d wi' both o' his, and he squeezed it until I
thought he would have caused the blood to start from my finger ends.

"'Mr Middlemiss,' said he, 'I shall never be able to repay you for this act
o' kindness. I will feel it in my heart the longest day I have to live.'

"I was struck with his agitation; in fact, I was very much put about. For
even a tear upon the face o' a woman distresses me beyond the power o'
words to describe; but to see the salt water on the cheeks of a man
indicates that there is something dreadfully ill at ease about the heart.
And really the tears ran down his face as if he had been a truant
school-laddie that had been chastised by his master.

"'There is no occasion for thanks, Mr Swanston,' said I--'none in the
world; for the man would be worse than a heathen, that wouldna be ready to
do ten times more.'

"Weel, he grasped my hand the harder, and he shook it more fervently,
saying--'O, sir! sir!--a friend in need is a friend indeed; and such ye
have proved to be--and I shall remember it.'

"That very night we went to a public-house, and we had two half-mutchkins
together; in the course of drinking which, he got out a stamped paper, and
after writing something on it, which I was hardly in a condition to read,
(for my head can stand very little,) he handed it to me, and pointed with
his finger where I was to put my name upon the back o't. So I took the pen
and wrote my name--after which, we had a parting gill, and were both very
comfortable.

"When I went home, Nancy perceiving me to be rather sprung, and my een no
as they ought to be, said to me--'Where have you been, Nicholas, until this
time o' nicht?'

"'Touts!' said, I, 'what need ye mind? It is a hard maiter that a body
canna stir out owre the door but ye maun ask--'where hae ye been?' I'm my
own maister, I suppose--at least after business hours.'

"'No doubt o' that, Nicholas,' said she; 'but while ye are your own
maister, ye are also my husband, and the faither o' my family, and it
behoves me to look after ye.'

"'Look after yoursel'!' said I, quite pettedly--'for I am always very high
and independent when I take a glass extra--ye wouldna tak me to be a simple
man then.'

"'There is no use in throwing yoursel' into a rage, added she; 'for ye ken
as weel as me, Nicholas, that ye never take a glass more than ye ought to
do, but ye invariably make a fool o' yoursel' by what ye say or do, and
somebody or ither imposes on ye. And ye are