204 Notes and Sketches. 



that " it was a good spirit; yea, the very spirit of their 

 glorified mother," sent from heaven to "reveal several 

 things to them for their temporal and eternal good, 

 which they were to behove and do at their highest 

 peril." But while the spirit " which spoke always 

 with a shrill and heavenly voice," making the beds 

 and house where they lay to " shake and tremble 

 again " " gave them very good instructions and 

 counsels," and even told them "the very secrets 

 of their hearts," the main burden it had been charged 

 to deliver was " that it was the will of the great God 

 that Geordie Watt should marry Tibbie Mortimer (who 

 then was the only woman-servant in that family), be- 

 cause that Tibbie was now in a gracious state, and had 

 been predestinated to glory from all eternity." 



This somewhat incongruous revelation had first 

 been made to George Watt when he was lying in 

 bed all alone; whereupon George, like a prudent 

 man, objected, as he alleged, to a marriage so un- 

 equal in point of worldly circumstances, and so 

 contrary to his inclination, until it should be made 

 clear to him and others that what he was desired 

 to do really was the will of God. The accommo- 

 dating spirit undertook to satisfy him on that point ; 

 and the seven brothers having, according to com- 

 pact settled beforehand, duly assembled in the same 

 room, the ghost appeared at the window and re- 

 peated its commission, with the portentous threat that 

 " unless Geordie Watt should marry Tibbie Mortimer, 

 he and all his brothers, and all things belonging to 

 them, should certainly be consumed with fire from 

 heaven ! " Geordie himself at least having, in addition, 

 nothing to look for thereafter but everlasting punish- 

 ment. By all this, and similar revelations and threats 

 oft repeated, George Watt had, as he averred, got so 

 " frightened and straitened " that he felt impelled to 

 come to the minister, who, in following out George's 

 request, had gone toBridgend on the previous Thursday 



