On landing, he approached a young woman reaping with the sickle in a field of oats, when the following dialogue ensued:-- _Farmer_ .-- Lassie, are yer aits muckle bookit[184] th' year?
_Reaper_ .-- What say'n yo?
_Farmer_ .-- I was speiring gif yer aits are muckle bookit th' year! _Reaper_ (in amazement) .-- I dunnot know what yo' say'n.
_Farmer_ (in equal astonishment) .-- Gude--safe--us,--do ye no understaan gude plain English ?--are--yer--aits--muckle--bookit?
Reaper decamps to her nearest companion, saying that was a madman, while he shouted in great wrath, "They were naething else than a set o' ignorant pock-puddings." An English tourist visited Arran, and being a keen disciple of Izaak Walton, was arranging to have a day's good sport.

Being told that the cleg, or horse-fly, would suit his purpose admirably for lure, he addressed himself to Christy, the Highland servant-girl:--"I say, my girl, can you get me some horse-flies ?" Christy looked stupid, and he repeated his question.

Finding that she did not yet comprehend him, he exclaimed, "Why, girl, did you never see a horse-fly ?" "Naa, sir," said the girl, "but A wance saw a coo jump ower a preshipice." The following anecdote is highly illustrative of the thoroughly attached old family serving-man.

A correspondent sends it as told to him by an old schoolfellow of Sir Walter Scott's at Fraser and Adam's class, High School:-- One of the lairds of Abercairnie proposed _to go out_, on the occasion of one of the risings for the Stuarts, in the '15 or '45--but this was not with the will of his old serving-man, who, when Abercairnie was pulling on his boots, preparing to go, overturned a kettle of boiling water upon his legs, so as to disable him from joining his friends--saying, "Tak that--let them fecht wha like; stay ye at hame and be laird o' Abercairnie." A story illustrative of a union of polite courtesy with rough and violent ebullition of temper common in the old Scottish character, is well known in the Lothian family.

William Henry, fourth Marquis of Lothian, had for his guest at dinner an old countess to whom he wished to show particular respect and attention[185].