or those who had less. In his old age
this righteous man was not "forsaken," and his seed never "begged their
bread." His youngest, Duncan, was always beside him, and yearly his
four other sons came to visit him from the various places where they had
settled themselves, to labor, and prosper, and transmit honorably to
another generation the honest name of Cardross.

For the minister's "ae dochter," she was, as she had been always, his
right hand, watching him, tending him, helping and guarding him,
expending her whole life for him, so as to make him feel as lightly as
possible the gradual decay of his own; above all, loving him with a love
that made labor easy and trouble light--the passionately devoted love
which we often see sons show to mothers, and daughters to fathers, when
they have never had the parental ideal broke, nor been left to wander
through life in a desolation which is only second to that of being
"without God in the world."

"I think he has a happy old age--the dear old father!" said Helen one
day, when she and Lord Cairnforth sat talking, while the minister was as
usual absorbed in the library--the great Cairnforth library, now
becoming notable all over Scotland, of which Mr. Cardross had had the
sole arrangement, and every book therein the earl declared he loved as
dearly as he did his children.

"Yes, he is certainly happy. And he has had a happy life, too--more
so than most people."

"He deserved it. All these seventy-five years he has kept truth on his
lips, and honor and honesty in his heart. He has told no man a lie; has
overreached and deceived no man; and, though he was poor--poor
always; when he married my mother, exceedingly poor--he has
literally, from that day to this, 'owed no man any thing but to love one
another.' Oh!" cried Helen, looking after the old man in almost a
passion of tenderness, "oh that my son may grow up like his grandfather!
Like nobody else--only his grandfather."

"I think he will," answered Lord Cairnforth.

And, in truth, the accounts they had of young Cardross were for some
time extremely satisfactory. He had accommodated himself to his new
life--had taken kindly to his college work; gave no trouble to Mrs.
Menteith, and still less to his uncle; the latter a highly respectable
but not very interesting gentleman--a partner in the firm of Menteith
and Ross, and lately married to the youngest Miss Menteith.

Still, by his letters, the nephew did not seem