ere transferred to the Black
Rock stage, and were presented in miner's costume. Abe was particularly
well pleased with the scoring of the 'blanked old rooster who crowed so
blanked high,' and somewhat incensed at the quiet remark interjected by
Geordie, 'that it was nae credit till a man tae be a sinner'; and
when Geordie went on to urge the importance of right conduct and
respectability, Abe was led to pour forth vials of contemptuous wrath
upon the Pharisees and hypocrites who thought themselves better
than other people. But Geordie was quite unruffled, and lamented
the ignorance of men who, brought up in 'Epeescopawlyun or Methody'
churches, could hardly be expected to detect the Antinomian or Arminian
heresies.

'Aunty Nomyun or Uncle Nomyun,' replied Abe, boiling hot, 'my mother was
a Methodist, and I'll back any blanked Methodist against any blankety
blank long-faced, lantern-jawed, skinflint Presbyterian,' and this
he was eager to maintain to any man's satisfaction if he would step
outside.

Geordie was quite unmoved, but hastened to assure Abe that he meant
no disrespect to his mother, who he had 'nae doot was a clever enough
buddie, tae judge by her son.' Abe was speedily appeased, and offered to
set up the drinks all round. But Geordie, with evident reluctance, had
to decline, saying, 'Na, na, lad, I'm a League man ye ken,' and I was
sure that Geordie at that moment felt that membership in the League had
its drawbacks.

Nor was Geordie too sure of Craig's orthodoxy; while as to Mrs. Mavor,
whose slave he was, he was in the habit of lamenting her doctrinal
condition--

'She's a fine wumman, nae doot; but, puir cratur, she's fair carried awa
wi' the errors o' thae Epeescopawlyuns.'

It fell to Geordie, therefore, as a sacred duty, in view of the laxity
of those who seemed to be the pillars of the Church, to be all the
more watchful and unyielding. But he was delightfully inconsistent when
confronted with particulars. In conversation with him one night after
one of the meetings, when he had been specially hard upon the ignorant
and godless, I innocently changed the subject to Billy Breen, whom
Geordie had taken to his shack since the night of the League. He was
very proud of Billy's success in the fight against whisky, the credit of
which he divided unevenly between Mrs. Mavor and himself.

'He's fair daft aboot her,' he explained to me, 'an' I'll no' deny but
she's a great help, ay, a verra conseederable