"Do you like no other place besides?" said Hugh, for the sake of
saying something.

"Ou ay, mony ane; but nane like this."

"What kind of place do you like best?"

"I like places wi' green grass an' flowers amo't."

"You like flowers then?"

"Like them! whiles they gar me greet an' whiles they gar me lauch;
but there's mair i' them than that, an' i' the wood too. I canna
richtly say my prayers in ony ither place."

The Scotch dialect, especially to one brought up in the Highlands,
was a considerable antidote to the effect of the beauty of what
Margaret said.

Suddenly it struck Hugh, that if Margaret were such an admirer of
nature, possibly she might enjoy Wordsworth. He himself was as yet
incapable of doing him anything like justice; and, with the
arrogance of youth, did not hesitate to smile at the Excursion,
picking out an awkward line here and there as especial food for
laughter even. But many of his smaller pieces he enjoyed very
heartily, although not thoroughly--the element of Christian
Pantheism, which is their soul, being beyond his comprehension,
almost perception, as yet. So he made up his mind, after a moment's
reflection, that this should be the next author he recommended to