y; 'but there was
ane thocht as muckle o' 't as ye do, an' wad hae been ashamed to hear ye
speak that gait aboot yer ain dauchter.'

'I dinna unnerstan' ye,' returned Hewson, looking raised-like at him.

'Dinna ye ken, man, that amo' them 'at kent the Lord best whan he cam
frae haiven to luik efter his ain--to seek and to save, ye ken--amo'
them 'at cam roon aboot him to hearken till 'im, was lasses 'at had gane
the wrang gait a'thegither,--no like your bonnie Jessie 'at fell but
ance. Man, ye're jist like Simon the Pharisee, 'at was sae scunnert at
oor Lord 'cause he loot the wuman 'at was a sinner tak her wull o' 's
feet--the feet 'at they war gaein' to tak their wull o' efter anither
fashion afore lang. He wad hae shawn her the door--Simon wad--like you,
John; but the Lord tuik her pairt. An' lat me tell you, John--an' I
winna beg yer pardon for sayin' 't, for it's God's trowth--lat me tell
you, 'at gin ye gang on that gait ye'll be sidin' wi' the Pharisee, an'
no wi' oor Lord. Ye may lippen to yer wife, ay, an' to Jessie hersel',
that kens better nor eyther o' ye, no to mak little o' virginity. Faith!
they think mair o' 't than ye do, I'm thinkin', efter a'; only it's no a
thing to say muckle aboot. An' it's no to stan' for a'thing, efter a'.'

Silence followed. John sat down again, and buried his face in his hands.
At length he murmured from between them,

'The lassie's weel?'

'Ay,' answered Robert; and silence followed again.

'What wad ye hae me do?' asked John, lifting his head a little.

'I wad hae ye sen' a kin' word till her. The lassie's hert's jist
longin' efter ye. That's a'. And that's no ower muckle.'

''Deed no,' assented the mother.

John said nothing. But when his visitor rose he bade him a warm
good-night.

When Robert returned to Aberdeen he was the bearer of such a message
as made poor Jessie glad at heart. This was his first experience of the
sort.

When he left the cottage, he did not return to the house, but threaded
the little forest of pines, climbing the hill till he came out on its
bare crown, where nothing grew but heather and blaeberries. There he
threw himself down, and gazed into the heavens. The sun was below the
horizon; all the dazzle was gone out of the gold, and the roses were
fast fading; the downy blue of the sky was trembling into stars over
his head; the brown dusk was gathering in the air; and a wind full of
gentleness and peace came to him from the west. He let h