J. J. Bell

“ Hooever, I'll admit I wasna an extra attentive listener that day; there was a young man in the gallery which behove hissel' rael badly, squintin' at me every minute and tryin' to catch ma eye, which I'm glad to say he didna manage often. Still, that wasna the only thing to worry me. I was feart I would find Frederick waitin' for me when the Kirk skailed. But after a', he wasna there. Somehow, I wasna as pleased as I fancied I would ha'e been. I would ha'e liked him to be there, but no' to see me. Aweel, as ma fayther says, "We canna expect Providence to oblige us both ways." ”

“ He sat that close I had to tell him to leave me room to grow. He shifted aboot an inch awa', and groaned.
It wasna vera excitin', and, to tell ye the truth, I was wonderin' when I was gaun to see the colour o' his chocolates—no' that I'm greedy; only a promise is a promise, and I was gettin' hungry.
But there was nae word o' them or o' onything else. When he had groaned for aboot the tenth time, I says:—
"Is't your feet?"
"Oh, no!" says he. "It's no' ma feet, Jemima, though they're bad enough. Oh, dear!" ”

“ He gi'ed a bit laugh.
"I've a guid mind to tell ye, jist to prove ye was wrang aboot him ha'ein' a better nature," I says.
And I told him. He was fair amused. "Keep on tryin', Jemima," he says. "Ye ha'ena proved onything except that roses ha'e thorns. Has he said onything to Mrs. Parkins? "
"Ay; he said he had got a pin in his pillow—the auld coward! She was upset, puir body."
"He wasna a coward in his day," says Frederick, "and maybe the falsehood has saved ye trouble, Jemima,"—and then we kept argufyin' till we cam' to "Seaview." ”