pleased, though a little frightened, at the
result. The MacCallum had done his work thoroughly, and there was
nothing omitted that could add to the martial dignity of the wearer.

'I shall not, of course, take the claymore and the pistols with me on
ordinary occasions,' said Markam to himself as he began to undress. He
determined that he would wear the dress for the first time on landing
in Scotland, and accordingly on the morning when the _Ban Righ_ was
hanging off the Girdle Ness lighthouse, waiting for the tide to enter
the port of Aberdeen, he emerged from his cabin in all the gaudy
splendour of his new costume. The first comment he heard was from one
of his own sons, who did not recognise him at first.

'Here's a guy! Great Scott! It's the governor!' And the boy fled
forthwith and tried to bury his laughter under a cushion in the
saloon. Markam was a good sailor and had not suffered from the
pitching of the boat, so that his naturally rubicund face was even
more rosy by the conscious blush which suffused his cheeks when he had
found himself at once the cynosure of all eyes. He could have wished
that he had not been so bold for he knew from the cold that there was
a big bare spot under one side of his jauntily worn Glengarry cap.
However, he faced the group of strangers boldly. He was not,
outwardly, upset even when some of the comments reached his ears.

'He's off his bloomin' chump,' said a cockney in a suit of exaggerated
plaid.

'There's flies on him,' said a tall thin Yankee, pale with
sea-sickness, who was on his way to take up his residence for a time
as close as he could get to the gates of Balmoral.

'Happy thought! Let us fill our mulls; now's the chance!' said a
young Oxford man on his way home to Inverness. But presently Mr.
Markam heard the voice of his eldest daughter.

'Where is he? Where is he?' and she came tearing along the deck with
her hat blowing behind her. Her face showed signs of agitation, for
her mother had just been telling her of her father's condition; but
when she saw him she instantly burst into laughter so violent that it
ended in a fit of hysterics. Something of the same kind happened to
each of the other children. When they had all had their turn Mr.
Markam went to his cabin and sent his wife's maid to tell each member
of the family that he wanted to see them at once. They all made their
appearance, suppressing their feelings as well as they could. He said
to them very quiet