ae the market-place, an'
standin' in a bit garden, whaur the geniuses could walk aboot
arm-in-arm, composin' their minds."

"You would have the grounds walled in, I suppose, so that the public
could not intrude?"

"Weel, there's a difficulty there, because, ye'll observe, as the
public would support the institootion, they would hae a kind o' richt
to look in. How-some-ever, I daur say we could arrange to fling the
grounds open to the public once a week on condition 'at they didna
speak to the geniuses. I'm thinkin' 'at if there was a small chairge
for admission the Home could be made self-supportin'. Losh! to think
'at if there had been sic an institootion in his time a man micht hae
sat on the bit dyke and watched Robbie Burns danderin' roond the--"

"You would divide the Home into suites of rooms, so that every inmate
would have his own apartments?"

"Not by no means; na, na. The mair I read aboot geniuses the mair
clearly I see as their wy o' living alane ower muckle is ane o' the
things as breaks doon their health, and makes them meeserable. I' the
Home they would hae a bedroom apiece, but the parlour an' the other
sittin'-rooms would be for all, so as they could enjoy ane another's
company. The management? Oh, that's aisy. The superintendent would
be a medical man appointed by Parliament, and he would hae men-servants
to do his biddin'."

"Not all men-servants, surely?"

"Every one o' them. Man, geniuses is no to be trusted wi' womenfolk.
No, even Robbie Bu--"

"So he did; but would the inmates have to put themselves entirely in
the superintendent's hands?"

"Nae doubt; an' they would see it was the wisest thing they could do.
He would be careful o' their health, an' send them early to bed as weel
as hae them up at eight sharp. Geniuses' healths is always breakin'
doon because of late hours, as in the case o' the lad wha used often to
begin his immortal writin's at twal o'clock at nicht, a thing 'at would
ruin ony constitootion. But the superintendent would see as they had a
tasty supper at nine o'clock--something as agreed wi' them. Then for
half an hour they would quiet their brains readin' oot aloud, time
about, frae sic a book as the 'Pilgrim's Progress,' an' the gas would
be turned aff at ten precisely."

"When would you have them up in the morning?"

"At sax in summer an' seven in winter. The superintendent would see as
they were all properly bathed every mornin', cleanliness bein' m