That knows not sun or moon,
An earth-born saint would long to hear
One verse of Bonnie Doon.'"

REAL GREATNESS.

The Rev. Chairman of this meeting emphasised the shoemaker's remarks in
the following admirable words: "I often wonder what is really the
greatest thing ever done by a citizen of this country of ours, by a man
of English speech. If we agree with our worthy shoemaker and his way of
thinking, we shall not look at the big accumulation of guineas as an
indication of greatness. Certain commercial men (who ought to know
better) seem to think God has sent us into this lovely world for the
sole purpose of piling up as much money as possible, and then, by death,
leaving it to others to spend. _That_ can hardly be considered our
reasonable service. Life is not so low-pitched as that. The best work of
man does not admit of being put into an equation with cash. The greatest
feat, to my mind, an Englishman ever performed was the writing of
_Paradise Lost_. How much did John Milton get in money for his
incomparable epic during his lifetime? _Five Pounds_: and if he had got
five million pounds, the recompense would have been absolutely
inadequate. History, however, has indemnified Milton for the neglect and
poverty he endured. He has shot up into stature while those of his
contemporaries who bulked largest in the eyes of the world have dwindled
and shrunk into insignificance in comparison with him. The witty,
dissolute king, Charles II., is now seen to be a wretched pigmy: Milton,
who died in blindness and political disgrace, is the real king of that
era, overtopping all the rulers, cabals, and intriguers. So, too, in
Scotland, Burns is the giant of _his_ period. During Burns's life, the
Earl of Dundas was to all intents and purposes king of the country. He
could say to whomsoever he pleased, '_Friend, come up higher; be you a
Sheriff, or Lord-Lieutenant, or Justice of the Peace_.' Dundas is pretty
well forgotten by this time: probably he will by and by be remembered
solely by Burns's description of him: _That slee, auld-farrant chiel
Dundas._ Kings and men of temporary renown do well to keep on good terms
with the men of letters."

It is always a great treat to hear a working-man who has the power of
utterance deliver a speech in a straightforward and unrhetorical way.
There is _always_ a pith and vigour about such deliverances quite
unattainable in a formal harangue. The magnates of the little Fife
v