But the minister had come to see that his behaviour in his last visit to
the soutar must have laid him open to suspicion from him; and he was now
bent on removing what he counted the unfortunate impression his words
might have made. Wishing therefore to appear to cherish no offence over his
parishioner's last words to him ere they parted, and so obliterate any
suggestion of needed confession lurking behind his own words with which he
had left him, he now addressed him with an _abandon_ which, gloomy in
spirit as he habitually was, he could yet assume in a moment when the
masking instinct was aroused in him--
"Oh, Mr. MacLear," he said jocularly, "I am glad you have just managed to
escape breaking the Sabbath! You have had a close shave! It wants ten
minutes, hardly more, to the awful midnight hour!"
"I doobt, sir, it would hae broken the Sawbath waur, to fail o' my word for
the sake o' a steik or twa that maittered naething to God or man!" returned
the soutar.
"Ah, well, we won't argue about it! but if we were inclined to be strict,
the Sabbath began some "--here he looked at his watch--"some five hours and
three-quarters ago; that is, at six of the clock, on the evening of
Saturday!"
"Hoot, minister, ye ken ye're wrang there! for, Jew-wise, it began at sax
o' the Friday nicht! But ye hae made it plain frae the poopit that ye hae
nae supperstition aboot the first day o' the week, the whilk alane has
aucht to dee wi' hiz Christians!--We're no a' Jews, though there's a heap
o' them upo' this side the Tweed! I, for my pairt, confess nae obligation
but to drap workin, and sit doon wi' clean han's, or as clean as I can weel
mak them, to the speeritooal table o' my Lord, whaur I aye try as weel to
weir a clean and a cheerfu' face--that is, sae far as the sermon will
permit--and there's aye a pyke o' mate somewhaur intil 't! For isna it the
bonny day whan the Lord wad hae us sit doon and ait wi himsel, wha made
the h'avens and the yirth, and the waters under the yirth that haud it up!
And wilna he, upo this day, at the last gran' merridge-feast, poor oot the
bonny reid wine, and say, 'Sit ye doon, bairns, and tak o' my best'!"
"Ay, ay, Mr.
Pages:
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221