What I had seen and witnessed made my thoughts heavy and my heart sad; I could not get the better of it. I looked round and round me, as we jogged along over the height, down on the far distant country, that spread out as if it had been a great big picture, with hills, and fields, and woods; and I could still see to the norward the ships lying at their anchors on the sea, and the shores of Fife far far beyond it. It was a great and a grand sight; and made me turn from the looking at it into my own heart, causing me to think more and more of the glory of the Maker’s handiworks, and less and less of the littleness of prideful man. But Tammie had gotten his drappikie, and the tongue of the body would not lie still a moment; so he blethered on from one thing to another, as we jogged along, till I was forced at the last to give up thinking, and begin a twa-handed crack with him.
“Have you your snuff-box upon ye?” said Tammie. “Gi’e me a pinch.”
Having given him the box, I observed to him, that “it was beginning to grow dark and dowie.”
“’Deed is’t,” said Tammie; “but a body can now scarcely meet on the road wi’ ony think waur than
themsell. Mony a witch, de’il, and bogle, however, did my grannie see and hear tell of, that used to scud and scamper hereaway langsyne like maukins.”
“Witches!” quo’ I. “No, no, Tammie, all these things are out of the land now; and muckle luck to them. But we have other things to fear; what think ye of highway robbers?”
“Highway robbers!” said Tammie. “Kay, kay; I’ll tell ye of something that I met in wi’ mysell. Ae dark winter night, as I was daundering hame frae Pathhead—it was pitmirk, and about the twall—losh me, I couldna see my finger afore me!—that a stupid thocht cam into my head that I wad never wun hame, but be either killed, lost, murdered, or drowned, between that and the dawing. All o’ a sudden I sees a light coming dancing forrit amang the trees; and my hair began to stand up on end. Then, in the next moment—save us a’!—I sees anither light, and forrit, forrit they baith cam, like the een of some great fiery monster, let loose frae the pit o’ darkness by its maister, to seek whom it might devour.”
“Stop, Tammie,” said I to him, “ye’ll wauken Benjie. How far are we from Dalkeith?”
“Twa mile and a bittock,” answered Tammie. “But wait a wee.—Up cam the two lights snoov-snooving, nearer and nearer; and I heard distinctly the sound of feet that werena men’s—cloven feet, maybe—but nae wheels. Sae nearer it cam and nearer, till the