said, "a sweet, charming, dear old woman." Her
features were extremely small and delicate, and her eyes had an anxious
look, as if she were in the habit of receiving periodical shocks of
grief, and were wondering what shape the next one would take.

"I have brought you a bottle of wine," said Flora; "now don't shake your
head--you _must_ take it; you cannot get well on gruel. Your daughter
is at our house just now: I shall meet her on my way home, and will tell
her to insist on your taking it."

The old woman smiled, and looked at Lucy.

"This is a friend whom I have brought to see you," said Flora, observing
the glance. The old woman held out her hand, and Lucy pressed it
tenderly. "She has come all the way from London to see our mountains,
granny."

"Ay?" said the old woman with a kind motherly smile: "it's a lang way to
Lunnon, a lang way, ay. Ye'll be thinkin' we're a wild kind o' folk
here-away; somewhat uncouth we are, no doot."

"Indeed, I think you are very nice people," said Lucy, earnestly. "I
had no idea how charming your country was, until I came to it."

"Oo-ay! we can only get ideas by seein' or readin'. It's a grawnd
thing, travellin', but it's wonderfu' what readin' 'll do. My guid-man,
that's deed this therteen year,--ay,--come Marti'mas, he wrought in
Lunnon for a year before we was marrit, an' he sent me the newspapers
reglar once a month--ay, the English is fine folk. My guid-man aye said
that."

Lucy expressed much interest in this visit of the departed guid-man,
and, having touched a chord which was extremely sensitive and not easily
put to rest after having been made to vibrate, old Mrs Cameron
entertained her with a sweet and prolix account of the last illness,
death, and burial of the said guid-man, with the tears swelling up in
her bright old eyes and hopping over her wrinkled cheeks, until Flora
forbade her to say another word, reminding her of the doctor's orders to
keep quiet.

"Oo-ay, ye'll be gawin' to read me a bit o' the book?"

"I thought you would ask that; what shall it be?"

"Oo, ye canna go wrang."

Flora opened the Bible, and, selecting a passage, read it in a slow,
clear tone, while the old woman lay back and listened with her eyes
upturned and her hands clasped.

"Isn't it grawnd?" said she, appealing to Lucy with a burst of feeling,
when Flora had concluded.

Lucy was somewhat taken aback by this enthusiastic display of love for
the Bible, and felt som