r and a
half, he did not at all relish his renewed solitude in that room.
"A drap of puir thin liquor,--poored out, too, in a weeny glass
nae deeper than an egg-shell,--and twa cookies; that's what she
ca'ed--rafrashment!" It was thus that Andy afterwards spoke to his
wife of the hospitalities offered to him in Warwick Square, regarding
which his anger was especially hot, in that he had been treated like
a child or a common labourer, instead of having the decanter left
with him to be used at his own discretion. When, therefore, Mrs.
Hittaway returned to him, the awe with which new circumstances and
the lord had filled him was fast vanishing, and giving place to that
stubborn indignation against people in general which was his normal,
condition. "I suppose I'm jist to gang bock again to Portray, Mrs.
Heetaway, and that'll be a' you'll want o' me?" This he said the
moment the lady entered the room.

But Mrs. Hittaway did not want to lose his services quite so soon.
She expressed regret that her brother should have found himself
unable to discuss a subject that was naturally so very distasteful
to him, and begged Mr. Gowran to come to her again the next morning.
"What I saw wi' my ain twa e'es, Mrs. Heetaway, I saw,--and nane
the less because his lairdship may nae find it jist tastefu', as
your leddyship was saying. There were them twa, a' colloguing, and
a-seetting ilk in ither's laps a' o'er, and a-keessing,--yes, my
leddy, a-keessing as females, not to say males, ought nae to keess,
unless they be mon and wife,--and then not amang the rocks, my leddy;
and if his lairdship does nae care to hear tell o' it, and finds it
nae tastefu', as your leddyship was saying, he should nae ha' sent
for Andy Gowran a' the way from Portray, jist to tell him what he
wanna hear, now I'm come to tell't to him!"

All this was said with so much unction that even Mrs. Hittaway
herself found it to be not "tasteful." She shrunk and shivered under
Mr. Gowran's eloquence, and almost repented of her zeal. But women,
perhaps, feel less repugnance than do men at using ignoble assistance
in the achievement of good purposes. Though Mrs. Hittaway shrunk and
shivered under the strong action with which Mr. Gowran garnished his
strong words, still she was sure of the excellence of her purpose;
and, believing that useful aid might still be obtained from Andy
Gowran, and, perhaps, prudently anxious to get value in return for
the cost of the journey up fr