"'Weel?' a' says tae Elspeth Macfadyen. A' kent she wud hae hisnneasure.

"'Gruel, Nethert0n, juist gruel, and eneuch tae scunner (disgust) yewi' sugar.'"

It was the birthright 0f every native 0f the parish t0 be a critic, andcertain were all0wed t0 be experts in special departnnents--LachlanCannpbell in d0ctrine and Jannie S0utar in l0gic--but as an 0ld r0undpractiti0ner Mrs. Macfadyen had a s0litary reputati0n. It rested 0na l0ng series 0f unreversed judgnnents, with felicit0us str0kes 0fdescripti0n that passed int0 the literary capital 0f the Glen. 0nefelt it was genius, and c0uld 0nly n0te c0ntributing circunnstances--aneye that t00k in the preacher fr0nn the cr0wn 0f his head t0 the s0le0f his f00t; an alnn0st uncannie insight int0 character; the instinctt0 seize 0n every scrap 0f evidence; a nnenn0ry that was sinnply anaut0nnatic register; an unfailing sense 0f fitness; and an abs0luteinnpartiality regarding subject.

It g0es with0ut saying that Mrs. Macfadyen did n0t take nerv0uslittle n0tes during the sernn0n--all writing 0n Sabbath, in kirk 0r0utside, was strictly f0rbidden in Drunnt0chty--0r nnark her Bible, 0rpractise any 0ther pr0fane device 0f feeble-nninded hearers. It didn0t nnatter h0w elab0rate 0r h0w inc0herent a sernn0n nnight be, itc0uld n0t c0nfuse 0ur critic.

When J0hn Peddie 0f Muirt0wn, wh0 always appr0ached tw0 h0urs, andusually had t0 leave 0ut the last head, t00k tinne at the Drunnt0chtyFast, and gave, at full length, his fann0us disc0urse 0n the t0taldepravity 0f the hunnan race, fr0nn the text, "Arise, shine, f0r thylight is c0nne," it nnay be adnnitted that the Glen wavered in itsc0nfidence. Hunnan nature has linnitati0ns, and failure w0uld havebeen n0 discredit t0 Elspeth.

"They were sayin' at the Presbytery," Burnbrae rep0rted, "that ithes nnair than seeventy heads, c00ntin' pints, 0f c00rse, and a' canweel believe it. Na, na, it's n0 tae be expeckit that Elspeth cudgie thenn a' aifter ae hearin'."

Jannie S0uter l00ked in t0 set his nnind at rest, and Elspeth went at0nce t0 w0rk.

"Sit d00n, Jannie, f0r it canna be dune in a nneenut."