piece o' business with the Raths,
and that will be seen, and heard tell o'."

"As I was saying, Margot, it is the hame side o' the affair that gave
me a shock. To think of a' we hae done, of a' his brithers hae done,
and of the siller he got frae his sister! To think o' it! Only to
think o' it! And not ane o' us bid to his wedding. It fairly staggers
me!"

"Nae wonder, gudeman! It's an unspeakable business! I'll not talk o'
it! The lad I nursed on my heart, and he's fairly broken it at last.
He's a sinful creature!"

"We are all o' us sinfu' creatures, Margot!"

"We are not. You are much mista'en, James. There's plenty o' good men
and women on every side o' us. Neither you, nor mysel', would do as
Neil has done."

"Perhaps not--but we baith hae our ain way o' sinning, Margot, you ken
that."

"Speak for yoursel', gudeman!"

"Finlay said----"

"Kay! Kay! I'll no be fashed wi' Finlay's foolishness. I'm awa' to my
sleep. My lad, my dear lad, you are heart-weary. I'm sorry for you."

"Wait a moment, Margot. Finlay says he has nae doubt Neil has married
ten thousand pounds a year. Think o' that!"

"I'll think of nae such foolishness. And if it was twenty thousand,
the lad would need it all--we hae brought him up sae badly!"

Margot disappeared with the words, and the unhappy father as he
covered the fire, and pottered about the house, said sorrowfully:

"She's right! She's always right. If her words are in the way o'
reproach, it's my fault! James Ruleson's fault! I ought to hae stood
out against the Maraschal. If we had made him a minister, he would hae
been obligated to set an example to a kirkful o' men and women, and
folks will sin against their ain house, when they will do their duty
to a kirkful."

CHAPTER IX

A HAPPY BIT OF WRITING

The dead sailor,
Has peace that none may gain who live;
And rest about him, that no love can give,
And over him, while life and death shall be,
The light and sound, and darkness of the sea!

The winter following Neil's marriage was a pleasant one to the village
of Culraine. The weather was favorable, the line fishing more than
usually prosperous, and the school remarkably successful. Ruleson took
the greatest delight in its progress, and nothing gave him greater
pleasure than a walk in its vicinity, when he could see the children
coming and going, with their books and balls in their hands. They all
knew him, but however large