ared noo."

Had this marriage been brought about by ordinary means, it might have
staggered some of the lieges in their faith--at least it must have
taxed their ingenuity to reconcile the event, happening as it had
done, in the face of a plain prediction, with the unlimited power
which the witches certainly possessed; but, as it was, the matter
needed no comment. The decision of the witch had evidently been
reversed in the court of the ghosts, who, from being a superior order,
had power to do such things; and thus Nelly Kilgour had got a husband,
even after she had been predestined, by the former of these
authorities, to a life of single blessedness.

Jock had also good reason to congratulate himself on the intervention
of his spiritual _friend_--the ghost being no longer regarded as an
enemy; for, in less than six months from the date of his marriage,
Lizzie Gimmerton was discovered to be in a condition which would have
been rather derogatory to his fame, had she been his yoke-fellow. It
was acknowledged upon all hands, however, that he had got a better
bargain. In a few weeks after the marriage, his appearance was so much
improved, that people, of their own accord, began to call him _John_;
and, in another month, his wife was the only individual who still
persisted in calling him _Jock_. But this, in her case, was, as it
appeared, "habit and repute," and could not be easily altered. Whoever
had an empty snuff-box, Jock's was always full; whoever might be seen
at church with coarse or ill-washed linen, Jock was not among the
number; whoever went to the public-house, or to the houses of their
neighbours, for amusement, Jock came always home "to his ain
fireside;" and, when others were heard to complain of the
thriftlessness of their wives, he only said that "he had aye been a
hantle better since he got Nelly than ever he was afore."

In conclusion, it may be remarked, that, though Nelly was evidently
the _managing partner_, she gave herself no airs of superiority. She
seldom did anything without taking her husband's advice; but, while
she sought, she tried to direct his opinion into the proper channel,
by pointing out what was likely to be results of the affair, if it
were conducted in such a manner; and thus his advice was, in general,
only an echo of her own sentiments. If Jock, in the presence of
others, directed her to do anything, she, in general, did it, without
questioning its propriety; but, if she thought it