“O, gear will buy me rigs o’ land,
And gear will buy me sheep and kye;
But the tender heart o’ leesome luve,
The gowd and siller canna buy.
We may be poor—Robie and I;
Light is the burden luve lays on,
Content and luve bring peace and joy,
What mair hae queens upon a throne?”—Burns.
Ralph slept late the next day and only escaped a fine at Rehearsal by the merciful rule which permitted ten minutes’ grace.
“You have done it by the skin of your teeth,” said Macneillie with a laugh, “but of course you found the newspaper absorbing.”