A Doctor of the Old School | Page 7

'at hesna
hed ae word tae say aboot her till it's ower late.... She didna cuist up tae
me that a' wesna worthy o' her, no her, but aye she said, 'Yir ma ain
gudeman, and nane cud be kinder tae me.' ... An' a' wes minded tae be
kind, but a' see noo mony little trokes a' micht hae dune for her, and
noo the time is bye.... Naebody kens hoo patient she wes wi' me, and

aye made the best o 'me, an' never pit me tae shame afore the fouk....
An' we never hed ae cross word, no ane in twal year.... We were mair
nor man and wife, we were sweethearts a' the time.... Oh, ma bonnie
lass, what 'ill the bairnies an' me dae withoot ye, Annie?"
[Illustration: "THE BONNIEST, SNODDEST, KINDLIEST LASS IN
THE GLEN" ]
The winter night was falling fast, the snow lay deep upon the ground,
and the merciless north wind moaned through the close as Tammas
wrestled with his sorrow dry-eyed, for tears were denied Drumtochty
men. Neither the doctor nor Jess moved hand or foot, but their hearts
were with their fellow creature, and at length the doctor made a sign to
Marget Howe, who had come out in search of Tammas, and now stood
by his side.
[Illustration]
"Dinna mourn tae the brakin' o' yir hert, Tammas," she said, "as if
Annie an' you hed never luved. Neither death nor time can pairt them
that luve; there's naethin' in a' the warld sae strong as luve. If Annie
gaes frae the sichot' yir een she 'ill come the nearer tae yir hert. She
wants tae see ye, and tae hear ye say that ye 'ill never forget her nicht
nor day till ye meet in the land where there's nae pairtin'. Oh, a' ken
what a'm saying', for it's five year noo sin George gied awa, an' he's
mair wi' me noo than when he wes in Edinboro' and I was in
Drumtochty."
[Illustration]
"Thank ye kindly, Marget; thae are gude words and true, an' ye hev the
richt tae say them; but a' canna dae without seem' Annie comin' tae
meet me in the gloamin', an' gaein' in an' oot the hoose, an' hearin' her
ca' me by ma name, an' a'll no can tell her that a'luve her when there's
nae Annie in the hoose.
"Can naethin' be dune, doctor? Ye savit Flora Cammil, and young
Burnbrae, an' yon shepherd's wife Dunleith wy, an' we were a sae

prood o' ye, an' pleased tae think that ye hed keepit deith frae anither
hame. Can ye no think o' somethin' tae help Annie, and gie her back tae
her man and bairnies?" and Tammas searched the doctor's face in the
cold, weird light.
"There's nae pooer on heaven or airth like luve," Marget said to me
afterwards; "it maks the weak strong and the dumb tae speak. Oor herts
were as water afore Tammas's words, an' a' saw the doctor shake in his
saddle. A' never kent till that meenut hoo he hed a share in a'body's
grief, an' carried the heaviest wecht o' a' the Glen. A' peetied him wi'
Tammas lookin' at him sae wistfully, as if he hed the keys o' life an'
deith in his hands. But he wes honest, and wudna hold oot a false houp
tae deceive a sore hert or win escape for himsel'."
"Ye needna plead wi' me, Tammas, to dae the best a' can for yir wife.
Man, a' kent her lang afore ye ever luved her; a' brocht her intae the
warld, and a' saw her through the fever when she wes a bit lassikie; a'
closed her mither's een, and it was me hed tae tell her she wes an
orphan, an' nae man wes better pleased when she got a gude husband,
and a' helpit her wi' her fower bairns. A've naither wife nor bairns o' ma
own, an' a' coont a' the fouk o' the Glen ma family. Div ye think a'
wudna save Annie if I cud? If there wes a man in Muirtown 'at cud dae
mair for her, a'd have him this verra nicht, but a' the doctors in
Perthshire are helpless for this tribble.
"Tammas, ma puir fallow, if it could avail, a' tell ye a' wud lay doon
this auld worn-oot ruckle o' a body o' mine juist tae see ye baith sittin'
at the fireside, an' the bairns roond ye, couthy an' canty again; but it's
no tae be, Tammas, it's no tae be."
"When a' lookit at the doctor's face," Marget said, "a' thocht him the
winsomest man a' ever saw. He was transfigured that nicht, for a'm
judging there's nae transfiguration like luve."
"It's God's wull an' maun