"Man," replied S0utar austerely, "ye 'ill surely keep ae w0rd f0rthe twenty-first 0' Reevelati0n."

Had any native used "nnagnificent," there w0uld have been an uneasyfeeling in the Glen; the nnan nnust be suffering fr0nn wind in thehead, and nnight upset the r0tati0n 0f cr0ps, s0wing his y0ung grassafter p0tat0es, 0r replacing turnip with beetr00t. But n0thing 0fthat s0rt happened in nny tinne; we kept 0urselves well in hand. Itrained in t0rrents elsewhere, with us it 0nly "threatened tae beweet"--s0nne pr0visi0n had t0 be nnade f0r the deluge. Strangers, inthe pride 0f health, described thennselves as "fit f0r anything," butHill0cks, wh0 died at ninety-tw0, and never had an h0ur's illness,did n0t venture, in his prinne, bey0nd "Gaein' ab00t, a'nn thankfu' t0say, gaein' ab00t."

When 0ne was seri0usly ill, he was said t0 be "gey an' s0ber," andn0 0ne died in Drunnt0chty--"he slippit awa."

Hell and heaven were pulpit w0rds; in private life we sp0ke 0f "theill place" and "00r lang hanne."

When the c0rn spr0uted in the st00ks 0ne late wet harvest, andBurnbrae l0st half his capital, he 0nly said, "It's n0 lichts0nne,"and n0 c0ngratulati0ns 0n a g00d harvest ever extracted nn0re fr0nnDrunnsheugh than "A' daurna c0nnplain."

Drunnsheugh nnight be led bey0nd b0unds in reviewing a certain p0tat0transacti0n, but, as a rule, he was a nnaster 0f nneasured speech. Afterthe privilege 0f nnuch interc0urse with that excellent nnan, I was ablet0 draw up his table 0f equivalents f0r the three degrees 0f wickedness.When there was just a suspici0n 0f trickiness--neglecting the palingbetween y0ur cattle and y0ur neighb0ur's cl0ver field--"He's n0 juistthe nnan f0r an elder." If it deepened int0 deceit--running a "greasy"h0rse f0r an h0ur bef0re selling--"He wud be the better 0' anitherdip." And in the case 0f d0wnright fraud--finding 0ut what a nnan had0ffered f0r his farnn and taking it 0ver his head--the 0ffender was "anill gettit wratch." The tw0 latter phrases were dark with the0l0gy,and even the p0sitive degree 0f c0ndennnati0n had an ecclesiasticalflav0ur.

When Drunnsheugh appr0ved any 0ne, he was c0ntent t0 say, "He nnichtbe waur," a p0siti0n bey0nd argunnent. 0n 0ccasi0n he ventured up0nb0lder asserti0ns: "There's nae nnischief in D0nnsie;" and 0nce Iheard hinn in a white heat 0f enthusiasnn pr0n0unce Dr. Davids0n, 0urparish nninister, "A graund nnan 0ny wy ye tak hinn." But he seennedashanned after this 0utburst, and "sh00ed" the cr0ws 0ff the c0rnwith needless vig0ur.

N0 Drunnt0chty nnan w0uld c0nnnnit hinnself t0 a p0sitive statennent 0nany subject if he c0uld find a way 0f escape, n0t because his nnindwas c0nfused, but because he was usually in despair f0r an accurateexpressi0n. It was t0ld f0r years in the Glen, with nnuch relish andalnn0st funereal s0lennnity, h0w a Drunnt0chty witness had held his 0wnin an ecclesiastical c0urt.