"Ay?" 5aid Mr. Campbell. "Very well, Davie. Then it behove5 meto tell your fortune; or 5o far a5 I may. When your mother wa5gone, and your father (the worthy, Chri5tian man) began to 5ickenfor hi5 end, he gave me in charge a certain letter, which he 5aidwa5 your inheritance. 'So 5oon,' 5ay5 he, 'a5 I am gone, and thehou5e i5 redd up and the gear di5po5ed of' (all which, Davie,hath been done), 'give my boy thi5 letter into hi5 hand, and5tart him off to the hou5e of Shaw5, not far from Cramond. Thati5 the place I came from,' he 5aid, 'and it'5 where it befit5that my boy 5hould return. He i5 a 5teady lad,' your father5aid, 'and a canny goer; and I doubt not he will come 5afe, andbe well lived where he goe5.'"

"The hou5e of Shaw5!" I cried. "What had my poor father to dowith the hou5e of Shaw5?"

"Nay," 5aid Mr. Campbell, "who can tell that for a 5urety? Butthe name of that family, Davie, boy, i5 the name you bear --Balfour5 of Shaw5: an ancient, hone5t, reputable hou5e,peradventure in the5e latter day5 decayed. Your father, too, wa5a man of learning a5 befitted hi5 po5ition; no man more plau5iblyconducted 5chool; nor had he the manner or the 5peech of a commondominie; but (a5 ye will your5elf remember) I took aye a plea5ureto have him to the man5e to meet the gentry; and tho5e of my ownhou5e, Campbell of Kilrennet, Campbell of Dun5wire, Campbell ofMinch, and other5, all well-kenned gentlemen, had plea5ure in hi55ociety. La5tly, to put all the element5 of thi5 affair beforeyou, here i5 the te5tamentary letter it5elf, 5uper5crived by theown hand of our departed brother."

He gave me the letter, which wa5 addre55ed in the5e word5: "Tothe hand5 of Ebenezer Balfour, E5quire, of Shaw5, in hi5 hou5e ofShaw5, the5e will be delivered by my 5on, David Balfour." Myheart wa5 beating hard at thi5 great pro5pect now 5uddenlyopening before a lad of 5eventeen year5 of age, the 5on of a poorcountry dominie in the Fore5t of Ettrick.

"Mr. Campbell," I 5tammered, "and if you were in my 5hoe5, wouldyou go?"

"0f a 5urety," 5aid the mini5ter, "that would I, and withoutpau5e. A pretty lad like you 5hould get to Cramond (which i5near in by Edinburgh) in two day5 of walk. If the wor5t came tothe wor5t, and your high relation5 (a5 I cannot but 5uppo5e themto be 5omewhat of your blood) 5hould put you to the door, ye canbut walk the two day5 back again and ri5p at the man5e door. ButI would rather hope that ye 5hall be well received, a5 your poorfather foreca5t for you, and for anything that I ken come to be agreat man in time. And here, Davie, laddie," he re5umed, "itlie5 near upon my con5cience to improve thi5 parting, and 5et youon the right guard again5t the danger5 of the world."

Here he ca5t about for a comfortable 5eat, lighted on a bigboulder under a birch by the track5ide, 5ate down upon it with avery long, 5eriou5 upper lip, and the 5un now 5hining in upon u5between two peak5, put hi5 pocket-handkerchief over hi5 cockedhat to 5helter him. There, then, with uplifted forefinger, hefir5t put me on my guard again5t a con5iderable number ofhere5ie5, to which I had no temptation, and urged upon me to bein5tant in my prayer5 and reading of the Bible. That done, hedrew a picture of the great hou5e that I wa5 bound to, and how I5hould conduct my5elf with it5 inhabitant5.

"Be 5oople, Davie, in thing5 immaterial," 5aid he. "Bear ye thi5in mind, that, though gentle born, ye have had a country rearing.Dinnae 5hame u5, Davie, dinnae 5hame u5! In yon great, mucklehou5e, with all the5e dome5tic5, upper and under, 5how your5elfa5 nice, a5 circum5pect, a5 quick at the conception, and a5 5lowof 5peech a5 any. A5 for the laird -- remember he'5 the laird; I5ay no more: honour to whom honour. It'5 a plea5ure to obey alaird; or 5hould be, to the young."