefully with his mother's old 
 boots. Her growth proved to be distressingly 
 irregular, as one day she seemed to have grown 
 an inch since last night, and then next day she 
 had shrunk two inches. 
 
 After her day's work Mrs. Sandys was now so 
 listless that, had not Tommy interfered, Elspeth 
 would have been a backward child. Reddy had 
 been able to walk from the first day, and so of 
 course had he, but this little slow-coach's legs 
 
 57 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 wobbled at the joints, like the blade of a knife 
 without a spring. The question of questions was 
 How to keep her on end ? 
 
 Tommy sat on the fender revolving this prob- 
 lem, his head resting on his hand, that favourite 
 position of mighty intellects when about to be 
 photographed. Elspeth lay on her stomach on 
 the floor, gazing earnestly at him, as if she knew 
 she was in his thoughts for some stupendous pur- 
 pose. Thus the apple may have looked at New- 
 ton before it fell. 
 
 Hankey, the postman, compelled the flowers in 
 his window to stand erect by tying them to sticks, 
 so Tommy took two sticks from a bundle of fire- 
 wood, and splicing Elspeth's legs to them, held her 
 upright against the door with one hand. All he 
 asked of her to-day was to remain in this position 
 after he said " One, two, three, ioux, picture ! " and 
 withdrew his hand, but down she flopped every 
 time, and he said, with scorn, 
 
 " You ain't got no genius : you has just talent." 
 
 But he had her in bed with the scratches nicely 
 covered up before his mother came home. 
 
 He tried another plan with more success^ Lost 
 dogs, it may be remembered, had a habit of fol- 
 lowing Shovel's father, and he not only took the 
 wanderers in, but taught tjiem how to beg and 
 shake hands and walk on two legs. Tommy had 
 sometimes been present at these agreeable exer- 
 
 58 
 
THE GIRL WITH TWO MOTHERS 
 
 cises, and being an inventive boy he — But as 
 Elspeth was a nice girl, let it suffice to pause here 
 and add shyly, that in time she could walk. 
 
 He also taught her to speak, and if you need to 
 be told with what luscious word he enticed her into 
 language you are sentenced to re-read the first 
 pages of his life. 
 
 "Thrums," he would say persuasively, "Thrums, 
 Thrums. You opens your mouth like this, and 
 shuts it like this, and that's it." Yet when he had 
 coaxed her thus for many days, what does she 
 do but break her long silence with the word 
 " Tommy I " The recoil knocked her over. 
 
 Soon afterward she brought down a bigger bird. 
 No Londoner can say "Auld licht," and Tommy 
 had often crowed over Shovel's " Ol likt." When 
 the testing of Elspeth could be deferred no longer, 
 he eyed her with the look a hen gives the green 
 egg on which she has been sitting twenty days, 
 but Elspeth triumphed, saying the words modestly 
 even, as if nothing inside her told her she had 
 that day done something which would have baf- 
 fled Shakespeare, not to speak of most of the gen- ' 
 tlemen who sit for Scotch constituencies. 
 
 "Reddy couldn't say it!" Tommy cried ex- 
 ultantly, and from that great hour he had no more 
 fears for Elspeth. 
 
 Next the alphabet knocked for admission; and 
 entered first M and P, which had prominence in 
 
 59 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 the only poster visible from the window. Mrs. 
 Sandys had taught Tommy his letters, but he had 
 got into words by studying posters. 
 
 Elspeth being able now to make the perilous 
 descent of the stairs, Tommy guided her through 
 the streets (letting go hurriedly if Shovel hove in 
 sight), and here she bagged new letters daily. 
 With Catling's something, which is the best, she 
 got into capital Cs ; js are found easily when you 
 know where to look for them (they hang on be- 
 hind) ; Xs are never found singly, but often three 
 at a time ; ^ is so aristocratic that even Tommy 
 had only heard of it ; doubtless it was there, but 
 indistinguishable among the masses like a celebrity 
 in a crowd ; on the other hand, big ^ and little e 
 were so dirt cheap, that these two scholars passed 
 them with something very like a sneer. 
 
 The printing-press is either the greatest blessing 
 or the greatest curse of modern times, one some- 
 times forgets which. Elspeth's faith in it was ab- 
 solute, and as it only spoke to her from placardSj 
 here was her religion, at the age of four " 
 
 Pray without ceasing. 
 Happy are they who needing know the 
 Painless Porous Plaster. 
 
 Of religion. Tommy had said many fine things 
 to her, embellishments on the simple doctrine 
 taught him by his mother before the miseries of 
 
 bo 
 
THE GIRL WITH TWO MOTHERS 
 
 this world made her indifferent to the next. But 
 the meaning of " Pray without ceasing," Elspeth, 
 who was God's child always, seemed to find out for 
 herself! and it cured all her troubles. She prayed 
 promptly for every one she saw doing wrong, in-, 
 eluding Shovel, who occasionally had words withj 
 Tommy on the subject, and she not only prayed 
 for her mother, but proposed to Tommy that they 
 should buy her a porous plaster. Mrs. Sandys had 
 been down with bronchitis again. 
 
 Tommy raised the monetary difficulty. 
 
 Elspeth knew where there was some money, and 
 it was her very own. 
 
 Tommy knew where there was money, and it 
 was his very own. 
 
 Elspeth would not tell how much she had, and 
 it was twopence halfpenny. 
 
 Neither would Tommy tell, and it was two- 
 pence. 
 
 Tommy would get a surprise on his birthday. 
 
 So would Elspeth get a surprise on her birth- 
 day. 
 
 Elspeth would not tell what the surprise was to 
 be, and it was to be a gun. 
 
 Tommy also must remain mute, and it was to 
 be a box of dominoes. 
 
 Elspeth did not want dominoes. 
 
 Tommy knew that, but he wanted themo 
 
 Klspeth discovered that guns cost fourpence, and 
 61 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 dominoes threepence halfpenny ; it seemed to her, 
 therefore, that Tommy was defrauding her of a 
 halfpenny. 
 
 Tommy liked her cheek. You got the domi- 
 noes for threepence halfpenny, but the price on 
 the box is fivepence, so that Elspeth would really 
 owe him a penny. 
 
 This led to an agonizing scene in which Elspetli 
 wept while Tommy told her sternly about Reddy. 
 It had become his custom to tell the tale of Reddy 
 when Elspeth was obstreperous. 
 
 Then followed a scene in which Tommy called 
 himself a scoundrel for frightening his dear Els- 
 peth, and swore that he loved none but her. Re- 
 sult : reconciliation, and agreed, that instead of a 
 gun and dominoes, they should buy a porous 
 plaster. You know the shops where the plasters 
 are to be obtained by great coloured bottles in their 
 windows, and, as it was advisable to find the very 
 best shop. Tommy and Elspeth in their wander- 
 ings came under the influence of the bottles, red, 
 yellow, green, and blue, and colour entered into 
 their lives, giving them many delicious thrills. 
 These bottles are the first poem known to the 
 London child, and you chemists who are beginning 
 to do without them in your windows should be 
 told that it is a shame. 
 
 In the glamour, then, of the romantic bottles 
 walked Tommy and Elspeth hand in hand, meet 
 
THE GIRL WITH TWO MOTHERS 
 
 ing so many novelties that they might have spared 
 a tear for the unfortunate children who sit in nur- 
 series surrounded by all they ask for, and if the 
 adventures of these two frequently ended in the 
 middle, they had probably begun another while 
 the sailor-suit boy was still holding up his leg to 
 let the nurse put on his little sock. While they 
 wandered, they drew near unwittingly to the en- 
 chanted street, to which the bottles are a coloured 
 way, and at last they were in it, but Tommy rec- 
 ognized it not ; he did not even feel that he was 
 near it, for there were no outside stairs, no fairies 
 strolling about, it was a short street as shabby as his 
 own. 
 
 But someone had shouted " Dinna haver, lassie ; 
 you're blethering ! " 
 
 Tommy whispered to Elspeth, " Be still ; don't 
 speak," and he gripped her hand tighter and stared 
 at the speaker. He was a boy of ten, dressed like 
 a Londoner, and his companion had disappeared. 
 Tommy never doubting but that he was the sprite 
 of long ago, gripped him by the sleeve. All the 
 savings of Elspeth and himself were in his pocket, 
 and yielding to impulse, as was his way, he thrust 
 the fourpence halfpenny into James Gloag's hand. 
 The new millionaire gaped, but not at His patron, 
 for the why and wherefore of this gift were trifles 
 to James beside the tremendous fact that he had 
 fourpence hal^enny. " Almichty me ! " he cried 
 
 63 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 and bolted. Presently he returned, having de- 
 posited his money in a safe place, and his first re- 
 mark was perhaps the meanest on record. He 
 held out his hand and said greedily, " Have you 
 ony mair ? " 
 
 This, you feel certain, must have been the most 
 important event of that evening, but strange to 
 say, it was not. Before Tommy could answer 
 James's question, a woman in a shawl had pounced 
 upon him and hurried him and Elspeth out of the 
 street. She had been standing at a corner looking 
 wistfully at the window blinds behind which folk 
 from Thrums passed to and fro, hiding her face 
 from people in the street, but gazing eagerly after 
 them. It was Tommy's mother, whose first free 
 act on coming to London had been to find out 
 that street, and many a time since then she had 
 skulked through it or watched it from dark places, 
 never daring to disclose herself, but sometimes rec- 
 ognizing familiar faces, sometimes hearing a few 
 words in the old tongue that is harsh and un- 
 gracious to you, but was so sweet to her, and bear- 
 ing them away with her beneath her shawl as if 
 they were something warm to lay over her cold 
 heart. 
 
 For a time she upbraided Tommy passionately 
 for not keeping away from this street, but soon her 
 hunger for news of Thrums overcame her prudence, 
 and she consented to let him go back if he prom- 
 
 64 
 
THE GIRL WITH TWO MOTHERS 
 
 ised never to tell that his mother came from 
 Thrums. "And if onybody wants to ken your 
 name, say it's Tommy, but dinna let on that it's 
 Tommy Sandys." 
 
 " Elspeth," Tommy whispered that night, " I'm 
 near sure there's something queer about my mother 
 and me and you." But he did not trouble himself 
 with wondering what the something queer might 
 be, so engrossed was he in the new and exciting 
 lite that had suddenly opened to him. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE ENCHANTED STREET 
 
 In Thrums Street, as it ought to have been called, 
 herded at least one-half of the Thrums folk in 
 London, and they formed a colony, of which the 
 grocer at the corner sometimes said wrathfuUy that 
 not a member would give sixpence for anything 
 except Bibles or whisky. In the streets one could 
 only tell they were not Londoners by their walk, the 
 flagstones having no grip for their feet, or, if they 
 had come south late in life, by their backs, which 
 they carried at the angle on which webs are most 
 easily supported. When mixing with the world 
 they talked the English tongue, which came out 
 of them as broad as if it had been squeezed through 
 a mangle, but when the day's work was done, it 
 was only a few of the giddier striplings that re- 
 mained Londoners. For the majority there was 
 no raking the streets after diversion, they spent 
 the hour or two before bed-time in reproducing 
 the life of Thrums. Few of them knew much of 
 London except the nearest way between this street 
 and their work, and their most interesting visitor 
 
 66 
 
THE ENCHANTED STREET 
 
 was a Presbyterian minister, most of whose con- 
 gregation lived in much more fashionable parts, 
 but they were almost exclusively servant girls, and 
 when descending area-steps to visit them he had 
 been challenged often and jocularly by policemen^ 
 which perhaps was what gave him a subdued and 
 furtive appearance. 
 
 The rooms were furnished mainly with articles 
 bought in London, but these became as like 
 Thrums dressers and seats as their owners could 
 make them, old Petey, for instance, cutting the 
 back off a chair because he felt most at home on 
 stools. Drawers were used as baking-boards, pails 
 turned into salt-buckets, floors were sanded and 
 hearthstones ca'med, and the popular supper con- 
 sisted of porter, hot water, and soaked bread, after 
 every spoonful of which they groaned pleasantly, 
 and stretched their legs. Sometimes they played 
 at the dambrod, but more often they pulled down 
 the blinds on London and talked of Thrums in 
 their mother tongue. Nevertheless few of them 
 wanted to return to it, and their favourite joke was 
 , the case of James Gloag's father, who being home- 
 sick flung up his situation and took train for 
 Thrums, but he was back in London in three 
 weeks. 
 
 Tommy soon had the entry to these homes, and 
 his first news of the imnates was unexpected. It 
 was that they were always sleeping. In broad 
 
 67 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 daylight he had seen Thrums men asleep on beds, 
 and he was somewhat ashamed of them until he 
 heard the excuse. A number of the men from 
 Thrums were bakers, the first emigrant of this 
 trade having drawn others after him, and they 
 slept great part of the day to be able to work all 
 night in a cellar, making nice rolls for rich people. 
 Baker Lumsden, who became a friend of Tommy, 
 had got his place in the cellar when his brother 
 died, and the brother had succeeded Matthew 
 Croall when he died. 
 
 They die very soon, Tomtny learned from Lums- 
 den, generally when they are eight and thirty, 
 Lumsden was thirty-six, and when he died his ne- 
 phew was to get the place. The wages are good. 
 
 Then there were several masons, one of whom, 
 like the first baker, had found work for all the 
 others, and there were men who had drifted into 
 trades strange to their birthplace, and there was 
 usually one at least who had come to London to 
 " better himself" and had not done it as yet. The 
 family Tommy liked best was the Whamonds, 
 and especially he liked old Petey and young Petey 
 Whamond. They were a large family of women 
 and men, all of whom earned their living in other 
 streets, except the old man, who kept house and 
 was a famous knitter of stockings, as probably his 
 father had been before him. He was a great one, 
 too, at telling what they would be doing at that 
 
 68 
 
THE ENCHANTED STREET 
 
 moment in Thrums, every corner of which was as 
 familiar to him as the ins and outs of the family 
 hose. Yo mg Petey got fourteen shiUings a week 
 from a haf.ter, and one of his duties was to carry as 
 many 9S twenty band-boxes at a time through 
 fashiorable streets; it is a matter for elation that 
 dukes and statesmen had often to take the curb- 
 stone, because young Petey was coming. Never- 
 theless young Petey was not satisfied, and never 
 would be (such is the Thrums nature) until he be- 
 came a salesman in the shop to which he acted at 
 present as fetch and carry, and he used to tell 
 Tommy that this position would be his as soon as 
 he could sneer sufficiently at the old hats. When 
 gentlemen come into the shop and buy a new hat, 
 he explained, they put it on, meaning to tell you 
 to send the old one to their address, and the art of 
 being a fashionable hatter lies in this: you must 
 be able to curl your lips so contemptuously at the 
 old hat that they tell you guiltily to keep it, as 
 they have no further use for it. Then they retire 
 ishamed of their want of moral courage and you 
 have made an extra half-guinea. 
 
 " But I aye snort," young Petey admitted, " and 
 it should be done without a sound." When he 
 graduated, he was to marry Martha Spens, who 
 was waiting for him at Tillyloss. There was a 
 London seamstress whom he preferred, and she 
 was willing, but it is safest to stick to Thrums. 
 
 69 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 When Tommy was among his new friends a 
 Scotch word or phrase often escaped his lips, but 
 old Petey and the others thought he had picked it 
 up from them, and would have been content to ac- 
 cept him as a London waif who lived somewhere 
 round the comer. To trick people so simply, 
 however, is not agreeable to an artist, and he told 
 them his name was Tommy Shovel, and that his 
 old girl walloped him, and his father found dogs, 
 all which inventions Thrums Street accepted as 
 true. What is much more noteworthy is that, as 
 he gave them birth. Tommy half believed them 
 also, being already the best kind of actor. 
 
 Not all the talking was done by Tommy when 
 he came home with news, for he seldom mentioned 
 a Thrums name, of which his mother could not 
 tell him something more. But sometimes she did 
 not choose Jo tell, as when he announced that a 
 certain Elspeth Lindsay, of the Marywellbrae, was 
 dead. After this she ceased to listen, for old El- 
 speth had been her grandmother, and she had now 
 no kin in Thrums. 
 
 " Tell me about the Painted Lady," Tommy 
 said to her. " Is it true she's a witch ? " But Mrs. 
 Sandys had never heard of any woman so called ; 
 the Painted Lady must have gone to Thrums after 
 her time. 
 
 "There ain't no witches now," said Elspeth 
 tremulously ; Shovel's mother had told her so. 
 
 70 
 
THE ENCHANTED STREET 
 
 "Not in London," replied Tommy with con' 
 tempt ; and this is all that was said of the Painted 
 Lady then. It is the first mention of her in these 
 pages. 
 
 The people Mrs. Sandys wanted to hear of 
 chiefly were Aaron Latta and Jean Myles, and soon 
 Tommy brought news of them, but at the same 
 time he had heard of the Den, and he said first : 
 
 "Oh, mother, I thought as you had told me 
 about all the beauty places in Thrums, and you 
 ain't never told me about the Den." 
 
 His mother heaved a quick breath. " It's the 
 only place I hinna telled you o'," she said. 
 
 " Had you forgot it, mother ? " 
 
 Forgot the Den ? Ah, no, Tommy, your mother 
 had not forgotten the Den. 
 
 " And, listen, Elspeth, in the Den there's a bonny 
 spring of water called the Cuttle Well. Had you 
 forgot the Cuttle Well, mother 1 " 
 
 No, no ; when Jean Myles forgot the names of 
 her children she would still remember the Cuttle 
 Well. Regardless now of the whispering between 
 Tommy and Elspeth, she sat long over the fire, 
 and it is not difficult to fathom her thoughts. They 
 were of the Den and the Cuttle Well. 
 
 Intr the life of every man, and no woman, there 
 comes 3 moment when he learns suddenly that he 
 is held eligible for marriage. A girl gives him the 
 jag, and it brings out the perspiration. Of the 
 
 "»! 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 issue elsewhere of this stab with a bodkin let others 
 speak ; in Thrums its commonest eflFect is to make 
 the callant's body take a right angle to his legs, 
 for he has been touched in the fifth button, and he 
 backs away broken-winded. By and by, however, 
 he is at his work — among the turnip-shoots, say 
 — guffawing and clapping his corduroys, with 
 pauses for uneasy meditation, and there he ripens 
 with the swedes, so that by the back-end of the 
 year he has discovered, and exults to know, that 
 the reward of manhood is neither more nor less 
 than this sensation at the ribs. Soon thereafter, or 
 at worst, sooner or later (for by holding out he only 
 puts the women's dander up), he is led captive to 
 the Cuttle Well. This well has the reputation of 
 being the place where it is most easily said. 
 
 The wooded ravine called the Den is in Thrums 
 rather than on its western edge, but is so craftily 
 hidden away that when within a stone's throw you 
 may give up the search for it; it is also so deep 
 that larks rise from the bottom and carol overhead, 
 thinking themselves high in the heavens before 
 they are on a level with Nether Drumley's farm* 
 land. In shape it is almost a semicircle, but its 
 size depends on you and the maid. If she be 
 with you, the Den is so large that you must rest 
 here and there ; if you are after her boldly, you 
 can dash to the Cuttle Well, which was the tryst- 
 ing-place, in the time a stout man takes to lace 
 
 72 
 
THE ENCHANTED STREET 
 
 his boots ; if you are of those self-conscious ones 
 who look behind to see whether jeering blades are 
 following, you may crouch and wriggle your way 
 onward and not be with her in half an hour. 
 
 Old Petey had told Tommy that, on the whole, 
 the greatest pleasure in life on a Saturday evening 
 is to put your back against a stile that leads into 
 the Den and rally the sweethearts as they go by. 
 The lads, when they see you, want to go round 
 by the other stile, but the lasses like it, and often 
 the sport ends spiritedly with their giving you a 
 clout on the head. 
 
 Through the Den runs a tiny bum, and by its 
 side is a pink path, dyed this pretty colour, per- 
 haps, by the blushes the ladies leave behind them. 
 The burn as it passes the Cuttle Well, which 
 stands higher and just out of sight, leaps in vain 
 to see who is making that cooing noise, and the 
 well, taking the spray for kisses, laughs all day at 
 Romeo, who cannot get up. Well is a name it 
 must have given itself, for it is only a spring in 
 the bottom of a basinful of water, where it makes 
 about as much stir in the world as a minnow 
 jumping at a fly. They say that if a boy, by 
 making a bowl of his hands, should suddenly 
 carry off all the water, a quick girl could thread 
 her needle at the spring. But it is a spring that 
 wiU not wait a moment. 
 
 Men who have been lads in Thrums sometimes 
 
 73 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 go back to it from London or from across the 
 seas, to look again at some battered little house 
 and feel the blasts of their bairnhood playing 
 through the old wynds, and they may take with 
 them a foreign wife. They show her everything, 
 except the Cutl Well; they often go there 
 alone. The well is sacred to the memory of first 
 love. You may walk from the well to the round 
 cemetery in ten minutes. It is a common walk 
 for those who go back. 
 
 First love is but a boy and girl playing at the 
 Cuttle Well with a bird's egg. They blow it on 
 one summer evening in the long grass, and on the 
 next it is borne away on a coarse laugh, or it 
 breaks beneath the burden of a tear. And yet — 
 I once saw an aged woman, a widow of many 
 years, cry softly at mention of the Cuttle Well. 
 " John was a good man to you," I said, for John 
 had been her husband, " He was a leal man to 
 me," she answered with wistful eyes, " ay, he was 
 a leal man to me — but it wasna John I was 
 thinking o'. You dinna ken what makes me 
 greet so sair," she added, presently, and though I 
 thought I knew now I was wrong. " It's because 
 I canna mind his name," she said. 
 
 So the Cuttle Well has its sad memories and its 
 bright ones, and many of the bright memories have 
 become sad with age, as so often happens to beau- 
 tiful things, but the most mournful oi all is the 
 
 74 
 
THE ENCHANTED STREET 
 
 story of Aaron Latta and Jean Myles. Beside the 
 well there stood for long a great pink stone, called 
 the Shoaging Stone, because it could be rocked 
 like a cradle, and on it lovers used to cut their 
 names. Often Aaron Latta and J^an Myles sat 
 together on the Shoaging Stone, and then there 
 •^ame a time when it bore these words, cut by 
 Aaron Latta: 
 
 Here lies the Manhood op Aaron Latta, 
 A Fond Son, a Faithful Friend and a true Lover, 
 
 Who Violated the Feelings of Sex on this 
 Spot, And is now the Scdnner of God and Maw. 
 
 Tommy's mother now heard these words for the 
 first time, Aaron having cut them on the stone 
 after she left Thrums, and her head sank at each 
 line, as if someone had struck four blows at her. 
 
 The stone was no longer at the Cuttle Well. 
 As the easiest way of obliterating the words, the 
 minister had ordered it to be broken, and of the 
 pieces another mason had made stands for watches, 
 one of which was now in Thrums Street. 
 
 ^ Aaron Latta ain't a mason now," Tommy rat« 
 tied on : '" he is a warper, because he can warp in 
 his own house without looking on mankind or 
 speaking to mankind. Auld Petey said he minded 
 the day when Aaron Latta was a merry loon, and 
 then Andrew McVittie said, 'God behears, to 
 
 7J 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 think that Aaron Latta was ever a merry man f ' 
 and Baker Lumsden said, ' Curse her!'" 
 
 His mother shrank in her chair, but said noth- 
 ing, and Tommy explained : " It was Jean Myles 
 he was cursing; did you ken her, mother'? she 
 ruined Aaron Latta's life." 
 
 " Ay, and wha ruined Jean Myles's life ? " his 
 mother cried passionately. 
 
 Tommy did not know, but he thought that 
 young Petey might know, for young Petey had 
 said : " If I had been Jean Myles I would have 
 spat in Aaron's face rather than marry him." 
 
 Mrs. Sandys seemed pleased to hear this. 
 
 " They wouldna tell me what it were she did," 
 Tommy went on ; " they said it was ower ugly a 
 story, but she were a bad one, for they stoned her 
 out of Thrums. I dinna know where she is now, 
 but she were stoned out of Thrums ! " 
 
 "Noalane"?" 
 
 " There was a man with her, and his name was 
 ■ — it was " 
 
 His mother clasped her hands nervously while 
 Tommy tried to remember the name. " His name 
 was Magerful Tam," he said at length. 
 
 " Ay," said his mother, knitting her teeth, " that 
 was his name." 
 
 " I dinna mind any more," Tommy concluded. 
 " Yes, I mind they aye called Aaron Latta ' Poor 
 Aaron Latta.' " 
 
 76 
 
THE ENCHANTED STREET 
 
 "Did they? 1 warrant, though, there wasna 
 one as said 'Poor Jean Myles'?" 
 
 She began the question in a hard voice, but as 
 she said " Poor Jean Myles," something caught in 
 her throat, and she sobbed, painful dry sobs. 
 
 " How could they pity her when she were such 
 a bad one ? " Tommy answered briskly. 
 
 " Is there none to pity bad ones ? " said his 
 sorrowful mother. 
 
 Elspeth plucked her by the skirt. "There's 
 God, ain't there ? " she said, inquiringly, and get- 
 ting no answer she flopped upon her knees, to say 
 a babyish prayer that would sound comic to any- 
 body except to Him to whom it was addressed. 
 
 " You ain't praying for a woman as was a dis- 
 grace to Thrums ! " Tommy cried, jealously, and 
 he was about to raise her by force, when his mother 
 stayed his hand. 
 
 " Let her alane," she said, with a twitching mouth 
 and filmy eyes. " Let her alane. Let my bairn 
 pray for Jean Myles." 
 
 77 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 COMIC OVERTURE TO A TRAGEDY 
 
 " Jean Myles bides in London " was the next re« 
 markable news brought by Tommy from Thrums 
 Street. " And that ain't all, Magerful Tam is her 
 man; and that ain't all, she has a laddie called 
 Tommy ; and that ain't all, Petey and the rest has 
 never seen her in London, but she writes letters to 
 Thrums folks and they writes to Petey and tells 
 him what she said. That ain't all neither, they 
 canna find out what street she bides in, but it's on 
 the bonny side of London, and it's grand, and she 
 wears silk clothes, and her Tommy has velvet 
 trousers, and they have a servant as calls him * sir.' 
 Oh, I would just like to kick him ! They often 
 looks for her in the grand streets, but they're angry 
 at her getting on so well, and Martha Scrymgeoui 
 said it were enough to make good women like hej 
 stop going reg'lar to the kirk." 
 
 " Martha said that ! " exclaimed his mother, 
 highly pleased. " Heard you anything of a. woman 
 called Esther Auld ? Her man does the orra 
 work at the Tappit Hen public in Thrums." 
 
 "He's head man at the Tappit Hen public 
 78 
 
COMIC OVERTURE TO A TRAGEDY 
 
 now," answered Tommy; "and she wishes she 
 could find out where Jean Myles bides, so as she 
 could write and tell her that she is grand too, and 
 has six hair-bottomed chairs." 
 
 " She'll never get the satisfaction," said his 
 mother triumphantly. " Tell me more about 
 her." 
 
 " She has a laddie called Francie, and he has 
 yellow curls, and she nearly greets because she 
 canna tell Jean Myles that he goes to a school for 
 the children of gentlemen only. She is so mad 
 when she gets a letter from Jean Myles that she 
 takes to her bed." 
 
 " Yea, yea ! " said Mrs. Sandys cheerily. 
 
 " But they think Jean Myles has been brought 
 low at last," continued Tommy, "because she 
 hasna wrote for a long time to Thrums, and Esther 
 Auld said that if she knowed for certain as Jean 
 Myles had been brought low, she would put a 
 threepenny bit in the kirk plate." 
 
 " I'm glad you've telled me that, laddie," said 
 Mrs. Sandys, and next day, unknown to her chil- 
 dren, she wrote another letter. She knew she ran 
 a risk of discovery, yet it was probable that Tommy 
 would only hear her referred to in Thrums Street 
 by her maiden name, which he had never heard 
 from her, and as for her husband he had been 
 Magerfiil Tarn to everyone. The risk was great, 
 but the pleasure 
 
 79 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 Unsuspicious Tommy soon had news of an« 
 other letter from Jean Myles, which had sent 
 Esther Auld to bed again. 
 
 " Instead of being brought low," he announced; 
 " Jean Myles is grander than ever. Her Tommy 
 has a governess." 
 
 " That would be a doush of water in Esther's 
 face," his mother said, smiling. 
 
 "She wrote to Martha Scrymgeour," said 
 Tommy, "that it ain't no pleasure to her now to 
 boast as her laddie is at a school for gentlemen's 
 children only. But what ma^e her maddest was 
 a bit in Jean Myles's letter about chairs. Jean 
 Myles has give all her hair-bottomed chairs to a 
 poor woman and buyed a new kind, because hair- 
 bottomed ones ain't fashionable now. So Esther 
 Auld can't not bear the sight of her chairs now, 
 though she were windy of them till the letter went 
 to Thrums." 
 
 " Poor Esther ! " said Mrs. Sandys gaily. 
 
 " Oh, and I forgot this, mother. Jean Myles's 
 reason for not telling where she bides in London is 
 that she's so grand that she thinks if auld Petey and 
 the rest knowed where the place was they would visit 
 her and boast as they was her "friends. Auld Petey 
 stamped wi' rage when he heard that, and Martha 
 Scrymgeour said, ' Oh, the pridefu' limmer ! ' " 
 
 "Ay, Martha," muttered Mrs. Sandys, "you 
 and Jean Myles is evens now." 
 
 80 
 
COMIC OVERTURE TO A TRAGEDY 
 
 But the passage that had made them all wince 
 the most was one giving Jean's reasons for mak- 
 ing no calls in Thrums Street. " You can break 
 it to Martha Scrymgeour's father and mither," the 
 letter said, " and to Petey Whamond's sisters and 
 the rest as has friends in London, that I have seen 
 no Thrums faces here, the low part where they 
 bide not being for the like of me to file my feet 
 in. Forby that, I could not let my son mix with 
 their bairns for fear they should teach him the 
 vulgar Thrums words and clarty his blue-velvet 
 suit. I'm thinking'you have to dress your laddie 
 in corduroy, Esther, but you see that would not 
 do for mine. So no more at present, and we all 
 join in compliments, and my little velvets says he 
 wishes I would send some of his toys to your little 
 corduroys. And so maybe I will, Esther, if you'll 
 tell Aaron Latta how rich and happy I am, and 
 if you're feared to say it to his face, tell it to the 
 roaring farmer of Double Dykes, and he'll pass 
 it on." 
 
 " Did you, ever hear of such a woman?" Tommy 
 said indignantly, when he had repeated as much 
 pf this insult to Thrums as he could remember. 
 
 But it was information his mother wanted. 
 
 " What said they to that bit ? " she asked. 
 
 At first, it appears, they limited their comments 
 to "Losh, losh," "keeps a'," "it cows," "my certie," 
 "ay, ay," "sal,tal," "dagont" (the meaning of which 
 
 81 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 is obvious). But by and by they recovered their 
 breath, and then Baker Lumsden said wonderingly: 
 
 "Wha that was at her marriage could have 
 thought it would turn out so weel? It was an 
 eerie marriage that, Petey ! " 
 
 "Ay, man, you may say so," old Petey an- 
 swered. " I was there ; I was one o' them as went 
 in ahint Aaron Latta, and I'm no' likely to forget 
 it." 
 
 " I wasna there," said the baker, " but I was 
 standing at the door, and I saw the hearse drive up." 
 
 "What did they mean, mother?" Tommy 
 asked, but she shuddered and replied, evasively, 
 " Did Martha Scrymgeour say anything ? " 
 
 " She said such a lot," he had to confess, " that I 
 dinna mind none on it. But I mind what her 
 father in Thrums wrote to her; he wrote to her 
 that if she saw a carriage go by, she was to keep 
 her eyes on the ground, for likely as not Jean 
 Myles would be in it, and she thought as they 
 was all dirt beneath her feet. But Kirsty Ross — 
 who is she ? " 
 
 " She's Martha's mother. What about her ? " 
 
 " She wrote at the end of the letter that Martha 
 was to hang on ahint the carriage and find out 
 where Jean Myles bides.'' 
 
 "Laddie, that was like Kirsty! Heard you 
 what the roaring farmer o' Double Dykes said ? " 
 
 No, Tommy had not heard him mentioned. 
 82 
 
COMIC OVERTURE TO A TRAGEDY 
 
 And indeed the roaring farmer of Double Dykes 
 had said nothing. He was already lying very 
 quiet on the south side of the cemetery. 
 
 Tommy's mother's next question cost her a 
 painful eflfort. "Did you hear," she asked, 
 " whether they telled Aaron Latta about the let- 
 ter?" 
 
 " Yes, they telled him," Tommy replied, " and 
 he said a queer thing; he said, 'Jean Myles is 
 dead, I was at her coffining.' That's what he aye 
 says when they tell him there's another letter. I 
 wonder what he means, mother ? " 
 
 " I wonder ! " she echoed, faintly. The only 
 pleasure left her was to raise the envy of those who 
 had hooted her from Thrums, but she paid a price 
 for it Many a stab she had got from the unwit- 
 ting Tommy as he repeated the gossip of his new 
 friends, and she only won their envy at the cost of 
 their increased ill-wiU. They thought she was 
 lording it in London, and so they were merciless ; 
 had they known how poor she was and how ill, 
 they would have forgotten everything save that 
 she was a Thrummy like themselves, and there 
 were few but would have shared their all with her. 
 But she did not believe this, and therefore you 
 may pity her, for the hour was drawing near, and 
 she knew it, when she must appeal to some one 
 tor her children's sake, not for her own. 
 
 No, not for her own. When Tommy was wan- 
 
 83 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 dering the pretty parts of London with James 
 Gloag and other boys from Thrums Street in 
 search of Jean Myles, whom they were to know 
 by her carriage and her silk dress and her son in 
 blue velvet, his mother was in bed with bron- 
 \ chitis in the wretched room we know of, or creep 
 ! ing to the dancing school, coughing all the way. 
 
 Some of the fits of coughing were very near 
 being her last, but she wrestled with her trouble, 
 seeming at times to stifle it, and then for weeks 
 she managed to go to her work, which was still 
 hers, because Shovel's old girl did it for her when 
 the bronchitis would not be defied. Shovel's old' 
 slattern gave this service unasked and without 
 payment ; if she was thanked it was ungraciously, 
 but she continued to do all she could when there 
 was need ; she smelled of gin, but she continued 
 to do all she could. 
 
 The wardrobe had been put upon its back on 
 the floor, and so converted into a bed for Tommy 
 and Elspeth, who were sometimes wakened in the 
 night by a loud noise, which alarmed them until 
 they learned that it was only the man in the next 
 room knocking angrily on the wall because their 
 mother's cough kept him from sleeping. 
 
 Tommy knew what death was now, and El- 
 speth knew its name, and both were vaguely aware 
 that it was looking for their mother; but if she 
 could only hold out till Hogmanay, Tommy said, 
 
 84 
 
COMIC OVERTURE TO A TRAGEDY 
 
 they would fleg it out of the house. Hogmanay is 
 the mighty winter festival of Thrums, and when 
 it came round these two were to give their mother 
 a present that would make her strong. It was not 
 to be a porous plaster. Tommy knew now of 
 something better than that. 
 
 "And I knows too!" Elspeth gurgled, "and I 
 has threepence a'ready, I has." 
 
 " Whisht ! " said Tommy in an agony of dread, 
 *' she hears you, and she'll guess. We ain't speak- 
 ing of nothing to give to you at Hogmanay," he 
 said to his mother with great cuiming. Then he 
 winked at Elspeth and said, with his hand over 
 his mouth, "I hinna twopence!" and Elspeth, 
 about to cry in fright, " Have you spended it ? " 
 saw the joke and crowed instead, " Nor yet has I 
 threepence ! " 
 
 They smirked together, until Tommy saw a 
 change come over Elspeth's face, which made him 
 run her outside the door. 
 
 " You was a-going to pray ! " he said, severely. 
 
 *' 'Cos it was a lie. Tommy. I does have three- 
 pence." 
 
 " Well, you ain't a-going to get praying about 
 it. She would hear yer." 
 
 " I would do it low. Tommy." 
 
 " She would see yer." 
 
 " Oh, Tommy, let me. God is angry with me." 
 
 Tommy looked down the stair, and no one was 
 85 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 in sight. " I'll let yer pray here," he whispered, 
 "and you can say I have twopence. But be quick, 
 and do it standing." 
 
 Perhaps Mrs. Sandys had been thinking that 
 • when Hogmanay came her children might have 
 no mother to bring presents to, for on their return 
 to the room her eyes followed them wofuUy, and 
 a shudder of apprehension shook her torn frame. 
 Tommy gave Elspeth a look that meant "I'm 
 sure there's something queer about her." 
 
 There was also something queer about himself, 
 which at this time had the strangest gallop. It 
 began one day with a series of morning calls from 
 Shovel, who suddenly popped his head over the 
 top of the door (he was standing on the handle), 
 roared " Roastbeef ! " in the manner of a railway 
 porter announcing the name of a station, and then 
 at once withdrew. 
 
 He returned presently to say that vain must be 
 all attempts to wheedle his secret from him, and 
 yet again to ask irritably why Tommy was not 
 coming out to hear all about it. Then did Tommy 
 desert Elspeth, and on the stair Shovel showed 
 him a yellow card with this printed on it : " S. R. 
 J. C. — Supper Ticket ; " and written beneath, in 
 a lady's hand : " Admit Joseph Salt." The letters, 
 Shovel explained, meant Society for the somethink 
 of Juvenile Criminals, and the toffs what ran it got 
 hold of you when you came out of quod. Then 
 
 85 
 
COMIC OVERTURE TO A TRAGEDY 
 
 if you was willing to repent they wrote down your 
 name and the place what you lived at in a book, 
 and one of them came to see yer and give yer a 
 ticket for the blow-out night. This was blow-out 
 night, and that were Shovel's ticket. He had 
 bought it from Hump Salt for fourpence. What 
 you get at the blow-out was roast beef, plum-duff, 
 and an orange ; but when Hump saw the four- 
 pence he could not wait. 
 
 A favor was asked of Tommy. Shovel had been 
 told by Hump that it was the custom of the toffs 
 to sit beside you and question you about your 
 crimes, and lacking the imagination that made 
 Tommy such an ornament to the house, the chances 
 were that he would flounder in his answers and be 
 ejected. Hump had pointed this out to him after 
 pocketing the fourpence. Would Tommy, there- 
 fore, make up things for him to say ; reward, the 
 orange. 
 
 This was a proud moment for Tommy, as Shov- 
 el's knowledge of crime was much more extensive 
 than his own, though they had both studied it in 
 the pictures of a lively newspaper subscribed to by 
 Shovel, senior. He became patronizing at once 
 and rejected the orange as insufficient. 
 
 Then suppose, after he got into the hall. Shovel 
 dropped his ticket out at the window; Tommy 
 could pick it up, and then it would admit him 
 also. 
 
 87 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 Tommy liked this, but foresaw a danger : the 
 ticket might be taken from Shovel at the dootj 
 just as they took them from you at that singing 
 thing in the church he had attended with young 
 Petey. 
 
 So help Shovel's davy, there was no fear of this. 
 They were superior toffs, what trusted to your 
 honour. 
 
 Would Shovel swear to this ? 
 
 He would. 
 
 But would he swear dagont ? 
 
 He swore dagont; and then Tommy had him. 
 As he was so sure of it, he could not object to 
 Tommy's being the one who dropped the ticket 
 out at the window ? 
 
 Shovel did object for a time, but after a wrangle 
 he gave up the ticket, intending to take it from 
 Tommy when primed with the necessary tale. So 
 they parted until evening, and Tommy returned 
 to Elspeth, secretive but elated. For the rest of 
 the day he was in thought, now waggling his head 
 smugly over some dark, unutterable design and 
 again looking a little scared. In growing alarm 
 she watched his face, and at last she slipped upon 
 her knees, but he had her up at once and said, re- 
 proachfully : 
 
 " It were me as teached yer to pray, and now 
 yer prays for me I That's fine treatment ! " 
 
 Nevertheless, after his mother's return, just be- 
 88 
 
COMIC OVERTURE TO A TRAGEDY 
 
 fore he stole out to join Shovel, he took Elspeth 
 aside and whispered to her, nervously : 
 
 " You can pray for me if you like, for, oh, El- 
 speth, I'm thinking as I'll need it sore!" And 
 sore he needed it before the night was out. 
 
 8^ 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE BOY WITH TWO MOTHERS 
 
 •* I LOVE my dear father and my dear mother and 
 all the dear little kids at 'ome. You are a kind 
 laidy or gentleman. I love yer. I will never do 
 it again, so help me bob. Amen." 
 
 This was what Shovel muttered to himself again 
 and again as the two boys made their way across 
 the lamplit Hungerford Bridge, and Tommy asked 
 him what it meant. 
 
 "My old gal learned me that; she's deep," 
 Shovel said, wiping the words off his mouth with 
 his sleeve. 
 
 " But you got no kids at *ome ! " remonstrated 
 Tommy. (Ameliar was now in service.) 
 
 Shovel turned on him with the fury of a mother 
 (protecting her young. " Don't you try for to knock 
 iione on it out," he cried, and again fell a-mumbling. 
 
 Said Tommy, scornfully i " If you says it all out 
 at one bang you'll be done at the start." 
 
 Shovel sighed. 
 
 "And you should blubber when yer says it," 
 added Tommy, who could laugh or cry merely 
 
 Of 
 
THE BOY WITH TWO MOTHERS 
 
 because other people were laughing or crying, or 
 even with less reason, and so naturally that he 
 found it more difficult to stop than to begin. 
 Shovel was the taller by half a head, and irresis- 
 tible with his fists, but to-night Tommy was master. 
 
 " You jest stick to me. Shovel," he said airily. 
 " Keep a grip on my hand, same as if yer was El- 
 speth." 
 
 " But what was we copped for. Tommy ? " en- 
 treated humble Shovel. 
 
 Tommy asked him if he knew what a butler 
 was, and Shovel remembered, confusedly, that 
 there had been a portrait of a butler in his father's 
 news-sheet. 
 
 "Well, then," said Tommy, inspired by this 
 same source, " there's a room a butler has, and it 
 is a pantry, so you and me crawled through the 
 winder and we opened the door to the gang. You 
 and me was copped. They catched you below the 
 table and me stabbing the butler." 
 
 " It was me what stabbed the butler," Shovel 
 interposed, jealously. 
 
 " How could you do it, Shovel *? " 
 
 " With a knife, I tell yer ! " 
 
 " Why, you did n't have no knife," said Tommy, 
 impatiently. 
 
 This crushed Shovel, but he growled sulkily : 
 
 " Well, I bit him in the leg." 
 
 "Not you," said selfish Tommy. "You for« 
 
 9» 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 gets about repenting, and if I let yer bite him, you 
 would brag about it. It's safer without. Shovel." 
 
 Perhaps it was. " How long did I get in quod, 
 then. Tommy?" 
 
 " Fourteen days." 
 
 " So did you ? " Shovel said, with quick anxiety 
 
 " I got a month," replied Tommy, firmly. 
 
 Shovel roared a word that would never have ad- 
 mitted him to the hall. Then, " I'm as game as 
 you, and gamer," he whined. 
 
 " But I'm better at repenting. I tell yer, I'll 
 cry when I'm repenting." Tommy's face lit up, 
 and Shovel could not help saying, with a curious 
 look at it : 
 
 " You — you ain't like any other cove I knows," 
 to which Tommy replied, also in an awestruck 
 voice : 
 
 " I'm so queer, Shovel, that when I thinks 'bout 
 myself I'm — I'm sometimes near feared." 
 
 " What makes your face for to shine like that ? 
 Is it thinking about the blow-out ? " 
 
 No, it was hardly that, but Tommy could not 
 tell what it was. He and the saying about art for 
 art's sake were in the streets that night, looking for 
 each other. 
 
 The splendour of the brightly lighted hall, which 
 was situated in one of the meanest streets of per- 
 haps the most densely populated quarter in Lon- 
 don, broke upon the two boys suddenly and hit 
 
 92 
 
THE BOY WITH TWO MOTHERS 
 
 each in his vital part, tapping an invitation on 
 Tommy's brain-pan and taking Shovel coquettishly 
 in the stomach. Now was the moment when 
 Shovel meant to strip Tommy of the ticket, but 
 the spectacle in front dazed him, and he stopped 
 to tell a vegetable barrow how he loved his dear 
 father and his dear mother, and all the dear kids at 
 home. Then Tommy darted forward and was im- 
 mediately lost in the crowd surging round the steps 
 of the hall. 
 
 Several gentlemen in evening dress stood framed 
 in the lighted doorway, shouting : " Have your 
 tickets in your hands and give them up as you 
 pass in." They were fine fellows, helping in a 
 splendid work, and their society did much good, 
 though it was not so well organized as others that 
 have followed in its steps ; but Shovel, you may 
 believe, was in no mood to attend to them. He 
 had but one thought : that the traitor Tommy was 
 doubtless at that moment boring his way toward 
 them, underground, as it were, and " holding his 
 ticket in his hand." Shovel dived into the rabble 
 and was flung back upside down. Falling with 
 his arms round a full-grown man, he immediately 
 ran up him as if he had been a lamp-post, and was 
 aloft just sufficiently long to see Tommy give up 
 the ticket and saunter into the hall. 
 
 The crowd tried at intervals to rush the door. 
 It was mainly composed of ragged boys, but here 
 
 93 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 and there were men, women, and girls, who came 
 into view for a moment under the lights as the 
 mob heaved and went round and round like a 
 boiling potful. Two policemen joined the ticket- 
 collectors, and though it was a good-humoured 
 gathering, the air was thick with such cries as 
 these : 
 
 " I lorst my ticket, ain't I telling yer ? Gar on, 
 guv'nor, lemme in I" 
 
 " Oh, crumpets, look at Jimmy ! Jimmy never 
 done nothink, your honour ; he's a himposter." 
 
 " I'm the boy what kicked the peeler. Hie, 
 you tofF with the choker, ain't I to step up ? " 
 
 " Tell yer, I'm a genooine criminal, I am. If 
 yer don't lemme in I'll have the lawr on you." 
 
 "Let a poor cove in as his father drownded 
 hisself for his country." 
 
 "What air yer torking about? Warn't I in 
 larst year, and the cuss as runs the show, he says 
 to me, ' AUers welcome,' he says. None on your 
 sarse, Bobby. I demands to see the cuss what 
 runs " 
 
 " Jest keeping on me out 'cos I ain't done 
 nothin'. Ho, this is a encouragement to honesty, 
 I don't think." 
 
 Mighty in tongue and knee and elbow was an 
 unknown knight, ever conspicuous; it might be 
 but by a leg waving for one brief moment in the 
 air. He did not want to go in, would not go in 
 
 94 
 
THE BOY WITH TWO MOTHERS 
 
 though they went on their blooming knees to him ; 
 he was after a viper of the name of Tommy. 
 Half an hour had not tired him, and he was lead- 
 ing another assault, when a magnificent lady, such 
 as you see in wax-works, appeared in the vestibule 
 and made some remark to a policeman, who then 
 shouted : 
 
 " If so there be hany lad here called Shovel, he 
 can step forrard." 
 
 A dozen lads stepped forward at once, but a flail 
 drove them right and left, and the unknown knight 
 had mounted the parapet amid a shower of exe- 
 crations. " If you are the real Shovel," the lady 
 said to him, " you can tell me how this proceeds, 
 
 ' I love my dear father and my dear mother ' 
 
 Go on." 
 
 Shovel obeyed, tremblingly. " And all the dear 
 little kids at 'ome. You are a kind laidy or gen- 
 tleman. I love yen I will never do it again, so 
 help me bob. Amen." 
 
 " Charming I " chirped the lady, and down 
 pleasantly-smelling aisles she led him, pausing to 
 drop an observation about Tommy to a clergy- 
 man: "So glad I came; I have discovered the 
 most delightful little monster called Tommy." 
 The clergyman looked after her half in sadness, 
 half sarcastically; he was thinking that he had 
 discovered a monster also. 
 
 At present the body of the hall was empty, but 
 95 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 its sides were lively with gorging boys, among 
 whom ladies moved, carrying platefuls of good 
 things. Most of them were sweet women, fight- 
 ing bravely for these boys, and not at all like 
 Shovel's patroness, who had come for a sensation. 
 Tommy falling into her hands, she got it. 
 
 Tommy, who had a corner to himself, was loll- 
 ing in it like a little king, and he not only or- 
 dered roast-beef for the awe-struck Shovel, but sent 
 the lady back for salt. Then he whispered, exult- 
 antly: " Quick, Shovel, feel my pocket" (it bulged 
 with two oranges), "now the inside pocket" (plum- 
 dufF), " now my waistcoat pocket " (threepence) ; 
 " look in my mouth " (chocolates). 
 
 When Shovel fouhd speech he began excitedly: 
 " I love my dear father and my dear " 
 
 " Gach ! " said Tommy, interrupting him con- 
 temptuously. "Repenting ain't no go. Shovel. 
 Look at them other coves ; none of them has got 
 no money, nor full pockets, and I tell you, it's 'cos 
 they has repented." 
 
 » Gar on ! " 
 
 " It's true, I tells you. That lady as is my one, 
 •he's called her ladyship, and she don't care a cuss 
 for boys as has repented," which of course was a 
 libel, her ladyship being celebrated wherever para- 
 graphs penetrate for having knitted a pair of stock- 
 ings for the deserving poor. 
 
 "When I saw that," Tommy continued bra- 
 96 
 
THE BOY WITH TWO MOTHERS 
 
 zenly, " I bragged 'stead of repenting, and the wuss 
 I says I am, she jest says, 'You little monster,' 
 and gives me another orange." 
 
 "Then I'm done for," Shovel moaned, "for I 
 rolled off that 'bout loving my dear father and my 
 dear mother, blast 'em, soon as I seen her." 
 
 He need not let that depress him. Tommy had 
 told her he would say it, but it was all flam. 
 
 Shovel thought the ideal arrangement would be 
 for him to eat and leave the torking to Tommy. 
 Tommy nodded. " I'm full, at any rate," he said, 
 struggling with his waistcoat. " Oh, Shovel, I am 
 full ! " 
 
 Her ladyship returned, and the boys held by 
 their contract, but of the dark character Tommy 
 seems to have been, let not these pages bear the 
 record. Do you wonder that her ladyship be- 
 lieved him ? On this point we must fight for our 
 Tommy. You would have believed him. Even 
 Shovel, who knew, between the bites, that it was 
 all whoppers, listened as to his father reading 
 aloud. This was because another boy present 
 half believed it for the moment also. When he 
 described the eerie darkness of the butler's pantry, 
 he shivered involuntarily, and he shut his eyes 
 once — ugh! — that was because he saw the blood 
 spouting out of the butler. He was turning up 
 his trousers to show the mark of the butler's boot 
 on his leg when the lady was called away, and 
 
 97 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 then Shovel shook him, saying: "Dam yer, 
 doesn't yer know as it's all your eye ? " which 
 brought Tommy to his senses with a jerk. 
 
 "Sure's death, Shovel," he whispered, in awe, 
 " I was thinking I done it, every bit ! " 
 
 Had her ladyship come back she would have 
 found him a different boy. He remembered now 
 that Elspeth, for whom he had filled his pockets, 
 was praying for him; he could see her on her 
 knees, saying, " Oh, God, I'se praying for Tommy," 
 and remorse took hold of him and shook him on 
 his seat. He broke into one hysterical laugh and 
 then immediately began to sob. This was the 
 moment when Shovel should have got him quietly 
 out of the hall. 
 
 Members of the society discussing him after- 
 wards with bated breath said that never till they 
 died could they forget her ladyship's face while he 
 did it. " But did you notice the boy's own face ? 
 It was positively angelic." " Angelic, indeed ; the 
 little horror was intoxicated." No, there was a 
 doctor present, and according to him it was the 
 meal that had gone to the boy's head; he looked 
 half starved. As for the clergyman, he only said : 
 "We shall lose her subscription; I am glad of it." 
 
 Yes, Tommy was intoxicated, but with a bever- 
 age not recognized by the faculty. What hap- 
 pened was this: Supper being finished, the time 
 had come for what Shovel called the jawing, and 
 
 98 
 
THE BOY WITH TWO MOTHERS 
 
 the boys were now mustered in the body of the 
 hall. The limited audience had gone to the gal- 
 lery, and unluckily all eyes except Shovel's were 
 turned to the platform. Shovel was apprehensive 
 about Tommy, who was not exactly sobbing now ; 
 but strange, uncontrollable sounds not unlike the 
 winding up of a clock proceeded from his throat ; 
 his face had flushed ; there was a purposeful look 
 in his usually unreadable eye; his fingers were 
 fidgeting on the board in front of him, and he 
 seemed to keep his seat with difficulty. 
 
 The personage who was to address the boys 
 sat on the platform with clergymen, members of 
 committee, and some ladies, one of them Tom- 
 my's patroness. Her ladyship saw Tommy and 
 smiled to him, but obtained no response. She 
 had taken a front seat, a choice that she must have 
 regretted presently. 
 
 The chairman rose and announced that the Rev. 
 
 Mr. would open the proceedings with prayer. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. rose to pray in a loud voice for 
 
 the waifs in the body of the hall. At the- same 
 moment rose Tommy, and began to pray in a 
 squeaky voice for the people on the platform. 
 
 He had many Biblical phrases, mostly picked 
 up in Thrums Street, and what he said was dis- 
 tinctly heard in the stillness, the clergyman being 
 suddenly bereft of speech. " Oh," he cried, " look 
 down on them ones there, for, oh, they are unworthy 
 
 99 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 of Thy mercy, and, oh, the worst sinner is her la- 
 dyship, her sitting there so brazen in the black 
 frock with yellow stripes, and the worse I said I 
 were the better pleased were she. Oh, make her 
 think shame for tempting of a poor boy, forgetting 
 suffer little children, oh, why cumbereth she the 
 
 ground, oh " 
 
 He was in full swing before anyone could act. 
 Shovel having failed to hold him in his seat, had 
 done what was, perhaps, the next best thing, 
 got beneath it himself. The arm of the petrified 
 clergyman was still extended, as if .blessing his 
 brother's remarks; the chairman seemed to be 
 trying to fling his right hand at the culprit; but 
 her ladyship, after the first stab, never moved a 
 muscle. Thus for nearly half a minute, when the 
 officials woke up, and squeezing past many knees, 
 seized Tommy by the neck and ran him out of 
 the building. All down the aisle he prayed hys- 
 terically, and for some time afterwards, to Shovel, 
 who had been cast forth along with him. 
 
 At an hour of that night when their mother 
 was asleep, and it is to be hope'd they were the 
 only two children awake in London, Tommy sat 
 up softly in the wardrobe to discover whether 
 Elspeth was still praying for him. He knew that 
 she was on the floor in a nightgown some twelve 
 sizes too large for her, but the room was as silent 
 
 joo 
 
THE BOY WITH TWO MOTHERS 
 
 and black as the world he had just left, by taking 
 his fingers from his ears and the blankets off his face. 
 
 "I see you," he said mendaciously, and in a 
 guarded voice, so as not to waken his mother, from 
 whom he had kept his escapade. This had not 
 the desired effect of drawing a reply from Elspeth, 
 and he tried bluster. 
 
 " You needna think as I'll repent, you brat, so 
 there! What? 
 
 " I wish I hadna told you about it ! " Indeed, 
 he had endeavoured not to do so, but pride in his 
 achievement had eventually conquered prudence. 
 
 " Reddy would have laughed, she would, and 
 said as I was a wonder. Reddy was the kind I 
 like. What? 
 
 " You ate up the oranges quick, and the plum- 
 duff too, so you should pray for yoursel' as well 
 as for me. It's easy to say as you didna know 
 how I got them till after you eated them, but you 
 should have found out. What ? 
 
 " Do you think it was for my own self as I done 
 it ? I jest done it to get the oranges and plum- 
 duff to you. I did, and the threepence, too. Eh ? 
 Speak, you little besom. 
 
 " I tell you as I did repent in the hall. I was 
 greeting, and I never knowed I put up that prayer 
 till Shovel told me on it. We was sitting in the 
 street by that time." 
 
 This was true. On leaving the hall Tommy 
 
 101 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 had soon dropped to the cold ground and squatted 
 there till he came to, when he remembered nothing 
 of what had led to his expulsion. Like a stream 
 that has run into a pond and only finds itself again 
 when it gets out, he was but a continuation of the 
 boy who when last conscious of himself was in the 
 corner crying remorsefully over his misdeed ; and 
 in this humility he would have returned to Elspeth 
 had no one told him of his prayer. Shovel, how- 
 ever, was at hand, not only to tell him all about 
 it, but to applaud, and home strutted Tommy 
 chuckling. 
 
 " I am sleeping," he next said to Elspeth, " so 
 you may as well come to your bed." 
 
 He imitated the breathing of a sleeper, but it 
 was the only sound to be heard in London, and 
 he desisted fearfully. " Come away, Elspeth," he 
 said, coaxingly, for he was very fond of her and 
 could not sleep while she was cold and miserable. 
 
 Still getting no response he pulled his body inch 
 by inch out of the bedclothes, and holding his 
 breath, found the floor with his feet stealthily, as 
 if to cheat the wardrobe into thinking that he was 
 still in it. But his reason was to discover whether 
 Elspeth had fallen asleep on her knees without her 
 learning that he cared to know. Almost noise- 
 lessly he worked himself along the floor, but when 
 he stopped to bring his face nearer hers, there was 
 such a creaking of his joints that if Elspeth did 
 
 102 
 
THE BOY WITH TWO MOTHERS 
 
 not hear it she — she must be dead I His knees 
 played whack on the floor. 
 
 Elspeth only gasped once, but he heard, and re« 
 mained beside her for a minute, so that she might 
 hug him if such was her desire ; and she put out 
 her hand in the darkness so that his should not 
 have far to travel alone if it chanced to be on the 
 way to her. Thus they sat on their knees, each 
 aghast at the hard-heartedness of the other. 
 
 Tommy put the blankets over the kneeling 
 figure, and presently announced from the wardrobe 
 that if he died of cold before repenting the blame 
 of keeping him out of heaven would be Elspeth's. 
 But the last word was muffled, for the blankets 
 were tucked about him as he spoke, and two 
 motherly little arms gave him the ^embrace they 
 wanted to withhold. Foiled again, he kicked off 
 the bedclothes and said : " I tell yer I wants to 
 die!" 
 
 This terrified both of them, and he added, 
 quickly : 
 
 " Oh, God, if I was sure I were to die to-night 
 I would repent at once." It is the commonest 
 prayer in all languages, but down on her knees 
 slipped Elspeth again, and Tommy, who felt that 
 it had done him good, said indignantly : " Surely 
 that is religion. What ? " 
 
 He lay on his face until he was frightened by a 
 noise louder than thunder in the daytime — the 
 
 103 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 scraping of his eyelashes on the pillow. Then he 
 sat up in the wardrobe and fired his three last 
 shots. 
 
 " Elspeth Sandys, I'm done with yer forever, I 
 am. I'll take care on yer, but I'll never kiss yer 
 no more. 
 
 " When yer boasts as I'm your brother I'll say 
 you ain't. I'll tell my mother about Reddy the 
 morn, and syne she'll put you to the door smart. 
 
 " When you are a grown woman I'll buy a 
 house to yer, but you'll have jest to bide in it by 
 your lonely self, and I'll come once a year to speir 
 how you are, but I won't come in, I won't — I'll 
 jest cry up the stair." 
 
 The effect of this was even greater than he had 
 expected, for now two were 'in tears instead of one, 
 and Tommy's grief was the more heartrending, he 
 was so much better at everything than Elspeth. 
 He jumped out of the wardrobe and ran to her, 
 calling her name, and he put his arms round her 
 cold body, and the dear mite, forgetting how 
 cruelly he had used her, cried, " Oh, tighter. 
 Tommy, tighter ; you didn't not mean it, did yer ? 
 Oh, you is terrible fond on me, ain't yer? And" 
 you won't not tell my mother 'bout Reddy, will 
 yer, and you is no done wi' me forever, is yer? 
 and you won't not put me In a house by myself, 
 will yer? Oh, Tommy, is that the tightest you 
 can do?" 
 
 104 
 
THE BOY WITH TWO MOTHERS 
 
 And Tommy made it tighter, vowing, " I never 
 meant it; I was a bad un to say it. If Reddy 
 were to come back wanting for to squeeze you out, 
 I would send her packing quick, I would. I tell 
 yer what, I'll kiss you with folk looking on, I will, 
 and no be ashamed to do it, and if Shovel is one 
 of them what sees me, and he puts his finger to his 
 nose, I'll blood the mouth of him, I will, dagont ! " 
 
 Then he prayed for forgiveness, and he could 
 always pray more beautifully than Elspeth. Even 
 she was satisfied with the way he did it, and so, 
 alack, was he. 
 
 " But you forgot to tell," she said fondly, when 
 once more they were in the wardrobe together — 
 " you forgot to tell as you filled your pockets wif 
 things to me." 
 
 "I didn't forget," Tommy replied modestly. 
 " I missed it out on purpose, I did, 'cos I was sure 
 God knows on it without my telling him, and I 
 thought he would be pleased if I didn't let on as 
 I knowed it was good of me." 
 
 " Oh, Tommy," cried Elspeth, worshipping him, 
 " I couldn't have doned that, I couldn't ! " She 
 was barely six, and easily taken in, but she would 
 save him from himself if she could. 
 
 105 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 AULD LANG SYNE 
 
 What to do with her ladyship's threepence f 
 Tommy finally decided to drop it into the charity 
 box that had once contained his penny. They 
 held it over the slit together, Elspeth almost in 
 tears because it was such a large sum to give 
 away, but Tommy looking noble he was so proud 
 of himself; and when he said " Three ! " they let 
 go. 
 
 There followed days of excitement centred 
 round their money-box. Shovel introduced Tommy 
 to a boy what said as after a bit you forget how 
 much money was in your box, and then when you 
 opened it, oh. Lor' ! there is more than you 
 thought, so he and Elspeth gave this plan a 
 week's trial, affecting not to know how much they 
 had gathered, but when they unlocked it, the sum 
 was still only eightpcnce; so then Tommy told 
 the liar to come on, and they fought while the 
 horrified Elspeth prayed, and Tommy licked him, 
 a result due to one of the famous Thrums left* 
 
 106 
 
AULD LANG SYNE 
 
 banders then on exhibition in that street for the 
 first time, as taught the victor by Petey Wha« 
 mond the younger, late of Tillyloss. 
 
 The money did come in, once in spate (two 
 pence from Bob in twenty-four hours), but usu- 
 ally so slowly that they saw it resting on the way, 
 and then, when they listened intently, they could 
 hear the thud of Hogmanay. The last halfpenny 
 was a special aggravation, strolling about, just out 
 of reach, with all the swagger of sixpence, but at 
 last Elspeth had it, and after that, the sooner 
 Hogmanay came the better. 
 
 They concealed their excitement under too 
 many wrappings, but their mother suspected no- 
 thing. When she was dressing on the morning of 
 Hogmanay, her stockings happened to be at the 
 other side of the room, and they were such a long 
 way off that she rested on the way to them. At 
 the meagre breakfast she said what a heavy tea- 
 pot that was, and Tommy thought this funny, but 
 the salt had gone from the joke when he remem- 
 bered it afterwards. And when she was ready to 
 go off to her work she hesitated at the door, look- 
 ing at her bed and from it to her children as if in 
 two minds, and then went quietly downstairs. 
 
 The distance seems greater than ever to-day, 
 poor woman, and you stop longer at the corners, 
 where rude men jeer at you. Scarcely can you 
 push open the door of the dancing-school or lift 
 
 107 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 the pail ; the fire has gone out, you must again go 
 on your knees before it, and again the smoke 
 makes you cough. Gaunt slattern, fighting to 
 bring up the phlegm, was it really you for whom 
 another woman gave her life, and thought it a rich 
 reward to get dressing you once in your long 
 clothes, when she called you her beautiful, and 
 smiled, and smiling, died ? Well, well ; but take 
 courage, Jean Myles, The long road still lies 
 straight up hill, but your climbing is near an end. 
 Shrink from the rude men no more, they are soon 
 to forget you, so soon! It is a heavy door, but 
 soon you will have pushed it open for the last 
 time. The girls will babble still, but not to you, 
 not of you. Cheer up, the work is nearly done. 
 Her beautiful! Come, beautiful, strength for a 
 few more days, and then you can leave the key 
 of the leaden door behind you, and on your way 
 home you may kiss your hand joyously to the 
 weary streets, for you are going to die. 
 
 Tommy and Elspeth had been to the foot of 
 the stair many times to look for her before their 
 mother came back that evening, yet when she re» 
 entered her home, behold, they were sitting calmly 
 on the fender as if this were a day like yesterday 
 or to-morrow, as if Tommy had not been on a 
 business visit to Thrums Street, as if the hump on 
 the bed did not mean that a glorious something 
 
 108 
 
AULD LANG SYNE 
 
 was hidden under the coverlet. True, Elspeth 
 would look at Tommy imploringly every few 
 minutes, meaning that she could not keep it in 
 much longer, and then Tommy would mutter the 
 one word " Bell " to remind her that it was against 
 the rules to begin before the Thrums eight-o'clock 
 bell rang. They also wiled away the time of wait- 
 ing by inviting each other to conferences at the 
 window where these whispers passed — 
 " She ain't got a notion. Tommy." 
 " Dinna look so often at the bed." 
 " If I could jest get one more peep at it ! " 
 "No, no; but you can put your hand on the 
 top of it as you go by." 
 
 The artfulness of Tommy lured his unsuspect- 
 ing mother into telling how they would be holding 
 Hogmanay in Thrums to-night, how cartloads of 
 kebbock cheeses had been rolling into the town 
 all the livelong day ("Do you hear them, El- 
 speth ■? "), and in dark closes the children were al- 
 ready gathering, with smeared faces and in eccentric 
 dress, to sally forth as guisers at the clap of eight, 
 when the ringing of a bell lets Hogmanay loose. 
 (" You see, Elspeth ? ") Inside the houses men 
 and women were preparing (though not by fast- 
 ing, which would have been such a good way that 
 it is surprising no ohe ever thought of it) for a 
 series of visits, at every one of which thev would 
 
 109 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 be offered a dram and kebbock and bannock, and 
 in the grander houses "bridles," which are a sub- 
 lime kind of pie. 
 
 Tommy had die audacity to ask what bridies 
 were like. And he could not dress up and be a 
 guiser, could he, mother, for the guisers sang a 
 song, and he did not know the words ? What a 
 pity they could not get bridies to buy in London, 
 and learn the song and sing it. But of course 
 they could not ! (" Elspeth. if you tumble oflF the 
 fender again, she'll guess.") 
 
 Such is a sample of Tommy, but Elspeth was 
 sly also, if in a smaller way, and it was she who 
 said: "There ain't nothin' in the bed, is there. 
 Tommy I " This duplicity made her uneasy, and 
 she added, behind her teeth, " Maybe there is," and 
 then, " O God, I knows as there is." 
 
 But as the great moment drew near there were 
 no more questions ; two children were staring at 
 the clock and listening intently for the peal of a 
 bell nearly five hundred miles away. 
 
 The clock struck. " Whisht ! It's time, El- 
 speth ! They've begun ! Come on ! " 
 
 A few minutes afterwards Mrs, Sandys was 
 roused by a knock at the door, followed by the 
 entrance of two mysterious figures. The female 
 wore a boy's jacket turned outside in, the iilale a 
 woman's bonnet and a shawl, and to make his dis- 
 guise the more impenetrable he carried a poker in 
 
 no 
 
AULD LANG SYNE 
 
 his right hand. They stopped in the middle of 
 the floor and began to recite, rather tremulously. 
 
 Get up, good wife, and binna sweir. 
 And deal your bread to them that's here. 
 For the time will come when you'll be dead. 
 And then you'll need neither ale nor bread. 
 
 Mrs. Sandys had started, and then turned pite- 
 ously from them; but when they were done she 
 tried to smile, and said, with forced gaiety, that 
 she saw they were guisers, and it was a fine night, 
 and would they take a chair. The male stranger 
 did so at once, but the female said, rather anxiously: 
 " You are sure as you don't know who we is *? " 
 Their hostess shook her head, and then he of the 
 poker offered her three guesses, a daring thing to 
 do, but all went well, for her first guess was Shovel 
 and his old girl ; second guess. Before and After ; 
 third guess, Napoleon Buonaparte and the Auld 
 Licht minister. At each guess the smaller of the 
 intruders clapped her hands gleefully, but when, 
 with the third, she was unmuzzled, she putted with 
 her head at Mrs. Sandys and hugged her, scream- 
 ing, " It ain't none on them ; it's jest me, mother, 
 it's Elspeth ! " and even while their astounded 
 hostess was asking could it be true, the male con- 
 spirator dropped his poker noisily (to draw atten- 
 tion to himself) and stood revealed as Thomas 
 Sandys. 
 
 Ill 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 Wasn't it just like Thrums, wasn't it just the 
 very, very same ? Ah, it was wonderful, their 
 mother said, but, alas there was one thing want- 
 ing : she had no Hogmanay to give the guisers. 
 
 Had she not? What a pity, Elspeth! What 
 a pity. Tommy ! What might that be in the bed, 
 Elspeth? It couldn't not be their Hogmanay, 
 could it, Tommy ? If Tommy was his mother he 
 would look and see. If Elspeth was her mothei 
 she would look and see. 
 
 Her curiosity thus cunningly aroused, Mrs 
 Sandys raised the coverlet of the bed and — there 
 were three bridies, an oatmeal cake, and a hunk 
 of kebbock. " And they comed from Thrums ! " 
 cried Elspeth, while Tommy cried, " Petey and the 
 others got a lot sent from Thrums, and I bought 
 the bridies from them, and they gave me the ban- 
 nock and the kebbock for nuthin' ! " Their mothei 
 did not utter the cry of rapture which Tommy ex- 
 pected so confidently that he could have done it 
 for her ; instead, she pulled her two children toward 
 her, and the great moment was like to be a tearful 
 raihei than an ecstatic one, for Elspeth had begun 
 to whimper, and even Tommy — but by a supreme 
 effort he shouldered reality to the door. 
 
 ^ Is this my Hogmanay, guidwife ? " he a^ked 
 m the nick of time, and the situation thus bemg 
 saved, the luscious feast was partaken o£ the 
 guisers listening solemnly as each bite went down. 
 
 112 
 
AULD LANG SYNE 
 
 rhey also took care to address their hostess as 
 ' guidwife " or " mistress," affecting not to have 
 met her lately, and inquiring genially after the 
 health of herself and family. " How many have 
 you?" was Tommy's masterpiece, and she an- 
 swered in the proper spirit, but all the time she 
 was hiding great part of her bridie beneath her 
 apron, Hogmanay having come too late for her. 
 
 Everything was to be done exactly as they were 
 doing it in Thrums Street, and so presently Tommy 
 made a speech ; it was the speech of old Petey, who 
 had rehearsed it several times before him. " Here's 
 a toast," said Tommy, standing up and waving his 
 arms, " here's a toast that we'll drink in silence, one 
 that maun have sad thoughts at the back o't to 
 some of us, but one, my friends, that keeps the 
 hearts of Thrums folk green and ties us all the- 
 gither, like as it were wi' twine. It's to all them, 
 wherever they may be the night, wha' have sat as 
 lads and lasses at the Cuttle Well." 
 
 To one of the listeners it was such an unex- 
 pected ending that a faint cry broke from h'^r, 
 which startled the children, and they sat in 5ilent:*i 
 looking at her She had turned hef fo i. from 
 them, but her arm was extended as if entreating 
 Tommy to stop. 
 
 " That was the end," he said, at length, in a tone 
 oi expostulation ; " it's auld Petey's speech," 
 
 "Are you sure," his mother asked wistfully, 
 
 »»3 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 " that Petey was to say all them as have sat at the 
 Cuttle Well ? He made no exception, did he ? " 
 
 Tommy did not know what exception was, but 
 he assured her that he had repeated the speech, 
 word for word. For the remainder of the evening ; 
 she sat apart by the fire, while her children gam- 
 bled for crack-nuts, young Petey having made a 
 teetotum for Tommy and taught him what the 
 letters on it meant. Their mirth rang faintly in 
 her ear, and they scarcely heard her fits of cough- 
 ing; she was as much engrossed in her own thoughts 
 as they in theirs, but hers were sad and theirs were 
 jocund — Hogmanay, like all festivals, being but 
 a bank from which we can only draw what we put 
 in. So an hour or more passed, after which Tommy 
 whispered to Elspeth: "Now's the time; they're 
 at it now," and each took a hand of their mother, 
 and she woke from her reverie to find that they 
 had pulled her from her chair and were jumping 
 up and down, shouting, excitedly, " For Auld 
 Lang Syne, my dear, for Auld Lang Syne, Auld 
 Lang Syne, my dear, Auld Lang Syne." She 
 tried to sing the words with her children, tried to 
 dance round with them, tried to smile, but 
 
 It was Tommy who dropped her hand first. 
 " Mother," he cried, " your face is wet, you're 
 greeting sair, and you said you had forgot the way." 
 
 "I mind it now, man, I mind it now," she said, 
 standing helplessly in the middle of the room. 
 
 114 
 
AULD LANG SYNE 
 
 Elspeth nestled against her, crying, " My mother 
 was thinking about Thrums, wasn't she, Tommy? " 
 
 " I was thinking about the part o't I'm most 
 awid to be in," the poor woman said, sinking back 
 into her chair. 
 
 " It's the Den," Tommy told Elspeth. 
 
 " It's the Square," Elspeth told Tommy. 
 
 " No, it's Moneypenny." 
 
 " No, it's the Commonty." 
 
 But it was none of these places. " It's the ceme- 
 tery," the woman said, "it's the hamely, quiet 
 cemetery on the hillside. Oh, there's mony a 
 bonny place in my nain bonny toon, but there's 
 nain so hamely like as the cemetery." She sat 
 shaking in the chair, and they thought she was to 
 say no more, but presently she rose excitedly, and 
 with a vehemence that made them shrink from 
 her she cried : " I winna lie in London ! tell Aaron 
 Latta that ; I winna lie in London ! " 
 
 For a few more days she trudged to her work, 
 and after that she seldom left her bed She had 
 no longer strength to coax up the phlegm, and a 
 doctor brought in by Shovel's mother warned her 
 that her days were near an end. Then she wrote 
 her last letter to Thrums, Tommy and Elspeth 
 standing by to pick up the pen when it fell from 
 her feeble hand, and in the intervals she told them 
 that she was Jean Myles. 
 
 " And if I die and Aaron hasna come," she said, 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 " you maun just gang to auld Petey and tell him 
 wha you are." 
 
 "But how can you be Jean Myles?" asked 
 astounded Tommy. "You ain't a grand lady 
 and " 
 
 His mother looked at Elspeth. "No' afore 
 her," she besought him ; but before he set off to 
 post the letter she said: "Come canny into my 
 bed the night, when Elspeth's sleeping, and syne 
 I'll tell you all there is to tell about Jean Myles." 
 
 "Tell me now whether the letter is to Aaron 
 Latta?" 
 
 " It's for him," she said, " but it's no' to him. 
 I'm feared he might burn it without opening it if 
 he saw my write on the cover, so I've wrote it to 
 a friend of his wha will read it to him." 
 
 " And what's inside, mother ? " the boy begged, 
 inquisitively. " It must be queer things if they'll 
 bring Aaron Latta all the way from Thrums." 
 
 " There's but little in it, man," she said, pressing 
 her hand hard upon her chest. " It's no inuckle 
 mair than ' Auld Lang Syne, my dear, for Auld 
 Lang Syne.' " 
 
 116 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 THB FAVOURITE OF THE tADIES 
 
 That night the excited boy was wakened by a 
 tap-tap, as of someone knocking for admittance, 
 and stealing to his mother's side, he cried, " Aaron 
 Latta has come ; hearken to him chapping at the 
 door!" 
 
 It was only the man through the wall, but Mrs. 
 Sandys took Tommy into bed with her, and while 
 Elspeth slept, told him the story of her life.. She 
 coughed feebly now, but the panting of the dying 
 is a sound that no walls can cage, and the man 
 continued to remonstrate at intervals. Tommy 
 never recalled his mother's story without seeming, 
 through the darkness in which it was told, to hear 
 Elspeth's peaceful breathing and the angry tap' 
 tap on the wall. 
 
 " I'm sweer to tell it to you," she began, "but 
 tell I maun, for though it's just a warning to you 
 and Elspeth no' to be like them that brought you 
 into the world, it's all I have to leave you. Ay, 
 and there's another reason; you may soon be among 
 folk wha ken but half the story, and put a waur 
 fece on it than I deserve." 
 
 117 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY. 
 
 She had spoken calmly, but her next words were 
 passionate. 
 
 " They thought I was fond o' hirti," she cried ; 
 " oh, they were blind, blind ! Frae the first I could 
 never thole the sight o' him. 
 
 " Maybe that's no true," she had to add. " I 
 aye kent he was a black, but yet I couldna put 
 him out o' my head ; he took sudden grips o' me 
 like an evil thought. I aye ran frae him, and yet 
 I sair doubt that I went looking for him too." 
 
 " Was it Aaron Latta ? " Tommy asked. 
 
 " No, it was your father. The first I ever saw of 
 him was at CuUew, four lang miles frae Thrums. 
 There was a ball after the market, and Esther Auld 
 and me went to it. We went in a cart, and I was 
 wearing a pink print, wi' a white bonnet, and blue 
 ribbons that tied aneath the chin. I had a shawl 
 abune, no to file them. There wasna a more in- 
 nocent lassie in Thrums, man, no, nor a happier 
 one ; for Aaron Latta — Aaron came half the way 
 wi' us, and he was hauding my hand aneath the 
 shawl. He hadna speired me at that time, but I 
 just kent. 
 
 It was an auld custom to choose a queen of 
 beauty at the ball, but that night the men couldna 
 'gree wha should be judge, and in the tail-end they 
 went out thegither to look for one, determined to 
 mak' judge o' the first man they met, though they 
 should have to tear him off a horse and bring him 
 
 118 
 
THE FAVOURITE OF THE LADIES 
 
 in by force. You wouldna believe to look at me 
 now, man, that I could have had any thait o' being 
 made queen, but I was fell bonny, and I was as 
 keen as the rest. How simple we were, all pre- 
 tending to one another that we didna want to be 
 chosen! Esther Auld said she would hod ahint 
 the tent till a queen was picked, and at the very 
 time she said it, she was in a palsy, through no 
 being able to decide whether she looked better in 
 her shell necklace or wanting it She put it on in 
 the end, and syne when we heard the tramp o' the 
 men, her mind misgave her, and she cried : ' For the 
 love o' mercy, keep them out till I get it off again!' 
 So we were a' laughing when they came in. 
 
 " Laddie, it was your father and Elspeth's that 
 they brought wi' them, and he was a stranger to 
 us, though we kent something about him afore the 
 night was out. He was finely put on, wi' a gold 
 chain, and a free w'y of looking at women, and if 
 you mind o' him ava, you ken that he was fair 
 and buirdly, wi' a full face, and aye a laugh ahint 
 it. I tell ye, man, that when our een met, and I 
 saw that triumphing laugh ahint his face, I took 
 a fear of him, as if I had guessed the end. 
 
 " For years and years after that night I dreamed 
 it ower again, and aye I heard mysel' crying to 
 God to keep that man awa' frae me. But I doubt 
 I put up no sic prayer at the time ; his masterful 
 look fleid me, and yet it drew me against my will, 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 and I was trembling wi' pride as well as fear when 
 he made me queen. We danced thegither and 
 fought thegither a' through the ball, and my will 
 was no match for his, and the worst o't was I had 
 a kind o' secret pleasure in being mastered. 
 
 "Man, he kissed me. Lads had kissed me 
 afore that night, but never since first I went wi' 
 Aaron Latta to the Cuttle Well. Aaron hadna 
 done it, but I was never to let none do it again 
 except him. So when your father did it I struck 
 him, but ahint the redness that came ower his face, 
 I saw his triumphing laugh, and he whispered that 
 he liked me for the blow. He said, ' I prefer the 
 sweer anes, and the more you struggle, my beauty, 
 the better pleased I'll be.' Almost his inmost words 
 to me was, 'I've been hearing of your Aaron, and 
 that pleases me too ! ' I fired up at that and telled 
 him what I thought of him, but he said, ' If you 
 canna abide me, what made you dance wi' me so 
 often ?' and, oh, laddie, that's a question that has 
 sung in my head since syne. 
 
 "I've telled you that we found out wha he was, 
 and 'deed he made no secret of it. Up to the 
 time he was twal year auld he had been a kent 
 face in that part, for his mither was a CuUew wo- 
 man called Mag Sandys, ay, and a single woman. 
 She was a hard ane too, for when he was twelve 
 year auld he flung out o' the house saying he would 
 ne'er come back, and she said he shouldna run awa' 
 
 1 20 
 
THE FAVOURITE OF THE LADIES 
 
 wV thae new boots on, so she took the boots ofi 
 him and let him go, 
 
 " He was a grown man when more was heard o' 
 him, and syne stories came saying he was at Red* 
 lintie, playing queer games wi' his father. His 
 father was ganger there, that's exciseman, a Mr. 
 Cray, wha got his wife out o' Thrums, and even 
 when he was courting her (so they say) had the 
 heart to be ower chief wi' this other woman. Weel, 
 Magerful Tarn, as he was called through being so 
 masterful, cast up at Redlintie frae none kent 
 where, gey desperate for siller, but wi' a black coat 
 on his back, and he said that all he wanted was to 
 be owned as the ganger's son. Mr. Cray said there 
 was no proof that he was his son, and syne the 
 queer sport began. Your father had noticed he 
 was like Mr. Cray, except in the beard, and so 
 he had his beard clippit the same, and he got hand 
 o' some weel-kent claethes o' the ganger's that had 
 been presented to a poor body, and he learned 
 up a' the ganger's tricks of speech and walking, 
 especially a droll w'y he had o' taking snuff and 
 syne flinging back his head. They were as like as 
 buckles after that, and soon there was a town about 
 it, for one day ladies would find that they had been 
 bowing to the son thinking he was the father, and 
 the next they wouldna speak to the father, mistaking 
 him for the son ; and a report spread to the head of- 
 fice o' the excise that the gauger of Redlintie spent 
 
 121 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 Ms evenings at a public house, singing ' The Deil's 
 awa' wi' the Exciseman.' Tam drank nows and 
 nans, and it ga'e Mr. Cray a turn to see him come 
 rolling yont the street, just as if it was himsei' in a 
 lookmg-glasSo He was a sedate-living man now, 
 but chiefly because his wife kept him in good 
 control, and this sight brought back auld times so 
 vive to him, that he a kind of mistook which ane 
 he was, and took to dropping, forgetful-like, into 
 public-houses again. It was high time Tam should 
 be got out of the place, and they did manage to 
 bribe him into leaving, though no easily, for it 
 had been fine sport to him, and to make a sensa* 
 tion was what he valued above all things. We 
 heard that he went back to Redlintie a curran 
 years after, but both the gauger and his wife were 
 dead, and I ken that he didna trouble the twa 
 daughters. They were Miss Ailie and Miss Kitty, 
 and as they werena left as well off as was expected 
 they came to Thrums, which had been their 
 mother's town, and started a school for the gentry 
 there. I dinna doubt but what it's the school that 
 J Esther Auld's laddie is at 
 
 " So after being long lost sight o' he turned up 
 at CuUew, wi' what looked to simple folk a fortune 
 in his pouches, and half a dozen untrue stories 
 about how he made it. He had come to make a 
 show o' himsei' afore his mither, and I dare say to 
 give her some gold, for he was aye ready to give 
 
 122 
 
THE FAVOURITE OF THE LADIES 
 
 when he had, I'll say that for him ; but she had 
 flitted to some unkent place, and so he bade on 
 some weeks at the CuUew public. He caredna 
 whether the folk praised or blamed him so long as 
 they wondered at him, and queer stories about his 
 doings was aye on the road to Thrums. One was 
 that he gave wild suppers to whaever would come ; 
 another that he went to the kirk just for the glory 
 of flinging a sovereign into the plate wi' a clatter ; 
 another that when he lay sleeping on twa chairs, 
 gold and silver dribbled out o' his trousor pouches 
 to the floor, 
 
 " There was an ugly story too, about a lassie, 
 that led to his leaving the place and coming to 
 Thrums, after he had near killed the CuUew smith 
 in a fight The first I heard o' his being in Thrums 
 was when Aaron Latta walked into my granny's 
 house and said there was a strange man at the 
 Tappit Hen public standing drink to any that 
 would tak', and boasting that he had but to waggle 
 his finger to make me give Aaron up. I went wi' 
 Aaron and looked in at tlie window, but I kent 
 »'ha it was afore I looked. If Aaron had just gone 
 !n and struck him! All decent women, laddie, 
 has a horror of being fought about. I'm no sure 
 but what that's just the difference atween guid 
 ones and ill ones, but this man had a power ower 
 me; and if Aaron had just struck him! Instead 
 o' meddling he turned white, and I couldna help 
 
 123 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 contrasting them, and thinking how masterful your 
 father looked. Fine I kent he was a brute, and 
 yet I couldna help admiring him for looking so 
 magerful. 
 
 " He bade on at the Tappit Hen, flinging his 
 siller about in the way that made him a king at 
 CuUew, but no molesting Miss Ailie and Miss 
 Kitty, which all but me thought was what he had 
 come to Thrums to do. Aaron and me was cried 
 for the first time the Sabbath after he came, and 
 the next Sabbath for the second time, but afore 
 that he was aye getting in my road and speaking 
 to me, but I ran frae him and hod frae him when 
 I could, and he said the reason I did that was be- 
 cause I kent his will was stronger than mine. He 
 was aye saying things that made me think he saw 
 down to the bottom o' my soul ; what I didna 
 understand was that in mastering other women he 
 had been learning to master me. Ay, but though 
 I thought ower muckle about him, never did I 
 speak him fair. I loo'ed Aaron wi' all my heart, 
 and your father kent it; and that, I doubt, was 
 what made him so keen, for, oh, but he was vain 1 
 
 "And now we've come to the night I'm so 
 sweer to speak about. She was a good happy 
 lassie that went into the Den that moonlight night 
 wi' Aaron's arm round her, but it was another 
 woman that came out. We thought we had the 
 Den to oursel's, and as we sat on the Shoaging 
 
 124 
 
THE FAVOURITE OF THE LADIES 
 
 Stane at the Cuttle Well, Aaron wrote wi' a stick 
 on the ground ' Jean Latta,' and prigged wi' me 
 to look at it, but I spread my hands ower my face, 
 and he didna ken that I was keeking at it through 
 my fingers all the time. We was so ta'en up with 
 oursel's that we saw nobody coming, and all at 
 once there was your father by the side o' us ! 
 ' You've written the wrong name, Aaron,' he said, 
 jeering and pointing with his foot at the letters ; ' it 
 should be Jean Sandys.' 
 
 " Aaron said not a word, but I had a presenti- 
 ment of ill, and I cried, 'Dinna let him change 
 the name, Aaron!' Your father had been to 
 change it himsel', but at that he had a new thait, 
 and he said, ' No, I'll no' do it ; your brave Aaron 
 shall do it for me.' 
 
 " Laddie, it doesna do for a man to be a cow- 
 ard afore a woman that's fond o' him. A woman 
 will thole a man's being anything except like her- 
 sel'. When I was sure Aaron was a coward I 
 stood still as death, waiting to ken wha's I was to be. 
 
 " Aaron did it. He was loath, but your father 
 crushed him to the ground, and said do it he 
 should, and warned him too that if he did it he 
 would lose me, bantering him and cowing him and 
 advising him no' to shame me, all in a breath. 
 He kent so weel, you see, what was in my mind, 
 and aye there was that triumphing laugh ahint his 
 face. If Aaron had fought and been beaten, even 
 
 125 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 if he had just lain there and let the man strike 
 away, if he had done anything except what he 
 was bidden, he would have won, for it would have 
 broken your father's power ower me. But to 
 write the word ! It was like dishonouring me to 
 save his ain skin, and your father took good care 
 he should ken it You've heard me crying to 
 Aaron in my sleep, but it wasna for him I cried, 
 it was for his fireside. All the love I had for him, 
 and it was muckle, was skailed forever that night 
 at the Cuttle Well. Without a look ahint me 
 away I went wi' my master, and I had no more will 
 to resist him — and oh, man, man, when I came to 
 mysel' next morning I wished I had never been 
 born! 
 
 "The men folk saw that Aaron had shamed 
 them, and they werena quite so set agin me as 
 the women, wha had guessed the truth, though 
 they couldna be sure o't. Sair I pitied mysel', 
 and sair I grat, but only when none was looking. 
 The mair they miscalled me the higher I held my 
 head, and I hung on your father's arm as if I 
 adored him, and I boasted about his office and 
 his clerk in London till they believed what I 
 didna believe a word o' myself 
 
 " But though I put sic a brave face on't, I was 
 near demented in case he shouldna marry me, and 
 he kent that and jokit me about it. Dinna think 
 I was fond o' him ; I hated him now. And dinna 
 
 126 
 
THE FAVOURITE OF THE LADIES 
 
 think his masterfulness had any more power ower 
 me ; his power was broken forever when I woke 
 up that weary morning. But that was ower late, 
 and to wait on by mysel' in Thrums for what might 
 happen, and me a single woman — I daredna ! So 
 I flattered at him, and flattered at him, till I got 
 the fool side o' him, and he married me. 
 
 " My granny let the marriage take place in her 
 house, and he sent in so muckle meat and drink 
 that some folk was willing to come. One came 
 that wasna wanted. In the middle o' the marriage 
 Aaron Latta, wha had refused to speak to any- 
 body since that night, walked in wearing his 
 blacks, wi' crape on them, as if it was a funeral, 
 and all he said was that he had come to see Jean 
 Myles coffined. He went away quietly as soon 
 as we was married, but the crowd outside had 
 fathomed his meaning, and abune the minister's 
 words I could hear them crying, 'Ay, it's mair 
 like a burial than a marriage ! ' 
 
 " My heart was near breaking wi' woe, but, oh, 
 I was awid they shouldna ken it, and the bravest 
 thing I ever did was to sit through the supper 
 that night, making muckle o' your father, looking 
 fond-like at him, laughing at his coarse jokes, and 
 secretly hating him down to my very marrow a' 
 the time. The crowd got word o' the on-goings, 
 and they took a cruel revenge. A carriage had 
 been ordered for nine o'clock to take us to Tillie- 
 
 127 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 drum, where we should get the train to London, 
 and when we heard it, as we thought, drive up to 
 the door, out we went, me on your father's arm 
 laughing, but wi' my teeth set. But Aaron's words 
 had put an idea into their heads, though he didna 
 intend it, and they had got out the hearse. It was 
 the hearse they had brought to the door instead of 
 a carriage. 
 
 " We got awa' in a carriage in the tailend, and 
 the stanes hitting it was all the good luck flung 
 after me. It had just one horse, and I mind how 
 I cried to Esther Auld, wha had been the first to 
 throw, that when I came back it would be in a 
 carriage and pair. 
 
 " Ay, I had pride ! In the carriage your father 
 telled me as a joke that he had got away without 
 paying the supper, and that about all the money 
 he had now, forby what was to pay our tickets to 
 London, was the half-sovereign on his watch-chain. 
 But I was determined to have Thrums think I had 
 married grand, and as I had three pound six on 
 me, the savings o' all my days, I gave two pound 
 of it to Malcolm Crabb, the driver, unbeknown to 
 your father, but pretending it was frae him, and 
 telled him to pay for the supper and the carriage 
 with it. He said it was far ower muckle, but I 
 just laughed, and said wealthy gentlemen like Mr. 
 Sandys couldna be bothered to take back change, 
 so Malcolm could keep what was ower. Malcolm 
 
 128 
 
THE FAVOURITE OF THE LADIES 
 
 was the man Esther Auld had just married, and I 
 counted on this maddening her and on Malcolm's 
 spreading the story through the town. Laddie, 
 I've kent since syne what it is to be without bite 
 or sup, but I've never grudged that siller." 
 
 The poor woman had halted many times in her 
 tale, and she was glad to make an end. " You've 
 forgotten what a life he led me in London," she 
 said, "and it could do you no good to hear it, 
 though it might be a lesson to thae lassies at the 
 dancing-school wha think so much o' masterful 
 men. It was by betting at horse-races that your 
 father made a living, and whiles he was large o' 
 siller, but that didna last, and I question whether 
 he would have stuck to me if I hadna got work. 
 Well, he's gone, and the Thrums folk'U soon ken 
 the truth about Jean Myles now." 
 
 She paused, and then cried, with extraordinary 
 vehemence : " Oh, man, how I wish I could keep 
 it frae them for ever and ever ! " 
 
 But presently she was calm again and she said : 
 " What I've been telling you, you can understand 
 little o' the now, but some of it will come back to 
 you when you're a grown man, and if you're ma- 
 gerful and have some lassie in your grip, maybe 
 for the memory of her that bore you, you'll let the 
 poor thing awa'." 
 
 And she asked him to add this to his nightly 
 prayer : " O God, keep me from being a magerful 
 
 129 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 nian ! " and to teach this other prayer to Elspeth, 
 " O God, whatevei is to be my fate, may I nevei 
 be one of them that bow the knee to magerfui 
 men, and if I was bom like that and canna help it, 
 oh, take me up to heaven afore I'm fil'L" 
 
 The wardrobe was invisible in the darkness, but 
 they cr.uld still hear Elspeth's breathing as she slept, 
 and the exhausted woman listened long to it, as if 
 she would fain carry away with her to the other 
 world the memory of that sweet sound. 
 
 " If you gang to Thrums," she said at last, " you 
 may hear my story frae some that winna spare me 
 in the telling i but should Elspeth be wi' you at 
 sic times, dinna answer back; just slip quietly 
 away wi' her. She's so young that she'll soon for- 
 get all about her life in London and all about me, 
 and that'll be best for her. I would like her lassie- 
 hood to be u«ight and free frae cares, as if there 
 had never been sic a woman as me. But laddie, 
 oh, my laddie, dinna you forget me ; you and me 
 had him to thole thegither, dmna you forget me ! 
 Watch ower your little sister by day and hap her 
 by night, and when the time comes that a man 
 watLs her — if he be magerfui, tell her my stoiy 
 at once» But gin she loves one that is her ain true 
 love, dinna rub off the bloom, laddie, with a word 
 about me. Let her and him gang to the Cuttle 
 Well, as Aaron and me went, kenning no guile 
 and thinking none, and with their arms round one 
 
 130 
 
THE FAVOURITE OF THE LADIES 
 
 another's waists. But when her wedding-day 
 comes round " 
 
 Her words broke in a sob and she cried : " I see 
 them, I see them standing up thegither afore the 
 minister ! Oh ! you lad, you lad that's to be mar- 
 ried on my Elspeth, turn your face and let me see 
 that you're no' a magerful man ! " 
 
 But the lad did not turn his face, and when she 
 spoke next it was to Tommy. 
 
 "In the bottom o' my kist there's a little silver 
 teapot It's no' real silver, but it's fell bonny. I 
 bought it for Elspeth twa or three months back 
 when I saw I couldna last the winter. I bought it 
 to her for a marriage present. She's no to see it till 
 her wedding-day comes round. Syne you're to 
 give it to her, man, and say it's with her mother's 
 love. Tell her all about me, for it canna harm her 
 then. Tell her of the fool lies I sent to Thrums, 
 but dinna forget what a bonny place I thought it all 
 the time, nor how I stood on many a driech night 
 at the comer of that street, looking so waeful at the 
 lighted windows, and hungering for the wring of 
 a Thrums hand or the sound of the Thrums word, 
 aai! all the time the shrewd blasts cutting through 
 my thin trails of claithes. Tell her, man, bow 
 you and me spent this night, and how I fought to 
 keep my hoast down so as no' to waken her. 
 Mind that whatever I have been, I was aye fond 
 o' my bairns, and slaved for them till I dropped, 
 
 131 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 She'll have long forgotten what I was like, and 
 it's just as well, but yet — Look at me. Tommy, 
 look long, long, so as you'll be able to call up my 
 face as it was on the far-back night when I telled 
 you my mournful story. Na, you canna see in 
 the dark, but baud my hand, baud it tight, so that, 
 when you tell Elspeth, you'll mind how hot it 
 was, and the skin loose on it; and put your hand 
 on my cheeks, man, and feel how wet they are wi' 
 sorrowful tears, and lay it on my breast, so that 
 you can tell her how I was shrunk awa'. And if 
 she greets for her mother a whiley, let her greet." 
 
 The sobbing boy hugged his mother. "Do 
 you think I'm an auld woman ?" she said to him. 
 
 "You're gey auld, are you no' ?" he answered. 
 "Ay," she said, "I'm gey auld; I'm nine and 
 twenty. I was seventeen on the day when Aaron 
 Latta went half-road in the cart wi' me to CuUew, 
 hauding my hand aneath my shawl. He hadna 
 speired me, but I just kent." 
 
 Tommy remained in his mother's bed for the 
 rest of the night, and so many things were buzzing 
 in his brain that not for an hour did he think it 
 time to repeat his new prayer. At last he said 
 reverently: "O God, keep me from being a ma- 
 gerful man !" Then he opened his eyes to let God 
 see that his prayer was ended, and added to him- 
 self: "But I think I would fell like it." 
 
 132 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 AARON LATTA 
 
 The Airlie post had dropped the letters for out- 
 lying farms at the Monypenny smithy and trudged 
 on. The smith having wiped his hand on his hair, 
 made a row of them, without looking at the ad- 
 dresses, on his window-sill, where, happening to be 
 seven in number, they were almost a model of 
 Monypenny, which is within hail of Thrums, but 
 round the comer from it, and so has ways of its 
 own. With the next clang on the anvil the middle 
 letter fell flat, and now the likeness to Monypermy 
 was absolute. 
 
 Again all the sound in the land was the mel- 
 ancholy sweet kink, kink, kink of the smith's 
 hammer. 
 
 Across the road sat Dite Deuchars, the mole- 
 catcher, a solitary figure, taking his pleasure on 
 the dyke. Behind him was the flour-miller's field, 
 and beyond it the Den, of which only some tree- 
 tops were visible. He looked wearily east the 
 road, but no one emerged from Thrums ; he looked 
 wearily west the road, which doubled out of sight 
 at Aaron Latta's cottage, little more than a stone's 
 
 »33 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 throw distant On the inside of Aaron's window 
 an endless procession seemed to be passing, but it 
 was only the warping-mill going round. It was 
 an empty day, but Dite, the accursed, was used to 
 chem ; nothing ever happened where he was, but 
 many things as soon as he had gone- 
 He yawned and looked at the houses opposite. 
 They were all of one story; the smith's had a 
 rusty plough stowed away on its roof; under a 
 window stood a pew and bookboard, bought at the 
 roup of an old church, and thus transformed into a 
 garden-seat. There were many of them in Thrums 
 that year. All the doors, except that of the smithy, 
 were shut, until one of them blew ajar, when Dite 
 knew at once, from the smell which crossed the road, 
 that Blinder was in the bunk pulling the teeth of 
 his potatoes. May Ann Irons, the blind man's 
 niece, came out at this door to beat the cistern 
 with a bass, and she gave Dite a wag of her head. 
 He was to be married to her if she could get no- 
 thing better. 
 
 By and by the Painted Lady came along the 
 road. She was a little woman, brightly dressed, so 
 fragde that a collie might have knocked her over 
 with his tail, and she had a beautiful white-and- 
 pink face, the white ending of a sudden in the 
 middle of her neck, where it met skin of a duller 
 color. As she tripped along with mincing gait, 
 she was speaking confidentially to herself, but 
 
 134 
 
AARON LATTA 
 
 when she saw Dite grinning, she seemed, hiai, 
 afraid, and then sorry for herself, and then she 
 tried to carry it off with a giggle, cocking her 
 head impudently at him. Even then she 'ooked 
 childish, and a faded guilelessness, with many 
 pretty airs and graces, still Imgered about her, 
 like innocent birds loath to be gone from the spot 
 where their nest has been. When she had passed 
 monotony again reigned, and Dite crossed to the 
 smithy window, though none of the letters could 
 be for him. He could read the addresses on six 
 of them, but the se\ enth lay on its back, and every 
 time he rose on his tip-toes to squint down at it 
 the spout pushed his bonnet over his eyes. 
 
 "Smith," he cried in at the door, "to gang 
 hame afore I ken wha that letter's to is more than 
 I can do." 
 
 The smith good-naturedly brought the leter to 
 him, and then glancing at the address was dum- 
 founded. "God behears," he exclaimed, with a 
 sudden look at the distant cemetery, "it's to 
 Double Dykes!" 
 
 Dite also shot a look at the cemetery. " He'll 
 never get it," he said, with mighty conviction. 
 
 The two men gazed at the cemetery for some 
 time, and at last Dite muttered, " Ay, ay. Double 
 Dykes, you was aye fond o' your joke ! " 
 
 "What has that to do wi' 't? " rapped out the 
 smith, uncomfortably. 
 
 »35 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 Dite shuddered. "Man," he said, "does that 
 letter no bring Double Dykes back terrible vive 
 again! If we was to see him climbing the ceme- 
 tery dyke the now, and coming stepping down the 
 fields in his moleskin waistcoat wi' the pearl but- 
 tons " 
 
 Auchterlonie stopped him with a nervous ges- 
 ture. 
 
 "But it couldna be the pearl buttons," Dite 
 added thoughtfully, "for Betty Finlayson has been 
 wearing them to the kirk this four year. Ay, ay, 
 Double Dykes, that puts you farther awa' again." 
 
 The smith took the letter to a neighbour's house 
 to ask the advice of old Irons, the blind tailor, who 
 when he lost his sight had given himself the name 
 of Blinder for bairns to play with. 
 
 "Make your mind easy, smith," was Blinder's 
 counsel. "The letter is meant for the Painted 
 Lady. What's Double Dykes ? It's but the 
 name of a farm, and we gave it to Sanders because 
 he was the farmer. He's dead, and them that's 
 in the house now become Double Dykes in his 
 place." 
 
 But the Painted Lady only had the house, ob- 
 jected Dite; Nether Drumgley was farming the 
 land, and so he was the real Double Dykes. True, 
 she might have pretended to her friends that she 
 had the land also. 
 
 She had no friends, the smith said, and since she 
 
 13^ 
 
AARON LATTA 
 
 came to Double Dykes from no one could find out 
 where, though they knew her furniture was bought 
 in TilHedrum, she had never got a letter. Often, 
 though, as she passed his window she had keeked 
 sideways at the letters, as bairns might look at 
 pirlys. If he made a tinkle with his hammer at 
 such times off she went at once, for she was as 
 easily flichtered as a field of crows, that take wing 
 if you tap your pipe on the loof of your hand. 
 It was true she had spoken to him once; when 
 he suddenly saw her standing at his smiddy door 
 the surprise near made him fall over his brot. She 
 looked so neat and ladylike that he gave his hair 
 a respectful pull before he remembered the kind 
 of woman she was. 
 
 And what was it she said to him ? Dite asked 
 eagerly. 
 
 She had pointed to the letters on the window- 
 sill, and said she, " Oh, the dear loves ! " It was a 
 queer say, but she had a bonny English word. 
 The English word was no doubt pridefiil, but it 
 melted in the mouth like a lick of sirup. She 
 offered him sixpence for a letter, any letter he 
 liked, but of course he refused it. Then she 
 prigged with him just to let her hold one in her 
 hands, for said she, bairnlike, " I used to get one 
 every day." It so happened that one of the letters 
 was to Mysy Robbie; and Mysy was of so little im- 
 portance that he thought there would be no harm 
 
 137 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 in letting the Painted Lady hold her letter, so he 
 gave it to her, and you should have seen her 
 dawting it with her hand and holding it to her 
 breast like a lassie with a pigeon. " Isn't it sweet," 
 she said, and before he could stop her she kissed 
 it. She forgot it was no letter of hers, and made 
 to open it, and then she fell a-trembling and saying 
 «he durst not read it, for you never knew whether 
 the first words might not break your heart. The 
 envelope was red where her lips had touched it, 
 and yet she had an innocent look beneath the 
 painty When he took the letter from her, though, 
 she called him a low, vulgar fellow for presuming 
 to address a lady. She worked herself into a fury, 
 and said far worse than that ; a perfect guUer of 
 clarty language came pouring out of her. He had 
 heard women curse many a time without turning 
 a hair, but he felt wae when she did it, for she just 
 spoke it like a bairn that had been in ill company. 
 
 The smith's wife, Suphy, who had joined the 
 company, thought that men were easily taken in, es- 
 pecially smiths. She offered, however, to convey the 
 letter to Double Dykes. She was anxious to see the 
 inside of the Painted Lady's house, and this would 
 be a good opportunity. She admitted that she 
 had crawled to the east window of it before now, 
 but that dour bairn of the Painted Lady's had seen 
 her head and whipped down the blind. 
 
 Untortunate Suphy I she could not try the 
 138 
 
AARON LATTA 
 
 window this time, as it was broad daylight, and 
 the Painted Lady took the letter from her at the 
 door. She returned crestfallen, and for an hour 
 nothing happened. The mole-catcher went off 
 to the square, saying, despondently, that nothing 
 would happen until he was round the comer. No 
 sooner had he rounded the comer than something 
 did happen. 
 
 A girl who had left Double Dykes with a letter 
 was walking quickly toward Monypenny. She 
 wore a white pinafore over a magenta frock, and 
 no one could tell her whether she was seven or 
 eight, for she was only the Painted Lady's child. 
 Some boys, her natural enemies, were behind; 
 they had just emerged from the Den, and she 
 heard them before they saw her, and at once her 
 little heart jumped and ran off with her. But the 
 halloo that told her she was discovered checked 
 her running. Her teeth went into her underlip ; 
 now her head was erect. After her came the rab- 
 ble with a rush, flinging stones that had no mark 
 and epji-hets that hit. Grizel disdained to look 
 over her shoulder. Little hunted child, where was 
 succour to come from if she could not fight for 
 herself? 
 
 Though under the torture she would not cry 
 out. " What's a father ? " was their favourite jeer, 
 because she had once innocently asked this ques- 
 tion of a false friend. One tried to snatch the let" 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 ;er from her, but she flashed him a look that sent 
 him to the othpr side of the dyke, where, he said, 
 did she think he was afraid of her? Another 
 strutted by her side, mimicking her in such divert- 
 ing manner that presently the others had to pick 
 him out of the ditch. Thus Grizel moved on 
 ward defiantly until she reached Monypenny, 
 where she tossed the letter in at the smithy door 
 and immediately returned home. It was the let- 
 ter that had been sent to her mother, now sent 
 back, because it was meant for the dead farmer 
 after all. 
 
 The smith read Jean Myles's last letter, with a 
 face of growing gravity. " Dear Double Dykes," 
 it said, " I send you these few scrapes to say I am 
 dying, and you and Aaron Latta was seldom sin- 
 dry, so I charge you to go to him and say to him 
 'Aaron Latta, it's all lies Jean Myles wrote to 
 Thrums about her grandeur, and her man died 
 mony year back, and it was the only kindness he 
 ever did her, and if she doesna die quick, her and 
 her starving bairns will be flung out into the 
 streets.' If that doesna move him, say, ' Aaron 
 Latta, do you mind yon day at Inverquharity and 
 the cushie doos ? ' likewise, ' Aaron Latta, do you 
 mind yon day at the Kaims of Airlie ? ' likewise,. 
 ' Aaron Latta, do you mind that Jean Myles was 
 ower heavy for you to lift ? Oh, Aaron, you could 
 lift me so pitiful easy now.' And syne says you 
 
 140 
 
AARON LATTA 
 
 solemnly three tunes, 'Aaron Latta, Jean Myles is 
 lying dying all alone in a foreign land; Aaron Liatta, 
 Jean Myles is lying dying all alone in a foreign 
 land; Aaron Latta, Jean Myles is lying dying 
 all alone in a foreign land.* And if he's sweer to 
 come, just say, * Oh, Aaron, man, you micht; oh^ 
 Aaron, oh, Aaron, are you coming ? ' " 
 
 The smith had often denounced this womanj 
 but he never said a word against her again. He 
 stood long reflecting, and then took the letter to 
 Blinder and read it to him. 
 
 " She doesna say, ' Oh, Aaron Latta, do you mind 
 the Cuttle Well?'" was the blind man's first 
 comment. 
 
 " She was thinking about it," said Auchterlonie. 
 
 "Ay, and he's thinking about it," said Blinder, 
 "night and day, night and day. What a toun 
 there'll be about that letter, smith ! " 
 
 " There will. But I'm to take it to Aaron afore 
 the news spreads. He'll never gang to London 
 though." 
 
 " I think he will, smith." 
 
 " I ken him well." 
 
 " Maybe I ken him better." 
 
 "You canna see the ugly mark it left on his 
 brow." 
 
 " I can see the uglier marks it has left in his 
 breast." 
 
 " Wellj I'll take the letter; I can do no more.* 
 141 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 When the smith opened the door of Aaron's 
 house, he let out a draught of hot air that was glad 
 to be gone from the warper's restless home. The 
 usual hallan, or passage, divided the but from the 
 ben, and in the ben a great revolving thing, the 
 warping-mill, half filled the room. Between it and 
 a pile of webs that obscured the light a little silent 
 man was sitting on a box turning a handle. His 
 shoulders were almost as high as his ears, as if he 
 had been caught forever in a storm, and though he 
 was barely five and thirty, he had the tattered, dis- 
 honoured beard of black and white that comes to 
 none till the glory of life has gone. 
 
 Suddenly the smith appeared round the webs. 
 " Aaron," he said, awkwardly, " do you mind Jean 
 Myles?" 
 
 The warper did not for a moment take his eyes 
 off a contrivance with pirns in it that was climbing 
 up and down the whirring mill. 
 
 " She's dead," he answered. 
 
 *° She's dying," said the smith 
 
 A thread broke, and Aaron had to rise to mend h 
 
 ** Stop the mill and listen," Auchterlonie beggec 
 Mm, but the warper returned to his seat ?nd the 
 ^ill again revolved. 
 
 " This is her dying words to you," continued the 
 smith. " Did you speak ? " 
 
 " I didna, but I wish you would take your arm 
 offthehaik." 
 
 142 
 
AARON lATTA 
 
 " She's loath to die without seeing you. Do you 
 hear, man ? You shall listen to me, I tell you." 
 
 " I am listening, smith," the warper replied, with- 
 out rancour. " It's but right that you should come 
 here to take your pleasure on a shamed man." His 
 calmness gave him a kind of dignity, 
 
 "Did I ever say you was a shamed man, 
 Aaron?" 
 
 "Am I not?" the warper asked quietly; and 
 Auchterlonie hung his head. ' 
 
 Aaron continued, still turning the handle, 
 "You're truthful, and you canna deny it. Nor 
 will you deny that I shamed you and every other 
 mother's son that night. You try to hod it out 
 o' pity, smith, but even as you look at me now, 
 does the man in you no rise up against me ? " 
 
 " If so," the smith answered reluctantly, " if so, 
 it's against my will." 
 
 " It is so," said Aaron, in the same measured 
 voice, " and it's right that it should be so. A man 
 may thieve or debauch or murder, and yet no be 
 so very different frae his fellow-men, but there's on** 
 thing he shall not do without their wanting to spit 
 him out o' their mouths, and that is, violate the 
 feelings of sex." 
 
 The strange words in which the warper described 
 his fall had always an uncomfortable effect on those 
 who heard him use them, and Auchterlonie could 
 only answer in distress, " Maybe that 's what it is." 
 
 H3 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 " That's what it is. I have had twal lang years 
 sitting on this box to think it out I blame none 
 but mysel'." 
 
 "Then you'll have pity on Jean in her sair 
 need," said the smith. He read slowly the first 
 part of the letter, but Aaron made no comment, 
 and the mill had not stopped for a moment. 
 
 "She says," the smith proceeded, doggedly — 
 *' she says to say to you, ' Aaron Latta, do you 
 mind yon day at Inverquharity and the cushie 
 doos?'" 
 
 Only the monotonous whirr of the mill replied. 
 
 *' She says, ' Aaron Latta, do you mind that Jean 
 Myles was ower heavy for you to lift? Oh. 
 Aaron, you could lift me so pitiful easy now.' " 
 
 Another thread broke and the warper rose with 
 sudden fury. 
 
 "Now that you've eased your conscience, 
 smith," he said, fiercely, "make your feet your 
 friend." 
 
 " I'll do so," Auchterlonie answered, laying the 
 [etter on the webs, " but I leave this ahint me." 
 
 " Wap it in the fire." 
 
 " If that's to be done, you do it yoursel'. Aaron, 
 she treated you ill, but " 
 
 " There's the door, smith." 
 
 The smith walked away, and had onyl gone a 
 few steps when he heard the whirr of the mill 
 again. He went back to the door. 
 
 144 
 
AARON LATTA 
 
 " She's dying, man ! " he cried. 
 
 " Let her die ! " answered Aaron. 
 
 In an hour the sensational news was through 
 half of Thrums, of which Monypenny may be re« 
 garded as a broken piece, left; behind, like the dot 
 of quicksilver in the tube, to show how high the 
 town once rose. Some could only rejoice at first 
 in the down-come of Jean Myles, but most blamed 
 the smith (and himself among them) for not tak- 
 ing note of her address, so that Thrums Street 
 could be informed of it and sent to her relief. For 
 Blinder alone believed that Aaron would be soft* 
 ened. 
 
 " It was twa threads the smith saw him break," 
 the blind man said, " and Aaron's good at his 
 work. He'll go to London, I tell you." 
 
 "You forget. Blinders, that he was warping 
 afore I was a dozen steps frae the door." 
 
 " Ay, and that just proves he hadna burned the 
 letter, for he hadna time. If he didna do it at the 
 first impulse, he'll no do it now." 
 
 Every little while the boys were sent along the 
 . >»ad to look in at Aaron's end window and report. 
 
 At seven in the evening Aaron had not left his 
 box, and the blind man's reputation for seeing 
 farther than those with eyes was fallen low. 
 
 " It's a good sign," he insisted, nevertheless. 
 "It shows his mind's troubled, for he usually 
 ^ouses at six." 
 
 HI 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 By eight the news was that Aaron had left his 
 mill and was sitting staring at his kitchen fire. 
 
 " He's thinking o' Inverquharity and the cushie 
 doos," said Blinder. 
 
 " More likely," said Dite Deuchars, " he's think" 
 ing o' the Cuttle Well." 
 
 Corp Shiach clattered along the road about nine 
 to say that Aaron Latta was putting on his blacks 
 as if for a journey. 
 
 At once the blind man's reputation rose on 
 stilts. It fell fiat, however, before the ten-o'clock 
 bell rang, when three of the Auchterlonie children, 
 each pulling the others back that he might arrive 
 first, announced that Aaron had put on his cordu- 
 roys again, and was back at the mill. 
 
 "That settles it," was everyone's good-night 
 to Blinder, but he only answered thoughtfully, 
 " There's a fierce fight going on, my billies." 
 
 Next morning when his niece was shaving the 
 blind man, the razor had to travel over a triumph- 
 ant smirk which would not explain itself to woman- 
 kind. Blinder being a man who could bide his 
 time. The time came when the smith looked in 
 to say, " Should I gang yont to Aaron's and see it 
 he'll give me the puir woman's address ? " 
 
 " No, I wouldna advise that," answered Blinder, 
 cleverly concealing his elation, " for Aaron Latta'8 
 awa' to London." 
 
 " What ! How can you ken ? " 
 146 
 
AARON LATTA 
 
 ' I heard him go by in the night" 
 
 " It's no possible ' " 
 
 " I kent his foot." 
 
 " You're sure it was Aaron ? " 
 
 Blinder did not consider the question word) 
 ginswering, his sharpness at recognizing friends by 
 their tread being proved. Sometimes he may have 
 carried his pretensions too far. Many granted 
 that he could tell when a doctor went by, when a 
 lawyer, when a thatcher, when a herd, and this is 
 conceivable, for all callings have their walk. But 
 he was regarded as uncanny when he claimed not 
 only to know ministers in this way, but to be able 
 to distinguish between the steps of the different 
 denominations. 
 
 He had made no mistake about the warper, 
 however. Aaron was gone, and ten days elapsed 
 i)efore he was again seen in Thrums. 
 
 H7 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 A CHILD'S TRAGEDY 
 
 No one in Thrums ever got a word from Aaron 
 Latta about how he spent those ten days, and 
 Tommy and Elspeth, whom he brought back with 
 him, also tried to be reticent, but some of the 
 women were too clever for them. Jean and Aaron 
 did not meet again. Her first intimation that he 
 had come she got from Shovel, who said that a 
 little high-shouldered man in black had been in- 
 quiring if she was dead, and was now walking up 
 and down the street, like one waiting. She sent 
 her children out to him, but he would not come 
 up. He had answered Tommy roughly, but when 
 Elspeth slipped her hand into his, he let it stay 
 there, and he instructed her to tell Jean Myles 
 that he would bury her in the Thrums cemetery 
 and bring up her bairns. Jean managed once to 
 go to the window and look down at him, and by 
 and by he looked up and saw her. They looked 
 long at each other, and then he turned away his 
 head and began to walk up and down again. 
 At Tilliedrum the cofRn was put into a hearse 
 .48 
 
A CHILD'S TRAGEDY 
 
 dad thus conveyed to Monypenny, Aaron and the 
 two children sitting on the box-seat Someone 
 said, "Jean Myles boasted that when she came 
 back to Thrums it would be in her carriage and 
 pair, and she has kept her word," and the saying 
 is still preserved in that Bible for week-days of 
 which all little places have their unwritten copy, 
 one of the wisest of books, but nearly every text 
 in it has cost a life. 
 
 About a score of men put on their blacks and 
 followed the hearse from the warper's house to the 
 grave. Elspeth wanted to accompany Tommy, 
 but Aaron held her back, saying, quietly, " In this 
 part, it's only men that go to burials, so you and 
 me maun bide at hame," and then she cried, no 
 one understood why, except Tommy. It was be- 
 cause he would see Thrums first ; but he whispered 
 to her, " I promise to keep my eyes shut and no 
 look once," and so faithfully did he keep his prom- 
 ise on the whole that the smith held him by the 
 hand most of the way, under the impression that 
 he was blind 
 
 But he had opened his eyes at the grave, when 
 a cord was put into his hand, and then he wept 
 passionately, and on his way back to Monypenny, 
 whether his eyes were open or shut, what he saw 
 was his mother beirig shut up in a black hoie and 
 trying for ever and ever to get out. He ran to 
 Elsoeth for comfort, but in the meantime she had 
 
 149 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 learned from Blinder's niece that graves are dark 
 and cold, and so he found her sobbing even like 
 himself. Tommy could never bear to see Elspeth 
 crying, and he revealed his true self in his way of 
 ? drying her tears. , 
 
 " It will be so cold in that hole," she sobbed. 
 
 " No," he said, " it's warm." 
 
 " It will be dark." 
 
 " No, it's clear." 
 
 " She would like to get out." 
 
 " No, she was terrible pleased to get in." 
 
 It was characteristic of him that he soon had 
 Elspeth happy by arguments not one of which he 
 believed himself; characteristic also that his own 
 grief was soothed by the sound of them. Aaron, 
 who was in the garret preparing their bed, had told 
 the children that they must remain indoors to-day 
 out of respect to their mother's memory (to-morrow 
 morning they could explore Thrums) ; but there 
 were many things in that kitchen for them to look 
 at and exult over. It had no commonplace ceil- 
 ing, the couples, or rafters, being covered with the 
 loose flooring of a romantic garret, and in the 
 rafters were several great hooks, from one oi 
 which hung a ham, and Tommy remembered, with 
 a thrill which he communicated to Elspeth, that it 
 is the right of Thrums children to snip off the ham 
 as much as they can remove with their finger-nails 
 and roast it on the ribs of the fire. The chief 
 
 150 
 
A CHILUS TRAGEDY 
 
 pfeces of furniture were a dresser, a comer cup' 
 board with diamond panes, two tables, one of which 
 stood beneath the other, but would have to come 
 out if Aaron tried to bake, and a bed with a door. 
 These two did not know it, but the room was full 
 of memories of Jean Myles. The corner cupboard 
 had been bought by Aaron at a roup because she 
 said she would like to have one ; it was she who 
 had chosen the six cups and saucers with the blue 
 spots on them. A razor-strop, now hard as iron, 
 hung on a nail on the wall ; it had not been used 
 since the last time Aaron strutted through the Den 
 with his sweetheart One day later he had opened 
 the door of the bird-cage, which still stood in the 
 window, and let the yellow yite go. Many things 
 were where no woman would have left them : 
 clothes on the floor with the nail they had torn 
 from the wall : on a chair a tin basin, soapy water 
 and a flannel rag in it; hom spoons with whistles 
 at the end of them were anywhere — on the man- 
 telpiece, beneath the bed; there were drawers that 
 could not be opened because their handles were 
 inside. Perhaps the windows were closed hope- 
 lessly also, but this must be left doubtftil ; no one 
 had ever tried to open them. 
 
 The garret where Tommy and Elspeth were to 
 sleep was reached by a ladder ftom the hallan; 
 when you were near the top of the ladder youi 
 head bit a trap-door and pushed it open. At one 
 
 iji 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 end of the garret was the bed, and at the othei 
 end were piled sticks for firewood and curious 
 dark-coloured slabs whose smell the children dis- 
 liked until Tommy said, excitedly, " Peat ! " and 
 then they sniffed reverently. 
 
 It was Tommy, too, who discovered the tree 
 tops of the Den, and Elspeth seeing him gazing in 
 a transport our at the window cried, " What is it, 
 Tommy? Quick!" 
 
 " Promise no to scream," he replied, wamingly, 
 " Well, then, Elspeth Sandys, that's where the Den 
 is!" 
 
 Elspeth blinked with awe, and anon said, wist- 
 fully, " Tommy, do you see that there ? That's 
 where the Den is ! " 
 
 " It were me what told you," cried Tommy, 
 jealously. 
 
 " But let me tell you, Tommy ! " 
 
 " Well, then, you can tell me." 
 
 " That there is the Den, Tommy ! " 
 
 " Dagont ! " 
 
 Oh, that to-morrow were here ! Oh, that Shove 
 could see these two to-morrow ! 
 
 Here is another splendid game, T. Sandys, in- 
 ventor The girl goes into the bed, the boy shuts 
 the door on her, and imitates the sound of a train 
 in motion. He opens the door and cries, ** Tickets, 
 please." The girl says, " What is the name of 
 this place ? " The boy replies, " It's Thrums ! " 
 
 152 
 
A CHILD'S TRAGEDY 
 
 There is more to follow, but the only two who 
 have played the game always roared so joyously 
 at this point that they could get no farther. 
 
 " Oh, to-morrow, come quick, quick ? " 
 
 "Oh, poor Shovel!" 
 
 To-morrow came, and with it two eager little 
 figures rose and gulped their porridge, and set off 
 to see Thrums. They were dressed in the black 
 clothes Aaron Latta had bought for them in Lon- 
 don, and they had agreed just to walk, but when 
 they reached the door and saw the tree-tops of 
 the Den they — they ran. Would you not like 
 to hold them back ? It is a child's tragedy. 
 
 They went first into the Den, and the rocks were 
 dripping wet, all the trees, save the firs, were bare, 
 and the mud round a tiny spring pulled off one of 
 Elspeth's boots. 
 
 "Tommy," she cried, quaking, "that narsty 
 puddle can't not be the Cuttle Well, can it?" 
 
 " No, it ain't," said Tommy, quickly, but he 
 feared it was. 
 
 ** It's c-c-colder here than London," Elspeth said, 
 shivering, and Tommy was shivering too, but he 
 answered, " I'm — I'm — I'm warm." 
 
 The Den was strangely small, and soon they 
 were on a shabby brae where women in short 
 gowns came to their doors and men in night-caps 
 sat down on the shafts of their barrows to look at 
 Jean Myles's bairns. 
 
 ^53 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 "What does yer think?" Elspeth whispered, 
 very doubtfully. 
 
 "They're beauties," Tommy answered, deter- 
 minedly. 
 
 Presently Elspeth cried, " Oh, Tommy, what a 
 ugly stair ! Where is the beauty stairs as is wore 
 outside for show ? " 
 
 This was one of them and Tommy knew it. 
 " Wait till you see the west town end," he said 
 bravely; "it's grand." But when they were in 
 the west town end, and he had to admit it, " Wait 
 till you see the square," he said, and when they 
 were in the square, " Wait," he said, huskily, " till 
 you see the town-house." Alas, this was the 
 town-house facing them, and when they knew it, 
 he said hurriedly, "Wait till you see the Auld 
 Licht Kirk." 
 
 They stood long in front of the Auld Licht 
 Kirk, which he had sworn was bigger and lovelier 
 than St. Paul's, but — well, it is a different style of 
 architecture, and had Elspeth not been there with 
 tears in waiting. Tommy would have blubbered. 
 "It's — it's littler than I thought," he said desper- 
 ately, "but — the minister, oh, what a wonderful 
 big man he is ! " 
 
 " Are you sure ? " Elspeth squeaked. 
 
 " I swear he is." 
 
 The church door opened and a gentleman came 
 out, a little man, boyish in the back, with the 
 
 »54 
 
A CHILD'S TRAGEDY 
 
 eager face of those who Kve too quickly. But 
 it was not at him that Tommy pointed reassur- 
 ingly; it was at the monster church key, half of 
 which protruded from his tail pocket and waggled 
 like the hilt of a sword. 
 
 Speaking like an old residenter. Tommy ex- 
 plained that he had brought his sister to see the 
 church. " She's ta'en aback," he said, picking out 
 Scotch words carefully, " because it's littler than 
 the London kirks, but I telled her — I telled her 
 that the preaching is better." 
 
 This seemed to please the stranger, for he pat- 
 ted Tommy on the head while inquiring, " How 
 do you know that the preaching is better ? " 
 
 " Tell him, Elspeth," replied Tommy modestly. 
 
 "There ain't nuthin' as Tommy don't know," 
 Elspeth explained. " He knows what the minister 
 is like too." 
 
 " He's a noble sight," said Tommy. 
 
 " He can get anything from God he likes," said 
 Elspeth. 
 
 " He's a terrible big man," said Tommy. , 
 
 This seemed to please the little gentleman less. 
 
 " Big ! " he exclaimed, irritably ; " why should 
 he be big?" 
 
 •^ He is big," Elspeth almost screamed, for the 
 minister was her last hope. 
 
 " Nonsense ! " said the little gentleman. " He 
 is — well, I am the minister." 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 " You ! " roared Tommy, wrathfuUy. 
 
 « Oh, oh, oh ! " sobbed Elspeth. 
 
 For a moment the Rev. Mr. Dishart looked aa 
 if he would like to knock two little heads together, 
 but he walked away without doing it 
 
 " Never mind," Tommy whispered hoarsely to 
 Elspeth. "Never mind, Elspeth, you have me 
 yet." 
 
 This consolation seldom failed to gladden her, 
 but her disappointment was so sharp to-day that 
 she would not even look up. 
 
 " Come away to the cemetery, it's grand," he 
 said ; but still she would not be comforted. 
 
 " And I'll let you hold my hand — as soon as 
 we're past the houses," he added. 
 
 " I'll let you hold it now," he said eventually ; 
 but even then Elspeth cried dismally, and her sobs 
 were hurting him more than her. 
 
 He knew all the ways of getting round Elspeth, 
 and when next he spoke it was with a sorrowful 
 dignity. " I didna think," he said, " as yer wanted 
 me never to be able to speak again : no, I didna 
 think it, Elspeth." 
 
 She took her hands from her face and looked at 
 him inquiringly. 
 
 "One of the stories mamma telled me and 
 Reddy," he said, " were about a man what saw 
 such a beauty thing that he was struck dumb with 
 admiration. Struck dumb is never to be able to 
 
 156 
 
A CHILD'S TRAGEDY 
 
 speak again, and I wish I had been struck dumb 
 when you wanted it" 
 
 " But I didn't want it ! " Elspeth cried. 
 
 "If Thrums had been one little bit beautier 
 than it is," he went on solemnly, " it would have 
 struck me dumb. It would have hurt me sore, 
 but what about that, if it pleased you ! " 
 
 Then did Elspeth see what a wicked girl she 
 had been, and when next the two were observed 
 by the curious (it was on the cemetery road), they 
 were once more looking cheerful. At the small- 
 est provocation they exchanged notes of admira- 
 tion, such as, " Oh, Tommy, what a bonny barrel ! " 
 or "Oh, Elspeth, I tell yer that's a dyke, and 
 there's just walls in London," but sometimes El- 
 speth would stoop hastily, pretending that she 
 wanted to tie her bootlace, but really to brush 
 away a tear, and there were moments when Tommy 
 hung very limp. Each was trying to deceive the 
 other for the other's sake, and one of them was 
 never good at deception. They saw through each 
 other, yet kept up the chilly game, because they 
 could think of nothing better, and perhaps the 
 game was worth playing, for love invented it. 
 
 They sat down on their mother's grave. No 
 stone was ever erected to the memory of Jean 
 Myles, but it is enough for her that she lies at 
 home. That comfort will last her to the Judg- 
 ment Day. 
 
 »57 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 The man who had dug the grave sent them 
 away, and they wandered to the hill, and thence 
 down the Roods, where there were so many out- 
 side stairs not put there for show that it was well 
 Elspsth remembered how susceptible Tommy was 
 to being struck dumb. For her sake he said, 
 "They're bonny," and for his sake she replied, 
 " I'm glad they ain't bonnier." 
 
 When within one turn of Monypenny they 
 came suddenly upon some boys playing at capey- 
 dykey, a game with marbles that is only known in 
 Thrums. There are thirty-five ways of playing 
 marbles, but this is the best way, and Elspeth 
 knew that Tommy was hungering to look on, but 
 without her, lest he should be accused of sweet- 
 hearting. So she offered to remain in the back- 
 ground. 
 
 Was she sure she shouldn't mind ? 
 
 She said falteringly that of course she would 
 mind a little, but 
 
 Then Tommy was irritated, and said he knew 
 she would mind, but if she just pretended she 
 didn't mind, he could leave her without feeling 
 that he was mean. 
 
 So Elspeth affected not to mind, and then he 
 deserted her, conscience at rest, which was his na^ 
 ture. But he should have remained with her. 
 The players only gave him the side of their eye. 
 and a horrid fear grew on him that they did not 
 
 158 
 
A CHILD'S TRAGEDY 
 
 know he was a Thrums boy. " Dagont ! " he cried 
 to put them right on that point, but though they 
 paused in their game, it was only to laugh at him 
 uproariously. Let the historian use an oath for 
 once ; dagont. Tommy had said the swear in the 
 wrong place ! 
 
 How fond he had been of that word ! Many a 
 time he had fired it in the face of Londoners, and 
 the flash had often blinded them and always him. 
 Now he had brought it home, and Thrums would 
 have none of it ; it was as if these boys were jeer- 
 ing at their own flag. He tottered away from 
 them until he came to a trance, or passage, where 
 he put his face to the wall and forgot even Elspeth. 
 
 He had not noticed a girl pass the mouth of 
 the trance, trying not very successfully to conceal 
 a brandy-bottle beneath her pinafore, but presently 
 he heard shouts, and looking out he saw Grizel, 
 the f'ainted Lady's child, in the hands of her tor- 
 mentors. She was unknown to him, of course, but 
 she hit back so courageously that he watched her 
 with interest, until — until suddenly he retreated 
 farther into the trance. He had seen Elspeth go 
 on her knees, obviously to ask God to stay the 
 hands and tongues of these cruel boys. 
 
 Elspeth had disgraced him, he felt. He was 
 done with her forever. If they struck her, serve 
 her right 
 
 Struck her ! Struck little Elspeth ! His imagina^ 
 
 «59 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 tion painted the picture with one sweep of its brush. 
 Take care, you boys. Tommy is scudding back. 
 
 They had not molested Elspeth as yet. When 
 they saw and heard her praying, they had bent for- 
 ward, agape, as if struck suddenly in the stomach 
 Then one of them, Francie Crabb. the golden- 
 haired son of Esther Auld, recovered and began to 
 knead Grizel's back with his fists, less in vicious- 
 ness than to show that the prayer was futile. Into 
 this scene sprang Tommy, and he thought that 
 Elspeth was the kneaded one. Had he taken time 
 to reflect he would probably have used the Thrums 
 feint, and then in with a left-hander, which is not 
 very efficacious in its own country ; but being in a 
 hurry he let out with Shovel's favourite, and down 
 went Francie Crabb. 
 
 " Would you ! " said Tommy, threatening, when 
 Francie attempted to rise. 
 
 He saw now that Elspeth was untouched, that 
 he had rescued an unknown girl, and it cannot be 
 pretended of him that he was the boy to squire 
 all ladies in distress. In ordinary circumstances 
 he might have left Grizel to her fate, but having 
 'struck for her, he felt that he would like to go on 
 striking. He had also the day's disappointments 
 to avenge. It is startling to reflect that the little 
 minister's height, for instance, put an extra kick in 
 him. 
 
 So he stood stridelegs over Francie, who whim- 
 160 
 
A CHILD'S TRAGEDY 
 
 pered, " I wouldna have struck this one if that one 
 hadna prayed for me. It wasna likely I would 
 stand that" 
 
 " You shall stand it," replied Tommy, and turn 
 ing to Elspeth, who had risen from her knees, he 
 said : " Pray away, Elspeth." 
 
 Elspeth refused, feeling that there would be 
 something wrong in praying from triumph, and 
 Tommy, about to be very angry with her, had a 
 glorious inspiration. " Pray for yourself," he said 
 to Francie, " and do it out loud." 
 
 The other boys saw that a novelty promised, 
 and now Francie need expect no aid from them. 
 At first he refused to pray, but he succumbed when 
 Tommy had explained the consequences, and il- 
 lustrated them. 
 
 Tommy dictated: "Oh, God, I am a sinner. 
 Go on." 
 
 Francie not only said it, but looked it, 
 
 " And I pray to you to repent me, though I 
 ain't worthy," continued Tommy. 
 
 "And I pray to you to repent me, though I 
 ain't worthy," growled Francie. (It was the arrival 
 of ain't in Thrums.) 
 
 Tommy considered, and then: "I thank Thee, 
 O God," he said, " for telling this girl — this lassie 
 
 -to pray for me." 
 
 Two gentle taps helped to knock this out of 
 Francie. 
 
 161 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 Being an artist. Tommy had kept his best foi 
 the end (and made it up first). " And lastly," he 
 said, " I thank this boy for thrashing me — I mean 
 this here laddie. Oh, may he alius be near to thrash 
 me when I strike this other lassie again. Amen." 
 
 When it was all over Tommy looked around 
 triumphantly, and though he liked the expression 
 on several faces, Grizel's pleased him best. " It 
 ain't no wonder you would like to be me, lassie ! " 
 he said, in an ecstasy. 
 
 " I don't want to be you, you conceited boy," 
 retorted the Painted Lady's child hotly, and her 
 heat was the greater because the clever little wretch 
 had read her thoughts aright But it was her sweet 
 voice that surprised him. 
 
 " You're English ! " he cried. 
 
 " So are you," broke in a boy offensively, and 
 then Tommy said to Grizel loftily, " Run away ; 
 I'll not let none on them touch you." 
 
 *' I am not afraid of them," she rejoined, with 
 scorn, " and I shall not let you help me, and I 
 won't run." And run she did not ; she walked off 
 leisurely with her head in the air, and her dignity 
 was beautiful, except once when she made the 
 mistake of turning round to put out her tongue. 
 
 But, alas! in the end someone ran. If only 
 they had not called him " English." In vain he 
 fired a volley of Scotch; they pretended not to 
 understand it. Then he screamed that he and 
 
 162 
 
A CHILD'S TRAGEDY 
 
 Shovel cuuld fight the lot ot them. Who was 
 Shovel? they asked derisively. He replied that 
 Shovel was a bloke who could lick any two of 
 them — and with one hand tied behind his back. 
 
 No sooner had he made this proud boast than 
 he went white, and soon two disgraceful tears 
 rolled down his cheeks. The boys saw that for 
 some reason unknown his courage was gone, and 
 even Francie Crabb began to turn up his sleeves 
 and spit upon his hands. 
 
 Elspeth was as bewildered as the others, but 
 she slipped her hand into his and away they ran 
 ingloriously, the foe too much astounded to jeer. 
 She sought to comfort him by saying (and it 
 brought her a step nearer womanhood), " You 
 wasn't feared for yourself) you wasn't; you was 
 just feared they would hurt me." 
 
 But Tommy sobbed in reply, " That ain't it 
 I bounced so much about the Thrums folk to 
 Shovel, and now the first day I'm here I heard 
 myself bouncing about Shovel to Thrums folk, 
 and it were that what made me cry. Oh, Elspeth, 
 it's — it's not the same what I thought it would be!" 
 
 Nor was it the same to Elspeth, so they sat down 
 by the roadside and cried with their arms round 
 each other, and any passer-by could look who had 
 the heart. But when night came, and they were 
 in their garret bed, Tommy was once more seeking 
 to comfort Elspeth with arguments he disbelieved, 
 
 163 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 and again he succeeded. As usual, too, the make 
 believe made him happy also. 
 
 "Have you forgot," he whispered, **that my 
 mother said as she would come and see us every 
 night in our bed ? If yer cries, she'll see as we're 
 terrible unhappy, and diat will make her unhappy 
 too." 
 
 " Oh, Tommy, is she here now? " 
 
 " Whisht ! She's here, but they don't like living 
 ones to let on as they knows it" 
 
 Elspeth kept closer to Tommy, and with their 
 heads beneath the blankets, so as to stifle the sound, 
 he explained to her how they could cheat their 
 mother. When she understood, he took the 
 blankets oS* their faces and said in the darkness 
 in a loud voice : 
 
 *' It's a grand place. Thrums! " 
 
 Elspeth replied in a similar voice, '•Ain't the 
 town-house just big! " 
 
 Said Tommy, almost chuckling, "Oh, the bonny, 
 bonny Auld Licht Kirk ! " 
 
 Said Elspeth, "Oh, the beauty outside stairs!" 
 
 Said Tommy, "The minister is so long!" 
 
 Said Elspeth, "The folk is so kind!" 
 
 Said Tommy, " Especially the laddies ! " 
 
 " Oh, I is so happy ! " cried Elspeth. 
 
 •• Me too ! " cried Tommy. 
 
 " My mother would be so chirpy if she could 
 jest see us ! " Eilspeth said, quite aichly. 
 
 164 
 
A CHILD'S TRAGEDY 
 
 " But she canna ! " replied Tommy, slyly pinch* 
 ing Elspeth in the rib. 
 
 Then they dived beneath the blankets, and the 
 whispering was resumed. 
 
 " Did she hear, does yer think f " asked Elspeth, 
 
 "Every word," Tommy replied. "Eispetk 
 we've done her!" 
 
 165 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 SHOWS HOW TOMMY TOOK CARE OF ELSPETR 
 
 Thus the first day passed, and others followed in 
 which women, who had known Jean Myles, did 
 her children kindnesses, but could not do all they 
 would have done, for Aaron forbade them to enter 
 his home except on business though it was begging 
 for a housewife all day. Had Elspeth at the age 
 of six now settled down to domestic duties she 
 would not have been the youngest housekeeper 
 ever known in Thrums, but she was never very 
 good at doing things, only at loving and being 
 loved, and the observant neighbours thought her a 
 backward girl ; they forgot, like most people, that 
 service is not necessarily a handicraft. Tommy 
 discovered what they were saying, and to shield 
 Elspeth he took to housewifery with the blind 
 down ; but Aaron, entering the kitchen unexpect- 
 edly, took the besom from him, saying : 
 
 "It's an ill thing for men folk to ken owei 
 muckle about women's ^vork." 
 
 " You do it yoursel'," Tommy argued. 
 
 *• I said men folk," repl'.ed Aaron, quietly, 
 itih 
 
TOMMY TOOK CARE OF ELSPETH 
 
 The children knew that remarks of this sort had 
 reference to their mother, of whom he never spoke 
 more directly; indeed he seldom spoke to them 
 at all, and save when he was 'cooking or giving 
 the kitchen a slovenly cleaning they saw little of 
 him. Monypenny had predicted that their pres- 
 ence must make a new man of him, but he was 
 still unsociable and morose and sat as long as ever 
 at the warping-mill, of which he seemed to have 
 become the silent wheel. Tommy and Elspeth 
 always dropped their voices when they spoke of 
 him, and sometimes when his mill stopped he 
 heard one of them say to the other, " Whisht, he's 
 coming!" Though he seldom spoke sharply to 
 them, his face did not lose its loneliness at sight of 
 them. Elspeth was his favourite (somewhat to the 
 indignation of both) ; they found this out without 
 his telling them or even showing it markedly, 
 and ivhen they wanted to ask anything of him she 
 was deputed to do it, but she did it quavering, 
 and after drawing farther away from him instead 
 of going nearer. A dreary life would have lain 
 before them had they not been sent to school. 
 
 There were at this time three schools in Thrums, 
 the chief of them ruled over by the terrible Cathro 
 (called "Knuckly when you were a street away 
 from him). It was a famous school, from which 
 a band of three or four or even six marched every 
 autumn to the universities as determined after bur* 
 
 167 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 saries as ever were Highlandmen to lift cattle, and 
 for the same reason, that they could not do with- 
 out. 
 
 A. very different kind of dominie was Cursing 
 Ballingall, who had been dropped at Thrums by a 
 travelling circus, and first became familiar to the 
 town as, carrying two carpet shoes, two books, a 
 pillow, and a saucepan, which were all his belong- 
 ings, he wandered from manse to manse offering 
 to write sermons for the ministers at circus prices. 
 That scheme failing, he was next seen looking in 
 at windows in search of a canny calling, and 
 eventually he cut one of his braces into a pair of 
 tawse, thus with a single stroke of the knife 
 making himself a schoolmaster and lop-sided for 
 life. His fee was but a penny a week, "with 
 a bit o' the swine when your father kills," and 
 sometimes there were so many pupils on a 
 form that they could only rise as one. During 
 the first half of the scholastic day Ballingall's 
 shouts and pounces were for parents to listen to, 
 but after his dinner of crowdy, which is raw meal 
 and hot water, served in a cogie, or wooden bowl, 
 languor overcame him and he would sleep, having 
 first given out a sum in arithmetic and announced ; 
 
 " The one as finds out the answer first, I'll give 
 him his licks." 
 
 Last comes the Hanky School, which was for 
 she genteel and for the common who contemplated 
 
TOMMY TOOK CARE OF ELSPETH 
 
 soaring. You were not admitted to it in cordu 
 loys or barefooted, nor did you pay weekly; no, 
 your father called four times a year with the 
 money in an envelope. He was shown into the 
 blue-and-white room, and there, after business had 
 been transacted, very nervously on Miss Ailie's 
 part, she offered him his choice between ginger 
 wine and what she falteringly called wh-wh» 
 whiskey. He partook in the polite national man^ 
 ner, which is thus : 
 
 "You will take something, Mr. Cortachy?" 
 
 "No, I thank you, ma'am." 
 
 "A little ginger wine ? " 
 
 " It agrees ill with me." 
 
 "Then a little wh-wh-whiskey?" 
 
 " You are ower kind." 
 
 " Then may I ? " 
 
 " I am not heeding." 
 
 " Perhaps, though, you don't takef " 
 
 " I can take it or want it" 
 
 " Is that enough ? " 
 
 " It will do perfectly." 
 
 " Shall I fill it up?" 
 
 *• As you please, ma'am." 
 
 Miss Ailie's relationship to the magerful man 
 may be remembered; she shuddered to think of 
 it herself, for in middle-age she retained the mind 
 of a young girl, but when duty seemed to call, 
 this schoolmistress could be brave, and she ofiered 
 
 169 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 to give Elspeth her schooling free of charge. Like 
 the other two hers was a " mixed " school, but she 
 did not want Tommy, because she had seen him 
 in the square one day, and there was a leer on his 
 face that reminded her of his father. 
 
 Another woman was less particular. This was 
 Mrs. Crabb, of the Tappit Hen, the Esther Auld 
 whom Jean Myles's letters had so frequently sent 
 to bed. Her Francie was still a pupil of Miss 
 Ailie, and still he wore the golden hair, which, de- 
 spite all advice, she would not crop. It was so 
 beautiful that no common boys could see it with* 
 out wanting to give it a tug in passing, and partly 
 to prevent this, partly to show how high she had 
 risen in the social scale, Esther usually sent him 
 to school under the charge of her servant lass. 
 She now proposed to Aaron that this duty should 
 devolve on Tommy, and for the service she would 
 pay his fees at the Hanky School 
 
 "We maun all lend a hand to poor Jean's 
 bairns," she said, with a gleam in her eye. " It 
 would have been well for her, Aaron, if she had 
 married you." 
 
 "Is that all you have to say?" asked the 
 warper, who had let her enter no farther than the 
 hallan. 
 
 " I would expect him to lift Francie ower the 
 pools in wet weather; and it might be as well if 
 he called him Master Francie." 
 
 170 
 
TOMMY TOOK CARE OF ELSPETH 
 
 "Is that all?" 
 
 "Ay, I ask no more, for we maun all help 
 Jean's bairns. If she could only look down, 
 Aaron, and see her little velvets, as she called him, 
 lifting my little corduroys ower the pools ! " 
 
 Aaron flung open the door. " Munt ! " he said, 
 and he looked so dangerous that she retired at 
 once. He sent Tommy to Ballingall's, and ac- 
 cepted Miss Ailie's offer for Elspeth, but this was 
 an impossible arrangement, for it was known to 
 the two persons primarily concerned that Elspeth 
 would die if she was not where Tommy was. The 
 few boys he had already begun to know were at 
 Cathro's or Ballingall's, and as they called Miss 
 Ailie's a lassie school he had no desire to attend it, 
 but where he was there also must Elspeth be. 
 Daily he escaped from Ballingall's and hid near 
 the Dovecot, as Miss Ailie's house was called, and 
 every little while he gave vent to Shovel's whistle, 
 so that Elspeth might know of his proximity and 
 be cheered. Thrice was he carried back, kicking, 
 to Ballingall's by urchins sent in pursuit, stern 
 ministers of justice on the first two occasions ; ^but 
 on the third they made him an offer; if he would 
 hide in Couthie's hen-house they were willing to 
 look for him everywhere else for two hours. 
 
 Tommy's behaviour seemed beautiful to the im- 
 pressionable Miss Ailie, but it infuriated Aaron, 
 and on the fourth day he set off for the parish 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 school, meaning to put the truant in the hands of 
 Cathro, from whom there was no escape. Vainly 
 had Elspeth implored him to let Tommy come to 
 the Dovecot, and vainly apparently was she trot- 
 ting at his side now, looking up appealingly in his 
 face. But when they reached the gate of the par- 
 ish school-yard he walked past it because she was 
 tugging him, and always when he seemed about 
 to turn she took his hand again, and he seemed to 
 have lost the power to resist Jean Myles's bairn. 
 So they came to the Dovecot, and Miss Ailie gained 
 a pupil who had been meant for Cathro. Tommy's 
 arms were stronger than Elspeth's, but they could 
 not have done as much for him that day. 
 
 Thus did the two children enter upon the gen- 
 teel career, to the indignation of the other boys 
 and girls of Monypenny, all of whom were com' 
 moners. 
 
 172 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 THE HANKY SCHOOt 
 
 The Dovecot was a prim little cottage standing 
 back from the steepest brae in Thrums and hidden 
 by high garden walls, to the top of which another 
 boy's shoulders were, for apple-lovers, but one step 
 up. Jargonelle trees grew against the house, 
 stretching their arms round it as if to measure 
 its girth, and it was also remarkable for several 
 "dumb" windows with the most artful blinds 
 painted on them. Miss Ailie's fruit was famous, 
 but she loved her flowers best, and for long a no- 
 tice-board in her garden said, appealingly : " Per- 
 sons who come to steal the fruit are requested not 
 to walk on the flower-beds." It was that old 
 bachelor. Dr. McQueen, who suggested this in- 
 scription to her, and she could never understand 
 why he chuckled every time he read it 
 
 There were seven rooms in the house, but only 
 two were of public note, the school-room, which 
 was down-stairs, and the blue-and-white room 
 above. The school-room was so long that it 
 looked very low in the ceiling, and it had a carpet, 
 
 »73 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 and on the walls were texts as weil as maps. Miss 
 Ailie's desk was in the middle of the room, and 
 there was another desk in the corner; a cloth had 
 been hung over it, as one covers a cage to send 
 the bird to sleep. Perhaps Miss Ailie thought 
 that a bird had once sung there, for this had been 
 the desk of her sister, Miss Kitty, who died years 
 before Tommy came to Thrums. Dainty Miss 
 Kitty, Miss Kitty with the roguish curls, it is 
 strange to think that you are dead, and that only 
 Miss Ailie hears you singing now at your desk in 
 the corner ! Miss Kitty never sang there, but the 
 playful ringlets were once the bright thing in the 
 room, and Miss Ailie sees them still, and they are 
 a song to her. 
 
 The pupils had to bring handkerchiefs to the 
 Dovecot, which led to its being called the Hanky 
 School, and in time these handkerchiefs may be 
 said to have assumed a religious character, though 
 their purpose was merely to protect Miss Ailie's 
 carpet. She opened each scholastic day by read- 
 ing fifteen verses from the Bible, and then she 
 said sternly, " Hankies ! " whereupon her pupils 
 whipped out their handkerchiefs, spread them on 
 the floor and kneeled on them while Miss Ailie 
 repeated the Lord's Prayer. School closed at four 
 o'clock, again with hankies. 
 
 Only on great occasions were the boys and girls 
 admitted to the blue-and-white room, when they 
 
 m 
 
THE HANKY SCHOOL 
 
 were given shortbread, but had to eat it with theit 
 heads flung back so that no crumbs should falL 
 Nearly everything in this room was blue or white, 
 or both. There were white blinds and blue cur- 
 tains, a blue table-cover and a white crumb-cloth, 
 a white sheepskin with a blue footstool on it, blue 
 chairs dotted with white buttons. Only white 
 flowers came into this room, where there were blue 
 vases for them, not a book was to be seen without 
 a blue alpaca cover. Here Miss Ailie received 
 visitors in her white with the blue braid, and en- 
 rolled new pupils in blue ink with a white pen. 
 Some laughed at her, others remembered that she 
 must have something to love after Miss Kitty died. 
 Miss Ailie had her romance, as you may hear 
 by and by, but you would not have thought it as 
 she came forward to meet you in the blue-and- 
 white room, trembling lest your feet had brought 
 in mud, but too much a lady to ask you to stand 
 on a newspaper, as she would have liked dearly to 
 do. She was somewhat beyond middle-age, and 
 stoutly, even squarely, built, which gave her a 
 masculine appearance ; but she had grown so timid 
 since Miss Kitty's death that when she spoke you 
 felt that either her figure or her manner must have 
 been intended for someone else. In conversation 
 she had a way of ending a sentence in the middle 
 which gave her a reputation of being " thro'ither," 
 though an artificial tooth was the cause. It was 
 
 175 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 slightly loose, and had she not at times shut her 
 mouth suddenly, and then done something with 
 her tongue, an accident might have happened. 
 This tooth fascinated Tommy, and once when she 
 was talking he cried, excitedly, " Quick, it's com- 
 ing!" whereupon her mouth snapped close, and 
 she turned pink in the blue-and-white room. 
 
 Nevertheless Tommy became her favourite, and 
 as he had taught himself to read, after a fashion, 
 in London, where his lesson-books were chiefly 
 placards and the journal subscribed to by Shovel's 
 father, she often invited him after school hours to 
 the blue-and-white room, where he sat on a kitchen 
 chair (with his boots off) and read aloud, very 
 slowly, while Miss Ailie knitted. The volume 
 was from the Thrums Book Club, of which Miss 
 Ailie was one of the twelve members. Each mem- 
 ber contributed a book every year, and as their 
 tastes in literature differed, all sorts of books came 
 into the club, and there was one member who in- 
 variably gave a ro-ro-romance. He was double- 
 chinned and forty, but the schoolmistress called 
 him the dashing young banker, and for months 
 she avoided his dangerous contribution. But al- 
 ways there came a black day when a desire to read 
 ' the novel seized her, and she hurried home with it 
 beneath her rokelay. This year the dashing banker's 
 choice was a lady's novel called " I Love My Love 
 with an A," and it was a frivolous tale, those being 
 
 176 
 
THE HANKY SCHOOL 
 
 before the days of the new fiction, with its grand 
 discovery that women have an equal right with 
 men to grow beards. The hero had such a way 
 with him and was so young (Miss Ailie could not 
 stand them a day more than twenty) that the school- 
 mistress was enraptured and scared at every page, 
 but she fondly hoped that Tommy did not under- 
 stand. However, he discovered one day what 
 something printed thus, "D — n," meant, and he 
 immediately said the word with such unction that 
 Miss Ailie let fall her knitting. She would have 
 ended the readings then had not Agatha been at 
 that point in the arms of an officer who. Miss 
 Ailie felt almost certain, had a wife in India, and so 
 how could she rest till she knew for certain ? To 
 track the officer by herself was not to be thought 
 of, to read without knitting being such shameless 
 waste of time, and it was decided to resume the 
 readings on a revised plan : Tommy to say 
 " stroke " in place of the " D — ns," and " word 
 we ha*fe no concern with " instead of " Darling " 
 and " Little One." 
 
 Miss Ailie was not the only person at the Dovecot 
 who admired Tommy. Though in duty bound, 
 as young patriots, to jeer at him for having been 
 bom in the wrong place, the pupils of his own age 
 could not resist the charm of his reminiscences; 
 even Gav Dishart, a son of the manse, listened at- 
 tentively to him. His great topic was his birth- 
 
 177 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 place, and whatever happened In Thrums he in- 
 stantly made contemptible by citing something of 
 the same kind, but on a larger scale, that had hap- 
 pened in London; he turned up his nose almost 
 farther than was safe when they said Catlaw was 
 a stiff mountain to climb. (" Oh, Gav, if you 
 just saw the London mountains ! ") Snow ! why, 
 they didn't know what snow was in Thrums. If 
 they could only see St. Paul's or Hyde Park or 
 Shovel ! he couldn't help laughing at Thrums, he 
 couldn't — Larfing, he said at first, but in a short 
 time his Scotch was better than theirs, though less 
 unconscious. His English was better also, of 
 course, and you had to speak in a kind of English 
 when inside the Hanky School; you got your 
 revenge at "minutes." On the whole. Tommy 
 irritated his fellow-pupils a good deal, but they 
 found it difficult to keep away from him. 
 
 He also contrived to enrage the less genteel boys 
 of Monypenny. Their leader was Corp Shiach, 
 three years Tommy's senior, who had never been 
 inside a school except once, when he broke hope- 
 fully into Ballingall's because of a stirring rumour 
 (nothing in it) that the dominie had hangit him- 
 self with his remaining brace ; then in order of 
 merit came Birkie Fleemister; then, perhaps, the 
 smith's family, called the Haggerty-Taggertys, 
 they were such slovens. When school was over 
 Tommy frequently stepped out of his boots and 
 
 178 
 
THE HANKY SCHOOL 
 
 stockings, so that he no longer looked offensively 
 genteel, and then Monypenny was willing to let 
 him join in spyo, smuggle bools, kickbonnety, 
 peeries, the preens, suckers, pilly, or whatever game 
 was in season, even to the baiting of the Painted 
 Lady, but they would not have Elspeth, who 
 should have been content to play dumps with the 
 female Haggerty-Taggertys, but could enjoy no 
 game of which Tommy was not the larger half. 
 Many times he deserted her for manlier joys, but 
 though she was out of sight he could not forget 
 her longing face, and soon he sneaked off to her ; 
 he upbraided her, but he stayed with her. They 
 bore with him for a time, but when they discov- 
 ered that she had persuaded him (after prayer) to 
 put back the spug's eggs which he had brought 
 home in triumph, then they drove him from their 
 company, and for a long time afterwards his deadly 
 enemy was the hard-hitting Corp Shiach. 
 
 Elspeth was not invited to attend the readings 
 of " I Love My Love with an A," perhaps because 
 there were so many words in it that she had no 
 concern with, but she knew they ended as the 
 eight-o'clock bell began to ring, and it was her 
 custom to meet Tommy a few yards from Aaron's 
 door. Farther she durst not venture in the gloam- 
 ing through fear of the Painted Lady, for Aaron's 
 house was not far from the fearsome lane that led 
 to Double Dykes, and even the big boys who made 
 
 179 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 faces at this woman by day ran from her in the 
 dusk. Creepy tales were told of what happened 
 to those on whom she cast a blighting eye before 
 they could touch cold iron, and Tommy was one 
 of many who kept a bit of cold iron from the 
 smithy handy in his pocket. On his way home 
 from the readings he never had occasion to use it, 
 but at these times he sometimes met Grizel, who 
 liked to do her shopping in the evenings when her 
 piersecutors were more easily eluded, and he forced 
 her to speak to him. Not her loneliness appealed 
 to him, but that look of admiration she had given 
 him when he was astride of Francie Crabb. For 
 such a look he could pardon many rebuffs ; with- 
 out it no praise greatly pleased him; he was al« 
 ways on the outlook for it. 
 
 " I warrant," he said to her one evening, " you 
 want to have some manbody to take care of you 
 the way I take care of Elspeth." 
 
 " No, I don't," she replied, promptly. 
 
 " Would you no like somebody to love you ? " 
 
 " Do you mean kissing ? " she asked. 
 
 " There's better things in it than that," he said, 
 guardedly; "but if you want kissing, I — I — El« 
 speth'U kiss you." 
 
 " Will she want to do it ? " inquired Grizel, a 
 little wistfully. 
 
 " I'll make her do it," Tommy said. 
 
 " I don't want her to do it," cried Grizel, and he 
 180 
 
THE HANKY SCHOOL 
 
 :ouId not draw another word from her. However, 
 he was sure she thought him a wonder, and when 
 next they met he challenged her with it 
 
 " Do you not now ? " 
 
 " I won't tell you," answered Grizel, who was 
 never known to lie. 
 
 " You think I'm a wonder," Tommy persisted, 
 **■ but you dinna want me to know you think it." 
 
 Grizel rocked her arms, a quaint way she had 
 when excited, and she blurted out, " How do you 
 know?" 
 
 The look he liked had come back to her face, 
 but he had no time to enjoy it, for just then El- 
 speth appeared, and Elspeth's jealousy was easily 
 aroused. 
 
 " I dinna ken you, lassie," he said coolly to 
 Grizel, and left her stamping her foot at him. She 
 decided never to speak to Tommy again, but the 
 next time they met he took her into the Den and 
 taught her how to fight. 
 
 Tt is painful to have to tell that Miss Ailie was 
 the person who provided him with the opportunity. 
 In the readings they arrived one evening at the 
 ^cene in the conservatory, which has not a single 
 Stroke in it, but is so full of Words We have no 
 Concern with that Tommy reeled home blinking, 
 and next day so disgracefully did he flounder in 
 his lessons that the gentle schoolmistress cast up 
 her arms in despair. 
 
 i8i 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 " I don't know what to say to you," she ex- 
 claimed. 
 
 " Fine I know what you want to say," he re- 
 torted, and unfortunately she asked, "What?" 
 
 " Stroke ! " he replied, leering horridly. 
 
 " I Love My Love with an A " was returned to 
 the club forthwith (whether he really did have a 
 wife in India Miss Ailie never knew) and " Judd 
 on the Shorter Catechism" took its place. But 
 mark the result. The readings ended at a quarter 
 to eight now, at twenty to eight, at half-past seven, 
 and so Tommy could loiter on the way home 
 without arousing Elspeth's suspicion. One even* 
 ing he saw Grizel cutting her way through the 
 Haggerty-Taggerty group, and he offered to come 
 to her aid if she would say " Help me." But she 
 refused. 
 
 When, however, the Haggerty-Taggertys were 
 gone she condescended to say, " I shall never, 
 never ask you to help me, but — if you like — ■ 
 you can show me how to hit without biting my 
 tongue." 
 
 " I'll learn you Shovel's curly ones," replied 
 Tommy, cordially, and he adjourned with her to 
 the Den for that purpose. He said he chose the 
 Den so that Corp Shiach and the others might 
 not interrupt them, but it was Elspeth he was 
 thinking of 
 
 "You are like Miss Ailie with her cane when 
 182 
 
THE HANKY SCHOOL 
 
 she is pandying," he told Grizel. "You begin 
 well, but you slacken just when you are going to 
 hit" 
 
 " It is because my hand opens," Grizel said. 
 
 " And then it ends in a shove," said her mentofi 
 severely. " You should close your fists like this, 
 with the thumbs inside, and then play dab, this 
 way, that way, yon way. That's what Shovel calls, 
 ' You want it, take it, you've got it. * " 
 
 Thus did the hunted girl get her first lesson in 
 scientific warfare in the Den, and neither she nor 
 Tommy saw the pathos of it. Other lessons fol« 
 lowed, and during the rests Grizel told Tommy 
 all that she knew about herself He had won hei 
 confidence at last by — by swearing dagont that 
 he was English also. 
 
 183 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 THE MAN WHO NEVER CAME 
 
 " Is it true that your mother's a bonny swearer ? "' 
 
 Tommy wanted to find out all about the Painted 
 Lady, and the best way was to ask. 
 
 "She does not always swear," Grizel said 
 eagerly. " She sometimes says sweet, sweet 
 things." 
 
 "What kind of things?" 
 
 " I won't tell you." 
 
 « Tell me one." 
 
 " Well, then, ' Beloved.'" 
 
 " Word We have no Concern with," murmured 
 Tommy. He was shocked, but still curious. 
 " Does she say * Beloved ' to you ? " he inquired. 
 
 " No, she says it to him." 
 
 "Him! Wha is he?" Tommy thought he 
 was at the beginning of a discovery, but she an- 
 swered, i^ncomfortably : 
 
 " I don't know." 
 
 •* But you've seen him ? " 
 
 " No, he — he is not there." 
 
 " Not there ! How can she speak to him if he's 
 no there ? " 
 
 184 
 
THE MAN WHO NEVER CAME 
 
 " She thinks he is there. He — he comes on a 
 horse." 
 
 " What is the horse like ? " 
 
 " There is no horse." 
 
 " But you said " 
 
 " She just thinks there is a horse. She hears iL" 
 
 " Do you ever hear it ? " 
 
 "No." 
 
 The girl was looking imploringly into Tommy's 
 face as if begging it to say that these things need 
 not terrify her, but what he wanted was information. 
 
 " What does the Painted Lady do," he asked, 
 " when she thinks she hears the horse ? " 
 
 "She blows kisses, and then — then she goes 
 to the Den." 
 
 "What to do?" 
 
 " She walks up and down the Den, talking to 
 the man." 
 
 " And him no there ? " cried Tommy, scared. 
 
 " No, there is no one there." 
 
 " And syne what do you do ? " 
 
 " I won't tell you." 
 
 Tommy reflected, and then he said, " She's daft." 
 
 " She is not always dafi^" cried Grizel. " There 
 are whole weeks when she is just sweet" 
 
 " Then what do you make of her being so queer 
 m the Den?" 
 
 " I am not sure, but I think — I think there was 
 once a place like the Den at her own home in 
 
 185 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 England, where she used to meet the man long 
 ago, and sometimes she forgets that it is not long 
 ago now." 
 
 " I wonder wha the man was ? " 
 
 " I think he was my father." 
 
 " I thought you didna ken what a father was ? " 
 
 " I know now. I think my father was a Scots- 
 man." 
 
 " What makes you think that? " 
 
 " I heard a Thrums woman say it would account 
 for my being called Grizel, and I think we came 
 to Scotland to look for him, but it is so long, long 
 ago." 
 
 " How long?** 
 
 " I don't know. We have lived here four years, 
 but we were looking for him before that. It was 
 not in this part of Scotland we looked for him. 
 We gave up looking for him before we came 
 here." 
 
 " What made the Painted Lady take a house 
 here, then?" 
 
 " I think it was because the Den is so like the 
 place she used to meet him in long ago." 
 
 " What was his name ? " 
 
 " I don't know." 
 
 "Does the Painted Lady no tell you about 
 yoursel' ? " 
 
 " No, she is angry if I ask." 
 
 "Her name is Mary, I've heard?" 
 i86 
 
THE MAN WHO NEVER CAME 
 
 "Mary Gray is her name, but — but I don't 
 thmk it is her real name." 
 
 " How, does she no use her real name ? " 
 
 " Because she wants her own mamma to think 
 she is dead." 
 
 " What makes her want that ? " 
 
 " I am not sure, but I think it is because there 
 is me. I think it was naughty of me to be born. 
 Can you help being bom ? " 
 
 Tommy would have liked to tell her about 
 Reddy, but forbore, because he still believed that 
 he had acted criminally in that affair, and so for 
 the time being the Inquisition ended. But though 
 he had already discovered all that Grizel knew 
 about her mother and nearly all that curious 
 Thrums ever ferreted out, he returned to the sub- 
 ject at the next meeting in the Den. 
 
 " Where does the Painted Lady get her money? "* 
 
 " Oh," said Grizel, " that is easy. She just goes 
 into that house called the bank, and asks for some, 
 and they give her as much as she likes." 
 
 " Ay, I've heard that, but " 
 
 The remainder of the question was never ut« 
 rered. Instead, 
 
 *' Hod ahint a tree ! " cried Tommy, hastily, and 
 he got behind one himself; but he was too late ; 
 Elspeth was upon them ; she had caught them to- 
 gether at last. 
 
 Tommy showed great cunning. " Pretend you 
 187 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 have eggs in your hand," he whispered to Grizel, 
 and then, in a loud voice, he said : " Think shame 
 of yoursel', lassie, for harrying birds' nests. It's a 
 good thing I saw you, and brought you here to 
 force you to put them back. Is that you, Elspeth ? 
 I catched this limmer wi' eggs in her hands (and 
 the poor birds sic bonny singers, too !), and so I 
 was forcing her to " 
 
 But it would not do. Grizel was ablaze with 
 indignation. " You are a horrid story-teller," she 
 said, " and if I had known you were ashamed of 
 being seen with me, I should never have spoken 
 to you. Take him," she cried, giving Tommy a 
 push toward Elspeth, "I don't want the mean 
 little story-teller." 
 
 " He's not mean ! " retorted Elspeth. 
 
 " Nor yet little ! " roared Tommy. 
 
 "Yes, he is," insisted Grizel, "and I was not 
 harrying nests. He came with me here because 
 he wanted to." 
 
 " Just for the once," he said, hastily. 
 
 " This is the sixth time," said Grizel, and then 
 she marched out of the Den. Tommy and El 
 speth followed slowly, and not a word did either 
 say until they were in front of Aaron's house. 
 Then by the light in the window Tommy saw that 
 Elspeth was crying softly, and he felt miserable. 
 
 "I was just teaching her to fight," he said 
 humbly. 
 
 188 
 
THE MAN WHO NEVER CAME 
 
 "You looked like it!" she replied, with the 
 scorn that comes occasionally to the sweetest lady. 
 
 He tried to comfort her in various tender ways, 
 but none of them sufficed this time. "You'll 
 marry her as soon as you're a man," she insisted, 
 and she would not let this tragic picture go. It 
 was a case for his biggest efforts, and he opened 
 his mouth to threaten instant self-destruction un- 
 less she became happy at once. But he had 
 threatened this too frequently of late, even shown 
 himself drawing the knife across his throat. 
 
 As usual the right idea came to him at the right 
 moment. "If you just kent how I did it for your 
 sake," he said, with gentle dignity, "you wouldna 
 blame me ; you would think me noble." 
 
 She would not help him with a question, and 
 after waiting for it he proceeded. " If you just 
 kent wha she is ! And I thought she was dead ! 
 What a start it gave me when I found out it was 
 her!" 
 
 " Wha is she ? " cried Elspeth, with a sudden 
 shiver. 
 
 "I was trying to keep it frae you," replied 
 Tommy, sadly. 
 
 She seized his arm. " Is it Reddy ? " she gasped, 
 for the story of Reddy had been a terror to her all 
 her days. 
 
 •♦ She doesna ken I was the laddie that diddled 
 her in London," he said, " and I promise you never 
 
 189 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 to iet on, Elspeth. I ^ — I just went to the Den 
 with her to say things that would put her off the 
 scent. If I hadna done that she might have found 
 out and ta'en your place here and tried to pack you 
 off to the Painted Lady's." 
 
 Elspeth stared at him, the other grief ahead]! 
 forgotten, and he thought he was getting on excel- 
 lently, when she cried with passion, " I don't be» 
 lieve as it is Reddie S " and ran into the house. 
 
 " Dinna believe it, then ! " disappointed Tommy 
 shouted, and now he was in such a rage with him- 
 self that his heart hardened against her. He 
 sought the company of old Blinder. 
 
 Unfortunately Elspeth had believed it, and her 
 woe was the more pitiful because she saw at once, 
 what had never struck Tommy, that it would be 
 wicked to keep Grizel out of her rights. " I'll no 
 win to Heaven now," she said, despairingly, to 
 herself, for to offer to change places with Grizel 
 was beyond her courage, and she tried some child- 
 ish ways of getting round God, such as going on 
 her knees and saying, "• I'm so little, and I hinna no 
 mother ! " That was not a bad way. 
 
 Another way was to give Grizel everything slic 
 had, except Tommy. She collected all her trea« 
 sures, the bottle with the brass top that she had 
 got from Shovel's old girl, the " housewife " that 
 was a present from Miss Ailie, the teetotum, the 
 ptetty buttons Tommy had won for her at the 
 
 190 
 
THE MAN WHO NEVER CAME 
 
 game of buttony, the witchy marble, the twopence 
 she had already saved for the Muckley, these and 
 some other precious trifles she made a little bundle 
 of and set off for Double Dykes with them, in- 
 tending to leave them at the door. This was El- 
 speth, who in ordinary circumstances would not 
 have ventured near that mysterious dwelling even 
 in daylight and in Tomm3r*s company. There 
 was no room for vulgar fear in her bursting little 
 heart to-night 
 
 Tommy went home anon, meaning to be what- 
 ever kind of boy she seemed most in need of, but 
 she was not in the house, she was not in the gar- 
 den ; he called her name, and it was only Birkie 
 Fleemister, mimicking her, who answered, " Oh, 
 Tommy, come to me ! " But Birkie had news for 
 him. 
 
 " Sure as death," he said in some awe, " I saw 
 Elspeth ganging yont the double dykes, and I 
 cried to her that the Painted Lady would do her 
 a mischief, but she just ran on." 
 
 Elspeth in the double dykes — alone — and at 
 night! Oh, how Tommy would have liked to 
 strike himself now ! She must have believed his 
 wicked lie after all, and being so religious she had 
 gone to— He gave himself no time to finish the 
 thought The vital thing was that she was in 
 peril, he seemed to hear her calling to him, " Oh, 
 Tommy, come quick ! oh. Tommy, oh. Tommy!*' 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 and in an agony of apprehension he ran after her. 
 But by the time he got to the beginning of the 
 double dykes he knew that she must be at the 
 end of them, and in the Painted Lady's maw, un- 
 less their repute by night had blown her back. 
 He paused on the CofHn Brig, which is one long 
 narrow stone ; and along the funnel of the double 
 dykes he sent the lonely whisper, "Elspeth, are 
 you there ? " He tried to shout it, but no boy 
 could shout there after nightfall in the Painted 
 Lady's time, and when the words had travelled 
 only a little way along the double dykes, they 
 came whining back to him, like a dog despatched 
 on uncanny work. He heard no other sound save 
 the burn stealing on tiptoe from an evil place, 
 and the uneasy rustling of tree-tops, and his own 
 breathing. 
 
 The CofBn Brig remains, but the double dykes 
 have fallen bit by bit into the burn, and the path 
 they made safe is again as naked as when the 
 Kingoldrum Jacobites filed along it, and sweei 
 they were, to the support of the Pretender. It 
 traverses a ridge and is streaked with slippery 
 beech- roots which like to fling you off your feet 
 on the one side into a black burn twenty feet be- 
 low, on the other down a pleasant slope. The 
 double dykes were built by a farmer fond of his 
 dram, to stop the tongue of a water-kelpie which 
 lived in a pool below and gave him a turn every 
 
 192 
 
THE MAN WHO NEVER CAME 
 
 night he staggered home by shouting "Drunk 
 again, Peewitbrae ! " and announcing, with a 
 smack of the lips, that it had a bed ready for him 
 in the burn. So Peewitbrae built two parallel 
 dykes two feet apart and two feet high, between 
 which he could walk home like a straight man. 
 His cunning took the heart out of the brute, and 
 water-kelpies have not been seen near Thrums 
 since about that time. 
 
 By day even girls played at palaulays here, and 
 it was a favourite resort of boys, who knew that you 
 were a man when you could stand on both dykes 
 at once. They also stripped boldly to the skin 
 and then looked doubtfully at the water. But at 
 night ! To test your nerves you walked alone 
 between the double dykes, and the popular prac- 
 tice was to start off whistling, which keeps up the 
 courage. At the point where you turned to run 
 back (the Painted Lady after you, or so you 
 thought) you dropped a marked stone, which told 
 next day how far you had ventured. Corp Shiach 
 long held the championship, and his stone was os- 
 tentatiously fixed in one of the dykes with lime. 
 Tommy had suffered at his hands for saying that 
 Shovel's mark was thirty yards farther on. 
 
 With head bent to the level of the dykes, though 
 it was almost a mirk night beneath the trees, and 
 one arm outstretched before him straight as an 
 elvint, Tommy faced this fearful passage, some- 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 times stopping to touch cold iron, but on the 
 whole hanging back little, for Elspeth was in peril 
 Soon he reached the paling that was not needed to 
 keep boys out of the Painted Lady's garden, one 
 of the prettiest and best tended flower-gardens in 
 Thrums, and crawling through where some spars 
 had fallen, he approached the door as noiseless as 
 an Indian brave after scalps. There he crouched, 
 with a heart that was going like a shuttle on a 
 loom, and listened for Elspeth's voice. 
 
 On a night he had come nearly as far as this be- 
 fore, but in the tail of big fellows with a turnip lan- 
 tern. Into the wood-work of the east window they 
 had thrust a pin, to which a button was tied, and 
 the button was also attached to a long string. They 
 hunkered afar off and pulled this string, and then 
 die button tapped the death-rap on the window, 
 and the sport was successful, for the Painted Lady 
 screamed. But suddenly the door opened and 
 they were put to flight by the fierce barking of 3 
 dog. One said that the brute nabbed him in the 
 leg, another saw the vive tongue of it, a third 
 played lick at it with the lantern; this was before 
 they discovered that the dog had been Grizel imi 
 fating one, brave Grizel, always ready to protect her 
 mother, and never allowed to cherish the chilaisb 
 fears that were hers by birthright 
 
 Tommy could not hear a sound from withitis 
 lb»ut he had startling proof that Elspeth was near 
 
 ^94 
 
THE MAN WHO NEVER CAME 
 
 His foot struck against something at the door, and, 
 stooping, he saw that it was a little bundle of the 
 treasures she valued most So she had indeed 
 come to stay with the Painted Lady if Grizel 
 proved merciless ! Oh, what a black he had been ! 
 
 Though originally a farm-house, the cottage was 
 no larger than Aaron's, and of its two front win- 
 dows only one showed a light, and that through a 
 blind. Tommy sidled round the house in the 
 hope that the small east window would be more 
 hospitable, and just as he saw that it was blindless 
 something that had been crouching rose between 
 him and it. 
 
 " Let go ! " he cried, feeling the Painted Lady's 
 talons in his neck. 
 
 " Tommy ! " was the answer. 
 
 "It's you, Elspeth?" 
 
 " Is it you, Tommy ? " 
 
 "Of course. Whisht!" 
 
 " But say it is." 
 
 " It is." 
 
 •'Oh, Tommy, I'm so fleid!" 
 
 He drew her farther from the window and told 
 her it had all been a wicked lie, and she was so 
 glad that she forgot to chide him, but he denounced 
 himself, and he was better than Elspeth even at 
 ihat However, when he learned what had 
 brought her here he dried his eyes and skulked to 
 (he door again and brought back her belongings. 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 and then she wanted him to come away at oncai, 
 But the window fascinated him; he knew h« 
 should never find courage to come here again, 
 and he glided toward it, signing to Elspeth to ac- 
 company him. They were now too near Double 
 Dykes for speaking to be safe, but he tapped hi8\ 
 head as a warning to her to remove her hat, for a 
 woman's head-gear always reaches a window in 
 6'ont of its wearer, and he touched his cold iron 
 and passed it to her as if it were a snuff-mulL 
 Thus fortified, they approached the window fear- 
 fully, holding hands and stepping high, Uk« r 
 oouplc in a minuffit 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 THE PAINTED LADY 
 
 It had been the ordinary dwelling room of the un- 
 known poor, the mean little " end " — ah, no, no, 
 the noblest chamber in the annals of the Scottish 
 nation. Here on a hard anvil has its character been 
 fashioned and its history made at rush-lights and 
 its God ever most prominent Always within 
 reach of hands which trembled with reverence as 
 they turned its broad page could be found the 
 Book that is compensation for all things, and that 
 was never more at home than on bare dressers and 
 worm-eaten looms. If you were brought up in 
 that place and have forgotten it, there is no more 
 hope for you. 
 
 But though still recalling its past, the kitchen 
 •nto which Tommy and Elspeth peered was trying 
 successfully to be something else. The plate-rack 
 had been a fixture, and the coffin-bed and the 
 wooden bole, or board in the wall, with its round 
 hole through which you thrust your hand when 
 you wanted salt, and instead of a real mantelpiece 
 there was a quaint imitation one painted over the 
 
 1Q7 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 fireplace. There were some pieces of furniture too, 
 such as were usual in rooms of the kind, but most of 
 them, perhaps in ignorance, had been put to novel 
 uses, like the plate-rack, where the Painted Lady 
 kept her many pretty shoes instead of her crockery. 
 Gossip said she had a looking-glass of such pro- 
 digious size that it stood on the floor, and Tommy 
 nudged Elspeth to signify, " There it is ! " Other 
 nudges called her attention to the carpet, the spinet, 
 a chair that rocked like a cradle, and some smaller 
 oddities, of which the queerest was a monster vel- 
 vet glove hanging on the nail that by rights be- 
 longed to the bellows. The Painted Lady always 
 put on this glove before she would touch the coals, 
 which diverted Tommy, who knew that common 
 folk lift coals with their bare hands while society 
 uses the fringe of its second petticoat 
 
 It might have been a boudoir through which a 
 kitchen and bedroom had wandered, spilling by 
 the way, but though the effect was tawdry, every- 
 thing had been rubbed clean by that passionate 
 housewife, Grizel. She was on hei knees at present 
 I ca'ming the hearthstone a beautiful blue, and some- 
 times looking round to address hei mother, who 
 was busy among her plants and cut flowers. Surely 
 they were know-nothings who called this woman 
 silly, and blind who said she painted. It was a 
 little ^ce all of one colour, dingy pale, not chubby, 
 but ristaihing the soft contours of a child's face, 
 
 108 
 
THE PAINTED LADY 
 
 and the features were singularly delicate. She wau 
 clad in a soft gray, and her figure was of the small- 
 est ; there was such an air of youth about her that 
 Tommy thought she could become a girl again by 
 merely shortening her frock, not such a girl af 
 gaunt Grizel, though, who would have looked a 
 little woman had she let her frock down. In ap 
 pearance indeed the Painted Lady resembled her 
 plain daughter not at all, but in manner in a score 
 of ways, as when she rocked her arms joyously at 
 sight of a fresh bud or tossed her brown hair from 
 her brow with a pretty gesture that ought, God 
 knows, to have been for some man to love. The 
 watchers could not hear what she and Grizel said. 
 but evidently it was pleasant converse, and mother 
 and child, happy in each other's company, pre 
 sented a picture as sweet as it is common, though 
 some might have complained that they were doing 
 each other's work. But the Painted Lady's delight 
 in flowers was a scandal in Thrums, where she 
 would stand her ground if the roughest boy ap 
 proached her with roses in his hand, and she gave 
 money for them, which was one reason why the peo 
 pie thought her daft. She was tending her flowers 
 now with experienced eye. smelling them daintily, 
 and every time she touched them it was a caress. 
 
 The watchers retired into the field to compare 
 impressions, and Elspeth said emphatically, " I like 
 het, Tommy. I'm not none fleid at her." 
 
 IQQ 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 Tommy had liked her also, but being a man he 
 Baid, " You forget that she's an ill one." 
 
 " She looks as if she didna ken that hersel'," an- 
 swered Elspeth, and these words of a child are the 
 best picture we can hope to get of the Painted 
 Lady 
 
 On their return to the window, they saw that 
 Grizel had finished her ca'ming and was now sit- 
 ting on the floor nursing a doll. Tommy had not 
 thought her the kind to shut her eyes to the truth 
 about dolls, but she was hugging this one passion- 
 ately. Without its clothes it was of the nine-pin 
 formation, and the painted eyes and mouth had 
 been incorporated long since in loving Grizel's 
 system ; but it became just sweet as she swaddled 
 it in a long yellow frock and slipped its bullet 
 head into a duck of a pink bonnet. These articles 
 of attire and the others that you begin with had all 
 been made by Grizel herself out of the coloured 
 tissue-paper that shopkeepers wrap round brandy- 
 bottles. The doll's name was Griselda, and it was 
 exactly six months old, and Grizel had found it, 
 two years ago, lying near the Coffin Brig, naked 
 and almost dead. 
 
 It was making the usual fuss at having its clothes 
 put on, and Grizel had to tell it frequently that of 
 all the babies — which shamed it mow and again, 
 but kept her so occupied that she forgot her 
 mother. The Painted Lady had sunk into the 
 
 200 
 
THE PAINTED LADY 
 
 rocking-chair, and for a time she amused herself 
 with it, but by and by it ceased to rock, and as she 
 sat looking straight before her a change came over 
 her face. Elspeth's hand tightened its clutch on 
 Tommy's ; the Painted Lady had begun to talk to 
 herself 
 
 She was not speaking aloud, for evidently Gri- 
 zel, whose back was toward her, heard nothing, 
 but her lips moved and she nodded her head and 
 smiled and beckoned, apparently to the wall, and 
 the childish face rapidly became vacant and fool- 
 ish. This mood passed, and now she was sitting 
 very still, only her head moving, as she looked in 
 apprehension and perplexity this way and that, 
 like one who no longer knew where she was, nor 
 who was the child by the fire. When at last-Gri- 
 zel turned and observed the change, she may have 
 sighed, but there was no fear in her face ; the fear 
 was on the face of her mother, who shrank from 
 her in unmistakable terror and would have screamed 
 at a harsh word or a hasty movement. Grizel 
 seemed to know this, for she remained where she 
 was, and first she nodded and smiled reassuringly 
 to her mother, and then, leaning forward, took her 
 hand and stroked it softly and began to talk. She 
 had laid aside her doll, and with the act become a 
 woman again. 
 
 The Painted Lady was soothed, but her bewil- 
 dered look came and went, as if slie only caught 
 
 201 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 at some explanation Grizel was making, to- itose ii 
 in a moment. Yet she seemed most eager to be 
 persuaded. The little watchers at this queer play 
 saw that Grizel was saying things to her which 
 she repeated docilely and clung to and lost hold 
 of. Often Grizel illustrated her words by a sort of 
 pantomime, as when she sat down on a chair and 
 placed the doll in her lap, then sat down on her 
 mother's lap ; and when she had done this several 
 times Tommy took Elsperh into the field to say 
 to her : 
 
 "Do you no see? She means as she is the 
 Painted Lady's bairn, just the same as the doll is 
 her bairn," 
 
 If the Painted Lady needed to be told this every 
 minute she was daft indeed, and Elspeth could peer 
 no longer at the eerie spectacle. To leav e Tommy, 
 however, was equally difficult, so she crouched at 
 his feet when he returned to the window, drawn 
 there hastily by the sound of music. 
 
 The Painted Lady could play on the spinet 
 beautifully, but Grizel could not play, though it 
 was she who was trying to play now. She was 
 running her fingers over the notes, producing noises 
 from them, while she swayed grotesquely on her 
 seat and made comic faces. Her object was to 
 capture her mother's mind, and she succeeded for 
 a short time, but soon it floated away from all con 
 trol, and the Painted Lady fell a-shaking violently 
 
 107 
 
THE PAINTED LADY 
 
 Then Grizel seemed to be alarmed, and her arms 
 rocked despairingly, but she went to her mothcT 
 and took loving hold of her. and the woman clung 
 to her child in a way pitiful to see. She was on 
 Grizel's knee now, but she still shivered as if in a 
 deadly chill, and her feet rattled on the floor, and 
 her arms against the sides of the chair. Grizei 
 pinned the trembling arms with her own and 
 twisted hei legs round her mother's, and still the 
 Painted Lady's tremors shook them both, so that 
 to Tommy they were as two people wrestling, 
 
 The shivering slowly lessened and at last ceased, 
 but this seemed to make Grizel no less unhappy, 
 To her vehement attempt to draw her mother's 
 attention she got no response ; the Painted Lady 
 was hearkening intently for some sound other than 
 Grizel's voice, and only once did she look at her 
 child. Then it was with cruel, ugly eyes, and at 
 the same moment she shoved Grizel aside so vi- 
 ciously that it was almost a blow. Grizel sat down 
 sorrowfully beside her doll, like one aware that she 
 could do no more, and her mother at once forgot hei , 
 What was she listening for so eagerly? Was it toi 
 the gallop of a horse ? Tommy strained his ears 
 *♦ Elspeth — speak low — do you hear anything?" 
 " No ; I'm ower fleid to listen." 
 " Whisht ! do you no hear a horse i " 
 " No, everything's terrible still Do vow hear a 
 horse?" 
 
 103 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 "I— I think I do, but far awaV 
 
 His imagination was on fire. Did he hear a 
 distant galloping or did he only make himself heat 
 it ? He had bent his head, and Elspeth, looking 
 affrighted into his face, whispered, " I hear it too- 
 oh, Tommy, so do I ! " 
 
 And the Painted Lady had heard it. She kissed 
 her hand toward the Den several times, and each 
 time Tommy seemed to hear that distant gallop- 
 ing. All the sweetness had returned to her face 
 now, and with it a surging joy, and she rocked her 
 arms exultantly, but quickly controlled them lest 
 Grizel should see. For evidently Grizel must be 
 cheated, and so the Painted Lady became very 
 sly. She slipped off her shoes to be able to make 
 her preparations noiselessly, and though at all 
 other times her face expressed the rapture of love, 
 when she glanced at her child it was suspiciously 
 and with a gleam of hatred. Her preparations 
 were for going out. She was long at the famous 
 mirror, and when she left it her hair was elabor- 
 ately dressed and her face so transformed that first 
 Tommy exclaimed " Bonny ! " and then corrected 
 himself with a scornful " Paint ! " On her feet she 
 put a foolish little pair of red shoes, on her head a 
 hat too gay with flowers, and across her shoulders 
 a flimsy white shawl at which the night air of 
 Thrums would laugh. Her every movement was 
 light and cautious and accompanied by side-glances 
 
 204 
 
THE PAINTED LADY 
 
 at Grizel, who occasionally looked at her, when 
 the Painted Lady immediately pretended to be 
 tending her plants again. She spoke to Grizel 
 sweetly to deceive her, and shot baleful glances at 
 hei next moment Tommy saw that Grizel had 
 taken up her doll once more and was squeeztng ii 
 to her breast She knew very well what was going 
 on behind her back. 
 
 Suddenly Tommy took to his heels, Elspeth 
 after him. He had seen the Painted Lady com- 
 ing on her tiptoes to the window. They saw the 
 window open and a figure in a white shawl creep 
 out of it, as she had doubtless escaped long ago 
 by another window when the door was baned 
 They lost sight of her at once. 
 
 " What will Grizel do now ? " Tommy whis- 
 pered, and he would have returned to his watch- 
 ing place, but Elspeth pointed to the window. 
 Grizel was there closing it, and next moment the 
 lamp was extinguished. They heard a key turn 
 in the lock, and presently Grizel, carrying warm 
 wraps, passed very near them and proceeded 
 along the double dykes, not anxious apparently to 
 keep her mother in view, but slowly, as if she 
 knew where to find her. She went into the Den, 
 where Tommy dared not follow her, but he list- 
 ened at the stile arid in the awful silence he fancied 
 he heard the neighing of a horse. 
 
 The next time he met Grizel he was yearning 
 205 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 to ask her how she spent that night, but he knew 
 she would not answer; it would be a long time 
 before she gave him her confidence again. He 
 offered her his piece of cold iron, however, and 
 explained why he carried it, whereupon she flung 
 it across the road, crying, " You horrid boy, dc 
 you think I am frightened at my mamma ? " But 
 when he was out of sight she came back and 
 slipped the cold iron into her pocket 
 
 3o6 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 >» WHICH TOMMY SOLVES THE WOMAN PROBLXlk. 
 
 Pity made Elspeth want to like the Painted 
 Lady's child now, but her own rules of life were 
 all from a book never opened by Grizel, who 
 made her religion for herself and thought God a 
 swear ; she also despised Elspeth for being so de 
 pendent on Tommy, and Elspeth knew it. The 
 two great subjects being barred thus, it was not 
 likely that either girl, despite some attempts on 
 Elspeth's part, should find out the best that was in 
 the other, without which friendship has no mean- 
 ing, and they would have gone different ways had 
 not Tommy given an arm to each. He, indeed^ 
 had as little in common with Grizel, for most con- 
 spicuous of his traits was the faculty of stepping 
 «.nto other people's shoes and remaining there un 
 til he became someone else ; his individuality con- 
 sisted in having none, while she could only be 
 herself and was without tolerance for those who 
 were different; he had at no time in his life the 
 least desire to make other persons like himself, but 
 If they were not Uke Grizel she rocked her arms 
 
 307 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 and cried, " Why, why, why ? " which is the mark 
 of the " womanly " woman. But his tendency to 
 be anyone he was interested in implied enormous 
 sympathy (for the time being), and though Grizcl 
 spurned his overtures, this only fired his pride of 
 conquest We can all get whatever we want if 
 we are quite determined to have it (though it be 
 a king's daughter), and in the end Tommy van- 
 quished GrizeL How? By offering to let her 
 come into Aaron's house and wash it and dust it 
 and ca'm it, "just as if you were our mother," an 
 invitation she could not resist To you this may 
 seem an easy way, but consider the penetration he 
 showed in thinking of it It came to him one" 
 day when he saw her lift the smith's baby out of 
 the gutter, and hug it with a passionate delight in 
 babies. 
 
 " She's so awid to do it," he said basely to El- 
 speth, " that we needna let on how much we want 
 it done," And he also mentioned her eagerness to 
 Aaron as a reason why she should be allowed to 
 do' it for nothing. 
 
 t For Aaron to hold out against her admittance 
 I would have been to defraud himself, for she trans- 
 formed his house. When she saw the brass lining 
 of the jelly-pan discoloured, and that the stockings 
 hanging from the string beneath the mantelpiece 
 had given way where the wearers were hardest on 
 them ; when she found dripping adhering to a cold 
 
 208 
 
TOMMY SOLVES THE PROBLEM 
 
 fiying-pan instead of in a " pig," and the pitches: 
 leaking and the carrot-grater stopped — when these 
 and similar discoveries were made by Grizel, was 
 it a squeal of horror she gave that such things 
 should be, or a cry of rapture because to her had 
 fallen the task of setting them right ? 
 
 " She just made a jump for the besom," was 
 Tommy's graphic description of how it all began 
 
 You should have seen Grizel on the hoddy-table 
 knocking nails into the walL The hoddy-table is 
 so called because it goes beneath the larger one at 
 night, like a chicken under its mother, and Grizel, 
 with the nails in her mouth, used them up so 
 quickly that you would have sworn she swallowed 
 half of them ; yet she rocked her arms because she 
 could not be at all four walls at once. She rushed 
 about the room until she was dizzy, and Tommy 
 knew the moment to cry " Grip her, she'll tumble ! " 
 when he and Elspeth seized her and put her on a 
 stool. 
 
 It is on the hoddy-table that you bake and iroa 
 " There's not a baking-board in the house," Elspetb 
 explained. " There is ! " cried Grizel, there anc 
 then converting a drawer into one. 
 
 Between her big bannocks she made baby ones. 
 for no better reason than that she was so fond of 
 babies, and she kissed the baby ones and said, 
 " Oh, the loves, they are just sweet ! " and she felt 
 for them when Tommy took a bite. She could 
 
 20Q 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 go so quickly between the board and the girdle 
 that she was always at one end of the course os 
 the other, but never gave you tijue to say at which 
 end, and on the limited space round the fire she 
 could balance such a number of bannocks that 
 they were as much a wonder as the Lord's prayej 
 written on a sixpence. Such a vigilant eye she 
 kept on them, too, that they dared not fall. Yet 
 she had never been taught to bake ; a good-natured 
 neighbour had now and again allowed her to 
 look on. 
 
 Then her ironing! Even Aaron opened his 
 mouth on this subject. Blinder being his confidant 
 " I thought there was a smell o' burning," he said, 
 " and so I went butt the house ; but man, as soon 
 as my een lighted on her I minded of my mothei 
 at the same job. The crittur was so busy with 
 her work that she looked as if, though the last 
 trumpet had blawn, she would just have cried, ' J 
 canna come till my ironing's done ! ' Ay, I went 
 ben without a word." 
 
 But best of all was to see Grizel " redding up " 
 on a Saturday afternoon. Where were Tomm)? 
 and Elspeth then? They were shut up in the 
 coffin-bed to be out of the way, and could scarce 
 have told whether they fled thither or were wrapped 
 into it by her energetic arms. Even Aaron dared 
 not cross the floor until it was sanded "I be^ 
 lieve," he said, trying to jest, " you would like to 
 
TOMMY SOLVES THE PROBLEM 
 
 snut me up in the bed too I" "I should just lov« 
 it," she cried, eagerly ; " will you go ¥ " It is an 
 inferior woman who has a sense of humour when 
 there is a besom in her hand. 
 
 Thus began great days to Grizel, " sweet " she 
 called them, for she had many of her mother's 
 words, and a pretty way of emphasizing them 
 with her plain face that turned them all into su- 
 perlatives. But though Tommy and Elspeth were 
 her friends now, her mouth shut obstinately the 
 moment they mentioned the Painted Lady; she 
 regretted ever having given Tommy her confi- 
 dence on that subject, and was determined not to 
 do so again. He did not dare tell her that he had 
 once been at the east window gf her home, but 
 often he and Elspeth spoke to each other of that 
 adventure, and sometimes they woke in their gar- 
 ret bed thinking they heard the horseman gallop- 
 ing by. Then they crept closer to each other, and 
 wondered whether Grizel was cosey in her bed or 
 stalking an eerie figure in the Den. 
 
 Aaron said little, but he was drawn to the girl, 
 i^rho had not the self-consciousness of Tommy and 
 Elspeth in his presence, and sometimes he slipped 
 a penny into her hand. The pennies were not 
 spent, they were hoarded for the fair, or Muckle 
 Friday, or Muckley, great day of the year in 
 Thrums. If you would know how Tommy was 
 making ready for this mighty festival, listen. 
 
 211 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 One of his sources of income was the Mentm, -■• 
 fiunous London weekly paper, which seemed to 
 visitors to be taken in by every person of position 
 in Thrums. It was to be seen not only in parlours, 
 but on the armchair at the Jute Bank, in the gau- 
 ger's gig, in the Spittal factor's dog-cart, on a shoe- 
 \maker's form, protruding from Dr. McQueen's tail 
 /ppcket and from Mr. Duthie's oxter pocket, on 
 Cathro's school-desk, in the Rev. Mr, Dishart's 
 study, in half a dozen farms. Miss Ailie com- 
 pelled her little servant, Gavinia, to read the 
 Mentor, and stood over her while she did it ; the 
 phrase, "this week's," meant this week's Mentor. 
 Yet the secret must be told : only one copy of the 
 paper came to Thrums weekly ; it was subscribed 
 for by the whole reading public between them, 
 and by Miss Ailie's influence Tommy had become 
 the boy who carried it from house to house. 
 
 This brought him a penny a week, but so heavy 
 were his incidental expenses that he could have 
 saved little for the Muckley had not another or- 
 ganization given him a better chance. It was a 
 society, newly started, for helping the deserving 
 ' poor ; they had to subscribe not less than a penny 
 weekly to it, and at the end of the year each sub- 
 scriber was to be given fuel, etc., to the value of 
 double what he or she had put in. " The three 
 Ps " was a nickname given to the society by Dr. 
 McQueen, because it claimed to distribute " Peats 
 
 212 
 
TOMMY SOLVES THE PROBLEM 
 
 and Potatoes with Propriety," but he was one of 
 its heartiest supporters nevertheless. The history 
 of this society in the first months of its existence 
 not only shows how Tommy became a moneyed 
 man, but gives a glimpse into the character of 
 those it benefited. 
 
 Miss Ailie was treasurer, and the pennies were 
 to be brought to her on Monday evenings between 
 the hours of seven and eight. The first Monday 
 evening found her ready in the school-room, in her 
 hand the famous pencil that wrote red with the 
 one end and blue with the other ; by her side her 
 assistant, Mr. T. Sandys, a pen balanced on his 
 ear For a whole hour did they wait, but though 
 many of the worthiest poor had been enrolled as 
 members, the few who appeared with their pennies 
 were notoriously riff-raff. At eight Miss Ailie dis- 
 consolately sent Tommy home, but he was back 
 in five minutes. 
 
 " There's a mask of them," he told her, excitedly, 
 "hanging about, but feared to come in because 
 the others would see them. They're ashamed to 
 have it kent that they belong to a charity society, 
 and Meggy Robbie is wandering round the Dove- 
 cot wi' her penny wrapped in a paper, and Watty 
 Rattray and Ronny-On is walking up and down 
 the brae pretending they dinna ken one another, 
 and auld Connacher's Jeanie Ann says she has 
 been four times round the town waiting for Kitty 
 
 213 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 Elshioner to go away, and there's a one-leggit man 
 hodding in the ditch, and Tibbie Birse is out wi' 
 a lantern counting them." 
 
 Miss Ailie did not know what to do. " Here's 
 Jeanie Ann's penny," Tommy continued, opening 
 his hand, "and this is three bawbees frae Kitty 
 Elshioner and you and me is no to tell a soul 
 they've joined." 
 
 A furtive tapping was heard at the door. It was 
 Ronny-On, who had skulked forward with two- 
 pence, but Gavinia answered his knock, so he just 
 said, "Ay, Gavinia, it's yoursel'. Well, I'll be 
 stepping," and would have retired had not Miss 
 Ailie caught him. Even then he said, "Three 
 bawbees is to you to lay by, and one bawbee to 
 Gavinia no to tell." 
 
 To next Monday evening Miss Ailie now looked 
 with apprehension, but Tommy lay awake that 
 night until, to use a favourite crow of his, he 
 " found a way." He borrowed the school-mistress's 
 blue-and-red pencil and sought the houses of the 
 sensitive poor with the following effect. One 
 sample will suffice; take him at the door of 
 Meggy Robbie in the West Muir, which he flung 
 open with the effrontery of a tax-collector. 
 
 " You're a three P," he said, with a wave of his 
 pencil. 
 
 " I'm no sic thing ! " cried the old lady. 
 
 "It winna do, woman," Tommy said sternly, 
 214 
 
TOMMY SOLVES THE PROBLEM 
 
 •* Miss Ailie telled me you paid in your first penny 
 on the chap of ten," He wetted the pencil on his 
 tongue to show that it was vain to trifle with him, 
 and Meggy bowed her head. 
 
 " It'll be through the town that I've joined," she 
 moaned, but Tommy explained that he was there 
 to save her. 
 
 " I'm willing to come to your house," he said, 
 " and collect the money every week, and not a soul 
 will I tell except the committee." 
 
 " Kitty Elshioner would see you coming," said 
 Meggy. 
 
 "No, no, I'll creep yont the hedge and climb 
 the hen-house." 
 
 " But it would be a' found out at any rate," she 
 remembered, " when I go for the peats and things 
 at Hogmanay." 
 
 " It needna be," eagerly replied Tommy, " I'll 
 bring them to you in a barrow in the dead o' night." 
 
 " Could you ? " she cried passionately, and he 
 promised he would, and it may be mentioned here 
 that he did. 
 
 " And what for yoursel' ? " she inquired. 
 
 "A bawbee," he said, "the night afore the 
 Muckley." 
 
 The bargain was made, but before he could get 
 away, " Tell me, laddie," said Meggy, coaxingly. 
 " has Kitty Elshioner joined ? " They were all as 
 curious to know who had joined as they were 
 
 215 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 anxious to keep their own membership a secret , 
 but Tommy betrayed none, at least none who 
 agreed to his proposal. There were so many of 
 these that on the night before the Muckley he had 
 thirteen pence. 
 
 " And you was doing good all the time you was 
 making the thirteen pence," Elspeth said, fondly, 
 " I believe that was the reason you did it" 
 
 " I believe it was ! " Tommy exclaimed. He 
 had nor thought of this before, but it was easy to 
 him to believe anything. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 THE MUCKLEy 
 
 EvERy child in Thrums went to bed on the night 
 before the Muckley hugging a pirly, or, as the 
 vulgar say, a money-box ; and all the pirlies were 
 ready for to-morrow, that is to say, the mouths of 
 them had been widened with gully knives by 
 owners now so skilful at the jerk which sends their 
 contents to the floor that pirlies they were no 
 longer. " Disgorge ! " was the universal cry, or, 
 in the vernacular, "Out you come, you sweet 
 deevils ! " 
 
 Not a coin but had its history, not a boy who 
 was unable to pick out his own among a hundred 
 The black one came from the 'Sosh, the bent lad 
 he got for carrying in Ronny-On's sticks. Oh 
 michty me, sure as death he had nearly forgotten 
 the one with the warts on it. Which to spend 
 first ? The goldy one ? Na faags, it was ower ill 
 to come by. The scartit one ? No, no, it was a 
 lucky. Well, then, the one found in the rat's hole ? 
 (That was a day!) Ay, dagont, ay, we'll make 
 the first blatter with it. 
 
 It was Tommy's first Muckley, and the report 
 2?7 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 that he had thirteen pence brought him many 
 advisers about its best investment. Even Corp 
 Shiach (fivepence) suspended hostilities for this 
 purpose. " Mind this," he said solemnly, " there's 
 none o' the candies as sucks so long as Californy's 
 Teuch and Tasty. Other kinds may be sweeter, 
 but Teuch and Tasty lasts the Idngest, and what 
 a grip it has ! It pulls out your teeth ! " Corp 
 seemed to think that this was a recdmmendation. 
 
 "I'm nane sure o' Teuch and Tasty," Birkie 
 said. " If you dinna keep a watch on it, it slips 
 ower when you're swallowing your spittle." 
 
 " Then you should tie a string to it," suggested 
 Tommy, who was thought more of from that hour. 
 
 Beware of Pickpockets ! Had it not been for pla- 
 cards with this glorious announcement (it is the 
 state's first printed acknowledgment that boys and 
 girls form part of the body politic) you might 
 have thought that the night before the Muckley 
 was absurdly like other nights. Not a show had 
 arrived, not a strange dog, no romantic figures 
 were wandering the streets in search of lodgings, 
 no stands had sprung up in the square. You 
 could pass hours in pretending to fear that when 
 the morning came there would be no fairyland. 
 And all the time you knew. 
 
 About ten o'clock Ballingall's cat was observed 
 washing its face, a deliberate attempt to bring on 
 rain. It was immediately put to death, 
 
 218 
 
THE MUCKLEY 
 
 Tommy and Elspeth had agreed to lie awake 
 all night; if Tommy nipped Elspeth, Elspeth 
 would nip Tommy. Other children had made 
 the same arrangement, though the experienced 
 ones were aware that it would fail. If it was true 
 that all the witches were dead, then the streets of 
 stands and shows and gaming-tables and shooting- 
 galleries were erected by human hands, and it fol- 
 lowed that were you to listen through the night 
 you must hear the hammers. But always in the 
 watches the god of the Muckley came unseen 
 and glued your eyes, as if with Teuch and Tasty, 
 and while you slept — Up you woke with a start. 
 What was it you were to mind as soon as you 
 woke ? Listen ! That's a drum beating I It's 
 the Muckley ! They are all here I It has begun ! 
 Oh, michty. michty, michty, whaur's my breeks ? 
 
 When Tommy, with Elspeth and Grizel, set 
 off excitedly for the town, the country-folk were 
 already swarming in. The Monypenny road was 
 thick with them, braw loons in blue bonnets with 
 red bobs to them, tartan waistcoats, scarves of 
 every colour, woollen shirts as gay, and the strut- 
 ting wearers in two minds — whether to take off 
 the scarf to display the shirt, or hide the shirt and 
 trust to the scarf Came lassies, too, in wincey 
 bodices they were like to burst through, and they 
 were listening apprehensively as they ploughed 
 onward for a tearing at the seams. There were 
 
 219 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 red-headed lasses, yellow-chy-headed and black- 
 headedj blue-shawled and red-shawled lasses; boots 
 on every one of them, stockings almost as com- 
 mon, the skirt kilted up for the present, but down 
 it should go when they were in the thick of things, 
 and then it must take care of itself. All were sol- 
 emn and sheepish as yet, but Wait a bit. 
 
 The first-known face our three met was Corp. 
 He was only able to sign to them, because Cali- 
 forny's specialty had already done its work and 
 glued his teeth together. He was off to the smithy 
 to be melted, but gave them to understand that 
 though awkward it was glorious. Then came 
 Birkie, who had sewn up the mouths of his pock- 
 ets, all but a small slit in each, as a precaution 
 against pickpockets, and was now at his own re- 
 quest being held upside down by the Haggerty- 
 Taggertys on the chance that a half-penny which 
 had disappeared mysteriously might fall ouL A 
 more tragic figure was Francie Crabb (one and 
 sevenpence), who, like a mad, mad thing, had 
 taken all his money to the fair at once. In ten 
 minutes he had bought fourteen musical instru- 
 ments. 
 
 Tommy and party had not yet reached the cele- 
 brated corner of the west town end where the 
 stands began, but they were near it, and he stopped 
 to give Grizel and Elspeth his final instructions ; 
 " (i) Keep your money in your purse, and youf 
 
 220 
 
THE MUCKLEY 
 
 purse in your hand, and your hand in your pockctj 
 (2) if you lose me, I'll give Shovel's whistle, and 
 syne you maun squeeze and birse your way back 
 to me." 
 
 Now then, are you ready ? Bang ! They were 
 In it. Strike up, ye fiddlers ; drums, break ; tooters, 
 fifers, at it for your lives; trumpets, blow; bagpipes, 
 skirl ; music-boxes, all together now — Tommy has 
 arrived. 
 
 Even before he had seen Thrums, except with 
 his mother's eye. Tommy knew that the wise begin 
 the Muckley by measuring its extent That the 
 square and adjoining wynds would be crammed 
 was a law of nature, but boyhood drew imaginary 
 lines across the Roods, the west town end, the 
 east town end, and the brae, and if the stands did 
 not reach these there had been retrogression. 
 Tommy found all well in two quarters, got a nasty 
 shock on the brae, but medicine for it in the 
 Roods ; on the whole, yelled a hundred children, 
 by way of greeting to each other, a better Muck- 
 ley than ever. 
 
 From those who loved them best, the more no- 
 table Muckleys got distinctive names for conve- 
 nience of reference. As shall be ostentatiously 
 shown in its place, there was a Muckley called (and 
 by Corp Shiach, too) after Tommy, but this, his 
 first, was dubbed Sewster's Muckley, in honour of 
 a seamstress who hanged herself that day in the 
 
 221 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 Three-cornered Wood. Poor little sewster, she 
 had known joyous Muckleys too, but now she was 
 up in tJie Three-cornered Wood hanging herself, 
 aged nineteen. I know nothing more of her, ex- 
 cept that in her maiden days when she left the 
 house her mother always came to the door to look 
 proudly after her. 
 
 How to describe the scene, when owing to the 
 throng a boy could only peer at it between legs or 
 through the crook of a woman's arm ? Shovel 
 would have run up ploughmen to get his bird's- 
 eye view, and he could have told Tommy what he 
 saw, and Tommy could have made a picture of it 
 in his mind, every figure ten feet high. But per- 
 haps to be lost in it was best. You had but to 
 dive and come up anywhere to find something 
 amazing; you fell over a box of jumping-jacks 
 into a new world. 
 
 Everyone to his taste. If you want Tommy's 
 sentiments, here they are, condensed : " The shows 
 surpass everything else on earth. Four streets of 
 them in the square ! The best is the menagerie, 
 because there is the loudest roaring there. Kick 
 the caravans and you increase the roaring. Ad- 
 mission, however, prohibitive (threepence). More 
 economical to stand outside the show of the 'Moun- 
 tain Maid and the Shepherd's Bride' and watch 
 the merriman saying funny things to the monkey. 
 Take care you don't get in front of the steps, else 
 
 222 
 
THE MUCKLEY 
 
 you will be pressed up by those behind and have 
 to pay before you have decided that you want to 
 go in. When you fling pennies at the Mountain 
 Maid and the Shepherd's Bride they stop play- 
 acting and scramble for them. Go in at night 
 when there are drunk ploughmen to fling pennies. 
 The Fat Wife with the Golden Locks lets you 
 put your fingers in her arms, but that is soon over. 
 ' The Slave-driver and his Victims.' Not worth 
 the money ; they are not blooding. To Jerusalem 
 and Back in a J iffy. This is a swindle. You 
 just keek through holes." 
 
 But Elspeth was of a different mind. She liked 
 To Jerusalem and Back best, and gave the Slave- 
 driver and his Victims a penny to be Christians. 
 The only show she disliked was the wax-work, 
 where was performed the " Tragedy of Tiffano and 
 the Haughty Princess." Tiffano loved the wood- 
 man's daughter, and so he would not have the 
 Haughty Princess, and so she got a magician to 
 turn him into a pumpkin, and then she ate him. 
 What distressed Elspeth was that Tiffano could 
 never get to heaven now, and all the consolation 
 Tommy, doing his best, could give her was, " He 
 could go, no doubt he could go, but he would 
 have to take the Haughty Princess wi' him, and 
 he would be sweer to do that." 
 
 Grizel reflected : " If I had a whip like the one 
 the Slave-driver has shouldn't I lash the boys who 
 
 223 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 hoot my mamma ! I wish I could turn boys into 
 pumpkins. The Mountain Maid wore a beautiful 
 muslin with gold lace, but she does not wash her 
 neck." 
 
 Lastly, let Corp have his say : " I looked at the 
 outside of the shows, but always landed back' at 
 Californy's stand. Sucking is better nor near any- 
 thing. The Teuch and Ta«ty is stickier than ever. 
 I have lost twa teeth. The Mountain Maid is 
 biding all night at Tibbie Birse's, and I went in to 
 see her. She had a bervie and a boiled egg to het 
 tea. She likes her eggs saft wi' a lick of butter in 
 them. The Fat Wife is the one I like best. She's 
 biding wi' Shilpit Kaytherine on the Tanage Brae. 
 She weighs Jeems and Kaytherine and the sma' 
 black swine. She had an ingin to her tea. The 
 Slave-driver's a fushinless body. One o' the 
 Victims gives him his licks. They a' bide in 
 the caravan. You can stand on the wheel and 
 keek in. They had herrings wi' the rans to their 
 tea. I cut a hole in Jerusalem and Back, and 
 there was no Jerusalem there. The man as ocht 
 Jerusalem greets because the Fair Circassian winna 
 take him. He's biding a' night wi' Blinder. He 
 likes a dram in his tea." 
 
 Elspeth's money lasted till four o'clock. For 
 Aaron, almost the only man in Thrums who 
 shunned the revels that day, she bought a ginger- 
 bread house; and the miraculous powder which 
 
 224 
 
THE MUCKLEY 
 
 must be taken on a sixpence was to make Blinder 
 see again, but unfortunately he forgot about put- 
 ting it on the sixpence. And of course there was 
 something for a certain boy. Grizel had completed 
 her purchases by five o'clock, when Tommy was 
 still heavy with threepence halfpenny. They in- 
 cluded a fluffy pink shawl, she did not say for 
 whom, but the Painted Lady wore it afterwards, 
 and for herself another doll. 
 
 " But that doll's leg is broken," Tommy pointed 
 out 
 
 " That was why I bought it," she said warmly, 
 " I feel so sorry for it, the darling," and she carried 
 it carefully so that the poor thing might suffer as 
 little pain as possible. 
 
 Twice they rushed home for hasty meals, and were 
 back so quickly that Tommy's shadow strained a 
 muscle in turning with him. Night came on, and 
 from a hundred strings stretched along stands and 
 shows there now hung thousands of long tin things 
 like trumpets. One burning paper could set a 
 dozen of these ablaze, and no sooner were they lit 
 than a wind that had been biding its time rushed 
 in like the merriman, making the lamps swing on 
 their strings, so that the flaring lights embraced, 
 and from a distance Thrums seemed to be on fire» 
 
 Even Grizel was willing to hold Tommy's hand 
 now, and the three could only move this way and 
 that as the roaring crowd carried them. They 
 
 225 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 were not looking at the Muckley, they were paii 
 of it, and at last Thrums was all Tommy's fancy 
 had painted it This intoxicated him, so that he 
 had to scream at intervals, " We're here, Elspeth, 
 I tell you, we're here ! " and he became pugnacious 
 and he asked youths twice his size whether they 
 denied that he was here, and if so, would they 
 come on. In this frenzy he was seen by Miss 
 Ailie, who had stolen out in a veil to look for Ga- 
 vinia, but JQst as she was about to reprove him, 
 dreadful men asked her was she in search of a lad, 
 whereupon she fled home and barred the door, and 
 later in the evening warned Gavinia, through the 
 key-hole, taking her for a roystering blade, that there 
 were policemen in the house, to which the astound- 
 ing reply of Gavinia, then aged twelve, was, " No 
 sic luck." 
 
 With the darkness, too, crept into the Muckley 
 certain devils in the colour of the night who spoke 
 thickly and rolled braw lads in the mire, and egged 
 on friends to fight and cast lewd thoughts into the 
 minds of the women. At first the men had been 
 bashful swains. To the women's "Gie me my 
 faring, Jock," they had replied, " Wait, Jean, till 
 I'm fee'd," but by night most had got their arles, 
 with a dram above it, and he who could only 
 guflfaw at Jean a few hours ago had her round the 
 waist now, and still an arm free for rough play 
 with other kimmers. The Jeans were as bolster- 
 
 226 
 
THE MUCKLEY 
 
 ous as the Jocks, giving them leer for leer, running 
 from them with a giggle, waiting to be. caught and 
 rudely kissed. Grand, patient, long-suffering fel- 
 lows these men were, up at five, summer and win- 
 ter, foddering their horses, maybe hours before 
 there would be food for themselves, miserably paid, 
 housed like cattle, and when the rheumatism seized 
 them, liable to be flung aside like a broken graip. 
 As hard was the life of the women : coarse food, 
 chaff beds, damp clothes, their portion; theii 
 sweethearts in the service of masters who were re- 
 luctant to fee a married man. Is it to be wondered 
 that these lads who could be faithful unto death 
 drank soddenly on their one free day, that these 
 girls, starved of opportunities for womanliness, of 
 which they could make as much as the finest 
 lady, sometimes woke after a Muckley to wish 
 that they might wake no more ? 
 
 Our three brushed shoulders with the devils thai 
 had been let loose, but hardly saw them ; they 
 heard them, but did not understand their tongue. 
 The eight-o'clock bell had rung long since, and 
 though the racket was as great as ever, it was only 
 because every reveller left now made the noise of 
 two. Mothers were out fishing for their bairns. 
 The Haggerty-Taggertys had straggled home 
 hoarse as crows ; every one of them went to bed 
 that night with a stocking round his throat. Of 
 Monypenny boys. Tommy could find none in the 
 
 227 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 square but Corp, who, with another tooth missing, 
 bad been going about since six o'clock with his 
 pockets hanging out, as a sign that all was over. 
 An awkward silence had fallen on the trio ; the rea- 
 son, that Tommy had only threepence left and the 
 smallest of them cost threepence. The reference 
 of course is to the wondrous gold-paper packets of 
 sweets (not unlike crackers In appearance) which 
 are only seen at the Muckley, and are what every 
 girl claims of her lad or lads. Now, Tommy had 
 vowed to Elspeth — But he had also said to Grizel 
 — In/short, how could he buy for both with three* 
 pence ? 
 
 Grizel, as the stranger, ought to get — But he 
 knew Elspeth too well to believe that she would 
 dry her eyes with that 
 
 Elspeth being his sister — But he had promised 
 Grizel, and she had been so 111 brought up that 
 she said nasty things when you broke your word. 
 
 The gold packet was bought That is It stick- 
 ing out of Tommy's inside pocket. The girls saw 
 it and knew what was troubling him, but not a 
 word was spoken now between the three. They 
 set off for home self-consciously. Tommy the least 
 agitated on the whole, because he need not make 
 up his mind for another ten minutes. But he wished 
 Grizel would not look at him sideways and then 
 rock her arms in irritation. They passed many 
 merry-makers homeward bound, many of them 
 
 228 
 
THE MUCKLEY 
 
 following a tortuous course, for the Scottish topef 
 gives way first in the legs, the Southron in the other 
 extremity, and thus between them could be con- 
 structed a man wholly sober and another as drunk 
 as Chloe. But though the highway clattered with 
 many feet, not a soul was in the double dykes, and 
 at the easy end of that formidable path Grizel came 
 to a determined stop. 
 
 " Good-night," she said, with such a disdainful 
 glance at Tommy. 
 
 He had not made up his mind yet, but he saw 
 that it must be done now, and to take a decisive 
 step was always agony to him, though once taken 
 it ceased to trouble. To dodge it for another mo- 
 ment he said, weakly : " Let's — let's sit down a 
 whiley on the dyke." 
 
 But Grizel, while coveting the packet, because 
 she had never got a present in her life, would not 
 shilly-shally. "Are you to give it to Elspeth?" 
 she asked, with the horrid directness that is so try- 
 ing to an intellect like Tommy's. 
 
 " N-no," he said. 
 
 " To Grizel? " cried Elspeth. 
 
 " N-no," he said again. 
 
 It was an undignified moment for a great boy, 
 but the providence that watched over Tommy until 
 it tired of him came to his aid in the nick of time. 
 It took the form of the Painted Lady, who ap- 
 peared suddenly out of the gloom of the Double 
 
 229 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMM\ 
 
 Dykes. Two of the children jumped, and the 
 third clenched her little fists to defend her mamma 
 if Tommy cast a word at her. But he did not ; 
 his mouth remained foolishly open. The Painted 
 Lady had been talking cheerfully to herself, but 
 she drew back apprehensively, with a look of ap- 
 peal on her face, and then — and then Tommy 
 " saw a way." He handed her the gold packet. 
 " It's to you," he said, " it's — it's your Muckley ! " 
 
 For a moment she was afraid to take it, but 
 when she knew that this sweet boy's gift was genu« 
 ine, she fondled it and was greatly flattered, and 
 dropped him the quaintest courtesy and then 
 looked defiantly at Grizel. But Grizel did not 
 take it from her. Instead, she flung her arms im- 
 pulsively round Tommy's neck, she was so glad, 
 glad, glad. 
 
 As Tommy and Elspeth walked away to their 
 home, Elspeth could hear him breathing heavily, 
 and occasionally he gave her a furtive glance. 
 
 "Grizel needna have done that," she said, 
 sharply. 
 
 " No," replied Tommy. 
 
 "But it was noble of you," she continued, 
 squeezing his hand, "to give it to the Painted 
 Lady. Did you mean to give it to her a' the time ? " 
 
 "Oh, Elspeth!" 
 
 "But did you?" 
 
 * Oh, Elspeth!" 
 
 230 
 
THE MUCKLEY 
 
 "That's no you greeting, is it?" she asked, 
 softly. 
 
 " I'm near the greeting," he said truthfully, 
 "but I'm no sure what about." His sympathy 
 was so easily aroused that he sometimes cried 
 without exactly knowing why. 
 
 " It's because you're so good," Elspeth told him; 
 but presently she said, with a complete change of 
 voice, " No, Grizel needna have done that." 
 
 " It was a shameful thing to do," Tommy agreed, 
 shaking his head. " But she did it ! " he added, 
 triumphantly ; " you saw her do it, Elspeth ! " 
 
 "But you didna like it?" Elspeth asked, in 
 terror, 
 
 " No, of course I didna like it, but — " 
 
 "But what. Tommy?" 
 
 " But I liked her to like it," he admitted, and 
 by and by he began to laugh hysterically. " I'm 
 no sure what I'm laughing at," he said, " but I 
 think it's at mysel'." He may have laughed at 
 himself before, but this Muckley is memorable as 
 the occasion on which he first caught himself do» 
 ing it. The joke grew with the years, until some- 
 times he laughed in his most emotional moments, 
 suddenly seeing himself in his true light. But it 
 had become a bittet laugh by that time. 
 
 23» 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 CORP IS BROUGHT TO HEEL— GRIZEL DEHANT 
 
 Corp Shiach was a bare-footed colt of a boy, of 
 ungainly build, with a nose so thick and turned up 
 that it was a certificate of character, and his hands 
 were covered with warts, which he had a trick of 
 biting till they bled. Then he rubbed them on 
 his trousers, which were the picturesque part of 
 him, for he was at present " serving" to the masons 
 (he had " earned his keep " since long before he 
 could remember), and so wore the white or yellow 
 ducks which the dust of the quarry stains a rarer 
 orange colour than is known elsewhere. The orange 
 of the masons' trousers, the blue of the hearth- 
 stones, these are the most beautiful colours to be 
 seen in Thrums, though of course Corp was un- 
 aware of it. He was really very good-natured, 
 and only used his fists freely because of imagina- 
 tion he had none, and thinking made him sweat, 
 and consequently the simplest Way of proving his 
 case was to say, " I'll fight you." What might 
 have been the issue of a conflict between him and 
 Shovel was a problem for Tommy to puzzle over. 
 Shovel was P5 quick as Corp was deliberate, and 
 
 232 
 
CORP IS BROUGHT TO HEEL 
 
 would have danced round him, putting in unex- 
 pected ones, but if he had remained just one 
 moment too long within Corp's reach 
 
 They nicknamed him Corp because he took 
 fits, when he lay like one dead. He was proud of 
 his fits, was Corp, but they were a bother to him, 
 too, because he could make so little of them. 
 They interested doctors and other carriage folk, 
 who came to his aunt's house to put their fingers 
 into him, and gave him sixpence, and would have 
 given him more, but when they pressed him to tell 
 them what he remembered about his fits, he could 
 only answer dejectedly, " Not a damned thing." 
 
 " You might as well no have them ava," his 
 wrathful aunt, with whom he lived, would say, 
 and she thrashed him until his size forbade it. 
 
 Soon after the Muckley came word that the 
 Lady of the Spittal was to be brought to see Corp 
 by Mr. Ogilvy, the school-master of Glen Quhar- 
 jty, and at first Corp boasted of it, but as the 
 appointed day drew near he became uneasy. 
 
 " The worst o't," he said to anyone who would 
 listen, " is that my auntie is to be away frae hame, 
 and so they'll put a' their questions to me." 
 
 The Haggerty-Taggertys and Birkie were so 
 jealous that they said they were glad they never 
 had fits, but Tommy made no such pretence. 
 
 " Oh, Corp, if I had thae fits of yours ! " he 
 exclaimed greedily. 
 
 233 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 "If they were mine to give awa'," replied Corp 
 'sullenly, "you could have them and welcome." 
 Grown meek in his trouble, he invited Tommy 
 to speak freely, with the result that his eyes were 
 partially opened to the superiority of that boy's 
 /attainments. Tommy told him a number of in- 
 teresting things to say to Mr. Ogilvy and the lady 
 about his fits, about how queer he felt just before 
 they came on, and the visions he had while he 
 was lying stiff. But though the admiring Corp 
 gave attentive ear, he said hopelessly, next day, 
 "Not a dagont thing do I mind. When they 
 question me about my fits I'll just say I'm some- 
 times in them and sometimes out o' them, and if 
 they badger me more, I can aye kick," 
 
 Tommy gave him a look that meant, " Fits are 
 just wasted on you," and Corp replied with an- 
 other that meant, " I ken they are." Then they 
 parted, one of them to reflect 
 
 " Corp," he said excitedly, when next they met, 
 "has Mr. Ogilvy or the lady ever come to see 
 you afore?" 
 
 They had not, and Corp was able to swear that 
 they did not even know him by sight. 
 
 " They dinna ken me either," said Tommy. 
 
 "What does that matter?" asked Corp, but 
 Tommy was too full to speak. He had " found 
 a way." 
 
 The lady and Mr. Ogilvy found Corp such a 
 
 234 
 
CORP IS BROUGHT TO HEEL 
 
 success that the one gave him a shilling and the 
 other took down his reminiscences in a note-book. 
 But if you would hear of the rings of blue and 
 white and yellow Corp saw, and of the other ex- 
 traordinary experiences he described himself as 
 having when in a fit, you need not search that 
 note-book, for the page has been torn out. In- 
 stead of making inquiries of Mr. Ogilvy, try any 
 other dominie in the district, Mr, Cathro, for in- 
 stance, who delighted to tell the tale. This of 
 course was when it leaked out that Tommy had 
 personated Corp, by arrangement with the real 
 Corp, who was listening in rapture beneath the 
 bed. 
 
 Tommy, who played his part so well that he 
 came out of it in a daze, had Corp at heel from 
 that hour. He told him what a rogue he had 
 been in London, and Corp cried admiringly, 
 " Oh, you deevil ! oh, you queer little deevil I " 
 and sometimes it was Elspeth who was narrator, 
 and then Tommy's noble acts were the subject; 
 but still Corp's comment was " Oh, the deevil I oh, 
 the queer little deevil I " Elspeth was flattered by 
 his hero-worship, but his language shocked her, 
 and after consulting Miss Ailie she advised him 
 to count twenty when he felt an oath coming, at 
 the end of which exercise the desire to swear would 
 have passed away. Good-natured Corp willingly 
 promised to try this, but he was never hopeful, 
 
 235 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 and as he explained to Tommy, after a failure, " It 
 just made me waur than ever, for when I had 
 counted the twenty I said a big Damn, thoughtful- 
 like, and syne out jumpit three little damns, like 
 as if the first ane had cleckit in my mouth." 
 
 It was fortunate that Elspeth liked Corp on the 
 whole, for during the three years now to be rapidly 
 passed over. Tommy took delight in his society, 
 though he never treated him as an equal; Corp 
 indeed did not expect that, and was humbly grate- 
 ful for what he got. In summer, fishing was theit 
 great diversion. They would set off as early as 
 four in the morning, fishing wands in hand, and 
 scour the world tor trout, plodding home in the 
 gloaming with stones in their fishing-basket to de 
 ceive those who felt its weight. In the long win- 
 ter nights they liked best to listen to Blinder's tales 
 of the Thrums Jacobites, tales never put into writ- 
 ing, but handed down from father to son, and proved 
 true in the oddest of ways, as by Blinder's trick of 
 involuntarily holding out his hands to a fire when 
 he found himself near one, though he might be 
 sweating to the shirt and the time a July forenoon. 
 " I make no doubt," he told them, " as I do that 
 because my forebear, Buchan Osier (called Buchan 
 wi' the Haap after the wars was ower), had to hod 
 so lang frae the troopers, and them so greedy fan 
 him that he daredna crawl to a fire once in an 
 eight days." 
 
 236 
 
CORP IS BROUGHT TO HEEL 
 
 The Lord of the Spittal and handsome Captain 
 Body (whose being "out" made all the women 
 anxious) marched through the Den, flapping their 
 wings at the head of a fearsome retinue, and the 
 Thrums folk looked so glum at them that gay 
 Captain Body said he should kiss every lass who 
 did not cheer for Charlie, and none cheered, but 
 at the same time none ran away. Few in Thrums 
 cared a doit for Charlie, but some hung on behind 
 this troop till there was no turning back for them, 
 and one of these was Buchan. He forced his wife 
 to give Captain Body a white rose from her bush 
 by the door, but a thorn in it pricked the gallant, 
 and the blood from his jfingers fell on the bush, 
 and from that year it grew red roses. 
 
 " If you dinna believe me," Blinder said, " look 
 if the roses is no red on the bush at Pyotdykes, 
 which was a split frae Buchan's, and speir whether 
 they're no named the blood rose." 
 
 " I believe you," Tommy would say breath- 
 lessly: "go on." 
 
 Captain Body was back in the Den by and by, 
 but he had no thought of preeing lasses* mouths 
 now. His face was scratched and haggard and his 
 gay coat torn, and when he crawled to the Cuttle 
 Well he caught some of the water in his bonnet 
 and mixed meal with it, stirring the precious com- 
 pound with his finger and usingtheloof of his hand 
 as a spooa Every stick of furniture Buchan and 
 
 237 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 tne other Thrums rebels possessed was seized by 
 the government and rouped in the market-place of 
 Thrums, but few would bid against the late owners, 
 for whom the things were secretly bought back very 
 cheaply. 
 
 To these and many similar stories Tommy list- 
 ened open-mouthed, seeing the scene fer more 
 vividly than the narrator, who became alarmed at 
 his quick, loud breathing, and advised him to for- 
 get them and go back to his lessons. But his les- 
 sons never interested Tommy, and he would go 
 into the Den instead, and repeat Blinder's legends, 
 with embellishments which made them so real that 
 Corp and Elspeth and Grizel were afraid to look be- 
 hind them lest the spectre of Captain Body should 
 be standing there, leaning on a ghostly sword. 
 
 At such times Elspeth kept a firm grip of 
 Tommy's hand, but one evening as they all ran 
 panic-stricken from some imaginary alarm, she 
 lost him near the Cuttle Well, and then, as it 
 seemed to her, the Den became suddenly very 
 dark and lonely. At first she thought she had it 
 to herself, but as she stole timidly along the pink 
 path she heard voices, and she cried " Tommy ! " 
 joyously. But no answer came, so it could not be 
 Tommy. Then she thought it must be a pair of 
 lovers, but next moment she stood transfixed with 
 fear, for it was the Painted Lady, who was coming 
 along the path talking aloud to herself. No, not 
 
 238 
 
CORP IS BROUGHT TO HEEL 
 
 to herself — to someone she evidently thought wai 
 by her side ; she called him darling and other sweet 
 names, and waited for his replies and nodded 
 pleased assent to them, or pouted at them, and 
 terrified Elspeth knew that she was talking to the 
 man who never came. 
 
 When she saw Elspeth she stopped irresolutely, 
 and the two stood looking in fear at each other 
 " You are not my brat, are you ? " the Painted 
 Lady asked. 
 
 " N-no," the child gasped. 
 
 " Then why don't you call me nasty names *? " 
 
 " I dinna never call you names," Elspeth replied, 
 but the woman still looked puzzled. 
 
 "Perhaps you are naughty also?" she said 
 doubtfially, and then, as if making up her mind 
 that it must be so, she came closer and said, with 
 a voice full of pity : " I am so sorry." 
 
 Elspeth did not understand half of it, but the 
 pitying voice, which was of the rarest sweetness, 
 drove away much of her fear, and she said : " Do 
 you no mind me *? I was wi' Tommy when he 
 gave you the gold packet on Muckley night" 
 
 Then the Painted Lady remembered. "He 
 took such a fancy to me," she said, with a pleased 
 simper, and then she looked serious again. 
 
 " Do you love him ? " she asked, and Elspeth 
 aodded. 
 
 "But is he all the world to you?" 
 
 ^39 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 " Yes," Elspeth said. 
 
 The Painted Lady took her by the arm and 
 said impressively, " Don't let him know." 
 
 " But he does know," said Elspeth. 
 
 " I am so sorry," the Painted Lady said again, 
 " When they know too well, then they have no 
 pity." 
 
 "But I want Tommy to know," Elspeth in- 
 sisted. 
 
 "That is the woful thing," the Painted Lady 
 said, rocking her arms in a way that reminded the 
 child of Grizel. " We want them to know, we 
 cannot help liking them to know ! " 
 
 Suddenly she became confidentiaL " Do you 
 think I showed my love too openly ? " she asked 
 eagerly. " I tried to hide it, you know. I covered 
 my face with my hands, but he pulled them away, 
 and then, of course, he knew." 
 
 She went on, " I kissed his horse's nose, and he 
 said I did that because it was his horse. How 
 could he know? When I asked him how he 
 knew, he kissed me, and I pretended to be angry 
 and ran away. But I was not angry, and I said to 
 myself, * I am glad, I am glad, I am glad ! ' 
 
 " I wanted so to be good, but — It is so difficult 
 to refuse when you love him very much, don't you 
 think ? " 
 
 The pathos of that was lost on the girl, and the 
 Painted Lady continued sadly : " It would be so 
 
 240 
 
CORP IS BROUGHT TO HEEL 
 
 nice, would it not, if they liked us to be good ? I 
 think it would be sweet." She bent forward and 
 whispered emphatically, "But they don't, you 
 know — it bores them. 
 
 " Never bore them — and they are so easily 
 bored ! It bores them if you say you want to be 
 married. I think it would be sweet to be married, 
 but you should never ask for a wedding. They 
 give you everything else, but if you say you want 
 a wedding, they stamp their feet and go away. 
 Why are you crying, girl ? You should not cry ; 
 they don't like it. Put on your prettiest gown 
 and laugh and pretend you are happy, and then 
 they will tell you naughty stories and give you 
 these." She felt her ears and looked at her fingers, 
 on which there may once have been jewels, but 
 there were none now. 
 
 " If you cry you lose your complexion, and 
 then they don't love you any more, I had always 
 such a beautiful skin. Some ladies when they 
 lose their complexion paint. Horrid, isn't it ? I 
 wonder they can do such a thing." 
 
 She eyed Elspeth suspiciously. "But of course 
 you might do it just a little," she said pleadingly 
 — "just to make them go on loving you, don't 
 you think? 
 
 " When they don't want to come any more they 
 write you a letter, and you run with it to your 
 room and kiss it, because you don't know what is 
 
 241 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 inside. Then you open it, and that breaks your 
 heart, you know." She nodded her head saga- 
 ciously and smiled with tears in her eyes. " Never, 
 never, never open the letter. Keep it unopened 
 on your breast, and then you can always think that ' 
 he may come to-morrow. And if " 
 
 Someone was approaching, and she stopped and 
 listened. " My brat ! " she cried furiously, " she is 
 always following me," and she poured forth a tor- 
 rent of filthy abuse of Grizel, in the midst of which 
 Tommy (for it was he) appeared and carried El- 
 speth off hastily. This was the only conversation 
 either child ever had with the Painted Lady, and 
 it bore bad fruit for Grizel. Elspeth told some of 
 the Monypenny women about it, and they thought 
 it their duty to point out to Aaron that the Painted 
 Lady and her child were not desirable acquaintances 
 for Tommy and Elspeth. 
 
 " I dinna ken," he answered sharply, "whether 
 Tommy's a fit acquaintance for Grizel, but I'm 
 very sure o' this, that she's more than a fit acquain- 
 tance for him. And look at what she has done 
 for this house. I kenna what we should do if she 
 didna come in nows and nans." 
 
 "You ken well, Aaron," they said, "that ony- 
 thing we could do in the way o' keeping your 
 house in order we should do gladly." 
 
 " Thank you," he replied ungraciously, "but I 
 would rather have her." 
 
 243 
 
CORP IS BROUGHT TO HEEL 
 
 Nevertheless he agreed that he ought to forbid 
 any intercourse with the Painted Lady, and unfor- 
 tunately Grizel heard of this. Probably there 
 never would have been any such intercourse; 
 Grizel guarded against it more than anyone, for 
 reasons she never spoke of, but she resented this 
 veto proudly. 
 
 " Why must you not speak to my mamma ? " 
 she demanded of Tommy and Elspeth. 
 
 " Because — because she is a queer one," he said. 
 
 "She is not a queer one — she is just sweet." 
 
 He tried to evade the question by saying weakly, 
 " We never see her to speak to at any rate, so it 
 will make no difference. It's no as if you ever 
 asked us to come to Double Dykes." 
 
 " But I ask you now," said Grizel, with flashing 
 eyes. 
 
 " Oh, I darena I " cried Elspeth. 
 
 " Then I won't ever come into your house again," 
 said Grizel decisively. 
 
 " No to redd up ? " asked Tommy, incredu- 
 lously. " No to bake nor to iron ? You couldna 
 help it." 
 
 " Yes I could." 
 
 " Think what you'll miss ! " 
 
 Grizel might have retorted, "Think what you 
 will miss ! " but perhaps the reply she did make 
 had a sharper sting in it, "I shall never come 
 again," she said, loftily, "and my reason for not 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 coming is that — that my mamma thinks your 
 house is not respectable!" She flung this over 
 her shoulder as she stalked away, and it may be 
 that the tears came when there were none to see 
 them, but hers was a resolute mind, and though 
 she continued to be friendly with Tommy and El- 
 speth out of doors she never again crossed their 
 threshold. 
 
 "The house is in a terrible state for want o' 
 you," Tommy would say, trying to wheedle her. 
 " We hinna sanded the floor for months, and the 
 box-iron has fallen ahint the dresser, and my gray 
 sark is rove up the back, and oh, you should just 
 see the holes in Aaron's stockings ! " 
 
 Then Grizel rocked her arms in agony, but no, 
 she would not go in. 
 
 244 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 THE SHADOW OF SIR WALTER 
 
 Tommy was in Miss Ailie's senior class now, though 
 by no means at the top of it, and her mind was 
 often disturbed about his future. On this subject 
 Aaron had never spoken to anyone, and the prob- 
 lem gave Tommy himself so little trouble that all 
 Elspeth knew was that he was to be great and that 
 she was to keep his house. So the school-mistress 
 braved an interview with Aaron for the sake of her 
 favourite. 
 
 " You know he is a remarkable boy," she said. 
 
 " At his lessons, ma'am ? " asked Aaron, quietly. 
 
 Not exactly at his lessons, she had to admit. 
 
 " In what way, then, ma'am ? " 
 
 Really Miss Ailie could not say. There was 
 something wonderfiil about Tommy, you felt it, 
 but you could not quite give it a name. The 
 warper must have noticed it himself 
 
 " I've heard him saying something o' the kind 
 to Elspeth," was Aaron's reply. 
 
 " But sometimes he is like a boy inspired," said 
 the school-mistress. " You must have seen that ? " 
 
 245 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 " When he was thinking o' himsel'," answered 
 Aaron. 
 
 " He has such noble sentiments." 
 
 " He has." 
 
 " And I think, I really think," said Miss Ailie, 
 eagerly, for this was what she had come to say, 
 ; " that he has got great gifts for the ministry." 
 
 " I'm near sure o't," said Aaron, grimly. 
 
 " Ah, I see you don't like him." 
 
 " I dinna," the warper acknowledged quietly, 
 " but I've been trying to do my duty by him for 
 all that. It's no every laddie that gets three years' 
 schooling straight on end." 
 
 This was true, but Miss Ailie used it to press 
 her point. " You have done so well by him," she 
 said, " that I think you should keep him at school 
 for another year or two, and so give him a chance 
 of carrying a bursary. If he carries one it will 
 support him at college; if he does not — well, 
 then I suppose he must be apprenticed to some 
 trade." 
 
 " No," Aaron said, decisively ; " if he gets the 
 chance of a college education and flings it awa', 
 I'll waste no more siller on his keep. I'll send 
 him straight to the herding." 
 
 "And I shall not blame you," Miss Ailie de- 
 clared eagerly. 
 
 " Though I would a hantle rather," continued 
 the warper, " waur my money on Elspeth." 
 
 246 
 
THE SHADOW OF SIR WALTER 
 
 " What you spend on him," Miss Ailie argued, 
 " you will really be spending on her, for if he rises 
 in the world he will not leave Elspeth behind. 
 You are prejudiced against him, but you cannot 
 deny that." 
 
 " I dinna deny but what he's fond o' her," said 
 Aaron, and after considering the matter for some 
 days he decided that Tommy should get his chance. 
 The school-mistress had not acted selfishly, for this 
 decision, as she knew, meant that the boy must 
 now be placed in the h34ids of Mr. Cathro, who 
 was a Greek and Latin scholar. She taught Latin 
 herself it is true, but as cautiously as she crossed 
 a plank bridge, and she was never comfortable in 
 the dominie's company, because even at a tea-table 
 he would refer familiarly to the ablative absolute 
 instead of letting sleeping dogs lie. 
 
 " But Elspeth couldna be happy if we were at 
 different schools," Tommy objected instantly. 
 
 "Yes, I could," said Elspeth, who had been 
 won over by Miss Ailie; "it will be so fine. 
 Tommy, to see you again after I hinna seen you 
 for three hours." 
 
 Tommy was little known to Mr. Cathro at this 
 time, except as the boy who had got the better of 
 a rival teacher in the aSair of Corp, which had de- 
 lighted him greatly. " But if the sacket thinks 
 he can play any of his tricks on me,", he told 
 Aaron, " there is an awakening before him," and 
 
 247 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 he began the cramming of Tommy for a bursary 
 with p<?rfect confidence. 
 
 But before the end of the month, at the mere 
 mention of Tommy's name, Mr. Cathro turned 
 red in the face, and the fingers of his laying-on 
 hand would clutch an imaginary pair of tawse 
 Already Tommy had made him self-conscious. He 
 peered covertly at Tommy, and Tommy caught 
 him at it every time, and then each quickly looked 
 another way, and Cathro vowed never to look 
 again, but did it next minute, and what enraged 
 him most was that he knew Tommy noted his at- 
 tempts at self-restraint as well as his covert glances. 
 All the other pupils knew that a change for the 
 worse had come over the dominie's temper. They 
 saw him punish Tommy frequently without per- 
 ceptible cause, and that he was still unsatisfied 
 when the punishment was over. This apparently 
 was because Tommy gave him a look before re- 
 turning to his seat. When they had been wal- 
 loped they gave Cathro a look also, but it merely 
 meant, " Oh, that this was a dark road and I had 
 a divot in my hand ! " while his look was unread- 
 able, that is unreadable to them, for the dominie 
 understood it and writhed. What it said was, 
 " You think me a wonder, and therefore I forgive 
 you." 
 
 "And sometimes he fair beats Cathro!" So 
 Tommy's schoolmates reported at home, and the 
 
 248 
 
THE SHADOW OF SIR WALTER 
 
 dominie had to acknowledge its truth to Aaron. 
 " I wish you would give that sacket a thrashing 
 for me," he said, half furiously, yet with a grin on 
 his face, one day when he and the warper chanced 
 to meet on the Monypenny road. 
 
 " I'll no lay a hand on bairn o' Jean Myles," 
 Aaron replied. "Ay, and I understood you to 
 say that he should meet his match in you." 
 
 "Did I ever say that, man? Well, well, we 
 live and learn." 
 
 " What has he been doing now ? " 
 
 "What has he been doing!" echoed Cathro. 
 " He has been making me look foolish in my own 
 class-room. Yes, sir, he has so completely got the 
 better of me (and not for the first time) that when 
 I tell the story of how he diddled Mr. Ogilvy, 
 Mr. Ogilvy will be able to cap it with the story of 
 how the little whelp diddled me. Upon my soul, 
 Aaron, he is running away with all my self-respect 
 and destroying my sense of humour." 
 
 What had so crushed the dominie was the affair 
 of Francie Crabb. Francie was now a pupil, like 
 Gavin Dishart and Tommy, of Mr. Cathro's, who 
 detested the boy's golden curls, perhaps because he 
 was bald himself They were also an incentive 
 to evil-doing on the part of other boys, who must 
 give them a tug in passing, and on a day the dom- 
 inie said, in a fury, " Give your mother my com- 
 pliments, Francie, and tell her I'm so tired of see- 
 
 249 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 ing your curls that I mean to cut them off to-mor- 
 row morning." 
 
 " Say he shall not," whispered Tommy. 
 
 " You shanna ! " blurted out Francie. 
 
 " But I will," said Cathro ; " I would do it now 
 if I had the shears." 
 
 It was only an empty threat, but an hour after- 
 wards the dominie caught Tommy wagering in 
 witchy marbles and other coin that he would not 
 do it, and then instead of taking the tawse to him 
 he said, " Keep him to his bargains, laddies, for 
 whatever may have been my intention at the time, 
 I mean to be as good as my word now." 
 
 He looked triumphantly at Tommy, who, how- 
 ever, instead of seeming crestfallen, continued to 
 bet, and now the other boys were eager to close 
 with him, for great was their faith in Cathro. 
 These transactions were carried out on the sly, but 
 the dominie knew what was going on, and de- 
 spite his faith in himself he had his twitches of 
 uneasiness. 
 
 " However, the boy can only be trusting to fear 
 of Mrs. Crabb restraining me," he decided, and he 
 marched into the school-room next morning, os- 
 tentatiously displaying his wife's largest scissors. 
 His pupils crowded in after him, and though he 
 noticed that all were strangely quiet and many 
 wearing scared faces, he put it down to the coming 
 scene. He could not resist giving one triumphant 
 
 250 
 
THE SHADOW OF SIR WALTER 
 
 glance at Tommy, who, however, instead of return- 
 ing it, looked modestly down. Then — " Is Francie 
 Crabb here ? " asked Mr. Cathro, firmly." 
 
 " He's hodding ahint the press," cried a dozen 
 voices. 
 
 "Come forward, Francie," said the dominie, 
 clicking the shears to encourage him. 
 
 There was a long pause, and then Francie 
 emerged in fear from behind the press. Yes, it 
 was Francie, but his curls were gone ! 
 
 The shears fell to the floor. " Who did this ? " 
 roared the terrible Cathro. 
 
 " It was Tommy Sandys," blurted out Francie, 
 in tears. 
 
 The school-master was unable to speak, and, 
 alarmed at the stillness, Francie whined, " He said 
 it would be done at ony rate, and he promised me 
 half his winnings." 
 
 It is still remembered by bearded men and mar- 
 ried women who were"^ at school that day how Ca- 
 thro leaped three forms to get at Tommy, and how 
 Tommy cried under the tawse and yet laughed 
 ecstatically at the same time, and how subsequently 
 he and Francie collected so many dues that the 
 pockets of them stood out like brackets firom their 
 little persons. 
 
 The dominie could not help grinning a little 
 at his own discomfiture as he told this story, but 
 Aaron saw nothine amusing in it. " As I telled 
 
 2^1 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 you," he repeated, " I winna touch him, so if you're 
 no content wi' what you've done yoursel', you had 
 better put Francie's mither on him." 
 
 " I hear she has taken him in hand already," Mr. 
 Cathro replied dryly. " But, Aaron, I wish you 
 would at least keep him closer to his lessons at 
 night, for it is seldom he comes to the school well 
 prepared." 
 
 "I see him sitting lang ower his books," said 
 Aaron. 
 
 "Ay, maybe, but is he at them?" responded 
 the dominie with a shake of the head that made 
 Aaron say, with his first show of interest in the 
 conversation, " You have little faith in his carrying 
 a bursary, I see." 
 
 But this Mr. Cathro would not admit, for if he 
 thought Tommy a numskull the one day he often 
 saw cause to change his mind the next, so he an- 
 swered guardedly, " It's too soon to say, Aaron, 
 for he has eighteen months' stuffing to undergo 
 yet before we send him to Aberdeen to try his for- 
 tune, and I have filled some gey toom wimes in 
 eighteen months. But you must lend me a hand." 
 
 The weaver considered, and then replied stub- 
 bornly, "No, I give him his chance, but I'll have 
 nocht to do wi' his use o't. And, dominie, I want 
 you to say not another word to me about him 
 atween this and examination time, for my mind's 
 made up no to say a word to him. It's well kent 
 
 252 
 
THE SHADOW OF SIR WALTER 
 
 that I'm no more fit to bring up bairns than to 
 have them (dinna center me, man, for the thing 
 was proved lang syne at the Cuttle Well), and so 
 till that time I'll let him gang his ain gait. But 
 if he doesna carry a bursary, to the herding he 
 goes. I've said it and I'll stick to it." 
 
 So, as far as Aaron was concerned. Tommy was 
 left in peace to the glory of collecting his winnings 
 from those who had sworn by Cathro, and among 
 them was Master Gavin Ogilvy Dishart, who now 
 found himself surrounded by a debt of sixpence, a 
 degrading position for the son of an Auld Licht 
 minister. 
 
 Tommy would not give him time, but was 
 willing to take his copy of "Waverley" as full 
 payment. 
 
 Gavin oflfered him " Ivanhoe " instead, because 
 his mother had given a read of " Waverley " to 
 Gavinia, Miss Ailie's servant, and she read so 
 slowly, putting her finger beneath each word, that 
 she had not yet reached the middle. Also, she 
 was so enamoured of the work that she would 
 fight anyone who tried to take it from her. 
 
 Tommy refused " Ivanhoe," as it was not about 
 Jacobites, but suggested that Gavinia should be 
 offered it in lieu of " Waverley," and told that it 
 was a better story. 
 
 The suggestion came too late, as Gwinia had 
 already had a loan of" Ivanhoe," and riad it with 
 
 253 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 rapture, inch by inch. However, if Tommy would 
 wait a month, or 
 
 Tommy was so eager to read more about the 
 Jacobites that he found it trying to wait five min^ 
 utes. He thought Gavin's duty was to get his 
 father to compel Gavinia to give the book up. 
 
 Was Tommy daft ? Mr. Dishart did not know 
 that his son possessed these books. He did not 
 approve of story books, and when Mrs. Dishart 
 gave them to Gavin on his birthday she — she 
 had told him to keep them out of his father's 
 sight. (Mr. and Mrs. Dishart were very fond of 
 each other, but there were certain little matters 
 that she thojght it unnecessary to trouble him 
 about.) 
 
 So if Tomniy was to get " Waverley " at once, 
 he must discover another way. He reflected, and 
 then set off to Miss Ailie's (to whom he still read 
 sober \yorks of an evening, but novels never), look- 
 ing as if he had found a way. 
 
 For some time Miss Ailie had been anxious 
 about her red-armed maid, who had never before 
 given pain unless by excess of willingness, as when 
 she offered her garter to tie Miss Ailie's parcels 
 with. Of late, however, Gavinia had taken to 
 blurting out disquieting questions, to the signifi- 
 cance of which she withheld the key, such as — • 
 
 " Is there ony place nowadays, ma'am, where 
 there's tourniements ? And could an able-bodied 
 
 254 
 
THE SHADOW OF SIR WALTER 
 
 lassie walk to them ? and what might be the charge 
 to win in ? " 
 
 Or, " Would you no like to be so michty beau- 
 tiful, ma'am, that as soon as the men saw your bonny 
 face they just up wi' you in their arms and ran ? " 
 
 Or again, " What's the heaviest weight o' a wo- 
 man a grand lusty man could carry in his arms as 
 if she were an infant ? " 
 
 This method of conveyance seemed to have a 
 peculiar fascination for Gavinia, and she got her- 
 self weighed at the flesher's. On another occasion 
 she broke a glass candlestick, and all she said to 
 the pieces was, " Wha carries me, wears me." 
 
 This mystery was troubling the school-mistress 
 sadly when Tommy arrived with the key to it. 
 " I'm doubting Gavinia's reading ill books on the 
 sly," he said. 
 
 " Never ! " exclaimed Miss Ailie, " she reads no- 
 thing but the Mentor." 
 
 Tommy shook his head, like one who would 
 fain hope so, but could not overlook facts. " I've 
 been hearing," he said, "that she reads books as 
 are full o' Strokes and Words We have no Con- 
 cern with." 
 
 Miss Ailie could not believe it, but she was ad- 
 vised to search the kitchen, and under Gavinia's 
 mattress was found the dreadful work. 
 
 "And you are only fifteen!" said Miss Ailie. 
 eyeing her little maid sorrowfully. 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 " The easier to carry," replied Gavinia, darkly^ 
 
 " And you named after a minister ! " Miss Ailie 
 continued, for her maid had been christened Ga- 
 vinia because she was the first child baptized in 
 his church after the Rev. Gavin Dishart came to 
 Thrums. " Gavinia, I must tell him of this. I 
 shall take this book to Mr. Dishart this very day." 
 
 " The right man to take it to," replied the maid, 
 sullenly, " for it's his ain." 
 
 " Gavinia ! " 
 
 " Well, it was Mrs. Dishart that lended it to 
 me." 
 
 "I — I never saw it on the manse shelves." 
 
 "I'm thinking," said the brazen Gavinia, "as 
 there's hoddy comers in manses as well as in — 
 blue-and-white rooms," 
 
 This dark suggestion was as great a shock to 
 the gentle school-mistress as if out of a clear sky 
 had come suddenly the word — ■ 
 
 Stroke! 
 
 She tottered with the book that had so demor« 
 alized the once meek Gavinia into the blue-and- 
 white room, where Tommy was restlessly awaiting 
 her, and when she had told him all, he said, with 
 downcast eyes : 
 
 "I was never sure o' Mrs. Dishart. When I 
 hand her the Mentor she looks as if she didna care a 
 stroke for 't " 
 
 "Tommy!" 
 
 256 
 
THE SHADOW OF SIR WALTER 
 
 " I'm doubting," he said sadly, that she's owel 
 fond o' Words We have no Concern with." 
 
 Miss Ailie would not listen to such talk, but 
 she approved of the suggestion that " Waverley " 
 should be returned not to the minister, but to his 
 wife, and she accepted gratefully Tommy's kindly 
 offer to act as bearer. Only happening to open 
 the book in the middle, she 
 
 " I'm waiting," said Tommy, after ten minutes. 
 
 She did not hear him. 
 
 " I'm waiting," he said again, but she was now 
 in the next chapter. 
 
 " Maybe you would like to read it yoursel' ! " 
 he cried, and then she came to, and with a shud- 
 der handed him the book. But after he had gone 
 she returned to the kitchen to reprove Gavinia at 
 greater length, and in the midst of the reproof she 
 said faintly : " You did not happen to look at the 
 end, did you ? ". 
 
 " That I did," replied Gavinia. 
 
 " And did she — did he " 
 
 " No," said Gavinia, sorrowfully. 
 
 Miss Ailie sighed. " That's what I think too," 
 said Gavinia. 
 
 " Why didn't they ? " asked the school-mistress. 
 
 " Because he was just a sumph," answered Ga- 
 vinia scornfully. "If he had been like Fergus, 
 or like the chield in ' Ivanhoe,' he wouldna have 
 ta'en a ' no." He would just have whipped her up 
 
 ^57 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 in his arms and away wi' her. That's the kind foi 
 me, ma'am." 
 
 " There is a fascination about them," murmured 
 Miss Ailie. 
 
 "A what?" 
 
 But again Miss Ailie came to. "For shame, 
 Gavinia, for shame I" she said, severely; "these 
 are disgraceful sentiments." 
 
 In the meantime Tommy had hurried with the 
 book, not to the manse, but to a certain garret, and 
 as he read, his imagination went on fire. Blinder's 
 stories had made him half a Jacobite, and now 
 " Waverley " revealed to him that he was bom 
 neither for the ministry nor the herding, but to 
 restore to his country its rightful king. The first 
 to whom he confided this was Corp, who imme- 
 diately exclaimed : " Michty me ! But what will 
 the police say ? " 
 
 " I ken a wy," answered Tommy, sternly. 
 
 END OF PART I 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 PART II 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 TT'E LAST JACOBITE RISING 
 
 ON the evening of the Queen's birthday, bridles 
 were eaten to her honour in a hundred Thrums 
 homes, and her health was drunk in toddy, Scotch 
 toddy and Highland toddy. PatuUo, the writer, 
 gave a men's party, and his sole instructions to his 
 maid were "Keep running back and forrit wi' the 
 hot water." At the bank there was a ladies' party 
 and ginger wine. From Cathro's bedroom-window 
 a flag was displayed with Fwat Regina on it, the 
 sentiment composed by Cathro, the words sewn by 
 the girls of his McCulloch class. The eight-o'clock 
 bell rang for an hour, and a loyal crowd had gath- 
 ered in the square to shout. To a superficial ob- 
 server, such as the Baron Bailie or Todd, the new 
 policeman, all seemed well and fair. 
 
 But a very different scene was being enacted at 
 261 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 the same time in the fastnesses of the Den, where 
 three resolute schemers had met by appointment. 
 Their trysting-place was the Cuttle Well, which 
 is most easily reached by the pink path made for 
 that purpose ; but the better to further their dark 
 and sinister design, the plotters arrived by three 
 circuitous routes, one descending the Reekie Broth 
 Pot, a low but dangerous waterfall, the second dar- 
 ing the perils of the crags, and the third walking 
 stealthily up the burn. 
 
 " Is that you. Tommy ? " 
 
 " Whist ! Do you mind the pass-word ? " 
 
 " Stroke ! " 
 
 "Right. Have you heard Gav Dishart com- 
 ing?" 
 
 " I hinna. I doubt his father had grippit him 
 as he was slinking out o' the manse." 
 
 " I fear it, Corp. I'm thinking his father is in 
 the Woman's pay." 
 
 " What woman ? " 
 
 " The Woman of Hanover? " 
 
 " That's the queen, is it no ? " 
 
 " She'll never get me to call her queen." 
 
 " Nor yet me. I think I hear Gav coming." 
 
 Gav Dishart wa« the one who had come by the 
 burn, and his boots were cheeping like a field of 
 mice. He gave the word " Stroke," and the three 
 then looked at each other firmly. The lights of 
 the town were not visible from the Cuttle Well, 
 
 262 
 
THE LAST JACOBITE RISING 
 
 owing to an arm of cliff that is outstretched be* 
 tween, but the bell could be distinctly heard, and 
 occasionally a shout of revelry. 
 
 " They little ken ! " said Tommy, darkly. 
 
 " They hinna a notion," said Corp, but he was 
 looking somewhat perplexed himself 
 
 " It's near time I was back for family exercise," 
 said Gav, uneasily, " so we had better do it quick, 
 Tommy." 
 
 " Did you bring the wineglasses ? " Tommy 
 asked him. 
 
 " No," Gav said, " the press was lockit, but I've 
 brought egg-cups." 
 
 " Stand round then." 
 
 The three boys now presented a picturesque ap- 
 pearance, but there was none save the man in the 
 moon to see them. They stood round the Cuttle 
 Well, each holding an egg-cup, and though the 
 daring nature of their undertaking and the roman- 
 tic surroundings combined to excite them, it was 
 not fear but soaring purpose that paled their faces 
 and caused their hands to tremble, when Tommy 
 said solemnly, "Afore we do what we've come 
 here to do, let's swear." 
 
 " Stroke ! " he said. 
 
 " Stroke I " said Gav. 
 
 " Stroke ! " said Corp. 
 
 They then filled their cups and holding them 
 over the well, so that they clinked, they said : 
 
 263 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 " To the king ower the water ! " 
 
 " To the king ower the water ! " 
 
 "To the king ower the water I" 
 
 When they had drunk Tommy broke his cup 
 against a rock, for he was determined that it should 
 never be used to honour a meaner toast, and the 
 others followed his example, Corp briskly, though 
 the act puzzled him, and Gav with a gloomy 
 look because he knew that the cups would be 
 missed to-morrow. 
 
 " Is that a' now ? " whispered Corp, wiping his 
 forehead with his sleeve. 
 
 " All I " cried Tommy. " Man, we've just be- 
 good." 
 
 As secretly as they had entered it, they left the 
 Den, and anon three figures were standing in a 
 dark trance, cynically watching the revellers in the 
 square. 
 
 " If they just kent ! " muttered the smallest, who 
 was wearing his jacket outside in to escape obser- 
 vation. 
 
 " But they little ken ! " said Gav Dishart. 
 
 " They hinna a notion ! " said Corp, contemp» 
 tuously, but still he was a little puzzled, and pres- 
 ently he asked softly: "Lads, what just is it that 
 they dinna ken ? " 
 
 Had Gav been ready with an answer he could 
 not have uttered it, for just then a terrible little 
 man in black, who had been searching for him in 
 
 264 
 
THE LAST JACOBITE RISING 
 
 likely places, seized him by the cuff of the neck, 
 and, turning his face in an easterly direction, ran 
 him to family worship. But there was still work 
 to do for the other two. Walking home alone 
 that night from Mr. Patullo's party, Mr. Cathro 
 had an uncomfortable feeling that he was being 
 dogged. When he stopped to listen, all was at 
 once still, but the moment he moved onward he 
 again heard stealthy steps behind. He retired to 
 rest as soon as he reached his house, to be wakened 
 presently by a slight noise at the window, whence 
 the flag-post protruded. It had been but a gust 
 of wind, he decided, and turned round to go to 
 sleep again, when crash! the post was plucked 
 from its place and cast to the ground. The dom- 
 inie sprang out of bed, and while feeling for a light, 
 thought he heard scurrying feet, but when he looked 
 out at the window no one was to be seen ; Vvuat 
 Regina lay ignobly in the gutters. That it could 
 have been the object of an intended theft was not 
 probable, but the open window might have tempted 
 thieves, and there was a possible though risky way 
 up by the spout. The affair was a good deal talked 
 about at the time, but it remained shrouded in a 
 mystery which even we have been unable to pene- 
 trate. 
 
 On the heels of the Queen's birthday came the 
 Muckley, the one that was to be known to fame, 
 if fame was willing to listen to Corp, as Tommy's 
 
 265 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 Muckley. Unless he had some grand aim in view 
 never was a boy who yielded to temptations more 
 blithely than Tommy, but when he had such aim 
 never was a boy so firm in withstanding them. 
 At this Muckley he had a mighty reason for not 
 spending money, and with ninepence in his pocket 
 clamouring to be out he spent not one halfpenny. 
 There was something uncanny in the sight of him 
 stalking unscathed between rows of stands and 
 shows, everyone of them aiming at his pockets. 
 Corp and Gav, of course, were in the secret and 
 did their humble best to act in the same unnatural 
 manner, but now and again a show made a suc- 
 cessful snap at Gav, and Corp had gloomy fears 
 that he would lose his head in presence of the 
 Teuch and Tasty, from which humiliation indeed 
 he was only saved by the happy idea of requesting 
 Tommy to shout " Deuteronomy ! " in a warning 
 voice, every time they drew nigh Californy's se- 
 ductive stand. 
 
 Was there nothing for sale, then, that the three 
 thirsted to buy ? There were many things, among 
 them weapons of war, a pack of cards, more prop* 
 erly called Devil's books, blue bonnets suitable 
 for Highland gentlemen, feathers for the bonnets, 
 a tin lantern, yards of tartan cloth, which the deft 
 fingers of Grizel would convert into warriors' sashes. 
 Corp knew that these purchases were in Tommy's 
 far-seeing eye, but he thought the only way to get 
 
 266 
 
THE LAST JACOBITE RISING 
 
 them was to ask the price and then offer hal£ 
 Gav, the scholar, who had already reached day- 
 light through the first three books of Euclid, and 
 took a walk every Saturday morning with his 
 father and Herodotus, even Gav, the scholar, was 
 as thick-witted as Corp. 
 
 "We'll let other laddies buy them," Tommy 
 explained in his superior way, " and then after the 
 Muckley is past, we'll buy them frae them." 
 
 The others understood now. After a Muckley 
 there was always a great dearth of pence, and a 
 moneyed man could become owner of Muckley 
 purchases at a sixth part of the Muckley price. 
 
 " You crittur ! " exclaimed Corp, in abject admi- 
 ration. 
 
 But Gav saw an objection. " The feck of them," 
 he pointed out, "will waur their siller on shows 
 and things to eat, instead of on what we want 
 them to buy." 
 
 " So they will, the nasty sackets ! " cried Corp. 
 
 " You couldna blame a laddie for buying Teuch 
 and Tasty," continued Gav with triumph, for he 
 was a little jealous of Tommy. 
 
 "You couldna," agreed Corp, "no, I'll be da- 
 gont, if you could," and his hand pressed his money 
 feverishly. 
 
 '^'Deuteronomy!" roared Tommy, and Corp's 
 hand jumped as if it had been caught in some 
 other person's pocket. 
 
 267 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 " But how are we to do ? " he asked. " If you 
 like, I'll take Birkie and the Haggerty-Taggertys 
 round the Muckley and fight ilka ane that doesna 
 buy " 
 
 " Corp," said Tommy, calmly, " I wonder at you. 
 Do you no ken yet that the best plan is to leave a' 
 thing to me *? " 
 
 " Blethering gowks that we are, of course it is ! " 
 cried Corp, and he turned almost fiercely upon Gav. 
 *' Lippen all to him," he said with grand confidence, 
 "he'll find a wy." 
 
 And Tommy found a way. Birkie was the boy 
 who bought the pack of cards. He saw Tommy 
 looking so woe-begone that it was necessary to 
 ask the reason. 
 
 "Oh, Birkie, lend me threepence," sobbed 
 Tommy, " and I'll give you sixpence the morn." 
 
 " You're daft," said Birkie, " there's no a laddie 
 in Thrums that will have one single lonely bawbee 
 the morn." 
 
 "Him that buys the cards," moaned Tommy, 
 "will never be without siller, for you tell auld 
 folks fortunes on them at a penny every throw. 
 Lend me threepence, Birkie. They cost a sic, and 
 I have just " 
 
 " Na, na," said greedy Birkie, " I'm no to be 
 catched wi' chaff. If it's true, what you say, I'll 
 buy the cards mysel'." 
 
 Having thus got hold of him. Tommy led 
 268 
 
THE LAST JACOBITE RISING 
 
 Birkie ,to a stand where the King of Egypt was 
 telling fortunes with cards, and doing a roaring 
 trade among the Jocks and Jennys. He also sold 
 packs at sixpence each, and the elated Birkie was 
 an immediate purchaser, 
 
 "You're no so clever as you think yoursel'I" 
 he said triumphantly to Tommy, who replied 
 with his inscrutable smile. But to his satellites he 
 said, " Not a soul will buy a fortune frae Birkie. 
 I'll get thae cards for a penny afore next week's 
 out." 
 
 Francie Crabb found Tommy sniggering to him- 
 self in the back wynd. " What are you goucking 
 at?" asked Francie in surprise, for, as a rulcj 
 Tommy only laughed behind his face. 
 
 " I winna tell you," chuckled Tommy, " but 
 what a bar, oh, what a divert ! " 
 
 " Come on, tell me." 
 
 " Well, it's at the man as is swallowing swords 
 ahint the menagerie." 
 
 " I see nothing to laugh at in that." 
 
 " I'm no laughing at that. I'm laughing at him 
 for selling the swords for ninepence the piece. 
 Oh, what ignorant he is, oh, what a bar ! " 
 
 " Ninepence is a mislaird price for a soord," said 
 Francie. " I never gave ninepence." 
 
 Tommy looked at him in the way that always 
 made boys fidget with their fists. 
 
 "You're near as big a bar as him," he said 
 269 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 scornfully. "Did you ever see the sword that's 
 hanging on the wall in the backroom at the post- 
 office % " 
 
 " No, but my father has telled me about it. It 
 has a grand name." 
 
 " It's an Andrea Ferrara, that's what it is." 
 
 " Ay, I mind the name now ; there has been folk 
 killed wi' that soord." 
 
 This was true, for the post-office Andrea Ferrara 
 has a stirring history, but for the present its price 
 was the important thing. " Dr. McQueen offered 
 a pound note for it," said Tommy, 
 
 " I ken that, but what has that to do wi' the 
 soord-swallower "? " 
 
 " Just this ; that the swords he is selling for nine- 
 pence are Andrea Ferraras, the same as the post- 
 office one, and he could get a pound a piece for 
 them if he kent their worth. Oh, what a bar, oh, 
 what " 
 
 Francie's eyes lit up greedily, and he looked at 
 his two silver shillings, and took two steps in the 
 direction of the sword-swallower's, and faltered and 
 could not make up his agitated mind. Tommy 
 set off toward the square at a brisk walk. 
 
 " Whaur are you off to ? " asked Francie, fbliow- 
 ing him. 
 
 " To tell the man what his swords is worth. It 
 would be ill done no to tell him." To clinch the 
 matter, off went Tommy at a run, and off went 
 
 270 
 
THE LAST JACOBITE RISING 
 
 Francie after him. As a rule Tommy was the 
 swifter, but on this occasion he lagged of fell pur- 
 pose, and reached' the sword-swallower's tent just 
 in time to see Francie emerge elated therefrom, 
 carrying two Andrea Ferraras. Francie grinned 
 when they met. 
 
 " What a bar ! " he crowed. 
 
 " What a bar ! " agreed Tommy, and sufficient 
 has now been told to show that he had found a 
 way. Even Gav acknowledged a master, and, 
 when the accoutrements of war were bought at 
 second hand as cheaply as Tommy had predicted, 
 applauded him with eyes and mouth for a full 
 week, after which he saw things in a new light. 
 Gav of course was to enter the bursary lists anon, 
 and he had supposed that Cathro would have the 
 last year's schooling of him ; but no, his father de- 
 cided to send him for the grand final grind to Mr. 
 Ogilvy of Glen Quharity, a famous dominie be- 
 tween whom and Mr. Dishart existed a friendship 
 that none had ever got at the root of Mr. Cathro 
 was more annoyed than he cared to show, Gav 
 being of all the boys of that time the one likeliest 
 to do his teacher honour at the university competi- 
 tions, but Tommy, though the decision cost him 
 an adherent, was not ill-pleased, for he had dis- 
 covered that Gav was one of those irritating boys 
 who like to be leader. Gav, as has been said, sud- 
 denly saw Tommy's victory over Messrs. Birkie, 
 
 271 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 Francie, etc., in a new light; this was because when 
 he wanted back the shilling which he had con« 
 tributed to the funds for buying their purchases. 
 Tommy replied firmly: 
 
 " I canna give you the shilling, but I'll give you 
 a^e lantern and the tartan cloth we bought wi' it." 
 
 " What use could they be to me at Glen- 
 quharity ? " Gav protested. 
 
 " Oh, if they are no use to you," Tommy said 
 sweetly, "me and Corp is willing to buy them off 
 you for threepence." 
 
 Then Gav became a scorner of duplicity, but he 
 had to consent to the bargain, and again Corp 
 said to Tommy, " Oh, you crittur!" But he was 
 sorry to lose a fellow-conspirator. " There's just 
 the twa o' us now," he sighed. 
 
 " Just twa ! " cried Tommy. " What are you 
 havering about, man ? There's as many as I like 
 to whistle for." 
 
 "You mean Grizel and Elspeth, I ken, but " 
 
 " I wasna thinking of the women-folk," Tommy 
 told him, with a contemptuous wave of the hand. 
 He went closer to Corp, and said, in a low voice, 
 " The McKenzies are waiting I " 
 
 " Are they, though ? " said Corp, perplexed, as 
 he had no notion who the McKenzies might be. 
 
 " And Lochiel has twa hunder spearsmen." 
 
 " Do you say so ? " 
 
 " Young Kinnordy's ettling to come out, and I 
 272 
 
THE LAST JACOBITE RISING 
 
 meet Lord Airlle, when the moon rises, at the 
 Loups o' Kenny, and auld Bradwardine's as spunky 
 as ever, and there's fifty wild Highlandmen lying 
 ready in the muckle cave of Clova." 
 
 He spoke so earnestly that Corp could only 
 ejaculate, " Michty me I " 
 
 "But of course they winna rise," continued 
 Tommy, darkly, " till he lands." 
 
 " Of course no," said Corp, " but — wha is he ? " 
 
 " Himsel'," whispered Tommy, "the Chevalier! " 
 
 Corp hesitated. " But, I thought," he said dif- 
 fidently, " I thought you " 
 
 " So I am," said Tommy. 
 
 " But you said he hadna landed yet ? " 
 
 " Neither he has." 
 
 "But you " 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 " You're here, are you no ? " 
 
 Tommy stamped his foot in irritation. " You're 
 slow in the uptak," he said. " I'm no here. How 
 can I be here when I'm at St. Germains ? " 
 
 " Dinna be angry wi' me," Corp bggged. " I 
 ken you're ower the water, but when I see you, I 
 kind of forget; and just for the minute I think 
 you're here." 
 
 " Well, think afore you speak." 
 
 " I'll try, but that's teuch work. When do you 
 come to Scotland ? " 
 
 " I'm no sure ; but as soon as I'm ripe." 
 
 273 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 At nights Tommy now sometimes lay among 
 the cabbages of the school-house watching the 
 shadow of Black Cathro on his sitting-room blind. 
 Cathro never knew he was there. The reason 
 Tommy lay among the cabbages was that there 
 was a price upon his head. 
 
 "But if Black Cathro wanted to get the blood- 
 money," Corp said apologetically, "he could nab 
 you any day. He kens you fine." 
 
 Tommy smiled meaningly. " Not him," he an- 
 swered, " I've cheated him bonny, he hasna a no- 
 tion wha I am. Corp, would you like a good 
 laugh?" 
 
 " That I would." 
 
 " Weel, then, I'll tell you wha he thinks I am. 
 Do you ken a little house yont the road a bitty 
 frae Monypenny ? " 
 
 " I ken no sic house," said Corp, " except 
 Aaron's." 
 
 " Aaron's the man as bides in it," Tommy con- 
 tinued hastily, "at least I think that's the name. 
 Well, as you ken the house, you've maybe noticed 
 a laddie that bides there too ? " 
 
 " There's no laddie," began Corp, " except " 
 
 " Let me see," interrupted Tommy, " what was 
 his name ? Was it Peter ? No. Was it Willie ? 
 Stop, I mind, it was Tommy." 
 
 He glared so that Corp dared not utter a word. 
 " Have you notitched him ? " 
 
 274 
 
THE LAST JACOBITE RISING 
 
 "I've — I've seen him," Corp gasped. 
 
 "Well, this is the joke," said Tommy, trying 
 vainly to restrain his mirth, "Cathro thinks I'm 
 that laddie! Ho! ho! ho!" 
 
 Corp scratched his head, then he bit his warts, 
 then he spat upon his hands, then he said " Damn." 
 
 The crisis came when Cathro, still ignorant that 
 the heather was on fire, dropped some disparaging 
 remarks about the Stuarts to his history class. 
 Tommy said nothing, but — but one of the school- 
 windows was without a snib, and next morning 
 when the dominie reached his desk he was sur- 
 prised to find on it a little cotton glove. He raised 
 it on high, greatly puzzled, and then, as ever when 
 he suspected knavery, his eyes sought Tommy, 
 who was sitting on a form, his arms proudly folded. 
 ^That the whelp had put the glove there, Cathro 
 no longer doubted, and he would have liked to 
 know why, but was reluctant to give him the sat- 
 isfaction of asking. So the gauntlet — for gauntlet 
 it was — was laid aside, the while Tommy, his head 
 bumming like a beeskep, muttered triumphantly 
 through his teeth, "But he lifted it, he lifted it!" 
 and at closing time it was flung in his face with 
 this fair tribute: 
 
 " I'm no a rich man, laddie, but I would give a 
 pound note to know what you'll be at ten years 
 from now." 
 
 There could be no mistaking the dire meaning 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 of these words, and Tommy hurried, pale but de.. 
 termined, to the quarry, where Corp, with a barrow 
 in his hands, was learning strange phrases by heart, 
 and finding it a help to call his warts after the new 
 swears. 
 
 " Corp," cried Tommy, " I've set sail ! " 
 On the following Saturday evening Charles Ed- 
 ward landed in the Den. In his bonnet was the 
 white cockade, and round his waist a tartan sash; 
 though he had long passed man's allotted span his 
 face was still full of fire, his figure lithe and even 
 boyish. For state reasons he had assumed the name 
 of Captain Stroke. As he leapt ashore from the 
 bark, the Dancing Shovel, he was received right 
 loyally by Corp and other faithful adherents, of 
 whom only two, and these of a sex to which his 
 House was ever partial, were visible, owing to the 
 gathering gloom. Corp of that Ilk sank on his 
 knees at the water's edge, and kissing his royal 
 master's hand said, fervently, "Welcome, my 
 prince, once more to bonny Scotland ! " Then he 
 rose and whispered, but with scarcely less emotion, 
 '•' There's an egg to your tea." 
 
 27& 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 
 THE SIEGE OF THRUMS 
 
 The man in the moon is a native of Thrums, who 
 was put up there for hacking sticks on the Sabbath, 
 and as he sails over the Den his interest in the bit 
 placey is still sufficient to make him bend forward 
 and cry " Boo ! " at the lovers. When they jump 
 apart you can see the aged reprobate grinning. 
 Once out of sight of the Den, he cares not a boddle 
 how the moon travels, but the masterful crittur en- 
 rages him if she is in a hurry here, just as he is clev- 
 erly making out whose children's children are court- 
 ing now. " Slow, there ! " he cries to the moon, but 
 she answers placidly that they have the rest of tlie 
 world to view to-night. " The rest of the world 
 be danged ! " roars the man, and he cranes his neck 
 for a last glimpse of the Cuttle Well, until he nearly 
 falls out of the moon. 
 
 Never had the man such a trying time as during 
 the year now before him. It was the year when so 
 many scientific magnates sat up half the night in 
 their shirts, spying at him through telescopes. But 
 every eflfort to discover why he was in such a fidget 
 
 277 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 failed, because the spy-glasses were never levelled 
 at the Thrums Den. Through the whole. of the 
 incidents now to tell, you may conceive the man 
 (on whom sympathy would be wasted) dagoning 
 horribly, because he was always carried past the 
 den before he could make head or tail of the 
 change that had come over it. 
 
 The spot chosen by the ill-fated Stuart and his 
 gallant remnant for their last desperate enterprise 
 was eminently fitted for their purpose. Being 
 round the corner from Thrums, it was commanded 
 by no fortified place save the farm of Nether 
 Drumgley, and on a recent goustie liight nearly all 
 the trees had been blown down, making a hundred 
 hiding-places for bold climbers, and transforming 
 the Den into a, scene of wild and mournful gran- 
 deur. In no bay more suitable than the flooded 
 field called the Silent Pool could the hunted prince 
 have cast anchor, for the Pool is not only sheltered 
 from observation, but so little troubled by gales 
 that it had only one drawback : at some seasons 
 of the year it was not there. This, however, did 
 not vex Stroke, as it is cannier to call him, for he 
 burned his boats on the night he landed (and a 
 dagont, tedious job it was too), and pointed out to 
 his followers that the drouth which kept him in 
 must also keep the enemy out. Part of the way 
 to the lair they usually traversed in the burn, be- 
 cause water leaves no trace, and though they car- 
 
 278 
 
THE SIEGE OF THRUMS 
 
 ried turnip lanterns and were armed to the teeth, 
 this was often a perilous journey owing to the 
 lovers close at hand on the pink path, from which 
 the trees had been cleared, for lads and lasses 
 must walk whate'er betide. Ronny-On's Jean 
 and Peter Scrymgeour, little Lisbeth Doak and 
 long Sam'l from Pyotdykes were pairing that 
 year, and never knew how near they were to being 
 dirked by Corp of Corp, who, lurking in the burn 
 till there were no tibbits in his toes, muttered 
 fiercely, " Cheep one single cheep, and it will be 
 thy hinmost, methinks ! " under the impression that 
 Methinks was a Jacobite oath. 
 
 For this voluntary service, Stroke clapped Corp 
 of Corp on the shoulder with a naked sword, and 
 said, " Rise, Sir Joseph ! " which made Corp more 
 confused than ever, for he was already Corp of 
 Corp, Him of Muckle Kenny, Red McNeil, An- 
 drew Ferrara, and the Master of Inverquharity 
 (Stroke's names), as well as Stab-in-the-Dark, 
 Grind-them-to-MuUins, and Warty Joe (his own), 
 and which he was at any particular moment he 
 never knew, till Stroke told him, and even then he 
 forgot and had to be put in irons. 
 
 The other frequenters of the lair on Saturday 
 nights (when alone the rebellion was active) were 
 the proud Lady Grizel and Widow Elspeth. It 
 had been thought best to make Elspeth a widoM^, 
 because she was so religious. 
 
 279 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 The lair was on the right bank of the bum, 
 near the waterfall, and you climbed to it by ropes, 
 unless you preferred an easier way. It is now 
 a dripping hollow, down which water dribbles 
 from beneath a sluice, but at that time it was hid- 
 den on all sides by trees and the huge clods of 
 sward they had torn from the earth as they fell. 
 Two of these clods were the only walls of the lair, 
 which had Ht times a ceiling not unlike Aaron 
 Latta's bed coverlets, and the chief furniture was 
 two barrels, marked " Usquebach " and " Powder." 
 When the darkness of Stroke's fortunes sat like 
 a pall upon his brow, as happened sometimes, he 
 sought to drive it away by playing cards on one 
 of the?*: barrels with Sir Joseph, but the approach 
 of the Widow made him pocket them quickly 
 with a warning sign to his trusty knight, who did 
 not understand, and asked what had become of 
 them, whereupon Elspeth cried, in horror: 
 
 " Cards ! Oh, Tommy, you promised " 
 
 But Stroke rode her down with, " Cards ! Wha 
 has been playing cards'? You, Muckle Kenny, 
 and you. Sir Joseph, after I forbade it! Hie, 
 there, Inverquharity, all of you, seize those men." 
 
 Then Corp blinked, came to his senses and 
 marched himself off to the prison on the lonely 
 promontory called the Queen's Bower, saying 
 ferociously, " Jouk, Sir Joseph, and I'll blaw you 
 into posterity." 
 
 280 
 
THE SIEGE OF THRUMS 
 
 It is sable night when Stroke and Sir Joseph 
 reach a point in the Den whence the glimmering 
 lights of the town are distinctly visible. Neither 
 speaks. Presently the distant eight-o'clock bell 
 rings, and then Sir Joseph looks anxiously at his 
 warts, for this is the signal to begin, and as usual 
 he has forgotten the words. 
 
 " Go on," sap someone in a whisper. It cannot 
 be Stroke, for his head is brooding on his breast 
 This mysterious voice haunted all the doings in 
 the Den, and had better be confined in brackets. 
 
 ("Goon.") 
 
 " Methinks," sajrs Sir Joseph, " methlnks the 
 borers " 
 
 (" Burghers.") 
 
 " Methinks the burghers now cease from their 
 labours." 
 
 " Ay," replied Stroke, " 'tis so, would that they 
 ceased from them forever ! " 
 
 " Methinks the time is at hand." 
 
 " Hal" exclaims Stroke, looking at his lieutenant 
 curiously, " what makest thou say so ? For three 
 weeks these fortifications have defied my caimon, 
 there is scarce a breach yet in the walls of yonder 
 town." 
 
 " Methinks thou wilt find a way." 
 
 " It may be so, my good Sir Joseph, it may be 
 so, and yet, even when I am most hopefiil of success, 
 my schemes go a gley." 
 
 281 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 ' Methinks thy dark 
 
 (" Dinna say Methinks so often.") 
 
 (" Tommy, I maun. If I dinna get that to start 
 me off, I go through other.") 
 
 ("Go on.") 
 
 " Methinks thy dark spirit Hes on thee to-night." 
 
 " Ay, 'tis too true. But cans't thou blame me 
 if I grow sad *? The town still in the enemy's hands, 
 and so much brave blood already spilt in vain. 
 Knowest thou that the brave Kinnordy fell last 
 night ? My noble Kinnordy I " 
 
 Here Stroke covers his face with his hands, weep- 
 ing silently, and — and there is an awkward pause. 
 
 (" Go on — ' Still have me.' ") 
 
 (" So it is.") " Weep not, my royal scone " 
 
 (" Scion.") 
 
 "Weep not, my royal scion, havest thou not 
 still me?" 
 
 " Well said, Sir Joseph," cries Stroke, dashing 
 the sign of weakness from his face. " I still have 
 many brave fellows, and with their help I shall be 
 master of this proud town." 
 
 ' And then ghost we to fair Edinburgh ? " 
 
 '' Ay, 'tis so, but, Sir Joseph, thinkest thou these 
 burghers love the Stuart not ? " 
 
 " Nay, methinks they are true to thee, but their 
 starch commander — (give me my time, this is a 
 lang ane,) but their arch commander is thy bitterest 
 
 282 
 
THE SIEGE OF THRUMS 
 
 foe. Vile spoon that he is ! (It's no spoon, it's 
 spawn.)" 
 
 " Thou meanest the craven Cathro ? " 
 
 " Methinks ay. (I like thae short anes,)" 
 
 " 'Tis well ! " says Stroke, sternly. " That man 
 hath ever slipped between me and my right. His 
 time will come." 
 
 "He floppeth thee — he flouteth thee from the 
 battlements." 
 
 " Ha, 'tis well ! " 
 
 (" You've said that already.*') 
 
 (" I say it twice.") 
 
 (" That's what aye puts me wrang.) Ghost thou 
 to meet the proud Lady Grizel to-night ? " 
 
 " Ay." 
 
 " Ghost thou alone ? " 
 
 " Ay." 
 
 (" What easy anes you have !) I fear it is not 
 chancey for thee to go." 
 
 " I must dree my dreed." 
 
 " These women is kittle cattle." 
 
 " The Stuart hath ever a soft side for them. 
 Ah, my trusty foster-brother, knowest thou not 
 what it is to love "? " 
 
 " Alas, I too have had my fling. (Does Grizel 
 kiss your hand yet ?) " 
 
 " (No, she winna, the limmer.) Sir Joseph, I 
 go to her." 
 
 283 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 " Methinks she is a haughty onion. I prithee 
 go not to-night." 
 
 " I have given my word." 
 
 " Thy word is a band." 
 
 " Adieu, my friend." 
 
 " Methinks thou ghost to thy damn. (Did we 
 no promise Elspeth there should be no swearing?) " 
 
 The raft Vick Ian Vohr is dragged to the shore, 
 and Stroke steps on board, a proud solitary figure. 
 " Farewell ! " he cries hoarsely, as he seizes the oar. 
 
 " Farewell, my leech," answers Corp, and then 
 helps him to disembark. Their hands chance to 
 meet, and Stroke's is so hot that Corp quails. 
 
 " Tommy," he says, with a shudder, " do you — 
 you dinna think it's a' true, do you ? " But the 
 ill-fated prince only gives him a warning look and 
 plunges into the mazes of the forest. For a long 
 time silence reigns over the Den. Lights glint fit- 
 fully, a human voice imitates the plaintive cry of the 
 peewit, cautious whistling fellows, comes next the 
 clash of arms, and the scream of one in the death:" 
 throes, and again silence falls. Stroke emerges 
 near the Reekie Broth Pot, wiping his sword and 
 muttering, " Faugh ! it drippeth ! " At the same 
 moment the air is filled with music of more than 
 mortal — well, the air is filled with music. It 
 seems to come from but a few yards away, and 
 pressing his hand to his throbbing brow the Cheva- 
 lier presses forward till, pushing aside th- Kranches 
 
 284 
 
THE SIEGE OF THRUMS 
 
 of a fallen fir, he comes suddenly upon a scene of 
 such romantic beauty that he stands rooted to the 
 ground. Before him, softly lit by a half-moon 
 (the man in it perspiring with curiosity), is a mini- 
 ature dell, behind which rise threatening rocks, 
 overgrown here and there by grass, heath, and 
 bracken, while in the centre of the dell is a bubbling 
 spring called the Cuttle Well, whose water, as it 
 overflows a natural basin, soaks into the surround- 
 ing ground and so finds a way into the picturesque 
 stream below. But it is not the loveliness of the 
 spot which fascinates the prince ; rather is it the 
 exquisite creature who sits by the bubbling spring, 
 a reed from a hand-loom in her hands, from which 
 she strikes mournful sounds, the while she raises 
 her voice in song. A pink scarf and a blue ribbon 
 are crossed upon her breast, her dark tresses kiss 
 her lovely neck, and as she sits on the only dry 
 stone, her face raised as if in rapt communion with 
 the heavens, and her feet tucked beneath her to 
 avoid the mud, she seems not a human being, but 
 the very spirit of the place and hour. The royal 
 wanderer remains spellbound, while she strikes her 
 lyre and sings (with but one trivial alteration) the 
 song of MacMurrough : — 
 
 Awake on your hills, on your islands awake. 
 Brave sons of the mountains, the frith and the lake ! 
 'Tis the bugle — but not for the chase is the call ; 
 'Tis the pibroch's shrill summons — but not to the halL 
 285 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 'Tis the summons of heroes for conquest or death. 
 When the banners are blazing on mountain and heath; 
 They call to the dirk, the claymore and the targe. 
 To the march and the muster, the line and the charge. 
 
 Be the brand of each Chieftain like Stroke's in his ire ! 
 May the blood through his veins flow like currents of fire [ 
 Burst the base foreign yoke as your sires did of yore. 
 Or die like your sires, and endure it no more. 
 
 As the fair singer concluded, Stroke, who had 
 been deeply moved, heaved a great sigh, and im- 
 mediately, as if in echo of it, came a sigh from the 
 opposite side of the dell. In a second of time three 
 people had learned that a certain lady had two 
 lovers. She starts to her feet, still carefully avoid- 
 ing the puddles, but it is not she who speaks. 
 
 (" Did you hear me ? ") 
 
 ("Ay.") 
 
 ("You're ready?") 
 
 (« Ca' awa'.") 
 
 Stroke dashes to the girl's side, just in time to 
 pluck her from the arms of a masked man. The 
 villain raises his mask and reveals the face of — it 
 looks like Corp, but the disguise is thrown away 
 on Stroke. 
 
 " Ha, Cathro," he exclaims joyfully, " so at last 
 we meet on equal terms ! " 
 
 " Back, Stroke, and let me pass." 
 
 " Nay, we fight for the wench." 
 286 
 
THE SIEGE OF THRUMS 
 
 *' So be it. The prideful onion is his who wins 
 her." 
 
 " Have at thee, caitiff! " 
 
 A terrible conflict ensues. Cathro draws first 
 blood. 'Tis but a scratch. Ha! well thrust. Stroke. 
 In vain Cathro gims his teeth. Inch by inch he 
 is driven back, he slips, he recovers, he pants, he is 
 apparently about to fling himself down the steep 
 bank and so find safety in flight, but he comes on 
 again. 
 
 (" What are you doing ? You run now.") 
 
 (" I ken, but I'm sweer ! ") 
 
 ("Off you go.") 
 
 Even as Stroke is about to press home, the cow- 
 ardly foe flings himself down the steep bank and 
 rolls out of sight. He will give no more trouble 
 to-night ; and the victor turns to the Lady Grizel, 
 who had been repinning the silk scarf across her 
 breast, while the issue of the combat was still in 
 doubt. 
 
 (" Now, then, Grizel, you kiss my hand.") 
 
 (" I tell you I won't.") 
 
 (" Well, then, go on your knees to me.") 
 
 (" You needn't think it.") 
 
 (" Dagon you ! Then ca' awa' standing.") 
 
 " My liege, thou hast saved me from the wretch 
 Cathro." 
 
 " May I always be near to defend thee in time 
 of danger, my pretty chick." 
 
 287 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 (" Tommy, you promised not to call me by those 
 silly names.") 
 
 (" They slip out, I tell you. That was aye the 
 way wi' the Stuarts.") 
 
 (" Well, you must say ' Lady Grizel.') Good, 
 my prince, how can I thank thee ? " 
 
 " By being my wife. (Not a word of this to 
 Elspeth.)" 
 
 " Nay, I summoned thee here to tell thee that 
 can never be. The Grizels of Grizel are of ancient 
 lineage, but they mate not with monarchs. My 
 sire, the nunnery gates will soon close on me for- 
 ever." 
 
 " Then at least say thou lovest me." 
 
 " Alas, I love thee not." 
 
 (" What haver is this ? I telled you to say 
 ' Charles, would that I loved thee less.' ") 
 
 (" And I told you I would not.") 
 
 (" Well, then, where are we now ? ") 
 
 (" We miss out all that about my wearing your 
 portrait next my heart, and put in the rich ap* 
 parel bit, the same as last week.") 
 
 ("Oh! Then I go on?) Bethink thee, fair 
 jade — " 
 
 ("Lady.") 
 
 " Bethink thee, fair lady, Stuart is not so poor 
 but that, if thou come with him to his lowly lair, 
 he can deck thee with rich apparel and ribbons 
 rare." 
 
 288 
 
THE SIEGE OF THRUMS 
 
 " I spurn thy gifts, unhappy man, but if there 
 are holes in " 
 
 (" Miss that common bit out. I canna thple it.") 
 
 (" I like it.) If there are holes in the garments 
 of thy loyal followers, I will come and mend them, 
 and I have a needle and thread in my pocket. 
 (Tommy, there is another button off your shirt! 
 Have you got the button ? ") 
 
 " (It's down my breeks,) So be it, proud girl, 
 come ! " 
 
 It was Grizel who made masks out of tin rags, 
 picked up where tinkers had passed the night, and 
 musical instruments out of broken reeds that 
 smelled of caddis, and Jacobite head-gear out of 
 weavers' night-caps ; and she kept the lair so 
 clean and tidy as to raise a fear that intruders 
 might mistake its character. Elspeth had to mind 
 the pot, which Aaron Latta never missed, and Corp 
 was supposed to light the fire by striking sparks from 
 his knife, a trick which Tommy considered so easy 
 that he refused to show how it was done. Many 
 strange sauces were boiled in that pot, a sort of 
 potato-turnip pudding often coming out even when 
 not expected, but there was an occasional rabbit 
 that had been bowled over by Corp's unerring 
 hand, and once Tommy shot a — a haunch of 
 venison, having first, with Corp's help, howked it 
 out of Runny-On's swine, then suspended head 
 downward, and open like a book at the page of 
 
 289 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 contents, steaming, drlj^plng, a tub beneath, boys 
 with, bladders in the distance. When they had 
 supped they gathered round the fire, Grizel knit- 
 ting a shawl for they knew whom, but the name 
 was never mentioned, and Tommy told the story 
 of his life at the French court, and how he fought 
 in the '45 and afterwards hid in caves, and so did 
 he shudder, as he described the cold of his bracken 
 beds, and so glowed his face, for it was all real to 
 him, that Grizel let the wool drop on her knee, and 
 Corp whispered to Elspeth, "Dinna be fleid for 
 him; I'se uphaud he found a wy." Those quiet 
 evenings were not the least pleasant spent in the 
 Den. 
 
 But sometimes they were interrupted by a fierce 
 endeavour to carry the lair, when boys from Cathro's 
 climbed to it up each other's backs, the rope, of 
 course, having been pulled into safety at the first 
 sound, and then that end of the Den rang with 
 shouts, and deeds of valour on both sides were as 
 common as pine needles, and once Tommy and 
 Corp were only saved from captors who had them 
 down, by Grizel rushing into the midst of things 
 with two flaring torches, and another time bold 
 Birkie, most daring of the storming partj^, was 
 seized with two others and made to walk the 
 plank. The plank had been part of a gate, and 
 was suspended over the bank of the Silent Pool, 
 
 290 
 
THE SIEGE OF THRUMS 
 
 so that, as you approached the farther end, down 
 you went. It was not a Jacobite method, but 
 Tommy feared that rows of bodies, hanging from 
 the trees still standing in the Den, might attract 
 attention. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 ORIZEL PAYS THREE VISITS 
 
 Less alarming but more irritating was the attempt 
 of the youth of Monypenny and the West town 
 end, to establish a rival firm of Jacobites (without 
 even being sure of the name). They started busi- 
 ness (Francie Crabb leader, because he had a kilt) 
 on a flagon of porter and an ounce of twist, which 
 they carried on a stick through the Den, saying 
 "Bowf!" like dogs, when they met anyone, and 
 then laughing doubtfully. The twist and porter 
 were seized by Tommy and his followers, and 
 Haggerty-Taggerty, Major, arrived home with his 
 head so firmly secured in the flagon that the solder 
 had to be melted before he saw the world again. 
 Francie was in still worse plight, for during the re- 
 mainder of the evening he had to hide in shame 
 among the brackens, and Tommy wore a kilt. 
 
 One cruel revenge the beaten rivals had. They 
 waylaid Grizel, when she was alone, and thus as* 
 sailed her, she answering not a word. 
 
 "What's a father?" 
 
 "She'll soon no have a mither either!" 
 2g2 
 
GRIZEL PAYS THREE VISITS 
 
 " The Painted Lady needs to paint her cheeks 
 no longer I " 
 
 " Na, the red spots comes t/iemsels now." 
 
 " Have you heard her hoasting ? " 
 
 " Ay, it's the hoast o' a dying woman." 
 
 " The joiner heard it, and gave her a look, mea- 
 suring her wi' his eye for the coffin. ' Five and a 
 half by one and a half would hold her snod,' he 
 says to himsel'." 
 
 " Ronny-On's auld wife heard it, and says she, 
 'Dinna think, my leddy, as you'll be buried in 
 consecrated ground.' " 
 
 "Na, a'body kens she'll just be hauled at the 
 end o' a rope to the hole where the witches was 
 shooled in." 
 
 "Wi' a paling spar through her, to keep her 
 down on the day o' judgment." 
 
 Well, well, these children became men and wo- 
 men in time, one of them even a bit of a hero, 
 though he never knew it. 
 
 Are you angry with them ? If so, put the cheap 
 thing aside, or think only of Grizel, and perhaps 
 God will turn your anger into love for her. 
 
 Great-hearted, solitary child ! She walked away 
 from them without flinching, but on reaching the 
 Den, where no one could see her — she lay down 
 on the ground, and her cheeks were dry, but little 
 wells of water stood in her eyes. 
 
 She would not be the Lady Grizel that night. 
 
 293 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 She went home instead, but there was something 
 she wanted to ask. Tommy now, and the next time 
 she saw him she began at once. Grizel always 
 began at once, often in the middle, she saw what 
 she was making for so clearly. 
 
 " Do you know what it means when there are 
 red spots in your cheeks, that used not-to be there ? " 
 
 Tommy knew at once to whom she was referring, 
 for he had heard the gossip of the youth of Mony- 
 penny, and he hesitated to answer. 
 
 " And if, when you cough, you bring up a tiny 
 speck of blood ? " 
 
 " I would get a bottle frae the doctor," said 
 Tommy, evasively. 
 
 " She won't have the doctor," answered Grizel, 
 unguardedly, and then with a look dared Tommy 
 to say that she spoke of her mother. 
 
 " Does it mean you are dying ? " 
 
 "I — I — oh, no, they soon get better." 
 
 He said this because he was so sorry for GrizeL 
 There never was a more sympathetic nature than 
 Tommy's. At every time of his life his pity was 
 easily roused for persons in distress, and he sought 
 to comfort them by shutting their eyes to the truth 
 as long as possible. This sometimes brought relief 
 to them, but it was useless to Grizel, who must 
 face her troubles. 
 
 " Why don't you answer truthfully ? " she cried, 
 with vehemence. " It is so easy to be truthful ! " 
 
 294 
 
GRIZEL PAYS THREE VISITS 
 
 " Well, then," said Tommy, reluctantly, " I 
 think they generally die." 
 
 Elspeth often carried in her pocket a little Tes- 
 tament, presented to her by the Rev. Mr. Dishart 
 for learning by heart one of the noblest of books, 
 the Shorter Catechism, as Scottish children do cr 
 did, not understanding it at the time, but its mean- 
 ing comes long afterwards and suddenly, when you 
 have most need of it. Sometimes Elspeth read 
 aloud from her Testament to Grizel, who made 
 no comment, but this same evening, when the 
 two were alone, she said abruptly: 
 
 " Have you your Testament ? " 
 
 " Yes," Elspeth said, producing iL 
 
 " Which is the page about saving sinners?" 
 
 " It's all about that." 
 
 " But the page when you are in a hurry ? " 
 
 Elspeth read aloud the story of the Crucifixion, 
 and Grizel listened sharply until she heard what 
 Jesus said to the malefactor : " To-day shalt thou 
 be with me in Paradise." 
 
 "And was he?" 
 
 " Of course." 
 
 " But he had been wicked all his life, and I be- 
 lieve he was only good, just that minute, because 
 they were crucifying him. If they had let him 
 come down " 
 
 " No, he repented, you know. That means he 
 had faith, and if you have faith you are saved. It 
 
 295 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 doesna matter how bad you have been. You have 
 just to say ' I believe ' before you die, and God lets 
 you in. It's so easy, Grizel," cried Elspeth, with 
 shining eyes. 
 
 Grizel pondered. " I don't believe it is so easy 
 as that," she said, decisively. 
 
 Nevertheless she asked presently what the Tes- 
 tament cost, and when Elspeth answered "Four- 
 pence," offered her the money. 
 
 " I don't want to sell it," Elspeth remonstrated. 
 
 " If you don't give it to me, I shall take it from 
 you," said Grizel, determinedly. 
 
 " You can buy one." 
 
 " No, the shop people would guess." 
 
 "Guess what?" 
 
 " I won't tell you." 
 
 " I'll lend it to you." 
 
 " I won't take it that way." So Elspeth had to 
 part with her Testament, saying wonderingly, 
 "Can you read?" 
 
 " Yes, and write too. Mamma taught me." 
 
 " But I thought she was daft," Elspeth blurted 
 out. 
 
 " She is only daft now and then," Grizel replied, 
 without her usual spirit. " Generally she is not 
 daft at aH, but only timid." 
 
 Next morning the Painted Lady's child paid 
 •■hree calls, one in town, two in the country. The 
 adorable thing is that, once having made up her 
 
 296 
 
GRIZEL PAYS THREE VISITS 
 
 mind, she never flinched, not even when her hand 
 was on the knocker. 
 
 The first gentleman received her in his lobby. 
 For a moment he did not remember her ; then sud- 
 denly the colour deepened on his face, and he went 
 back and shut the parlour-door. 
 
 " Did anybody see you coming here ? " he asked, 
 quickly. 
 
 " I don't know." 
 
 " What does she want?" 
 
 " She did not send me, I came myself" 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 " When you come to our house " 
 
 " I never come to your house." 
 
 " That is a lie." 
 
 " Speak lower ! " 
 
 "When you come to our house you tell me 
 to go out and play. But I don't. I go and 
 cry." 
 
 No doubt he was listening, but his eyes were on 
 the parlour-door. 
 
 " I don't know why I cry, but you know, you 
 wicked man ! Why is it ? 
 
 " Why is it ? " she demanded again, like a queen- 
 child, but he could only fidget with his gold chain 
 and shuffle uneasily in his parnella shoes. 
 
 " You are not coming to see my mamma again." 
 
 The gentleman gave her an ugly look. 
 
 " If you do," she said at once, " I shall come 
 297 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 straight here and open that door you are looking 
 at, and tell your wife." 
 
 He dared not swear. His hand 
 
 " If you offer me money," said Grizel, " I shall 
 tell her now." 
 
 He muttered something to himself. 
 
 " Is it true ? " she asked, " that mamma is 
 dying 1" 
 
 This was a genuine shock to him, for he had 
 not been at Double Dykes since winter, and then 
 the Painted Lady was quite well. 
 
 " Nonsense I " he said, and his obvious disbelief 
 brought some comfort to the girl. But she asked, 
 " Why are there red spots on her cheeks, then ? " 
 
 " Paint," he answered. 
 
 " No," cried Grizel, rocking her arms, " it is not 
 paint now. I thought it might be and I tried to 
 rub it off while she was sleeping, but it will not 
 come off. And when she coughs there is blood 
 on her handkerchief" 
 
 He looked alarmed now, and Grizel's fears 
 came back. "If mamma dies," she said deter- 
 minedly, " she must be buried in the cemetery." 
 
 " She is not dying, I tell you." 
 
 " And you must come to the funeral." 
 
 " Are you gyte ? " 
 
 " With crape on, your hat." 
 
 His mouth formed .^n emphatic " No." 
 
 " You must," said Grizel, firmly, " you shall ! 
 298 
 
GRIZEL PAYS THREE VISITS 
 
 If you don't " She pointed to the parlour- 
 door. 
 
 Her remaining two visits were to a similar ef^ 
 feet, and one of the gentlemen came out of the 
 ordeal somewhat less shamefully than the first, the 
 other worse, for he blubbered and wanted to kiss 
 her. It is questionable whether many young 
 ladies have made such a profound impression in a 
 series of morning calls. 
 
 The names of these gentlemen are not known, 
 but you shall be told presently where they may be 
 found. Every person in Thrums used to know 
 the place, and many itched to get at the names, 
 but as yet no one has had the nerve to look for 
 them. 
 
 Not at this time did Grizel say a word of these 
 interviews to her friends, though Tommy had to 
 be told of them later, and she never again referred 
 to her mother at the Saturday evenings in the Den. 
 But the others began to know a queer thing, no- 
 thing less than this, that in their absence the lair was 
 sometimes visited by a person or persons unknown, 
 who made use of their stock of firewood. It was 
 a startling discovery, but when they discussed it 
 in council, Grizel never contributed a word. The 
 affair remained a mystery until one Saturday even- 
 ing, when Tommy and Elspeth, reaching the lair 
 first, found in it a delicate white shawl. They 
 both recognized in it the pretty thing the Painted 
 
 299 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 Lady had pinned across her shoulders on the night 
 they saw her steal out of Double Dykes to meet 
 the man of long ago. 
 
 Even while their eyes were saying this, Grizel 
 climbed in without giving the password, and they 
 knew from her quick glance around that she had 
 come for the shawl. She snatched it out of 
 Tommy's hand with a look that prohibited ques- 
 tions. 
 
 " It's the pair o' them," Tommy said to Elspeth 
 at the first opportunity, "that sometimes comes 
 here at nights and kindles the fire and warms 
 themsels at the gloze. And the last time they 
 came they forgot the shawl." 
 
 " I dinna like to think the Painted Lady has 
 been up here. Tommy." 
 
 " But she has. You ken how, when she has a 
 daft fit, she wanders the Den trysting the man that 
 never comes. Has she no been seen at all hours 
 o' the night, Grizel following a wee bit ahint, like 
 as if to take tent o' her ? " 
 
 " They say that, and that Grizel canna get her 
 to go home till the daft fit has passed." 
 
 "Well, she has that kechering hoast and spit 
 now, and so Grizel brings her up here out o' the 
 blasts." 
 
 " But how could she be got to come here, if sKe 
 winna go home ? " 
 
 " Because frae here she can "vatch for the ma»»- '^ 
 300 
 
GRIZEI. PAYS THREE VISITS 
 
 Elspeth shuddered. " Do you think she's here 
 often, Tommy ? " she asked. 
 
 " Just when she has a daft fit on, and they say 
 she's wise sax days in seven." 
 
 This made the Jacobite meetings eerie events 
 for Elspeth, but Tommy liked them the better; 
 and what were they not to Grizel, who ran to them 
 with passionate ft)ndness every Saturday night? 
 Sometimes she even outdistanced her haunting 
 dreads, for she knew that her mother did not think 
 herself seriously ill ; and had not the three gentle- 
 men made light of that curious cough ? So there 
 were nights when the lair saw Grizel go riotous 
 with glee, laughing, dancing, and shouting over- 
 much, like one trying to make up for a lost child- 
 hood. But it was also noticed that when the time 
 came to leave the Den she was very loath, and 
 kissed her hands to the places where she had been 
 happiest, saying, wistfully, and with pretty gestures 
 that were foreign to Thrums, " Good-night, dear 
 Cuttle Well!" "Good-by, sweet, sweet Lair!" as 
 if she knew it could not last. These weekly ris- 
 ings in the Den were most real to Tommy, but it 
 was GnV-el who loved them best 
 
 3pi 
 
CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 A ROMANCE OF TWO OLD MAIDS AND A STOUT 
 BACHELOR 
 
 Came Gavinia, a burgess of the besieged city, along 
 the south shore of the Silent Pool. She was but a 
 maid seeking to know what love might be, and as 
 she wandered on, she nibbled dreamily at a hot 
 sweet-smelling bridie, whose gravy oozed deli- 
 ciously through a bursting paper-bag. 
 
 It was a fit night for dark deeds. 
 
 " Methinks she cometh to her doom ! ** 
 
 The speaker was a masked man who had fol- 
 lowed her — he was sniffing ecstatically — since 
 she left the city walls. 
 
 She seemed to possess a charmed life. He would 
 have had her in Shovel Gorge, but just then 
 Ronny-On's Jean and Peter Scrymgeour turned 
 the corner. 
 
 Suddenly Gavinia felt an exquisite thrill ; a man 
 was pursuing her. She slipped the paper-bag out 
 of sight, holding it dexterously againstj her side 
 with her arm, so that the gravy should not spurt 
 out, and ran. Lights flashed, a kingly voice cried 
 "Now!" and immediately a petticoat was flung 
 
rWO OLD MAIDS AND A BACHELOR 
 
 over her head. (The Lady Griselda looked thin 
 that evening.) 
 
 Gavinia was dragged to the Lair, and though 
 many a time they bumped her, she tenderly nursed 
 the paper-bag with her arm, or fondly thought she 
 did so, for when unmuffied she discovered that it 
 had been removed, as if by painless surgery. And 
 her captors' tongues were sweeping their chins for 
 stray crumbs. 
 
 The wench was offered her choice of Stroke's 
 gallant fellows, but " Wha carries me wears me," 
 said she, promptly, and not only had he to carry 
 her from one end of the Den to the other, but he 
 must do it whistling, as if barely conscious that 
 she was there. So after many attempts (for she 
 was always willing to let them have their try) 
 Corp of Corp, speaking for Sir Joseph and the 
 others, announced a general retreat. 
 
 Instead of taking this prisoner's life. Stroke 
 made her his tool, releasing her on condition that 
 every seventh day she appeared at the Lair with in- 
 formation concerning the doings in the town. Also, 
 her name was Agnes of Kingoldrum, and, if she 
 said it was not, the plank. Bought thus, Agnes 
 proved of service, bringing such bags of news that 
 Stroke was often occupied now in drawing diagrams 
 of Thrums and its strongholds, including the resi- 
 dence of Cathro, with dotted lines to show the di- 
 rection of proposed underground passages. 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 And presently came by this messenger disquiet* 
 ing rumours indeed. Another letter, being the third 
 in six months, had reached the Dovecot, addressed, 
 not to Miss Ailie, but to Miss Kitty. Miss Kitty 
 had been dead fully six years, and Archie Piatt, the 
 post, swore that this was the eighteenth, if not the 
 nineteenth, letter he had delivered to her name 
 since that time. They were all in the same hand, 
 a man's, and there had been similar letters while 
 she was alive, but of these he kept no record. 
 Miss Ailie always took these letters with a treiri- 
 bling hand, and then locked herself in her bedroom, 
 leaving the key in such a position in its hole that 
 you might just as well go straight back to the kit- 
 chen. Within a few hours of the arrival of these 
 ghostly letters, tongues were wagging about them, 
 but to the two or three persons who (after passing 
 a sleepless night) bluntly asked Miss Ailie from 
 whom they came, she only replied by pursing her 
 lips. Nothing could be learned at the post-office 
 save that Miss Ailie never posted any letter there, 
 except to two Misses and a Mrs., all resident in 
 Redlintie. The mysterious letters came from Aus- 
 traly or Manchester, or some such part. 
 
 What could Stroke make of this? He expressed 
 no opinion, but oh, his face was grim. Orders 
 were immediately given to double the sentinels. 
 A barrel was placed in the Queen's Bower. Saw- 
 dust was introduced at immense risk into the Lair. 
 
TWO OLD MAIDS AND A BACHELOR 
 
 A paper containing this writing, " 248xho3i7 Oxh- 
 4591 AWS314 I4dd5," was passed round and then 
 solemnly burned. Nothing was left to chance. 
 
 Agnes of Kingoldrum (Stroke told her) did not 
 know Miss Ailie, but she was commanded to pay 
 special attention to the gossip of the town regard- 
 ing this new move of the enemy. By next Satur- 
 day the plot had thickened. Previous letters might 
 have reddened Miss Ailie's eyes for an hour or two, 
 but they gladdened her as a whole. Now she sat 
 crying all evening with this one on her lap ; she 
 gave up her daily walk to the Berlin wool shop, 
 with all its romantic possibilities ; at the clatter of 
 the tea-things she would start apprehensively ; she 
 had let a red shawl lie for two days in the blue-and- 
 white room. 
 
 Stroke never blanched. He called his faithful 
 remnant around him, and told them the story of 
 Bell the Cat, with its application in the records of 
 his race. Did they take his meaning ? This Miss 
 Ailie must be watched closely. In short, once 
 more, in Scottish history, someone must bell the 
 cat. Who would volunteer? 
 
 Corp of Corp and Sir Joseph stepped forward 
 as one man. 
 
 " Thou couldst not look like Gavinia," the prince 
 said, shaking his head. 
 
 " Wha wants him to look like Gavinia ? " cried 
 an indignant voice. 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 " Peace, Agnes ! " said Stroke. 
 
 "Agnes, why bletherest thou ? " said Sir Joseph. 
 
 " If onybody's to watch Miss Ailie," insisted 
 the obstinate woman, " surely it should be me ! " 
 
 "Ha!" Stroke sprang to his feet, for some- 
 thing in her voice, or the outline of her figure, 
 or perhaps it was her profile, had given him an 
 idea. " A torch ! " he cried eagerly, and with its 
 aid he scanned her face until his own shone tri- 
 umphant. V 
 
 " He kens a wy, methinks ! " exclaimed one of 
 his men. 
 
 Sir Joseph was right. It had been among the 
 prince's exploits to make his way into Thrums in 
 disguise, and mix with the people as one of them- 
 selves, and on several of these occasions he had 
 seen Miss Ailie's attendant. Agnes's resemblance 
 to her now struck him for the first time. It should 
 be Agnes of Kingoldrum's honourable though dan- 
 gerous part to take this Gavinia's place. 
 
 But how to obtain possession of Gavinia's per- 
 son? Agnes made several suggestions, bu't was 
 told to hold her prating peace. It could only be 
 done in one way. They must kidnap her. Sir 
 Joseph was ordered to be ready to accompany his 
 liege on this perilous enterprise in ten minutes. 
 " And mind," said Stroke, gravely, " we carry our 
 lives in our hands." 
 
 " In our hands ! " gasped Sir Joseph, greatly 
 306 
 
TWO OLD MAIDS AND A BACHELOR 
 
 puzzled, but he dared ask no more, and when the 
 two set forth (leaving Agnes of Kingoldrum look- 
 ing very uncomfortable), he was surprised to see 
 that Stroke was carrying nothing. Sir Joseph 
 carried in his hand his red hanky, mysteriously 
 knotted. 
 
 "Where is yours?" he whispered. 
 
 " What meanest thou ? " 
 
 Sir Joseph replied, " Oh, nothing," and thought it 
 best to slip his handkerchief into his trouser-pocket, 
 but the affair bothered him for long afterwards. 
 
 When they returned through the Den, there still 
 seemed (to the unpiercing eye) to be but two of 
 them; nevertheless. Stroke reentered the Lair to 
 announce to Agnes and the others that he had left 
 Gavinia below in charge of Sir Joseph. She was to 
 walk the plank anon, but first she must be stripped 
 that Agnes might don her garments. Stroke was 
 every inch a prince, so he kept Agnes by his side, 
 and sent down the Lady Griselda and Widow 
 Elspeth to strip the prisoner, Sir Joseph having 
 orders to stand back fifty paces. (It is a pleasure 
 to have to r'^cord this.) 
 
 The signal having been given that this delicate 
 task was accomplished. Stroke whistled shrilly, 
 and next moment was heard from far below a 
 thud, as of a body falling in water, then an agon- 
 izing shriek, and then again all was still, save for 
 the heavy breathing of Agnes of Kingoldrum. 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 Sir Joseph (very wet) returned to the Lair, and 
 Agnes was commanded to take off her clothes in a 
 retired spot and put on those of the deceased which 
 she should find behind a fallen tree. 
 
 " I winna be called the deceased," cried Agnes 
 hotly, but she had to do as she was bid, and when 
 she emerged from behind the tree she was the very 
 image of the ill-fated Gavinia. Stroke showed 
 her a plan of Miss Ailie's backdoor, and also gave 
 her a kitchen key (when he produced this, she felt 
 in her pockets and then snatched it from him), 
 after which she set out for the Dovecot in a scare 
 about her own identity. 
 
 " And now, what doest thou think about it a' ? " 
 inquired Sir Joseph eagerly, to which Stroke made 
 answer, looking at him fixedly : 
 
 " The wind is in the west ! " 
 
 Sir Joseph should have kept this a secret, but 
 soon Stroke heard Inverquharity prating of it, and 
 he called his lieutenant before him. Sir Joseph 
 acknowledged humbly that he had been unable to 
 hide it from Inverquharity, but he promised not 
 to tell Muckle Kenny, of whose loyalty there were 
 doubts. Henceforth, when the faithful fellow was 
 Muckle Kenny, he would say doggedly to himself 
 " Dinna question me, Kenny. I ken nocht about 
 it." 
 
 Dark indeed were now the fortunes of the Pre- 
 tender, but they had one bright spot. Miss Ailie 
 
 308 
 
TWO OLD MAIDS AND A BACHELOR 
 
 had been taken in completely by the trick played 
 on her, and thus Stroke now got full information 
 of the enemy's doings. Cathro having failed to 
 dislodge the Jacobites, the seat of war had been 
 changed by Victoria to the Dovecot, whither her 
 despatches were now forwarded. That this last 
 one, of which Agnes of Kingoldrum tried in vain 
 to obtain possession, doubled the price on the Pre- 
 tender's head, there could be no doubt; but as 
 Miss Ailie was a notorious Hanoverian, only the 
 hunted prince himself knew why this should make 
 her cry. 
 
 He hinted with a snigger something about an 
 affair he had once had with the lady. 
 
 The Widow and Sir Joseph accepted this ex- 
 planation, but it made Lady Griselda rock her 
 arms in irritation. 
 
 The reports about Miss Ailie's behaviour be- 
 came more and more alarming. She walked up 
 and down her bed-room now in the middle of the 
 night, Every time the knocker clanked she held 
 herself together with both hands. Agnes had or- 
 ders not to answer the door until her mistress had 
 keeked through the window. 
 
 " She's expecting a veesitor, methinks," said 
 Corp. This was his bright day. 
 
 "Ay," answered Agnes, "but is't a man-body, 
 or just a woman-body ? " 
 
 Leaving the rebels in the Lair stunned by Vic« 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 torla's latest move, we now return to Thrums, 
 where Miss Ailie's excited state had indeed been 
 the talk of many. Even the gossips, however, had 
 underestimated her distress of mind, almost as 
 'much as they misunderstood its cause. You must 
 ...Aen now (will you?) to so mild a thing as the 
 long thin romance of two maiden ladies and a stout 
 bachelor, all beginning to be old the day the three 
 of them first drank tea together, and that was ten 
 years ago. 
 
 Miss Ailie and Miss Kitty, you may remember, 
 were not natives of Thrums. They had been born 
 and brought up at Redlintie, and on the death of 
 their parents they had remained there, the ganger 
 having left them all his money, which was just 
 sufficient to enable them to live like ladies, if they 
 took tiny Magenta Cottage, and preferred an inex- 
 perienced maid. At first their life was very quiet, 
 the walk from eleven to one for the good of fragile 
 Miss Kitty's health its outstanding feature. When 
 they strolled together on the cliffs, Miss Ailie's 
 short thick figure, straight as an elvint, cut the 
 wind in two, but Miss Kitty was swayed this way 
 and that, and when she shook her curls at the wind, 
 it blew them roguishly in her face, and had another 
 shot at them, as soon as they were put to rights. 
 If the two walked by the shore (where the younger 
 sometimes bathed her feet, the elder keeping a 
 sharp eye on land and water), the sea behaved like 
 
 310 
 
TWO OLD MAIDS AND A BACHELOR 
 
 the wind, dodging Miss Ailie's ankles and snapping 
 playfully at Miss Kitty's. Thus even the ele- 
 ments could distinguish between the sisters, who 
 nevertheless had so much in common that at times 
 Miss Ailie would look into her mirror and sigh to 
 think that some day Miss Kitty might be like 
 this. How Miss Ailie adored Miss Kitty! She 
 trembled with pleasure if you said Miss Kitty was 
 pretty, and she dreamed dreams in which she her- 
 self walked as bridesmaid only. And just as Miss 
 Ailie could be romantic, Miss Kitty, the roman- 
 tic, could be prim, and the primness was her own 
 as much as the curls, but Miss Ailie usually carried 
 it for her, like a cloak in case of rain. 
 
 Not often have two sweeter women grown to- 
 gether on one stem. What were the men of Red- 
 lintie about? The sisters never asked each other 
 this question, but there were times when, appa- 
 rently without cause. Miss Ailie hugged Miss Kitty 
 vehemently, as if challenging the world, and per- 
 haps Miss Kitty understood. 
 
 Thus a year or more passed uneventfully, until 
 the one romance of their lives befell them. It be- 
 gan with the reappearance in Redlintie of Mager- 
 ful Tam, who had come to torment his father into 
 giving him more money, but, finding he had come 
 too late, did not harass the sisters. This is perhaps 
 the best thing that can be told of him, and, as if 
 he knew this, he had often told it himself to Jean 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 Myles, without however telling her what followed. 
 For something to his advantage did follow, and it 
 was greatly to the credit of Miss Ailie and Miss 
 Kitty, though they went about it as timidly as if 
 they were participating in a crime. Ever since they 
 learned of the sin which had brought this man into 
 the world their lives had been saddened, for on the 
 same day they realized what a secret sorrow had 
 long lain at their mother's heart. Alison Sibbald 
 was a very simple gracious lady, who never recov« 
 ered from the shock of discovering that she had 
 married a libertine ; yet she had pressed her hus- 
 band to do something for his son, and been greatly 
 pained when he refused with a coarse laugh. The 
 daughters were very like her in nature, and though 
 the knowledge of what she had suffered increased 
 many fold their love for her, so that in her last 
 days their passionate devotion to her was the talk 
 of Redlintie, it did not blind them to what seemed 
 to them to be their duty to the man. As their 
 father's son, they held, he had a right to a third of 
 the ganger's money, and to withhold it from him, 
 now that they knew his whereabouts, would have 
 been a form of theft. But how to give T. his 
 third ? They called him T. from delicacy, and 
 they had never spoken to him. When he passed 
 them in the streets, they turned pale, and, think- 
 ing of their mother, looked another way. Bu. 
 they knew he winked. 
 
 312 
 
TWO OLD MAIDS AND A BACHELOR 
 
 At last, looking red in one street, and white in 
 another, but resolute in all, they took their business 
 to the office of Mr. John McLean, the writer, who 
 had once escorted Miss Kitty home from a party 
 without anything coming of it, so that it was quite 
 a psychological novel in several volumes. Now 
 Mr. John happened to be away at the fishing, and 
 a reckless maid showed them into the presence of 
 a strange man, who was no other than his brother 
 Ivie, home for a year's holiday from India, and nat- 
 urally this extraordinary occurrence so agitated 
 them that Miss Ailie had told half her story before 
 she realized that Miss Kitty was fitting at her dress. 
 Then indeed she sought to withdraw, but Ivie, 
 with the alarming yet not unpleasing audacity of 
 his sex, said he had heard enough to convince him 
 that in this matter he was qualified to take his 
 brother's place. But he was not, for he announced, 
 " My advice to you is not to give T. a halfpenny," 
 which showed that he did not even understand 
 what they had come about. 
 
 They begged permission to talk to each other 
 behind the door, and presently returned, troubled 
 but brave. Miss Kitty whispered " Courage!" and 
 this helped Miss Ailie to the deed. 
 
 " We have quite made up our minds to let T. 
 have the money," she said, " but — but the difficulty 
 is the taking it to him. Must we take it in per- 
 son?" 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 " Why not ? " asked Ivie, bewildered. 
 
 " It would be such a painful meeting to us," said 
 Miss Ailie. 
 
 " And to him," added simple Miss Kitty. 
 
 " You see we have thought it best not to — not 
 to know him," said Miss Ailie, faintly. 
 
 "Mother — " faltered Miss Kitty, and at the 
 word the eyes of both ladies began to fill. 
 
 Then, of course, Mr. McLean discovered the 
 object of their^visit, and promised that his brother 
 should take this delicate task off their hands, and 
 as he bowed them out he said, " Ladies, I think 
 you are doing a very foolish thing, and I shall re- 
 spect you for it all my life." At least Miss Kitty 
 insisted that respect was the word, Miss Ailie 
 thought he said esteem. 
 
 That was how it began, and it progressed for 
 nearly a year at a rate that will take away your 
 breath. On the very next day he met Miss Kitty 
 in High Street, a most awkward encounter for her 
 ("for, you know, Ailie, we were never introduced, 
 so how could I decide all in a moment what to 
 do ? "), and he raised his hat (the Misses Croall 
 were at their window and saw the whole thing). 
 But we must gallop, like the friendship. He 
 bowed the first two times, the third time he shook 
 hands (by a sort of providence Miss Kitty had put 
 on her new mittens), the fourth, fifth, and sixth 
 times he conversed, the seventh time he — they re 
 
 3H 
 
TWO OLD MAIDS AND A BACHELOR 
 
 plied that they could really not trouble him so much, 
 but he said he was going that way at any rate ; the 
 eighth time, ninth time, and tenth times the figures 
 of two ladies and a gentleman might have been 
 observed, etc., and either the eleventh or twelfth 
 time ("Fancy our not being sure, Ailie" — " Ii 
 has all come so quickly, Kitty ") he took his first 
 dish of tea at Magenta Cottage. 
 
 There were many more walks after this, often 
 along the cliffs to a little fishing village, over which 
 the greatest of magicians once stretched his wand, 
 so that it became famous forever, as all the world 
 saw except himself; and tea at the cottage fol- 
 lowed, when Ivie asked Miss Kitty to sing " The 
 Land o' the Leal," and Miss Ailie sat by the win- 
 dow, taking in her merino, that it might fit Miss 
 Kitty, cutting her sable muff (once Alison Sib- 
 bald's) into wristbands for Miss Kitty's astrakhan ; 
 they did not go quite all the way round, but men 
 are blind. 
 
 Ivie was not altogether blind. The sisters, it is 
 to be feared, called him the dashing McLean, but 
 iie was at this time nearly forty years old, an age 
 when bachelors like to take a long rest from think- 
 ing of matrimony, before beginning again. Fifteen 
 years earlier he had been in love, but the girl had 
 not cared to wait for him, and though in India he 
 had often pictured himself returning to Redlintie 
 to gaze wistfully at her old home, when he did 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 come back he never went, because the house was 
 a little out of the way. But unknown to him two 
 ladies went, to whom he had told this as a rather 
 dreary joke. They were ladies he esteemed very 
 much, though having a sense of humour he some- 
 times chuckled on his way home from Magenta 
 Cottage, and he thought out many ways of adding 
 little pleasures to their lives. It was like him to 
 ask Miss Kitty to sing and play, though he dis- 
 liked music. He understood that it is a hard 
 world for single women, and knew himself for a 
 very ordinary sort of man. If it ever crossed his 
 head that Miss Kitty would be willing to marry 
 him, he felt genuinely sorry at the same time that 
 she had not done better long ago. He never flat- 
 tered himself that he could be accepted now, save 
 for the good home he could provide (he was not 
 the man to blame women for being influenced by 
 that), for like most of his sex he was unaware that 
 a woman is never too old to love or to be loved; 
 if they do know it, the mean ones among them 
 make a jest of it, at which (God knows why) their 
 wives laugh. Mr. McLean had been acquainted 
 with the sisters for months before he was sure even 
 that Miss Kitty was his favourite. He found that 
 out one evening when sitting with an old friend, 
 whose wife and children were in the room, gath- 
 ered round a lamp and playing at some child's 
 game. Suddenly Ivie McLean envied his friend, 
 
 m6 
 
TWO OLD MAIDS AND A BACHELOR 
 
 and at the same moment he thought tenderly of 
 Miss Kitty. But the feeling passed. He experi- 
 enced it next and as suddenly when arriving at 
 Bombay, where some women were waiting to 
 greet their husbands. 
 
 Before he went away the two gentlewomen knew 
 that he was not to speak. They did not tell each 
 other what was in their minds. Miss Kitty was 
 so bright during those last days, that she must have 
 deceived anyone who did not love her, and Miss 
 Ailie held her mouth very tight, and if possible 
 was straighter than ever, but oh, how gentle she 
 was with Miss Kitty! Ivie's last two weeks in 
 the old country were spent in London, and during 
 that time Miss Kitty liked to go away by herself, 
 and sit on a rock and gaze at the sea. Once Miss 
 Ailie followed her and would have called him 
 
 " Don't, Ailie ! " said Miss Kitty, imploringly. 
 But that night, when Miss Kitty was brushing her 
 hair, she said courageously, " Ailie, I don't think 
 I should wear curls any longer. You know I — I 
 shall be thirty-seven in August." And after the 
 elder sister had become calm again. Miss Kitty 
 said timidly, " You don't think I have been un- 
 adylike, do you, Ailie ? " 
 
 Such a trifle now remains to tell. Miss Kitty 
 vas the better business woman of the two, and 
 Kept the accounts, and understood, as Miss Ailie 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 could not understand, how their little income was 
 invested, and even knew what consols were, though 
 never quite certain whether it was their fall or rise 
 that is matter for congratulation. And after the 
 ship had sailed, she told Miss Ailie that nearly all 
 their money was lost, and that she had known it 
 for a month. 
 
 " And you kept it from me ! Why ? " 
 
 " I thought, Ailie, that you, knowing I am not 
 strong — that you — would perhaps tell him." 
 
 " And I would ! " cried Miss Ailie. 
 
 " And then," said Miss Kitty, " perhaps he, out 
 of pity, you know ! " 
 
 " Well, even if he had ! " said Miss Ailie. 
 
 "I could not, oh, I could not," replied Miss 
 Kitty, flushing; "it — it would not have been 
 ladylike, Ailie." 
 
 Thus forced to support themselves, the sisters 
 decided to keep school genteelly, and, hearing that 
 there was an opening in Thrums, they settled there, 
 and Miss Kitty brushed her hair out now, and 
 with a twist and a twirl ran it up her fingers into 
 a net, whence by noon some of it had escaped 
 through the little windows and was curls again, 
 She and Miss Ailie were happy in Thrums, for 
 time took the pain out of the affair of Mr. Mc- 
 Lean, until it became not merely a romantic riiem- 
 ory, but, with the letters he wrote to Miss Kitty 
 and her answers, the great quiet pleasure of their 
 
 318 
 
TWO OLD MAIDS AND A BACHELOR 
 
 lives. They were friendly letters only, but Miss 
 Kitty wrote hers out in pencil first and read them 
 to Miss Ailie, who had been taking notes tor them. 
 
 In the last weeks of Miss Kitty's life Miss Ailie 
 conceived a passionate unspoken hatred of Mr. 
 McLean, and her intention was to write and tell 
 him that he had killed her darling. But owing to 
 the illness into which she was flung by Miss Kitty's 
 death, that unjust letter was never written. 
 
 But why did Mr. McLean continue to write to 
 Miss Kitty? 
 
 Well, have pity or be merciless as you choose. 
 For several years Mr. McLean's letters had been 
 the one thing the sisters looked forward to, and 
 now, when Miss Ailie was without Miss Kitty, 
 must she lose them also? She never doubted, 
 though she may have been wrong, that. If Ivie 
 knew of Miss Kitty's death, one letter would come 
 in answer, and that the last. She could not tell 
 him. In the meantime he wrote twice asking the 
 reason of this long silence, and at last Miss Ailie, 
 whose handwriting was very like her sister's, wrote 
 him a letter which was posted at Tilliedrum and 
 signed " Katherine Cray." The thing seems mon- 
 strous, but this gentle lady did it, and It was never 
 so difficult to do again. Latterly, it had been easy. 
 
 This last letter of Mr. McLean's announced to 
 Miss Kitty that he was about to start for home 
 "for good," and he spoke in it of coming to 
 
 3'9 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 Thrums to see the sisters, as soon as he reached 
 Redlintie. Poor Miss Ailie ! After sleepless nights 
 she trudged to the Tilliedrum post-oiRce with a 
 full confession of her crime, which would be her 
 welcome home to him when he arrived at his 
 brother's house. Many of the words were written 
 on damp blobs. After that she could do nothing 
 but wait for the storm, and waiting she became so 
 meek, that Gavinia, who loved her because she 
 was " that simple," said sorrowfully : 
 
 " How is't you never rage at me now, ma'am ? 
 I'm sure it keepit you lightsome, and I likit to 
 hear the bum o't." 
 
 " And instead o' the raging I was prigging for," 
 the soft-heartpd maid told her friends, " she gave 
 me a flannel petticoat ! " Indeed, Miss Ailie had 
 taken to giving away her possessions at this time, 
 like a woman who thought she was on her death« 
 bed. There was something for each of her pupils, 
 including — but the important thing is that there 
 was a gift for Tommy, which had the effect of 
 planting the Hanoverian Woman (to whom he 
 must have given many uneasy moments) more 
 securely on the British Throne, 
 
 320 
 
CHAPTER XXV 
 
 A PENNY PASS-BOOK 
 
 Elspeth conveyed the gift to Tommy in a brown 
 paper wrapping, and when it lay revealed as an 
 aging volume of Mamma's Boy, a magazine for the 
 Home, nothing could have looked more harmless. 
 But, ah, you never know. Hungrily Tommy ran 
 his eye through the bill of fare for something choice 
 to begin with, and he found it. " The Boy Pirate " 
 it was called. Never could have been fairer promise, 
 and down he sat confidently. 
 
 It was a paper on the boys who have been un- 
 done by reading pernicious fiction. It gave their 
 names, and the number of pistols they had bought, 
 and what the judge said when he pronounced sen- 
 tence. It counted the sensational tales found be- 
 neath the bed, and described the desolation of the 
 mothers and sisters. It told the colour of the father's 
 hair before and afterwards. 
 
 Tommy flung the thing from him, picked it up 
 again, and read on uneasily, and when at last he 
 rose he was shrinking from himself. In hopes that 
 b,e might sleep it off he went early to bed, but his 
 
 321 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 contrition was still with him in the morning. Then 
 Elspeth was shown the article which had saved 
 him, and she, too, shuddered at what she had been, 
 though her remorse was but a poor display beside 
 his, he was so much better at everything than El- 
 speth, Tommy's distress of mind was so genuine 
 and so keen that it had several hours' start of his 
 admiration of it; and it was still sincere, though 
 he himself had become gloomy, when he told his 
 followers that they were no more. Grizel heard 
 his tale with disdain, and said she hated Miss 
 Ailie for giving him the silly book, but he re- 
 proved these unchristian sentiments, while admit- 
 ting that Miss Ailie had played on him a scurvy 
 trick, 
 
 "But you're glad you've repented, Tommy," 
 Elspeth reminded him, anxiously. 
 
 " Ay, I'm glad," he answered, without heartiness. 
 
 "Well, gin you repent I'll repent too," said 
 Corp, always ready to accept Tommy without 
 question. 
 
 " You'll be happier," replied Tommy, sourly. 
 
 "Ay, to be good's the great thing," Corp 
 growled ; " but, Tommy, could we no have just one 
 michty blatter, methinks, to end up wi' ? " 
 
 This, of course, could not be, and Saturday fore- 
 noon found Tommy wandering the streets listlessly, 
 very happy, you know, but inclined to kick at any 
 one who came near, such, for instance, as the stranger 
 
 322 
 
A PENNY PASS-BOOK 
 
 who asked him in the square if he could point out 
 the abode of Miss Ailie Cray. 
 
 Tommy led the way, casting some converted 
 looks at the gentleman, and judging him to be the 
 mysterious unknown in whom the late Captain 
 Stroke had taken such a reprehensible interest. 
 He was a stout, red-faced man, stepping firmly 
 into the fifties, with a beard that even the most 
 converted must envy, and a frown sat on his brows 
 all the way, proving him possibly ill-tempered, but 
 also one of the notable few who can think hard 
 about one thing for at least five consecutive min- 
 utes. Many took a glint at him as he passed, but 
 missed the frown, they were wondering so much 
 why the fur of his heavy top-coat was on the inside, 
 where it made little show, save at blasty corners. 
 
 Miss Ailie was in her parlour, trying to give her 
 mind to a blue and white note-book, but when she 
 saw who was coming up the garden she dropped 
 the little volume and tottered to her bedroom. 
 She was there when Gavinia came up to announce 
 that she had shown a gentleman into the blue-and- 
 white room, who gave the name of Ivie McLean. 
 " Tell him — I shall come down — presently," 
 gasped Miss Ailie, and then Gavinia was sure this 
 ivas the man who was making her mistress so un- 
 happy. 
 
 " She's so easily flichtered now," Gavinia told 
 Tommy in the kitchen, " that for fear o* starting 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 her I never whistle at my work without telling her 
 I'm to do't, and if I fall on the stair, my first 
 thought is to jump up and cry, ' It was just me 
 tum'ling.' And now I believe this brute'U be the 
 death o' her." 
 
 " But what can he do to her ? " 
 
 " I dinna ken, but she's greeting sair, and you 
 can hear how he's rampaging up and down the 
 blue-and-white room. Listen to his thrawn feet! 
 He's raging because she's so long in coming down, 
 and come she daurna. Oh, the poor crittur ! " 
 
 Now, Tommy was very fond of his old school- 
 mistress, and he began to be unhappy with Gavinia. 
 
 "She hasna a man-body in the world to take 
 care o' her," sobbed the girl. 
 
 " Has she no "? " cried Tommy, fiercely, and un- 
 der one of the impulses that so easily mastered 
 him he marched into the blue-and-white room. 
 
 "Well, my young friend, and what may you 
 want 1 " asked Mr. McLean, impatiently. 
 
 Tommy sat down and folded his arms. " I'm 
 going to sit here and see what you do to Miss 
 Ailie," he said, determinedly. 
 
 Mr. McLean said " Oh I " and then seemed fav- 
 ourably impressed, for he added quietly: " She is a 
 friend of yours, is she ? Well, I have no inten- 
 tion of hurting her." 
 
 " You had better no," replied Tommy, stoutly. 
 
 " Did she send you here ? " 
 
A PENNY PASS-BOOK 
 
 "No; I came myselV 
 
 "To protect her?" 
 
 There was the irony in it that so puts up a boy's 
 dander. " Dinna think," said Tommy, hotly, "that 
 I'm fleid at you, though I have no beard — at 
 least, I hinna it wi' me." 
 
 At this unexpected conclusion a smile crossed 
 Mr. McLean's face, but was gone in an instant. 
 " I wish you had laughed," said Tommy, on the 
 watch; "once a body laughs he canna be angry 
 no more," which was pretty good even for Tommy. 
 It made Mr. McLean ask him why he was so fond 
 of Miss Ailie. 
 
 " I'm the only man-body she has," he answered. 
 
 " Oh ? But why are you her man-body ? " 
 
 The boy could think of no better reason than 
 this : " Because — because she's so sair in need o' 
 ane." (There were moments when one liked 
 Tommy.) 
 
 Mr. McLean turned to the window, and perhaps 
 forgot that he was not alone. "Well, what are you 
 thinking about so deeply ? " he asked by and by. 
 
 " I was trying to think o' something that would 
 gar you laugh," answered Tommy, very earnestly, 
 and was surprised to see that he had nearly done it. 
 
 The ^lue and white note-book was lying on the 
 floor where Miss Ailie had dropped it. Often in 
 Tommy's presence she had consulted this work, 
 and certainly its effect on her was the reverse of 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 laughter; but once he had seen Dr. McQueen 
 pick it up and roar over every page. With an in- 
 spiration Tommy handed the book to Mr. Mc- 
 Lean. " It made the doctor laugh," he said per- 
 suasively. 
 
 " Go away," said Ivie, impatiently ; " I am in 
 no mood for laughing." 
 
 " I tell you what," answered Tommy, " I'll go, 
 if you promise to look at it," and to be rid of him 
 the man agreed. For the next quarter of an hour 
 Tommy and Gavinia were very near the door of 
 the blue-and-white room, Tommy whispering de- 
 jectedly, " I hear no laughing," and Gavmia reply- 
 ing, " But he has quieted down." 
 
 Mr. McLean had a right to be very angry, Jbut 
 God only can say whether he had a right to be as 
 angry as he was. The book had been handed to 
 him open, and he was laying it down unread when 
 a word underlined caught his eye. It was his 
 own name. Nothing in all literature arrests our 
 attention quite so much as that. He sat down to 
 the book. It was just about this time that Miss 
 Ailie went on her knees to pray. 
 
 It was only a penny pass-book. On its blue 
 cover had been pasted a slip of white paper, and 
 on the paper was written, in blue ink, "Alison 
 Cray," with a date nearly nine years old. The 
 contents were in Miss Ailie's prim handwriting; 
 jottings for her own use begun about the time 
 
 326 
 
A PENNY PASS-BOOK 
 
 when the sisters, trembling at their audacity, had 
 opened school, and consulted and added to fitfully 
 ever since. Hours must have been spent in erasing 
 the blots and other blemishes so carefully. The 
 tiny volume was not yet full, and between its two 
 last written pages lay a piece of blue blotting-paper 
 neatly cut to the size of the leaf 
 
 Some of these notes were transcripts from books, 
 some contained the advice of friends, others were 
 doubtless the result of talks with Miss Kitty (from 
 whom there were signs that the work had been 
 kept a secret), many were Miss Ailie's own. An 
 entry of this kind was frequent : " If you are un- 
 certain of the answer to a question in arithmetic, 
 it is advisable to leave the room on some pretext 
 and work out the sum swiftly in the passage," 
 Various pretexts were suggested, and this one 
 (which had an insufficient line through it) had 
 been inserted by Dr. McQueen on that day when 
 Tommy saw him chuckling, " You pretend that 
 your nose is bleeding, and putting your handker- 
 chief to it, retire hastily, the supposition being that 
 you have gone to put the key of the blue-and- 
 white room down your back." Evidently these 
 small deceptions troubled Miss Ailie, for she had 
 written, " Such subterfuge is, I hope, pardonable, 
 the object being the maintenance of scholastic dis- 
 cipline." On another page, where the arithmetic 
 was again troubling her, this appeared ; " If Kitty 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 were aware that the squealing of the slate-pencils 
 gave me such headaches, she would insist on 
 again taking the arithmetic class, though it always 
 makes her ill. Surely, then, I am justified in say- 
 ing that the sound does not distress me." To this 
 the doctor had added, " You are a brick." 
 
 There were two pages headed Never, which 
 mentioned ten things that Miss Ailie must never 
 do ; among them, " Never let the big boys know 
 you are afraid of them. To awe them, stamp 
 with the foot, speak in a loud ferocious voice, and 
 look them unflinchingly in the face." 
 
 " Punishments " was another heading, but she 
 had written it small, as if to prevent herself seeing 
 it each time she opened the book. Obviously 
 her hope had been to dispose of Punishment in a 
 few lines, but it would have none of that, and Mr. 
 McLean found it stalking from page to page. 
 Miss Ailie favoured the cane in preference to tawse, 
 which "often flap round your neck as you are 
 about to bring them down." Except in desperate 
 cases " it will probably be found sufficient to order 
 the offender to bring the cane to you." Then fol- 
 lowed a note about rubbing the culprit's hand 
 " with sweet butter or dripping " should you have 
 struck too hard. 
 
 Dispiriting item, that on resuming his seat the 
 chastised one is a hero to his fellows for the rest 
 of the day. Item, that Master John James fiar- 
 
A PENNY PASS-BOOK 
 
 tray knows she hurts her own hand more than 
 his. Item, that John James promised to be good 
 throughout the session if she would let him thrash 
 the bad ones. Item, that Master T. Sandys, him- 
 self under correction, explained to her (the artistic 
 instinct again) how to give the cane a waggle 
 when descending, which would double its nip. 
 Item, that Elsie Dundas offered to receive Francie 
 Crabb's punishment for two snaps. Item, that 
 Master Gavin Dishart, for what he considered the 
 honour of his school, though aware he was imperil- 
 ling his soul, fought Hendry Dickie of Cathro's 
 for saying Miss Ailie could not draw blood with 
 one stroke. 
 
 The effect on Miss Ailie of these mortifying 
 discoveries could be read in the paragraph headed 
 A Mother's Method, which was copied from a 
 
 newspaper. Mrs. E , it seems, was the mother 
 
 of four boys (residing at D ), and she sub- 
 jected them frequently to corporal chastisement 
 
 without permanent spiritual result. Mrs. E. , 
 
 by the advice of another lady, Mrs. K (mother 
 
 of six), then had recourse to the following inter- 
 esting experiment. Instead of punishing her chil- 
 dren physically when they misbehaved, she now in 
 their presence wounded herself by striking her left 
 hand severely with a ruler held in the right. Soon 
 their better natures were touched, and the four 
 implored her to desist, promising with tears never 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 to offend again. From that hour Mrs. E had 
 
 little trouble with her boys. 
 
 It was recorded in the blue and white book how 
 Miss Ailie gave this plan a fair trial, but her boys 
 
 must have been darker characters than Mrs.E 's, 
 
 for it merely set them to watching each other, so 
 that they might cry out, " Pandy yourself quick. 
 Miss Ailie; Gavin Dishart's drawing the devil on 
 his slate." Nevertheless, when Miss Ailie an- 
 nounced a return to more conventional methods, 
 Francie was put up (with threats) to say that he 
 suffered agonies of remorse every time she pandied 
 herself for him, but the thing had been organized 
 in a hurry and Francie was insufficiently primed, 
 and on cross-examination he let out that he thought 
 remorse was a swelling of the hands. 
 
 Miss Ailie was very humble-minded, and her 
 entries under The Teacher Taught were all ad- 
 monitions for herself Thus she chided herself for 
 cowardice because " Delicate private reasons have 
 made me avoid all mention of India in the ge- 
 ography classes. Kitty says quite calmly that this 
 
 is fair neither to our pupils nor to I M . 
 
 The courage of Kitty in this matter is a constant 
 rebuke to me." Except on a few occasions Mr. 
 McLean found that he was always referred to as 
 I M . 
 
 Quite early in the volume Miss Ailie knew that 
 her sister's hold on life was loosening. " How 
 
A PENNY PASS-BOOK 
 
 bright the world suddenly seems," Mr. McLean 
 read, "when there is the tiniest improvement in 
 the health of an invalid one loves." Is it laughable 
 that such a note as this is appended to a recipe for 
 beef-tea ? " It is surely not very wicked to pretend 
 to Kitty that I keep some of it for myself; she 
 would not take it all if she knew I dined on the 
 beef it was made from." Other entries showed too 
 plainly that Miss Ailie stinted herself of food to 
 provide delicacies for Miss Kitty. No doubt her 
 expenses were alarming her when she wrote this : 
 "An interesting article in the Mentor says that 
 nearly all of us eat and drink too much. Were 
 we to mortify our stomachs we should be healthier 
 animals and more capable of sustained thought. 
 The word animal in this connection is coarse, but 
 the article is most impressive, and a crushing reply 
 to Dr. McQueen's assertion that the editor drinks. 
 In the school-room I have frequently found my 
 thoughts of late wandering from classwork, and I 
 hastily ascribed it to sitting up during the night 
 mth Kitty or to my habit of listening lest she 
 should be calling for me. Probably I had over- 
 eaten, and I must mortify the stomach. A glass 
 of hot water with half a spoonful of sugar in it is 
 highly recommended as a light supper." 
 
 " How long ago it may seem since yesterday ! " 
 Do you need to be told on what dark day Miss 
 Ailie discovered that ? "I used to pray that I 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 should be taken first, but I was both impious and 
 selfish, for how could fragile Kitty have fought on 
 alone?" 
 
 In dme happiness again returned to Miss Ailie ; 
 of all our friends it is the one most reluctant to 
 leave us on this side of the grave. It came at first 
 disguised, in the form of duties, old and new; and 
 stealthily, when Miss Ailie was not looking, it 
 mixed with the small worries and joys that had 
 been events while Miss Kitty lived, and these it 
 converted once more into events, where Miss Ailie 
 found it lurking, and at first she would not take it 
 back to her heart, but it crept in without her know- 
 ing. And still there were I M 's let- 
 ters. " They are all I have to look forward to," 
 she wrote in self-defence. " I shall never write to 
 
 I M again," was another entry, but Mr. 
 
 McLean found on the same page, " I have written 
 
 to I M , but do not intend posting it," 
 
 and beneath that was, "God forgive me, I have 
 posted it." 
 
 The troubles with arithmetic were becoming 
 more terrible. " I am never really sure about the 
 decimals," she wrote. 
 
 A Professor of Memory had appeared at the 
 Muckley, and Miss Ailie admits having given him 
 half-a-crown to explain his system to her. But 
 when he was gone she could not remember whe- 
 ther you multiplied everything by ten before di« 
 
A PENNY PASS-BOOK 
 
 viding by five and subtracting a hundred, or began 
 by dividing and doing something underhand with 
 the cube root Then Mr. Dishart, who had a mi- 
 croscope, wanted his boy to be taught science, and 
 several experiments were described at length in 
 the book, one of them dealing with a penny, H, 
 and a piston, X 7\ and you do things to the piston 
 " and then the penny comes to the surface." " But 
 it never does," Miss Ailie wrote sorrowfully ; per- 
 haps she was glad when Master Dishart was sent 
 to another school. 
 
 " Though I teach the girls the pianoforte I find 
 that I cannot stretch my fingers as I used to do. 
 Kitty used to take the music, and I often remem- 
 ber this suddenly when superintending a lesson. 
 It is a pain to me that so many wish to acquire 
 ' The Land o' the Leal,' which Kitty sang so often 
 to I M at Magenta Cottage." 
 
 Even the French, of which Miss Ailie had once 
 been very proud, was slipping from her. " Kitty 
 
 and I kept up our French by translating I 
 
 M 's letters and comparing our versions, but 
 
 now that this stimulus is taken away I find that I 
 am forgetting my French. Or is it only that I 
 am growing old ? too old to keep school ? " This 
 dread was beginning to haunt Miss Ailie, and the 
 pages between which the blotting-paper lay re- 
 vealed that she had written to the editor of the 
 Mentor asking up to what age he thought a needy 
 
 333 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 gentlewoman had a right to teach. The answer 
 was not given, but her comment on it told every- 
 thing. " I asked him to be severely truthful, so 
 that I cannot resent his reply. But if I take his 
 advice, how am I to live ? And if I do not take 
 it, I fear I am but a stumbling-block in the way 
 ©f true education." 
 
 That is a summary of what Mr. McLean read 
 in the blue and white book ; remember, you were 
 warned not to expect much. And Tommy and 
 Gavinia listened, and Tommy said, " I hear no 
 laughing," and Gavinia answered, "But he has 
 quieted down," and upstairs Miss Ailie was on her 
 knees. A time came when Mr. McLean could 
 find something to laugh at in that little pass-book, 
 but it was not then, not even when he reached the 
 end. He left something on the last page instead. 
 At least I think it must have been he : Miss Ailie's 
 tears could not have been so long a-drying. 
 
 You may rise, now. Miss Ailie ; your prayer is 
 granted. 
 
 334 
 
CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 TOMMY REPENTS, AND IS NONE THE WORSE FOR IT 
 
 Mr. McLean wrote a few reassuring words to Miss 
 Ailie, and having told Gavinia to give the note to 
 her walked quietly out of the house ; he was com- 
 ing back after he had visited Miss Kitty's grave. 
 Gavinia, however, did not know this, and having 
 delivered the note she returned dolefully to the 
 kitchen to say to Tommy, " His letter maun have 
 been as thraun as himsel', for as soon as she read 
 it, down she plumped on her knees again." 
 
 But Tommy was not in the kitchen ; he was on 
 the garden-wall watching Miss Ailie's persecutor. 
 
 " Would it no be easier to watch him frae the 
 gate ? " suggested Gavinia, who had not the true 
 detective instinct. 
 
 Tommy disregarded her womanlike question ; a 
 great change had come over him since she went 
 upstairs ; his head now wobbled on his shoulders 
 like a little balloon that wanted to cut its connec- 
 tion with earth and soar. 
 
 " What makes you look so queer ? '' cried the 
 startled maid. " I thought you was converted." 
 
 335 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 " So I am," he shouted, " I'm more converted 
 than ever, and yet I can do it just the same ! Ga- 
 vinia, I've found a wy ! " 
 
 He was hurrying off on Mr. McLean's trail, but 
 turned to say, "Gavinia, do you ken wha that 
 man is ? " 
 
 "Ower weel I ken," she answered, "it's Mr. 
 McLean." 
 
 "McLean!" he echoed scornfully, "ay, I've 
 heard that's one of the names he goes by, but 
 hearken, and I'll tell you wha he really is. That's 
 the scoundrel Stroke!" 
 
 No wonder Gavinia was flabbergasted. " Wha 
 are you then ? " she cried. 
 
 "I'm the Champion of Dames," he replied 
 loftily, and before she had recovered from this he 
 was stalking Mr. McLean in the cemetery. 
 
 Miss Kitty sleeps in a beautiful hollow called 
 the Basin, but the stone put up to her memory 
 hardly marks the spot now, for with a score of 
 others it was blown on its face by the wind that 
 uprooted so many trees in the Den, and as it fell 
 it lies. From the Basin to the rough road that 
 clings like a belt to the round cemetery dyke ia 
 little more than a jump, and shortly after Miss 
 Kitty's grave had been pointed out to him, Mr, 
 McLean was seen standing there hat in hand by a 
 man on the road. This man was Dr. McQueen 
 hobbling home from the Forest Muir ; he did not 
 
 33<^ 
 
TOMMY REPENTS 
 
 hobble as a rule, but hobble everyone must on 
 that misshapen brae, except Murdoch Gelatley, 
 who, being short in one leg elsewhere, is here the 
 only straight man. McQueen's sharp eyes, how- 
 ever, picked out not only the stranger but Tommy 
 crouching behind Haggert's stone, and him did 
 the doctor's famous crook staff catch in the neck 
 and whisk across the dyke. 
 
 " What man is that you're watching, you mys- 
 terious loon ? " McQueen demanded, curiously ; 
 but of course Tommy would not divulge so big a 
 secret. Now the one weakness of this large-hearted 
 old bachelor (perhaps it is a professional virtue) 
 was a devouring inquisitiveness, and he would be 
 troubled until he discovered who was the stranger 
 standing in such obvious emotion by the side of 
 an old grave. " Well, you must come back with 
 me to the surgery, for I want you to run an errand 
 for me," he said testily, hoping to pump the boy 
 by the way, but Tommy dived beneath his stick 
 and escaped. This rasped the doctor's temper, 
 which was unfortunate for Grizel, whom he caught 
 presently peeping in at his surgery window. A 
 dozen times of late she had wondered whether she 
 should ask him to visit her mamma, and though 
 the Painted Lady had screamed in terror at the 
 proposal, being afraid of doctors, Grizel would 
 have ventured ere now, had it not b^/"i for her 
 mistaken conviction that he was a hard man. wno 
 
 337 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 would only flout her. It had once come to her 
 ears that he had said a woman like her mamma 
 could demoralize a whole town, with other harsh 
 remarks, doubtless exaggerated in the repetition, 
 and so he was the last man she dared think of 
 going to for help, when he should have been the 
 first. Nevertheless she had come now, and a soft 
 word from him, such as he gave most readily to 
 all who were in distress, would have drawn her 
 pitiful tale from her, but he was in a grumpy 
 mood, and had heard none of the rumours about 
 her mother's being ill, which indeed were only 
 common among the Monypenny children, and his 
 first words checked her confidences. " What are 
 you hanging about my open window for ? " he 
 cried sharply. 
 
 " Did you think I wanted to steal anything ? " 
 replied the indignant child. 
 
 " I won't say but what I had some such thait." 
 
 She turned to leave him, but he hooked her with 
 his staff. " As you're here," he said, " will you go 
 an errand for me ? " 
 
 "No," she told him promptly; "I don't like 
 you." 
 
 "There's no love lost between us,' he replied, 
 "for I think you are the dourest lassie I ever 
 clapped eyes on, but there's no other litlin handy, 
 so you must do as you are bid, and take this bottle 
 to Ballingall's." 
 
TOMMY REPENTS 
 
 " Is it a medicine bottle ? " she asked, with sud- 
 den interest 
 
 " Yes, it's medicine. Do you know Ballingall's 
 house in the West town end ? " 
 
 " Ballingall who has the little school ? " 
 
 "The same, but I doubt he'll keep school no 
 longer." 
 
 "Is he dying?" 
 
 " I'm afraid there's no doubt of it. Will you go? " 
 
 " I should love to go," she cried. 
 
 "Love!" he echoed, looking at her with dis- 
 pleasure. " You can't love to go, so talk no more 
 nonsense, but go, and I'll give you a bawbee." 
 
 " I don't want a bawbee," she said. " Do you 
 think they will let me go in to see Ballingall ? " 
 
 The doctor frowned. " What makes you want 
 to see a dying man ? " he demanded. 
 
 " I should just love to see him ! " she exclaimed, 
 and she added determinedly, "I won't give up 
 the bottle until they let me in." 
 
 He thought her an unpleasant, morbid girl, but 
 " that is no affair of mine," he said, shrugging his 
 shoulders, and he gave her the bottle to deliver. 
 Before taking it to Ballingall's, however, she com- 
 mitted a little crime. She bought an empty bot- 
 tle at the 'Sosh, and poured into it some of the 
 contents of the medicine bottle, which she then 
 filled up with water. She dared try no other way 
 of getting medicine for her mother, and was too 
 
 339 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 ignorant to know that there are different drugs W. 
 different ailments. 
 
 Grizel not only contrived to get in to see Bal- 
 Ungall, but stayed by his side for several hours, and 
 when she came out it was night-time. On her 
 way home she saw a light moving in the Den, 
 where she had expected to play no more, and she 
 could not prevent her legs from running joyously 
 toward it. So when Corp, rising out of the dark- 
 ness, deftly cut her throat, she was not so angry 
 as she should have been. 
 
 " I'm so glad we are to play again, after all, 
 Corp," she said ; but he replied grandly, " Thou 
 little kennest wha you're speaking to, my gentle 
 jade." 
 
 He gave a curious hitch to his breeches, but it 
 only puzzled her. " I wear gallowses no more," 
 he explained, lifting his waistcoat to show that his 
 braces now encircled him as a belt, but even then 
 she did not understand. " Know, then," said Corp. 
 sternly, " I am Ben the Boatswain." 
 
 " And am I not the Lady Griselda any more ? " 
 she asked. 
 
 " I'm no sure," he confessed ; " but if you are. 
 there's a price on your head." 
 
 "What is Tommy ?" 
 
 "I dinna ken yet, but Gavinia says he tsUed 
 her he's Champion of Damns. I kenna what 
 Elspeth'll say to that." 
 
 340 
 
TOMMY REPENTS 
 
 Grizel was starting for the Lair, but he caught 
 her by the skirt 
 
 " Is he not at the Lair ? " she inquired. 
 
 " We knowest it not," he answered gravely. 
 "We're looking for't," he added with some awe; 
 " we've been looking for't this three year." Then, 
 in a louder voice, " If you can guide us to it, my 
 pretty trifle, you'll be richly rewarded." 
 
 " But where is he ? Don't you know ? " 
 
 "Fine I knowest, but it wouldna be mous to 
 tell you, for I kenna whether you be friend or 
 foe. What's that you 're carrying ? " 
 
 " It is a — a medicine bottle." 
 
 "Gie me a sook!" 
 
 "No." 
 
 " Just one," begged Corp, " and I'll tell you 
 where he is." 
 
 He got his way, and smacked his lips unctuously. 
 
 " Now, where is Tommy ? " 
 
 " Put your face close to mine," said Corp, and 
 then he whispered hoarsely, " He's in a spleet new 
 Lair, writing out bills wi' a' his might, offering five 
 hunder crowns reward for Stroke's head, dead or 
 alive!" 
 
 The new haunt was a deserted house, that stood, 
 very damp, near a little waterfall to the east of the 
 Den. Bits of it well planted in the marsh adhere 
 doggedly together to this day, but even then the 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 roof was off and the chimney lay in a heap on 
 the ground, like blankets that have slipped off 
 a bed. 
 
 This was the good ship Ailie, lying at anchor, 
 ' man-of-war, thirty guns, a cart-wheel to steer it by. 
 T. Sandys, commander. 
 
 On the following Saturday, Ben the Boatswain 
 piped all hands, and Mr. Sandys delivered a speech 
 of the bluff, straightforward kind that sailors love. 
 Here, unfortunately, it must be condensed. He 
 reminded them that three years had passed since 
 their gracious queen (cheers) sent them into these 
 seas to hunt down the Pretender (hisses). Their 
 ship had been christened the Ailie, because its ob- 
 ject was to avenge the insults offered by the Pre- 
 tender to a lady of that name for whom everyone 
 of them would willingly die. Like all his race the 
 Pretender, or Stroke, as he called himself, was a 
 torment to single women ; he had not only stolen 
 all this lady's wealth, but now he wanted to make 
 her walk the plank, a way of getting rid of ene- 
 mies the mere mention of which set the blood of 
 all honest men boiling (cheers). As yet they had 
 not succeeded in finding Stroke's Lair, though they 
 knew it to be in one of the adjoining islands, but 
 they had suffered many privations, twice their gal- 
 lant vessel had been burned to the water's edge, 
 once she had been sunk, once blown into the air, 
 but had that dismayed them ? 
 
TOMMY REPENTS 
 
 Here the Boatswain sent round a whisper, and 
 they all cried loyally, " Ay, ay, sir." 
 
 He had now news for them that would warm 
 their hearts like grog. He had not discovered the 
 Lair, but he had seen Stroke, he had spoken to 
 him ! Disguised as a boy he had tracked the Ja- 
 cobite and found him skulking in the house of the 
 unhappy Ailie. After blustering for a little Stroke 
 had gone on his knees and offered not only to 
 cease persecuting this lady but to return to France. 
 Mr. Sandys had kicked him into a standing pos- 
 ture and then left him. But this clemency had 
 been ill repaid. Stroke had not returned to France. 
 He was staying at the Quharity Arms, a Thrums 
 inn, where he called himself McLean. It had 
 gone through the town like wildfire that he had 
 written to someone in Redlintie to send him on 
 another suit of clothes and four dickies. No one 
 suspected his real character, but all noted that he 
 went to the unhappy Ailie's house daily, and there 
 was a town about it. Ailie was but a woman, and 
 women could not defend themselves (" Boatswain, 
 put Grizel in Irons if she opens her mouth "), and 
 so the poor thing had been forced to speak to him, 
 and even to go walks with him. Her life was in 
 danger, and before now Mr. Sandys would have 
 taken him prisoner,. but the queen had said these 
 words, " Noble Sandys, destroy the Lair," and the 
 best way to discover this horrid spot was to follow 
 
 343 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 Stroke night and day until he went to it. Then 
 they would burn it to the ground, put him on 
 board the Ailie, up with the jib-boom sail, and 
 away to the Tower of London. 
 
 At the words " Tower of London," Ben cried, 
 " Tumble up there ! " which was the signal for 
 three such ringing cheers as only British tars are 
 capable of Three ? To be exact only two and 
 a half, for the third stopped in the middle, as if the 
 lid had suddenly been put on. 
 
 What so startled them was the unexpected ap- 
 pearance in their midst of the very man Tommy 
 had been talking of. Taking a stroll through the 
 Den, Mr. McLean had been drawn toward the 
 ruin by the first cheers, and had arrived in time to 
 learn who and what he really was. 
 
 " Stroke I " gasped one small voice. 
 
 The presumptuous man folded his arms. " So, 
 Sandys," he said, in hollow tones, "we meet 
 again ! " 
 
 Even Grizel got behind Tommy, and perhaps 
 it was this that gave him spunk to say tremulously, 
 " Wh-what are you doing here ? " 
 
 " I have come," replied the ruddy Pretender, 
 " to defy you, ay, proud Sandys, to challenge thee 
 to the deed thou pratest of I go from here to my 
 Lair. Follow me, if thou darest!" 
 
 He brought his hand down with a bang upon 
 the barrel, laughed disdainfully, and springing ovei 
 
 344 
 
TOMMY REPENTS 
 
 the vessel's side was at once lost in the darkness. 
 Instead of following, all stood transfixed, gazing 
 at the barrel, on which lay five shillings. 
 
 " He put them there when he slammed it ! " 
 
 "Losh behears! there's a shilling to ilka ane 
 o' us." 
 
 " I winna touch the siller," said Sandys, moodily 
 
 " What ■? " cried Gavinla. 
 
 " I tell you It's a bribe." 
 
 " Do you hear him ? " screamed Gavlnla. " He 
 says we're no to lay hands on't! Corp, where's 
 your tongue?" 
 
 But even in that trying momeiit Corp's trust In 
 Tommy shone out beautiful and strong. " Dinn^ 
 be feared, Gavinia," he whispered, "he'll find 
 a w'y." 
 
 " Lights out and follow Stroke ! " was the order, 
 and the crew at once scattered in pursuit, Mr. 
 Sandys remaining behind a moment to — to put 
 something in his pocket. 
 
 Mr. McLean gave them a long chase, walking 
 demurely when lovers were in sight, but at other 
 times doubling, jumping, even standing on emi- 
 nences and crowing insultingly, like a cock, and not 
 until he had only breath left to chuckle did the 
 stout man vanish from the Den. Elspeth, now a 
 cabin-boy, was so shaken by the realism of the 
 night's adventures that Gavinia (able seaman) took 
 her home, and when Mr. Sandys and his Boatswain 
 
 345 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 met at the Cuttle Well neither could tell where 
 Grizel was. 
 
 "She had no business to munt without my 
 leave," Tommy said sulkily. 
 
 " No, she hadna. Is she the Lady Griselda yet ? " 
 " Not her, she's the Commander's wife." 
 Ben shook his head, for this, he felt, was the one 
 thing Tommy could not do. "Well, then," 
 growled Tommy, "if she winna be that, she'll 
 have to serve before the mast, for I tell you plain 
 I'll have no single women on board." 
 
 " And what am I, forby Ben the Boatswain ? " 
 
 " Nothing. Honest men has just one name." 
 
 "What! I'm just one single man?" Corp 
 
 was a little crestfallen. "It's a come down," he 
 
 said, with a sigh, "mind, I dinna grumble, but 
 
 it's a come down." 
 
 " And you dinna have ' Methinks ' now either," 
 Tommy announced pitilessly. 
 
 Corp had dreaded this. " I'll be gey an' lonely 
 without it," he said, with some dignity, "and it 
 was the usefulest swear I kent o'. 'Methinks!' 
 I used to roar at Mason Malcolm's collie, and the 
 crittur came in ahint in a swite o' fear. Losh, 
 Tommy, is that you blooding ? " 
 
 There was indeed an ugly gash on Tommy's 
 hand. " You've been hacking at yoursel' again," 
 said the distressed Corp, who knew that in his en- 
 thusiasm Tommy had more than once drawn blood 
 from himself " When you take it a' so real as 
 
TOMMY REPENTS 
 
 that," he said uncomfortably, "I near think we 
 should give it up." 
 
 Tommy stamped his foot. " Take tent o' your- 
 sel'!" he cried threateningly. "When I was 
 tracking Stroke I fell in with one of his men, and 
 we had a tussle. He pinked me in the hand, but 
 't is only a scratch, bah I He was carrying trea- 
 sure, and I took it from him." 
 
 Ben whistled. "Five shillings?" he asked, 
 slapping his knee. 
 
 "How did you know?" demanded Tommy, 
 frowning, and then they tried to stare each other 
 down. 
 
 " I thought I saw you pouching it," Corp ven« 
 tured to say. 
 
 " Boatswain ! " 
 
 " I mean," explained Corp hurriedly, " I mean 
 that I kent you would find a wy. Didest thou 
 kill the Jacobite rebel ? " 
 
 " He lies but a few paces oflF," replied Tommy, 
 " and already the vultures are picking his bones." 
 
 " So perish all Victoria's enemies," said Ben the 
 Boatswain, loyally, but a sudden fear made him 
 add, with a complete change of voice, " You dinna 
 chance to ken his name ? " 
 
 "Ay, I had marked him before," answered 
 Tommy, " he was called Corp of Corp." 
 
 Ben the Boatswain rose, sat down, rose again. 
 "Tommy," he said, wiping his brow with his 
 sleeve, " come awa' hame ! " 
 
 347 
 
CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 THE LONGER CATECHISM 
 
 In the meantime Mr. McLean was walking 
 slowly to the Quharity Arms, fanning his face with 
 his hat, and in the West town end he came upon 
 some boys who had gathered with offensive cries 
 round a girl in a lustre jacket. A wave of his 
 stick put them to flight, but the girl only thanked 
 him with a look, and entered a little house the 
 window of which showed a brighter light than its 
 neighbours. Dr. McQueen came out of this house 
 a moment afterwards, and as the two men now 
 knew each other slightly they walked home to- 
 gether, McLean relating humorously how he had 
 spent the evening. " And though Commander 
 Sandys means to incarcerate me in the Tower of 
 London," he said, " he did me a good service the 
 other day, and I feel an interest in him." 
 
 " What did the inventive sacket do ? " the doc- 
 tor asked inquisitively ; but McLean, who had re- 
 ferred to the incident of the pass-book, affected 
 not to hear. " Miss Ailie has told me his history," 
 be said, " and that he goes to the University next 
 year." 
 
 348 
 
THE LONGER CATECHISM 
 
 " Or to the herding," put in McQueen, dryly. 
 
 " Yes, I heard that was the alternative, but he 
 should easily carry a bursary ; he is a remarkable 
 boy." 
 
 "Ay, but I'm no sure that it's the remarkable 
 boys who carry the bursaries. However, if you 
 have taken a fancy to him, you should hear what 
 Mr. Cathro has to say on the subject ; for my own 
 part I have been more taken up with one of his 
 band lately than with himself — a lassie, too." 
 
 " She who went into that house just before you 
 came out ? " 
 
 " The same, and she is the most puzzling bit of 
 womankind I ever fell in with." 
 
 " She looked an ordinary girl enough," said Mr. 
 McLean. 
 
 The doctor chuckled. " Man," he said, " in my 
 time I have met all kinds of women except ordi- 
 nary ones. What would you think if I told you 
 that this ordinary girl had been spending three or 
 four hours daily in that house entirely because 
 there was a man dying in it ? " 
 
 " Some one she had an affection for ? " 
 
 " My certie, no ! I'm afraid it is long since any- 
 body had an affection for shilpit, hirpling, old Bal- 
 lingall, and as for this lassie Grizel, she had never 
 spoken to him until I sent her on an errand to his 
 house a week ago. He was a single man (hke 
 you and me), without womenfolk, a schoolmaster 
 
 349 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 of his own making, and in the smallest way, and 
 his one attraction to her was that he was on his 
 death-bed. Most lassies of her age skirl to get 
 away from the presence of death, but she prigged, 
 sir, fairly prigged, to get into it I " 
 
 "Ah, I prefer less uncommon girls," McLean 
 said. "They should not have let her have her 
 wish ; it can only do her harm." 
 
 "That is another curious thing," replied the 
 doctor. " It does not seem to have done her any 
 harm ; rather it has turned her from being a dour, 
 silent crittut into a talkative one, and that, I take 
 it, is a sign of grace." 
 
 He sighed, and added : " Not that I can get her 
 to talk of herself and her mother. (There is a 
 mystery about them, you understand.) No, the 
 obstinate brat will tell me nothing on that subject; 
 instead of answering my questions she asks ques- 
 tions of me — an endless rush of questions, and all 
 about Ballingall. How did I know he was dying ? 
 When you put your fingers on their wrist, what is 
 it you count ? which is the place where the lungs 
 are ? when you tap their chest, what do you listen 
 , for ? are they not dying as long as they can rise 
 now and then, and dress and go out ? when they 
 are really dying, do they always know it them- 
 selves ? If they don't know it, is that a sign that 
 they are not so ill as you think them? When 
 they don't know they are dying, is it best to keep 
 
THE LONGER CATECHISM 
 
 it from them in case they should scream with ter- 
 ror ? and so on in a spate of questions, till I called 
 her the Longer Catechism." 
 
 " And only morbid curiosity prompted her ? " 
 
 " Nothing else," said the confident doctor ; " if 
 there had been anything else, I should have found 
 it out, you may be sure. However, unhealthily 
 minded though she be, the women who took their 
 turn at Ballingall's bedside were glad of her help," 
 
 " The more shame to them," McLean remarked 
 warmly; but the doctor would let no one, save 
 himself, miscall the women of Thrums. 
 
 " Ca' canny," he retorted. " The women of this 
 place are as overdriven as the men, from the day 
 they have the strength to turn a pirn-wheel to the 
 day they crawl over their bed-board for the last 
 time, but never yet have I said, ' I need one of you 
 to sit up all night wi' an unweel body,' but what 
 there were half a dozen willing to do it. They are 
 a grand race, sir, and will remain so till they find 
 it out themselves." 
 
 " But of what use could a girl of twelve or 
 fourteen be to them ? " 
 
 " Use I " McQueen cried. " Man, she has been 
 simply a treasure, and but for one thing I would 
 believe it was less a morbid mind than a sort of 
 divine instinct for nursing that took her to Bal- 
 lingall's bedside. The women do their best in a 
 rough-and-ready way ; but, sir, it cowed to see that 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 lassie easying a pillow for Ballingall's head, or chang- 
 ing a sheet without letting in the air, or getting a 
 poultice on his back without disturbing the one 
 on his chest. I had just to let her see how to do 
 these things once, and after that Ballingall com- 
 plained if any other soul touched him." 
 
 "Ah," said McLean, "then perhaps I was un- 
 charitable, and the nurse's instinct is the true ex- 
 planation." 
 
 " No, you're wrong again, though I might have 
 been taken in as well as you but for the one thing 
 I spoke of Three days ago Ballingall had a ghost 
 of a chance of pulling through, I thought, and I 
 told the lassie that if he did, the credit would be 
 mainly hers. You'll scarcely believe it, but, upon 
 my word, she looked disappointed rather than 
 pleased, and she said to me, quite reproachfully, 
 ' You told me he was sure to die ! ' What do you 
 make of that ? " 
 
 " It sounds unnatural." 
 
 " It does, and so does what followed. Do you 
 know what straiking is ? " 
 
 " Arraying the corpse for the cofBn, laying it 
 out, in short, is it not ? " 
 
 " Ay, ay. Well, it appears that Grizel had 
 prigged with the women to let her be present at 
 Ballingall's straikingj and they had refused." 
 
 " I should think so," exclaimed McQueen, with 
 a shudder. 
 
THE LONGER CATECHISM 
 
 "But that's not all. She came to me in her 
 difficulty, and said that if I didna promise her this 
 privilege, she would nurse Ballingall no more." 
 
 " Ugh ! That shows at least that pity for him 
 had not influenced her." 
 
 " No, she cared not a doit for him. I question 
 if she's the kind that could care for anyone. It's 
 ])lain by her thrawn look when you speak to her 
 about her mother that she has no affection even 
 for her. However, there she was, prepared to 
 leave Ballingall to his fate if I did not grant he* 
 request, and I had to yield to her." 
 
 " You promised ? " 
 
 " I did, sore against the grain, but I accept the 
 responsibility. You are pained, but you don't know 
 what a good nurse means to a doctor." 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 "Well, he died after all, and the straiking is 
 going on now. You saw her go in." 
 
 " I think you could have been excused for 
 breaking your word and turning her out." 
 
 " To tell the truth," said the doctor, " I had the 
 same idea when I saw her enter, and I tried to 
 shoo her to the door, but she cried, ' You promised, 
 you can't break a promise I ' and the morbid brat 
 that she is looked so horrified at the very notion 
 of anybody's breaking a promise that I slunk away 
 as if she had right on her side." 
 
 "No wonder the little monster is unpopular," 
 
 353 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 was McLean's comment "The children here- 
 about seem to take to her as little as I do, for I 
 had to drive away some who were molesting her. 
 I am sorry I interfered now." 
 
 " I can tell you why they t'nead her," replied 
 the doctor, and he repeated the little that was 
 known in Thrums of the Painted Lady. " And, 
 you see, the womenfolk are mad because they can 
 find out so little about her, where she got her 
 money, for Instance, and who are the * gentlemen ' 
 that are said to visit her at Double Dykes. They 
 have tried many ways of drawing Grizel, from 
 heckle biscuits and parlies to a slap in the face, 
 but neither by coaxing nor squeezing will you get 
 an egg out of a sweer hen, and so they found. 
 ' The dour little limmer,' they say, * stalking about 
 wi' all her blinds down,' and they are slow to in- 
 terfere when their laddies call her names. It's a 
 pity for herself that she's not more communicative, 
 for if she would just satisfy the women's curiosity 
 she would find them full o{ kindness. A terrible 
 thing, Mr. McLean is curiosity. The Bible says 
 that the love of money is the root of all evil, but 
 we must ask Mr. Dishart if love of money is not a 
 misprint for curiosity. And you won't find men 
 boring their way into other folk's concerns ; it is a 
 woman's failing, essentially a woman's." This was 
 the doctor's pet topic, and he pursued it until they 
 had to part. He had opened his door and was 
 
 354 
 
THE LONGER CATECHISM 
 
 about to enter when he saw Gavinia passing on 
 her way home from the Den. 
 
 " Come here, my lass," he called to her, and then 
 said inquisitively, " I'm told Mr. McLean is at his 
 tea with Miss Ailie every day ? " 
 
 "And it's true," replied Gavinia, in huge de- 
 light, "and what's more, she has given him some 
 presents." 
 
 " You say so, lassie ! What were they now ? " 
 
 " I dinna ken," Gavinia had to admit, deject- 
 edly. " She took them out o' the ottoman, and it 
 has aye been kept locked." 
 
 McQueen looked very knowingly at her. "Will 
 he, think you ? " he asked mysteriously. 
 
 The maid seemed to understand, for she replied 
 promptly, " I hope he will." 
 
 " But he hasna speired her as yet, you think ? " 
 
 "No," she said, "no, but he calls her Ailie, 
 and wi' the gentry it's but one loup frae that to 
 speiring." 
 
 " Maybe," answered the doctor, " but it's a loup 
 they often bogle at. I'se uphaud he's close on 
 fifty, Gavinia ? " 
 
 " There's no denying he is by his best," she 
 said regretfully, and then added, with spirit, " but 
 Miss Ailie's no heavy, and in thae grite arms o' 
 his he could daidle her as if she were an infant." 
 
 This bewildered McQueen, and he asked," What 
 are you blethering about, Gavinia ? " to which she 
 
 355 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 replied, regally, " Wha carries me, wears me ? " 
 The doctor concluded that it must be Den lan- 
 guage. 
 
 "And I hope he's good enough for her," con- 
 tinued Miss Ailie's warm-hearted maid, " for she 
 deserves a good ane." 
 
 "She does," McQueen agreed heartily, "ay, 
 and I believe he is, for he breathes through his 
 nose instead of through his mouth ; and let me 
 tell you, Gavinia, that's the one thing to be sure 
 of in a man before you take him for better or 
 worse." 
 
 The astounded maid replied, " I'll ken bettei 
 things than that about my lad afore I take him," 
 but the doctor assured her that it was the box 
 which held them all, " though you maun tell no 
 one, lassie, for it's my one discovery in five and 
 thirty years of practice." 
 
 Seeing that, despite his bantering tone, he was 
 speaking seriously, she pressed him for his mean- 
 ing, but he only replied sadly, "You're like the 
 rest, Gavinia; I see it breaking out on you in 
 spots." 
 
 " An illness ! " she cried, in alarm. 
 
 "Ay, lassie, an illness called curiosity. I had 
 just been telling Mr. McLean that curiosity is es- 
 sentially a woman's ailment, and up you come 
 ahint to prove it." He shook a finger at her re- 
 provingly, and was probably still reflecting on 
 
THE LONGER CATECHISM 
 
 woman's ways when Grizel walked home at mid- 
 night breathing through her nose, and Tommy- 
 fell asleep with his mouth open. For Tommy 
 could never have stood the doctor's test of a man. 
 In the painting of him, aged twenty-four, which 
 was exhibited in the Royal Academy, his lips 
 meet firmly, but no one knew save himself how 
 be gasped after each sitting. 
 
 357 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 BUT IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN MISS KITTY 
 
 The Ottoman whence, as Gavinia said, Miss Ailie 
 produced the presents she gave to Mr. McLean 
 stood near the door of the blue-and-white room, 
 with a reel of thread between, to keep them apart 
 forever. Except on washing days it was of a gen- 
 teel appearance, for though but a wooden kist, it 
 had a gay outer garment with frills, which Gavinia 
 starched, and beneath this was apparel of a pri- 
 vate character that tied with tapes. When Miss 
 Ailie, pins in her mouth, was on her knees array- 
 ing the ottoman, it might almost have been mis- 
 taken for a female child. 
 
 The contents of the ottoman were a few trivial 
 articles sewn or knitted by Miss Kitty during her 
 last illness, "just to keep me out of languor," she 
 would explain wistfully to her sister. She never 
 told Miss Ailie that they were intended for any 
 special person; on the contrary she said, "Per- 
 haps you may find someone they will be useful 
 to," but almost without her knowing it they always 
 grew into something that would be useful to Ivie 
 McLean. 
 
SHOULD HAVE BEEN MISS KITTY 
 
 " The remarkable thing is that they are an exact 
 fit," the man said about the slippers, and Miss 
 Ailie nodded, but she did not think it remarkable. 
 
 There were also two fluffy little bags, and Miss 
 Ailie had to explain their use. " If you put your 
 feet into them in bed," she faltered, " they — they 
 keep you warm." 
 
 McLean turned hastily to something else, a 
 smoking-cap. " I scarcely think this can have 
 been meant for me," he said ; " you have forgot- 
 ten how she used to chide me for smoking." 
 
 Miss Ailie had not forgotten. " But in a way," 
 she replied, flushing a little, " we — that is, Kitty 
 — could not help admiring you for smoking. 
 There is something so — so dashing about it." 
 
 " I was little worth all the friendship you two 
 gave me, Ailie," he told her humbly, and he was 
 nearly saying something^to her then that he had 
 made up his mind to say. The time came a few 
 days later. They had been walking together on 
 the hill, and on their return to the Dove-cot he had 
 insisted, "in his old imperious way," on coming 
 in to tea. Hearing talking in the kitchen. Miss 
 Ailie went along the passage to discover what 
 company her maid kept; but before she reached 
 the door, which was ajar, she turned as if she had 
 heard something dreadful and hurried upstairs, sign- 
 ing to Mr. McLean, with imploring eyes, to follow 
 her. This at once sent him to the kitchen door. 
 
 359 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 Gavinia was alone. She was standing in the 
 middle of the floor, with one arm crooked as if 
 making believe that another's arm rested on it, and 
 over her head was a little muslin window-blind, 
 representing a bride's veil. Thus she was two 
 persons, but she was also a third, who addressed 
 rhem in clerical tones. 
 
 "Ivie McLean," she said, as solemnly as though 
 she were the Rev. Mr. Dishart, " do you take this 
 woman to be thy lawful wedded wife?" With al- 
 most indecent haste she answered herself, " I do." 
 
 " Alison Cray," she said next, " do you take this 
 man to be thy lawful wedded husband *? " "I do." 
 
 Just then the door shut softly ; and Gavinia ran 
 to see who had been listening, with the result that 
 she hid herself in the coal-cellar. 
 
 While she was there, Miss Ailie and Mr. 
 McLean were sitting in the blue-and-white room 
 very self-conscious, and Miss Ailie was speaking 
 confusedly of anything and everything, saying more 
 in five minutes than had served for the previous 
 hour, and always as she slackened she read an in- 
 tention in his face that started her tongue upon 
 another journey. But, " Timid Ailie," he said at 
 last, "do you think you can talk me down?" 
 and then she gave him a look of reproach that 
 turned treacherously into one of appeal, but he had 
 the hardihood to continue : " Ailie, do you need to 
 be told what I want to say ? " 
 
 360 
 
SHOULD HAVE BEEN MISS KITTY 
 
 Miss Ailie stood quite still now, a stiff, thick 
 figure, with a soft, plain face and nervous hands. 
 " Before you speak," she said nervously, " I have 
 something to tell you that — perhaps then you 
 will not say it. 
 
 " I have always. led you to believe," she began, 
 trembling, " that I am forty-nine. I am fifty-one." 
 
 He would have spoken, but the look of appeal 
 came back to her face, asking him to make it 
 easier for her by saying nothing. She took a pair 
 of spectacles from her pocket, and he divined what 
 this meant before she spoke. " I have avoided letting 
 you see that I need them," she said. " You — men 
 don't like — " She tried to say it all in a rush, 
 but the words would not come. 
 
 " I am beginning to be a little deaf," she went 
 on. " To deceive you about that, I have some- 
 times answered you without really knowing what 
 you said." 
 
 " Anything more, Ailie ? " 
 
 " My accomplishments — they were never great, 
 but Kitty and I thought my playing of classical 
 pieces — my fingers are not sufficiently pliable 
 now. And I — I forget so many things." 
 
 "But, Ailie " 
 
 " Please let me tell you. I was reading a book, 
 a story, last winter, and one of the characters, an 
 old maid, was held up to ridicule in it for many 
 little peculiarities that — that I recognized as my 
 
 361 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 own. They had grown upon me without my 
 knowing that they had made me ridiculous, and 
 now I — I have tried, but I cannot alter them." 
 
 "Isthatall, Ailie?" 
 
 " No." 
 
 The last seemed the hardest to say. Dusk had ^ 
 come on, and they could not see each other well. 
 She asked him to light the lamp, and his back 
 was toward her while he did it, wondering a little 
 at her request. When he turned, her hands rose 
 like cowards to hide her head, but she pulled them 
 down. " Do you not see ? " she said. 
 
 " I see that you have done something to your 
 hair," he answered; " I liked it best the other way." 
 
 Most people would have liked it best the other 
 way. There was still a good deal of it, but the 
 " bun " in which it ended had gone strangely small. 
 " The rest was false," said Miss Ailie, with a pain- 
 ful effort ; " at least,, it is my own, but it came out 
 when — when Kitty died." 
 
 She stopped, but he was silent. "That is all 
 now," she said softly, and she waited for him to 
 speak if he chose. He turned his head away 
 sharply, and Miss Ailie mistook his meaning. If 
 she gave one little sob — Well, it was but one, 
 and then all the glory of womanhood came rushing 
 to her aid, and it unfurled its flag over her, whis- 
 pering, " Now, sweet daughter, now, strike for me," 
 and she raised her head gallantly, and for a moment 
 
 362 
 
SHOULD HAVE BEEN MISS KITTY 
 
 in her life the old school-mistress was a queen. " I 
 shall ring for tea," she said, quietly, and without 
 a tremor ; " do you think there is anything so re- 
 freshing after a walk as a dish of tea ? " 
 
 She rang the bell, but its tinkle only made Ga- 
 vinia recede farther into the cellar, and that sum- 
 mons has not been answered to this day, and no 
 one seems to care, for while the wires were still 
 vibrating Mr. McLean had asked Miss Ailie to 
 forgive him and marry him. 
 
 Miss Ailie said she would, but, " Oh," she cried, 
 " ten years ago it might have been my Kitty. I 
 would that it had been Kitty ! " 
 
 Miss Ailie was dear to him now, and ten years 
 is a long time, and men are vain. Mr. McLean 
 replied, quite honestly, " I am not sure that I did 
 not always like you best," but that hurt her, and 
 he had to unsay the words. 
 
 " I was a thoughtless fool ten years ago," he said 
 bitterly, and Miss Ailie's answer came strangely 
 from such timid lips. " Yes, you were ! " she ex- 
 claimed passionately, and all the wrath, long pent 
 up, with very different feelings, in her gentle 
 bosom, against the man who should have adored 
 her Kitty, leapt at that reproachful cry to her 
 mouth and eyes, and so passed out of her forever. 
 
 363 
 
CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 TOMMY THE SCHOLAR 
 
 So Miss Ailie could be brave, but what a poltroon 
 she was also I Three calls did she make on dear 
 friends, ostensibly to ask how a cold was or to in- 
 struct them in the new device in Shetland wool, 
 but really to announce that she did not propose 
 keeping school after the end of the term — be- 
 cause — in short, Mr. Ivie McLean and she — 
 that is, he — and so on. But though she had 
 planned it all out so carefully, with at least three 
 capital ways of leading up to it, and knew pre- 
 cisely what they would say, and pined to hear 
 them say it, on each occasion shyness conquered 
 and she came away with the words unspoken. 
 How she despised herself, and how Mr. McLean 
 laughed ! He wanted to take the job off her hands 
 by telling the news to Dr. McQueen, who could 
 be depended on to spread it through the town, and 
 Miss Ailie discovered with horror that his simple 
 plan was to say, " How are you, Doctor ? I just 
 looked in to tell you that Miss Ailie and I are to 
 be married. Good afternoon." The audacity of 
 
TOMMY THE SCHOLAR 
 
 this captivated Miss Ailie even while it outraged 
 her sense of decency. To Redlintie went Mr. 
 McLean, and returning next day, drew from his 
 pocket something which he put on Miss Ailie's 
 finger, and then she had the idea of taking off her 
 left glove in church, which would have announced 
 her engagement as loudly as though Mr. Dishart 
 had included it in his pulpit intimations. Reli- 
 gion, however, stopped her when she had got the 
 little finger out, and the Misses Finlayson, who 
 sat behind and knew she had an itchy something 
 inside her glove, concluded that it was her three- 
 penny for the plate. As for Gavinia, like others 
 of her class in those days, she had never heard of 
 engagement rings, and so it really seemed as if 
 Mr. McLean must call on the doctor after all. 
 But " No," said he, " I hit upon a better notion 
 to-day in the Den," and to explain this notion 
 he produced from his pocket a large, vulgar 
 bottle, which shocked Miss Ailie, and indeed 
 that bottle had not passed through the streets 
 uncommented on. 
 
 Mr. McLean having observed this bottle afloat 
 on the Silent Pool, had fished it out with his stick, 
 and its contents set him chuckling. They con- 
 sisted of a sheet of paper which stated that the 
 bottle was being flung into the sea in lat. 20, long, 
 40, by T. Sandys, Commander of the Ailie, then 
 among the breakers. SandyS had little hope of 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 weathering the gale, but he was indifferent to his 
 own fate so long as his enemy did not escape, and 
 he called upon whatsoever loyal subjects of the 
 queen should find this document to sail at once 
 to lat. 20, long. 40, and there cruise till they had 
 captured the Pretender, alias Stroke, and destroyed 
 his Lair. A somewhat unfavourable personal de- 
 scription of Stroke was appended, with a map of 
 the coast, and a stern warning to all loyal subjects 
 not to delay, as one Ailie was in the villain's hands, 
 and he might kill her any day. Victoria Regina 
 would give five hundred crowns for his head. 
 The letter ended in manly style with the writer's 
 sending an affecting farewell message to his wife 
 and little children. 
 
 " And so while we are playing ourselves," said 
 Mr. McLean to Miss Ailie, "your favourite is 
 seeking my blood." 
 
 " Our favourite," interposed the school-mistress, 
 and he accepted the correction, for neither of them 
 could forget that their present relations might have 
 been very different had it not been for Tommy's 
 faith in the pass-book. The boy had shown a 
 knowledge of the human heart, in Miss Ailie's 
 opinion, that was simply wonderful; inspiration 
 she called it, and though Ivie thought it a happy 
 accident, he did not call it so to her. Tommy's 
 father had been the instrument in bringing these 
 two together originally, and now Tommy had 
 
 366 
 
TOMMY THE SCHOLAR 
 
 brought them together again ; there was fate in it, 
 and if the boy was of the right stuff McLean 
 meant to reward him. 
 
 " I see now," he said to Miss Ailie, " a way of 
 getting rid of our fearsome secret and making 
 my peace with Sandys at one fell blow." He de- 
 clined to tell her more, but presently he sought 
 Gavinia, who dreaded him nowadays because of 
 his disconcerting way of looking at her inquiringly 
 and saying " I do ! " 
 
 "You don't happen to know, Gavinia," he 
 asked, "whether the good ship Ailie weathered 
 the gale of the 15th instant? If it did," he went 
 on, " Commander Sandys will learn something to 
 his advantage from a bottle that is to be cast into 
 the ocean this evening." 
 
 Gavinia thought she heard the chink of another 
 five shillings, and her mouth opened so wide that 
 a chaffinch could have built therein. " Is he to 
 look for a bottle in the pond ? " she asked eagerly. 
 
 " I do," replied McLean with such solemnity 
 that she again retired to the coal-cellar. 
 
 That evening Mr. McLean cast a bottle into the 
 Silent Pool, and subsequently called on Mr. Cathro, 
 to whom he introduced himself as one interested 
 in Master Thomas Sandys. He was heartily re- 
 ceived, but at the name of Tommy, Cathro heaved 
 a sigh that could not pass unnoticed. " I see you 
 don't find him an angel," said Mr. McLean, politely. 
 
 3^7 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMV 
 
 " 'Deed, sir, there are times when I wish he was 
 an angel," the dominie replied so viciously that 
 McLean laughed. "And I grudge you that laugh," 
 continued Cathro, " for your Tommy Sandys has 
 taken from me the most precious possession a 
 teacher can have — my sense of humour." 
 
 " He strikes me as having a considerable sense 
 of humour himself." 
 
 " Well, he may, Mr. McLean, for he has gone 
 off with all mine. But bide a wee till I get in the 
 tumblers, and I'll tell you the latest about him — • 
 if what you want to hear is just the plain exasper- 
 ating truth. 
 
 " His humour that you spoke of," resumed the 
 schoolmaster presently, addressing his words to the 
 visitor, and his mind to a toddy-ladle of horn, " is 
 ill to endure in a school where the understanding 
 is that the dominie makes all the jokes (except 
 on examination day, when the ministers get their 
 yearly fling), but I think I like your young friend 
 worst when he is deadly serious. He is constantly 
 playing some new part — playing is hardly the 
 word though, for into each part he puts an earnest- 
 ness that cheats even himself, until he takes to 
 another. I suppose you want me to give you 
 some idea of his character, and I could tell you 
 what it is at any particular moment ; but it changes, 
 sir, I do assure you, almost as quickly as the circus- 
 rider flings off his layers of waistcoats. A single 
 
 368 
 
TOMMY THE SCHOLAR 
 
 puff of wind blows him from one character to 
 another, and he may be noble and vicious, and a 
 tyrant and a slave, and hard as granite and melt- 
 ing as butter in the sun, all in one forenoon. All 
 you can be sure of is that whatever he is, he will 
 be it in excess." 
 
 " But I understood," said McLean, " that at pres- 
 ent he is solely engaged on a war of extermina- 
 tion in the Den." 
 
 "Ah, those exploits, I fancy, are confined to 
 Saturday nights, and unfortunately his Saturday 
 debauch does not keep him sober for the rest of 
 the week, which we demand of respectable char- 
 acters in these parts. For the last day or two, for 
 instance, he has been in mourning." 
 
 " I had not heard of that." 
 
 " No, I daresay not, and I'll give you the facts, 
 if you'll fill your glass first. But perhaps — " here 
 the dominie's eyes twinkled as if a gleam of hu- 
 mour had been left him after all — " perhaps you 
 have been more used of late to ginger wine ? " 
 
 The visitor received the shot impassively, as if 
 he did not know he had been hit, and Cathro pro- 
 ceeded with his narrative. "Well, for a day or 
 two Tommy Sandys has been coming to the school 
 in a black jacket with crape on the cuffs, and not 
 only so, he has sat quiet and forlorn-like at his 
 desk, as if he had lost some near and dear relative. 
 Now I knew that he had not, for his only relative 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 is a sister whom you may have seen at the Hanky 
 School, and both she and Aaron Latta are hearty. 
 Yet, sir (and this shows the effect he has on me), 
 though I was puzzled and curious, I dared not 
 ask for an explanation." 
 
 " But why not ? " was the visitor's natural ques- 
 tion. 
 
 "Because, sir, he is such a mysterious little 
 sacket," replied Cathro, testily, " and so clever at 
 leading you into a hole, that it's not chancey to 
 meddle with him, and I could see through the 
 corner of my eye that, for all this woeful face, he 
 was proud of it, and hoped I was taking note. 
 For though sometimes his emotion masters him 
 completely, at other times he can step aside, as it 
 were, and take an approving look at it. That is 
 a characteristic of him, and not the least madden- 
 ing one." 
 
 "But you solved the mystery somehow, I sup- 
 pose ? " 
 
 " I got at the truth to-day by an accident, or 
 rather my wife discovered it for me. She happened 
 to call in at the school on a domestic matter I need 
 not trouble you with (sal, she needna have troubled 
 me with it either !), and on her way up the yard she 
 noticed a laddie called Lewis Doig playing with 
 other ungodly youths at the game of kickbonnety. 
 Lewis's father, a gentleman farii^jer, was buried 
 jimply a fortnight since, and such want of respect 
 
 370 
 
TOMMY THE SCHOLAR 
 
 for his memory inade my wife give the loon a 
 dunt on the head with a pound of sugar, which 
 she had just bought at the 'Sosh. He turned on 
 her, ready to scart or spit or run, as seemed wisest, 
 and in a klink her woman's eye saw what mine had 
 overlooked, that he was not even wearing a black 
 jacket. Well, she told him what the slap was for, 
 and his little countenance cleared at once. ' Oh,' 
 says he, ' that's all right, Tommy and me has ar- 
 ranged it,' and he pointed blithely to a corner of 
 the yard where Tommy was hunkering by himself 
 in Lewis's jacket, and wiping his mournful eyes 
 with Lewis's hanky. I daresay you can jalouse 
 the rest, but I kept Lewis behind after the school 
 skailed, and got a full confession out of him. He 
 had tried hard, he gave me to understand, to mourn 
 fittingly for his father, but the kickbonnety season 
 being on, it was up-hill work, and he was relieved 
 when Tommy volunteered to take it off his hands. 
 Tommy's offer was to swop jackets every morning 
 for a week or two, and thus properly attired to do 
 the mourning for him." 
 
 The dominie paused, and regarded his guest 
 quizzically. " Sir," he said at length, " laddies are 
 a queer growth; I assure you, there was no per- 
 suading Lewis that it was not a right and honour- 
 able compact." 
 
 " And what payment," asked McLean, laughing, 
 "did Tommy demand from Lewis for this service? " 
 
 37^ 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 "Not a farthing, sir — which gives another un« 
 canny glint into his character. When he wants 
 money, there's none so crafty at getting it, but he 
 did this for the pleasure of the thing, or, as he said 
 to Lewis, ' to feel what it would be like.' That, I 
 tell you, is the nature of the sacket; he has a devour- 
 ing desire to try on other folk's feelings, as if they 
 were so many suits of clothes." 
 
 " And from your account he makes them fit him 
 too." 
 
 " My certie, he does, and a lippie in the bonnet 
 more than that." 
 
 So far the schoolmaster had spoken frankly, even 
 with an occasional grin at his own expense, but his 
 words came reluctantly when he had to speak of 
 Tommy's prospects at the bursary examinations. 
 "I would rather say nothing on that head," he 
 said, almost coaxingly, " for the laddie has a year 
 to reform in yet, and it's never safe to prophesy." 
 
 "Still I should have thought that you could 
 guess pretty accurately how the boys you mean to 
 send up in a year's time are likely to do ? You 
 have had a long experience, and, I am told, a glo- 
 rious one." 
 
 "'Deed, there's no denying it," answered the dom' 
 inie, with a pride he had won the right to wear 
 " If all the ministers, for instance, I have turned out 
 in this bit school were to come back together, they 
 could hold the General Assembly in the square" 
 
TOMMY THE SCHOLAR 
 
 He lay back in his big chair, a complacent dom« 
 inie again. " Guess the chances of my laddies ! " 
 he cried, forgetting what he had just said, and thar 
 there was a Tommy to bother him. " I tell you, 
 sir, that's a matter on which I'm never deceived. I 
 can tell the results so accurately that a wise Sena- 
 tus would give my lot the bursaries I say they'll 
 carry, without setting them down to examination- 
 papers at all." And for the next half-hour he was 
 reciting cases in proof of his sagacity, 
 
 " Wonderful ! " chimed in McLean. " I see it 
 is evident you can tell me how Tommy Sandys 
 will do ; " but at that Cathro's rush of words again 
 subsided into a dribble. 
 
 " He's the worst Latinist that ever had the im- 
 pudence to think of bursaries," he groaned. 
 
 " And his Greek ? " asked McLean, helping on 
 the conversation as far as possible. 
 
 " His Greek, sir, could be packed in a pill-box." 
 
 " That does not sound promising. But the best 
 mathematicians are sometimes the worst linguists." 
 
 " His Greek is better than his mathematics," 
 said Cathro, and he fell into lamentation. " I have 
 had no luck lately," he sighed. " The laddies I 
 have to prepare for college are second-raters, and 
 the vexing thing is, that when a real scholar is 
 reared in Thrums, instead of his being handed over 
 to me for the finishing, they send him to Mr. Ogilvy 
 in Glenquharity. Did Miss Ailie ever mention 
 
 373 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 Gavin Dishart to you — the minister's son ? X 
 just craved to get the teaching of that laddie ; he 
 was the kind you can cram with learning till there's 
 no room left for another spoonful, and they bude 
 send him to Mr. Ogilvy, and you'll see he'll stand 
 high above my loons in the bursary list. And 
 then Ogilvy will put on sic airs that there will be no 
 enduring him. Ogilvy and I, sir, we are engaged 
 in an everlasting duel ; when we send students to 
 the examinations, it is we two who are the real 
 competitors. But what chance have I, when he is 
 represented by a Gavin Dishart and my man is 
 Tommy Sandys ? " 
 
 McLean was greatly disappointed. " Why send 
 Tommy up at all if he is so backward ? " he said. 
 " You are sure you have not exaggerated his defi- 
 ciencies ? " 
 
 " Well, not much, at any rate. But he baffles 
 me ; one day I think him a perfect numskull, and 
 the next he makes such a show of the small drop 
 of scholarship he has that I'm not sure but what 
 he may be a genius." 
 
 " That sounds better. Does he study hard ? " 
 ' "Study! He is the most careless whelp that 
 ever " 
 
 " But if I were to give him an inducement to 
 study?" 
 
 " Such as ? " asked Cathro, who could at times 
 be as inquisitive as the doctor. 
 
 374 
 
TOMMY THE SCHOLAR 
 
 "We need not go into that. But suppose it 
 appealed to him ? " 
 
 Cathro considered. "To be candid," he said, 
 " I don't think he could study, in the big meaning 
 of the word. I daresay I'm wrong, but I have a 
 feeling that whatever knowledge that boy acquires 
 he will dig out of himself. There is something 
 inside him, or so I think at times, that is his mas- 
 ter, and rebels against book-learning. No, I can't 
 tell what it is ; when we know that, we shall know 
 the real Tommy." 
 
 "And yet," said McLean, curiously, "you ad- 
 vise his being allowed to compete for a bursary. 
 That, if you will excuse my saying so, sounds 
 foolish to me." 
 
 " It can't seem so foolish to you," replied Cathro, 
 scratching his head, " as it seems to me six days in 
 seven." 
 
 " And you know that Aaron Latta has sworn to 
 send him to the herding if he does not carry a 
 bursary. Surely the wisest course would be to ap- 
 prentice him now to some trade " 
 
 " What trade would not be the worse of him *? 
 He would cut off his fingers with a joiner's saw, 
 and smash them with a mason's mell ; put him in 
 a brot behind a counter, and in some grand, mag- 
 nanimous mood he would sell off his master's 
 things for nothing; make a clerk of him, and he 
 would only ravel the figures ; send him to the sol- 
 
 Z7S 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 diering, and he would have a sudden impulse to 
 fight on the wrong side. No, no. Miss Ailie says 
 he has a gift for the ministry, and we must cling 
 to that" 
 
 In thus sheltering himself behind Miss Ailie, 
 where he had never skulked before, the dominie 
 showed how weak he thought his position, and he 
 added, with a brazen laugh, " Then if he does dis- 
 tinguish himself at the examinations I can take 
 the credit for it, and if he comes back in disgrace 
 I shall call you to witness that I only sent him to 
 them at her instigation." 
 
 " All which," maintained McLean, as he put on 
 his topcoat, "means that somehow, against your 
 better judgment, you think he may distinguish 
 himself after all." 
 
 " You've found me out," answered Cathro, half 
 relieved, half sorry. *' I had no intention of telling 
 you so much, but as you have found me out I'll 
 make a clean breast of it. Unless something un- 
 expected happens to the laddie — ^unless he take 
 to playing at scholarship as if it were a Jacobite 
 rebellion, for instance — he shouldna have the ghost 
 of a chance of a bursary ; and if he were any other 
 boy as ill-prepared I should be ashamed to send 
 him up, but he is Tommy Sandys, you see, and — ■ 
 it is a terrible thing to say, but it's Gospel truth, 
 it's Gospel truth — I'm trusting to the possibility 
 of his diddling the examiners ! " 
 
 ■ 37^ 
 
TOMMY THE SCHOLAR 
 
 It was a startling confession for a conscientious 
 dominie, and Cathro flung out his hands as if to 
 withdraw the words, but his visitor would have no 
 tampering with them, " So that sums up Tommy, 
 so far as you know him," he said, as he bade his 
 host good-night. 
 
 " It does," Cathro admitted grimly, " but if what 
 you wanted was a written certificate of character I 
 should like to add this, that never did any boy sit on 
 my forms whom I had such a pleasure in thrashing." 
 
 377 
 
CHAPTER XXX 
 
 END OF THE JACOBITE RISING 
 
 In the small hours of the following night the pulse 
 of Thrums stopped for a moment, and then went 
 on again, but the only watcher remained silent, and 
 the people rose in the morning without knowing 
 that they had lost one of their number while they 
 slept. In the same ignorance they toiled through 
 a long day. 
 
 It was a close October day in the end of a sum- 
 mer that had lingered to give the countryside 
 nothing better than a second crop of haws. Be- 
 neath the beeches leaves lay in yellow heaps like 
 sliced turnip, and over all the strath was a pink 
 haze ; the fields were singed brown, except where 
 a recent ploughing gave them a mourning bor- 
 der. From early mom men, women and children 
 (Tommy among them) were in the fields taking 
 up their potatoes, half-a-dozen gatherers at first to 
 every drill, and by noon it seemed a dozen, though 
 the new-comers were but stout sacks, now able to 
 stand alone. By-and-by heavy-laden carts were 
 trailing into Thrums, dog-tired toilers hanging on 
 
END OF THE JACOBITE RISING 
 
 behind, not to be dragged, but for an incentive to 
 keep them trudging, boys and girls falling asleep 
 on top of the load, and so neglecting to enjoy the 
 ride which was their recompense for lifting. A 
 growing mist mixed with the daylight, and still 
 there were a few people out, falling over their 
 feet with fatigue; it took silent possession, and 
 then the shadowy forms left in the fields were mo« 
 tionless and would remain there until carted to 
 garrets and kitchen corners and other winter quar- 
 ters on Monday morning. There were few gad- 
 abouts that Saturday night Washings were not 
 brought in, though Mr. Dishart had preached 
 against the unseemly sight of linen hanging on the 
 line on the Sabbath-day. Innes, stravaiging the 
 square and wynds in his apple-cart, jingled his 
 weights in vain, unable to shake even moneyed 
 children off their stools; and when at last he told 
 his beast to go home, they took with them all the 
 stir of the town. Family exercise came on early 
 in many houses, and as the gude wife handed her 
 man the Bible she said entreatingly, "A short ane." 
 After that one might have said that no earthly 
 knock could bring them to their doors, yet within 
 an hour the town was in a ferment. 
 
 When Tommy and Elspeth reached the Den 
 the mist lay so thick that they had to feel their 
 way through it to the Ailie, where they found Ga 
 vinia alone and scared. "Was you peeping in, 
 
 379 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 trying to fleg me twa three minutes syne?" she 
 asked eagerly, and when they shook their heads, 
 she looked cold with fear. "As sure as death," 
 she said, "there was some living thing standing 
 there ; I couldna see it for the rime, but I heard 
 it breathing hard." 
 
 Tommy felt Elspeth's hand begin to tremble, 
 and he said " McLean ! " hastily, though he knew 
 that McLean had not yet left the Quharity Arms. 
 Next moment Corp arrived with another story as 
 unnerving. 
 
 "Has Grizel no come yet?" he asked, in 
 a troubled voice. "Tommy, hearken to this, a 
 light has been burning in Double Dykes and the 
 door swinging open a' day ! I saw it mysel', and 
 so did Willum Dods." 
 
 " Did you go close ? " 
 
 "Na faags! Willum was hol'ing and I was 
 lifting, so we hadna time in the daylight, and wha 
 would venture near the Painted Lady's house on 
 sic a night ? " 
 
 Even Tommy felt uneasy, but when Gavinia 
 cried, "There's something uncanny in being out 
 the night; tell us what was in Mr. McLean's bot- 
 tle, Tommy, and syne we'll run hame," he became 
 Commander Sandys again, and replied blankly, 
 " What bottle ? " 
 
 " The ane I warned you he was to fling into the 
 water; dinna dare tell me you hinna got it" 
 
 380 
 
END OF THE JACOBITE RISING 
 
 " I know not what thou art speaking about," 
 said Tommy ; " but it's a queer thing, it's a queer 
 thing, Gavinia" — here he fixed her with his terri- 
 fying eye — "that I happen to have found a — 
 another bottle," and still glaring at her he ex- 
 plained that he had found this bottle floating on 
 the horizon. It contained a letter to him, which 
 he now read aloud. It was signed " The Villain 
 Stroke, his mark," and announced that the writer, 
 " tired of this relentless persecution," had deter- 
 mined to reform rather than be killed. " Meet me 
 at the Cuttle Well, on Saturday, when the eight- 
 o'clock bell is ringing," he wrote, "and I shall 
 there make you an offer for my freedom." 
 
 The crew received this communication with 
 shouts, Gavinia's cry of "Five shillings, if no ten!" 
 expressing the general sentiment, but it would not 
 have been like Tommy to think with them. " You 
 poor things," he said, " you just believe everything 
 you're telled ! How do I know that this is not 
 a trick of Stroke's to bring me here when he is 
 some other gait working mischief? " 
 
 Corp was impressed, but Gavinia said short- 
 sightedly, " There's no sign o't." 
 
 " There's ower much sign o't," retorted Tommy. 
 "What's this story about Double Dykes? And 
 how do we ken that there hasna been foul wark 
 there, and this man at the bottom o't? I tell 
 you, before the world's half an hour older I'll find 
 
 381 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 out," and he looked significantly at Corp, who 
 answered, quaking, " I winna gang by mysel', no. 
 Tommy, I winna!" 
 
 So Tommy had to accompany him, saying 
 valiantly, " I'm no feared, and this rime is fine for 
 hodding in," to which Corp replied as firmly, 
 " Neither am I, and we can aye keep touching cauld 
 iron." Before they were half-way down the Dou- 
 ble Dykes they got a thrill, for they realised si- 
 multaneously tliat they were being followed. They 
 stopped and gripped each other hard, but now 
 they could hear nothing. 
 
 " The Painted Lady ! " Corp whispered. 
 
 " Stroke ! " Tommy replied as cautiously. He 
 was excited rather than afraid, and had the pluck 
 to cry, " Wha's that ? I see you ! " but no an- 
 swer came back through the mist, and now the 
 boys had a double reason for pressing forward. 
 
 " Can you see the house, Corp ? " 
 
 " It should be here about, but it's smored in 
 rime." 
 
 " I'm touching the paling. I ken the road to 
 the window now." 
 
 "Hark! What's that ? " 
 
 It sounded like devil's music in front of them, 
 and they fell back until Corp rememhercid, " It 
 maun be the door swinging open, and squealing 
 and moaning on its hinges. Tommy I take iU 
 wi' that. What can it mean ? " 
 
 382 
 
i£ND OF THE JACOBITE RISING 
 
 " I'm here to find out." They reached the win» 
 dow where Tommy had watched once before, and 
 looking in together saw the room plainly by the 
 light of a lamp which stood on the spinet. There 
 was no one inside, but otherwise Tommy noticed 
 little change. The fire was out, having evidently 
 burned itself done, the bedclothes were in some 
 disorder. To avoid the creaking door, the boys 
 passed round the back of the house to the window 
 of the other room. This room was without a 
 light, but its door stood open, and sufficient light 
 came from the kitchen to show that it also was 
 untenanted. It seemed to have been used as a 
 lumber-room. 
 
 The boys turned to go, passing near the fi"ont of 
 the empty house, where they shivered and stopped, 
 mastered by a feeling they could not have ex- 
 plained. The helpless door, like the staring eyes 
 of a dead person, seemed to be calling to them to 
 shut it, and Tommy was about to steal forward 
 for this purpose when Corp gripped him and whis- 
 pered that the light had gone out. It was true, 
 though Tommy disbelieved until they had re- 
 turned to the east window to make sure. 
 
 " There maun be folk in the hoose. Tommy ! " 
 
 "You saw it was toom. The lamp had gone 
 out itself, or else — what's that?" 
 
 It was the unmistakable closing of a door, softly 
 but firmly. "The wind has blown it to," they 
 
 383 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 tried to persuade themselves, though aware that 
 there was not sufRcient wind for this. After a long 
 period of stillness they gathered courage to go to the 
 door and shake it. It was not only shut, but locked. 
 
 On their way back through the Double Dykes 
 they were silent, listening painfully, but hearing 
 nothing. But when they reached the Coffin Brig, 
 Tommy said, "Dinna say nothing about this to 
 Elspeth, it would terrify her;" he 'was always so 
 thoughtful for Elspeth. 
 
 " But what do you think o't a' ? " Corp said, im- 
 ploringly. 
 
 " I winna tell you yet," replied Tommy, cau- 
 tiously. 
 
 When they boarded the Ailie, where the two 
 girls were very glad to see them again, the eight- 
 o'clock bell had begun to ring, and thus Tommy 
 had a reasonable excuse for hurrying his crew to 
 the Cuttle Well without saying anything of his 
 expedition to Double Dykes, save that he had not 
 seen Grizel. At the Well they had not long to 
 wait before Mr. McLean suddenly appeared out 
 of the mist, and to their astonishment Miss. Ailie 
 was leaning on his arm. She was blushing and 
 smiling too, in a way pretty to see, though it 
 spoilt the effect of Stroke's statement. 
 
 The first thing Stroke did was to give up his 
 sword to Tommy and to apologise for its being an 
 umbrella on account of the unsettled state of the 
 
 384 
 
END OF THE JACOBITE RISING 
 
 weather, and then Corp led three cheers, the cap* 
 tain alone declining to join in, for he had an uneasy 
 feeling that he was being ridiculed. 
 
 " But I thought there were five of you," Mr. 
 McLean said ; " where is the fifth ? " 
 
 " You ken best," replied Tommy, sulkily, and 
 sulky he remained throughout the scene, because 
 he knew he was not the chief figure in it. Hav- 
 ing this knowledge to depress him, it is to his 
 credit that he bore himself with dignity through- 
 out, keeping his crew so well in hand that they 
 dared not give expression to their natural emotions. 
 
 "As you are aware, Mr. Sandys," McLean began 
 solemnly, " I have come here to sue for pardon. It 
 is not yours to give, you reply, the Queen alone 
 can pardon, and I grant it ; but, sir, is it not well 
 known to all of us that you can get anything out 
 of her you like ? " 
 
 Tommy's eyes roved suspiciously, but the sup- 
 pliant proceeded in the same tone. " What are 
 my offences ? The first is that I have been bear- 
 ing arms (unwittingly) against the Throne; the 
 second, that I have brought trouble to the lady by 
 my side, who has the proud privilege of calling 
 you her friend. But, Sandys, such amends as can 
 come from an erring man I now offer to makie 
 most contritely. Intercede with Her Majesty on 
 my behalf, and on my part I promise to war against 
 her no more. I am willing to settle down in the 
 
 385 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 sseighbourlng town as a law-abiding citizen, whom 
 you can watch with eagle eye. Say, what more 
 wouldst thou of the unhappy Stuart ? " 
 
 But Tommy would say nothing; he only looked 
 doubtfully at Miss Ailie, and that set McLean off 
 again. " You ask what reparation I shall make to 
 this lady ? Sandys, I tell thee that here also thou 
 hast proved too strong for me. In the hope that 
 she would plead for me with you, I have been 
 driven to offer her my hand in marriage, and she 
 is willing to take me if thou grantest thy consent." 
 
 At this Gavinia jumped with joy, and then cried, 
 ••Up wi' her!" words whose bearing the school- 
 mistress fortunately did not understand. All save 
 Tommy looked at Miss Ailie, and she put her arm 
 on Mr. McLean's, and — yes, it was obvious. Miss 
 Ailie was a lover at the Cuttle Well at last, like 
 so many others. She had often said that the Den 
 parade was vulgar, but she never said it again. 
 
 It was unexpected news to Tommy, but that 
 was not what lowered his head in humiliation now. 
 In the general rejoicing he had been nigh forgotten ; 
 even Elspeth was hanging in Miss Ailie's skirts, 
 Gavinia had eyes for none but lovers, Corp was 
 rapturously examining five half-crowns that had 
 been dropped into his hands for distribution. Had 
 Tommy given an order now, who would have 
 obeyed it ? His power was gone, his crew would 
 not listen to another word against Mr. McLean. 
 
 386 
 
END OF THE JACOBITE RISING 
 
 " Tommy thought Mr. McLean hated you ! " 
 said Elspeth to Miss Ailie. 
 
 " It was queer you made sic a mistake ! " said 
 Corp to Tommy. 
 
 " Oh, the tattie-doolie ! " cried Gavinia. 
 
 So they knew that Mr. McLean had only been 
 speaking sarcastically; of a sudden they saw 
 through and despised their captain. Tears of mor- 
 tification rose in Tommy's eyes, and kind-hearted 
 Miss Ailie saw them, and she thought it was her 
 lover's irony that made him smart She had said 
 little hitherto, but now she put her hand on his 
 shoulder, and told them all that she did Indeed 
 owe the supreme joy that had come to her to him. 
 " No, Gavinia," she said, blushing, " I will not give 
 you the particulars, but I assure you that had it 
 not been for Tommy, Mr. McLean would never 
 have asked me to marry him." 
 
 Elspeth crossed proudly to the side of her noble 
 brother (who could scarcely trust his ears), and 
 Gavinia cried in wonder, " What did he do ? " 
 
 Now McLean had seen Tommy's tears also, and 
 being a kindly man he dropped the satirist and 
 chimed in warmly, " And if I had not asked Miss 
 Ailie to marry me I should have lost the great 
 happiness of my life, so you may all imagine how 
 beholden I feel to Tommy." 
 
 Again Tommy was the centre-piece, and though 
 these words were as puzzling to him as to his crew, 
 
 387 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 their sincerity was unmistakable, and once moie 
 his head began to waggle complacently. 
 
 " And to show how grateful we are," said Miss 
 Ailie, " we are to give him a — a sort of marriage 
 present. We are to double the value of the bur- 
 sary he wins at the university — " She could get 
 no further, for now Elspeth was hugging her, and 
 Corp cheering frantically, and Mr. McLean thought 
 it necessary to add the warning, " If he does carry 
 a bursary, you understand; for, should he fail, I 
 give him nothing." 
 
 " Him fail ! " exclaimed Corp, with whom Miss 
 Ailie of course agreed. " And he can spend the 
 money in whatever way he chooses," she said. 
 " What will you do with it. Tommy ? " 
 
 The lucky boy answered instantly, " I'll take 
 Elspeth to Aberdeen to bide with me," and then 
 Elspeth hugged him, and Miss Ailie said in a 
 delighted aside to Mr. McLean, " I told you so," 
 and he, too, was well pleased. 
 
 " It was the one thing needed to make him 
 work," the schoolmistress whispered. " Is not his 
 love for his sister beautiful ? " 
 
 McLean admitted that it was, but half-banter- 
 ingly he said to Elspeth : " What could you do 
 in lodgings, you excited mite ? " 
 
 " I can sit and look at Tommy," she answered 
 quickly. 
 
 " But he will be away for hours at his classes." 
 388 
 
END OF THE JACOBITE RISING 
 
 " I'll sit at the window waiting for him," said she 
 
 "And I'll run back quick," said Tommy. 
 
 All this time another problem had been bewil- 
 dering Gavinia, and now she broke in eagerly: 
 " But what was it he did ? I thought he was agin 
 Mr. McLean." 
 
 "And so did I," said Corp. 
 
 " I cheated you grandly," replied Tommy, with 
 the audacity he found so useful. 
 
 "And a' the time you was pretending to be 
 agin him," screamed Gavinia, " was you — was you 
 bringing this about on the sly ? " 
 
 Tommy looked up into Mr. McLean's face, but 
 could get no guidance from it, so he said nothing : 
 he only held his head higher than ever. " Oh, the 
 clever little curse ! " cried Corp, and Elspeth's de- 
 light was as ecstatic, though differently worded. 
 Yet Gavinia stuck to her problem, " How did you 
 do it, what was it you did "? " and the cruel Mc- 
 Lean said: "You may tell her, Tommy; you have 
 my permission." 
 
 It would have been an awkward position for 
 most boys, and even Tommy — but next moment 
 he said quite coolly: "I think you and me and 
 Miss Ailie should keep it to oursel's, Gavinia's 
 sic a gossip." 
 
 " Oh, how thoughtful of him ! " cried Miss Ailie 
 the deceived, and McLean said: "How very 
 thoughtful ! " but now he saw in a flash why Mr. 
 
 389 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 Cathro still had hopes that Tommy might carry a 
 bursary. 
 
 Thus was the repentant McLean pardoned, and 
 nothing remained for him to do save to show the 
 crew his Lair, which they had sworn to destroy. 
 He had behaved so splendidly that they had forgot^ 
 ten almost that they were the emissaries of justice ; 
 but not to destroy the Lair seemed a pity, it would 
 be such a striking way of bringing their adventures 
 in the Den to a close. The degenerate Stuart read 
 this feeling in their faces, and he was ready, he 
 said, to show them his Lair if they would first 
 point it out to him ; but here was a difficulty, for 
 how could they do that ? For a moment it seemed 
 as if the negotiations must fall through ; but 
 Sandys, that captain of resource, invited McLean 
 to step aside for a private conference, and when they 
 rejoined the others, McLean said gravely that he 
 now remembered where the Lair was and would 
 guide them to it. 
 
 They had only to cross a plank, invisible in the 
 mist until they were close to it, and climb a slip- 
 pery bank strewn with fallen trees. McLean, with 
 a mock serious air, led the way. Miss Ailie on his 
 arm. Corp and Gavinia followed, weighted and 
 hampered by their new half-crowns, and Tommy 
 and Elspeth in the rear whispered joyously of the 
 coming life. And so, very unprepared for it, they 
 moved toward the tragedy of the night. 
 
 390 
 
CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 A LETTER TO GOD 
 
 "Do you keep a light burning in the Lair?" 
 McLean turned to ask, forgetting for the moment 
 that it was not their domicile, but his. 
 
 "No, there's no light," replied Corp, equally 
 forgetful; but even as he spoke, he stopped so 
 suddenly that Elspeth struck against him. For 
 he had seen a light. " This is queer ! " he cried, 
 and both he and Gavinia fell back in consterna- 
 tion. McLean pushed forward alone, and was 
 back in a trice, with a new expression on his face. 
 " Are you playing some trick on me ? " he de- 
 manded suspiciously of Tommy. " There is 
 some one there; I almost ran against a pair of 
 blazing eyes." 
 
 "But there's nobody; there can be nobody 
 there," answered Tommy in a bewilderment that 
 
 was obviously unfeigned, "unless — unless " 
 
 He looked at Corp, and the eyes of both finished the 
 sentence. The desolate scene at Double Dykes, 
 which the meeting with McLean and Miss Ailie 
 had driven from their minds, again confronted 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 them, and they seemed once more to hear the 
 whimpering of the Painted Lady's door. 
 
 " Unless what ? " asked the man impatiently. 
 But still the two boys only stared at each other. 
 " The Den's no mous the night," said Corp at 
 last in a low voice, and his unspoken fears spread 
 to the womankind, so that Miss Ailie shuddered 
 and Elspeth gripped Tommy with both hands and 
 Gavinia whispered, " Let's away hame, we can 
 come back in the daylight." 
 
 But McLean chafed and pressed upward, and 
 next moment a girl's voice was heard crying : " It 
 is no business of yours ; I won't let you touch her." 
 
 " Grizel ! " exclaimed Tommy and his crew 
 simultaneously, and they had no more fear until 
 they were inside the Lair. What they saw had 
 best be described very briefly. A fire was burning 
 in a corner of the Lair, and in front of it, partly 
 covered with a sheet, lay the Painted Lady dead. 
 Grizel stood beside the body guarding it, her 
 hands clenched, her eyes very strange. "You 
 sha'n't touch her ! " she cried passionately, and re- 
 peated it many times, as if she had lost the power 
 to leave off, but Corp crept past her and raised the 
 coverlet. 
 
 "She's straikit!" he shouted. "Did you do 
 u yoursel', Grizel ? God behears, she did it 
 hersel' ! " 
 
 A very long silence it seemed to be after that 
 
A LETTER TO GOD 
 
 Miss Ailie would have taken the motherless girl 
 to her arms, but first, at Corp's discovery, she had 
 drawn back in uncontrollable repulsion, and Grizel, 
 about to go to her, saw it, and turned from her to 
 Tommy. Her eyes rested on him beseechingly, 
 with a look he saw only once again in them until 
 she was a woman; but his first thought was not for 
 Grizel. Elspeth was clinging to him, terrified and 
 sobbing, and he cried to her, " Shut your een," and 
 then led her tenderly away. He was always good 
 to Elspeth. 
 
 There was no lack of sympathy with Grizel 
 when the news spread through the town, and un- 
 shod men with their gallowses hanging down and 
 women buttoning as they ran, hurried to the Den. 
 But to all the questions put to her and to all the 
 kindly offers made, as the body was carried to 
 Double Dykes, she only rocked her arms, crying, 
 " I don't want anything to eat. I shall stay all 
 night beside her. I am not frightened at my 
 mamma. I won't tell you why she was in the 
 Den. I am not sure how long she has been dead. 
 Oh, what do these little things matter ? " 
 
 The great thing was that her mamma should be 
 buried in the cemetery, and not in unconsecrated 
 ground with a stake through her as the boys had 
 predicted ; and it was only after she was promised 
 this, that Grizel told her little tale. She had feared 
 
 393 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 for a long time that her mamma was dying of con- 
 sumption, but she told no one, because everybody 
 was against her and her mamma. Her mamma 
 never knew that she was dying, and sometimes she 
 used to get so much better that Grizel hoped she 
 would live a long time, but that hope never lasted 
 long. The reason she sat so much with Ballingall 
 was just to find out what doctors did to dying 
 people to make them live a little longer, and she 
 watched his straiking to be able to do it to her 
 mamma when the time came. She was sure none 
 of the women would consent to straik her mamma. 
 On the previous night, she could not say at what 
 hour, she had been awakened by a cold wind, and so 
 she knew that the door was open. She put out her 
 hand in the darkness and found that her mamma 
 was not beside her. It had happened before, and 
 she was not frightened. She had hidden the key 
 of the door that night and nailed down the win- 
 dow, but her mamma had found the key. Grizel 
 rose, lit the lamp, and having dressed hurriedly, set 
 off with wraps to the Den. Her mamma was gen- 
 erally as sensible as anybody in Thrums, but some- 
 times she had shaking fits, and after them she 
 thought it was the time of long ago. Then she 
 went to the Den to meet a man who had promised, 
 she said, to be there, but he never came, and be- 
 fore daybreak Grizel could usually induce her to 
 return home. Latterly she had persuaded her 
 
 394 
 
A LETTER TO GOD 
 
 mamma to wait for him in the old Lair, because it 
 was less cold there, and she had got her to do this 
 last night. Her mamma did not seem very unwell, 
 but she fell asleep, and she died sleeping, and then 
 Grizel went back to Double Dykes for linen and 
 straiked her. 
 
 Some say in Thrums that a spade was found 
 in the Lair, but that is only the growth of later 
 years. Grizel had done all she could do, and 
 through the long Saturday she sat by the side of 
 the body, helpless and unable to cry. She knew 
 that it could not remain there much longer, but 
 every time she rose to go and confess, fear of the 
 indignities to which the body of her darling mamma 
 might be subjected pulled her back. The boys 
 had spoken idly; but hunted Grizel, who knew 
 so much less and so much more than any of them, 
 believed it all. 
 
 It was she who had stood so near Gavinia in the 
 ruined house. She had only gone there to listen 
 to human voices. When she discovered from the 
 talk of her friends that she had left a light burning 
 at Double Dykes and the door open, fear of the 
 suspicions this might give rise to had sent her to 
 the house on the heels of the two boys, and it was 
 she who had stolen past them in the mist to put 
 out the light and lock the door. Then she had 
 returned to her mamma's side. 
 
 The doctor was among the listeners, almost the 
 
 395 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 only dry-eyed one, but he was not dry-eyed be- 
 cause he felt the artless story least. Again and 
 again he rose from his chair restlessly, and Grizel 
 thought he scowled at her when he was really 
 scowling at himself; as soon as she had finished 
 he cleared the room brusquely of all intruders, 
 and then he turned on her passionately. 
 
 " Think shame of yoursel'," he thundered, " for 
 keeping me in the dark," and of course she took 
 his words literally, though their full meaning was, 
 " I shall scorn myself from this hour for not having 
 won the poor child's confidence." 
 
 Oh, he was a hard man, Grizel thought, the 
 hardest of them all. But she was used to stand- 
 ing up to hard men, and she answered defiantly : 
 " I did mean to tell you ; that day you sent me 
 with the bottle to Ballingall, I was waiting at the 
 surgery door to tell you, but you were cruel, you 
 said I was a thief, and then how could I tell you?" 
 
 This, too, struck home, and the doctor winced, 
 but what he said was, " You fooled me for a whole 
 week, and the town knows it ; do you think I can 
 forgive you for that ? " 
 
 " I don't care whether you forgive me," replied 
 Grizel at once. 
 
 " Nor do I care whether you care," he rapped 
 out, all the time wishing he could strike himself; 
 " but I'm the doctor of this place, and when your 
 mother was ill you should have come straight to 
 
A LETTER TO GOD 
 
 me. What had I done that you should be afraid 
 of me ? » 
 
 " I am not afraid of you," she replied, " I am 
 not afraid of anyone, but mamma was afraid of 
 you because she knew you had said cruel things 
 about her, and I thought — I won't tell you what 
 I thought." But with a little pressing she changed 
 her mind and told him. " I was not sure whether 
 you would come to see her, though I asked you ; 
 and if you came, I knew you would tell her she 
 was dying, and that would have made her scream. 
 And that is not all. I thought you might tell her 
 that she would be buried with a stake through 
 her " 
 
 "Oh, these blackguard laddies!" cried Mc- 
 Queen, clenching his fists. 
 
 "And so I dared not tell you," Grizel con- 
 cluded calmly ; " I am not frightened at you, but I 
 was frightened you would hurt my dear darling 
 mamma," and she went and stood defiantly between 
 him and her mother. 
 
 The doctor moved up and down the room, cry- 
 ing : " How did I not know of this, why was I not 
 told ? " and he knew that the fault had been his 
 own, and so was furious when Grizel told him so. 
 
 " Yes, it is," she insisted, " you knew mamma 
 was an unhappy lady, and that the people shouted 
 things against her and terrified her; and you must 
 have known, for everybody knew, that she was 
 
 397 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 sometimes silly and wandered about all night, and 
 you are a big strong man, and so you should have 
 been sorry for her ; and if you had been sorry, you 
 would have come to see her and been kind to her, 
 and then you would have found it all out" 
 
 " Have done, lassie ! " he said, half angrily, half 
 beseechingly ; but she did not understand that he 
 was suffering, and she went on relentlessly : " And 
 you knew that bad men used to come to see her 
 at night — they have not come for a long time — 
 but you never tried to stop their coming, and I 
 could have stopped it if I had known they were 
 bad ; but I did not know at first, and I was only 
 a little girl, and you should have told me." 
 
 " Have done ! " It was all that he could say, 
 for, like many, he had heard of men visiting the 
 Painted Lady by stealth, and he had only won- 
 dered, with other gossips, who they were. 
 
 He crossed again to the side of the dead woman. 
 "And Ballingall's was the only corpse you ever 
 saw straiked?" he said in wonder, she had done 
 her work so well. But he was not doubting her ; 
 he kn©w already that this girl was clothed in truth- 
 fulness. 
 
 " Was it you that kept this house so clean ? " 
 he asked almost irritably, for he himself was the 
 one undusted, neglected-looking thing in it, and 
 he was suddenly conscious of his frayed wristband 
 and of buttons hanging by a thread. 
 
 398 
 
A LETTER TO GOD 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " What age are you ? " 
 
 " I think I am thirteen." 
 
 He looked long at her, vindictively she thought, 
 but he was only picturing the probable future of 
 a painted lady's child, and he said mournfully to 
 himself, " Ay, it does not even end here ; and that's 
 the crowning pity of it." But Grizel only heard 
 him say, " Poor thing ! " and she bridled immedi- 
 ately. 
 
 " I won't let you pity me," she cried. 
 
 " You dour brat I " he retorted. " But you need 
 not think you are to have everything your own 
 way still. I must get some Monypenny woman 
 to take you till the funeral is over, and after that 
 
 "I won't go," said Grizel, determinedly; "I 
 shall stay with mamma till she is buried." 
 
 He was not accustomed to contradiction, and 
 he stamped his foot. " You shall do as you are 
 told," he said. 
 
 " I won't ! " replied Grizel, and she also stamped 
 her foot. 
 
 " Very well, then, you thrawn tid ; but at any 
 late I'll send in a woman to sleep with you." 
 
 " I want no one. Do you think I am afraid *? " 
 
 " I think you will be afraid when you wake up 
 in the darkness and find yourself alone with — it." 
 
 " I sha'n't ; I shall remember at once that she is 
 
 399 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 to be buried nicely in the cemetery, and that will 
 make me happy." 
 
 "You unnatural " 
 
 "Besides, I sha'n't sleep; I have somethingto do." 
 
 His curiosity again got the better of the doctor. 
 " What can you have to do at such a time ? " he 
 demanded, and her reply surprised him, " I am to 
 make a dress." 
 
 " You ! " 
 
 " I have made them before now," she said in- 
 dignantly. 
 
 " But at such k time ! " 
 
 " It is a black dress," she cried ; " I don't have 
 one. I am to make it out of mamma's." 
 
 He said nothing for some time, then " When did 
 you think of this ? " 
 
 " I thought of it weeks ago, I bought crape at 
 the corner shop to be ready and " 
 
 She thought he was looking at her in horror, 
 and stopped abruptly. " I don't care what you 
 think," she said. 
 
 " What I do think," he retorted, taking up his 
 hat, " is, that you are a most exasperating lassie. If 
 I bide here another minute, I believe you'll get 
 round me." 
 
 " I don't want to get round you." 
 
 "Then what makes you say such things? I 
 question if I'll get an hour's sleep to-night for 
 thinking of you." 
 
 400 
 
A LETTER TO GOD 
 
 •' I don't want you to think of me I " 
 
 He groaned. " What could an untidy, hard- 
 ened old single man like me do with you in his 
 house ? " he said. " Oh, you little limmer, to put 
 such a thought into my head." 
 
 " I never did I " she exclaimed indignantly. 
 
 "It began, I do believe it began," he sighed, 
 "the first time I saw you easying Ballingall's 
 pillows." 
 
 "What began?" 
 
 " You brat, you wilful brat, don't pretend igno- 
 rance. You set a trap to catch me and " 
 
 " Oh ! " cried Grizel, and she opened the door 
 quickly. " Go away, you horrid man," she said. 
 
 He liked her the more for this regal action, and 
 therefore it enraged him. Sheer anxiety lest he 
 should succumb to her on the spot was what made 
 him bluster as he strode oflF, and " That brat of a 
 Grizel," or " The Painted Lady's most unbearable 
 lassie," or " The dour little besom " was his way 
 of referring to her in company for days ; but if 
 anyone agreed with him he roared, "Don't be a 
 fool, man ; she's a wonder, she's a delight," or "You 
 have a dozen yourself, Janet, but I wouldna neifer 
 Grizel for the lot of them." And it was he, still 
 denouncing her so long as he was contradicted, 
 who persuaded the Auld Licht Minister to officiate 
 at the funeral. Then he said to himself, "And 
 now I wash my hands of her ; I have done all that 
 
 401 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 can be expected of me." He told himself this a 
 great many times, as if it were a medicine that 
 must be taken frequently ; and Grizel heard from 
 Tommy, with whom she had some strange con- 
 versations, that he was going about denouncing 
 her "up hill and down dale." But she did not 
 care, she was so — so happy. 
 
 For a hole was dug for the Painted Lady in the 
 cemetery, just as if she had been a good woman, 
 and Mr. Dishart conducted the service in Double 
 Dykes before the removal of the body, nor did he 
 say one word that could hurt Grizel, perhaps be- 
 cause his wife had drawn a promise from him. A 
 large gathering of men followed the cofSn, three 
 of them because, as you may remember, Grizel 
 had dared them to stay away, but all the others 
 out of sympathy with a motherless child who, as 
 the procession started, rocked her arms in delight 
 because her mamma was being buried respectably. 
 
 Being a woman, she could not attend the funeral, 
 and so the chief mourner was Tommy, as you 
 could see by the position he took at the grave and 
 by the white bands Grizel had sewn on his sleeves. 
 He was looking very important, as if he had some- 
 thing remarkable in prospect; but little attention 
 was given him until the cords were dropped into 
 the grave, and a prayer offered up, when he pulled 
 Mr. Dishart's coat and muttered something about 
 a paper. Those who had been making ready to 
 
 402 
 
A LETTER TO GOD 
 
 depart swung round again, and the minister told 
 him if he had anything to say to speak out. 
 
 " It's a paper," Tommy said, nervous yet elated, 
 and addressing all, " that Grizel put in the coffin. 
 She told me to tell you about it when the cords 
 fell on the lid." 
 
 " What sort of a paper ? " asked Mr. Dishart, 
 frowning. 
 
 " It's — it's a letter to God," Tommy gasped. 
 
 Nothing was to be heard except the shoveling 
 of earth into the grave. " Hold your spade, John," 
 the minister said to the grave-digger, and then even 
 that sound stopped. " Go on," Mr. Dishart signed 
 to the boy. 
 
 "Grizel doesna believe her mother has much 
 chance of getting to heaven," Tommy said, " and 
 she wrote the letter to God, so that when He opens 
 the coffins on the last day He will find it and read 
 about them." 
 
 " About whom ? " asked the stern minister. 
 
 " About Grizel's father, for one. She doesna 
 know his name, but the Painted Lady wore a 
 locket wi' a picture of him on her breast, and it's 
 buried wi' her, and Grizel told God to look at it 
 so as to know him. She thinks her mother will 
 be damned for having her, and that it winna be 
 fair unless God damns her father too." 
 
 " Go on," said Mr. Dishart 
 
 " There was three Thrums men — I think they 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 were gentlemen," Tommy continued almost 
 blithely, " that used to visit the Painted Lady in 
 the night-time, afore she took ill. They wanted 
 Grizel to promise no to tell about their going to 
 Double Dykes, and she promised because she was 
 ower innocent to know what they went for — but 
 their names are in the letter." 
 
 A movement in the crowd was checked by the 
 minister's uplifted arm. " Go on," he cried. 
 
 " She wouldna tell me who they were, because 
 it would have been breaking her promise," said 
 Tommy, " but — " he looked around him inquisi- 
 tively — " but they're here at the funeral." 
 
 The mourners were looking sideways at each 
 other, some breathing hard, but none dared to 
 speak before the minister. He stood for a long 
 time in doubt, but at last he signed to John to 
 proceed with the fiUing-in of the grave. Contrary 
 to custom, all remained. Not until the grave was 
 again level with the sward did Mr. Dishart speak, 
 and then it was with a gesture that appalled his 
 hearers. " This grave," he said, raising his arm, " is 
 locked till the day of judgment." 
 
 Leaving him standing there, a threatening fig- 
 ure, they broke into groups and dispersed, walking 
 slowly at first, and then fast, to tell their wives. 
 
 404 
 
CHAPTER XXXII 
 
 AN ELOPEMENT 
 
 The solitary child remained at Double Dykes, 
 awaiting the arrival of her father, for the Painted 
 Lady's manner of leaving the world had made 
 such a stir that the neighbours said he must have 
 heard of it, even though he were in London, and 
 if he had the heart of a stone he could not desert 
 his bairn. They argued thus among themselves, 
 less as people who were sure of it than to escape 
 the perplexing question, what to do with Grizel 
 if the man never claimed her ? and before her they 
 spoke of his coming as a certainty, because it 
 would be so obviously the best thing for her. In 
 the meantime they overwhelmed her with offers of 
 everything she could need, which was kindly, but 
 not essential, for after the funeral expenses had 
 been paid (Grizel insisted on paying them herself) 
 she had still several gold pieces, found in her 
 mamma's beautiful tortoise-shell purse, and there 
 were nearly twenty pounds in the bank. 
 
 But day after day passed, and the man had not 
 come. Perhaps he resented the Painted Lady's 
 
 405 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 ostentatious death ; which, if he was nicely strung, 
 must have jarred upon his nerves. He could 
 hardly have acknowledged Grizel now without 
 publicity being given to his private concerns. Or 
 he may never have heard of the Painted Lady's 
 death ; or if he read it, he may not have known 
 which painted lady in particular she was. Or he 
 may have married, and told his wife all and she 
 had forgiven him, which somehow, according to 
 the plays and the novels, cuts the past adrift 
 from a man and enables him to begin again at 
 yesterday. Whatever the reason, Grizel's father 
 was in no hurry to reveal himself; and, though not 
 to her, among themselves the people talked of the 
 probability of his not coming at all. She could 
 not remain alone at Double Dykes, they all ad- 
 mitted; but where, then, should she go? No 
 fine lady in need of a handmaid seemed to think 
 a painted lady's child would suit; indeed, Grizel 
 at first sight had not the manner that attracts phil- 
 anthropists. Once only did the problem approach 
 solution ; a woman in the Denhead was willing to 
 take the child because (she expressed it) as she 
 had seven she might as well have eight, but her 
 man said no, he would not have his bairns fil't. 
 Others would have taken her cordially for a few 
 weeks or months, had they not known that at the 
 end of this time they would be blamed, even by 
 themselves, if they let her go. All, in short, were 
 
 406 
 
AN ELOPEMENT 
 
 eager to show her kindness if one would give het 
 a home, but where was that one to be found ? 
 
 Much of this talk came to Grizel through 
 Tommy, and she told him in the house of Double 
 Dykes that people need not trouble themselves 
 about her, for she had no wish to stay with them. 
 It was only charity they brought her; no one 
 wanted her for herself " It is because I am a child 
 of shame," she told him dry-eyed. 
 
 He fidgeted on his chair, and asked, " What's 
 that ? " not very honestly. 
 
 " I don't know," she said, " no one will tell me, 
 but it is something you can't love." 
 
 " You have a terrible wish to be loved," he said in 
 wonder, and she nodded her head wistfully. " That 
 is not what I wish for most of all, though," she 
 told him ; and when he asked what she wished for 
 most of all, she said, " To love somebody — oh, 
 it would be sweet ! " 
 
 To Tommy, most sympathetic of mortals, she 
 seemed a very pathetic little figure, and tears came 
 to his eyes as he surveyed her; he could always 
 cry very easily. " If it wasna for Elspeth," he be- 
 gan, stammering, " I could love you, but you winna 
 let a body do onything on the sly." 
 
 It was a vague offer, but she understood, and 
 became the old Grizel at once. " I don't want 
 you to love me," she said indignantly ; " I don't 
 think you know how to love." 
 
 407 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 " Neither can you know, fJien," retorted T^tn'ny 
 huffily, " for there's nobody for you to love." 
 
 " Yes, there is," she said, " and I do love her 
 and she loves me." 
 
 " But wha is she ? " 
 
 " That girl." To his amazement she pointed to 
 her own reflection in the famous mirror the size of 
 which had scandalised Thrums. Tommy thought 
 this affection for herself barely respectable, but he 
 dared not say so, lest he should be put to the door. 
 " I love her ever so much," Grizel went on, "and 
 she is so fond of me she hates to see me unhappy. 
 Don't look so sad, dearest, darlingest," she cried 
 vehemently ; " I love you, you know, oh, you 
 sweet ! " and with each epithet she kissed her re- 
 flection and looked defiantly at the boy. 
 
 " But you canna put your arms round her and 
 hug her," he pointed out triumphantly, and so he 
 had the last word after all. Unfortunately Grizel 
 kept this side of her, new even to Tommy, hidden 
 from all others, and her unresponsiveness lost her 
 many possible friends. Even Miss Ailie, who now 
 had a dressmaker in the blue-and-white room, sit- 
 ting on a bedroom chair and sewing for her life 
 (oh, the agony — or is it the rapture ? of having to 
 decide whether to marry in gray with beads or 
 brown plain to the throat), even sympathetic Miss 
 Ailie, having met with several rebuffs, said that 
 Grizel had a most unaffectionate nature, and, " Ay, 
 
 408 
 
AN ELOPEMENT 
 
 she's hardy," agreed the town, "but it's bettei, 
 maybe, for hersel'." There are none so unpopular 
 as the silent ones. 
 
 If only Miss Ailte, or others like her, could have 
 slipped noiselessly into Double Dykes at night, 
 they would have found Grizel's pillow wet. But 
 she would have heard them long before they 
 reached the door, and jumped to the floor in terror, 
 thinking it was her father's step at last. For, un- 
 known to anyone, his coming, which the town so 
 anxiously desired, was her one dread. She had told 
 Tommy what she should say to him if he came, 
 and Tommy had been awed and delighted, they 
 were such scathing things; probably, had the ne- 
 cessity arisen, she would have found courage to say 
 them, but they were made up in the daytime, and 
 at night they brought less comfort. Then she 
 listened fearfully and longed for the morning, wild 
 ideas coursing through her head of flying before he 
 could seize her; but when morning came, it brought 
 other thoughts, as of the strange remarks she had 
 heard about her mamma and herself during the 
 past few days. To brood over these was the most 
 unhealthy occupation she could find, but it was her 
 only birthright. Many of the remarks came un- 
 guardedly from lips that had no desire to cause her 
 pain, others fell in a rage because she would not 
 tell what were the names in her letter to God. The 
 words that troubled her most, perhaps, were the 
 
 409 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 doctor's, " She is a brave lass, but it must be in hei 
 blood." They were not intended for her ears, but 
 she heard. " What did he mean ? " she asked Miss 
 Ailie, Mrs. Dishart, and others who came to see 
 her, and they replied with pain that it had only 
 been a doctor's remark, of no importance to people 
 who were well. "Then why are you crying?" 
 she demanded, looking them full in the face with 
 eyes there was no deceiving. 
 
 "Oh, why is everyone afraid to tell me the 
 truth ! " she would cry, beating her palms in 
 anguish. 
 
 She walked into McQueen's surgery and said, 
 " Could you not cut it out ? " so abruptly that he 
 wondered what she was speaking about. 
 
 "The bad thing that is in my blood," she 
 explained. "Do cut it out; I sha'n't scream. I 
 promise not to scream." 
 
 He sighed and answered, " If it could be cut 
 out, lassie, I would try to do it, though it was the 
 most dangerous of operations." 
 
 She looked in anguish at him. "There are 
 cleverer doctors than you, aren't there?" she 
 asked, and he was not offended. 
 
 " Ay, a hantle cleverer," he told her, " but none 
 so clever as that. God help you, bairn, if you 
 have to do it yourself some day." 
 
 " Can I do it myself? " she cried, brightening. 
 " ( shall do it now. Is it done with a knife ? " 
 
 410 
 
AN ELOPEMENT 
 
 "With a sharper knife than a surgeon's," he 
 answered, and then regretting he had said so much, 
 he tried to cheer her. But that he could not do. 
 " You are afraid to tell me the truth too," she said, 
 and when she went away he was sorry for her, but 
 not so sorry as she was for herself " When I am 
 grown up," she announced dolefully to Tommy, 
 " I shall be a bad woman, just like mamma." 
 
 " Not if you try to be good," he said. 
 
 " Yes, I shall. There is something in my blood 
 that will make me bad, and I so wanted to be 
 good. Oh! oh! oh!" 
 
 She told him of the things she had heard people 
 say, but though they perplexed him almost as 
 much as her, he was not so hopeless of learning 
 their meaning, for here was just the kind of diffi- 
 culty he liked to overcome. " I'll get it out o' 
 Blinder," he said with confidence in his ingenuity, 
 " and then I'll tell you what he says." But how- 
 ever much he might strive to do so. Tommy could 
 never repeat anything without giving it frills and 
 other adornment of his own making, and Grizel 
 knew this. " I must hear what he says myself," 
 she insisted. 
 
 " But he winna speak plain afore you." 
 
 " Yes, he will, if he does not know I am there." 
 
 The plot succeeded, though only partially, for 
 so quick was the blind man's sense of hearing that 
 in the middle of the conversation he said sharply, 
 
 411 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 '• Somebody's ahint the dyke ! " and he caught Gri- 
 zel by the shoulder. " It's the Painted Lady's 
 lassie," he said when she screamed, and he stormed 
 against Tommy for taking such advantage of his 
 blindness. But to her he said gently, " I daresay 
 you egged him on to this, meaning well, but you 
 maun forget most of what I've said, especially 
 about being in the blood. I spoke in haste, it 
 doesna apply to the like of you." 
 
 " Yes, it does," replied Grizel, and all that had 
 been revealed to her she carried hot to the surgery. 
 Tommy stopping at the door in as great perturba- 
 tion as herself. " I know what being in the blood 
 is now," she said tragically to McQueen, " there is 
 something about it in the Bible. I am the child of 
 evil passions, and that means that I was born with 
 wickedness in my blood. It is lying sleeping in 
 me just now because I am only thirteen, and if I 
 can prevent its waking when I am grown up I 
 shall always be good, but a very little thing will 
 waken it ; it wants so much to be wakened, and if 
 it is once wakened it will run all through me, and 
 soon I shall be like mamma." 
 
 It was all horribly clear to her,] and she would 
 not wait for words of comfort that could only ob- 
 scure the truth. Accompanied by Tommy, who 
 said nothing, but often glanced at her, fascinated 
 yet alarmed, as if expecting to see the ghastly 
 change come over her at any moment — for he 
 
 412 
 
AN ELOPEMENT 
 
 was as convinced as she, and had the livelier im- 
 agination — she returned to Monypenny to beg of 
 Blinder to tell her one thing more. And he told 
 her, not speaking lightly, but because his words 
 contained a solemn warning to a girl who he 
 thought might need it. 
 
 " What sort of thing would be likeliest to waken 
 the wickedness ? " she asked, holding her breath 
 for the answer. 
 
 " Keeping company wi' ill men," said Blinder, 
 gravely. 
 
 " Like the man who made mamma wicked, like 
 my father 1 " 
 
 " Ay," Blinder replied ; " fly from the like of him, 
 my lass, though it should be to the other end of 
 the world." 
 
 She stood quite still, with a most sorrowful face, 
 and then ran away, ran so swiftly that when Tom- 
 my, who had lingered for a moment, came to the 
 door she was already out of sight. Scarcely less 
 excited than she, he set off for Double Dykes, his 
 imagination in such a blaze that he looked fear- 
 fully in the pools of the burn for a black frock. 
 But Grizel had not drowned herself; she was stand- 
 ing ere:;t in her home, like one at bay, her arms 
 rigid, her hands clenched, and when he pushed 
 open the door she screamed. 
 
 "Grizel," said the distressed boy, "did you 
 think I was him come for you ? " 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 "Yes!" 
 
 "Maybe he'll no come. The folk think he 
 «finna come." 
 
 " But if he does, if he does ! " 
 
 " Maybe you needna go wi' him unless you're 
 willing ? " 
 
 " I must, he can compel me because he is my 
 father. Oh ! oh ! oh ! " She lay down on the bed, 
 and on her eyes there slowly formed the little wells 
 of water Tommy was to know so well in time. 
 He stood by her side in anguish ; for though his 
 own tears came at the first call, he could never 
 face them in others. 
 
 " Grizel," he said impulsively, " there's just one 
 thing for you to do. You have money, and you 
 maun run away afore he comes ! " 
 
 She jumped up at that. " I have thought of 
 it," she answered, " I am always thinking about it, 
 but how can I — oh, how can I ? It would not 
 be respectable." 
 
 "To run away?" 
 
 " To go by myself," said the poor girl, " and I 
 do want to be respectable, it would be sweet." 
 
 In some ways Tommy was as innocent as she, 
 and her reasoning seemed to him to be sound. 
 She was looking at him woefully, and entreaty was 
 on her face ; all at once he felt what a loncljf 
 little crittur she was, and in a harsi of mjinboo<? — 
 
 414 
 
AN ELOPEMENT 
 
 But, " Dinna prig wi' me to go with you," he 
 said, struggling. 
 
 " I have not ! " she answered panting ; and she 
 had not in words, but the mute appeal was still on 
 her face. " Grizel," he cried, " I'll come ! " 
 
 Then she seized his hand and pressed it to her 
 breast, saying, "Oh, Tommy, I am so fond of 
 you ! " 
 
 It was the first time she had admitted it, and 
 his head wagged well content, as if saying for him, 
 " I knew you would understand me some day." 
 But next moment the haunting shadow that so of- 
 ten overtook him in the act of soaring fell cold 
 upon his mind, and " I maun take Elspeth ! " he 
 announced, as if Elspeth had him by the leg. 
 
 " You sha'n't ! " said Grizel's face. 
 
 " She winna let go," said Tommy's. 
 
 Grizel quivered from top to toe. " I hate El- 
 speth ! " she cried, with curious passion, and the 
 more moral Tommy was ashamed of her. 
 
 "You dinna ken how fond o' her I am," he 
 said. 
 
 " Yes, I do." 
 
 " Then you shouldna want me to leave her and 
 go wi' you." 
 
 "That is why I want it," Grizel blurted out, 
 and now we are all ashamed of her. But fortun- 
 ately Tommy did not see how much she had ad- 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 mitted in that hasty cry ; and as neither would give 
 way to the other, they parted stiffly, his last words 
 being, " Mind, it wouldna be respectable to go by 
 yoursel'," and hers "I don't care, I'm going." 
 Nevertheless it was she who slept easily that night, 
 I and he who tossed about almost until cockcrow. 
 She had only one ugly dream, of herself wander- 
 ing from door to door in a strange town, asking for 
 lodgings, but the woman who answered her weary 
 knocks — there were many doors, but invariably 
 the same woman — always asked suspiciously " Is 
 Tommy with you ■? " and Grizel shook her head, 
 and then the woman drove her away, perceiving 
 that she was not respectable. This woke her, and 
 she feared the dream would come true, but she 
 clenched her fists in the darkness, saying, " I can't 
 help it, I am going, and I won't have Elspeth," 
 and after that she slept in peace. In the meantime 
 Tommy, the imaginative — but that night he was 
 not Tommy, rather was he Grizel, for he saw her 
 as we can only see ourselves. Now she — or he, 
 if you will — had been caught by her father and 
 brought back, and she turned into a painted thing 
 like her mother. She brandished a brandy bottle 
 and a stream of foul words ran lightly from her 
 mouth, and suddenly stopped, because she was 
 wailing, " I wanted so to be good, it is sweet to be 
 good ! " Now a man with a beard was whipping 
 her, and Tommy felt each lash on his own body, 
 
 416 
 
AN ELOPEMENT 
 
 so that he had to strike out, and he started up in 
 bed, and the horrible thing was that he had never 
 been asleep. Thus it went on until early morning, 
 when his eyes were red and his body was damp 
 with sweat. 
 
 But now again he was Tommy, and at first even 
 Co think of leaving Elspeth was absurd. Yet it 
 would be pleasant to leave Aaron, who disliked 
 him so much. To disappear without a word would 
 be a fine revenge, for the people would say that 
 Aaron must have ill-treated him ; and while they 
 searched the pools of the burn for his body, Aaron 
 would be looking on trembling, perhaps with a 
 policeman's hand on his shoulder. Tommy saw 
 the commotion as vividly as if the searchers were 
 already out and he in a tree looking down at them ; 
 but in a second he also heard Elspeth skirling, and 
 down he flung himself from the tree, crying, " I'm 
 here, Elspeth, dinna greet; oh, what a brute I've 
 been!" No, he could not leave Elspeth. How 
 wicked of Grizel to expect it of him ! She was a 
 bad one, Grizel. 
 
 But having now decided not to go, his sympathy 
 with the girl who was to lose him returned in a 
 rush, and before he went to school he besought her 
 to — it amounted to this, to be more like himself; 
 that is, he begged her to postpone her departure 
 indefinitely, not to make up her mind until to- 
 morrow — or the day after — or the day after that 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 He produced reasons, as that she had only four 
 pounds and some shillings now, while by-and-by 
 she might get the Painted Lady's money, at present 
 in the bank ; also she ought to wait for the money 
 that would come to her from the roup of the fur- 
 niture. But Grizel waived all argument aside ; se- 
 cure in her four pounds and shillings she was deter- 
 mined to go to-night, for her father might be here 
 to-morrow; she was going to London because it 
 was so big that no one could ever find her there, 
 and she would never, never write to Tommy to 
 tell him how she fared, lest the letter put her father 
 on her track. He implored her to write once, so 
 that the money owing her might be forwarded, but 
 even this bribe did not move her, and he set off for 
 school most gloomily. 
 
 Cathrowas specially aggravating that day, nagged 
 him, said before the whole school that he was a 
 numskull, even fell upon him with the tawse, and 
 for no earthly reason except that Tommy would 
 not bother his head with the oratio ohliqua. If there 
 is any kind of dominie more maddening than an- 
 other, it is the one who will not leave you alone 
 (ask any thoughtful boy). How wretched the lot 
 of him whose life is cast among fools not capable 
 of understanding him ! what was that saying about 
 entertaining angels unawares ? London ! Grizel 
 had more than sufficient money to take two there, 
 and once in London, a wonder such as himself was 
 
 418 
 
AN ELOPEMENT 
 
 bound to do wondrous things. Now that he thought 
 of it, to become a minister was abhorrent to him ; 
 to preach would be rather nice ; oh, what things 
 he would say (he began to make them up, and they 
 were so grand that he almost wept), but to be good 
 after the sermon was over, always to be good, (even 
 when Elspeth was out of the way), never to think 
 queer unsayable things, never to say Stroke, never, 
 in short, to " find a way " — he was appalled. If 
 it had not been for Elspeth 
 
 So even Elspeth did not need him. When he 
 went home from school, thinking only of her, he 
 found that she had gone to the Auld Licht manse 
 to play with little Margaret. Very well, if such 
 was her wish, he would go. Nobody wanted him 
 except Grizel. Perhaps when news came from 
 London of his greatness, they would think more 
 of him. He would send a letter to Thrums, ask- 
 ing Mr. McLean to transfer his kindness to El- 
 speth. That would show them what a noble fellow 
 he was. Elspeth would really benefit by his dis- 
 appearance; he was running away for Elspeth's 
 sake. And when he was great, which would be in 
 a few years, he would come back for her. 
 
 But no, he — . The dash represents Tommy 
 swithering once more, and he was at one or other 
 end of the swither all day. When he acted sharply 
 it was always on impulse, and as soon as the die 
 was cast he was a philosopher with no regrets. 
 
 419 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 But when he had time to reflect, he jumped mis* 
 erably back and forward. So when Grizel was 
 ready to start, he did not know in the least what 
 he meant to do. 
 
 She was to pass by the Cuttle Well, on her way 
 to Tilliedrum, where she would get the London 
 train, he had been told coldly, and he could be 
 there at the time — if he liked. The time was 
 seven o'clock in the evening on a week-day, when 
 the lovers are not in the Den, and Tommy arrived 
 first. When he stole through the small field that 
 separates Monypenny from the Den, his decision 
 was — but on reaching the Cuttle Well, its near- 
 ness to the uncanny Lair chilled his courage, and 
 now he had only come to bid her good-bye. She 
 was very late, and it suddenly struck him that she 
 had already set off. " After getting me to promise 
 to go wi' her ! " he said to himself at once. 
 
 But Grizel came ; she was only late because it 
 had taken her such a long time to say good-bye to 
 the girl in the glass. She was wearing her black 
 dress and lustre jacket, and carried in a bundle the 
 few treasures she was taking with her, and though 
 she did not ask Tommy if he was coming, she cast 
 a quick look round to see if he had a bundle any- 
 where, and he had none. That told her his deci- 
 sion, and she would have liked to sit down for a 
 minute and cry, but of course she had too much 
 pride, and she bade him farewell so promptly that 
 
 420 
 
AN ELOPEMENT 
 
 he thought he had a grievance. " I'm coming as 
 far as the toll-house wi' you," he said sulkily, and 
 so they started together. 
 
 At the toll-house Grizel stopped. "It's a fine 
 night," said Tommy almost apologetically, "I'll 
 go as far as the quarry o' Benshee." 
 
 When they came to the quarry, he said, " We're 
 no half-roads yet, I'll go wi' you as far as Padana- 
 rum." Now she began to wonder and to glance 
 at him sideways, which made him more uncom- 
 fortable than ever. To prevent her asking him 
 a question for which he had no answer, he said, 
 " What makes you look so little the day ? " 
 
 " I am not looking little," she replied, greatly 
 annoyed, " I am looking taller than usual. I have 
 let down my frock three inches so as to look taller 
 — and older." 
 
 " You look younger than ever," he said cruelly. 
 
 " I don't ! I look fifteen, and when you are fif- 
 teen you grow up very quickly. Do say I look 
 older I " she entreated anxiously. " It would make 
 me feel more respectable." 
 
 But he shook his head with surprising obstinacy, 
 and then she began to remark on his clothes, which 
 had been exercising her curiosity ever since they 
 left the Den. 
 
 " How is it that you are looking so stout ? " she 
 asked. " I feel cold, but you are wiping the sweat 
 off your face every minute." 
 
 421 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 A was true, but he would have preferred not tc 
 answer. Grizel's questions, however, were all so 
 straight in the face that there was no dodging them. 
 " I have on twa suits o' clothes, and a' my sarks," 
 he had to admit, sticky and sullen. 
 
 She stopped, but he trudged on doggedly. She 
 ran after him and gave his arm an impulsive squeeze 
 with both hands. " Oh, you sweet ! " she said. 
 
 " No, I'm not," he answered in alarm. 
 
 " Yes you are ! You are coming with me." 
 
 "I'm not!" 
 
 " Then why did you put on so many clothes ? " 
 
 Tommy swithered wretchedly on one foot. " I 
 didna put them on to come wi' you," he explained, 
 " I just put them on in case I should come wi' 
 you." 
 
 " And you are not coming ? " 
 
 " How can I ken ? " 
 
 " But you must decide ! " Grizel almost screamed. 
 
 " I needna," he stammered, " till we're at Tillie- 
 drum. Let's speak about some other thing." 
 
 She rocked her arms, crying, " It is so easy to 
 make up one's mind." 
 
 " It's easy to you that has just one mind," he re- 
 torted with spirit, " but if you had as many minds 
 as I have ! " 
 
 On they went 
 
 422 
 
CHAPTER XXXIII 
 
 i'HERE IS SOMEONE TO LOVE GRIZEL AT LAST 
 
 Corp was sitting on the Monypenny dyke, spitting 
 on a candlestick and then rubbing it briskly against 
 his orange-coloured trousers. The doctor passing 
 in his gig, both of them streaked, till they blended, 
 with the mud of Look-about-you road (through 
 which you should drive winking rapidly all the 
 way), saw him and drew up. 
 
 "Well, how is Grizel?" he asked. He had 
 avoided Double Dykes since the funeral, but vain 
 had been his attempts to turn its little inmate out 
 of his mind; there she was, against his will, and 
 there, he now admitted to himself angrily, or with 
 a rueful sigh, she seemed likely to remain until 
 someone gave her a home. It was an almost 
 ludicrous distrust of hirpself that kept him away 
 from her; he feared that if he went to Double 
 Dykes her lonely face would complete his con- 
 quest. For — oh, he was reluctant to be got the 
 better of, as he expressed it to himself Maggy 
 Ann, his maid, was the ideal woman for a bachelor's 
 house. When she saw him coming she fled, guilt- 
 
 423 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 ily concealing the hated duster; when he roared 
 at her for announcing that dinner was ready, she 
 left him to eat it half cold; when he spilled 
 matches on the floor and then stepped upon them 
 and set the rug on fire, she let him tell her that 
 she should be more careful ; she did not carry off 
 his favourite boots to the cobbler because they 
 were down at heel ; she did not fling up her arms 
 in horror and cry that she had brushed that coat 
 just five minutes ago ; nor did she count the 
 treasured " dottels " on the mantelpiece to dis- 
 cover how many pipes he had smoked since 
 morning ; nor point out that he had stepped over 
 the door-mat ; nor line her shelves with the new 
 Mentor; nor giving him up his foot for sitting half 
 the night with patients who could not pay — in 
 short, he knew the ways of the limmers, and Maggy 
 Ann was a jewel. But it had taken him a dozen 
 years to bring her to this perfection, and well he 
 knew that the curse of Eve, as he called the rage 
 for the duster, slumbered in her rather than was ex- 
 tinguished. With the volcanic Grizel in the house, 
 Maggy Ann would once more burst into flame, and 
 the horrified doctor looked to right of him, to left 
 of him, before him and behind him, and everywhere 
 he seemed to see two new brooms bearing down. 
 No, the brat, he would not have her ; the besom ; 
 why did she bother him ; the witches take her, for 
 putting the idea into his head, nailing it into his 
 
 424 
 
SOMEONE TO LOVE GRIZEL 
 
 head, indeed ! But nevertheless he was for ever 
 urging other people to adopt her, assuring them 
 that they would find her a treasure, and even shak- 
 ing his staff at them when they refused ; and he 
 was so uneasy if he did not hear of her several 
 times a day that he made Monypenny the way to 
 and from everywhere, so that he might drop into 
 artful talk with those who had seen her last. Corp, 
 accordingly, was not surprised at his " How is 
 Grizel ? " now, and he answered, between two spits. 
 " She's fine ; she gave me this." 
 
 It was one of the Painted Lady's silver candle- 
 sticks, and the doctor asked sharply why Grizel 
 had given it to him. 
 
 " She said because she liked me," Corp replied, 
 wonderingly. "She brought it to my auntie's 
 door soon after I loused, and put it into my hand ; 
 ay, and she had a blue shawl, and she telled me 
 to give it to Gavinia, because she liked her too." 
 
 " What else did she say ? " 
 
 Corp tried to think. " I said, ' This cows, 
 Grizel, but thank you kindly,' " he answered, much 
 pleased with his effort of memory, but the doctor 
 interrupted him rudely. " Nobody wants to hear 
 what you said, you dottrel; what more did she 
 say?" And thus encouraged, Corp remembered 
 that she had said she hoped he would not forget 
 her. " What for should I forget her when I see 
 her ilka day ? " he asked, and was probably about 
 
 425 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 to divulge that this was his reply to her, but with- 
 out waiting for more, McQueen turned his beast's 
 head and drove to the entrance to the double dykes. 
 Here he alighted and hastened up the path on 
 foot, but before he reached the house he met Dite 
 Deuchars taking his ease beneath a tree, and Dite 
 could tell him that Grizel was not at home. " But 
 there's somebody in Double Dykes," he said, 
 " though I kenna wha could be there unless it's the 
 ghost of the Painted Lady hersel'. About an hour 
 syne I saw Grizel come out o' the house, carrying 
 a bundle, but she hadna gone many yards when 
 she turned round and waved her hand to the east 
 window. I couldna see wha was at it, but there 
 maun have been somebody, for first the crittur 
 waved to the window and next she kissed her 
 hand to it, and syne she went on a bit, and syne 
 she ran back close to the window and nodded 
 and flung more kisses, and back and forrit she 
 went a curran times as if she could hardly tear 
 hersel' awa'. ' Wha's that you're so chief wi' ? ' I 
 speired when she came by me at last, but she just 
 said, ' I won't tell you,' in her dour wy, and she 
 hasna come back yet." 
 
 Whom could she have been saying good-bye to 
 so demonstratively, and whither had she gone ? 
 With a curiosity that for the moment took the 
 place of his uneasiness, McQueen proceeded to the 
 house, the door of which was shut but not locked. 
 
 426 
 
SOMEONE TO LOVE GRIZEL 
 
 Two glances convinced him that there was no one 
 here; the kitchen was as he had seen it last, ex- 
 cept that the long mirror had been placed on a 
 chair close to the east window. The doctor went 
 to the outside of the window and looked in; he 
 could see nothing but his own reflection in the 
 mirror, and was completely puzzled. But it was 
 no time, he felt, for standing there scratching his 
 head, when there was reason to fear that the girl 
 had gone. Gone where ? He saw his selfishness 
 now, in a glaring light, and it fled out of him pur- 
 sued by curses. 
 
 He stopped at Aaron's door and called for 
 Tommy, but Tommy had left the house an hour 
 ago. "Gone with her, the sacket; he very likely 
 put her up to this," the doctor muttered, and the 
 surmise seemed justified when he heard that Grizel 
 and Tommy had been seen passing the Fens. That 
 they were running away had never struck those 
 who saw them, and McQueen said nothing of his 
 suspicions, but off he went in his gig on their 
 track and ran them down within a mile of Tillie- 
 drum. Grizel scurried on, thinking it was un- 
 doubtedly her father, but in a few minutes the 
 three were conversing almost amicably, the doc- 
 tor's first words had been so " sweet." 
 
 Tommy explained that they were out for a 
 walk, but Grizel could not lie, and in a few pas- 
 sionate sentences she told McQueen the truth. He 
 
 427 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 had guessed the greater part of it, and while she 
 spoke he looked so sorry for her, such a sweet 
 change had come over his manner, that she held 
 his hand. 
 
 " But you must go no farther," he told her, " I 
 am to take you back with me," and that alarmed 
 her. " I won't go hack," she said determinedly, 
 " he might come." 
 
 "There's little fear of his coming," McQueen 
 assured her, gently, " but if he does come I give 
 you my solemn word that I won't let him take 
 you away unless you want to go." 
 
 Even then she only wavered, but he got her 
 altogether with this : " And should he come, just 
 think what a piece of your mind you could give 
 him, with me standing by holding your hand." 
 
 " Oh, would you do that ? " she asked, bright- 
 ening. ' 
 
 " I would do a good deal to get the chance," he 
 said. 
 
 " I should just love it ! " she cried. ' I shall 
 come now," and she stepped light-heartedly into 
 the gig, where the doctor joined her. Tommy, 
 who had been in the background all this time, 
 was about to jump up beside them, but McQueen 
 waved him back, saying maliciously, "There's 
 just room for two, my man, so I won't interfere 
 with your walk." 
 
 Tommy, in danger of being left, very hot and 
 428 
 
SOMEONE TO LOVE GRIZEL 
 
 stout and sulky, whimpered, "What have I done 
 to anger you ? " 
 
 "You were going with her, you blackguard," 
 replied McQueen, not yet in full possession of the 
 facts, for whether Tommy was or was not going 
 with her no one can ever know. 
 
 " If I was," cried the injured boy, " it wasna be- 
 cause I wanted to go, it was because it wouldna 
 have been respectable for her to go by hersel'." 
 
 The doctor had already started his shalt, but at 
 these astonishing words he drew up sharply. " Say 
 that again," he said, as if thinking that his ears 
 must have deceived him, and Tommy repeated 
 his remark, wondering at its effect. 
 
 "And you tell me that you were going with 
 her," the doctor repeated, " to make her enterprise 
 more respectable ? " and he looked from one to 
 the other. 
 
 " Of course I was," replied Tommy, resenting 
 his surprise at a thing so obvious ; and " That's 
 why I wanted him to come," chimed in Grizel. 
 
 Still McQueen's glance wandered from the boy 
 to the girl, and from the girl to the boy. " You 
 are a pair ! " he said at last, and he signed in 
 silence to Tommy to mount the gig. But his 
 manner had alarmed Grizel, ever watching herself 
 lest she should stray into the ways of bad ones, 
 and she asked anxiously, "There was nothing 
 wrong in it, was there ? " 
 
 429 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 " No," the doctor answered gravely, laying his 
 hand on hers, " no, it was just sweet." 
 
 What McQueen had to say to her was not for 
 Tommy's ears, and the conversation was but a make- 
 shift until they reached Thrums, where he sent the 
 boy home, recommending him to hold his tongue 
 about the escapade (and Tommy of course saw the 
 advisability ot keeping it from Elspeth) ; but he 
 took Grizel into his parlour and set her down on 
 the buffet stool by the fire, where he surveyed her in 
 silence at his leisure. Then he tried her in his old 
 armchair, then on his sofa ; then he put the Mentor 
 into her hand, and told her to hold it as if it were 
 a duster, then he sent her into the passage, with in- 
 structions to open the door presently and announce 
 " Dinner is ready " ; then he told her to put some 
 coals on the fire ; then he told her to sit at the win- 
 dow, first with an open book in her hand, secondly 
 as if she was busy knitting ; and all these things 
 she did wondering exceedingly, for he gave no 
 explanation except the incomprehensible one, " I 
 want to see what it would be like." 
 
 She had told him in the gig why she had 
 changed the position of the mirror at Double 
 Dykes ; it was to let " that darling " wave good- 
 bye to her from the window; and now having 
 experimented with her in his parlour, he drew her 
 toward his chair, so that she stood between his 
 
 43° 
 
SOMEONE TO LOVE GRIZEL 
 
 knees. And he asked her if she understood why 
 he had gone to Double Dykes. 
 
 " Was it to get me to tell you what were the 
 names in the letter ? " she said wistfully. " That 
 is what everyone asks me, but I won't tell — no, 
 I won't ; " and she closed her mouth hard. 
 
 He, too, would have liked to hear the names, 
 and he sighed, it must be admitted, at sight of that 
 determined mouth, but he could say truthfully, 
 " Your refusal to break your promise is one of the 
 things that I admire in you." 
 
 Admire! Grizel could scarce believe that this 
 gift was for her. " You don't mean that you really 
 like me ? " she faltered, but she felt sure all the 
 time that he did, and she cried, " Oh, but why ? 
 oh, how can you ? " 
 
 " For one reason," he said, " because you are so 
 good." 
 
 " Good ! Oh ! oh ! oh ! " She clapped her hands 
 joyously. 
 
 " And, for another — because you are so brave." 
 
 " But I am not really brave," she said anxiously, 
 yet resolved to hide nothing ; " I only pretend to 
 be brave ; I am often frightened, but I just don't 
 let on." 
 
 That, he told her, is the highest form of bravery, 
 but Grizel was very, very tired of being brave, and 
 she insisted impetuously, " I don't want to be brave, 
 I want to be afraid, like other girls." 
 
 431 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 " Ay, it's your right, you little woman," he an- 
 swered tenderly ; and then again he became mys- 
 terious. He kicked off his shoes to show her that he 
 was wearing socks that did not match. "I just pull 
 on the first that come to hand," he said recklessly. 
 
 " Oh ! " cried Grizel. 
 
 On his dusty book-shelves he wrote, with his 
 finger, " Not dusted since the year One." 
 
 " Oh ! oh ! " she cried. 
 
 He put his fingers through his gray, untidy hair. 
 " That's the only comb I have that is at hand when 
 I want it," he went on, regardless of her agony. 
 
 " All the stud-holes in my shirts," he said, " are 
 now so frayed and large that the studs fall out, and 
 I find them in my socks at night." 
 
 Oh ! oh ! he was killing her, he was, but what 
 cared he ? " Look at my clothes," said the cruel 
 man, " I read when I'm eating, and I spill so much 
 gravy that — that we boil my waistcoat once a 
 month, and make soup of it ! " 
 
 To Grizel this was the most tragic picture ever 
 drawn by man, and he saw that it was time to de- 
 sist. " And it's all," he said, looking at her sadly, 
 "it's all because I'm a lonely old bachelor with 
 no womankind to look after him, no little girl to 
 brighten him when he comes home dog-tired, no 
 one to care whether his socks are in holes and his 
 comb behind the wash-stand, no soft hand to soothe 
 his brow when it aches, no one to work for, no one 
 
SOMEONE TO LOVE GRIZEL 
 
 to love, many a one to close the old bachelor's eyes 
 when he dies, but none to drop a tear for him, no 
 one to " 
 
 " Oh ! oh ! oh ! That is just like me. Oh ! oh ! " 
 cried Grizel, and he pulled her closer to him, say- 
 ing, " The more reason we should join thegither ; 
 Grizel, if you don't take pity on me, and come and 
 bide with me and be my little housekeeper, the 
 Lord Almighty only knows what is to become of 
 the old doctor." 
 
 At this she broke away from him, and stood far 
 back pressing her arms to her sides, and she cried, 
 " It is not out of charity you ask me, is it ? " and 
 then she went a little nearer. " You would not 
 say it if it wasn't true, would you ? " 
 
 " No, my dawtie, it's true," he told her, and if 
 he had been pitying himself a little, there was an 
 end of that now. 
 
 She remembered something and cried joyously, 
 " And you knew what was in my blood before you 
 asked me, so I don't need to tell you, do I ? And 
 you are not afraid that I shall corrupt you, are 
 you ? And you don't think it a pity I didn't die 
 when I was a tiny baby, do you ? Some people 
 think so — I heard them say it." 
 
 " What would have become of me ? " was all he 
 dared answer in words, but he drew her to him 
 again, and when she asked if it was true, as she 
 had heard some woman say, that in some matters 
 
 433 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 men were all alike and did what that one man had 
 done to her mamma, he could reply solemnly, "No, 
 it is not true ; it's a lie that has done more harm 
 than any war in any century." 
 
 She sat on his knee, telling him many things 
 that had come recently to her knowledge but were 
 not so new to him. The fall of woman was the 
 subject — a strange topic for a girl of thirteen and 
 a man of sixty. They don't become wicked in 
 a moment, he leamed ; if they are good to begin 
 with, it takes quite a long time to make them bad. 
 Her mamma was good to begin with. " I know she 
 was good, because when she thought she was the 
 girl she used to be, she looked sweet and said 
 lovely things. The way the men do is this : they 
 put evil thoughts into the woman's head, and say 
 them often to her, till she gets accustomed to them, 
 and thinks they cannot be bad when the man she 
 loves likes them, and it is called corrupting the 
 mind. 
 
 " And then a baby comes to them," Grizel said 
 softly, " and it is called a child of shame. I am a 
 child of shame." 
 
 He made no reply, so she looked up, and his 
 face was very old and sad. " I am sorry too," 
 she whispered, but still he said nothing, and then 
 she put her fingers on his eyes to discover if they 
 were wet, and they were wet. And so Grizel knew 
 that there was someone who loved her at last. 
 
 434 
 
SOMEONE TO LOVE GRIZEL 
 
 The mirror was the only article of value that 
 Grizel took with her to her new home; everything 
 else was rouped at the door of Double Dykes; 
 Tommy, who should have been at his books, act- 
 ing as auctioneer's clerk for sixpence. There are 
 houses in Thrums where you may still be told 
 who got the bed and who the rocking-chair, and 
 how Nether Drumgley's wife dared him to come 
 home without the spinet ; but it is not by the sales 
 that the roup is best remembered. Curiosity took 
 many persons into Double Dykes that day, and in 
 the room that had never been furnished they saw 
 a mournful stack of empty brandy bottles, piled 
 there by the auctioneer, who had found them in 
 every corner, beneath the bed, in presses, in boxes, 
 whither they had been thrust by Grizel's mamma, 
 as if to conceal their number from herself The 
 counting of these bottles was a labour, but it is 
 not even by them that the roup is remembered. 
 Among them some sacrilegious hands found a 
 bundle of papers with a sad blue ribbon round 
 them. They were the Painted Lady's love-letters, 
 the letters she had written to the man. Why or 
 how they had come back to her no one knew. 
 
 Most of them were given to Grizel, but a dozen 
 or more passed without her leave into the kists of 
 various people, where often since then they have 
 been consulted by swains in need of a pretty 
 phrase; and Tommy's schoolfellows, the very boys 
 
 435 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 and girls who hooted the Painted Lady, were 
 in time — so oddly do things turn out — to be 
 among those whom her letters taught how to woo. 
 Where the kists did not let in the damp or care- 
 less fingers, the paper long remained clean, the ink 
 but little faded. Some of the letters were creased, 
 as if they had been much folded, perhaps for slip- 
 ping into secret hiding-places, but none of them 
 bore any address or a date. " To my beloved," 
 was sometimes written on the cover, and inside he 
 was darling or beloved again. So no one could 
 have arranged them in the order in which they 
 were written, though there was a three-cornered 
 one which said it was the first. There was a violet 
 in it, clinging to the paper as if they were fond 
 of each other, and Grizel's mamma had written, 
 " The violet is me, hiding in a corner because I 
 am so happy." The letters were in many moods, 
 playful, reflective, sad, despairing, arch, but all 
 were written in an ecstasy of the purest love, and 
 most of them were cheerful, so that you seemed to 
 see the sun dancing on the paper while she wrote, 
 the same sun that afterwards showed up her painted 
 cheeks. Why they came back to her no one ever 
 discovered, any more than how she who slipped 
 the violet into that three-cornered one and took 
 it out to kiss again and wrote, " It is my first love- 
 letter, and I love it so much I am reluctant to let 
 it go," became in a few years the derision of the 
 
SOMEONE TO LOVE GRIZEL 
 
 Double Dykes. Some of these letters may be in 
 old kists still, but whether that is so or not, they 
 alone have passed the Painted Lady's memory 
 from one generation to another, and they have 
 purified it, so that what she was died with her vile 
 body, and what she might have been lived on, as 
 if it were her true self. 
 
 4m 
 
CHAPTER XXXIV 
 
 WHO TOLD TOMMY TO SPEAK? 
 
 Miss Alison Cray presents her compliments to 
 
 and requests the favour of their company at 
 
 her marriage with Mr. Ivie McLean, on January 
 8th, at six o'clock." 
 
 Tommy in his Sabbath clothes, with a rose from 
 the Dovecot hothouse for buttonhole (which he 
 slipped into his pocket when he saw other boys 
 approaching), delivered them at the doors of the 
 aristocracy, where, by the way, he had been a few 
 weeks earlier, with another circular : 
 
 "Miss Alison Cray, being about to give up 
 school, has pleasure in stating that she has dis- 
 posed of the goodwill of her establishment to Miss 
 Jessy Langlands and Miss S. Oram, who will enter 
 upon their scholastic duties on January 9th, at 
 Roods Cottage, where she most cordially," and 
 so on. 
 
 Here if the writer dared (but you would be so 
 angry) he would introduce at the length of a 
 chapter two brand-new characters, the Misses 
 Langlands and Oram, who suddenly presew Uiem- 
 
 438 
 
WHO TOLD TOMMY TO SPEAK? 
 
 selves to him in the most sympathetic light. Miss 
 Ailie had been safely stowed to port, but their little 
 boat is only setting sail, and they are such young 
 ones, neither out of her teens, that he would fain 
 turn for a time from her to them. Twelve pounds 
 they paid for the goodwill, and, oh, the exciting 
 discussions, oh, the scraping to get the money to- 
 gether I If little Miss Langlands had not been so 
 bold, big Miss Oram must have drawn back, but 
 if Miss Oram had not had that idea about a paper 
 partition, of what avail the boldness of Miss Lang- 
 lands ? How these two trumps of girls succeeded 
 in hiring the Painted Lady's spinet from Nether 
 Drumgley — in the absence of his wife, who on her 
 way home from buying a Cochin-china met the 
 spinet in a cart — how the mother of one of them, 
 realising in a klink that she was common no more, 
 henceforth wore black caps instead of mutches 
 (but the father dandered on in the old plebeian 
 way) ; what the enterprise meant to a young man 
 in distant Newcastle, whose favourite name was 
 Jessy ; how the news travelled to still more distant 
 Canada, where a family of emigrants which had 
 left its Sarah behind in Thrums, could talk of 
 nothing else for weeks — it is hard to have to pass 
 on without dwelling on these things, and indeed 
 — but pass on we must. 
 
 The chief figure at the wedding of Miss Ailie 
 was undoubtedly Mr. T. Sandys, When one re- 
 
 439 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 members his prpminence, it is difficult to think 
 that the wedding could have taken place without 
 him. It was he (in his Sabbath clothes again, and 
 now flaunting his buttonhole brazenly) who in in- 
 sulting language ordered the rabble to stand back 
 there. It was he who dashed out to the 'Sosh to 
 get a hundred ha'pennies for the fifty pennies Mr. 
 McLean had brought to toss into the air. It was 
 he who went round in the carriage to pick up the 
 guests, and whisked them in and out, and slammed 
 the door, and saw to it that the minister was not 
 kept waiting, and warned Miss Ailie that if she 
 did not come now they should begin without her. 
 It was he who stood near her with a handkerchief 
 ready in his hand lest she took to crying on her 
 new brown silk (Miss Ailie was married in brown 
 silk after all). As a crown to his audacity, it was 
 he who told Mr. Dishart, in the middle of a noble 
 passage, to mind the lamp. 
 
 These duties were Dr. McQueen's, the best man, 
 but either demoralized by the bridegroom, who 
 went all to pieces at the critical moment and was 
 much more nervous than the bride, or in terror lest 
 Grizel, who had sent him to the wedding speckless 
 and most beautifully starched, should suddenly ap- 
 pear at the door and cry, " Oh, oh, take your fin- 
 gers off your shirt ! " he was through other till the 
 knot was tied, and then it was too late, for Tommy 
 had made his mark. It was Tommy who led the 
 
 44c 
 
WHO TOLD TOMMY TO SPEAK? 
 
 way to the schoolroom where the feast was ready, 
 it was Tommy who put the guests in their places 
 (even the banker cringed to him), it was Tommy 
 who winked to Mr. Dishart to say grace. As you 
 will readily believe, Miss Ailie could not endure 
 the thought of excluding her pupils from the fes- 
 tivities, and they began to arrive as soon as the 
 tables had been cleared of all save oranges and 
 tarts and raisins. Tommy, waving Gavinia aside, 
 showed them in, and one of them, curious to tell, 
 was Corp, in borrowed blacks, and Tommy shook 
 hands with him and called him Mr. Shiach, both 
 new experiences to Corp, who knocked over a 
 table in his anxiety to behave himself, and roared 
 at intervals " Do you see the little deevil ! " and bit 
 his warts and then politely swallowed the blood. 
 
 As if oranges and tarts and raisins were not 
 enough, came the Punch and Judy show, Tommy's 
 culminating triumph. All the way to Redlintie 
 had Mr. McLean sent for the Punch and Judy 
 show, and nevertheless there was a probability of 
 no performance, for Miss Ailie considered the show 
 immoral. Most anxious was she to give pleasure 
 to her pupils, and this she knew was the best way, 
 but how could she countenance an entertainment 
 which was an encouragement to every form of vice 
 and crime ? To send these children to the Misses 
 Langlands and Oram, fresh from an introduction 
 to the comic view of murder ! It could not be 
 
 441 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 done, now could it ? Mr. McLean could make no 
 suggestion. Mr. Dishart thought it would be ad- 
 visable to substitute another entertainment; was 
 there not a game called " The Minister's Cat " ? 
 Mrs. Dishart thought they should have the show 
 and risk the consequences. So also thought Dr. 
 McQueen. The banker was consulted, but saw no 
 way out of the difficulty, nor did the lawyer, nor 
 did the Misses Finlayson. Then Tommy appeared 
 on the scene, and presently retired to find a way. 
 He found it. The performance took place, and 
 none of the fun was omitted, yet neither Miss 
 Ailie — tuts, tuts, Mrs. McLean — nor Mr. Dishart 
 could disapprove. Punch did chuck his baby out 
 at the window (roars of laughter) in his jovial, 
 time-honoured way, but immediately thereafter up 
 popped the showman to say, " Ah, my dear boys 
 and girls, let this be a lesson to you never to de- 
 stroy your offsprings. Oh, shame on Punch, for to 
 do the wicked deed ; he will be catched in the end, 
 and serve him right." Then when Mr. Punch had 
 walloped his wife with the stick, amid thunders of 
 applause, up again bobbed the showman: "Ah, 
 my dear boys and girls, what a lesson is this we 
 sees, what goings on is this ? He have bashed the 
 head of her as should ha' been the apple of his eye, 
 and he does not care a — he does not care; but 
 mark my words, his home it will now be desolate, 
 no more shall she meet him at his door with kindly 
 
 442 
 
WHO TOLD TOMMY TO SPEAK? 
 
 smile, he have done for her quite, and now he is a 
 hunted man. Oh, be warned by his sad igsample, 
 and do not bash the head of your loving wife." 
 And there was a great deal more of the same, and 
 simple Mrs. McLean almost wept tears of joy be- 
 cause her favourite's good heart had suggested these 
 improvements. 
 
 Grizel was not at the wedding ; she was invited, 
 but could not go because she was in mourning. 
 But only her parramatty frock was in mourning, 
 for already she had been the doctor's housekeeper 
 for two full months, and her father had not ap- 
 peared to plague her (he never did appear, it may be 
 told at once), and so how could her face be woful 
 when her heart leapt with gladness ? Never had 
 prisoner pined for the fields more than this reticent 
 girl to be frank, and she poured out her inmost self 
 to the doctor, so that daily he discovered something 
 beautiful (and exasperating) about womanhood. 
 And it was his love for her that had changed her. 
 " You do love me, don't you ? " she would say, 
 and his answer might be, " I have told you that j 
 fifty times already ; " to which she would reply [ 
 gleefully, " That is not ofi;en, I say it all day to 
 myself." 
 
 Exasperating ? Yes, that was the word. Long 
 before summer came, the doctor knew that he had 
 given himself into the hands of a tyrant. It was 
 idle his saying that this irregularity and that care- 
 
 443 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 lessness were habits that had become part of htm ; 
 she only rocked her arms impatiently, and if he 
 would not stand still to be put to rights, then she 
 would follow him along the street, brushing him 
 as he walked, a sight that was witnessed several 
 times while he was in the mutinous stage. 
 
 "Talk about masterfulness," he would say, 
 when she whipped oflf his coat or made a dart at 
 the mud on his trousers ; " you are the most mas- 
 terful little besom I ever clapped eyes on." 
 
 But as he said it he perhaps crossed his legs, 
 and she immediately cried, "You have missed 
 two holes in lacing your boots ! " 
 
 Of a morning he would ask her sarcastically to 
 examine him from top to toe and see if he would 
 , do, and examine him she did, turning him round, 
 pointing out that he had been sitting " again " on 
 his tails, that oh, oh, he must have cut that but- 
 tonhole with his knife. He became most artful in 
 hiding deficiencies from her, but her suspicions 
 once roused would not sleep, and all subterfuge 
 was vain. " Why have you buttoned your coat 
 up tight to the throat to-day ? " she would demand 
 sternly. 
 
 " It is such a cold morning," he said. 
 
 " That is not the reason," she replied at once 
 (she could see through broadcloth at a glance), " I 
 believe you have on the old necktie again, and 
 you promised to buy a new one." 
 
 444 
 
WHO TOLD TOMMY TO SPEAK? 
 
 « 
 " I always forget about it when I'm out," he 
 
 said humbly, and next evening he found on his 
 
 table a new tie, made by Grizel herself out of her 
 
 mamma's rokelay. 
 
 It was related by one who had dropped in at 
 the doctor's house unexpectedly, that he found 
 Grizel making a new shirt, and forcing the doctor 
 to try on the sleeves while they were still in the 
 pin stage. 
 
 She soon knew his every want, and just as he 
 was beginning to want it, there it was at his elbow. 
 He realised what a study she had made of him 
 when he heard her talking of his favourite dishes 
 and his favourite seat, and his way of biting his 
 under! ip when in thought, and how hard he was 
 on his left cuflF. It had been one of his boasts 
 that he had no favourite dishes, etc., but he saw 
 now that he had been a slave to them for years 
 without knowing it. 
 
 She discussed him with other mothers as if he 
 were her little boy, and he denounced her for it. 
 But all the time she was spoiling him. Formerly 
 he had got on very well when nothing was in its 
 place. Now he roared helplessly if he mislaid his 
 razor. 
 
 He was determined to make a lady of her, 
 which necessitated her being sent to school; she 
 preferred hemming, baking, and rubbing things 
 till they shone, and not both could have had their 
 
 445 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 way (which sounds fatal for the man), had they 
 not arranged a compromise, Grizel, for instance, 
 to study geography for an hour in the evening 
 with Miss Langlands (go to school in the daytime 
 she would not) so long as the doctor shaved every 
 morning, but if no shave no geography ; the doc- 
 tor to wipe his pen on the blot-sheet instead of on 
 the lining of his coat if she took three lessons a 
 week from Miss Oram on the spinet. How happy 
 and proud she was! Her glee was a constant 
 source of wonder to McQueen. Perhaps she put 
 on airs a little, her walk, said the critical, had be- 
 come a strut ; but how could she help that when 
 the new joyousness of living was dancing and 
 singing within her? 
 
 Had all her fears for the future rolled away like 
 clouds that leave no mark behind ? The doctor 
 thought so at times, she so seldom spoke of them 
 to him ; he did not see that when they came she 
 hid them from him because she had discovered 
 that they saddened him. And she had so little 
 time to brood, being convinced of the sinfulness 
 of sitting still, that if the clouds came suddenly, 
 they never stayed long save once, and then it was, 
 mayhap, as well. The thunderclap was caused 
 by Tommy, who brought it on unintentionally and 
 was almost as much scared by his handiwork as 
 Grizel herself She and he had been very friendly 
 of late, partly because they shared with McQueen 
 
WHO TOLD TOMMY TO SPEAK? 
 
 the secret of the frustrated elopement, partly be- 
 cause they both thought that in that curious inci- 
 dent Tommy had behaved in a most disinterested 
 and splendid way. Grizel had not been sure of 
 it at first, but it had grown on Tommy, he had so 
 thoroughly convinced himself of his intention to 
 get into the train with her at Tilliedrum that her 
 doubts were dispelled — easily dispelled, you say, 
 but the truth must be told, Grizel was very anx- 
 ious to be rid of them. And Tommy's were hon- 
 est convictions, born full grown of a desire for 
 happiness to all. Had Elspeth discovered how 
 nearly he had deserted her, the same sentiment 
 would have made him swear to her with tears 
 that never should he have gone farther than Tillie- 
 drum, and while he was persuading her he would 
 have persuaded himself. Then again, when he 
 met Grizel — well, to get him in doubt it would 
 have been necessary to catch him on the way be- 
 tween these two girls. 
 
 So Tommy and Grizel were friends, and find- 
 ing that it hurt the doctor to speak on a certain 
 subject to him, Grizel gave her confidences to 
 Tommy. She had a fear, which he shared on its 
 being explained to him, that she might meet a 
 man of the stamp of her father, and grow fond of 
 him before she knew the kind he was, and as even 
 Tommy could not suggest an infallible test which 
 would lay them bare at the first glance, he con- 
 
 447 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 sented to consult Blinder once more. He found 
 the blind man by his fireside, very difficult to coax 
 into words on the important topic, but Tommy's 
 " You've said ower much no to tell a bit more," 
 seemed to impress him, and he answered the 
 question, — 
 
 " You said a woman should fly frae the like o' 
 Grizel's father though it should be to the other 
 end of the world, but how is she to ken that he's 
 that kind?" 
 
 " She'll ken," Blinder answered after thinking it 
 over, " if she likes him and fears him at one breath, 
 and has a sort of secret dread that he's getting a 
 power ower her that she^anna resist." 
 
 These words were a flash of light on a neglected 
 corner to Tommy. " Now I see, now I ken," he 
 exclaimed, amazed ; " now I ken what my mother 
 meant ! Blinder, is that no the kind of man that's 
 called masterful ? " 
 
 " It's what poor women find them and call them 
 to their cost," said Blinder. 
 
 Tommy's excitement was prodigious. "Now 
 I ken, now I see ! " he cried, slapping his leg and 
 stamping up and down the room. 
 
 " Sit down ! " roared his host. 
 
 "I canna," retorted the boy. "Oh, to think 
 o't, to think I came to speir that question at you, 
 to think her and me has wondered what kind he 
 was, and I kent a' the time ! " Without staying 
 
 448 
 
WHO TOLD TOMMY TO SPEAK? 
 
 to tell Blinder what he was blethering about, he 
 hurried off to Grizel, who was waiting for him in 
 the Den, and to her he poured out his astonishing 
 news. 
 
 " I ken all about them, I've kent since afore I 
 came to Thrums, but though I generally say the 
 prayer, I've forgot to think o' what it means." In 
 a stampede of words he told her all he could re- 
 member of his mother's story as related to him on 
 a grim night in London so long ago, and she lis- 
 tened eagerly. And when that was over, he re- 
 peated first his prayer and then Elspeth's, " O God, 
 whatever is to be my fate, may I never be one of 
 them that bow the knee to masterful man, and if I 
 was born like that and canna help it, O take me 
 up to heaven afore I'm fil't." Grizel repeated it 
 after him until she had it by heart, and even as she 
 said it a strange thing happened, for she began to 
 draw back from Tommy, with a look of terror on 
 her face. 
 
 " What makes you look at me like that ? " he 
 cried. 
 
 " I believe — I think — you are masterful," she 
 gasped. 
 
 " Me ! " he retorted indignantly. 
 
 "Now," she went on, waving him back, "now 
 I know why I would not give in to you when you 
 wanted me to be Stroke's wife. I was afraid you 
 were masterful I " 
 
 449 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 " Was that it ? " cried Tommy. 
 
 " Now," she proceeded, too excited to heed his 
 interruptions, " now I know why I would not kiss 
 your hand, now I know why I would not say I 
 liked you. I was afraid of you, I " 
 
 " Were you ? " His eyes began to sparkle, and 
 something very like rapture was pushing the indig- 
 nation from his face. " Oh, Grizel, have I a power 
 over you ? " 
 
 " No, you have not," she cried passionately. " I 
 was just frightened that you might have. Oh, oh, 
 I know you now ! " 
 
 " To think o't, to think o't ! " he crowed, wag- 
 ging his head, and then she clenched her fist, 
 crying, "Oh, you wicked, you should cry with 
 shame ! " 
 
 But he had his answer ready, " Itcanna bemy wite, 
 for I never kent o't till you telled me. Grizel, it has 
 just come about without either of us kenning!" 
 
 She shuddered at this, and then seized him by 
 the shoulders. " It has not come about at all," 
 she said, "I was only frightened that it might 
 come, and now it can't come, for I won't let it." 
 
 " But can you help yoursel' ? " 
 
 " Yes, I can. I shall never be friends with you 
 again." 
 
 She had such a capacity for keeping her word 
 that this alarmed him, and he did his best to ex- 
 tinguish his lights. " I'm no masterful, Grizel," 
 
 45° 
 
WHO TOLD TOMMY TO SPEAK? 
 
 he said, " and I dinna want to be, it was just for a 
 minute that I liked the thought." She shook her 
 head, but his next words had more eflfect. " If I 
 had been that kind, would I have teached you 
 Elspeth's prayer ? " 
 
 " N-no, I don't think so," she said slowly, and 
 perhaps he would have succeeded in soothing her, 
 had not a sudden thought brought back the terror 
 to her face. 
 
 " What is't now ? " he asked. 
 
 "Oh, oh, oh!" she cried, "and I nearly went 
 away with you!" and without another word she 
 fled from the Den. She never told the doctor of 
 this incident, and in time it became a mere shadow 
 in the background, so that she was again his happy 
 housekeeper, but that was because she had found 
 strength to break with Tommy. She was only an 
 eager little girl, pathetically ignorant about what 
 she wanted most to understand, but she saw how 
 an instinct had been fighting for her, and now it 
 should not have to fight alone. How careful she 
 became ! All Tommy's wiles were vain, she would 
 scarcely answer if he spoke to her ; if he had ever 
 possessed a power over her it was gone, Elspeth's 
 prayer had saved her. 
 
 Jean Myles had told Tommy to teach that prayer 
 to Elspeth ; but who had told him to repeat it to 
 Grizel? 
 
 451 
 
CHAPTER XXXV 
 
 THE BRANDING OF TOMMY 
 
 Grizel's secession had at least one good eflfect: 
 it gave Tommy more time in which to make a 
 scholar of himself. Would you like a picture of 
 Tommy trying to make a scholar of himself? 
 
 They all helped him in their different ways: 
 Grizel, by declining his company ; Corp, by being 
 far away at Lookaboutyou, adding to the inches of 
 a farm-house ; Aaron Latta, by saying nothing, but 
 looking " college or the herding ; " Mr. McLean, 
 who had settled down with Ailie at the Dovecot, 
 by inquiries about his progress ; Elspeth by — but 
 did Elspeth's talks with him about how they should 
 live in Aberdeen and afterward (when they were 
 in the big house) do more than send his mind 
 a-galloping (she holding on behind) along roads 
 that lead not to Aberdeen "? What drove Tommy 
 oftenest to the weary drudgery was, perhaps, the 
 alarm that came over him when he seemed of a 
 sudden to hear the names of the bursars proclaimed 
 and no Thomas Sandys among them. Then did 
 he shudder, for well he knew that Aaron would 
 
 4J2 
 
THE BRANDING OF TOMMT^ 
 
 keep his threat, and he hastily covered the round 
 table with books and sat for hours sorrowfully 
 pecking at them, every little while to discover that 
 his mind had soared to other things, when he hauled 
 it back, as one draws in a reluctant kite. On these 
 occasions Aaron seldom troubled him, except by 
 glances that, nevertheless, brought the kite back 
 more quickly than if they had been words of warn- 
 ing. If Elspeth was present the warper might sit 
 moodily by the fire, but when the man and the boy 
 were left together one or other of them soon retired, 
 as if this was the only way of preserving the peace. 
 Though determined to keep his word to Jean 
 Myles liberally, Aaron had never liked Tommy, 
 and Tommy's avoidance of him is easily accounted 
 for ; he knew that Aaron did not admire him, and 
 unless you admired Tommy he was always a boor 
 in your presence, shy and self-distrustful. Espe- 
 cially was this so if you were a lady (how amazingly 
 he got on in after years with some of you, what 
 agony others endured till he went away !), and it is 
 the chief reason why there are such contradictory 
 accounts of him to-day. 
 
 Sometimes Mr. Cathro had hopes of him other 
 than those that could only be revealed in a shame- 
 ful whisper with the door shut. " Not so bad," he 
 might say to McLean; " if he keeps It up we may 
 squeeze him through yet, without trusting to — to 
 what I was fool enough to mention to you. The 
 
 453 
 
SENTIMI^NTAL TOMMY 
 
 mathematics are his weak point, there's nothing 
 practical about him (except when it's needed to 
 carry out his devil's designs) and he cares not a 
 doit about the line A B, nor what it's doing in the 
 circle K, but there's whiles he surprises me when 
 we're at Homer. He has the spirit o't, man, even 
 when he bogles at the sense." 
 
 But the next time Ivie called for a report — ! 
 
 In his great days, so glittering, so brief (the 
 days of the Penny Life) Tommy, looking back to 
 this year was sure that he had never really tried to 
 work. But he had. He did his very best, dog- 
 gedly, wearily sitting at the round table till El- 
 speth feared that he was killing himself and gave 
 him a melancholy comfort by saying so. An hour 
 afterward he might discover that he had been far 
 away from his books, looking on at his affecting 
 death and counting the mourners at the funeral. 
 
 Had he thought that Grizel's discovery was 
 making her unhappy he would have melted at 
 once, but never did she look so proud as when she 
 scornfully passed him by, and he wagged his head 
 complacently over her coming chagrin when she 
 heard that he had carried the highest bursary. 
 Then she would know what she had flung away. 
 This should have helped him to another struggle 
 with his lexicon, but it only provided a breeze for 
 the kite, which flew so strong that he had to let go 
 the string. 
 
 45^ 
 
THE BRANDING OF TOMMY 
 
 Aaron and the Dominie met one day in the 
 square, and to Aaron's surprise Mr. Cathro's de- 
 spondency about Tommy was more pronounced 
 than before. " I wonder at that," the warper said, 
 "for I assure you he has been harder at it than 
 ever thae last nights. What's more, he used to 
 look doleful as he sat at his table, but I notice now 
 that he's as sweer to leave off as he's keen to begin, 
 and the face of him is a' eagerness too, and he 
 reads ower to himself what he has wrote and wags 
 his head at it as if he thought it grand." 
 
 "Say you so?" asked Cathro, suspiciously; 
 " does he leave what he writes lying about, Aaron?" 
 
 " No, but he takes it to you, does he no' ? " 
 
 "Not him," said the Dominie, emphatically. 
 " I may be mistaken, Aaron, but I'm doubting the 
 young whelp is at his tricks again." 
 
 The Dominie was right, and before many days 
 passed he discovered what was Tommy's new and 
 delicious occupation. 
 
 For years Mr. Cathro had been in the habit of 
 writing letters for such of the populace as could 
 not guide a pen, and though he often told them 
 not to come deaving him he liked the job, unex- 
 pected presents of a hen or a ham occasionally ar- 
 riving as his reward, while the personal matters 
 thus confided to him, as if he were a safe for the 
 banking of private histories, gave him and his wife 
 gossip for winter nights. Of late the number of 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 his clients had decreased without his noticing it, 
 so confident was he that they could not get on 
 without him, but he received a shock at last from 
 Andrew Dickie, who came one Saturday night 
 with paper, envelope, a Queen's head, and a re- 
 quest for a letter for Bell Birse, now of Tilliedrum 
 
 " You want me to speir in your name whether 
 she'll have you, do you?" asked Cathro, with a 
 flourish of his pen, 
 
 " It's no just so simple as that," said Andrew, 
 and then he seemed to be rather at a loss to say 
 what it was. " I dinna ken," he continued pres- 
 ently with a grave face, " whether you've noticed 
 that I'm a gey queer deevil ? Losh, I think I'm 
 the queerest deevil I ken." 
 
 " We are all that," the Dominie assured him. 
 " But what do you want me to write *? " 
 
 " Well, it's like this," said Andrew ; " I'm will- 
 ing to marry her if she's agreeable, but I want to 
 make sure that she'll take me afore I speir her. 
 I'm a proud man, Dominie." 
 
 " You're a sly one ! " 
 
 " Am I no I " said Andrew, well pleased. "Well, 
 could you put the letter in that wy ? " 
 
 " I wouldna," replied Mr. Cathro, " though I 
 could, and I couldna though I would. It would 
 defy the face of clay to do it, you canny lover." 
 
 Now, the Dominie had frequently declined to 
 write as he was bidden, and had suggested altera- 
 
 456 
 
THE BRANDING OF TOMMY 
 
 tions which were invariably accepted, but to his as- 
 tonishment Andrew would not give in. " I'll be 
 stepping then," he said coolly, " for if you hinna 
 the knack o't I ken somebody that has." 
 
 " Who ? " demanded the irate Dominie. 
 
 " I promised no to tell you," replied Andrew, 
 and away he went. Mr. Cathro expected him to 
 return presently in humbler mood, but was disap- 
 pointed, and a week or two afterwards he heard 
 Andrew and Mary Jane Proctor cried in the parish 
 church. "Did Bell Birse refuse him?" he asked 
 the kirk officer, and was informed that Bell had 
 never got a chance. " His letter was so cunning," 
 said John, " that without speiring her, it drew ane 
 frae her in which she let out that she was centered 
 on Davit Allardyce." 
 
 "But who wrote Andrew's letter?" asked Mr. 
 Cathro, sharply. 
 
 " I thought it had been yoursel'," said John, 
 and the Dominie chafed, and lost much of the 
 afternoon service by going over in his mind the 
 names of possible rivals. He never thought of 
 Tommy. 
 
 Then a week or two later fell a heavier blow. 
 At least twice a year the Dominie had written for 
 Meggy Duff to her daughter in Ireland a long let- 
 ter founded on this suggestion, " Dear Kaytherine, 
 if you dinna send ten shillings immediately, your 
 puir auld mother will have neither house nor 
 
 457 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 hame. I'm crying to you for't, Kaytherine; 
 hearken and you'll hear my cry across the cauldrifF 
 sea." He met Meggy in the Banker's close one 
 day, and asked her pleasantly if the time was not 
 drawing nigh for another appeal. 
 
 " I have wrote," replied the old woman, giving 
 her pocket a boastful smack which she thus ex- 
 plained, " and it was the whole ten shillings this 
 time, and you never got more for me than five." 
 
 "Who wrote the letter for you?" he asked, 
 lowering. 
 
 She, too, it seemed, had promised not to tell. 
 
 " Did you promise to tell nobody, Meggy, or 
 just no to tell me," he pressed her, of a sudden 
 suspecting Tommy. 
 
 " Just no to tell you," she answered, and at that, 
 
 " Da-a-a," began the Dominie, and then saved 
 his reputation by adding " gorit." The derivation 
 of the word dagont has puzzled many, but here 
 we seem to have it. 
 
 It is interesting to know what Tommy wrote. 
 The general opinion was that his letter must have 
 been a triumph of eloquent appeal, and indeed he 
 had first sketched out several masterpieces, all of 
 some length and in different styles, but on the 
 whole not unlike the concoctions of Meggy's for- 
 mer secretary; that is, he had dwelt on the duties 
 of daughters, on the hardness of the times, on the 
 certainty that if Katherine helped this time assis- 
 
 458 
 
THE BRANDING OF TOMMY 
 
 tance would never be needed again. This sort 
 of thing had always satisfied the Dominie, but 
 Tommy, despite his several attempts, had a vague 
 consciousness that there was something second-rate 
 about them, and he tapped on his brain till it re- 
 sponded. The letter he despatched to Ireland, but 
 had the wisdom not to read aloud even to Meggy, 
 contained nothing save her own words, "Dear 
 Kaytherlne, if you dinna send ten shillings im- 
 mediately your puir auld mother will have neither 
 house nor hame. I'm crying to you for't, Kaythe- 
 rlne ; hearken and you'll hear my cry across the 
 cauldrifF sea." It was a call from the heart which 
 transported Katherine to Thrums in a second of 
 time, she seemed to see her mother again, grown 
 frail since last they met — and so all was well for 
 Meggy. Tommy did not put all this to himself 
 but he felt it, and after that he could «o/have written 
 the letter differently. Happy Tommy! To be 
 an artist is a great thing, but to be an artist and 
 not know it is the most glorious plight in the 
 world. 
 
 Other fickle clients put their correspondence 
 into the boy's hands, and Cathro found it out but 
 said nothing. Dignity kept him in check ; he did 
 not even let the tawse speak for him. So well did 
 he dissemble that Tommy could not decide how 
 much he knew, and dreaded his getting hold of 
 some of the letters, yet pined to watch his face 
 
 459 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 while iie read them. This could not last forever 
 Mr. Cathro was like a haughty kettle which has 
 choked its spout that none may know it has come 
 a-boil, and we all know what in that event must 
 happen sooner or later to the lid. 
 
 The three boys who had college in the tail of 
 their eye had certain privileges not for the herd. 
 It was taken for granted that when knowledge 
 came their way they needed no overseer to make 
 them stand their ground, and accordingly for great 
 part of the day they had a back bench to them- 
 selves, with half-a-dozen hedges of boys and girls 
 between them and the Dominie. From his chair 
 Mr. Cathro could not see them, but a footboard 
 was nailed to it, and when he stood on this, as he 
 had an aggravating trick of doing, softly and swiftly, 
 they were suddenly in view. A large fire had been 
 burning all day, and the atmosphere was soporific. 
 Mr. Cathro was so sleepy himself that the sight of 
 a nodding head enraged him like a caricature, and he 
 was on the footboard frequently for the reason that 
 makes bearded men suck peppermints in church. 
 Against his better judgment he took several peeps 
 at Tommy, whom he had lately suspected of writ- 
 ing his letters in school, or at least of gloating over 
 them on that back bench. To-day he was sure of 
 it. However absorbing Euclid may be, even the 
 forty-seventh of the first book does not make you 
 chuckle and wag your head ; you can bring a sub- 
 
 460 
 
THE BRANDING OF TOMMY 
 
 stantive in Virgil back to the verb that has lost it 
 without looking as if you would like to exhibit 
 them together in the square. But Tommy was 
 thus elated until he gave way to grief of the most 
 affecting kind. Now he looked gloomily before 
 him as if all was over, now he buried his face in 
 his hands, next his eyes were closed as if in prayer. 
 All this the Dominie stood from him, but when at 
 last he began to blubber — 
 
 At the blackboard was an arithmetic class, slates 
 in hand, each member adding up aloud in turn a 
 row of figures. By and by it was known that Ca- 
 thro had ceased to listen. " Go on." his voice rathei 
 than himself said, and he accepted Mary Dundas's 
 trembling assertion that four and seven make ten. 
 Such was the faith in Cathro that even boys who 
 could add promptly turned their eleven into ten, 
 and he did not catch them at it. So obviously 
 was his mind as well as his gaze on something 
 beyond, that Sandy Riach, a wit who had been 
 waiting his chance for years, snapped at it now, 
 and roared " Ten and eleven, nineteen " (" Go on," 
 said Cathro), " and four, twenty," gasped Sandy, 
 " and eight, sixteen," he added, gaining courage. 
 " Very good," murmured the Dominie, whereupon 
 Sandy clenched his reputation forever by saying, 
 in one glorious mouthful, "and six, eleven, and 
 two, five, and one, nocht." 
 
 There was no laughing at it then (though Sandy 
 461 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 held a levee in the evening), they were all so 
 stricken with amazement. By one movement they 
 swung round to see what had fascinated Cathro, 
 and the other classes doing likewise, Tommy be- 
 came suddenly the centre of observation. Big tears 
 were slinking down his face, and falling on some 
 sheets of paper, which emotion prevented his con- 
 cealing. Anon the unusual stillness in the school 
 made him look up, but he was dazed, like one 
 uncertain of his whereabouts, and he blinked rap- 
 idly to clear his eyes, as a bird shakes water from 
 its wings. 
 
 Mr. Cathro first uttered what was afterward de- 
 scribed as a kind of throttled skirl, and then he 
 roared "Come here!" whereupon Tommy stepped 
 forward heavily, and tried, as commanded, to come 
 to his senses, but it was not easy to make so long 
 a journey in a moment and several times, as he 
 seemed about to conquer his tears, a wave of feel- 
 ing set them flowing again. 
 
 " Take your time," said Mr. Cathro, grimly, " I 
 can wait," and this had such a helpful effect that 
 Tommy was able presently to speak up for his 
 misdeeds. They consisted of some letters written 
 at home, but brought to the school for private 
 reading, and the Dominie got a nasty jar when he 
 saw that they were all signed "Betsy Grieve." 
 Miss Betsy Grieve, servant to Mr. Duthie, was 
 about to marry, and these letters were acknow- 
 
 462 
 
THE BRANDING OF TOMMY 
 
 ledgments of wedding presents. Now, Mr. Cathro 
 had written similar letters for Betsy only a few 
 days before. 
 
 " Did she ask you to write these for her ! " he 
 demanded, fuming, and Tommy replied demurely 
 that she had. He could not help adding, though 
 he felt the unwisdom of it, " She got some other 
 body to do them first, but his letters didna satisfy 
 her." 
 
 " Oh ! " said Mr. Cathro, and it was such a vi- 
 cious "oh" that Tommy squeaked tremblingly, 
 " I dinna know who he was." 
 
 Keeping his mouth shut by gripping his under- 
 lip with his teeth, the Dominie read the letters, 
 and Tommy gazed eagerly at him, all fear for- 
 gotten, soul conquering body. The others stood 
 or sat waiting, perplexed as to the cause, confi- 
 dent of the issue. The letters were much finer 
 productions than Cathro's, he had to admit it to 
 himself as he read. Yet the rivals had started fair, 
 for Betsy was a recent immigrant from Dunkeld 
 way, and the letters were to people known neither 
 to Tommy nor to the Dominie. Also, she had 
 given the same details for the guidance of each. 
 A lady had sent a teapot, which affected to be 
 new, but was hot ; Betsy recognised it by a scratch 
 on the lid, and wanted to scratch back, but po- 
 litely So Tommy wrote, " When you come to see 
 me we shall have a cup of tea out of your beauti- 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 fill present, and it will be like a meeting of three 
 old friends." That was perhaps too polite, Betsy 
 feared, but Tommy said authoritatively, " No, the 
 politer the nippier." 
 
 There was a set of six cups and saucers from 
 Peter something, who had loved Betsy in vain. 
 She had shown the Dominie and Tommy the ear- 
 rings given her long ago by Peter (they were 
 bought with Sosh checks) and the poem he had 
 written about them, and she was most anxious to 
 gratify him in her reply.' All Cathro could do, 
 however, was to wish Peter well in some ornate 
 sentences, while Tommy's was a letter that only a 
 tender woman's heart could have indited, with such 
 beautiful touches about the days which are no 
 more, alas ! forever, that Betsey listened to it with 
 heaving breast and felt so sorry for her old swain 
 that, forgetting she had never loved him, she all 
 but gave Andrew the go-by and returned to Peter. 
 As for Peter, who had been getting over his trou- 
 ble, he saw now for the first time what he had 
 lost, and he carried Betsy's dear letter in his oxter 
 pocket and was inconsolable. 
 
 But the masterpiece went to Mrs. Dinnie, baker, 
 in return for a flagon bun. Long ago her daugh- 
 ter, Janet, and Betsy had agreed to marry on the 
 same day, and many a quip had Mrs. Dinnie cast 
 at their romantic compact. But Janet died, and 
 so it was a sad letter that Tommy had to write to 
 
 464 
 
THE BRANDING OF TOMMY 
 
 her mother. " I'm doubting you're no auld enough 
 for this ane," soft-hearted Betsy said, but she did 
 not know her man. " Tell me some one thing 
 the mother used often to say when she was taking 
 her fun off the pair of you," he said, and "Where 
 is she buried?" was a suggestive question, with 
 the happy tag, " Is there a tree hanging over the 
 grave"?" Thus assisted, he composed a letter 
 that had a tear in every sentence. Betsy rubbed 
 her eyes red over it, and not all its sentiments 
 were allowed to die, for Mrs. Dinnie, touched to 
 to the heart, printed the best of them in black 
 licorice on short bread for funeral feasts, at which 
 they gave rise to solemn reflections as they went 
 down. 
 
 Nevertheless, this letter affected none so much 
 as the writer of it. His first rough sketch became 
 so damp as he wrote that he had to abandon his 
 pen and take to pencil ; while he was revising he 
 had often to desist to dry his eyes on the coverlet 
 of Aaron's bed, which made Elspeth weep also, 
 though she had no notion what he was at. But 
 when the work was finished he took her into the 
 secret and read his letter to her, and he almost 
 choked as he did so. Yet he smiled rapturously 
 through his woe, and she knew no better than to 
 be proud of him, and he awoke next morning 
 with a cold, brought on you can see how, but his 
 triumph was worth its price. 
 
 465 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 Having read the letter in an uncanny silence, 
 Mr. Cathro unbottled Tommy for the details, and 
 out they came with a rush, blowing away the cork 
 discretion. Yet was the Dominie slow to strike; 
 he seemed to find more satisfaction in surveying 
 his young friend with a wondering gaze that had 
 a dash of admiration in it, which Tommy was the 
 first to note. ^ 
 
 " I don't mind admitting before the whole 
 school," said Mr. Cathro, slowly, " that if these 
 letters had been addressed to me they would have 
 taken me in." 
 
 Tommy tried to look modest, but his chest 
 would have its way. 
 
 " You little sacket," cried the Dominie, " how 
 did you manage it ? " 
 
 " I think I thought I was Betsy at the time," 
 Tommy answered, with proper awe. 
 
 " She told me nothing about the weeping-willow 
 at the grave," said the Dominie, perhaps in self- 
 defence. 
 
 " You hadna speired if there was one," retorted 
 Tommy, jealously. 
 
 " What made you think of it? " 
 
 " I saw it might come in neat." (He had said 
 in the letter that the weeping-willow reminded 
 him of the days when Janet's bonny hair hung 
 down kissing her waist 'ust as the willow kissed 
 the grave.) 
 
 466 
 
THE BRANDING OF TOMMY 
 
 "Willows don't hang so low as you seem to 
 think," said the Dominie. 
 
 "Yes, they do," replied Tommy; "I walked 
 three miles to see one to make sure. I was near 
 putting in another beautiful bit about weeping- 
 willows." 
 
 " Well, why didn't you ? " 
 
 Tommy looked up with an impudent snigger. 
 " You could never guess," he said. 
 
 " Answer me at once," thundered his preceptor. 
 " Was it because " 
 
 "No," interrupted Tommy, so conscious of 
 Mr. Cathro's inferiority that to let him go on 
 seemed waste of time. " It was because, though 
 it is a beautiful thing in itself, I felt a servant las- 
 sie wouldna have thought o't. I was sweer," he ad- 
 mitted, with a sigh ; then firmly, "but I cut it out." 
 
 Again Cathro admired, reluctantly. The hack 
 does feel the difference between himself and the 
 artist. Cathro might possibly have had the idea, 
 he could not have cut it out. 
 
 But the hack is sometimes, or usually, or nearly 
 always the artist's master, and can make him suffer 
 for his dem'd superiority. 
 
 "What made you snivel when you read the 
 pathetic bits ? " asked Cathro, with itching fingers. 
 
 " I was so sorry for Peter and Mrs. Dinnie," 
 Tommy answered, a little puzzled himself now 
 " I saw them so clear." 
 
 467 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 "And yet until Betsy came to you, you had 
 never heard tell of them ? " 
 
 "No." 
 
 " And on reflection you don't care a doit about 
 them?" 
 
 »N-no." 
 
 " And you care as little for Betsy ? " 
 
 " No now, but at the time I a kind of thought 
 I was to be married to Andrew." 
 
 " And even while you blubbered you were say- 
 ing to yourself, ' What a clever billie I am ! ' " 
 
 Mr. Cathro had certainly intended to end the 
 scene with the strap, but as he stretched out his 
 hand for it he had another idea. " Do you know 
 why Nether Drumgley's sheep are branded with 
 the letters N. D. ? " he asked his pupils, and a 
 dozen replied, " So as all may ken wha they be- 
 long to." 
 
 "Precisely," said Mr. Cathro, "and similarly they 
 used to brand a letter on a felon, so that all might 
 know whom he belonged to." He crossed to the 
 fireplace, and, picking up a charred stick, wrote 
 with it on the forehead of startled Tommy the 
 letters "S.T." 
 
 " Now," said the Dominie complacently, " we 
 know to whom Tommy belongs." 
 
 All were so taken aback that for some seconds 
 nothing could be heard save Tommy indignantly 
 
 468 
 
THE BRANDING OF TOMMY 
 
 wiping his brow ; then " Wha is he ? " cried one, 
 the mouthpiece of half a hundred. 
 
 " He is one of the two proprietors we have just 
 been speaking of," replied Cathro, dryly, and turn- 
 ing again to Tommy, he said, " Wipe away. Sen* 
 timental Tommy, try hot water, try cold water, try 
 a knife, but you will never get those letters oft you ; 
 you are branded for ever and ever." 
 
 40g 
 
CHAPTER XXXVI 
 
 or FOUR MINISTERS WHO AFTERWARDS BOASTED THAT 
 THEV HAD KNOWN TOMMY SANDYS 
 
 Bursary examination time had come, and to the 
 siege of Aberdeen marched a hungry half-dozen — 
 three of them from Thrums, two from the Glen- 
 quharity school. The sixth was Tod Lindertis, a 
 ploughman from the Dubb of Prosen, his place 
 of study the bothy after lousing time (Do you hear 
 the klink of quoits ?) or a one-roomed house near 
 it, his tutor a dogged little woman, who knew not 
 the accusative from the dative, but never tired of 
 holding the book while Tod recited. Him some- 
 one greets with the good-natured jeer, " It's your 
 fourth try, is it no. Tod ? " and he answers cheerily, 
 " It is, my lathie, and I'll keep kick, kick, kicking 
 away to the /zth time." 
 
 "Which means till the door flies open," says 
 the dogged little woman, who is the gallant Tod's 
 no less gallant wife, and already the mother of 
 two. I hope Tod will succeed this time. 
 
 The competitors, who were to travel part of the 
 way on their shanks, met soon after daybreak in 
 Cathro's yard, where a little crowd awaited them, 
 
 4-70 
 
FOUR MINISTERS 
 
 parents trying to look humble, Mr. Duthie and 
 Ramsay Cameron thinking of the morning when 
 they set off on the same errand — but the results 
 were different, and Mr. Duthie is now a minister, 
 and Ramsay is in the middle of another wob. Both 
 dominies were present, hating each other for that 
 day only, up to the mouth, where their icy polite- 
 ness was a thing to shudder at, and each was 
 drilling his detachment to the last moment, but 
 by different methods; for while Mr. Cathro en- 
 treated Joe Meldrum for God's sake to mind that 
 about the genitive, and Willie Simpson to keep 
 his mouth shut and drink even water sparingly, 
 Mr. Ogilvy cracked jokes with Gav Dishart and 
 explained them to Lauchlan McLauchlan. " Think 
 of anything now but what is before you," was Mr. 
 Ogilvy's advice. " Think of nothing else," roared 
 Mr. Cathro. But though Mr. Ogilvy seemed 
 outwardly calm it was base pretence; his dickie 
 gradually wriggled through the opening of his 
 waistcoat, as if bearing a protest from his inward 
 parts, and he let it hang crumpled and conspicu- 
 ous, while Grizel, on the outskirts of the crowd, 
 yearned to put it right. 
 
 Grizel was not there ; she told several people, 
 including herself, to say good-by to Tommy, and 
 oh, how she scorned Elspeth for looking as if life 
 would not be endurable without him. Knowing 
 what Elspeth was, Tommy had decided that she 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 should not accompany him to the yard (of course 
 she was to follow him to Aberdeen if he distin- 
 guished himself — Mr. McLean had promised to 
 bring her), but she told him of her dream that he 
 headed the bursary list, and as this dream coincided 
 with some dreams of his own, though not with all, 
 it seemed to give her such fortitude that he let 
 her come. An expressionless face was Tommy's, 
 so that not even the experienced dominie of Glen- 
 quharity, covertly scanning his rival's lot, could 
 tell whether he was gloomy or uplifted ; he did 
 not seem to be in need of a long sleep like Willie 
 Simpson, nor were his eyes glazed like Gav Dish- 
 art's, who carried all the pfbblems of Euclid be- 
 fore him on an invisible blackboard and dared not 
 even wink lest he displaced them, nor did he, like 
 Tod Lindertis, answer questions about his money 
 pocket or where he had stowed his bread and 
 cheese with 
 
 " After envy, spare, obey. 
 The dative put, remember, pray." 
 
 Mr. Ogilvy noticed that Cathro tapped his fore- 
 head, doubtfully, every time his eyes fell on Tommy, 
 but otherwise shunned him, and he asked, " What 
 are his chances ? " 
 
 " That's the laddie," replied Mr. Cathro, " who, 
 when you took her ladyship to see Corp Shiach 
 
 years ago impersona " 
 
 472 
 
FOUR MINISTERS 
 
 *' 1 know," Mr. Ogilvy interrupted him hastily, 
 " but how will he stand, think you ? " 
 
 Mr. Cathro coughed. "We'll see," he said 
 guardedly. 
 
 Nevertheless Tommy was not to get round the 
 corner without betraying a little of himself, for El- 
 speth, having borne up magnificently when he 
 shook hands, screamed at the tragedy of his back 
 and fell into the arms of Tod's wife, whereupon 
 Tommy first tried to brazen it out and then kissed 
 her in the presence of a score of witnesses, includ- 
 ing Grizel, who stamped her foot, though what 
 right had she to be so angry "? " I'm sure," El- 
 speth sobbed, " that the professor would let me sit 
 beside you ; I would just hunker on the floor and 
 hold your foot and no say a word." Tommy gave 
 Todd's wife an imploring look, and she managed 
 to comfort Elspeth with predictions of his coming 
 triumph and the reunion to follow. Grateful El- 
 speth in return asked Tommy to help Tod when 
 the professors were not looking, and he promised, 
 after which she had no more fear for Tod. 
 
 And now, ye drums that we all carry in our 
 breasts, beat your best over the bravest sight ever 
 seen in a small Scotch town of an autumn morning, 
 the departure of its fighting lads for the lists at 
 Aberdeen. Let the tune be the sweet familiar one 
 you found somewhere in the Bible long ago, " The 
 mothers we leave behind us " — leave behind us 
 
 473 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 on their knees. May it dirl through your bones, 
 brave boys, to the end, as you hope not to be 
 damned. And now, quick march. 
 
 A week has elapsed, and now — there is no call 
 for music now, for these are but the vanquished 
 crawling back, Joe Meldrum and — and another. 
 No, it is not Tod, he stays on in Aberdeen, for he 
 is a twelve-pound tenner. The two were within a 
 mile of Thrums at three o'clock, but after that 
 they lagged, waiting for the gloaming, when they 
 stole to their homes, ducking as they passed win- 
 dows without the blinds down. Elspeth ran to 
 Tommy when he appeared in the doorway, and 
 then she got quickly between him and Aaron, 
 The warper was sitting by the fire at his evening 
 meal, and he gave the wanderer a long steady look, 
 then without a word returned to his porridge and 
 porter. It was a less hearty welcome home even 
 than Joe's ; his mother was among those who had 
 wept to lose her son, but when he came back to 
 her she gave him a whack on the head with the 
 thieval. 
 
 j Aaron asked not a question about those days 
 in Aberdeen, but he heard a little about them 
 from Elspeth. Tommy had not excused himself 
 to Elspeth, he had let her do as she liked with his 
 head (this was a great treat to her), and while it 
 lay pressed against hers, she made remarks about 
 Aberdeen professors which it would have done 
 
 474 
 
FOUR MINISTERS 
 
 them good to hear. These she repeated to Aaron, 
 who was about to answer roughly, and then sud- 
 denly put her on his knee instead. 
 
 " They didna ask the right questions," she told 
 him, and when the warper asked if Tommy had 
 said so, she declared that he had refused to say a 
 word against them, which seemed to her to cover 
 him with glory. "But he doubted they would 
 make that mistake afore he started," she said 
 brightly, " so you see he saw through them afore 
 he ever set eyes on them." 
 
 Corp would have replied admiringly to this 
 "Oh, the little deevill" When he heard of 
 Tommy's failure he wanted to fight Gav Dishart 
 and Willie Simpson, but Aaron was another kind 
 of confidant, and even when she explained on 
 Tommy's authority that there are two kinds of 
 cleverness, the kind you learn from books and a 
 kind that is inside yourself, which latter was 
 Tommy's kind, he only replied: 
 
 " He can take it wi' him to the herding, then, 
 and see if it'll keep the cattle frae stravaiging." 
 
 " It's no that kind of cleverness either," said 
 Elspeth, quaking, and quaked also Tommy, who 
 had gone to the garret, to listen through the floor. 
 
 " No ? I would like to ken what use his clever- 
 ness can be put to, then," said Aaron, and Elspeth 
 answered nothing, and Tommy only sighed, for 
 that indeed was the problem. But though to these 
 
 475 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 three and to Cathro, and to Mr. and Mrs. McLean 
 and to others more mildly interested, it seemed a 
 problem beyond solution, there was one in Thrums 
 who rocked her arms at their denseness, a girl 
 growing so long in the legs that twice within the 
 last year she had found it necessary to let down 
 her parramatty frock. As soon as she heard that 
 Tommy had come home vanquished, she put on 
 the quaint blue bonnet with the white strings, in 
 which she fondly believed she looked ever so old 
 (her period of mourning was at an end, but she 
 still wore her black dress), and forgetting all ex- 
 cept that he was unhappy, she ran to a certain 
 little house to comfort him. But she did not go 
 in, for through the window she saw Elspeth pet- 
 ting him, and that somehow annoyed her. In the 
 evening, however, she called on Mr. Cathro. 
 
 Perhaps you want to know why she, who at 
 last saw Sentimental Tommy irt his true light and 
 spurned him accordingly, now exerted herself in 
 his behalf instead of going on with the papering 
 of the surgery. Well, that was the reason. She 
 had put the question to herself before — not, in- 
 deed, before going to Monypenny, but before call- 
 ing on the Dominie — and decided that she wanted 
 to send Tommy to college, because she disliked 
 him so much that she could not endure the pros- 
 pect of his remaining in Thrums. Now, are you 
 satisfied ? 
 
 476 
 
FOUR MINISTERS 
 
 She could scarcely take time to say good-evctv: 
 ing to Mr. Cathro before telling him the object 
 of her visit " The letters Tommy has been writ- 
 ing for people are very clever, are they not ? " she 
 began. 
 
 " You've heard of them, have you ? " 
 
 " Everybody has heard of them," she said in-, 
 judiciously, and he groaned and asked if she had 
 come to tell him this. But he admitted their 
 cleverness, whereupon she asked, " Well, if he is 
 clever at writing letters, would he not be clever at 
 writing an essay ? " 
 
 " I wager my head against a snuff mull that he 
 would be, but what are you driving at ? " 
 
 " I was wondering whether he could not win 
 the prize I heard Dr. McQueen speaking about, 
 the — is it not called the Hugh Blackadder ? " 
 
 " My head against a buckie that he could ! Sit 
 down, Grizel, I see what you mean now. Ay, 
 but the pity is he's not eligible for the Hugh 
 Blackadder. Oh, that he was, oh, that he was! 
 I would make Ogilvy of Glenquharity sing small 
 at last! His loons have carried the Blackadder 
 for the last seven years without a break. The 
 Hugh Blackaddei Mortification, the bequest is 
 called, and, 'deed, it has been a sore mortification 
 to me ! " 
 
 Calming down, he toljj her the story of the 
 bequest. Hugh Blackadder was a Thrums man 
 
 477 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 who made a fortune in America, and bequeathed 
 the interest of three hundred pounds of it to be 
 competed for yearly by the youth of his native 
 place. He had grown fond of Thrums and all 
 its ways over there, and left directions that the 
 prize should be given for the best essay in the 
 Scots tongue, the ministers of the town and glens 
 to be the judges, the competitors to be boys who 
 were going to college but had not without it the 
 wherewithal to support themselves. The minis- 
 ters took this to mean that those who carried 
 small bursaries were eligible, and indeed it had 
 usually gone to a bursar. 
 
 "Sentimental Tommy would not have been 
 able to compete if he had got a bursary," Mr. 
 Cathro explained, " because however small it was 
 Mr. McLean meant to double it; and he can't 
 compete without it, for McLean refuses to help 
 him now (he was here an hour since, saying 
 the laddie was obviously hopeless), so I never 
 thought of entering Tommy for the Blackadder. 
 No, it will go to Ogilvy's Lauchlan McLauchlan, 
 who is a twelve-pounder, and, as there can be i>o 
 competitors he'll get it without the trouble of 
 coming back to write the essay." 
 
 " But suppose Mr. McLean were willing to do 
 what he promised if Tommy won the Black- 
 adder?" 
 
 " It's useless to appeal to McLean. He's hard 
 478 
 
FOUR MINISTERS 
 
 set against the laddie now and washes his hands 
 of him, saying that Aaron Latta is right after all. 
 He may soften, and get Tommy into a trade to 
 save him from the herding, but send him to col- 
 lege he won't, and indeed he's right, the laddie's 
 a fool." 
 
 " Not at writing let " 
 
 " And what is the effect of his letter-writing, 
 but to make me ridiculous ? Me ! I wonder you 
 can expect me to move a finger for him ; he has 
 been my torment ever since his inscrutable face 
 appeared at my door." 
 
 "Never mind him," said Grizel, cunningly. 
 " But think what a triumph it would be to you 
 if your boy beat Mr. Ogilvy's." 
 
 The dominie rose in his excitement and 
 slammed the table. " My certie, lassie, but it 
 would!" he cried. "Ogilvy looks on the Black- 
 adder as his perquisite, and he's surer of it than 
 ever this year. And there's no doubt but Tommy 
 would carry it. My head to a buckie preen he 
 would carry it, and then, oh, for a sight of Ogil- 
 vy's face, oh, for " He broke off abruptly. 
 
 " But what's the good of thinking of it ? " he said, 
 dolefully. "Mr. McLean's a firm man when he 
 makes up his mind." 
 
 Nevertheless, though McLean, who had a Scotch- 
 man's faith in the verdict of professors, and had 
 been bitterly disappointed by Tommy's failure, re- 
 
 479 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 fused to be converted by the Dominie's entreaties, 
 he yielded to them when they were voiced by 
 Ailie (brought into the plot vice Grizel retired), 
 and Elspeth got round Aaron, and so it came 
 about that with his usual luck, Tommy was given 
 another chance, present at the competition, which 
 took place in the Thrums school, the Rev, Mr. 
 Duthie, the Rev. Mr. Dishart, the Rev. Mr. Gloag 
 of Noran Side, the Rev. Mr. Lorrimer of Glen- 
 quharity (these on hair-bottomed chairs), and Mr, 
 Cathro and Mr. Ogilvy (cane) ; present also to a 
 less extent (that is to say, their faces at the win- 
 dows), Corp and others who applauded the local 
 champion when he entered and derided McLauch- 
 lan. The subject of the essay was changed yearly, 
 this time " A Day in Church " was announced, and 
 immediately Lauchlan McLauchlan, who had not 
 missed a service since his scarlet fever year (and 
 too few then), smote his red head in agony, while 
 Tommy, who had missed as many as possible, looked 
 calmly confident. For two hours the competitors 
 were put into a small room communicating with the 
 larger one, and Tommy began at once with a con- 
 fident smirk that presently gave way to a most 
 holy expression; while Lauchlan gaped at him 
 and at last got started also, but had to pause oc- 
 casionally to rub his face on his sleeve, for, like 
 Corp, he was one of the kind who cannot think 
 without perspiring. In the large room the minis- 
 
 d8o 
 
FOUR MINISTERS 
 
 /ers gossmed about eternal punishment, and of the 
 two dominies one sat at his ease, like a passenger 
 who knows that the coach will reach the goal 
 without any exertion on his part, while the other 
 paced the floor, with many a despondent glance 
 through the open door whence the scraping pro- 
 ceeded ; and the one was pleasantly cool ; and the 
 other in a plot of heat ; and the one made genial 
 remarks about everyday matters, and the answers 
 of the other stood on their heads. It was a famil- 
 iar comedy to Mr. Ogilvy, hardly a variation on 
 what had happened five times in six for many 
 years: the same scene, the same scraping in the 
 little room, the same background of ministers 
 (blackaviced Mr. Lorrimer had begun to bark 
 again), the same dominies; everything was as it 
 had so often been, except that he and Cathro had 
 changed places; it was Cathro who sat smiling 
 now and Mr. Ogilvy who dolefully paced the floor. 
 To be able to write I Throughout Mr. Ogilvy's 
 life, save when he was about one and twenty, this 
 had seemed the great thing, and he ever approached 
 the thought reverently, as if it were a maid of 
 more than mortal purity. And it is, and because 
 he knew this she let him see her face, which shall 
 ever be hidden from those who look not for the 
 soul, and to help him nearer to her came assistance 
 in strange guise, the loss of loved ones, dolour un- 
 utterable; but still she was beyond his reach. 
 
 481 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 Night by night, when the only light in the glen 
 was the schoolhouse lamp, of use at least as a land- 
 mark to solitary travellers — who miss it no^*^adays, 
 for it burns no more — she hovered over him, nor 
 did she deride his hopeless efforts, but rather as she 
 saw him go from black to gray and from gray to 
 white in her service, were her luminous eyes sor- 
 rowful because she was not for him, and she bent 
 impulsively toward him, so that once or twice in a 
 long life he touched her fingers, and a heavenly 
 spark was lit, for he had risen higher than himself, 
 and that is literature. 
 
 He knew that oblivion was at hand, ready to 
 sweep away his pages almost as soon as they were 
 filled (Do we not all hear her besom when we 
 pause to dip ?), but he had done his best and he 
 had a sense of humour, and perhaps some day would 
 come a pupil of whom he could make what he had 
 failed to make of himself That prodigy never did 
 come, though it was not for want of nursing, and 
 there came at last, in succession most madden- 
 ing to Mr. Cathro, a row of youths who could 
 be trained to carry the Hugh Blackadder. Mr. 
 Ogilvy's many triumphs in this competition had 
 not dulled his appetite for more, and depressed 
 he was at the prospect of a reverse. That it was 
 coming now he could not doubt. McLauchlan, 
 who was to be Rev., had a flow of words (which 
 would prevent his perspiring much in the pulpit), 
 
 482 
 
FOUR MINISTERS 
 
 but he could no more describe a familiar scene 
 with the pen than a milkmaid can draw a cow. 
 The Thrums representatives were sometimes as 
 little gifted, it is true, and never were they so well 
 exercised, but this Tommy had the knack of it, 
 as Mr. Ogilvy could not doubt, for the story of his 
 letter-writing had been through the glens. 
 
 "Keep up your spirits," Mr. Lorrimer had 
 said to him as they walked together to the fray, 
 " Cathro's loon may compose the better of the 
 two, but, as I understand, the first years of his life 
 were spent in London, and so he may bogle at the 
 Scotch." 
 
 But the Dominie replied, " Don't buoy me up 
 on a soap bubble. If there's as much in him as I 
 fear, that should be a help to him instead of a 
 hindrance, for it will have set him a-thinking about 
 the words he uses." 
 
 And the satisfaction on Tommy's face when the 
 subject of the essay was given out, with the busi- 
 ness-like way in which he set to work, had added 
 to the Dominie's misgivings ; if anything was re- 
 quired to dishearten him utterly it was provided 
 by Cathro's confident smile. The two Thrums 
 ministers were naturally desirous that Tommy 
 should win, but the younger of them was very 
 fond of Mr. Ogilvy, and noticing his unhappy 
 peeps through the door dividing the rooms, pro- 
 posed that it should be closed. He shut it him- 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 self, and as he did so he observed that Tommy was 
 biting his pen and frowning, while McLauchlan, 
 having ceased to think, was getting on nicely^ But 
 it did not strike Mr. Dishart that this was worth 
 commenting on. 
 
 "Are you not satisfied with the honours you 
 have already got, you greedy man ? " he said, lay- 
 ing his hand affectionately on Mr. Ogilvy, who 
 only sighed for reply. 
 
 " It is well that the prize should go to different 
 localities, for in that way its sphere of usefulness 
 is extended," remarked pompous Mr. Gloag, who 
 could be impartial, as there was no candidate 
 from Noran Side. He was a minister much in 
 request for church soirees, where he amused the 
 congregations so greatly with personal anecdote 
 about himself that they never thought much of 
 him afterwards. There is one such minister in 
 every presbytery. 
 
 "And to have carried the Hugh Blackadder 
 seven times running is surely enough for any one 
 locality, even though it be Glenquharity," said 
 Mr. Lorrimer, preparing for defeat. 
 
 "There's consolation for you, sir," said Mr. 
 Cathro, sarcastically, to his rival, who tried to 
 take snuflF in sheer bravado, but let it slip through 
 his fingers, and after that until the two hours were 
 up, the talk was chiefly of how Tommy would 
 get on at Aberdeen. But it was confined to the 
 
 484 
 
FOUR MINISTERS 
 
 four ministers and one dominie. Mr. Ogilvy still 
 hovered about the door of communication, and 
 his fece fell more and more, making Mr. Dishart 
 quite unhappy. 
 
 " I'm an old fool," the Dominie admitted, " but 
 I can't help being cast down. The fact is that — 
 I have only heard the scrape of one pen for nearly 
 an hour." 
 
 " Poor Lauchlan ! " exclaimed Mr. Cathro, 
 rubbing his hands gleefully, and indeed it was 
 such a shameless exhibition that the Auld Licht 
 minister said reproachfully, " You forget yourself, 
 Mr. Cathro, let us not be unseemly exalted in the 
 hour of our triumph." 
 
 Then Mr. Cathro sat upon his hands as the 
 best way of keeping them apart, but the moment 
 Mr. Dishart's back presented itself, he winked at 
 Mr. Ogilvy. 
 
 He winked a good deal more presently. 
 
 For after all — how to tell it! Tommy waa 
 ignominiously beaten, making such a beggarly 
 show that the judges thought it unnecessary to 
 take the essays home with them for leisurely con- 
 sideration before pronouncing Mr. Lauchlan Mc- 
 Lauchlan winner. There was quite a commotion 
 in the school-room. At the end of the allotted 
 time the two competitors had been told to hand 
 in their essays, and how Mr. McLauchlan was 
 sniggering is not worth recording, so dumfbunded, 
 
 485 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 confused and raging was Tommy. He clung to 
 his papers, crying fiercely that the two hours could 
 not be up yet, and Lauchlan having tried to keep 
 the laugh in too long it exploded in his mouth, 
 whereupon, said he, with a guffaw, "He hasna 
 written a word for near an hour ! " 
 
 "What! It was you I heard!" cried Mr. 
 Ogilvy, gleaming, while the unhappy Cathro tore 
 the essay from Tommy's hands. Essay ! It was 
 no more an essay than a twig is a tree, for the 
 gowk had stuck in the middle of his second page. 
 Yes, stuck is the right expression, as his chagrined 
 teacher had to admit when the boy was cross-ex- 
 amined. He had not been " up to some of his 
 tricks," he had stuck, and his explanations, as you 
 will admit, merely emphasized his incapacity. 
 
 He had brought himself to public scorn for lack 
 of a word. What word ? they asked testily, but 
 even now he could not tell. He had wanted a 
 Scotch word that would signify how many people 
 were in church, and it was on the tip of his tongue 
 but would come no farther. Puckle was nearly 
 the word, but it did not mean so many people as 
 he meant. The hour had gone by just like wink- 
 ing ; he had forgotten all about time while search' 
 ing his mind for the word. 
 
 When Mr. Ogilvy heard this he seemed to be 
 much impressed, repeatedly he nodded his head 
 as some beat time to music, and he muttered 
 
 486 
 
FOUR MINISTERS 
 
 to himself, " The right word — yes, that's every- 
 thing," and " ' the time went by like winking * — 
 exactly, precisely," and he would have liked to 
 examine Tommy's bumps, but did not, nor said 
 a word aloud, for was he not there in McLauch- 
 lan's interest? 
 
 The other five were furious ; even Mr. Lorrimer, 
 though his man had won, could not smile in face 
 of such imbecility. "You little tattie-doolie," 
 Cathro roared, " were there not a dozen words to 
 wile from if you had an ill-will to puckle 1 What 
 ailed you at manzy, or " 
 
 " I thought of manzy," replied Tommy woe- 
 fully, for he was ashamed of himself, "but — but 
 a manzy's a swarm. It would mean that the folk 
 in the kirk were buzzing thegither like bees, in- 
 stead of sitting still." 
 
 " Even if it does mean that," said Mr. Duthie, 
 with impatience, " what was the need of being so 
 particular? Surely the art of essay-writing con- 
 sists in using the first word that comes and hurry- 
 ing on." 
 
 " That's how I did," said the proud McLauch- 
 lan, who is now leader of a party in the church, 
 and a figure in Edinburgh during the month of 
 May. 
 
 " I see," interposed Mr. Gloag, " that McLauch- 
 lan speaks of there being a mask of people in the 
 church. Mask is a fine Scotch word." 
 
 487 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 "Admirable," assented Mr. Dishart. 
 
 " I thought of mask," whimpered Tommy, "but 
 that would mean the kirk was crammed, and I 
 just meant it to be middling full." 
 
 " Flow would have done," suggested Mr. Lor- 
 rimer. 
 
 " Flow's but a handful," said Tommy. 
 
 " Curran, then, you jackanapes ! " 
 
 " Curran's no enough." 
 
 Mr. Lorrimer flung up his hands in despair. 
 
 " I wanted something between curran and mask," 
 said Tommy, dogged, yet almost at the crying. 
 
 Mr. Ogilvy, who had been hiding his admira- 
 tion with difficulty, spread a net for him. " You 
 said you wanted a word that meant middling full. 
 Well, why did you not say middling full — or fell 
 mask?" 
 
 " Yes, why not ? " demanded the ministers, un- 
 consciously caught in the net. 
 
 " I wanted one word," replied Tommy, uncon- 
 sciously avoiding it. 
 
 " You jewel ! " muttered Mr. Ogilvy under his 
 breath, but Mr. Cathro would have banged the 
 boy's head had not the ministers interfered. 
 
 " It is so easy, too, to find the right word," said 
 Mr. Gloag. 
 
 " It's no ; it's as difficult as to hit a squirrel," 
 cried Tommy, and again Mr. Ogilvy nodded ap- 
 proval. 
 
 488 
 
FOUR MINISTERS 
 
 But the ministers were only pained. 
 
 " The lad is merely a numskull," said Mr. Dish- 
 art, kindly. 
 
 "And no teacher could have turned him into 
 anything else," said Mr. Duthie. 
 
 " And so, Cathro, you need not feel sore over 
 your defeat," added Mr. Gloag; but nevertheless 
 Cathro took Tommy by the neck and ran him out 
 of the parish school of Thrums. When he re- 
 turned to the others he found the ministers con- 
 gratulating McLauchlan, whose nose was in the 
 air, and complimenting Mr. Ogilvy, who listened 
 to their formal phrases solemnly and accepted their 
 hand-shakes with a dry chuckle. 
 
 " Ay, grin away, sir," the mortified dominie of 
 Thrums said to him sourly, " the joke is on your 
 side." 
 
 " You are right, sir," replied Mr. Ogilvy, mys- 
 teriously, "the joke is on my side, and the best of 
 it is that not one of you knows what the joke is ! " 
 
 And then an odd thing happened. As they 
 were preparing to leave the school, the door opened 
 a. little and there appeared in the aperture the face 
 of Tommy, tear-stained but excited. " I ken the 
 word now," he cried, " it came to me a' at once ; 
 it is hantle ! " 
 
 The door closed with a victorious bang, just in 
 time to prevent Cathro 
 
 "Oh, the sumph!" exclaimed Mr. Lauchlan 
 4«9 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 McLauchlan, " as if it mattered what the word is 
 
 now ! " 
 
 And said Mr. Dishart, " Cathro, you had better 
 tell Aaron Latta that the sooner he sends this nin- 
 compoop to the herding the better." 
 
 But Mr. Ogilvy giving his Lauchlan a push that 
 nearly sent him sprawling, said in an ecstasy to 
 himself, " He had to think of it till he got it — 
 and he got it. The laddie is a genius ! " They 
 were about to tear up Tommy's essay, but he 
 snatched it from them and put it in his outer 
 pocket. " I am a collector of curiosities," he ex- 
 plained, "and this paper may be worth money 
 yet." 
 
 "Well," said Cathro, savagely, "I have one 
 satisfaction, I ran him out of my school." 
 
 " Who knows," replied Mr. Ogilvy, " but what 
 you may be proud to dust a chair for him when 
 he comes back ? " 
 
CHAPTER XXXVII 
 
 THE END OF A BOYHOOD 
 
 Convinced of his own worthlessness, Tommy was 
 sufficiently humble now, but Aaron Latta, never- 
 theless, marched to the square on the following 
 market day and came back with the boy's sen- 
 tence, Elspeth being happily absent. 
 
 " I say nothing about the disgrace you have 
 brought on this house," the warper began without 
 emotion, "for it has been a shamed house since 
 afore you were bom, and it's a small offence to 
 skail on a clarty floor. But now I've done more 
 for you than I promised Jean Myles to do, and 
 you had your pick atween college and the herding, 
 and the herding you've chosen twice. I call you 
 no names, you ken best what you're fitted for, but 
 I've seen the farmer of the Dubb of Prosen the 
 day, and he was short-handed through the loss 
 of Tod Lindertis, so you're fee'd to him. Dinna 
 think you get Tod's place, it'll be years afore you 
 rise to that, but it's right and proper that as he 
 steps up, you should step down." 
 
 491 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 " The Dubb of Prosen ! " cried Tommy in dis- 
 may. " It's fifteen miles frae here." 
 
 " It's a' that." 
 
 " But — but — but Elspeth and me never thought 
 of my being so far away that she couldna see me 
 We thought of a farmer near Thrums." 
 
 " The farther you're frae her the better," said 
 Aaron, uneasily, yet. honestly believing what he 
 said. 
 
 " It'll kill her," Tommy cried fiercely. With 
 only his own suffering to consider he would prob* 
 ably have nursed it into a play through which he 
 stalked as the noble child of misfortune, but in his 
 anxiety for Elspeth he could still forget himself 
 "Fine you ken she canna do without me," he 
 screamed. 
 
 "She maun be weaned," replied the warper, 
 with a show of temper; he was convinced that 
 the sooner Elspeth learned to do without Tommy 
 the better it would be for herself in the end, but 
 in his way of regarding the boy there was also a 
 touch of jealousy, pathetic rather than forbidding. 
 To him he left the task of breaking the news to 
 Elspeth; and Tommy, terrified lest she should 
 swoon under it, was almost offended when she re- 
 mained calm. But, alas, the reason was that she 
 thought she was going with him. 
 
 " Will we have to walk all the way to the Dubb 
 of Prosen ? " she asked, quite brightly, and at that 
 
 492 
 
THE END OF A BOYHOOD 
 
 Tommy twisted about in misery. " You are no 
 — you canna — " he began, and then dodged the 
 telling. " We — we may get a lift in a cart," he 
 said weakly. 
 
 " And I'll sit aside you in the fields, and make 
 chains o' the gowans, will I no ? Speak, Tommy I " 
 
 "Ay — ay, will you," he groaned. 
 
 " And we'll have a wee, wee room to oursel's, 
 and " 
 
 He broke down. " Oh, Elspeth," he cried, " it 
 was ill-done of me no to stick to my books, and 
 get a bursary, and it was waur o' me to bother 
 about that word. I'm a scoundrel, I am, I'm a 
 black, I'm a " 
 
 But she put her hand on his mouth, saying, 
 "I'm fonder o' you than ever. Tommy, and I'll 
 like the Dubb o' Prosen fine, and what does it 
 matter where we are when we're thegither ? " 
 which was poor comfort for him, but still he could 
 not tell her the truth, and so in the end Aaron had 
 to tell her. It struck her down, and the doctor 
 had to be called in during the night to stop her 
 hysterics. When at last she fell asleep Tommy's 
 arm was beneath her, and by and by it was in 
 agony, but he set his teeth and kept it there rather 
 than risk waking her. 
 
 When Tommy was out of the way, Aaron did 
 his clumsy best to soothe her, sometimes half- 
 shamefacedly pressing her cheek to his, and she 
 
 493 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 did not repel him, but there was no response. 
 " Dinna take on in that way, dawtie," he would 
 say, " I'll be good to you." 
 
 " But you're no Tommy," Elspeth answered. 
 
 " I'm not, I'm but a stunted tree, blasted in my 
 youth, but for a' that, I would like to have some- 
 body to care for me, and there's none to do't, El- 
 speth, if you winna. I'll gang walks wi' you. I'll 
 take you to the fishing, I'll come to the garret at 
 night to hap you up, I'll — I'll teach you the games I 
 used to play mysel'. I'm no sure but whatyou might 
 make something o' me yet, bairn, if you tried hard." 
 
 " But you're no Tommy," Elspeth wailed again, 
 and when he advised her to put Tommy out of 
 her mind for a little and speak of other things, she 
 only answered innocently, " What else is there to 
 speak about ? "' 
 
 Mr. McLeai. had sent Tommy a pound, and so 
 was done with him, but Ailie still thought him 
 a dear, though no longer a wonder, and Elspeth 
 took a strange confession to her, how one night 
 she was so angry with God that she had gone to 
 bed without saying her prayers. She had just 
 meant to keep Him in suspense for a little, and 
 then say them, but she fell asleep. And that was 
 not the worst, for when she woke in the morning, 
 and saw that she was still living, she -was glad 
 she had not said them. But next night she said 
 them twice. 
 
 494 
 
THE END OF A BOYHOOD 
 
 And this, too, is another flash into her dark char- 
 acter. Tommy, who never missed saying his 
 prayers and could say them with surprising quick- 
 ness, told her, " God is fonder of lonely lasses than 
 of any other kind, and every time you greet it 
 makes Him greet, and when you're cheerful it 
 makes Him cheerful too." This was meant to 
 dry her eyes, but it had not that effect, for, said 
 Elspeth, vindictively, " Well, then, I'll just make 
 Him as miserable as I can." 
 
 When Tommy was merely concerned with his 
 own affairs he did not think much about God, but 
 he knew that no other could console Elspeth, and 
 his love for her usually told him the right things 
 to say, and while he said them he was quite carried 
 away by his sentiments and even wept over them, 
 but within the hour he might be leering. They 
 were beautiful, and were repeated of course to Mrs. 
 McLean, who told her husband of them, declaring 
 that this boy's love for his sister made her a better 
 woman. 
 
 " But nevertheless," said Ivie, " Mr. Cathro as- 
 sures me " 
 
 "He is prejudiced," retorted Mrs. McLean 
 warmly, prejudice being a failing which all women 
 marvel at. "Just listen to what the boy said to 
 Elspeth to-day. He said to her, 'When I am 
 away, try for a whole day to be better than you 
 ever were before, and think of nothing else, and 
 
 495 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 then when prayer-time comes you will see that 
 you have been happy without knowing it' Fancy 
 his finding that out" 
 
 " I wonder if he ever tried it himself? " said 
 Mr. McLean. 
 
 "Ivie, think shame of yourself!" 
 
 " Well, even Cathro admits that he has a kind 
 of cleverness, but " 
 
 " Cleverness ! " exclaimed Ailie, indignantly, 
 " that is not cleverness, it is holiness ; " and leav- 
 ing the cynic she sought Elspeth, and did her 
 good by pointing out that a girl who had such a 
 brother should try to save him pain. " He is very 
 miserable, dear," she said, "because you are so 
 unhappy. If you looked brighter, think how that 
 would help him, and it would show that you are 
 worthy of him." So Elspeth went home trying 
 hard to look brighter, but made a sad mess of it. 
 
 " Think of getting letters frae me every time 
 the post comes in!" said Tommy, and then in- 
 deed her face shone. 
 
 And then Elspeth could write to him — yes, as 
 often as ever she liked! This pleased her even 
 more. It was such an exquisite thought that she 
 could not wait, but wrote the first one before he 
 started, and he answered it across the table. And 
 Mrs. McLean made a letter-bag, with two strings 
 to it, and showed her how to carry it about with 
 her in a safer place than a pocket. 
 
 496 
 
THE END OF A BOYHOOD 
 
 Then a cheering thing occurred. Came Corp, 
 with the astounding news that, in the Glenqu- 
 harity dominie's opinion, Tommy should have 
 got the Hugh Blackadder. 
 
 " He says he is glad he wasna judge, because 
 he would have had to give you the prize, and he 
 laughs like to split at the ministers for giving it 
 to Lauchlan McLauchlan." 
 
 Now, great was the repute of Mr. Ogilvy, and 
 Tommy gaped incredulous. " He had no word 
 of that at the time," he said. 
 
 "No likely! He says if the ministers was so 
 doited as to think his loon did best, it wasna for 
 him to conter them." 
 
 " Marij Corp, you ca' me aff my feet ! How 
 do you ken this ? " 
 
 Corp had promised not to tell, and he thought 
 he did not tell, but Tommy was too clever for 
 him. Grizel, it appeared, had heard Mr. Ogilvy 
 saying this strange thing to the doctor, and she 
 burned to pass it on to Tommy, but she could 
 not carry it to him herself, because — Why was 
 it? Oh, yes, because she hated him. So she 
 made a messenger of Corp, and warned him 
 against telling who had sent him with the news. 
 
 Half enlightened, Tommy began to strut again. 
 "You see there's something in me for all they 
 say," he told Elspeth. " Listen to this. At the 
 bursary examinations there was some English we 
 
 497 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 had to turn into Latin, and it said, ' No man ever 
 attained supreme eminence who worked for mere 
 lucre ; such efforts must ever be bounded by base 
 mediocrity. None shall climb high but he who 
 climbs for love, for in truth where the heart is, 
 there alone shall the treasure be found.' Elspeth, 
 it came ower me in a clink how true that was, and 
 I sat saying it to myself, though I saw Gav Dish- 
 art and Willie Simpson and the rest beginning 
 to put it into Latin at once, as little ta'en up wi' 
 the words as if they had been about auld Hanni- 
 bal. I aye kent, Elspeth, that I could never do 
 much at the learning, but I didna see the reason 
 till I read that. Syne I kent that playing so real- 
 like in the Den, and telling about my fits when it 
 wasna me that had them but Corp, and mourn- 
 ing for Lewis Doig's father, and writing letters for 
 folk so grandly, and a' my other queer ploys that 
 ended in Cathro's calling me Sentimental Tommy, 
 was what my heart was in, and I saw in a jiffy that 
 if thae things were work, I should soon rise to 
 supreme eminence." 
 
 " But they're no," said Elspeth, sadly. 
 
 " No," he admitted, his face falling, " but, El- 
 speth, if I was to hear some day of work I could 
 put my heart into as if it were a game ! I wouldna 
 be lang in finding the treasure syne. Oh, the blat- 
 ter I would make ! " 
 
 "I doubt there's no sic work," she answered, 
 498 
 
THE END OF A BOYHOOD 
 
 but he told her not to be so sure. " I thought 
 there wasna mysel'," he said, " till now, but sure 
 as death my heart was as ta'en up wi' hunting for 
 the right word as if it had been a game, and that 
 was how the time slipped by so quick. Yet it 
 was paying work, for the way I did it made Mr. 
 Ogilvy see I should have got the prize, and a' 
 body kens there's more cleverness in him than in 
 a cart-load o' ministers." 
 
 " But, but there are no more Hugh Blackadders 
 to try for. Tommy ? " 
 
 " That's nothing, there maun be other work o' 
 the same kind. Elspeth, cheer up, I tell you, I'll 
 find a wy." 
 
 " But you didna ken yoursel' that you should 
 have got the Hugh Blackadder ? " 
 
 He would not let this depress him. "I ken 
 now," he said. Nevertheless, why he should have 
 got it was a mystery which he longed to fathom. 
 Mr. Ogilvy had returned to Glenquharity, so 
 that an explanation could not be drawn from him 
 even if he were willing to supply it, which was 
 improbable; but Tommy caught Grizel in the 
 Banker's close and compelled her to speak. 
 
 " I won't tell you a word of what Mr. Ogilvy 
 said," she insisted, in her obstinate way, and, oh, 
 how she despised Corp for breaking his promise. 
 
 " Corp didna ken he telled me," said Tommy, 
 less to clear Corp than to exalt himself " I wrig- 
 
 409 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 gled it out o' him ; " but even this did not bring 
 Griztl to a proper frame of mind, so he said, to 
 annoy her, 
 
 " At any rate you're fond o' me." 
 
 "I am not," she replied, stamping; "I think 
 you are horrid." 
 
 " What else made you send Corp to me ? " 
 
 " I did that because I heard you were calling 
 yourself a blockhead." 
 
 "Oho," said he, "so you have been speiring 
 about me though you winna speak to me ! " 
 
 Grizel looked alarmed, and thinking to weaken 
 his case, said, hastily, " I very nearly kept it from 
 you, I said often to myself ' I won't tell him.' " 
 
 " So you have been thinking a lot about me ! " 
 was his prompt comment 
 
 " If I have," she retorted, " I did not think nice 
 things. And what is more, I was angry with my- 
 self for telling Corp to tell you." 
 
 Surely this was crushing, but apparently Tommy 
 did not think so, for he said, "You did it against 
 your will ! That means I have a power over you 
 that you canna resist. Oho, oho ! " 
 
 Had she become more friendly so should he, 
 had she shed one tear he would have melted im- 
 mediately ; but she only looked him up and down 
 disdainfully, and it hardened him. He said with 
 a leer, " I ken what makes you hold your hands 
 so tight, it's to keep your arms frae wagging; " and 
 
 500 
 
THE END OF A BOYHOOD 
 
 then her cry, " How do you know ? " convicted 
 her. He had not succeeded in his mission, but 
 on his way home he muttered, triumphantly, " I 
 did her, I did her I " and once he stopped to ask 
 himself the question, " Was it because my heart 
 was in it ? " It was their last meeting till they 
 were man and woman. 
 
 A blazing sun had come out on top of heavy 
 showers, and the land reeked and smelled as of the 
 wash-tub. The smaller girls of Monypenny were 
 sitting in passages playing at fivey,justas Sappho, 
 for instance, used to play it; but they heard the 
 Dubb of Prosen cart draw up at Aaron Latta's 
 door, and they followed it to see the last of Tommy 
 Sandys. Corp was already there, calling in at the 
 door every time he heard a sob ; " Dinna, Elspeth, 
 dinna, he'll find a wy," but Grizel had refused to 
 come, though Tommy knew that she had been 
 asking when he started and which road the cart 
 would take. Well, he was not giving her a thought 
 at any rate ; his box was in the cart now, and his 
 face was streaked with tears that were all for El- 
 speth. She should not have come to the door, 
 but she came, and — it was such a pitiable sight 
 that Aaron Latta could not look on. He went 
 hurriedly to his workshop, but not to warp, and 
 even the carter was touched and he said to Tommy, 
 " I tell you what, man, I have to go round by 
 
 501 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 Causeway End smiddy, and you and the crittur 
 have time, if you like, to take the short cut and 
 meet me at the far corner o' Caddam wood." 
 
 So Tommy and Elspeth, holding each other's 
 hands, took the short cut and they came to the 
 far end of Caddam, and Elspeth thought they had 
 better say it here before the cart came ; but Tommy 
 said he should walk back with her through the 
 wood as far as the Toom Well, and they could say 
 it there. They tried to say it at the Well, but — 
 Elspeth was still with him when he returned to the 
 far corner of Caddam, where the cart was now 
 awaiting him. The carter was sitting on the shaft, 
 and he told them he was in no hurry, and what is 
 more, he had the delicacy to turn his back on them 
 and struck his horse with the reins for looking 
 round at the sorrowful pair. They should have 
 said it now, but first Tommy walked back a little 
 bit of the way with Elspeth, and then she came 
 back with him, and that was to be the last time, 
 but he could not leave her, and so, there chey were 
 looking woefully at each other, and it was not 
 said yet. 
 
 They had said it now, and all was over; they 
 were several paces apart. Elspeth smiled, she had 
 promised to smile because Tommy said it would 
 kill him if she was greeting at the very end. But 
 what a smile it was ! Tommy whistled, he had 
 promised to whistle to show that he was happy as 
 
 .?02 
 
THE END OF A BOYHOOD 
 
 long as Elspeth could smile. She stood still, but 
 he went on, turning round every few yards to — 
 to whistle. " Never forget, day nor night, what I 
 said to you," he called to her. " You're the only 
 one I love, and I care not a hair for GrizeL" 
 
 But when he disappeared, shouting to her, " I'll 
 find a wy, I'll find a wy," she screamed and ran 
 after him. He was already in the cart, and it had 
 started. He stood up in it and waved his hand 
 to her, and she stood on the dyke and waved to 
 him, and thus they stood waving till a hollow in 
 the road swallowed cart and man and boy. Then 
 Elspeth put her hands to her eyes and went sob- 
 bing homeward. 
 
 When she was gone, a girl who had heard all 
 that had passed between them rose from among 
 the broom of Caddam and took Elspeth's place on 
 the dyke, where she stood motionless waiting for 
 the cart to reappear as it climbed the other side 
 of the hollow. She wore a black fi-ock and a blue 
 bonnet with white strings, but the cart was far 
 away, and Tommy thought she was Elspeth, and 
 springing to his feet again in the cart he waved 
 and waved. At first she did not respond, for had 
 she not heard him say "You're the only one I 
 love, and I care not a hair for Grizel"? And 
 she knew he was mistaking her for Elspeth. But 
 by and by it struck her that he would be more 
 unhappy if he thought Elspeth was too overcome 
 
 P3 
 
SENTIMENTAL TOMMY 
 
 by grief tx) wave to him. Her arms rocked pas- 
 sionately ; no, no, she would not lift them to wave 
 to him, he could be as unhappy as he chose. 
 Then in a spirit of self-abnegation that surely raised 
 her high among the daughters of men, though she 
 was but a painted lady's child, she waved to him 
 to save him pain, and he, still erect in the cart, 
 waved back unril nothing could be seen by either 
 of them save wood and fields and a long, deserted 
 road. 
 
 THE END