The miller and Dan started with the requisites, mended the slap, looked at the sheep, smoked a quiet pipe, and parted.
“That cowes [beats] a’,” said the miller.
“The canny way’s the best way, after a’,” said Dan.
Colonel Gordon was spending part of the summer with Mr. Kirkwood, and they called at Knowe Park. The Colonel’s relationship to Mrs. Barrie was clearly established; and a piano, and some other marks of kindness on the Colonel’s part, were sent from Edinburgh shortly thereafter. But unfortunately Bell was not in when the gentlemen called, greatly to Mr. Kirkwood’s regret, and their visit had been a short one.
Colonel Gordon was in indifferent health, and Mr. Kirkwood would not allow him to exert or excite himself in any way, so that Bell’s “castle in the air” was as hazy as ever; and as neither Mr. nor Mrs. Barrie had thought much on the matter, the presents were taken as tokens of goodwill, and politely acknowledged as such, but they formed no ground in their minds of any, far less of such great expectations as they did in Bell’s.
The social element in religion was greatly promoted by the soirees and meetings of that nature held in connection with the Free Church. Mr. Barrie used to tell of Mr. Taylor’s usual welcome when he dropped in of an evening: “Come away, Mr. Barrie, ye’ll spend an hour wi’ us. There’s a great deal o’ religion in sociality, an’ there’s far ower little sociality in our religion—for that’s what I think is the ‘communion of saints,’ it’s just sociality—gude neibourship, as far as our firesides are concerned.”
At one of our soirees—I think it was in 1850—Sir John McLelland suddenly appeared in the Free Church lobby. Dr. Guthrie was one of the speakers, and the church was crammed. Some young men acted as ticket-collectors and stewards at the door, and they had been so anxious to lose nothing of the speeches, that they did not even look round in reply to Sir John’s question, “Could you find room for me?”
“Have you a ticket?” was the reply.
“A ticket! What sort of ticket? I’ve no ticket,” said Sir John.