Martha Spreull/Selecting a Bursar

by Henry Johnston

CHAPTER VII.

SELECTING A BURSAR.

WAS mortal angry, as ye may jalouse, when Maister Fleming, the writer, telt me that the College authorities wud hae naething a dae wi' the bursary I had set my heart on givin' to the best first year's student who should compete for it. The bursary, as ye 'll nae doot recollect, wis to be tenable for four years, or at least for such period within that time as the bursar should conduct himsel' to my satisfaction; and wis to consist o' bed, board and washing in my ain hoose, wi' a wummanly care ower his moral upbringin' during the term o' holding the same. It wis a most carefully wordit foundation, as Maister Fleming beautifully ca'd it; and couldna be worth less to ony growin' callant than forty pounds o' guid sterling money i' the year.

It wis gey provokin'; but the greatest and best o' folk hae met wi' discouragement i' the wye o' weel-doin.' I had settled Mrs. Whangy, and I wisna gaun to hae the laugh turned against me by the opposition o' a wheen College Professors. So I clapped on my things and went stracht doon to an auld frien' o' my faither's, the Rev. Dr. Threshie, wha keepit a private academy in Montrose Street, and had great skill i' the classical and ither languages. The Doctor, puir body, had met wi’ a mishanter when he wis young, and wis hump-backet. Some say he fell oot o’ a careless lassie’s airms ontil a flag flair, and had dislocated his shoother-bleds; and ithers alloo't the mis-shapenness wis born wi’ him.* Hooever that may be, there wisna muckle wrang wi’s heed, for he wrote a real learned fcreatis’ on the Book o’ Revelations, which, I have heard my faither say, raised an unco steer at the time, and caused an American College to send him ower the title o’ doctor o’ divinity. As a minister I think he wis gey ill-used. Some years before the Disruption he wis presented to the pairish o’ Kilfinnan i’ the county o’ Fife; but there wis a terrible to-do aboot the settlement. Some said his doctrun wis unsound, ithers that his prayers werena evangelical, and that when preaching he keepit ae e’e on a paper before him i’ the Bible while the ither wis directed towards the middle ornament i’ the front o’ the laft. My faither, wha had great insicht in ecclesiastical matters, said that a’ the hurry arose oot o’ this, that the puir body had a hump on his back. The thing wis referred to the Synod, then it gaed back to the Presbytery, and whether the evidence wis richt or wrang, the Assembly took the side o’ the congregation, and they were set free to select anither minister. Maybe I wis. hasty, but ever sin’ syne I have had a dour prejudice against onybody that comes frae the kingdom o’ Fife.

I must say the doctor behaved in an on common manner when I telt him what I proposed to do. He wis afflicted wi’ that guid auld-fashioned politeness that restrain men frae laughin’ richt oot in a wumman’s face, but he got till his feet, and as he turned his back to me, I could see his shouthers, wi’

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“ Na,’’ I said, kind o’ hurt, “ I didna mean to mak’ a laughin’stock o’ mysel’; but if there’s real fun i’ the proposal I wud like ye just to turn roon and let me see that ye enjoy it.”

This broucht the creatur to his senses braw and quick; nevertheless, when he did turn roon his een were dancin’ and the tears were running doon his runkled cheeks at such a rate I could see that whatever notion had crossed his head he had a hraw hearty laugh at it. In a meenit he wis a’ apologies, and ran clean ower wi’ ceevility.

“ That ’ll dae, doctor,” quoth I, “ I dinna grudge ye a laugh, but I am desperate serious aboot this bursary, and as the College winna carry the thing through I mean to tak’ the business in my ain ban’s, and as ye ’re a scholarly man I want ye to conduct the examination in yer ain eless-room.”

So, efter he saw I wis in real earnest, he sat down quite serious, and we yocket to the crack in a thorough business-like wye. 1 gaed hame unco weel pleased efter the thing wis settled, and when, next day, I saw the adverteesment in the newspaper, I thocht to mysel’ that things had turned oot a’ for the best, as it wud catch the e’e o’ needy callants faster in a penny newspaper than i’ the College Calendar—a hook that I kent frae experience very few students could afford to buy. Weel, what d’ye think, there were nae less than sixteen applications, though there wisna ane bearing the name o’ Spreull. It wis just real heartnin’ to see. On the day o’ examination, Maister Fleming gaed doon wi’ me to the schule where the puir creators were thrang writing frae the papers that Dr. Threshie had set them. The doctor himsel’ sat in a high-backet chair that owerlookit the desks, to see that they didna copy frae books. I wis real interestet; and I thocht to mysel’ if moneyed folk had just been there to see the dead earnestness o’ the puir laddies, they maybe wudna be sae loath to gie them a helpin’ han’ wi’ their edication.

Let that be as it may, they were as fine a set o’ raw, earnest, growin’ callants as ony kind-heartet man or wumman either could wish to feed. Whan they had dune, Maister Fleming made a beautifu’, feelin’ speech, and telt them that though fifteen o’ them must be disappointed, they werena to be cuisten doon; they had only to persevere wi’ the same earnestness they had shown that day and the barriers that stand i’ the wye o’ human progress wud gae doon afore them.

It wis an encouraging speech, I must alloo; and as they filed past at scalin’-time, makin’ an unco noise on the wooden flair wi’ their heavy feet, a mist cam’ ower my een, insomuch that I lost sicht o’ them and had to turn awa’ and look oot o’ the window for a meenit to get the better o’ my feelin’s.

Weel, it wis gey droll, but the settlement o’ wha the bursar wis to be fell to mysel’ at the hinner en’. The twa best callants were sae equal in cleverness that Dr. Threshie, wha is a most conscientious man, wis sair put aboot to ken what to dae—so a thocht cam’ into my head—

“ Will ye let me settle it ? ” quoth I.

“ Wi’ pleesure,” says he, “for in troth ye may tak’ either and no’ gae far wrang.”

“ Weel,” quoth I, “ye hae soundit them back and forrit in halesome secular lear, and wi yer wull I wud like to yock them for twa meenits on The Question Book. I maun ken hoo they stan’ with regaird to speeritual knowledge.”

Weel, if ye’ll believe it, this exerceese made a great impression on my ain mind, for while ane of them—as bonnie-faced, blue-e’ed a laddie as ever ye saw—didna miss a word frae the very start till we wan on to “God’s wrath an’ curse,” the ither—a tousie, big-baned halflin’—couldna gie me the correct answer to “ Man's Chief En”

Some folk may think the wye wis geyan plain efter this, but to me it wis a time o’ great perplexity; hooever, I did my duty. “ Doctor,” quoth I, while the callants waited i’ the side-room, “ ye ’ll maybe think me a thrawn wumman, but I’ve made up my mind.”

“ Weel,” says he, “ ye ’ll be gey an’ thrawn if ye dinna tak’ the ane that answert best; hooever, ye’re welcome to yer ain choice.”

“Thank ye for yer courtesy,” says I, “noo, just gie that five-pound note to the bonnie laddie wi’ the blue een; there’s no’ muckle likely to gae wrang wi’ him. He is sure to mak’ his wye, and it’s clear to me he is weel cared for at hame. The ither ane is a clever billie; but he needs lookin’ till, so if ye have nae objection we ’ll gie the bursary to him.”

And thus the thing wis settled; hooever, I had my wark cut oot for me; but ye ’ll hear mair aboot that again.