On Friday, Miss Mally Glencairn received a brief note from Mrs. Pringle,
informing her, that she and the Doctor would reach the manse, "God
willing," in time for tea on Saturday; and begging her, therefore, to go
over from Irvine, and see that the house was in order for their
reception. This note was written from Glasgow, where they had arrived,
in their own carriage, from Carlisle on the preceding day, after
encountering, as Mrs. Pringle said, "more hardships and extorshoning than
all the dangers of the sea which they met with in the smack of Leith that
took them to London."
As soon as Miss Mally received this intelligence, she went to Miss
Isabella Tod, and requested her company for the next day to Garnock,
where they arrived betimes to dine with Mr. Snodgrass. Mrs. Glibbans and
her daughter Becky were then on a consolatory visit to Mr. Craig. We
mentioned in the last chapter, that the crying of Mrs. Craig had come on;
and that Mrs. Glibbans, according to promise, and with the most anxious
solicitude, had gone to wait the upshot. The upshot was most
melancholy,--Mrs. Craig was soon no more;--she was taken, as Mrs.
Glibbans observed on the occasion, from the earthly arms of her husband,
to the spiritual bosom of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, which was far
better. But the baby survived; so that, what with getting a nurse, and
the burial, and all the work and handling that a birth and death in one
house at the same time causes, Mr. Craig declared, that he could not do
without Mrs. Glibbans; and she, with all that Christianity by which she
was so zealously distinguished, sent for Miss Becky, and took up her
abode with him till it would please Him, without whom there is no
comfort, to wipe the eyes of the pious elder. In a word, she staid so
long, that a rumour began to spread that Mr. Craig would need a wife to
look after his bairn; and that Mrs. Glibbans was destined to supply the
desideratum.
Mr. Snodgrass, after enjoying his dinner society with Miss Mally and Miss
Isabella, thought it necessary to dispatch a courier, in the shape of a
barefooted servant lass, to Mr. Micklewham, to inform the elders that the
Doctor was expected home in time for tea, leaving it to their discretion
either to greet his safe return at the manse, or in any other form or
manner that would be most agreeable to themselves. These important news
were soon diffused through the clachan. Mr. Micklewham dismissed his
school an hour before the wonted time, and there was a universal interest
and curiosity excited, to see the Doctor coming home in his own coach.
All the boys of Garnock assembled at the braehead which commands an
extensive view of the Kilmarnock road, the only one from Glasgow that
runs through the parish; the wives with their sucklings were seated on
the large stones at their respective door-cheeks; while their cats were
calmly reclining on the window soles. The lassie weans, like clustering
bees, were mounted on the carts that stood before Thomas Birlpenny the
vintner's door, churming with anticipated delight; the old men took their
stations on the dike that incloses the side of the vintner's kail-yard,
and "a batch of wabster lads," with green aprons and thin yellow faces,
planted themselves at the gable of the malt kiln, where they were wont,
when trade was better, to play at the hand-ball; but, poor fellows, since
the trade fell off, they have had no heart for the game, and the
vintner's half-mutchkin stoups glitter in empty splendour unrequired on
the shelf below the brazen sconce above the bracepiece, amidst the idle
pewter pepper-boxes, the bright copper tea-kettle, the coffee-pot that
has never been in use, and lids of saucepans that have survived their
principals,--the wonted ornaments of every trig change-house kitchen.
The season was far advanced; but the sun shone at his setting with a
glorious composure, and the birds in the hedges and on the boughs were
again gladdened into song. The leaves had fallen thickly, and the
stubble-fields were bare, but Autumn, in a many-coloured tartan plaid,
was seen still walking with matronly composure in the woodlands, along
the brow of the neighbouring hills.
About half-past four o'clock, a movement was seen among the callans at
the braehead, and a shout announced that a carriage was in sight. It was
answered by a murmuring response of satisfaction from the whole village.
In the course of a few minutes the carriage reached the turnpike--it was
of the darkest green and the gravest fashion,--a large trunk, covered
with Russian matting, and fastened on with cords, prevented from chafing
it by knots of straw rope, occupied the front,--behind, other two were
fixed in the same manner, the lesser of course uppermost; and deep beyond
a pile of light bundles and bandboxes, that occupied a large portion of
the interior, the blithe faces of the Doctor and Mrs. Pringle were
discovered. The boys huzzaed, the Doctor flung them penny-pieces, and
the mistress baubees.
As the carriage drove along, the old men on the dike stood up and
reverently took off their hats and bonnets. The weaver lads gazed with a
melancholy smile; the lassies on the carts clapped their hands with joy;
the women on both sides of the street acknowledged the recognising nods;
while all the village dogs, surprised by the sound of chariot wheels,
came baying and barking forth, and sent off the cats that were so doucely
sitting on the window soles, clambering and scampering over the roofs in
terror of their lives.
When the carriage reached the manse door, Mr. Snodgrass, the two ladies,
with Mr. Micklewham, and all the elders except Mr. Craig, were there
ready to receive the travellers. But over this joy of welcoming we must
draw a veil; for the first thing that the Doctor did, on entering the
parlour and before sitting down, was to return thanks for his safe
restoration to his home and people.
The carriage was then unloaded, and as package, bale, box, and bundle
were successively brought in, Miss Mally Glencairn expressed her
admiration at the great capacity of the chaise. "Ay," said Mrs. Pringle,
"but you know not what we have suffert for't in coming through among the
English taverns on the road; some of them would not take us forward when
there was a hill to pass, unless we would take four horses, and every one
after another reviled us for having no mercy in loading the carriage like
a waggon,--and then the drivers were so gleg and impudent, that it was
worse than martyrdom to come with them. Had the Doctor taken my advice,
he would have brought our own civil London coachman, whom we hired with
his own horses by the job; but he said it behoved us to gi'e our ain fish
guts to our ain sea-maws, and that he designed to fee Thomas Birlpenny's
hostler for our coachman, being a lad of the parish. This obliged us to
post it from London; but, oh! Miss Mally, what an outlay it has been!"
The Doctor, in the meantime, had entered into conversation with the
gentlemen, and was inquiring, in the most particular manner, respecting
all his parishioners, and expressing his surprise that Mr. Craig had not
been at the manse with the rest of the elders. "It does not look well,"
said the Doctor. Mr. Daff, however, offered the best apology for his
absence that could be made. "He has had a gentle dispensation, sir--Mrs.
Craig has won awa' out of this sinful world, poor woman, she had a large
experience o't; but the bairns to the fore, and Mrs. Glibbans, that has
such a cast of grace, has ta'en charge of the house since before the
interment. It's thought, considering what's by gane, Mr. Craig may do
waur than make her mistress, and I hope, sir, your exhortation will no be
wanting to egg the honest man to think o't seriously."
Mr. Snodgrass, before delivering the household keys, ordered two bottles
of wine, with glasses and biscuit, to be set upon the table, while Mrs.
Pringle produced from a paper package, that had helped to stuff one of
the pockets of the carriage, a piece of rich plum-cake, brought all the
way from a confectioner's in Cockspur Street, London, not only for the
purpose of being eaten, but, as she said, to let Miss Nanny Eydent pree,
in order to direct the Irvine bakers how to bake others like it.
Tea was then brought in; and, as it was making, the Doctor talked aside
to the elders, while Mrs. Pringle recounted to Miss Mally and Miss
Isabella the different incidents of her adventures subsequent to the
marriage of Miss Rachel.
"The young folk," said she, "having gone to Brighton, we followed them in
a few days, for we were told it was a curiosity, and that the king has a
palace there, just a warld's wonder! and, truly, Miss Mally, it is
certainly not like a house for a creature of this world, but for some
Grand Turk or Chinaman. The Doctor said, it put him in mind of Miss
Jenny Macbride's sideboard in the Stockwell of Glasgow; where all the
pepper-boxes, poories, and teapots, punch-bowls, and china-candlesticks
of her progenitors are set out for a show, that tells her visitors, they
are but seldom put to use. As for the town of Brighton, it's what I
would call a gawky piece of London. I could see nothing in it but a
wheen idlers, hearing twa lads, at night, crying, "Five, six, seven for a
shilling," in the booksellers' shops, with a play-actor lady singing in a
corner, because her voice would not do for the players' stage.
Therefore, having seen the Captain and Mrs. Sabre off to France, we came
home to London; but it's not to be told what we had to pay at the hotel
where we staid in Brighton. Howsomever, having come back to London, we
settled our counts,--and, buying a few necessars, we prepared for
Scotland,--and here we are. But travelling has surely a fine effect in
enlarging the understanding; for both the Doctor and me thought, as we
came along, that everything had a smaller and poorer look than when we
went away; and I dinna think this room is just what it used to be. What
think ye o't, Miss Isabella? How would ye like to spend your days in't?"
Miss Isabella reddened at this question; but Mrs. Pringle, who was as
prudent as she was observant, affecting not to notice this, turned round
to Miss Mally Glencairn, and said softly in her ear,--"Rachel was Bell's
confidante, and has told us all about what's going on between her and Mr.
Snodgrass. We have agreed no to stand in their way, as soon as the
Doctor can get a mailing or two to secure his money upon."
Meantime, the Doctor received from the elders a very satisfactory account
of all that had happened among his people, both in and out of the
Session, during his absence; and he was vastly pleased to find there had
been no inordinate increase of wickedness; at the same time, he was
grieved for the condition in which the poor weavers still continued,
saying, that among other things of which he had been of late meditating,
was the setting up of a lending bank in the parish for the labouring
classes, where, when they were out of work, "bits of loans for a
house-rent, or a brat of claes, or sic like, might be granted, to be
repaid when trade grew better, and thereby take away the objection that
an honest pride had to receiving help from the Session."
Then some lighter general conversation ensued, in which the Doctor gave
his worthy counsellors a very jocose description of many of the lesser
sort of adventures which he had met with; and the ladies having retired
to inspect the great bargains that Mrs. Pringle had got, and the splendid
additions she had made to her wardrobe, out of what she denominated the
dividends of the present portion of the legacy, the Doctor ordered in the
second biggest toddy-bowl, the guardevine with the old rum, and told the
lassie to see if the tea-kettle was still boiling. "Ye maun drink our
welcome hame," said he to the elders; "it would nae otherwise be canny.
But I'm sorry Mr. Craig has nae come." At these words the door opened,
and the absent elder entered, with a long face and a deep sigh. "Ha!"
cried Mr. Daff, "this is very droll. Speak of the Evil One, and he'll
appear";--which words dinted on the heart of Mr. Craig, who thought his
marriage in December had been the subject of their discourse. The
Doctor, however, went up and shook him cordially by the hand, and said,
"Now I take this very kind, Mr. Craig; for I could not have expected you,
considering ye have got, as I am told, your jo in the house"; at which
words the Doctor winked paukily to Mr. Daff, who rubbed his hands with
fainness, and gave a good-humoured sort of keckling laugh. This
facetious stroke of policy was a great relief to the afflicted elder, for
he saw by it that the Doctor did not mean to trouble him with any
inquiries respecting his deceased wife; and, in consequence, he put on a
blither face, and really affected to have forgotten her already more than
he had done in sincerity.
Thus the night passed in decent temperance and a happy decorum; insomuch,
that the elders when they went away, either by the influence of the
toddy-bowl, or the Doctor's funny stories about the Englishers, declared
that he was an excellent man, and, being none lifted up, was worthy of
his rich legacy.
At supper, the party, besides the minister and Mrs. Pringle, consisted of
the two Irvine ladies, and Mr. Snodgrass. Miss Becky Glibbans came in
when it was about half over, to express her mother's sorrow at not being
able to call that night, "Mr. Craig's bairn having taken an ill turn."
The truth, however, was, that the worthy elder had been rendered somewhat
tozy by the minister's toddy, and wanted an opportunity to inform the old
lady of the joke that had been played upon him by the Doctor calling her
his jo, and to see how she would relish it. So by a little address Miss
Becky was sent out of the way, with the excuse we have noticed; at the
same time, as the night was rather sharp, it is not to be supposed that
she would have been the bearer of any such message, had her own curiosity
not enticed her.
During supper the conversation was very lively. Many "pickant jokes," as
Miss Becky described them, were cracked by the Doctor; but, soon after
the table was cleared, he touched Mr. Snodgrass on the arm, and, taking
up one of the candles, went with him to his study, where he then told
him, that Rachel Pringle, now Mrs. Sabre, had informed him of a way in
which he could do him a service. "I understand, sir," said the Doctor,
"that you have a notion of Miss Bell Tod, but that until ye get a kirk
there can be no marriage. But the auld horse may die waiting for the new
grass; and, therefore, as the Lord has put it in my power to do a good
action both to you and my people,--whom I am glad to hear you have
pleased so well,--if it can be brought about that you could be made
helper and successor, I'll no object to give up to you the whole stipend,
and, by and by, maybe the manse to the bargain. But that is if you marry
Miss Bell; for it was a promise that Rachel gar't me make to her on her
wedding morning. Ye know she was a forcasting lassie, and, I have reason
to believe, has said nothing anent this to Miss Bell herself; so that if
you have no partiality for Miss Bell, things will just rest on their own
footing; but if you have a notion, it must be a satisfaction to you to
know this, as it will be a pleasure to me to carry it as soon as possible
into effect."
Mr. Snodgrass was a good deal agitated; he was taken by surprise, and
without words the Doctor might have guessed his sentiments; he, however,
frankly confessed that he did entertain a very high opinion of Miss Bell,
but that he was not sure if a country parish would exactly suit him.
"Never mind that," said the Doctor; "if it does not fit at first, you
will get used to it; and if a better casts up, it will be no obstacle."
The two gentlemen then rejoined the ladies, and, after a short
conversation, Miss Becky Glibbans was admonished to depart, by the
servants bringing in the Bibles for the worship of the evening. This was
usually performed before supper, but, owing to the bowl being on the
table, and the company jocose, it had been postponed till all the guests
who were not to sleep in the house had departed.
The Sunday morning was fine and bright for the season; the hoarfrost,
till about an hour after sunrise, lay white on the grass and tombstones
in the churchyard; but before the bell rung for the congregation to
assemble, it was exhaled away, and a freshness, that was only known to be
autumnal by the fallen and yellow leaves that strewed the church-way path
from the ash and plane trees in the avenue, encouraged the spirits to
sympathise with the universal cheerfulness of all nature.
The return of the Doctor had been bruited through the parish with so much
expedition, that, when the bell rung for public worship, none of those
who were in the practice of stopping in the churchyard to talk about the
weather were so ignorant as not to have heard of this important fact. In
consequence, before the time at which the Doctor was wont to come from
the back-gate which opened from the manse-garden into the churchyard, a
great majority of his people were assembled to receive him.
At the last jingle of the bell, the back-gate was usually opened, and the
Doctor was wont to come forth as punctually as a cuckoo of a clock at the
striking of the hour; but a deviation was observed on this occasion.
Formerly, Mrs. Pringle and the rest of the family came first, and a few
minutes were allowed to elapse before the Doctor, laden with grace, made
his appearance. But at this time, either because it had been settled
that Mr. Snodgrass was to officiate, or for some other reason, there was
a breach in the observance of this time-honoured custom.
As the ringing of the bell ceased, the gate unclosed, and the Doctor came
forth. He was of that easy sort of feather-bed corpulency of form that
betokens good-nature, and had none of that smooth, red, well-filled
protuberancy, which indicates a choleric humour and a testy temper. He
was in fact what Mrs. Glibbans denominated "a man of a gausy external."
And some little change had taken place during his absence in his visible
equipage. His stockings, which were wont to be of worsted, had undergone
a translation into silk; his waist-coat, instead--of the venerable
Presbyterian flap-covers to the pockets, which were of Johnsonian
magnitude, was become plain--his coat in all times single-breasted, with
no collar, still, however, maintained its ancient characteristics;
instead, however, of the former bright black cast horn, the buttons were
covered with cloth. But the chief alteration was discernible in the
furniture of the head. He had exchanged the simplicity of his own
respectable grey hairs for the cauliflower hoariness of a PARRISH {3}
wig, on which he wore a broad-brimmed hat, turned up a little at each
side behind, in a portentous manner, indicatory of Episcopalian
predilections. This, however, was not justified by any alteration in his
principles, being merely an innocent variation of fashion, the natural
result of a Doctor of Divinity buying a hat and wig in London.
The moment that the Doctor made his appearance, his greeting and
salutation was quite delightful; it was that of a father returned to his
children, and a king to his people.
Almost immediately after the Doctor, Mrs. Pringle, followed by Miss Mally
Glencairn and Miss Isabella Tod, also debouched from the gate, and the
assembled females remarked, with no less instinct, the transmutation
which she had undergone. She was dressed in a dark blue cloth pelisse,
trimmed with a dyed fur, which, as she told Miss Mally, "looked quite as
well as sable, without costing a third of the money." A most matronly
muff, that, without being of sable, was of an excellent quality,
contained her hands; and a very large Leghorn straw bonnet, decorated
richly, but far from excess, with a most substantial band and bow of a
broad crimson satin ribbon around her head.
If the Doctor was gratified to see his people so gladly thronging around
him, Mrs. Pringle had no less pleasure also in her thrice-welcome
reception. It was an understood thing, that she had been mainly
instrumental in enabling the minister to get his great Indian legacy; and
in whatever estimation she may have been previously held for her economy
and management, she was now looked up to as a personage skilled in the
law, and particularly versed in testamentary erudition. Accordingly, in
the customary testimonials of homage with which she was saluted in her
passage to the church door, there was evidently a sentiment of veneration
mingled, such as had never been evinced before, and which was neither
unobserved nor unappreciated by that acute and perspicacious lady.
The Doctor himself did not preach, but sat in the minister's pew till Mr.
Snodgrass had concluded an eloquent and truly an affecting sermon; at the
end of which, the Doctor rose and went up into the pulpit, where he
publicly returned thanks for the favours and blessings he had obtained
during his absence, and for the safety in which he had been restored,
after many dangers and tribulations, to the affections of his
parishioners.
Such were the principal circumstances that marked the return of the
family. In the course of the week after, the estate of Moneypennies
being for sale, it was bought for the Doctor as a great bargain. It was
not, however, on account of the advantageous nature of the purchase that
our friend valued this acquisition, but entirely because it was situated
in his own parish, and part of the lands marching with the Glebe.
The previous owner of Moneypennies had built an elegant house on the
estate, to which Mrs. Pringle is at present actively preparing to remove
from the manse; and it is understood, that, as Mr. Snodgrass was last
week declared helper, and successor to the Doctor, his marriage with Miss
Isabella Tod will take place with all convenient expedition. There is
also reason to believe, that, as soon as decorum will permit, any scruple
which Mrs. Glibbans had to a second marriage is now removed, and that she
will soon again grace the happy circle of wives by the name of Mrs.
Craig. Indeed, we are assured that Miss Nanny Eydent is actually at this
time employed in making up her wedding garments; for, last week, that
worthy and respectable young person was known to have visited Bailie
Delap's shop, at a very early hour in the morning, and to have priced
many things of a bridal character, besides getting swatches; after which
she was seen to go to Mrs. Glibbans's house, where she remained a very
considerable time, and to return straight therefrom to the shop, and
purchase divers of the articles which she had priced and inspected; all
of which constitute sufficient grounds for the general opinion in Irvine,
that the union of Mr. Craig with Mrs. Glibbans is a happy event drawing
near to consummation.
Footnotes
{1} The administration of the Sacrament.
{2} The honest Doctor's version of this _bon mot_ of her majesty is not
quite correct; her expression was, "I mean to take a chop at the King's
Head when I get to London."
{3} See the _Edinburgh Review_, for an account of our old friend, Dr.
Parr's wig, and Spital Sermon.