Page:Martha Spreull by Zachary Fleming.pdf/25

Rh College, and gin onybody tries to pit a plaister on yer mou' cry a' yer pith." At the time, I wis honestly i' the belief, frae stories I heard, that efter gloamin' a' the closes i' the High Street were teemin' wi' airmless, legless, and sometimes headless ghosts, wha had come to wait on the Professors for their lost limbs.

When I think o't noo the doctor creaturs o' that time maun hae gotten their body-learnin' under great disadvantages, and I'm no surprised that on hearin' o' a death frae some new cause they should have run a little risk to get at the bottom o' the trouble. Hooever, efter the passing o' the Anatomy Bill, which made proveeshun for a' unclaimed bodies being handed ower to the College for anatomical dissection, public confidence in the profession wis restored, and the only thing ye had to fear, in gaun up and doon the High Street efter gloamin', wis the losin' o' yer purse or pocket-hanky. Since I hae been asked to put pen to paper, some gey droll things hae come into my head; but they maun stan' ower till again, as this chapter is nearly lang enough already. Hooever, when talking o' my student laddies, there is ae mysterious feature aboot College life that I could never satisfy mysel' upon. It is weel enough kent that students gae clean daft in the spring-time o' every third year, as reg'lar as the time comes roon. Onybody that has watched them, as I hae dune, will no' think I am doing them an injustice by this statement. At this particular time o' the year, to fin' twa or three o' them on yer