like one in a state of madness.

"We were speakin o' guardians for my dochters," said he, at last, "and I
said I had a brither whase surname is Christie. You promised me
consolation. Is this your comfort to a deein man? For twenty years I
have hated the mention o' that dreadfu name; and now, when I am on my
death-bed, speakin o' curators for my bairns, ye rack my ears by tellin
me I am the brither o' _Christiecleek_! Would Christiecleek be a
suitable guardian for my dochters? Speak, Agnes--say if ye think
Christiecleek would tak care o' their bodies and their gowd as weel as
he tended the victims o' the Highland cave?"

The wife saw she had gone too far, and begged his pardon for having made
the suggestion.

"Ye will forgive me, David," said she, "for the remark I hae dune ye
great injustice; for how is it possible to conceive that sae guid a man
could be sae nearly related to a monster? But ye hae to explain to me
the change o' name. How hae you and your brither different surnames?"

"_Because_," said the dying man, turning round, and staring with
lacklustre eyes broadly in the face of his wife--"_because I am
Christiecleek!_"

Transcriber's notes:

- Obvious punctuation errors repaired.
- Title page: No glossary included in the original.
- pg 010: 'ferula' corrected to 'ferule'
- pg 081: 'douce' corrected to 'douse'
- pg 095: 'iron gripe' corrected to 'iron grip'
- pg 107; 'spitfire' corrected to 'Spitfire'
- pg 211: 'neices' corrected to 'nieces'
- pg 223: 'Shakpere' corrected to 'Shakspere' (to match GWL)

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Scotland, Vol. 9, by Various

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