that night, he working at and finishing the sketches. Next morning by
the first boat and first train, we took them to Glasgow, had six hundred
lithographic copies struck off; back post-haste to Dunoon; in the evening
to the Bazaar, and sold the copies at threepence each. It was an immense
success; we could have disposed of twice the number; every pretty girl's
admirer wanted a copy of her picture, and the portraits of the presiding
"meenister" and of the good-looking unmarried curate were eagerly
purchased by fond mammas and adoring daughters. We had our fun, and
cleared besides a profit of nearly four pounds sterling. This financial
_coup_ would not have come off so well but for the warm-hearted
co-operation of our railway printers, McCorquodale and Coy. They, good
people, entered into our exploit with a will, did their part well, and
made little if any profit, generously leaving that to _Cynicus_ and
myself.

To his mother, like many another clever son, _Cynicus_ owed his talent.
She was a woman of great intellectual endowment, with highly cultivated
literary tastes. Her memory was remarkable and her conversational powers
very great. She read much and thought deeply. In a modest way her
parlour, which attracted many young people of literary and artistic
leanings, recalled the _Salons_ of France of a century ago. She
entertained charmingly with tea and cakes and delightful talk. Of
strong, firm, decided character, she might, perhaps, have been thought a
little deficient in womanly gentleness had not genuine kindness of heart,
motherly feeling, and a happy humour lent a softness to her features and
imparted to them a particular charm. She exercised an authority over her
household which inspired respect and contrasted strikingly with the easy-
going parental ways of to-day. There were other sons and there were
daughters also, all more or less gifted, but _Cynicus_ was the genius of
the family--its bright particular star.

The various lodgings of my bachelor days was never quite of the
conventional sort. The Cambuslang quarters certainly were not. The
house was large and old-fashioned. Originally it had been two smallish
houses: the two front doors still remained side by side, but only one was
used. The rooms on the ground floor were small, the original building
composed of one storey only, but another had been added of quite spacious
dimensions. We had two excellent, large well-furnished rooms upstairs.