The Entail; or, The Lairds of Grippy
I no tak care o' my ain baby--my bonny wee Betty Bodle?'  'Do as I bid thee, or I'll maybe gar thee fin' the weight o' my staff,' cried the old man sharply, expecting immediate obedience to his commands, such as he always found, however positively Walter, on other occasions, at first refused; but in this instance he was disappointed; for the widower looked him steadily in the face, and said,--  'I'm a father noo; it would be an awfu' thing for a decent grey-headed man like you, father, to strike the head o' a motherless family.'