"The doctor and the scholar.
The poor man with his penny fee.
The rich man with his dollar.
The priest who steals short holiday,
The prince who goes incog, sir
The schoolboy with his dreams of play,
The sportsman with his dog, sir."
"We are going over classic ground, Maggie, and we will read the 'Lord of
the Isles' together this week, ere we put a foot on it," said Mary, who
was in a merry mood with life, and all the love and care of it.
"But if I go also, what shall be done with Drumloch?"
"Mrs. Leslie and Bruce will do the best they can; and for the rest, let
things 'gae tapsal-teerie,' as Uncle John says. I have made up my mind,
Maggie, to take you with us, and I am not going to be disappointed for a
trifle. Oh, Maggie! how we shall enjoy the great bens, and the corries
hazy with blue bells, and the wonderful isles of Skye and Iona."
"Skye! My mother was a Skye woman. I should like well to see Skye. How
long shall we be away?"
"Only a month. Winter comes soon among the mountains, and the roads are
bad, even the sea road, which is the one we shall take."
"I have a tryst," said Maggie, blushing scarlet; "it is at the end of
August. I canna break it; if I did, life would be a miserable uncertainty
to me, and maybe, to some one else."
Then Mary remembered how nearly the two years of Allan's absence were
over; and she understood well what tryst Maggie had to keep. "We shall be
back in Glasgow by the 20th of August. How long will it take you to keep
this tryst, Maggie?"
"I would ask a week to go and come again."
"But would you come again?"
"I would do that whate'er befell."
"Do you think your lover will be there?"
"He said that."
"And do you believe in him after two years?"
"Yes. I believe in every word he said. He will be there."
"You shall be there also, Maggie, though we should have to send special
horses and carriages with you. I intend to be back at Drumloch about the
22d, that will give you plenty of time. When you return we will go to
Blytheswood Square, until Uncle John gets home."
"What would take him at all to a heathen country like Russia?"
"They are not quite heathens, Maggie; indeed, I believe they claim to be
the best kind of Christians; and Russian rubles turn into very good
English sovereigns. There was some trouble about one of his ships at
Odessa, and as a very clever London physician said that Uncle John needed
travel and change, he thought he would go himself and see about it. But he
is one of those men who do not like to tread in their own footsteps, so
instead of coming back by the way he went, he will pass through Russia
northward, to a port on the Baltic, called Riga, where also he has some
business. I think Riga is on the Baltic; suppose you get the atlas, and we
will trace his course together."