OCTOBER 279 



loneliness leads to notions that may 

 strike ordinary folk as queer." Then, 

 thinking aloud, apparently scarce con- 

 scious of our presence, and lapsing into 

 his habitual dialect, the extraordinary man 

 reviewed the social polity of the time. I 

 will not undertake to give a word-for- 

 word report of what he said. So fresh 

 and pungent was the commentary, I think 

 I could almost do so ; but perhaps a 

 summary will suffice. It was certainly 

 sad, said Peter, to think o' the thoosands 

 o' men wha nooadays found it hard to 

 mak' a livelihood ; but were we on the 

 richt road to a remedy ? If there were 

 only scores o' ill-aff folk, instead o' 

 thoosands, would the State be sayin' to 

 the people, "Poor, miserable wretches, 

 what's your wull ? Just tell us, and we'll 

 do it. But, before speakin', be sure you 

 really ken how miserable you are " ? No : 

 if there were only scores o' puir bodies, 

 instead o' thoosands, the State wudna' 

 be sayin' that. Yet, why no'? Didna' 

 each lowly insec' feel a pang as great as 



