ee him. He dressed himself as
quickly as he could--for he was not yet expert with the Highland
dress--and hurried down, not wishing to keep the salmon-fisher
waiting. He was surprised and not altogether pleased to find that his
visitor was none other than Saft Tammie, who at once opened fire on
him:

'I maun gang awa' t' the post; but I thocht that I would waste an hour
on ye, and ca' roond just to see if ye waur still that fou wi' vanity
as on the nicht gane by. An I see that ye've no learned the lesson.
Well! the time is comin', sure eneucht! However I have all the time i'
the marnins to my ain sel', so I'll aye look roond jist till see how
ye gang yer ain gait to the quicksan', and then to the de'il! I'm aff
till ma wark the noo!' And he went straightway, leaving Mr. Markam
considerably vexed, for the maids within earshot were vainly trying to
conceal their giggles. He had fairly made up his mind to wear on that
day ordinary clothes, but the visit of Saft Tammie reversed his
decision. He would show them all that he was not a coward, and he
would go on as he had begun--come what might. When he came to
breakfast in full martial panoply the children, one and all, held down
their heads and the backs of their necks became very red indeed. As,
however, none of them laughed--except Titus, the youngest boy, who was
seized with a fit of hysterical choking and was promptly banished from
the room--he could not reprove them, but began to break his egg with a
sternly determined air. It was unfortunate that as his wife was
handing him a cup of tea one of the buttons of his sleeve caught in
the lace of her morning wrapper, with the result that the hot tea was
spilt over his bare knees. Not unnaturally, he made use of a swear
word, whereupon his wife, somewhat nettled, spoke out:

'Well, Arthur, if you will make such an idiot of yourself with that
ridiculous costume what else can you expect? You are not accustomed to
it--and you never will be!' In answer he began an indignant speech
with: 'Madam!' but he got no further, for now that the subject was
broached, Mrs. Markam intended to have her say out. It was not a
pleasant say, and, truth to tell, it was not said in a pleasant
manner. A wife's manner seldom is pleasant when she undertakes to tell
what she considers 'truths' to her husband. The result was that Arthur
Fernlee Markam undertook, then and there, that during his stay in
Scotland he would wear no other costume than the one