In which a weary traveller and his companion partake of the Sunday hospitality at an English inn, encountering a shrewd and reserved Scottish gentleman whose calm authority and keen observations challenge prevailing prejudices and provoke reflection upon the ancient and modern relations between their nations. Amidst lively political debates and tales of border feud and personal history, the narrator’s youthful impressions of Scotland are gently complicated, closing as the company disperses and he bids farewell to his timid friend.