The piece of news fails to startle us altogether; though we have heard the Laird speak of Mr. Galbraith before.
"Ay," says he, "the world will know something o' Colonsay when Tom Galbraith gets there."
"Whom did you say?" Miss Avon asks.
"Why, Galbraith!" says he. "Tom Galbraith!"
The Laird stares in amazement. Is it possible she has not heard of Tom Galbraith? And she herself an artist; and coming direct from Edinburgh, where she has been living for two whole months!
"Gracious me!" says the Laird. "Ye do not say ye have never heard of Galbraith—he's an Academeecian!—a Scottish Academeecian!"
"Oh, yes; no doubt," she says, rather bewildered.
"There is no one living has had such an influence on our Scotch school of painters as Galbraith—a man of great abeelity—a man of great and uncommon abeelity—he is one of the most famous landscape painters of our day——"
"I scarcely met any one in Edinburgh," she pleads.
"But in London—in London!" exclaims the astonished Laird. "Do ye mean to say you never heard o' Tom Galbraith?"