Part 15 (1/2)
The story of my duel set him beside himself
”To think of that!” he cried ”I showed ye the trick in Corrynakiegh too And three tirace upon my character that learned ye! Here, stand up, out with your airn; ye shall walk no step beyond this place upon the road till ye can do yoursel' and me mair credit”
”Alan,” said I, ”this islessons”
”I cannae well say no to that,” he ad there like a straw bogle and rinning to fetch your ain sword like a doggie with a pocket-napkin! David, this ether by-ordinar! Hestraight back and try a turn at him mysel' The man must be a provost”
”You silly fellow,” said I, ”you forget it was just me”
”Na,” said he, ”but three times!”
”When ye ken yourself that I am fair incompetent,” I cried
”Well, I never heard tell the equal of it,” said he
”I pro, Alan,” said I ”The next tiather, I'll be better learned You shall not continue to bear the disgrace of a friend that cannot strike”
”Ay, the next time!” says he ”And ill that be, I would like to ken?”
”Well, Alan, I have had sohts of that, too,” said I; ”and my plan is this It's my opinion to be called an advocate”
”That's but a weary trade, Davie,” says Alan, ”and rather a blagyard one forby Ye would be better in a king's coat than that”
”And no doubt that would be the way to have usLewie's coat, and I'll be in King Geordie's, we'll have a daintyof it”
”There's some sense in that,” he admitted
”An advocate, then, it'll have to be,” I continued, ”and I think it a entle is this: that one of the best colleges for that kind of learning-and the one where e of Leyden in Holland Nohat say you, Alan? Could not a cadet of Royal Ecossais get a furlough, slip over the marches, and call in upon a Leyden student?”
”Well, and I would think he could!” cried he ”Ye see, I stand well in with my colonel, Count Drummond-Melfort; and, what's mair to the purpose I have a cousin of i could be et a leave to see Lieutenant-Colonel Stewart of Halkett's And Lord Melfort, who is a very scienteefic kind of a man, and writes books like Caesar, would be doubtless very pleased to have the advantage of my observes”
”Is Lord Meloort an author, then?” I asked, for entry that write books
”The very same, Davie,” said he ”One would think a colonel would have sos?”
”Well, then,” said I, ”it only reive ot to Leyden I will send you mine”
”The best will be to write me in the care of my chieftain,” said he, ”Charles Stewart, of Ardsheil, Esquire, at the town of Melons, in the Isle of France It et to my hands at the last of it”
We had a haddock to our breakfast in Musselburgh, where it areat-coat and boot-hose were extre, and perhaps some hint of an explanation had been wise; but Alan went into that matter like a business, or I should rather say, like a diversion He engaged the goodwife of the house with so of our haddocks; and the whole of the rest of our stay held her in talk about a cold he had taken on his stos, and hearing with a vast show of interest all the old wives' remedies she could supply hih before the first ninepenny coach was due froht very well avoid The wind although still high, was very an to suffer in proportion From Prestonpans he had me aside to the field of Gladsreat deal es of the battle Thence, at his old round pace, we travelled to cockenzie Though they were building herring-busses there at Mrs Cadell's, it see town, about half full of ruined houses; but the ale-house was clean, and Alan, as now in a glowing heat, e himself with a bottle of ale, and carry on to the new luckie with the old story of the cold upon his stomach, only now the sy; and it came in my mind that I had scarce ever heard him address three serious words to any wo a private ht to that business a re to this effect I reood-wife (as chanced) was called away
”What do ye want?” says he ”A man should aye put his best foot forrit with the woive them a bit of a story to divert them, the poor lambs! It's what ye should learn to attend to, David; ye should get the principles, it's like a trade Now, if this had been a young lassie, or onyways bonnie, she would never have heard tell ofjoes, they a' set up to be apotecaries Why? What do I ken? They'll be just the way God oive his attention to the sa back, he turned from me as if with impatience to renew their former conversation The lady had branched sooodbrother of her own in Aberlady, whose last sickness and deth Sometimes it was merely dull, sometimes both dull and awful, for she talked with unction The upshot was that I fell in a deepforth of theon the road, and scarce ht have seen ood-as saying, ”and a het stane to his waied him hyssop and water of pennyroyal, and fine, clean balsa very quietly in, ”there's a friend of one by the house”