'
And down he knelt: his wife knelt also, for she was as devout as bonnie;
and beside them knelt their household, and all lights were extinguished.
"'Now this beats a',' muttered his wife to herself; 'however, I shall
be obedient for a time; but if I dinna ken what all this is for before
the morn by sunket-time, my tongue is nae langer a tongue, nor my hands
worth wearing.'
"The voice of her husband in prayer interrupted this mental soliloquy;
and ardently did he beseech to be preserved from the wiles of the fiends,
and the snares of Satan; 'from witches, ghosts, goblins, elves, fairies,
spunkies, and water-kelpies; from the spectre shallop of Solway; from
spirits visible and invisible; from the Haunted Ships and their
unearthly tenants; from maritime spirits that plotted against godly
men, and fell in love with their wives--'
"'Nay, but His presence be near us!' said his wife in a low tone of
dismay. 'God guide my gudeman's wits: I never heard such a prayer from
human lips before. But, Sandie, my man, Lord's sake, rise: what fearful
light is this?--barn and byre and stable maun be in a blaze; and Hawkie
and Hurley,--Doddie, and Cherrie, and Damson-plum, will be smoored
with reek and scorched with flame.
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