Never had lover of old books half the delight in fitting together
a rare volume from scattered portions picked up in his travels,
than Mrs Catanach found in vitalizing stray remarks, arranging odds
and ends of news, and cementing the many fragments, with the help
of the babblings of gossip, into a plausible whole; intellectually
considered, her special pursuit was inasmuch the nobler as the
faculties it brought into exercise were more delicate and various;
and if her devotion to the minutia of biography had no high end
in view, it never caused her to lose sight of what ends she had,
by involving her in opinions, prejudices, or disputes: however she
might break out at times, her general policy was to avoid quarrelling.
There was a strong natural antagonism between her and the Partaness,
but she had never shown the least dislike to her, and that although
Mrs Findlay had never lost an opportunity of manifesting hers to
the midwife. Indeed, having gained a pretext by her ministrations
to Lizzy when overcome by the suggestions of the dog sermon, Mrs
Catanach had assayed an approach to her mother, and not without
success. After the discovery of the physical cause of Lizzy's
ailment, however, Mrs Findlay had sought, by might of rude resolve, to
break loose from the encroaching acquaintanceship, but had found,
as yet, that the hard shelled crab was not a match for the glutinous
cuttlefish.
On the evening of the Sunday following the events related in the
last chapter, Mrs Catanach had, not without difficulty, persuaded
Mrs Findlay to accompany her to the Baillies' Barn, with the
promise of a wonderful sermon from a new preacher--a ploughman
on an inland farm.
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