Martha Spreull, Being Chapters in the Life of a Single Wumman

by Henry Johnston

MARTHA SPREULL

MARTHA SPREULL

BEING CHAPTERS IN

THE LIFE OF A SINGLE WUMMAN

EDITED BY

ZACHARY FLEMING, Writer

H. Johnston

WITH PREFACE BY THE AUTHORESS

ILLUSTRATED BY TWYM

New Edition

GLASGOW

DAVID BRYCE & SON

1887

CONTENTS.

		PAGE
	Prefatory Note by the Editor	5
I.—	Introductory	11
II.—	Unexpected Luck	15
III.—	Humanity	20
IV.—	A New Bursary	24
V.—	The New-Year	29
VI.—	“When Greek meets Greek”	34
VII.—	Selecting a Bursar	40
VIII.—	The Unclaimed Fiddle-case	46
IX.—	Willie Warstle—The Bursar	52
X.—	David Whammond’s Legacy	57
XI.—	Early Recollections	62
XII.—	That Bursar again!	68
XIII.—	School Experiences	75
XIV.—	A Black Year	80
XV.—	At a Hydropathic	86
XVI.—	A Holiday in Arran	93
XVII.—	Henry Hernbane’s Courtship	99
XVIII.—	Polemical	106
XIX.—	A Professional Nurse	111
XX.—	Concluded	116
	Last Words by the Editor	120

PREFACE TO NEW EDITION.

BY THE AUTHORESS.

We’ve had things through-hands at hame about wha wis to write this preface for the New Edition. The publishers say that the extraordinary sale o’ the first issue deserves some recognition, and Maister Fleming, my husband and editor, wha is deeply versed in the laws o’ etiquette, says this duty devolves on me. Weel, what am I to say? I maunna be ower uplifted, for pride is a dangerous thing. I have seen folk gae clean aff at the head wi’ success, become poetical, and talk rank nonsense. Even the greatest authors have their limitations, and, as I ken my ain boonds, I maun speak soberly, as becomes a sensible wumman that has a reputation to sustain.

Efter the verdict o’ the critics, I begin to think there is something in the fact which wis noted at the time by Mysie Deans, the mantymaker, Beeny Fortune, the spae-wife, and ithers, namely, that my wisdom teeth cam’ when I wis in my twelfth year. That remarkable circumstance made an unco impression on my mither's mind when it took place. I recollect her words fine.

"Martha," says she, "aye try and do what's richt; dinna forget to read yer Bible, and when ye gang near the college efter gleamin', if onybody tries to put a plaister on yer mouth, cry a' yer pith; for it's borne in on me, and I canna help sayin 't, that, whaever leeves to see it, ye 'll be a credit to us yet." Weel, ye wud think from the opinions o' the Press that this prophecy had come true. It's wonnerfu' what your critic can see in a book efter he has set himsel' deliberately doon to mak' discoveries. Some o' them ha'e laucht oot richt heartily; some ha'e sat doon and grat their fill; while ithers, again, are filled wi' emotion by the moral and philosophic wisdom they have discovered in a story that wis meant to be a simple and ootspoken narrative o' passages in the life o' a single wumman. A few sharp hands, hooever, endowed wi' great penetration, have found out the serious character o' the book, and have kindly recommended it to the consideration o' students, ministers, and earnest-minded folk inclined to found bursaries. On the whole, I am glad I havena made a fule o' mysel'. Whether I have been understood or misunderstood, the critics have been generous and my worthy friends, the publishers, are pleased, inasmuch as they have sold out the first issue while there is yet a demand for more. Now, I havena a great deal mair to say. The reader will be sorry to hear o' Peter Spale's death. Peter wis a worthy man, but a dour arguer on releegious subjects. He passed awa, at a ripe age, and kens noo wha wis richt and wha wis wrang. Dr. Threshie has been laid aside for some weeks wi' a sair brash o' liver complaint, and Willie Warstle, the bursar, in spite o' youthful vagaries and heterodox notions, promises, sae far as we can see, to be an upright business man.

M. S.

Drumsynie,

⁠Pollokshields,

⁠May, 1887.