ed, and afterward sat
sideways with his ears cocked, Drumtochty, while doubtful whether any
Muirtown man could appreciate the subtlety of their minister, had a
higher idea of the Doctor; and when the Free Kirk minister of
Kildrummie--a stout man and given to agricultural pursuits--went fast
asleep under a masterly discussion of the priesthood of Melchisedek,
Drumtochty's opinion of the intellectual condition of Kildrummie was
confirmed beyond argument.

During his ministry of more than twenty years the Rabbi had never
preached at Drumtochty--being fearful that he might injure the minister
who invited him, or might be so restricted in time as to lead astray by
ill-balanced statements--and as the keenest curiosity would never have
induced any man to go from the Glen to worship in another parish, the
Free Kirk minister of Kilbogie was still unjudged in Drumtochty. They
were not sorry to have the opportunity at last, for they had suffered
not a little at the hands of Kilbogie in past years, and the coming
event disturbed the flow of business at Muirtown market.

"Ye 're tae hae the Doctor at laist," Mains said to Netherton--letting
the luck-penny on a transaction in seed-corn stand over--"an' a 'm
jidgin' the time 's no been lost. He's plainer an' easier tae follow
then he wes at the affgo. Ma word"--contemplating the exercise before
the Glen--"but ye 'll aye get eneuch here and there tae cairry hame."
Which shows what a man the Rabbi was, that on the strength of his
possession a parish like Kilbogie could speak after this fashion to
Drumtochty.

"He 'll hae a fair trial, Mains"--Netherton's tone was distinctly
severe--"an' mony a trial he's hed in his day, they say: wes't three
an' twenty kirks he preached in, afore ye took him? But mind ye,
length 's nae standard in Drumtochty; na, na, it's no hoo muckle wind a
man hes, but what like is the stuff that comes. It's bushels doon bye,
but it's wecht up bye."

Any prejudice against the Rabbi, created by the boasting of a foolish
parish not worthy of him, was reduced by his venerable appearance
before the pulpit, and quite dispelled by his unfeigned delight in
Carmichael's conduct of the "preliminaries." Twice he nodded approval
to the reading of the hundredth Psalm, and although he stood with
covered face during the prayer, he emerged full of sympathy. As his
boy read the fifty-third of Isaiah the old man was moved well-nigh to
tears, and on the giving out of the t