286 THE HOME OF A NATURALIST. 



he was " the only thing o' the kind " that belonged 

 to them. 



Kirsty was extremely kind to her husband's old 

 father (who was also her uncle, but she always called 

 him " guid-faither," which is father-in-law). He was 

 a patriarch of over ninety (when I remember him); 

 and people who didn't know better on such points 

 affirmed that "auld Donald Winwick" was in his 

 dotage, but Kirsty would not allow that. When the 

 old man prattled of seeing fairies, talking to Trows, 

 being transported to regions of wonder in the heart of 

 the earth, Kirsty would say, " Believe it, by my 

 saul ; my guid-faither is nearing the heavenly lands, 

 and to the like o' him is vouchsafed visions that the 

 eye o' them that's in tJie strife may no' look upon." 



Later she told some of us that her guid-faither had 

 "seen and heard what must no' be named to them 

 that's no' wise in the works o' the Unseen," and had 

 imparted to Kirsty much of what had been revealed 

 to him. 



Her husband died of a brief and not painful illness, 

 and this affliction — after the first passionate burst of 

 sorrow was over — Kirsty bore with manly resignation. 



When I went to condole with her afterwards, she 

 told me she " kent weel what was comin' lang afore : 

 for in a vision o' the nicht I heard a voice say, ' He 

 will establish the border of the widow,' and I kent the 

 meaning o' that. So when him that I took by the 

 hand fell ill I tauld him what was to be. I said to 

 him, * Oor hands are to fa' asunder noo, by the word o' 



