s aspect still; his character had never developed beyond that
innocent adolescence, while his mind had retrograded to a state
resembling early childhood. If one spoke to him on the road he at once
assumed the air of an exceedingly shy bairn--frightened and
embarrassed. It would have been amusing were it not so sad. I could
never extract a word from him on such occasions, so overawed was he!

From the first, while looking upon Robina as the supreme authority to
which he owed implicit obedience, Bildy seemed to give all his
affection to the old widow. He liked nothing better than to sit
opposite her by the fireside, watching the tireless swiftness of her
knitting needles as they flashed in the firelight. When summoned by
Robina for any duty, he would promptly comply, returning as soon as
free to his favorite attraction.

I was passing by the Lamonts' house one afternoon, and as Robina was
working in her garden I stopped for a chat. After asking after her
mother and things in general, the conversation turned on Bildy. Robina
praised him highly.

"He's as biddable as a bairn," she declared. "He carries a' the water
for us frae the spring, an' takes oot the coo, an' fetches her hame as
weel as I could masel'. He's nae tribble to us whateever!"

She then launched into details concerning Bildy which were very
entertaining, and gave much amusement to Val over our dinner. It
appeared that the poor fellow had formed a most reverential opinion of
the priest on his first visit to our church for Mass. On his return
home he sat by the fire smiling delightedly and murmuring to himself.
They did not catch what he said, but after repeated questioning Robina
found that he was quite pleased with the "chapel."

"An' yon mon!" he exclaimed. "Isna' he dressed fine? Wha's yon mon
wi' the fine dress?"

"Yen's the priest," explained Robina. "Father Fleming, he's callit."

"Father Fleming! Father Fleming!" repeated Bildy over and over again,
as though to familiarize himself with the sound of it.

"Aye, aye! He's the boy! He can gab, canna' he? He's the boy to tell
us what to dee!" he continued in his broad Scots.

"It's extraordinary how well he behaves at Mass--or at any rate during
the sermon," said Val when he heard the story. "I wish some others
were as good!"

That reminded me of another anecdote. After one or two Sundays, Bildy
had got familiar with the church, and was inclined to gaze about more
than Robina