worse than that
written in your own history," he cried:

"_O-o-och, Fairshon swore a feud,
Against ta clan McTavish,
And marched into their land,
To murder and to ravish,
For he did resolve,
To extirpate ta vipers,
With four-and-twenty men
And five-and-twenty pipers!_"

"Tut, tut, Doctor," cried Captain Jimmie, trying to hide a smile
beneath his bonnet. "Be quate man, it's the Sabbath day."

"Well, here's a verse that's got a quotation from Scripture or at least
an allusion to one. That's to be expected in the history of the
McPhersons."

"_Fairshon had a son
That married Noah's daughter,
And nearly spoiled ta flood
By drinking all ta water,
Which he would have done
I really do believe it
Had ta mixture peen
Only half Glenlevit!_"

Lawyer Ed was shaking with unseemly laughter.

"Ye'll hae to sing it a' when we eat the haggis the morn's night," he
suggested.

"I don't understand how a reference to anything so unholy as the
Glenlevit got into the annals of ta Fairshons, Jock," said Doctor Blair.

Now Jock McPherson was not averse to a drop of Glenlevit himself,--for
his stomach's sake, of course, for the elder could not be unscriptural
even in his eating and drinking. Archie Blair was not averse to it
either, though he frankly admitted that it was very bad for his
stomach, indeed, and for everybody else's stomach.

But in the opening temperance campaign the latter had come out avowedly
on the side of local option, and was looked upon as one of the party's
strongest speakers, while Jock had not yet declared himself. It was a
delicate subject with Mr. McPherson, and he could not endure to be
twitted about it.

He paused at the church steps and laid his hand on the doctor's velvet
sleeve. He cleared his throat, always a dangerous sign.

"Yes," he said very slowly, "it will be a ferry fine song indeed, and
if Edward would jist be putting big _Aye_-men on the tail of it
to-morrow night, it will sound more feenished." The whole procession
was waiting to enter the church, but Jock did not hurry. "As for the
Glenlevit, the McPhersons were no more noted for liking their drop than
many another clan I might mention. But they were honest about it." He
paused again and then said even more deliberately: "And if you would
like to be referring to the Scriptures again, you might be taking a
look at your Bible when you get home, you will be finding some ferr