"
Thomas would judge the living from morning to night; but the dead--he
would leave them alone in the better hands.
"I'm thinkin'," he added, "he's been taen awa' frae the evil to
come--frae seein' the terrible consequences o' sic a saft way o'
dealin' wi' eternal trowth and wi' perishin' men--taen awa' like Eli,
whan he brak his neck at the ill news. For the fire and brimstane that
overthrew Sodom and Gomorrha, is, I doobt, hingin' ower this toon,
ready to fa' and smore us a'."
"Hoot! hoot! dinna speyk sic awfu' words, Thamas, Ye're nae the prophet
Jonah, ye ken."
"Are ye the whaul than, to swallow me and my words thegither, Jean? I
tell ye the wrath o' God _maun_ be roused against this toon, for it's
been growin' waur and waur for mony a year; till the verra lasses are
no to be lippent oot them-lanes (alone)."
"What ken ye aboot the lasses, Thamas? Haud ye to the men. The lasses
are nae waur nor in ither pairts. I wat I can come and gang whan and
whaur I like. Never a body says a word to me."
This was true but hardly significant; seeing Jean had one shoulder and
one eye twice the size of the others, to say nothing of various
obliquities and their compensations.
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