I hae been at it a haillook noo--by mysel', ye ken--an' I'm nane nearer til 't yet.

I can add an' subtrac', accordin' to the rules gien, but that's no un'erstan'in', an' un'erstan' I canna." "I'm thinkin' it's something as gien x was a horse, an' y was a coo, an' z was a cairt, or onything ither ye micht hae to ca' 't; an' ye bargain awa' aboot the x an' the y and the z, an' ley the horse i' the stable, the coo i' the byre, an' the cairt i' the shed, till ye hae sattlet a'." "But ye ken aboot algebra"-- she pronounced the word with the accent on the second syllable--"divna ye, maister Cosmo ?" "Na, no the haif, nor the hun'ert pairt.

I only ken eneuch to haud me gaein' on to mair.

A body maun hae learnt a heap o' onything afore the licht breaks oot o' 't.

Ye maun win throuw the wa' first.
I doobt gien onybody un'erstan's a thing oot an' oot, sae lang's he's no ready at a moment's notice to gar anither see intil the hert o' 't; an' I canna gar ye see what's intil 't the minute ye speir't at me!" "I'm thinkin', hooever, Cosmo, a body maun be nearhan' seein' o' himsel' afore anither can lat him see onything." "Ye may be richt there," yielded Cosmo."-- But jist lat me see whaur ye are," he went on.