tle girl by the road-side near the house of my
friends. Always ready to assist the unfortunate, they took charge of the
child, and as she grew a little older they began to give her some
education, and taught her to read. She soon made some progress in
reading the Bible, and the native odd humour of which we speak began
soon to show itself. On reading the passage which began 'Then David
rose,' etc., the child stopped and looked up knowingly to say, 'I ken
wha that was,' and being asked what she could mean, she confidently
said, 'That's David Rowse the pleuchman.' And again, reading the passage
where the words occur, 'He took Paul's girdle,' the child said, with
much confidence, 'I ken what he took that for;' and on being asked to
explain, replied at once, 'To bake his bannocks on.'"

Among less than a dozen examples in all of child humour, the good Dean
has yet another worth telling, which he says, used to be narrated by an
old Mr. Campbell of Jura, who told the story of his own son. The boy, it
seems, was much spoilt by indulgence. In fact, the parents were scarce
able to refuse him anything he demanded. He was in the drawing-room on
one occasion when dinner was announced, and on being ordered up to the
nursery he insisted on going down to dinner with the company. His
mother was for refusal, but the child persevered and kept saying, "If I
dinna gang, I'll tell yon." His father then, for peace sake, let him go.
So he went, and sat at the table by his mother. When he found every one
getting soup and himself omitted, he demanded soup, and repeated, "If I
dinna get it, I'll tell yon." Well, soup was given, and various other
things yielded to his importunities, to which he always added the usual
threat of "telling yon." At last, when it came to wine, his mother stood
firm, and positively refused, as "a bad thing for little boys," and so
on. He then became more vociferous than ever about "telling yon;" and,
as still he was refused, he declared, "Now I'll tell yon," and at last
roared out--"_My new breeks are made oot o' the auld curtains!_"

That, however, is not the most delectable of child stories. We prefer
the ideas of the little folks within the region of philosophy. When, for
example, they want to know "Whaur div' a' the figures gang when they're
rubbit oot?" and ask such questions as "Where does the dark go when the
light comes?" "Was it not very wrong of God not to make Cain good as
well as Abel?" or, "If it be true t