ober

questered vale

e patriarch

or of h

us-"De

illivray"; for the repeal of the penal laws had not yet emancipated the people from the cautious reticence of the days of persecution, and th

snow-white and lang on his shoulders like. I couldna' ha' been muckle mair ner five or sax year auld when he took me by the hand and askit me if I'd like to come an' herd hi

g the day in looking after the two cows that grazed on the hillside about a mile distant, and driving them out and in, she wa

ived. "His denner," said Bell, "wes juist tatties, taken in their skins; his supper wes brochan an' sometimes tatties as weel. Some o' the neebors would come an' join him,

ken, sir, an' they aye likit a talk wi' me aifter Mass. So Mr. McGillivray wouldna' aloo them to fast till they got hame, but aye pressit them to stay. For they w

s duty to say Mass at one or other of these stations occasionally, and the Ardmuirland folk who could conveniently manage the journey would gen

ay wes the best oot at tellin' auld-fashioned stories." His figure was a familiar one in all the countryside, as he walked slowly along, leaning on his silver-mounted walking-stick, and wrapped in the ample folds of a well

ught in the branches of the stunted birches which bordered the stream-which was not of infrequent occurrence-they would run to his assistance and help to untangle the hook; they would often search for a

speech. Well, when he askit me one day-juist as a joke, ye ken-to tak' a snuff oot o' the wee boxie he aye carrit, I tossit my head and said (ill bred as I wes!), 'Fuich!' Mr. McGillivray wesna' angered; he juist laughed

rteen wes surely auld enough for siclike-I said to mysel'. So when the priest cam' to oor hoose aince, I made sae bold as to get him to ask my faither to buy me a bonnet for Sundays, next time he went to t

arrative that the grown-ups rather feared him. His methods were certainly such as would be considered unne

tly. Whiles, he wud gi' great scoldin's, an' then I usit to think it wes splendid! He could be eloquent then, I assure ye, sir! I mind weel when there wes a marriage in Advent in a Protestant family, an' Mr. McGi

he would be greatly pit aboot. He would ca' them up to the rai

r catechism in p

ft alane! I mind him callin' a mon o' saxty years o' age ane Sunday! He wes a mon greatly thought of by the congregation, an' maybe the priest wes afeared he wes gettin' prood. Onyways, Mr

se days, but perhaps the reason is that we are less

r anecdotes o

discoorse an' ca' them up to the rail an' reprove them severely. I mind him summoning a grown man from the

d in his own house. The people crowded in at the door of his little living-room, and would fill the kitchen. When he gre

ded Bell, "that there we

es; otherwise the priest heard them in the chapel

man, whenever the interests of his flock or of the Catholic Chu

en the girl to kirk with him. She had once been to Confession, but had received no other Sacrament except Baptism. When she had grown to womanhood, she married a Presbyterian, and all her family had been brought up in that religion. Yet the grace of her Baptism seemed to cling to her. After her husband's death s

rmish between the old priest and the members of her fam

e Ann, the younger sister, would be "risin' sixty"!), Mr. McGillivray betook himself to the house of the invalid. The door was opened by her eldest son, Ada

door-post in the other, and his portly

ur mother is unwell," said

e's nae weel at al

r, if she's well enough

to say she's nae fit to see

s not well eno

voice; "I'm nae ohjectin' mysel', sin she askit me to let ye come;

es; but as far as he was concerned, he had no feeling in the matter. Like any Scotsman who had lived with his mother from childhood to mature manhood, he was deeply attached to her, and willing to agree to anyt

and gain admittance to the sick-room; this accomplished, it might seem that

to leave him alone with the invalid. He was the agent of the family, and it was hi

what the others might say should he desert his post-that was a

e can arrange matters without any difficulty. I must have a few minutes' private talk with your mother on religious matters

ldna' be pleased" should he relinquish his post of watch-dog

hich the sick woman lay. It was literally a closet, containing nothing except the bed, and lighted by

ne will know that you have not remained in th

." After hearing the mother's Confession, he released his captive, and Adam stood by while the saving unction

thanks for his kindness-while he had not been compromised in the eyes of his brothers and sisters. He willingly consented for Mr. M

est had explained, "and then she will be quite at rest. So I wil

less Fordyces that very afternoon. Poor Adam was the scapegoat. He it was who had to bear the whole of the blame. The minister congratulated himself, whe

the priest to cross the threshold again. His brother was "oot"; but he had left word that he must not be allowed to enter the house. The minister, as the brother explained, "had been sair angered"

lled"-although not "unanointed." He feared that she had given in to the persuasions of the minister to refuse further help. But after her death, which occurred a few days later, the good priest ascertained that she had died in most edifying dispositions. The minister ha

ngregation drew forth so vehement a denial from Mr. McGillivray, and a demand for a public contradiction o

were present as well as Mr. McGillivray, one of them thought to make a butt of the priest, and during the after-dinner toasts proposed s

d the entrappe

for you!" was

his tactful intervention. Even by Protestants his services were not infrequently asked for in this respect, and the result was a great popularity with all class

and a dispute had arisen on the subject of a legacy left to one of these nieces by their father's brother, while the other was passed over entirely. Suspicions and insinu

olemn hour she begged that her sister should be asked to visit her, that they might part as sisters should. The

le for ten miles in a keen wind. He succeeded in persuading one of the men to seek for peace and friendship, then drove on five miles farther to interview the other. Through his earnest remonstrances the strife

orites there, and his wish, when made known, had not been cordially received by the people. This had been sufficient to excite the wrath of the Ardmuirland folk; they had risen up as one man against any such arrangement. An appeal was made to the Bishop to prevent their beloved pastor from leaving his flock to die among comparative stra

aim to his mortal remains, and his relatives had speedily made arrangements

vin'; they'll nae get him d

sembled; in Bell's expressive phrase-"the country wes full o' men!" Every man took his turn in helping to bear the coffin shoulder-high all the five miles which lay between the priest's house and the a