am
against ye taking a wife; for I ken it is the best thing that a young man
can do. Had your faither not married me when he did, he would hae died a
beggar, instead o' leaving ye what he did. And especially a simple creature
like you, Nicholas, needs one to take care o' him. But you must not expect
to meet wi' such a one in every bonny face, handsome waist, or smart ancle
that ye meet wi'. Na, na, lad; ye maun look to the heart, and the
disposition or temper, and the affection for you. They are the grand points
that ye are to study; and not the beauty o' the face, the shape o' the
waist, (which a mantua-maker has a principal hand in making,) the colour o'
the een, or the texture o' the hair. Thae are things that are forgotten
before ye hae been married a twalmonth; but the feelings o' the heart, and
the sentiments o' the soul, aye rin pure, Nicholas, and grow stronger and
stronger, just like a bit burn oozing frae a hill, and wimpling down its
side, waxing larger and larger, and gathering strength on strength as it
runs, until it meets the sea, like a great river; and even so it is wi' the
affections o' the heart between man and wife, where they really love and
understand each other; for they begin wi' the bit spring o' courtship,
following the same course, gathering strength, and flowing side by side,
until they fall into the ocean o' eternity, as a united river that cannot
be divided! Na, son, if ye will take a wife, I hope ye hae seen enough to
convince ye that she ought never to be the bonny Miss Thompson. But if I
might advise ye in the matter, there is our own servant, Nancy Bowmaker, a
young lass, a weel-faured lass, and as weel behaved as she is good-looking.
She has lived wi' us, now, for four years, and from term to term I never
have had to quarrel her. I never saw her encouraging lads about the
house--I never missed the value o' a prin since she came to it--I never
even saw her light a candle at the fire, or keep the cruisy burning when
she had naething to do but to spin, or to knit. Now, Nicholas, if ye will
be looking after a wife, I say that ye canna do better than just draw up
wi' Nancy Bowmaker.'

"So my mother ended her long-winded harangue; which I had hardly patience
to listen to. In the course o' the week, the faither and brothers o' Miss
Jenny Thompson called upon me, to see why I had not fulfilled my
engagement, by taking her before the minister, and declaring her to be my
wife. I stood before the