The Right Stuff: Some Episodes in the Career of a North Briton

f my family. I had declined to give them any previous information abou

he shooting-party and the pariah of the smoking-room, lord it among the ladies like a very lion; and I have seen the hero of a hundred fights, the master of men, the essence of intrepid resolution, stand quaking outside

s, pulling down its waistcoat, and assuming an engaging expression as a preliminary to an encounter with the fair, that the spectacle of a man who enters a strange drawing-room and shakes hand

uely grouped upon the drawing-room hea

called upon to say something formal but graceful. Kitty greeted the guest with a smile with which I am well acquainted (and which I can gua

d Robin, shaking hands. "But I am not quit

urned s

mean-I am sure we are de--"

ughed pl

ith me already," he said. "I should have

look confused, but still

d slowly; "I

carriage, six years ago. Between Edinburgh and Per

re the gentleman who was so kind and helpful. How nice and romantic meeting again! Adrian, you s

ound and presente

al hue and cut. This was a favourite device of theirs when about to meet a new young man; it usually startled him considerably. If he was not a person of sound nerve and abstemious habits, it

little rattled by the duplicate vision of loveliness before him, could never make up his mind which hand to shake first; and by the t

nearest to Kitty, and then with Dolly. After that he stepped

turned t

enignantly. ("Just as if we had been two babies

r second move-the utterance of some trivial and artless remark, delivered by both simultaneously, and thereby calculated to throw

nued Robin with an air of determination, "or I shall always be in difficulties.

of the indignant Dilly, and tur

to Dolly) "have a tiny brown spot in the blue

perturbable creature had taken it all in in one resolute scrutiny; and Dolly, blushing like Aurora-an infirmity to which I may say

d upon to accompany Kitty downstairs; while I, putting a consoling arm round the waist of each

on one side of the table, opposite to Robin. The latter conversed easily and pleasantly, tho

ong, Mr Fordyce?" inquired

ears," s

ave lots of frie

ndon are just three, all told," said Robin, in what Dil

xclusive, Mr Fordyc

dmit when I say that my three friends are

t of you!"

aintance in Edinburgh, apparently about the same time that he made ours, and had renewed it some years later outside

in friendly assumption of interest which announ

o and see him, whi-now an

e-er-mi

Church in Howard Street. I have sat under

is mysterious reference could not be allowed to pass without some explanation. The Twins convulsively gripped each other's hands under the table. (They are of course perfectly bred girls-indeed, their self-possession at trying m

ite. I should perhaps have said that I was an adherent of Dr Strang's church-or rather," he adde

this, politel

n in full) of some three or four Scottish denominations, interwoven with extracts from his own family archives. His grand-uncle, it appeared, had been a minister himsel

hy my second name is Chalmers-after the g

cere chorus of pl

engulf Scotland. Robin was deeply interested in the matter, and gave us his reasons for being so. He passed some scathing comments on the contumacy and na

nd it. Kitty was completely out of her depth, but still maintained a brave appearance of interest. It was the Twins who bro

orry. Robin stopped dea

quite simply, "it is so long since I sat at meat with friends, that I have lost the art of conversation. I just run on, li

er tense pause.

It was very rude of us. We quite

ble of us, Mr Fordyce. But we thoug

en!" sa

s things quite different, doesn

olutely,"

m, quite maternally. An

a woman for three years!" c

lk to a man for three years!" sa

al intercourse," said Robin, "to a ma

in taking a slightly som

ence of my establishment won't have the effect of m

lly looked a

Dilly, "is t

hink

nough to be

the

ght. Co

I believe is known in pantomime circles as a Grand Rally, which

my household took advantage of h

proceeds to dominate the situation to her exclusion-unless, by the way, he has her permission and authority so to do, in which case he cannot

y; "but you must get

t wearing that sort of

n't help his acc

to such trifles as these, and I

ed up the

le that he is rathe

description could not have be

e eyes, too

. "Took her on his knee at once, and talked to her just as if

ould not do it with other peop

onscious and dignified to climb down to the level o

nce was not

en you showed Phillis to him, Kit? About her being forwa

'Sometimes forrrwarrrd, sometimes coy, she neverrr fails to p

"It sounded rather quaint. But I daresay all Sc

a quotation," I

would be it. Wh

Phillis is my on

ued, "he said such a nice thing to me. While you were bear-fighting with the Twins after lunch, Adrian, I said to him: 'Pity me, Mr Fordyce! My husband never ceases to express to me his regret that he did not marry one of my

pening of the drawing-room door, where the

cal, and anything like a protracted interview with him converts me into a Socialist for the next twenty-four hours. A week-end in his society, and I should probably buy a red shirt and send out for

ntrance, just in time to hear that great man conclu

and the nationalisation of railways and other semi-socialistic schemes had filled the air. Dubberley, it appeared, had

his subject when Robin e

, the solution of the problem lies in the revival of our far-reaching but sadly neglected system of canals. Yes! If we go to the very root of the matter"-Dubberley is one of those fortunate persons wh

aning forward-"how long do you consider one woul

ddress of a bygone age,-"an impossibly long time. The average speed of a canal-boat at the present day under the mi

y secrets statistics and blue-books about his person-and after stertorously perusing them c

constructed to run fifteen, twenty, or even twenty-fi

s cup rather emph

ph

ary Caledonian expletive in writing, but that is as

fast turbine steamers running all ov

aunches," said Dubberley. "I

twenty mil

r," said Dubberl

voice which made us all jump, "ha

c under the technicalities of the subject, roused

don?" said Dubberley,

ted Robin-"with a g

-ye

rge bath-sponge-something nearly as broad as the bath-and sweep it along from end to end, about a foot below t

is chin stuck out, and his large chest heaved, and he scooped the air, as if it had

y demoralised, palpitat

and restricted waterway. You would kick half the water right out of the canal to begin with, and the other half would pi

lly of the Equator. Great was the fall of Dubberley. He moved, perhaps instinctively, in a society where he was seldom contradicted and never argued with. One does not argue with a gramophone. An

y were conjuring up a joyous vision of Dubberley, in his shirt-sleeves, meekly refuting one of his own

of debating. He was entirely lacking in an art which I am told I possess to perfection-that of suffering fools gladly. Its possession

y household when we met for dinner that evening. "He is a thorough-going

ley!" said tend

ion Dubberley's past enormities loomed large.

was unusual. Perhaps the