A Doctor of the Old School | Page 5

the new look wears aff.
"For ma ain pairt," Soutar used to declare, "a' canna mak up my mind,
but there's ae thing sure, the Glen wud not like tae see him withoot
them: it wud be a shock tae confidence. There's no muckle o' the check
left, but ye can aye tell it, and when ye see thae breeks comin' in ye ken
that if human pooer can save yir bairn's life it 'ill be dune."
The confidence of the Glen--and tributary states--was unbounded, and
rested partly on long experience of the doctor's resources, and partly on
his hereditary connection.
"His father was here afore him," Mrs. Macfadyen used to explain;

"atween them they've hed the countyside for weel on tae a century; if
MacLure disna understand oor constitution, wha dis, a' wud like tae
ask?"
For Drumtochty had its own constitution and a special throat disease, as
became a parish which was quite self-contained between the woods and
the hills, and not dependent on the lowlands either for its diseases or its
doctors.
"He's a skilly man, Doctor MacLure," continued my friend Mrs.
Macfayden, whose judgment on sermons or anything else was seldom
at fault; "an' a kind-hearted, though o' coorse he hes his faults like us a',
an' he disna tribble the Kirk often.
"He aye can tell what's wrang wi' a body, an' maistly he can put ye richt,
and there's nae new-fangled wys wi' him: a blister for the ootside an'
Epsom salts for the inside dis his wark, an' they say there's no an herb
on the hills he disna ken.
"If we're tae dee, we're tae dee; an' if we're tae live, we're tae live,"
concluded Elspeth, with sound Calvinistic logic; "but a'll say this for
the doctor, that whether yir tae live or dee, he can aye keep up a sharp
meisture on the skin."
"But he's no veera ceevil gin ye bring him when there's naethin'
wrang," and Mrs. Macfayden's face reflected another of Mr. Hopps'
misadventures of which Hillocks held the copyright.
"Hopps' laddie ate grosarts (gooseberries) till they hed to sit up a' nicht
wi' him, an' naethin' wud do but they maun hae the doctor, an' he writes
'immediately' on a slip o' paper.
"Weel, MacLure had been awa a' nicht wi' a shepherd's wife Dunleith
wy, and he comes here withoot drawin' bridle, mud up tae the cen.
"'What's a dae here, Hillocks?" he cries; 'it's no an accident, is't?' and
when he got aff his horse he cud hardly stand wi' stiffness and tire.

"'It's nane o' us, doctor; it's Hopps' laddie; he's been eatin' ower mony
berries.'
[Illustration: "HOPPS' LADDIE ATE GROSARTS"]
"If he didna turn on me like a tiger.
"Div ye mean tae say----'
"'Weesht, weesht,' an' I tried tae quiet him, for Hopps wes comin' oot.
"'Well, doctor,' begins he, as brisk as a magpie, 'you're here at last;
there's no hurry with you Scotchmen. My boy has been sick all night,
and I've never had one wink of sleep. You might have come a little
quicker, that's all I've got to say.'
"We've mair tae dae in Drumtochty than attend tae every bairn that hes
a sair stomach,' and a' saw MacLure wes roosed.
"'I'm astonished to hear you speak. Our doctor at home always says to
Mrs. 'Opps "Look on me as a family friend, Mrs. 'Opps, and send for
me though it be only a headache."'
"'He'd be mair sparin' o' his offers if he hed four and twenty mile tae
look aifter. There's naethin' wrang wi' yir laddie but greed. Gie him a
gude dose o' castor oil and stop his meat for a day, an' he 'ill be a' richt
the morn.'
"'He 'ill not take castor oil, doctor. We have given up those barbarous
medicines.'
"'Whatna kind o' medicines hae ye noo in the Sooth?'
"'Well, you see, Dr. MacLure, we're homoeopathists, and I've my little
chest here,' and oot Hopps comes wi' his boxy.
"'Let's see't,' an' MacLure sits doon and taks oot the bit bottles, and he
reads the names wi' a lauch every time.

"'Belladonna; did ye ever hear the like? Aconite; it cowes a'. Nux
Vomica. What next? Weel, ma mannie,' he says tae Hopps, 'it's a fine
ploy, and ye 'ill better gang on wi' the Nux till it's dune, and gie him
ony ither o' the sweeties he fancies.
"'Noo, Hillocks, a' maun be aff tae see Drumsheugh's grieve, for he's
doon wi' the fever, and it's tae be a teuch fecht. A' hinna time tae wait
for dinner; gie me some cheese an' cake in ma haund, and Jess 'ill tak a
pail o' meal an' water.
"'Fee; a'm no wantin' yir fees, man; wi' that boxy ye dinna need a
doctor;