"Dinna greet like that, Bell wumman, sae lang as Saunders is stilllivin'; a'll never give up houp, for ma pairt, till oor ain man saysthe word.

"A' the physicians in the land dinna ken as muckle aboot us as WeelumMacLure, an' he's ill tae beat when he's tryin' tae save a man'slife."

MacLure, on his coming, would say nothing, either weal or woe, tillhe had examined Saunders. Suddenly his face turned into iron beforetheir eyes, and he looked like one encountering a merciless foe. Forthere was a feud between MacLure and a certain mighty power whichhad lasted for forty fortnights in Drumtochty.

"The London doctor exclaimed that Saunders wud sough awa afore mornin',did he? Weel, he's an authority on fevers an' sic like diseases, anought tae ken.

"It's may be presumptous o' me tae differ frae him, and it wudna beverra respectfu' o' Saunders tae live aifter this opeenion. ButSaunders wes aye thraun an' ill tae drive, an' he's as like as notae gang his ain gait.

"A'm no meanin' tae reflect on sae clever a man, but he didna kenthe seetuation. He can read fevers like a bulk, but he never camacross sic a skinnyg as the Drumtochty constitution a' his days.

"Ye see, when onybody gets as low as puir Saunders here, it's juista arm to arm wrastle atween the fever and his constitution, an' ofcoorse, if he hed been a shilpit, stuntit, feckless effeegy o' acratur, fed on tea an' made dishes and pushioned wi' bad air,Saunders wud hae nae chance; he wes boond tae gae oot like the snuffo' a candle.