1 66 HIGHLAND SPORT 



arose from the deep conviction of long experience, that he ever 

 regretted allowing sentiments partaking of not perfectly respect- 

 ful admiration to enter his head with regard to our Maggie, for 

 said he to her one day — "Why on earth don't you brush and 

 comb your hair, lassie ? Now see here, if you'll promise me to 

 do it every morning, I will make you a present of a comb and 

 a pair of brushes." 



" Thank you kindly, sir," replied Maggie ; " I hear tell that 

 the gran' leddies brush their hair each day ; but for my pairt 

 once a week's enough for me, and e'en then it's like tearing the 

 verra life out o' me." 



In vain Onions tried to explain that the daily process would 

 be preferable and less painful than the weekly one, but as 

 Maggie would have none of it, we both came to the conclusion 

 that she had reasons equally good to excuse her dirty hands, 

 ill-gartered stockings, and slip-shod shoes, and so we left her 

 undisturbed ; thankful moreover should we have been if she 

 had but returned the compliment as far as our cakes and fruit 

 were concerned, for surely never yet did any one lassie devour 

 so much sweetstuff — sugar, prunes, figs, candied ginger, cake, 

 and shortbread vanished before her in a manner that was 

 marvellous. At last we were driven to keeping our sweeties 

 under lock and key ; but the very first day we tried it Charlie, 

 after helping hiinself, went off to the river before me with the 

 key in his pocket, so that I not only had no sweeties, but worse 

 still no whiskey, for this one cupboard held all our stores, and 

 determined a similar mishap should not occur again, Charlie 

 gave up all idea of locking things up, and simply wrote to 

 Lumsden and Gibson to send out treble quantities of saccharine 

 luxuries from Aberdeen, and thus Maggie continued to have 

 her fill. 



Now, lest some of my readers may be tempted on account 

 of our weakness for sweets to look upon us as a couple of 

 youngsters fresh from school, it must be stated we were both 

 on the wrong side of thirty ; also it must be confessed that 



