y affairs are quite involved; and for the moment, it would be even
impossible for me to undertake a journey."

"Until you have occasion to communicate with your friends," said I,
"perhaps it might be convenient for you (as of course it would be
honourable to myself) if you were to regard yourself in the light of my
guest?"

"Sir," said he, "when an offer is frankly made, I think I honour myself
most to imitate that frankness. Your hand, Mr. David; you have the
character that I respect the most; you are one of those from whom a
gentleman can take a favour and no more words about it. I am an old
soldier," he went on, looking rather disgusted-like around my chamber,
"and you need not fear I shall prove burthensome. I have ate too often
at a dyke-side, drank of the ditch, and had no roof but the rain."

"I should be telling you," said I, "that our breakfasts are sent
customarily in about this time of morning. I propose I should go now to
the tavern, and bid them add a cover for yourself and delay the meal the
matter of an hour, which will give you an interval to meet your daughter
in."

Methought his nostrils wagged at this. "O, an hour," says he. "That is
perhaps superfluous. Half an hour, Mr. David, or say twenty minutes; I
shall do very well in that. And by the way," he adds, detaining me by
the coat, "what is it you drink in the morning, whether ale or wine?"

"To be frank with you, sir," says I, "I drink nothing else but spare,
cold water?"

"Tut-tut," says he, "that is fair destruction to the stomach, take an
old campaigner's word for it. Our country spirit at home is perhaps the
most entirely wholesome; but as that is not come-at-able, Rhenish or a
white wine of Burgundy will be next best."

"I shall make it my business to see you are supplied," said I.

"Why, very good," said he, "and we shall make a man of you yet, Mr.
David."

By this time, I can hardly say that I was minding him at all, beyond an
odd thought of the kind of father-in-law that he was like to prove; and
all my cares centred about the lass his daughter, to whom I determined
to convey some warning of her visitor. I stepped to the door
accordingly, and cried through the panels, knocking thereon at the same
time: "Miss Drummond, here is your father come at last."

With that I went forth upon my errand, having (by two words)
extraordinarily damaged my affairs.

* * * * *

CHAPTER XXVI

THE THREESOME