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John Splendid: The Tale of a Poor Gentleman; and the Little Wars
John Splendid The Tale of a Poor Gentleman and the Little Wars Author:Neil Munro Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. THE LADY ON THE STAIR. John Splendid looked at me from the corner of an eye as we came out again and daundered slowly down the town. " A qu... more »eer one yon!" said he, as it were feeling his way with a rapier - point at my mind about his Marquis. "Do you tell me?" I muttered, giving him parry of low quarte like a good swordsman, and he came to the recover with a laugh. " Foil, Elrigmore ! " he cried. " But we're soldiers and lads of the world, and you need hardly be so canny. You see MacCailein's points as well as I do. His one weakness is the old one—books, books,—the rurse of the Highlands and every man of spirit, say I He has the stuff in him by nature, for none can deny Clan Diarmaid courage and knightliness ; but for four generations court, closet, and college have been taking the heart out of our chiefs. Had our lordship in-bye been sent a fostering in the old style, brought up to the chase and the sword and manly comportment, he would not have that wan cheek this day, and that swithering about what he must be at next!" "You forget that I have had the same ill-training," I said (in no bad humour, for I followed his mind). " I had a touch of Glascow College myself." " Yes, yes," he answered quickly; " you had that, but by all accounts it did you no harm. You learned little of what they teach there." This annoyed me, I confess, and John Splendid was gleg enough to see it. " I mean," he added, " you caught no fever for paper and ink, though you may have learned many a quirk I was the better of myself. I could never even write my name; and I've kept compt of wages at the mines with a pickle chuckie-stones." " That's a pity," says I, drily. " Oh, never a bit," says he, gaily, or at any rate with a way as if to carry it off vauntingly. "I ca...« less