's head, and said he had given him blood instead
of burgundy; and, sure aneugh, the lass washed clotted blood aff the
carpet; the neist day. The jackanape they caa'd Major Weir, it jibbered
and cried as if it was mocking its master; my gudesire's head was like
to turn--he forgot baith siller and receipt, and downstairs he
banged; but as he ran, the shrieks came faint and fainter; there was a
deep-drawn shivering groan, and word gaed through the castle that the
laird was dead.

Weel, away came my gudesire, wi' his finger in his mouth, and his best
hope was that Dougal had seen the money-bag, and heard the laird
speak of writing the receipt. The young laird, now Sir John, came from
Edinburgh, to see things put to rights. Sir John and his father never
gree'd weel. Sir John had been bred an advocate, and afterwards sat in
the last Scots Parliament and voted for the Union, having gotten, it was
thought, a rug of the compensations--if his father could have come out
of his grave, he would have brained him for it on his awn hearthstane.
Some thought it was easier counting with the auld rough knight than the
fair-spoken young ane--but mair of that anon.

Dougal MacCallum, poor body, neither grat nor grained, but gaed about
the house looking like a corpse, but directing, as was his duty, a'
the order of the grand funeral. Now Dougal looked ay waur and waur when
night was coming, and was ay the last to gang to his bed, whilk was in
a little round just opposite the chamber of dais, whilk his master
occupied while he was living, and where he now lay in state, as they
caa'd it, weel-a-day! The night before the funeral, Dougal could keep
his awn counsel nae langer; he came doun with his proud spirit, and
fairly asked auld Hutcheon to sit in his room with him for an hour. When
they were in the round, Dougal took ae tass of brandy to himsell, and
gave another to Hutcheon, and wished him all health and lang life, and
said that, for himsell, he wasna lang for this world; for that, every
night since Sir Robert's death, his silver call had sounded from the
state chamber, just as it used to do at nights in his lifetime, to call
Dougal to help to turn him in his bed. Dougal said that being alone
with the dead on that floor of the tower (for naebody cared to wake Sir
Robert Redgauntlet like another corpse) he had never daured to answer
the call, but that now his conscience checked him for neglecting his
duty; for, 'though death breaks service