can find game, though you cannot, Hobbie," said the
eldest sister, glancing a look at young Earnscliff.

"Weel, weel, woman, hasna every dog his day, begging Earnscliff's
pardon for the auld saying--Mayna I hae his luck, and he mine, another
time?--It's a braw thing for a man to be out a' day, and frighted--na, I
winna say that neither but mistrysted wi' bogles in the hame-coming, an'
then to hae to flyte wi' a wheen women that hae been doing naething a'
the live-lang day, but whirling a bit stick, wi' a thread trailing at
it, or boring at a clout."

"Frighted wi' bogles!" exclaimed the females, one and all,--for great
was the regard then paid, and perhaps still paid, in these glens, to all
such fantasies.

"I did not say frighted, now--I only said mis-set wi' the thing--And
there was but ae bogle, neither--Earnscliff, ye saw it; as weel as I
did?"

And he proceeded, without very much exaggeration, to detail, in his own
way, the meeting they had with the mysterious being at Mucklestane-Moor,
concluding, he could not conjecture what on earth it could be, unless it
was either the Enemy himsell, or some of the auld Peghts that held the
country lang syne.

"Auld Peght!" exclaimed the grand-dame; "na, na--bless thee frae scathe,
my bairn, it's been nae Peght that--it's been the Brown Man of the
Moors! O weary fa' thae evil days!--what can evil beings be coming for
to distract a poor country, now it's peacefully settled, and living in
love and law--O weary on him! he ne'er brought gude to these lands or
the indwellers. My father aften tauld me he was seen in the year o' the
bloody fight at Marston-Moor, and then again in Montrose's troubles, and
again before the rout o' Dunbar, and, in my ain time, he was seen about
the time o' Bothwell-Brigg, and they said the second-sighted Laird of
Benarbuck had a communing wi' him some time afore Argyle's landing,
but that I cannot speak to sae preceesely--it was far in the west.--O,
bairns, he's never permitted but in an ill time, sae mind ilka ane o' ye
to draw to Him that can help in the day of trouble."

Earnscliff now interposed, and expressed his firm conviction that the
person they had seen was some poor maniac, and had no commission from
the invisible world to announce either war or evil. But his opinion
found a very cold audience, and all joined to deprecate his purpose of
returning to the spot the next day.

"O, my bonny bairn," said the old dame (for, in the kindness o