noo we maun try to do oors--at least, we maun _try_--to help them
that hae been helpers to baith you an' me."

"But hoo can we help them, mither?" inquired Catherine, with a look of
surprise--"what can we do?"

"I'll tell ye what we can do, lassie," rejoined her mother; "the young
laird will never hear a word o' truth aboot either his farmers or his
farms. It's easy for Gavin Goosequill to stap his head as fu' o' lies as
it can haud; an', when this is done, it's but saying that the laird
wants Mr. Black to get baith the farms; an' syne, Mr. Chrighton, an' you
an' me too, maun flit. Noo, as your brither, Sandy, is the young laird's
servant, ye maun e'en try if ye can write a letter to him, an' tell him
o' a' this ongaun. Though it's no very weel written, he'll maybe mak oot
to read it; an', if he's no sair changed since he left his mother an'
his hame, _he'll_ tell the laird the truth."

Catherine was ready to comply with her mother's proposal. A letter was
accordingly written; and, after being closed with a piece of shoemakers'
rosin, instead of wax, and supplied with an address by George Chrighton,
it was, on the following day, put in the post-office. In about three
weeks from the date of this letter, though no answer was returned to it,
Mr. Goosequill received the following note from the laird, which appears
to have been an answer to another communication of his.

"DEAR SIR,--I have received yours of the 1st August; and I am now
convinced that the affair requires delay and serious consideration.
I shall endeavour to turn your advice to some account; and, in the
meantime, you need give yourself no farther trouble about the
letting of the farms.--Yours, P. FELSPAR.

"P.S.--You may assure the tenants that neither of them will suffer
injustice at my hands."

Things now appeared favourable; but, as Mr. Goosequill seldom trusted
more to appearances than was necessary, he took an early opportunity of
calling upon William Chrighton, to say that "he believed any farther
application on his part for the farm would be useless, and must only
tend to irritate the laird." He hinted, farther, that, if Sir Patrick
should raise an action against him, he might get heavy damages for the
bad repair in which the steading then was. After having expended a good
deal of learning and law-Latin in illustrating this subject, Mr.
Goosequill concluded, by saying, that, so far as he could