Page:Martha Spreull by Zachary Fleming.pdf/78

66 and mither had a lang confab ower the proposal. They Were a genteel family, there wis fine caller air on the banks o' the Kelvin, and what not; the upshot o't wis that ae spring mornin' I wis entrusted to the care o' the Partick carrier, and aboot mid-day I wis safely landed at Cashmere Cottage, the name o' the major's place. This wis my first experience o' the worl' awa' frae hame, and it wis a bad heginnin'. The major, I think, wis the daftest bein' oot o' India, and, to tell the truth, his wife wisna muckle better than himsel'. It wis said the sun had been ower strong for his head, and I can weel believe it, for he wis the hot-headedest man I ever saw. They were aye quarrelling and aye makin't up again. She wis a heap younger than himsel', and he blamed her for haein' nae sympathy wi' him.

Weel, ae day there wis a terrible pliskie atween them. The major, thinkin' to bring her to and try her affection for him,



ran into his study, fired aff a pistol, and fell heavily on the flair, as if mortally wounded. I'm no leein' when I tell ye that he must have lain there for at least twenty meenits; and ye