I am a thorough believer in a young man being a young
man--but no more drovers or rovers, if you love me! Talking of which
puts me in mind that you may be short of partners at the Assembly--O, I
have been young myself!--and if ye care to come to anything so
portentously tedious as a tea-party at the house of a bachelor lawyer,
consisting mainly of his nieces and nephews, and his grand-nieces and
grand-nephews, and his wards, and generally the whole clan of the
descendants of his clients, you might drop in to-night towards seven
o'clock. I think I can show you one or two that are worth looking at,
and you can dance with them later on at the Assembly."

He proceeded to give me a sketch of one or two eligible young ladies
whom I might expect to meet. "And then there's my parteecular friend,
Miss Flora," said he. "But I'll make no attempt of a description. You
shall see her for yourself."

It will be readily supposed that I accepted his invitation; and returned
home to make a toilette worthy of her I was to meet and the good news of
which I was the bearer. The toilette, I have reason to believe, was a
success. Mr. Rowley dismissed me with a farewell: "Crikey! Mr. Anne, but
you do look prime!" Even the stony Bethiah was--how shall I
say?--dazzled, but scandalised, by my appearance; and while, of course,
she deplored the vanity that led to it, she could not wholly prevent
herself from admiring the result.

"Ay, Mr. Ducie, this is a poor employment for a way-faring Christian
man!" she said. "Wi' Christ despised and rejectit in all pairts of the
world, and the flag of the Covenant flung doon, you will be muckle
better on your knees! However, I'll have to confess that it sets you
weel. And if it's the lassie ye're gaun to see the nicht, I suppose I'll
just have to excuse ye! Bairns maun be bairns!" she said, with a sigh.
"I mind when Mr. McRankine came courtin', and that's lang by-gane--I
mind I had a green gown, passementit, that was thocht to become me to
admiration. I was nae just exactly what ye would ca' bonny; but I was
pale, penetratin', and interestin'." And she leaned over the stair-rail
with a candle to watch my descent as long as it should be possible.

It was but a little party of Mr. Robbie's--by which I do not so much
mean that there were few people, for the rooms were crowded, as that
there was very little attempted to entertain them. In one apartment
there were tables set out, where the elders were solemnly e