I hae often been told that a sudden shock o' ony kind will
sober a drunken man. It was sae wi' Davy; for the first neebor who,
hearin' his cries for assistance, ran to the spot, found him standin i'
the middle o' the brig, perfectly sober, wi' the drooned boy in his
arms; although it was weel kenned that he was quite drunk when he left
the village. Every means was used for the recovery o' the boy, but it
was a' useless, he was quite deed an' caul'. "Ah" said Davy, when tell'd
by the doctor that the boy was indeed dead, "my punishment is greater
than I can bear." Geordie had aye been as "the apple o' his een"; never
had he been kenned to ill use the boy, even when under the influence o'
drink; and the shock was too much for his reason. Many wondered at his
calmness a' the while the body lay i' the house afore the burial; but it
was the calmness o' despair; he just seemed to me like ane turned to
stane. The first thing that roused him was the sound o' the first earth
that fell on puir Geordie's coffin. He gie'd ae bitter groan, an' wad
hae fa'n to the earth had'na a kind neebor supported him. His mind
wandered fra that hour; he was aye harmless, but the light o' reason
never cam' back to his tortured mind.
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