she jeered him, and said that "Maggy would ne'er think o' a
grey-haired carle like him," he brooded over the fond fancy; and
although on this visit he saw her not, he returned to Tollishill,
thinking of her as his bride. It was a difficult thing for a man of
fifty, who had been the companion of solitude from his youth upwards,
and who had lived in single blessedness amidst the silence of the hills,
without feeling the workings of the heart, or being subjected to the
influence of its passions--I say, it was indeed difficult for such a one
to declare, in the ear of a blooming maiden of eighteen, the tale of his
first affections. But an opportunity arrived which enabled him to
disembosom the burden that pressed upon his heart.

It has been mentioned that Margaret Lylestone and her mother were poor;
and the latter, who had long been bowed down with infirmities, was
supported by the industry of her daughter. They had also a cow, which
was permitted to graze upon the hills without fee or reward; and, with
the milk which it produced, and the cheese they manufactured, together
with the poor earnings of Margaret, positive want was long kept from
them. But the old woman became more and more infirm--the hand of death
seemed stretching over her. She required nourishment which Margaret
could not procure for her; and, that it might be procured--that her
mother might live and not die--the fair maiden sent the cow to Kelso to
be sold, from whence the seller was to bring with him the restoratives
that her parent required.

Now, it so was that Thomas Hardie, the tenant of Tollishill, was in
Kelso market when the cow of Widow Lylestone was offered for sale; and,
as it possessed the characteristic marks of a good milcher, he inquired
to whom it belonged. On being answered, he turned round for a few
moments, and stood thoughtful; but again turning to the individual who
had been intrusted to dispose of it, he inquired--

"And wherefore is she selling it?"

"Really, Maister Hardie," replied the other, "I could not positively
say, but I hae little doot it is for want--absolute necessity. The auld
woman's very frail and very ill--I hae to tak a' sort o' things oot to
her the nicht frae the doctor's, after selling the cow, and it's no in
the power o' things that her dochter, industrious as she is, should be
able to get them for her otherwise."

Thomas again turned aside, and drew his sleeve across his eyes. Having
inquired the price sought