Davie

“ In Davie's loving, simple nature there was doubtless a strong vein of romance. He was really in hopes that he might come across his long-lost brother. He had no very clear idea as to localities and distances, and he had read so many marvelous war stories that all things seemed possible in its atmosphere. But reality and romance are wide enough apart.
Davie's military experience was a very dull and weary one. He grew poorer and poorer, lost heart and hope, and could only find comfort for all his sacrifices in the thought that "at least he had spared poor Sandy." ”

“ If we let the lady go, hawk and man must have their necks wrung, after forest laws.’
‘And I tell thee,’ cried Davie, ‘that this is a noble gentleman of Scotland, and that we will fight for him to the death.’
‘Let it alone, Davie,’ said George. ‘No scathe shall come to the lady through me.’
‘Save him, Davie! save Skywing!’ screamed Jean.
‘To the rescue—a Drummond,’ shouted David; but his father pushed his horse forward, just as the men in green, were in the act of stringing, all at the same moment, their bows, as tall as themselves. ”

“ Cattle left in the open crowded in the lee of the straw-stacks, their rough flanks crawling, and in the folds the ewes, yet frail from their travail, stood stung and still, mothering their weak-kneed lambs. Beside the thud of the horse’s hoofs toward town there was no sound on the road save a little, dry cracking of the frost. The doctor, as he started in his carriage for Davie’s house, drew his robes closely about him and scowled at the fierceness of the blast; but Davie, riding far ahead, his elbows flying wildly up and down, did not know that he had forgotten to fasten his shabby overcoat. ”

“ Now as they sat there a silence came upon them like that of their wedding-day. Elizabeth broke it first.
“Davie,” she whispered, “if I’d say I’d jest like to run through the house a minute by myself, you won’t think it queer?”
“No, no,” answered Davie, something gripping his chest.
She went slowly, her slippers flapping back and forth on her heels. She sought first the tidy kitchen with its scoured tins, then the living-room with the old loom still in the corner, then the parlor. Here she drew a long, shaken breath. Every Ridge woman loved her parlor with an inherited devotion. ”

“ Mrs Inglis smiled as though she would have said, “There are not many like my Davie.” But she looked grave in a minute and said—
“There is one thing in which you differ. Davie is an avowed servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. He professes to desire to live no longer to himself, but to Him.” ”

“ Davie laughed. He understood it quite well.
“No, grannie dear, I’m on two or three of their committees as well as Katie—and so is half the town for that matter. And they think they are doing it for ‘the cause,’” added Davie, laughing. “Grannie, I would give something if I could write down every word just as it was spoken. I never read anything half so ridiculous in a book.”
“My lad, things are just as folk look at them. I daresay your friends Ben, and Sam and Jim Scott saw nothing ridiculous about it till you made them see it. ”

“ Arctura did not answer at once.
“I think I know what you are thinking,” she said, “but I want to hear you answer your own question.”
“Why do things come right so often, do you think, Davie?” repeated Donal.
“Is it,” returned Davie, “because they were made right to begin with?”
“There is much in that, Davie; but there is a better reason than that. It is because things are alive, and the life at the heart of them, that which keeps them going, is the great, beautiful God. So the sun for ever returns after the clouds. ”

“ His voice came to me in almost a whisper, so faint was his utterance.
“Good old Davie—the first friend I ever had. It [234] is good to be here with those I love. It is so good to die under the dear old flag and for my country. Don’t grieve, Davie. It is good that you believe—and know. God bless you, Davie.” His voice grew weaker. “Take care of Jack, and Muddy. Call Rose—dear Rose!” Then, after a pause, with a smile illumining his thin worn face, he held out his hands to an unseen presence. “Mother, dear, I’m coming—Jed’s boy!” ”

“ Katie looked at him with beseeching eyes, and Davie hung his head.
“Davie, my laddie, have patience,” said his grandmother in a little; “what is a year or two out of a young life like yours compared with giving a sore heart to an old man like your grandfather? He has had sore trouble to thole in his lifetime, some that you can guess, and some that you will never ken, and his heart is just set on Katie and you.” ”

“ It is good for him to be made to leave his work, and play games; he is keen about his footer and they think he will row well! The man who has rooms on the same staircase seems a very good sort. I forget who he is—it's quite a well-known family—but he has been uncommonly kind to Davie. He wants him to go home with him next week, but of course Davie is keen to get back to Priorsford. Besides, you can't visit the stately homes of England on thirty shillings, and that's about Davie's limit, dear lamb! ”

“ She is right fond o' Jamie, I could see that, and she would treat me weel for his sake," said Davie.
Thus in conversation pertaining to family affairs the evening passed. Annie had finished her letter, and the time for prayers drew nigh. Davie, on whom this duty then devolved, read and prayed; but his voice was unsteady, and all knew that his heart was too full for a lengthy prayer. They remained on their knees for many moments, each heart silently beseeching the Heavenly Father to give needed grace and strength. As they arose a slight movement attracted their attention towards the aged man. ”

“ Blythe Davie's blinks her heart did move,
⁠To speak her mind thus free,
Gang down the burn Davie, love,
⁠And I shall follow thee.
Now Davie did each lad surpass,
⁠That dwelt on this burn-side,
And Mary was the bonniest lass,
⁠Just fit to be a bride. ”

“ So I think, my dear. But King Charles’s Court was Liberty Hall, and every man did that which was right in his own eyes. But Davie stood very quiet, with the Bible yet open in his hands. He waited his master’s bidding, if they did not. ‘Oh ay, go on, Davie,’ saith the King, leaning back in his chair and laughing. ‘Silence for Mr David Armstrong’s sermon!’ cries my Lord Rochester, in a voice of a master of ceremonies. But Davie took no note of any voice but the King’s, though ’twas to my Lord Rochester he addressed him when he spoke. ”

“ The whole group looked up at Davie, who now felt perfectly confident He sat down on a stone close by, and continued his song:
"I had a horse, and my horse pleased me;
I tied my horse behind a tree."
Davie stopped and looked down the little brown path. Then he clapped his hands in great delight; for there came the little old man leading by a golden bridle a snow-white pony, no bigger than Davie's Newfoundland dog.
"Sure enough, it is a boy!" said the pony, as the old man tied his bridle to the dog's hind leg, and then hurried away. "I thought so! Boys are always bothering people." ”

“ Davie, with a perplexed air, vaguely conscious of commercial transactions too complicated for his intellect, hesitatingly retendered the penny, and, receiving the rose, was set down on the carpet. He ran eagerly to the door, blowing one disconsolate, irrelevant blast on the whistle, and then the brothers heard him tumble down the oilcloth-covered stairs with three thuds, followed by shrill ululations. They ran to the head of the stairs, but Rosina had already rushed forth to pick up her child, and her soothing prattle, varied by scolding for his careless hurry, made a duet with his howls. ”

“ Like a dowie auld cat blinkin' by the hearth-stane.
Yet Davie, belyve, should you mind in your joy
The puir lonely carlies you lo'ed as a boy,
The memories of canty auld days we have spent
Will come like the harp-tones o'er still waters sent.
Then come to me, Davie, auld days we 'll renew;
We 'll heap the bit-ingle and bouse the auld brew;
We 'll smoke the auld pipe, till we freshen your life,
And send you back young as a boy to your wife. ”

“ I tied my hen behind a tree;
Hen said——"
"Shinny-shack! shinny-shack!" interrupted another voice, so loudly that Davie's heart gave a great thump, as he turned around. There, behind the wren, stood a little Bantam hen, and around her neck was a little golden cord that fastened her to the wren's leg.
"I suppose that was you?" said Davie.
"Yes, indeed," replied the hen. "I know when my time comes in, in a song. But it was provoking for you to call me away from my chicks."
"I?" cried Davie. "I didn't call you!" ”

“ I don’t mean to be severe. He would think it a great compliment paid to him, though you don’t think it nice. He does not look seriously at life. He amuses himself with everything. Just compare him with our Davie.”
David had gone out before she said this.
“Nonsense! Letty. Our Davie is a boy still, and Mr Philip is a man. He has completed the course at the university, you know quite well.”
“Our Davie is far more manly than he, for all that. And so are you, Jem. Davie is worth two of him.”
“A great deal more than two of him to us, Letty,” said her mother, laughing. ”

“ Not only so; very often P. didn't know himself. There was an element of mere liking for Davie; there was an element of being determined, in case of accidents, to keep well with him. He hoped his Barbara would bring him to her feet, besides, and make him manageable. That was why he sent him to Hope Park with them. But Davie cannot KNOW; I give you the inside of Davie, and my method condemns me to give only the outside both of Prestongrange and his policy.
- I'll give my mind to the technicalities. Yet to me they seem a part of the story, which is historical, after all. ”

“ While Davie, with the impatience of youth, grew anxious now and then, as though the sowing time were passing with no seed being put in, his mother knew that there was nothing lost to his future work as yet, that the discipline of early care and self-denial, the constant and willing giving of himself to work, which in itself was not congenial, was a better preparation than he knew. ”

“ An' it's no' a bad trade, an' things are gaun weel, an' I'm no' complainin'," he added, more cheerfully.
"But you'll get time for your gardening soon again, Davie," she said.
"We'll see, we'll see."
"Oh, but, Davie—" she began, and stopped, lest she should say too much.
Suddenly he turned towards her. "Ye're the best wife a man ever had, an' I envy naebody," he exclaimed. "The fire was maybe a guid thing. It was a guid thing because o' yersel', ma dear."
"But, Davie," she said, breaking a long silence, "supposing the shop hadn't been insured—"
"I wud ha'e been dune for. Fine I ken that!" ”

“ Sae it's a black look out, Oliver, but I dinna mind ane wee bit. If I'd no been a Jacobite, I'd never hae met my Davie yonder. He's worth it a', is Davie."
"It's a hard task for any man to be worthy of your ladyship," said I, "but Davie's worthy if any man is."
"And Davie reckons you're fine," she replied, smiling. "Margaret pit him doon for three dances, and sat in a corner with him through 'em a'. I wonder the incomparable one's lugs"--I knew what she meant because she pinched one--"arena burnt off his head. You should hae seen Maclachlan ranting and raving like an auld doited tup!" ”

“ This would have been a serious matter to Davie, and he vexed Katie and his grandmother by suggesting possible and painful consequences all round should his grandfather persist. For the lad had been seized with a great hunger for knowledge. He desired it partly for its own sake, but partly also because he had heard many a time and implicitly believed that “knowledge is power,” which is true in a certain sense, but not in the sense or to the extent that it seemed true to Davie. ”

“ Drumpipes yawned frankly. “It’s time you turned in, Davie,” he remarked. “The lack of sleep aye makes you silly. I’ve no wish to ridicule your subject, as you call her. It’s not at all necessary. You’ll see for yourself how ridiculous it is in the morning. It merely occurred to me that if we must talk of women, I’d something in my mind worth the while—no strolling yellow-headed vagrant picked up at random on a bridge, but a gentlewoman in education and means and manners. Man, you should see her teeth when she smiles!” ”

“ So, Davie, you 're gaeing to tak yo' a wife
To halve a' yo' sorrows, an' sweeten yo' life;
An' Davie, my laddie, I wish you enow
Of joy and content on your shiny auld pow.
She 's feat and she 's brightsome, I ken, as the day
When sinshine is whispering its luve to the May;
Her cheeks are like blossoms, her mouth is a rose,
And her teeth are the pearlies its petals enclose.
Of her voice, her ain music, I dinna' say mair,
Than that 'tis a strain might a bogle ensnare,
And her een they are stars beaming forth a bright flame
To cheer a puir wanderer and lead him safe hame. ”

“ Davie was indeed the chief dependence now, and went about his work in a way that must have gladdened his grandfather’s heart, though he said little about it. There was no other man about the place. They got a day’s work now and then from a neighbour, and later they must have a man to help, or perhaps two, when the heaviest of the work should come on. But in the meantime, Davie and his brothers did all that was to be done in the sugar-place, and sometimes Katie helped them. ”