ce a carle in the country that has a
plough-gate of land, but what he must ride to quarter-sessions and write
J.P. after his name. I ken fu' weel whom I am obliged to--Sir Thomas
Kittlecourt as good as tell'd me he would sit in my skirts if he had not
my interest at the last election; and because I chose to go with my own
blood and third cousin, the Laird of Balruddery, they keepit me off the
roll of freeholders; and now there comes a new nomination of justices,
and I am left out! And whereas they pretend it was because I let David
Mac-Guffog, the constable, draw the warrants, and manage the business his
ain gate, as if I had been a nose o' wax, it's a main untruth; for I
granted but seven warrants in my life, and the Dominie wrote every one of
them--and if it had not been that unlucky business of Sandy
Mac-Gruthar's, that the constables should have keepit twa or three days
up yonder at the auld castle, just till they could get conveniency to
send him to the county jail--and that cost me eneugh o' siller. But I ken
what Sir Thomas wants very weel--it was just sic and siclike about the
seat in the kirk o' Kilmagirdle--was I not entitled to have the front
gallery facing the minister, rather than Mac-Crosskie of Creochstone, the
son of Deacon Mac-Crosskie, the Dumfries weaver?'

Mannering expressed his acquiescence in the justice of these various
complaints.

'And then, Mr. Mannering, there was the story about the road and the
fauld-dike. I ken Sir Thomas was behind there, and I said plainly to the
clerk to the trustees that I saw the cloven foot, let them take that as
they like. Would any gentleman, or set of gentlemen, go and drive a road
right through the corner of a fauld-dike and take away, as my agent
observed to them, like twa roods of gude moorland pasture? And there was
the story about choosing the collector of the cess--'

'Certainly, sir, it is hard you should meet with any neglect in a country
where, to judge from the extent of their residence, your ancestors must
have made a very important figure.'

'Very true, Mr. Mannering; I am a plain man and do not dwell on these
things, and I must needs say I have little memory for them; but I wish ye
could have heard my father's stories about the auld fights of the
Mac-Dingawaies--that's the Bertrams that now is--wi' the Irish and wi'
the Highlanders that came here in their berlings from Ilay and Cantire;
and how they went to the Holy Land--that is, to Jerusalem and