Roamin’ in the gloamin’ (1928)

30 ROAMIN' IN THE GLOAMIN' called after my mother's father, Henry MacLennan. Old Henry died in our house. He had lived with his married daughter for some years, being very frail and unable to work. He was a typical old Highlander in looks, speech, and general behaviour. I remember him sitting at the ingle-neuk reading his Gaelic Bible and telling me to be a "goot poy an' fear the Lord." He and my mother were thoroughly religious people and both took a great interest in teaching me my prayers. Almost as soon as I was able to lisp I learned the stock prayer of every Scottish infant. As I lie down this night to sleep I pray the Lord my soul may keep If I should die before I wake I pray the Lord my soul may take. Note how the Calvinistic element of gloom and sudden death was instilled into the Scottish infant of fifty or sixty years ago ! Well do I remember lying in bed night after night thinking with horror of the prospect of never wakening up again and wondering why the Lord should want to come to Musselburgh and take away the soul — whatever that meant — of a poor wee boy like me ! But whatever the suitability of the prayers and the religion of these days to the very tender minds of youth there can be no doubt that they implanted themselves deeply on the mind. I am not at all ashamed to confess that I still repeat each night the little prayer I learned at my mother's knee. On Sundays no work was done in our house. The food for that day was cooked overnight. The blinds were "drawn." The "auld folk" went to church and, when I was old enough, I was sent to Sunday School. In the evening my mother gathered us round and told us a story about the Covenanters or David Livingstone or read a tale from the Old Testament. Yes, Sunday was "the Load's Day" in very truth. But tomorrow would be Monday! At this stage of my early memories my mind goes back