Arthur Conan Doyle

“ Austrian Grenadiers they were, of the corps of Starowitz, fine stout men as big as your friend of yesterday; but when the town fell there were but four hundred alive, and a man could lift them three at a time as if they were little monkeys. It was a pity. Ah! my friend, you will do me the honours with madame and with mademoiselle."
It was my mother and Edie who had come into the kitchen. ”

“ Besides, it's his own proposing."
"No blessing will come from that money," said she.
"Why, woman, he's turned your head wi' his foreign ways of speech!" cried my father.
"Aye, and it would be a good thing if Scottish men had a little more of that kindly way," she said, and that was the first time in all my life that I had ever heard her answer him back.
He came down soon and asked me whether I would come out with him. When we were in the sunshine he held out a little cross made of red stones, one of the bonniest things that ever I had set eyes upon. ”

“ His arms were out, and he held a skein of worsted from hand to hand which my mother was busily rolling into a ball. Cousin Edie was sitting near, and I could see by her eyes that she had been crying.
"Hullo, Edie!" said I, "what's the trouble?"
"Ah! mademoiselle, like all good and true women, has a soft heart," said he. "I didn't thought it would have moved her, or I should have been silent. I have been talking of the suffering of some troops of which I knew something when they were crossing the Guadarama mountains in the winter of 1808. Ah! ”

“ And yet, even while he humbled himself to a woman, there was always a proud sort of look at the back of his eye as if he meant to say that it was only to them that he was so meek, and that he could be stiff enough upon occasion. ”

“ As to Edie, she did not say much, but she kept shooting little glances at our visitor, and once or twice he looked very hard at her. When he had gone to his room after breakfast, my father puffed out eight golden pounds and laid them on the table.
"What think ye of that, Martha?" said he.
"You 've sold the twa black rups after all."
"No, but it's a month's pay for board and lodging from Jock's friend, and as much to come every four weeks."
But my mother shook her head when she heard it.
"Two pounds a week is over much," said she ”

“ It is strange to see men blown by the wind over the precipices, but the ground was so slippy and there was nothing to which they could hold. So companies all linked arms, and they did better in that fashion ”

“ But there is a man out yonder. May be he is the one who your father said would carry my letters to the post."
"Yes, he is Farmer Whitehead's man. Shall I give them to him?"
"Well, he would be more careful of them if he had them from your hand."
He took them from his pocket and gave them over to me. I hurried out with them, and as I did so my eyes fell upon the address of the topmost one. ”