Scotland/Scots > Licht frae the smiddy o' Saunders Dinwuddie

72 THE UPBRINGING OF COMMON SENSE.
seemly to see muckle stirks o’ chiels, andwappin’
lasses dancin’ wi’ glaiket glee to Auld Nick’s
‘wee sinfu' fiddle.’ Our lasses may shake their
feet at a time amang themsel’s, or wi’ weel-kent,
honest neebours—for they’re fu’ o’ life and
speerit—but they’re never seen in the great con¬
gregation o’ the carnally-minded and the dead.
They fear God, Sir.
“ Prom your ancient and uncouth notions of
manners and customs, Saunders, I would con¬
clude that none of your daughters ever attended
a Boarding School.
“No, Sir, they ne’er did, and yet they are
weel-bred, mannerly women. In ony
company I could lippen them that
they would behave themsel’s wi’ as
muckle simplicity and grace as the best in the
land. We ga’e them a’ the gude lear they needed
out o’ doors, and syne our ain house was their
buirdin’-school; and there Girzie taught them a’
kinds o’ honest and gude housewifery. They needed
nae feet to rin for them, for on their ain feet
they can rin their ain errands. They needed nae
hands to work for them ; they can work for them-
sel’s and be behauden to naebody. It’s a treat to
see them reelin’ merrily through their house wark
in a forenoon. The exercise is life and health to
them ; and when a’ thing’s redd up an’ set in
order, it’s a delightfu’ thing to see Girzie and her
braw dochters sitting like ladies in their parlour,
a’ busy readin’, maybe, or knittin’, sewin’, or
doin’ some orra needfu’ turn.’’
“A strange, old-fashioned upbringing, Saunders.
It puts one in mind of the ancient patriarchial