Beadle—“Weel, ye see, there’s some likes to lie wi’ their feet to the east, some wi’ their feet to the wast. There, just for instance, ahent ye, lies the auld minister an’ his wife; him wi’ his feet to the east, an’ her wi’ her feet to the wast. They were contrar’ a’ their days, an’ they’re contrar’ yet.”
In a short time a lair was selected, after which the minister enquired of John how long he had been about the place.
Beadle—“I’ve been howkin’ awa’ in this corner for mair than fifty year, sir.”
Minister—“And I suppose you have buried one or more out of every house in the parish, John?”
Beadle—“Na’, sir, na’. Thae folk o’ Todhills there have run nearly twa tacks o’ their farm, an’ they havena’ broken grund yet.”
Minister—“Indeed, that’s very remarkable, John, and old Todhills himself looks wonderfully hale and hearty still.”
Beadle—“Hale an’ hearty, ay, hale an’ hearty eneuch, an’ tichtenin’ his grip on the warld every day. But folk sud live an’ lat live, sir. I say, folk sud live an’ lat live.”
The minister and his friend thought John should take the same advice to himself, but preferred not to say so, and the interview terminated.