t apart from them all, and looked at them with a
melancholy, haughty countenance; while the rest hallooed, and sang, and
laughed, that the room rang. But their smiles were fearfully contorted
from time to time; and their laugh passed into such wild sounds as made
my gudesire's very nails grow blue, and chilled the marrow in his banes.

They that waited at the table were just the wicked serving-men and
troopers, that had done their work and cruel bidding on earth. There
was the Lang Lad of the Nethertown, that helped to take Argyle; and
the bishop's summoner, that they called the Deil's Rattle-bag; and the
wicked guardsmen in their laced coats; and the savage Highland Amorites,
that shed blood like water; and many a proud serving-man, haughty of
heart and bloody of hand, cringing to the rich, and making them wickeder
than they would be; grinding the poor to powder, when the rich had
broken them to fragments. And mony, mony mair were coming and ganging,
a' as busy in their vocation as if they had been alive.

Sir Robert Redgauntlet, in the midst of a' this fearful riot, cried, wi'
a voice like thunder, on Steenie Piper to come to the board-head where
he was sitting; his legs stretched out before him, and swathed up with
flannel, with his holster pistols aside him, while the great broadsword
rested against his chair, just as my gudesire had seen him the last time
upon earth--the very cushion for the jackanape was close to him, but the
creature itself was not there--it wasna its hour, it's likely; for he
heard them say as he came forward, 'Is not the major come yet?' And
another answered, 'The jackanape will be here betimes the morn.' And
when my gudesire came forward, Sir Robert, or his ghaist, or the deevil
in his likeness, said, 'Weel, piper, hae ye settled wi' my son for the
year's rent?'

With much ado my father gat breath to say that Sir John would not settle
without his honour's receipt.

'Ye shall hae that for a tune of the pipes, Steenie,' said the
appearance of Sir Robert--'Play us up "Weel hoddled, Luckie".'

Now this was a tune my gudesire learned frae a warlock, that heard it
when they were worshipping Satan at their meetings, and my gudesire had
sometimes played it at the ranting suppers in Redgauntlet Castle, but
never very willingly; and now he grew cauld at the very name of it, and
said, for excuse, he hadna his pipes wi' him.

'MacCallum, ye limb of Beelzebub,' said the fearfu' Sir Robert, 'bring
Ste