il, I was ready for you at three o'clock, and then you werna
ready for me."

"Tell me why you dressed yourself up so much? Did you know Ballister
was coming?"

"Not I! Did you think I dressed mysel' up for Angus Ballister?"

"I was wondering. It is very seldom you wear your gold necklace, and
other things, for just home folk."

"Weel, I wasn't wearing them for just hame folk. Jennie Tweedie is to
be married tonight, and Mither had promised her I should come and help
them lay the table for the supper, and the like o' that. Sae I was
dressed for Jennie Tweedie's bridal. I wasna thinking of either you,
or your fine friend."

"I thought perhaps you had heard he was coming. Your fisher dress is
very suitable to you. No doubt you look handsome in it. You likely
thought its novelty would--would--make him fall in love with you."

"I thought naething o' that sort. Novelty! Where would the novelty be?
The lad is Fife. If he was sae unnoticing as never to get acquaint wi'
a Culraine fisher-wife, he lived maist o' his boyhood in Edinburgh.
Weel, he couldna escape seeing the Newhaven fisherwomen there, nor
escape hearing their wonderful cry o' 'Caller herrin'!' And if he had
ony feeling in his heart, if he once heard that cry, sae sweet, sae
heartachy, and sae winning, he couldna help looking for the woman who
was crying it; and then he couldna help seeing a fisher-wife, or
lassie. I warn you not to think o' me, Christine Ruleson, planning and
dressing mysel' for any man. You could spane my love awa' wi' a very
few o' such remarks."

"I meant nothing to wrong you, Christine. All girls dress to please
the men."

"Men think sae. They are vera mich mista'en. Girls dress to outdress
each ither. If you hae any writing to do, I want to gie you an hour's
wark. I'll hae to leave the rest until morning."

Then Neil told her the whole of the proposal Angus had made him. He
pointed out its benefits, both for the present and the future, and
Christine listened thoughtfully to all he said. She saw even further
than Neil did, the benefits, and she was the first to name the subject
nearest to Neil's anxieties.

"You see, Neil," she said, "if you go to Ballister, you be to hae the
proper dress for every occasion. The best suit ye hae now will be
nane too good for you to wark, and to play in. You must hae a new suit
for ordinary wear, forbye a full dress suit. I'll tell you what to
do--David Finlay, wha dresses a' the men gentry round ab