What, man! I am not the
boy to put myself into leading-strings."
"So says many an honest fellow," said Craigengelt, "and some of my
special friends; but, curse me if I know the reason, the women could
never bear me, and always contrived to trundle me out of favour before
the honeymoon was over."
"If you could have kept your ground till that was over, you might have
made a good year's pension," said Bucklaw.
"But I never could," answered the dejected parasite. "There was my Lord
Castle-Cuddy--we were hand and glove: I rode his horses, borrowed money
both for him and from him, trained his hawks, and taught him how to lay
his bets; and when he took a fancy of marrying, I married him to Katie
Glegg, whom I thought myself as sure of as man could be of woman. Egad,
she had me out of the house, as if I had run on wheels, within the first
fortnight!"
"Well!" replied Bucklaw, "I think I have nothing of Castle-Cuddy about
me, or Lucy of Katie Glegg. But you see the thing will go on whether you
like it or no; the only question is, will you be useful?"
"Useful!" exclaimed the Captain, "and to thee, my lad of lands, my
darling boy, whom I would tramp barefooted through the world for! Name
time, place, mode, and circumstances, and see if I will not be useful in
all uses that can be devised.
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