a toothsome, tempting, and tasty Haggis, and all Castlebraes appreciated duly that patriotic accomplishment. It was Queenly to see her, knife in one hand, spoon in the other, laying bare the steaming heart of her own creation, and handling the thing as if she loved it dearly. Soon "a denty toorock lay on every plate, and fork and spoon were plying busily at every mouth; while joke and story, humour and banter, kept the guests in jovial glee.

"Man, Miller," protested Bauldy o' the Smiddy, "I've just ae faut to fin' wi' oor National Dish, an' verra parteekularly wi' the Leddy's mak' o't." "An' what's that, Bauldy? Ower little o't; and ower seldom seen?"

"Haith, na!" exclaimed Bauldy, laying down regretfully his fork and spoon, ere his plate was cleared of its contents, "Haith, na! But it's this. Whan ye first see Maister Haggis, sweitin' at a' his pores wi' Heevenly dew, ye wush ye had him a' tae yersel' ayont a dyke back, an' a lang simmer day afore ye, just for yae glorious guzzle, till ye were that fou ye could na row on the girse. And then, whan ye get a bit plate-fu' like that, losh, man, ye're sae satisfeed, half way through it, that ye're forced to gie in Ye min' what oor ain Rabbie says'The auld Gudeman, just like tae rive.' As shure's deith, it's rale disappointin' tae a man wi' an appetite like mine, an' wi' a chance like this, only at antrin' times i' yer life! But ma Mither aye leuch at me, on sic occasions, and chuckled ower my feelin's, 'Bauldy, Bauldy, it's a common case; yer ee's greedier than yer wame!' She wadna been far wrang, gif she had said that this nicht."

Bauldy but gave utterance to the thoughts of many more. We had all been liberally helped. And the demand for the Coffee and the Yill, to wash down the Leddy's toothsome but satisfying Haggis, was very general, and was responded to with unstinted prodigality. The two liveliest Lads helped round the one, and the two briskest Girls the other, tongues rattling, wit flashing, and good-humoured banter ruling and gladdening all the scene.

The Miller had fallen very quiet for a little. Some one, misinterpreting his mood, dropt a gentle hint about "time for thinkin' o' leavin'." But he at once jumped to his feet; and it became manifest that the Miller had been cogitating a few parting words.

"Na, my Freens, just bide a wee, an' let us a' pairt at yince! We're nae just feenisht; though a few meenutes 'll end the Programme noo. There's twa items yet. The yin's ma' thanks tae ye a'; an' the tither's oor united thanks to oor Makker. The tane's due frae me, an' I'll dae ma best to express't; the tither 'll be led by oor auld acquentance, Angell James.

"Freens and Neebours, yin an' a', the Leddy an' me houps ye've a' had a rale happy Nicht (cheers). We've been richt prood o' yer company; an' we invite ye a', please God, tae oor next Year's Kirn (loud applause). And dinna forget the Bairns, an' the Halflins, an' the Hizzies. It wad be gey drumlie and dreary wark withoot them! Neebours, I like to be near young life, an' to feel the pulse o' young blude; to hear the skelloch o' the Lass in her Teens, whan she's gruppit rinnin' roon the Rick, an' gets a smackin' kiss frae her Lad; an' tae see hoo mad she

luiks, yet likes 'im a' the better, an' wadna grudge 'im anither (laughter). I dinna mean ever to grow auld, in heart at ony rate; though I should leeve tae see the Hunder Years! (great cheering).

"An' a' you, aulder an' mibbe wiser Fowks, we thank ye for yer presence. It's hertsome an' halesome tae hae ye minglin' wi' the younger fry; na scowlin' at them for their innocent ploys, nor growlin' at their bits o' love sangs an' decent hamely dances, like what we've had this nicht; an' sae gi’ein' them a scunner at the very name o' Releegion, an' leadin' them to think that a sober and decent Christian life's a meeserable an' hertbreakin' business. Ye've ta'en pairt wi' them in their joys, an' they'll tak' shares wi' you an' me in oors; an' shurely, God Almichty, wha made us wi' muscles tae lauch wi'— (a power gi'en tae nae ither craytur on the Yirth, for the Hyena's is mockery, no lauchter)—means us tae fin' some honest employment for thae muscles as weel's the lave! An' God Almichty, wha made us tae love Hame an' Country, an' Sweethearts an' Wives an' Weans, canna but be gled tae hear us sing oor love, an' see us showin't, in a' lawfu' an' innocent weys. For, of this I'm perfectly shure, oor Great Maister an' Guide, wha, whan He was here on Yirth, took a Bairn and set him on His Knee, was richt glad in Heeven tae see you mak' thae Bairns o' His sae happy this nicht! (a pause, and a solemn hush, the Miller bowing in silence).

"I'll tell ye what, Neebours an' Freens, gif Parents an' aulder Brithers an' Sisters wad seek an' fin' their joy in servin' an' pleasin' an' leadin' the Young Folks, till they gat sense eneuch to be on their guard against

thae snakes and tades that weylay their steps,—then Recreation wad be severed frae drink an' gamblin', an' a man wad ken whaur tae tak his family for pure an' halesome an' decent enjoyment, withoot the fear that he micht be leadin' them by a back door tae the mouth o' Hell. (Hear! hear!)

"I'm nae Statesman, nowther lawyer nor legislawter, but gif I were, I wad let what they ca' Politics gang tae Jericho, and wad set masel' hert an' sowl, nicht an' day, tae secure halesome an' decent an' healthy Recreations an' Amusements, within fifteen meenuts walk o' every man an' mither's son i' the Nation, for the big Toons, an' at some central spot in every Pairish i' the Coonty. That wad work mair for the weelfare o' the Community than half a hunder o' their meeserable Reform Bills, by whilk naebody is reformed (tremendous cheering!).

"I'm nae Professor, nowther Dominie nor Meenister, but gif I were, I wad na cram Bairns' heids wi' Latin roots an' French phrases, wherewi' to adorn their ignorance. Na, but I wad fill them fou o' the grandest, the maist pathetic, the maist upliftin' stories frae oor ain History, an' frae the ither Peoples that hae dune nobly on the face o' the Yirth; an' I wad pride masel' in trainin' them to tak' their pairt in actin' ower again the maist memorable events, in representin' the maist famous characters, an' keepin' green the memory o' the noblest men an' the noblest deeds in oor Nation's annals. (Cheers.)

"Finally, an' aboon a', I wad, in oor Day Schules, discipline every Lad and every Lass, alike, tae haunle necessary tools, tae cook the ordinar' food o' life, an'

tae use the needle in mendin' an' shewin'; withoot whilk, up to a certain degree for the comfort o' existence, naethin' else should be allowed tae pass for eddication. An', side by side wi' thae indispensable accomplishments, I wad train every man and mither's son o' them tae sing, singly an' in harmony, first o' a', the Psaulms an' Hymns an' Sangs in praise o' the Almichty; an' neist, an' na far ahint thae, the Sangs o' Love an' Liberty, o' Hame an' Country, o' Freenship an' o' Kindred, the tender, the lofty, the humorous, the pathetic, the pawky, the canty, the passionate, the warlike,-the best, for every mood o' the Human Hert an' for every phase o' the Human Sowl an' for every experience o' the Human Life, whilk the Poets can gie us, the Poets, thae modern prophets o' the Lord! Siclike are the things that I wad seek tae write indelibly on the ear an' hert an' brain, sae that they wad abide wi' them for ever, as a treasure, closer to them than bluid, an' dearer to them than life itsel'! That sort o' Eddication wad breed us braver Men and truer Women, instead o' featherheided Misses an' flichterin' Mannikins. (Great applause.)

"As I said already, I'm far frae bein' a Meenister; but, gif I were, I wad claim a' the joys o' life that are innocent in themsel's, an' lay them on the Altar o' Releegion; I wad seize every pleesyure that is pure, an' cairry it tae the feet o' Christ, an' ask Him tae help me tae hallow it tae the Service o' God an' my fellow crayturs,-Aye, a' the joys an' pleesyures o' existence, for they a' cam' frae Him, as shure as its cares an' its sorrows! For yae thing I'm certain shure o', that being made what