ON one occasion, Nance Kelly and the bard were sitting in the spence of her house, when the former turned the conversation on her favourite topic – religion. Burns, from whatever motive sympathised with the matron, and quoted so much Scripture that she was fairly astonished, and staggered in the opinion she formerly entertained. When she went ben, she said to her husband –
“Oh! David Cullie, hoo they have wronged that man; for I think he has mair o’ the Bible aff his tongue than Mr. Inglis (Nance’s minister) himsel’.”
The bard enjoyed the compliment; and almost the first thing he communicated to his wife, on her arrival, was “the lift he got from auld Nance.”