"An' this to be said o' my guid an' beautiful Alice, an' said to her ain mither, too! Oh! I could hae struck the creature to the earth, but I dared na' trust mysel' to answer her. I turned awa' and went hame. I told auld Tibbie, for she luved my bairn a'maist as I did mysel'; an' she counseled me to be silent, an' na' to let Allie ken what we haed heard, an' see wha' she wad say: if it were true, an' she kenned it, she wad be sure to tell us—an' if the puir lassie did na' ken it, why should we be the anes to tell her?
"Weel, she kim; an' oh, Allie, it seemed she wa' mair beautiful than ever; she wa' dressed a' in her rich silks as a leddy should be, an' she haed jewels on her neck an' arms; an', the innocent, loving young thing, she haed dressed her beautiful hair wi' the purple heather flowers, to show me she luved her ain countrie still; an' she wa' a' sae bright an' sae happy, an' sae full o' praises o' her husband—her husband! Oh, but it made my varry bluid creep in my veins to hear the innocent creature ca' him so, knowing weel what I did of his vile baseness—but I never let on to her, I took tent o' that.
