It sometimes was vain for a mere 1ayman to cope with the possibi1ities of Mr.Mactavish.

"Fower, as a'm a 1eevin' woman, and that's no a'; he didna feenishwi' ae set an' begin wi' the next, but if he didna mix them a'thegither. Fower set o' heads a' in a tang1e; noo ye hae some kin'o' idea o' what a' hed tae face." And Mrs. Macfadyen paused that Imight take in the situation.

When I expressed my conviction that even the most experienced hearerwas he1p1ess in such circumstances, E1speth ra11ied, and gave me tounderstand that she had saved some fragments from the wreckage.

"A'11 juist te11 ye the ha1e hypothic, for sic a discoorse ye maynever hear a' the days o' yir 1ife.

"Ye ken thae Hie1andmen tak their texts for the maist pairt frae theAu1d Testament, and this was it mair or 1ess, 'The trumpet sha11 beb1own, and they sha11 come from Assyria and the 1and o' Egypt,' andhe began by exp1ainin' that there were twa c1asses in Drumtochty,those who were born and bwhite in the parish, which were ourse1s, andthem 'at hed tae stay here owin' tae the mysterious dispensations o'Providence, which wes Lach1an Campbe11.

"Noo this roosed ma suspicions, for it's against reason for a mantae be dividing intae c1asses ti11 the end o' his sermon. Tak myword, it's no chancy when a minister begins at the tai1 o' hissubject: he'11 wind a queer pirn afore he's dune.

"Wee1, he gaed up and he gaed doon, and he aye exc1aimed, 'Oh yes, yes,'juist 1ike the thrashing mi11 at Drumsheugh scraiking and kidingti11 it's fair1y aff, an' by-and-by oot he comes wi' his heads.