That cudna be as things war inten'it, ye ken; sae what was to be said but set them richt ?" "Ow, weel! but ye micht hae waitit till Donal cam' hame; he wad hae dune 't in half the time, an' no raxed his jints." "I cudna pit it aff," answered Janet.

"Wha kenned whan the Lord micht come ?--He canna come at cock-crawin' the day, but he may be here afore nicht." "Weel, I's awa," said her visitor rising.

"I'm gauin' ower to the toon to buy a feow hanks o' worset to weyve a pair o' stockins to my man.

Guid day to ye, Janet .-- What neist, I won'er ?" she added to herself as she left the house.

"The wuman's clean dementit!" The moment she was gone, Janet caught up her broom again, and went spying about over the roof--ceiling there was none--after long tangles of agglomerated cobweb and smoke.
"Ay!" she said to herself, "wha kens whan he may be at the door?
an' I wadna like to hear him say--'Janet, ye micht hae had yer hoose a bit cleaner, whan ye kenned I micht be at han'!'" With all the cleaning she could give it, her cottage would have looked but a place of misery to many a benevolent woman, who, if she had lived there, would not have been so benevolent as Janet, or have kept the place half so clean.