  | Duror is in Lendrick. He has visited the doctor after fainting at the deer drive, and is now walking to the hotel bar for a drink.
… as he walked slowly but steadily
along the pier road back into the village
he felt in a mood for murder, rape or suicide.
At the edge of the harbour he halted
and
stared down at the water,
which he could hear slapping gently against the slimy wall. Another step, and down he'd fall,
:
perhaps, like the she-cat he'd once drowned,
he'd struggle a little, cowardly at the end; but he was no strong swimmer and would soon enough sink, to raise again bloated to sicken the godly tomorrow on their way to the kirk with their Bibles in their hands. Then,
taking himself by surprise, he began to laugh, louder and louder, more and more harshly, as it occurred to him that
perhaps the tide was going out, there was only a foot or so of water, and all that would happen to him would be a leg broken.
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Duror's longing for the end encourages sympathy from the reader. There is an inherent sadness here, and the realisation that death would be preferable to life is expressed through the use of the word "wish".
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