Johnny's Blessing.

Johnny’s Blessing

A bit o a storm wiz startin tae come in aff the sea as Megan

pit the shutters tee. There wiz only the three windaes in

the cottage and for mair than eence she thankit the

memory o her aal fadder faa’d biggit the hoosie kennin full weel that

eence the winter weens came that ower muckle windaes wid be a gye

weakness. The gavel eyne wiz only aboot thirty yards fae the beach,

an mony’s the time water hid washed aroon the biggin, but it wiz the

gavel eyne that teen the brunt o the storms. Nae windae there, though!

She closed up her puckle chuckins intae there wee steen biggit

coup wi its door facin awa fae the ween. A hannyfae o corn trysted

them in and she shut and tied the door closed. Aifter she wiz pleased

that aathing that could flee awa wiz tied doon, she shouted on Maizie

her goat. A squall hid hut the shore noo an the rain got gye heavy.

She shouted on Maizie eence mair but still nae signs o her ava. She

wiz usually inaboot tae the place this far intae the forenicht so Megan

began tae worry something ill hid happened tae her.

Maizie ranged the cliffs durin the day, seekin the lushest girss,

but she ayee came back weel afore nicht. Megan wint intill the hoose

for the aal lump o canvas she used as a cwite and thus riggit she wint

back intae the noo drivin rain tae search for Maizie.

Aifter a fair whilie raikin aboot Megan saw Maizie at the heed

o the cliff road, standin still and lookin doon at something bleatin oot

o her. Or the time Megan won her wye up tae the heed o the track,

she could see it wiz a bairnie lyin still on the grun.

“Ae me God be here!” said she, and wint for the bairnie.

As she drew nearer she could see the wee fite facie as if a

corp. There wiz hardly a stitch o clyse on the bairn jist a fyowe rags.

She felt the thrapple for signs o life an wiz fair relieved fin she felt a

bit o a pulse.

She shooed Maizie awa, then wuppit the bairn up in the canvas

cwite an heested her wye doon tae the hoose. Maizie trotted on ahin,

bleatin oot o her for aa she wiz worth. Inside Megan put the bairn

ontae the deese aside the big open fire, an rubbit the bairn’s haans an

feet tae get the bleed flowin. She’d tae push Mazie awa, for she wiz

getting in the road an deein this jist made her bleat waar for she’d

been tryin tae help in her wye o’t.

The bairn started tae come tee and even a wee bittie colour hid

come intae the facie.

“Ae me ye poor bairn!”

Megan spoke softly speirin the bairn if there wiz ony pain. The

bairn haaf nodded and rubbed its belly. Megan could weel see how

emaciated the bairnie lookit.

Ower the past three years there’d been a big hunger sweepin

the land an boorachs o strangers could fyles be seen makkin their wye

tae the coast faar a body could ayee get a bite tae ait if ye kent faar

aboot tae look. Ower the past three years the hairst hid aa but failed

wi aa the weety weather. Hopefully the 1784 hairst widna fail, thocht

Megan, or there’d be an affa lot mair fowk in the same state as this

peer wee bairn.

She made up a gruel an fed the bairn wee suppies so’s nae tae

swaal in the teem belly.

Megan wiz the local ‘herb doctor’ or ‘witchie wife’ as she wiz

mair kent as. Jist as her mither afore her she ministered tae the needs

o the local fowk, for there wiz nae physician for mony’s the mile and

onywye if there hid been een fowk could nivver afoord tae gyang tae

een.

She washed the bairn wi wild garlic an vinegar an pit

eyntment ontae the sores that covered haaf his body. He tellt her his

name wiz Johnny and that he wiz aacht years aal but he kent nithing

else. She wuppit him up in a fine saaft woollen cloot and let him

sleep aside the cosy fire. Aa the while her goat Maizie wiz makkin an

affa fuss aroon the bairn as if she wanted tae tak him intae her bosie

like she wid’ve deen wi a kid.

Megan rubbit her curly heedy sayin, “Na na Maizie we’re

baith o us ower aal tae be mithers, we’re jist twa aal maids thegither!”

Neist mornin Johnny seemed an affa lot better but still didna

mind onymair aboot himsel as he did the nicht afore. She made a

potfae o porridge an got him tae ait weel o it.

Ower the next wikk or so, Johnny wiz up and aboot and his

constant companion wiz Maizie; she’d nae let him oot o her sicht ava.

Meanwhile Megan made him duck troosers and a pea-jaicket oot o

green dyed canvas and a pair o sheen o double shewed canvas wi

soles made o dried kelp. By anither wikk Johnny and Maizie were

explorin ivvery cove they could reach. Johnny’s sores hid cleared up

fine wi them bein washed ilka day wi wild garlic an vinegar. His reed

rimmed een wi the hunger hid cleared up ana wi aa the fine nourishin

broths made wi the herbs that grew in abundance aboot the coves.

Megan smiled tae hersel as she watched the twa o them rinnin

aboot. If ye found een ye found the ither. Maizie wiz treatin him as if

he wiz her ain.

Megan’s mind wint back tae a time lang, lang syne fin the

young loons fae the toon wid come doon tae see her. Her aal mither

wisna jist ower pleased though at aa the attention that wiz bein peyed

tae her quine. The loons wid makk up an excuse for bein there and

wid fyles say something wiz wrang wi them and wid spen a bawbee

for some tonic. Mair than eence her aal mither wid gee them mair

norr they bargained for and the tonic wid gyang throwe them like

bilin lead. Megan laached at the memory.

“Peer loons!”

That wiz then and now’s her and Maizie jist twa aal maids

thegither. But Johnny though hid brocht a lot o colour intae their

lives, even as far as them getting broody. His smilin happy facie

fairly lifted their spirits.

He still didna ken faa he wiz though, an fyles fin she pressed

him she could see his wee facie gyan richt sad. Megan nivver pushed

fin she saw this and wid quickly change the subject, speirin at him

instead if he’s seen onything interestin alang the coves.

The months wun by and Johnny lookit richt healthy wi the

wecht pilin ontae his merge frame. As this happened Megan thocht

tae hersel that it wiz aboot time she teen him intae the toon tae get a

richt tyler made rigoot, then tae the souter for a pair o leather beets.

She’d hin tae re-sole the ither eens wi kelp a puckle times since he’d

been rinnin aboot wi Maizie. But this wisna tae be, for that very

forenicht Johnny come till her an tellt her he’d tae leave.

Megan wiz fair teen aback wi this, speirin faar aboot he wiz

gan? Johnny lookit so sad fin he tellt her he didna ken faar he wiz gan

but only that he’d ither work tae dee. Nae maitter foo muckle Megan

priggit wi him, he jist tellt her he’d tae leave and continue his work.

Kennin fine she’d nae claim tae him, an nae maitter foo she longed

for a bairn o her ain, he said he’d tae leave her and Maizie an that wiz

that.

She riggit him as best she could an fulled his breedpyoke wi aa

the tasty bits she could for his journey. Johnny lookin gye sad wint in

tae her bosie and thankin Megan for aathing he whispered;

“Bless you Megan and bless yer hearth steen and a double

blessing on you and Maizie.

Wi that he started up the cove track. Megan ran intae the

hoose wi the tears trippin her and Maizie bleatin oot o her ran aifter

Johnny nudgin him as she ayee did fin she wanted tae play. Johnny

bent doon and gave her a bosie ana and tearfully tellt her tae wun

hame tae Megan because she needed her this forenicht. But she jist

steed there bleatin oot o her like a mither faa hid jist lost her kid.

Megan hearin this ran fae the hoose dichtin her een. She’d nae

intention o lettin Johnny leave her but by the time she wun oot aa she

could see wiz Maizie lookin up at the heed o the track bleatin oot o

her. O Johnny she could see nae sign, he wiz gone fae them. She

made tae rin up the track tae catch up wi Johnny but Maizie hid ither

ideas an held fast tae the hem o her frock an widna let her go!

A forty years an mair aifter that forenicht o lang syne a man

sat on the green girss lookin doon intae the self same cove. He

shuddered, but nae wi lookin doon intae the cove. He shuddered wi

the fever that hid nearly killed him onboord the ship he’d sailed hame

fae Ceylon in. He cursed silently aneeth his breath thinkin that yet

anither bout o fever wid see him intae the kirkyard.

He’d been hame less than a wikk noo and the disaster he’d

walked in on wiz still gye soor tae swally. His father the Laird hid left

the once big estate in ruins and creakin under huge debts. His father

in a fyowe short years squandered the fortune his ain father hid built

up. Drink, weemin and gamblin hid teen their toll o the fortune but

worse his health hid broken ower the heeds o’t aa. He’d died doon in

Edinburgh in a drunken brawl ower the heeds o debts owed.

The man shuddered as yet anither wave o fever rattled aboot

his already weakened body. The man hid nivver gotten on wi his

father, so many years ago he’d opted tae gyang oot tae rin the faimily

tea plantation at Ceylon. Noo even that wiz gone; lost tae the turn o a

card. He winnert fit his granda the aal Laird wid think aboot it aa if he

were still here.

His granda wiz a completely different man fae his father. A

hard workin man that of course made a lot o money but always made

sure his workers got decently peyed and were itherwyes weel lookit

aifter.

In Ceylon his plantation wiz een o the maist productive but

that wiz gotten nae by near slavery like ither plantations but by his

workers willin tae gee him their very best. His policy o a fair days

pey for a fair days work and his re-investment back intae the

plantations hid been a master stroke. His father, though, hid jist milkit

the plantations bone dry and it wiz a sair day for the man fin he’d hin

tae tak his leave o the fowk he’d come tae view as an extended

faimily. And the man that wiz the under manager Mr Sarkar, faa hid

been a tower o strength tae him fin his wife hid died. That day,

because o his father’s stupidity, he’d tae leave Mr Sarkar and aa his

freens under the yoke o een o the worst owners in Ceylon. The man

shook his heed in frustration and despair at that thocht and muttered

“Lost at the turn o a bliddy card!”

He vowed there and then that if he wiz spared he’d get the

plantation back fae oot o the haans o that cruel man. He shuddered

again and that teen his thochts back tae the present.

Megan’s hoosie wiz in ruins noo, the thackit reef lang awa

aifter so many years o winter weens an storms. The riggin wiz still

visible, an stuck oot like the rib cage o a lang deed beast. He cannily

made his wye doon tae the ruins for he wiz still as wake as a kitten.

Oot o breath an shiverin, he reached the hoosie or leastwyes the wee

drysteen dyke in front o’t. Weakly he sat himsel doon ontae it and

viewed the hoosie allowin lang forgotten memories tae wash ower

him.

As a bairn he’d fyles come doon here wi his granda the aal

Laird. Ilka year he’d come up fae Edinburgh tae get his yearly batch o

‘tonic’ that Megan made up for him. Ivvery year he’d teen doon sax

one gallon flagons back sooth wi him and this lasted till his next visit.

Ilka flagon wiz fulled wi a green liquid and his granda swore by it,

sayin it keepit his bleed an lungs clear o the reek fae the city. There

must’ve fairly been something in that for he’d deet at ninety.

A mighty shudder passed throwe the man and he muttered; “I

dinna think this Laird will be seein that age,” as his beens rattled wi

the approachin deadly fever.

He’d eence seen his granda gee Megan a haanfae o gowd

coins for her tonic so it must’ve been gweed. He could dee wi a

drappy o that himsel richt this meenit.

It wisna till the man wiz aaler that his granda hid tellt him a

bittie aboot Megan.

Her mither wiz the local ‘witchiewife’ and her man wiz a

vricht tae the trade faa fyles did vrocht for the laird. It wiz while

workin at the big hoose he’d fell an brook his back bane. The aal

Laird hid been affa come at aboot this and hid sent for the finest

surgeon in Aiberdeen tae see tae him. But in the event the vricht deet

afore he got there.

Tae try and help the aal Laird hid given Megan’s mither the

hoosie and the land for as lang as she lived. Megan at the time o her

faither’s death wiz but a wee bairnie but the aal Laird made sure she

nivver wanted. Megan learned aa aboot the herbs an the Blaik Airts

fae her aal mither. But faarras her mither couldna read an write,

Megan could an this wiz at the insistence o the aal Laird faa’d peyed

for her lessons at the pairish skweel.

Ae year at een o his visits he’d men wi him in a cairt loaded

wi a big unit fulled o wee drawers for Megan’s herbs. Aa the wye fae

Edinburgh it hid come teen oot o een o the aal Laird’s teahooses. The

man smiled fin he mind aboot that and the look ontae her face as it

hid been fittid. He also laached at the memory o Maizie the goat bein

fair vrocht up at aa the ongyans and nudgin him as if she wanted tae

play.

The man, shiverin badly noo, wint inaboot tae the waal faar

bonny clear water wiz gurglin tae the surface fae deep allo the grun.

He slowly wint tae his knees bein as careful as he could for his heed

wiz fair spinnin. He cuppit his haans an drank o the bonny clear

water. It hid an ironeerie zing tae it but tasted gweed neen the less.

Aifter he’d slaikit o his drowth weel he got up an waakit inaboot tae

the ruins.

He wiz surprised tae see the unit fae his granda still in place

though it wiz in a gye peer state aifter aa the years o weather. In fact

athing lookit much the same as he remembered it. He pulled oot een o

the drawers, an it fell tae bits scatterin ontae the grun some withered

herbs fae the time o Megan.

The man smiled tae himsel as he mind how fowk eesed tae say

that Megan wiz in league wi the Divel, an that Maizie the goat wiz

actually Aal Leather Tail himsel in the shape o a goat. They said ye

could see the imprint o cloven hooves aa ower the sanny bits o the

cove.

If fowk hid thocht that back then nae muckle winder the

hoosie hid been left tae wrack an ruin. He shuddered eence mair, deep

inside his very soul, as the fever raged throwe him. Leastwyes here in

the ruins he wiz oot o the breeze.

Wi the reef bein aff an only the rafters left, the sun cast some o

it’s warmth ontae him. He lookit for a place tae sit himsel doon but

the only bit that seemed tae be clear o broken timmer an rottin thack

wiz the big fire grate at the seaward gavel eyne o the hoosie, so he

made his wye tae it for tae rest his weary beens.

The fire itsel wiz as simple as could be, jist layers o sclate

biggit up like a wee dyke aboot twa fit heich an twa yairds by twa

yairds squaar, wi big iron branner fittid in the centre tae hud the peats

an driftwid that would’ve been used as fuel. The fleer aroon the fire

wiz decked oot in big sclate slabs.

The man, feelin affa weak, used his fit tae clear awa some o

the scattered rotten thack and sat doon wi his back anent the fire.

Lookin roon the hoosie he winnert fit hid come o Megan and her

goat. The fine heat fae the sun an bein oot o the breeze made the man

relax.

His hoosekeeper back at the big hoose hid offered him that

very mornin a huge chop and eggs for his braakfast but he’d refused

it kennin fine he’d jist boak it back up. The hoosekeeper faa’d kent

the man syne he wiz but a bairn scolded him, sayin he’d hiv tae ait

something or else he’d dee. He couldna tell her that’s exactly fit wiz

happenin, an that anither bout o the fever wid pit him tae the

kirkyard. He could see the disappointment on her face at his refusal

but he’d nae appetite ava. Funny though, but at this very moment he

could be deein wi the chop and eggs.

The warm sun cast its heat ower him as he sat there musin

aboot the fine mait. Slowly he drifted aff tae sleep and fin he awoke

wi a jolt he wiz sittin in the shadas for the sun wiz weel doon by this

time. Stiff kind aboot the hochs, he got tae his feet an rubbit his

gamms tae get the circulation gyan. He cursed a bittie, for that wiz

een o the symptoms o the comin fever. First the shudders, then the

sleekness, then the cramps aa leadin tae the delirium that this time

there’d be nae comin back fae. He did feel a bittie woozy but funnily

enough the seekness wiz awa.

By the time he wun hame tae the big hoose he wiz actually

feelin a bit better. The aal hoosekeepers face fair lichted up fin he

speired at her if she’d made ony supper. Fussin aboot like an aal

mither hen, she made him ham an eggs an aa the while gyan on aboot

the fresh air deein him gweed.

She stoppit fit she wiz deein an said, “Ken this yer Lairdship?

Even the colour his come back tae yer face!” afore dishin him up his

supper.

Aifterhins the man complimented the aal cook on sic a fine

supper and saw her smile shyly, an look for aa the warld like a mither

henny watchin ower her wayward chuckin. Feelin a bit wappit he said

goodnight an wint for an early nicht. Gyan up tae his aal familiar

room, he lay on the bed wi a groan.

He awoke baithed in the licht o the full meen and shiverin but

he wiz pleased tae realise nae wi the fever but genuinely wi the caal,

for he’d nae happit himsel wi the blanket fin he’d laid himsel doon.

Coverin himsel he wiz soon asleep eence mair and awoke late wi the

meenlight replaced by the bricht sunlicht. He lay as he wiz and lookit

aroon his aal room and felt for the first time in a lang fyle

contentment and a feelin o hope he’d nae felt for years. In fact the

feelin o serenity wid’ve best explained it. The reality wiz that he’d

nivver felt affa weel since the very first time he’d teen the fever and

each time thereaifter it only got worse. In his years in Ceylon he’d

seen mony a person dee wi it includin his ain wife.

Jist afore the monsoon wiz the time maist fowk teen it. The

heat at that time could sometimes become unbearable, even though

Ceylon wiz an island and usually blessed by sea breezes. The British

at this time jist deet like flees wi it as the wee cemetery at Darlee

could attest. The cemetery there wiz full o them.

A big plate o ham and eggs awyted him doon in the kitchen

served wi the smilin hoosekeeper.

He’d tae ait there at present, as the rest o the hoose hid been

closed doon by his father years afore fin the debts hid began tae

mount. Michty the aal hoosekeeper wiz kinichted fin he’d cleared the

plate an fin he speired for anither cup o tay. Ye wid’ve thocht he’d

bestowed some kind o honour ontae her. He made a mental note tae

mak sure his hoosekeeper wiz weel provided for.

That day he spent maist o’t gyan throwe his late father’s

papers jist tae see fit wiz actually left o his granfather’s fortune. By

late aifterneen he realised things maybe werena as bad as he’d first

thocht. His granda hid been a gye astute businessman so quite a lot o

the estate hid been tied up in a wye his father hidna been able tae

access easily tae pile debts on. But there wiz still huge debts on the

estate itsel that wid need the ither bit tae clear his yardairm, sadly

leavin the man aa but bankrupt.

Feelin the need for some air an a bittie time tae think, he wint

oot for a bit traivel. Afore leavin the hoose though he teen a wee

flagon wi him, for some o the waal water fae Megan’s hoosie. He

fairly thocht him drinkin it the day afore hid deen him weel. He could

still feel the stirrins o the bone deep shiver fae the fever aa the same

though.

It wiz a fine saaft forenicht and he enjoyed his walk tae the

coast. At the heed o Megan’s cove he sat doon for a whilie lookin oot

ower the sea. Michty but he’d missed that view, an mony’s the time

in delirium he’d dreamed aboot this very view and could even feel the

saaft cool breeze blawin roon him. Noo here wiz he back in reality wi

little but loomin debt and illness for the future. Leastwyes fitivver

future he micht hae if the fever taks him eence mair intae it’s iron

grip. Shiverin much worse noo, an waves o seekness washin throwe

his body, he made his wye doon intae Megan’s cove.

The forenicht wiz weerin on as the licht began tae fail doon

here in the shadas o the cove. He first wint tae the waal an slaiket o

his thirst then fulled the wee flagon o the fine ironeerie water an

pooched it. He made his wye tae the ruins an sat himsel doon at the

aal fire. He wiz feelin so affa tired, in fact mair tired than he’d ivver

been afore...

He awoke wi a start, and it teen him a minty tae mind faar

aboot he wiz. He jist sat awa a while watchin the moonbeams licht up

the rafters, wi their eerie shadas on the fleer o Megan’s hoosie. He’d

nae idea o the time but kent it must be gye late for the full meen wiz

heich up. He wanted tae staan up but he felt so gweed inside he jist

sat awa faar he wiz. Instead the man jist sat basked in the meenlicht,

feart tae move in case he broke the spell o this feelin so gweed and

the feelins o serenity that wint wi it. If he moved, he’d be back intae

the misery o fever wracked beens and the despair at the thochts o the

huge debts his faither his left him wi.

In his mind’s ee the man resurrected Megan’s hoosie oot o the

moon shadas and could even visualise her scutterin at the big table.

She’d eence tellt him her aal faither hid fashioned oot o a timmer

gratin that hid been washed ashore fae the deck o a man-o-war that

hid come tae grief at the wastmaist heedlan fae the cove. In the

shadas he could still see bits o it as it lay ontae its side. Then it wiz

richt wyes up and tae his surprise he could see Megan ficherin wi

something on the very table. Peerin hard, he saw it wiz a bunch o

herbs or some sic thing.

The vision o Megan turned towards him and he could’ve

swore she smiled but fin he heard the bleatin o a goat and felt it touch

him gently on the face he weakly put oot his haan an ruffled the wee

woolie heedie o Maizie. He kent then that he wiz dyin. The man

didna fecht against it an jist alloed the fine feelins o scerenity tae tak

him. He wiz at peace wi the world entirely, the pain an distress gone

fae him.

He slowly lookit up and saw Megan standin abeen him, wi a

concerned look on her face and felt her haan wipe his fevered broo.

Her touch felt cool, then Maizie bleated and gave him a nudge as if

she wanted him tae play as she’d deen so many years afore.

Megan spoke tae him, “Ae me yer Lairdship yer back wi us in

the land o the livin?”

He wiz in his ain room, an instead o Megan his aal

hoosekeeper wiz dichtin his broo wi a caal weet cloot. He tried tae

spikk but she shushed him sayin he needed tae rest a while.

Aboot a wikk later, the man sat in a basket cheer ootside the

big French widae at the front o the hoose. He wiz weel wuppit up in a

plydie tae keep oot chill in the weak Autumn sun. But he’d nae real

need o it for he wiz feelin that fine in body an soul. There wiz a wee

table at his side, wi a flagon o the clear ironeerie water fae Megan’s

waal. Een o the loons fae the kailyard wint doon ilka day for a flagon

for him. He swore by the Almighty that as day follyt day he could

feel the fever leavin his beens. The aal hoosekeeper came oot wi a

loaded tray o breid an kebbach for him.

Oh me, she’d been affa come at fin he’d nae returned that

nicht a wikk syne. She’d alerted the bylie an his men faa hid scoored

the country lookin for him. They’d searched for aa that nicht but nae

hide nor hair hid they fun o him. It’d been the early dawnin fin the

fisher quines on their wye tae get bait for the lines hid come upon him

in a gye state. Nae kennin faa he wiz, they teen him mair deed than

alive tae the constable in the toon.

It’d been aboot that time a messenger hid arrived fae the big

hoose wi the tidins that the Laird hid geen missin the nicht afore. The

surgeon hid visited the constable’s hoose an ordered that he be given

gunpooder an brandy mixed three times a day. But seemingly even

throwe his delirium, the man refused that point blank.

Back at the big hoose the man hid speired at the hoosekeeper

if she kent Megan’s hoose. An fine did she. So he tellt her tae get een

o the loons fae the kailyard tae fetch him a flagonfae. Aifter a couple

days o in an oot o delirium the man slowly recovered aifter the fever

brook. Whether it wiz fae Megan’s waal water or whether it brook on

its ain, the man made a good recovery.

Noo here he wiz sittin in the low autumn sun wi a tray loaded

wi breid and kebbach. She served him his water an garred him ait o

the oatcakes an cheese her cure for aathing. The man smilin teen

some tae please her onywye then she hurried awa sayin something

aboot her pot.

That aifterneen the surgeon came inaboot tae see him an wiz

fair delighted wi the man’s remarkable recovery, sayin he knew the

gunpooder an brandy wid dee the trick! The man said nithing aboot

that, an jist spoke roon the subject leavin the surgeon tae his belief o

the efficacy o his cure. Oot in Ceylon that hid been the standard

treatment for fevers but the man thocht it put mair fowk tae the box

than ivver it did cure. He thocht in the heat a mixture o gunpooder an

brandy brocht on epilepsy, an the patient mair than usually deet o

that. Tae the man it seemed that alcohol that wiz so dangerous in the

heat, and for that reason alone he’d nae teen the ‘cure’ gunpooder

naewithstandin.

An idea hid been formin in his mind, an eence the surgeon

teen his leave he wint back tae the estate papers tae check oot

something. Aifter a bit o a search among his granda’s papers, he

found the deeds tae Megan’s hoosie. He saw that it hid been changed

tae include Megan aifter the death o her aal mither. It stipulated that

she, Megan, hid been given the hoosie for as lang as she lived and the

same wid apply tae ony faimily she hid.

Megan nivver hid faimily so it came back tae the estate. The

man couldna understand why his granda jist hidna given Megan’s

mither the hoosie ootricht. It wisna till later he found oot that if he’d

deen that then Megan’s mither wid’ve hin tae pey a huge poll tae the

crown wi the hoosie bein jist abeen high water mark. This wye the

estate peyed that tax leavin the aal woman and Megan free fae

interference by officers o crown lands. The man smiled as he mind on

his granda’s kindly face. Nae muckle Lairds even till this day wid be

that considerate.

A fyowe weeks later the man employed a mason tae bigg a

wee steen hoosie abeen the waal usin some o the steen fae Megan’s

hoosie. He advertised it in the journals as a health cure an fowk wid

come fae far an near tae partake o it and drink o the healthy ironeerie

waters.

So popular did it become that the man hid tae get the vricht tae

bigg wee bothies so fowk could bide in them for the fresh air, the

takkin o the waters and sea bathin. The man cleared the debts o his

faither in a fyowe short years and even managed tae buy back the tea

plantation in Ceylon. He nivver wint back oot there though, instead

he left his freen Mr Sarkar tae rin it for him. Since drinkin o the

waters himsel he’d nivver teen the fever again and there wiz nae wye

he wiz gyan tae push his luck gan oot there and getting anither dose o

it.

My 3x3 times great granda the Reverend S. Gow wrote the first part o

this story in the early aichteen twinties, the second part in the mid

aichteen forties. He must’ve known ‘the man’ tae be able tae write

the story as he did. But in nae place diz he name him. In the first part

he refers tae Megan only as ‘the witch doctor’, so I caad her Megan

for clarity. The twa names he diz mention though are Johnny and

Maizie the goat.

Mair norr a hunner years aifter my Great Granda wrote the

story the waal dried up. Tae this very day the waters are gone but the

wee waal hoosie is still there but noo sadly in a gye state o disrepair.

I can add something though, that the Reverend Gow didna

ken, or leastwyes his journals are quate on the subject; though

throwe Johnny he micht’ve suspected there wiz mair till it than meets

the eye.

If ye gang tae the toon, speir at ony o the locals faar aboot is

the wee waal hoosie that fowk eesed tae come tae partake o the

waters. They’ll seen pit ye on the richt road tae it.

In Megan’s time it wiz jist a sanny track ye teen doon intae the

cove but noo there’s a bonny tarred road. As ye mak yer wye doon

intae the cove ye’ll see the waal hoosie as I explained it, and if ye

gyang inaboot tae it ye’ll notice the doorway his been built ower so

ye winna be able tae wun inside.

Fin I wiz a bairn I saw the inside o it eence. At each side

rinnin the length o the hoosie there’s a bench made o sclate faar fowk

wid sit. At the gavel eyne there’s a wee basin faar the waal water

flowed intae it. Fowk wid’ve used a wee pewter ladle tae full their

coggies tae drink o the health givin waters while sittin on the sclate

benches. Fowk wid spikk aboot how gweed it made them feel and how

they came awa wi a strange sense o serenity they’d nivver felt afore.

Now; though there’s nae doot ava that the waters did hae

some health benefits. But that canna explain the feelins o serenity that

wint wi it. But ye dinna need the waaters for that gweed feelins. Aa ye

nott dee is sit yersel doon at the yett o the built up doorwye for a fylie

and if it’s a fine day ye micht be lucky enough tae drift aff for a forty

winks as the man did so lang lang ago in Megan’s hoosie doon at

Tarlair.

If yer nae feelin weel in body an soul or jist feelin the weicht o

the warld on yer shooders aifter a haaf oor sittin there ye’ll come

awa wi the finest feelins o serenity ye’ve ivver felt in yer life afore.

The reason for this wiz that fin Johnny teen his leave o Megan an

Maizie he blessed them and Megan’s hearth steen. The very hearth

steen that wiz used in makkin the benches and the fleer o the wee

waal hoosie. So fin yer sittin at the yett o the door yer only inches

awa fae the blessed hearth steen! And that wiz ‘Johnny’s Blessing’.



 

copyright © Patrick Hutchison

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