l eneugh to read the directions in the
buik. An' is it to sic a dunderheid that the lives of eighty-five human
beings are to be entrusted?"

Flora was highly entertained by this account of the Captain's skill;
while the doctor, who loved to hear himself talk, continued in a more
impressive and confidential tone--

"Now, dinna be sae ill-advised as to be takin' pheesic a' the time,
young leddy. If ye wu'd keep yersel in health, persuade the Captain to
gie ye the charge o' yon kist o' poisons, an' tak' the first opportunity
to drap the key by accident overboord. By sae doin' ye may be the savin'
o' your ain life, an' the lives of a' the humanities on boord the brig
_Anne_."

Flora was fond of a little amateur doctoring. To part with the
medicine-chest, she considered, would be a great sin, and she was
already secretly longing to overhaul its contents.

A few well-established remedies, promptly administered in simple cases
of illness, and followed by the recovery of the patients, had made her
imagine herself quite a genius in the healing art; and she rejected the
homely little Doctor's last piece of advice as an eccentric whim,
arising either from ignorance of his profession, or from disappointment
in not having been appointed surgeon to the brig.

Dr. MacAdie was neither deficient in skill nor talent. He was a poor
man, of poor parentage, who had worked hard to obtain his present
position, and provide a comfortable home for his father and mother in
their old age. His practice was entirely confined to the humble walks of
life, and he was glad to obtain a few additional meals for a large
family by inspecting the health of emigrants preparatory to their
voyage.

In this case, his certificate of health was very satisfactory; and he
told the Captain that he had seldom seen a heartier, healthier set o'
_decent_ bodies in sic a sma' vessel, and hepathetically entreated him
not to tamper with their constitutions, by giving them dangerous drugs
whose chemical properties he did not understand, declaring emphatically,
"That nature was the best _phesician_ after all." The Captain considered
this gratuitous piece of advice as an insult, for he very gruffly bade
Doctor MacAdie "Take care of his own patients; he wanted none of his
impertinent interference."

The little Doctor drew up his shoulders with an air of profound
contempt; then taking a monstrous pinch of snuff, in the most sneezable
manner, from his old-fashioned box,