e place o' despondency, whan I
reflected on the heartless haste o' Lucy to wed anither, thereby
convincin me that, in losin her, my loss was by nae means great. So
then, to mak a lang story short, in place o' jumpin into the Clyde, I
hied me to a tavern, ate as hearty a supper as ever I ate in my life,
drank a guid, steeve tumbler o' toddy, tumbled into bed, sleepit as
sound as a caterpillar in winter, an' awoke next mornin as fresh as a
daisy an' as licht as a lark, free frae a' concern aboot Lucy, an'
perfectly satisfied that I had acted quite richt in no droonin mysel on
the previous nicht.

Havin noo got quit o' my love affairs, my first business, next day, was
to ca' on the mercantile firm alluded to in another part o' the
narrative; and to their countin-hoose I accordingly directed my
steps--and thae steps, when I entered their premises, were a wee
haughty, for I felt at once the strength o' the money in my pouch, and a
sense o' havin been ill-used by them. On enterin the countin-hoose, I
fand the principal there alane, seated at a desk.

This gentleman I knew personally, and he kent me too; for I had
frequently ca'ed at his office in the way o' business, and on these
occasions he had aye come forrit to me wi' extended hand and a smilin
countenance. On the present, however, he did naething o' the kind. He
sat still, and, lookin sternly at me as I approached him--

"Well, Mr. Smith," he said, "are ye come to settle that account? Short
accounts make long friends, you know," he added, but wi' a sort o'
ferocious smile, if there be such a thing.

"I wad like first to ken, sir," I replied, "what was the meanin o' yer
writin us sic a letter as we had frae ye the ither day?"

"Why, Mr. Smith," said Mr. Drysdale, which was the gentleman's name,
"under the peculiar circumstances of the case, I don't see there was
anything in that letter that ought to have surprised you. It was a
perfectly natural and reasonable effort on our part to recover our own."

"A reasonable effort, sir, to recover your own!" said I indignantly.
"What do you mean? My faither has dealt wi' ye these twenty years, and I
don't suppose ye ever fand it necessary to mak ony effort to recover
your money oot o' his hands. I rather think ye were aye paid withoot
askin."

"Oh, yes, yes," replied Mr. Drysdale, doggedly; "but I repeat that
recent circumstances have altered the case materially."

"What circumstances do ye allude to, sir?" said I, wi' inc