Do ye min' hoo he
did whan the Markis taxed him wi'--?'
'Haud a quaiet sough,' interposed Mr. Cruickshank, the solicitor;
'there's a drap i' the hoose.'
This was a phrase well understood by the company, indicating the
presence of some one unknown, or unfit to be trusted.
As he spoke he looked towards the farther end of the room, which lay
in obscurity; for it was a large room, lighted only by the four
candles on the table at which the company sat.
'Whaur, Mr. Cruickshank?' asked the dominie in a whisper.
'There,' answered Sampson Peddie, the bookseller, who seized the
opportunity of saying something, and pointed furtively where the
solicitor had only looked.
A dim figure was descried at a table in the farthest corner of the
room, and they proceeded to carry out the plan they generally
adopted to get rid of a stranger.
'Ye made use o' a curious auld Scots phrase this moment, Mr.
Curshank: can ye explain hoo it comes to beir the meanin' that it's
weel kent to beir?' said the manufacturer.
'Not I, Mr. MacGregor,' answered the solicitor. 'I'm no philologist
or antiquarian. Ask the chairman.'
'Gentlemen,' responded Mr. Innes, taking a huge pinch of snuff after
the word, and then, passing the box to Mr. Cocker, a sip from his
glass before he went on: 'the phrase, gentlemen, "a drap i' the
hoose," no doobt refers to an undesirable presence, for ye're weel
awaur that it's a most unpleasin' discovery, in winter especially,
to find a drop o' water hangin' from yer ceiling; a something, in
short, whaur it has no business to be, and is not accordingly looked
for, or prepared against.
Pages:
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55