an, who was very shy of accepting any civility from
the town gentry, and kept himself aloof from all our ploys and
entertainments, in such a manner, that the rest of the officers talked of
him, marvelling at the cause, for it was not his wont in other places.

One Sabbath, during the remembering prayer, Mr Pittle put up a few words
for criminals under sentence of death, there being two at the time in the
Ayr jail, at the which petition I happened to look at Captain Armour,
who, with the lave of the officers, were within the magistrates' loft,
and I thought he had, at the moment, a likeness to poor Jeanie Gaisling,
that was executed for the murder of her bastard bairn.

This notion at the time disturbed me very much, and one thought after
another so came into my head, that I could pay no attention to Mr Pittle,
who certainly was but a cauldrife preacher, and never more so than on
that day. In short, I was haunted with the fancy, that Captain Armour
was no other than the misfortunate lassie's poor brother, who had in so
pathetical a manner attended her and the magistrates to the scaffold;
and, what was very strange, I was not the only one in the kirk who
thought the same thing; for the resemblance, while Mr Pittle was praying,
had been observed by many; and it was the subject of discourse in my shop
on the Monday following, when the whole history of that most sorrowful
concern was again brought to mind. But, without dwelling at large on the
particularities, I need only mention, that it began to be publicly
jealoused that he was indeed the identical lad, which moved every body;
for he was a very good and gallant officer, having risen by his own
merits, and was likewise much beloved in the regiment. Nevertheless,
though his sister's sin was no fault of his, and could not impair the
worth of his well-earned character, yet some of the thoughtless young
ensigns began to draw off from him, and he was visited, in a manner, with
the disgrace of an excommunication.

Being, however, a sensible man, he bore it for a while patiently, may be
hoping that the suspicion would wear away; but my lord, with all his
retinue, coming from London to the castle for the summer, invited the
officers one day to dine with him and the countess, when the fact was
established by a very simple accident.

Captain Armour, in going up the stairs, and along the crooked old
passages of the castle, happened to notice that the colonel, who was in
the van