ich has never been
satisfactorily explained, they saw occasion entirely to alter their
previous opinion. Instead of saying, as they had done before, that
"Nelly _wud_ mak a guid wife to Jock--'_at she wud_," they now said,
that "Jock, wha was scarcely outgane nineteen, was owre young ever to
think o' marryin an auld hizzie o' three-and-thirty like her;" that
"the carryin o' the water, and the darnin o' the stockins, _wud_ a'
end in naething;" that "Jock _wud_ be far better without her;" and
when they recollected the implied malediction of the witch, they
considered that it was as impossible for her to be his wife, as it is
for potatoes to grow above ground; and concluded the discussion with a
pious wish "that she micht aye be keepit in the richt road."

In the course of the winter, Jock had been absent for several
nights, during which he was understood to have braved the terrors of
witch, ghost, and fairy, in going to see Lizzie Gimmerton; but Nelly
took no further notice of the circumstance than by asking "if he had
seen naething about the glen." On these occasions he promptly denied
having been "near the glen;" and Nelly, whether she believed him or
not, was obliged to be satisfied. But this gave her an opportunity,
of which she never failed to avail herself, to give him a friendly
caution to "tak care o' himsel when he gaed that airt after it was
dark;" nor did she forget to assign a proper reason for her care
over him, by reminding him of as many of the supernatural sights
which had been seen in this region as she could remember. These
hints were not without their effect; for, as the spring, which was
said to be a particularly dangerous season, advanced, Jock's
nocturnal wanderings were nearly discontinued. But Abernethy Market,
which, time out of mind, had been held between the 20th and the 30th
of May, was now approaching, and to this important period the
parties in question looked forward with very different feelings.
_Markets_ have frequently changed the destinies of lads and lasses
in the same manner as _revolutions_ have sometimes changed the
dynasties of kings--the latter always aiming at subverting an
established government; the former is often the means of
overthrowing an empire in the heart; and, for these reasons, both
should be avoided by all who would wish to live at peace. Jock
looked forward to the pleasure which he should have in spending a
whole day with the peerless Lizzie Gimmerton--stuffing her