pear to each boy
in the four upper forms--except the Dowbiggins, who declined
politely--and to distribute a handful for a scramble among the little
boys. There was much curiosity about the source of Peter's generosity,
and it certainly was remarkable that the pear was of the same kind as
the old lady cultivated with much pride, and that her fruit was gathered
for her in the course of one dark night. Speug was capable of anything
except telling a lie. He could swim the Tay at its broadest and almost
at its swiftest, could ride any horse in his father's stable, could
climb any tree in the meadows, and hold his own in every game, from
marbles and "catch the keggie," a game based on smuggling, to football,
where he was a very dangerous forward, and cricket, where his batting
was fearsome for its force and obstinacy. There was nothing he could not
do with his hands, and no one whom he was not ready to face.

Speug was a very vigorous barbarian indeed, and the exact type of a
turbulent Lowland Scot, without whom the Seminary had missed its life
and colour, and who by sheer force of courage and strength asserted
himself as our chief captain. After many years have passed, Speug stands
out a figure of size and reality from among the Dowbiggins and other
poor fleeting shadows. Thomas John, no doubt, carried off medals,
prizes, certificates of merit, and everything else which could be
obtained in Muirtown Seminary by a lad who played no games and swatted
all evening at next day's work. The town was weary of seeing Thomas John
and his brother--each wearing the same smug expression, and each in
faultlessly neat attire--processing up in turn to receive their honours
from the hands of the Lord Provost, and the town would cheer with
enthusiasm when Duncan Robertson made an occasional appearance, being
glad to escape from the oppression of the Dowbiggin _regime_. Nor was
the town altogether wrong in refusing to appreciate the Dowbiggins at
their own value, and declining to believe that the strength of the
country was after their fashion. When Thomas John reached the University
he did not altogether fulfil the expectations of his family, and by the
time he reached the pulpit no one could endure his unredeemed dulness.
When last I heard of him he was secretary to a blameless society which
has for its object the discovery of the lost Ten Tribes, and it occurs
to me that it would have been a good thing for Thomas John to have been
blown up