“You will be hearing,” Janet mentioned, “that they hef come back to the Lodge yesterday morning, and it iss myself that will be glad to see Miss Kate again; and very pretty iss she looking, with peautiful dresses and bonnets, for I hef seen them all, maybe twelve or ten.

“Oh yes, my dear, Donald will be talking about her marriage to Lord Kilspindie’s son, who iss a very handsome young man and good at the shooting; and he will be blowing that they will live at the Lodge in great state, with many gillies and a piper and he will be head of them all.

“No, it iss not Janet Macpherson, my dear, that will be believing Donald Cameron, or any Cameron—­although I am not saying that the Camerons are not men of their hands—­for Donald will be always making great stories and telling me wonderful things.  He wass a brave man in the battle, and iss very clever at the doctrine too, and will be strong against human himes (hymns), but he iss a most awful liar iss Donald Cameron, and you must not be believing a word that comes out of his mouth.

“She will be asking many questions in her room as soon as Donald had brought up her boxes and the door was shut.  Some will be about the Glen, and some about the garden, and some will be about people—­whether you ever will be visiting me, and whether you asked for her after the day she left the kirk.  But I will say, ’No; Mr. Carmichael does not speak about anything but the religion when he comes to my cottage.’

“That iss nothing.  I will be saying more, that I am hearing that the minister iss to be married to a fery rich young lady in Muirtown who hass been courting him for two years, and that her father will be giving the minister twenty thousand pounds the day they are married.  And I will say she iss very beautiful, with blue eyes and gold hair, and that her temper iss so sweet they are calling her the Angel of Muirtown.

“Toot, toot, my dear, you are not to be speaking about lies, for that iss not a pretty word among friends, and you will not be meddling with me, for you will be better at the preaching and the singing of himes than dealing with women.  It iss not good to be making yourself too common, and Miss Kate will be thinking the more of you if you be holding your head high and letting her see that you are not a poor lowland body, but a Farquharson by your mother’s side, and maybe of the chief’s blood, though twenty or fifteen times removed.

“She will be very pleased to hear such good news of you, and be saying that it iss a mercy you are getting somebody to dress you properly.  But her temper will not be at all good, and I did not ask her about Lord Hay, and she said nothing to me, nor about any other lord.  It iss not often I hef seen as great a liar as Donald Cameron.

“Last evening Miss Kate will come down before dinner and talk about many things, and then she will say at the door, ’Donald tells me that Mister Carmichael does not believe in the Bible, and that his friend, Doctor Saunderson, has cast him off, and that he has been punished by his Bishop or somebody at Muirtown.’