ly. "Lads and lassies
will be young, an' we would be that way ourselves once, and they will
be better than you know. There's your own lad now, an' Sandy----"

"Andra! Oor Andra!" cried that young man's father. "The maist
upsettin' scamp in the hale pack, an' it's his ain faither has to say
it in shame an' humiliation! Him an' Sandy are jist gone fair daft.
It's fleein' here to this tea-meetin' an stravagin' yonder to some bit
choir practise, an' here awa, there awa, until Ah dinna ken what's to
be the end o' it! Aye, an' the next thing they've gotten intill their
bit heids is that they must get a bit o' an idolatrous music boax for
the kirk! Yon bit thistle heid o' a schoolmaister cam' till me aboot
the thing the day; what d'ye think o' yon?"

"Dear, dear, that would be a peety," said the champion of youth,
somewhat disconcerted.

"Aye, they've come till it at last! Ah've kenned weel they've been
hatchin' plans this while back an' that oor Andra was in it, aye, an'
Donal' afore he gaed away, but Ah jist gave no heed to their bit noise,
an' Andra kenned his faither better than to come till him wi' his norms
till yon bit slippery, feather-heided crater cam' till me this mornin'."

"An' would he be asking you if they could get one?"

"Askin' me! He didna jist order me to hae the thing bought, but it was
michty near't. Sez he, 'We hae gotten the consent o' a' the ither
elders, _Maister_ Johnstone, an' we know ye jist can't refuse us; we'd
like to hae it afore the new meenister comes,'--the danderin' bit
eejit!"

"I hope you would not be too hard on him, Andra, Mr. Watson would be
meaning no harm----"

"No harm! And are ye the man, Duncan McDonald, to ask an elder of the
Kirk to countenance evil? Ah wes not half so hard on the buddy as he
deserved, but Ah jist telled him pretty plain what Ah thought o' them
a' turnin' the hoose o' God into a circus! 'Ye hae the consent o' a'
the elders, hae ye?' Ah sez. 'An' noo it's ma consent ye want, is it?
Weel, ye hae it!' Ah sez;' for if ye're that set on gettin' yer bit
screechin' boax ma advice'll no hold ye back, so ye may get yer piece
o' idolatory,' Ah sez; 'but mark ma word!' Ah sez, 'mark ma word, the
day yon thing raises its noise an' pollutes the holy place-- Ah'll no
resign. Oh! no, that's what ye're lookin' for,' Ah sez, for Ah'd heerd
rumours--'Ah'll no resign,' Ah sez, 'but Ah'll jist wait till the
Sabbath's ower an' Ah'll get ma ax,' Ah sez, 'an by