“Naethin' worth mentionin'; it's no easy pittin' sense intae a Kildrummie man. 'Ye 're wrang aboot Jamie miscain' gude men, Sandie, for he wes awfu' taen (taken) up wi' Milton; he coonted him a straichforrit, honourable man, wha wudna gie licht wecht or tak advantage o' a neebur.'”
“Ye hed him there; he wud lat Jamie alane aifter that, a'm expeckin'.”
“'It's a feedin' storm an' no lichtsome for the sheep,' wes a' he said.
“Na, na, Sandie needna speak tae a Drumtochty man aboot Jamie; he didna live here a' his days withoot oor kennin' him. There's nae doot he hed a tongue, but it wes aye on the richt side.
“Div ye mind hoo he yokit on the kirkyaird ae day for lauchin' at Airchie Moncur an' his teatotalism? it took us a' oor time tae quiet him, he wes that croose; and ye ken it wes Jamie that focht awa wi' Posty till the morning he wes drooned. He got him doon tae twa gless a day, an' micht hae reformed him athegither gin he hedna been interrupit.
“His hert wes juist ower big, that wes the maitter wi' Jamie, an' he hoddit (hid) his feelings for fear o' makin' a fule o' himsel afore the pairish.
“Sall, he wesna verra parteeklar what he said gin ye hed him in a corner. He nursit the bit lassie that lived wi' Mary Robertson for a hale day when she wes deein' o' diptheria, an' threipit tae me that he hed juist gi'en a cry in passin', an' when Lily Grant deed in London, he gied oot that her mistress hed paid for bringin' the corpse tae Drumtochty kirkyaird. He cud lee near as weel as Milton, but it wes aye tae cover his ain gudeness.
“A' coontit Weelum Maclure an' Jamie Soutar the warmest herts in the Glen, an' Jamie 's never been the same sin... we lost Weelum. The kirkyaird's no worth comin' tae noo that Jamie's awa.”
It spoke volumes for Milton's zeal that he was among the first to visit Jamie after he took to bed, and the Glen can never be sufficiently thankful that Elspeth Macfadyen was present to give an accurate account of the interview.
“'Whatna step is that at the door?' said Jamie; 'a' never herd it here afore '; and when a' telt him it wes Milton, he gied me a luke an' briskit up that meenut.