derstood of the true humanity--with
what simple directness she knew what many of the words of the Son of
Man meant, and perceived many of the germs of his individual
actions. Hence it followed naturally that the thought of him, and
the hope of one day seeing him, became her one informing idea. She
was now such another as those women who ministered to him on the
earth.

A certain gentle indifference she allowed to things considered
important, the neighbours attributed to weakness of character, and
called softness; while the honesty, energy, and directness with
which she acted upon insights they did not possess, they attributed
to intellectual derangement. She was "ower easy," they said, when
the talk had been of prudence or worldly prospect; she was "ower
hard," they said, when the question had been of right and wrong.

The same afternoon, a neighbour, on her way over the shoulder of the
hill to the next village, had called upon her and found her brushing
the rafters of her cottage with a broom at the end of a long stick.

"Save 's a', Janet! what are ye efter? I never saw sic a thing!"
she exclaimed.

"I kenna hoo I never thoucht o' sic a thing afore," answered Janet,
leaning her broom against the wall, and dusting a chair for her
visitor; "but this mornin', whan my man an' me was sittin' at oor
brakfast, there cam' sic a clap o' thunner, 'at it jist garred the
bit hoosie trim'le; an' doon fell a snot o' soot intil the very
spune 'at my man was cairryin' till's honest moo. That cudna be as
things war inten'it, ye ken; sae what was to be said but set them
richt?"

"Ow, weel! but ye micht hae waitit till Donal cam' hame; he wad hae
dune 't in half the time, an' no raxed his jints."

"I cudna pit it aff," answered Janet. "Wha kenned whan the Lord
micht come?--He canna come at cock-crawin' the day, but he may be
here afore nicht."

"Weel, I's awa," said her visitor rising. "I'm gauin' ower to the
toon to buy a feow hanks o' worset to weyve a pair o' stockins to my
man. Guid day to ye, Janet.--What neist, I won'er?" she added to
herself as she left the house. "The wuman's clean dementit!"

The moment she was gone, Janet caught up her broom again, and went
spying about over the roof--ceiling there was none--after long
tangles of agglomerated cobweb and smoke.

"Ay!" she said to herself, "wha kens whan he may be at the door? an'
I wadna like to hear him say--'Janet, ye micht hae had yer hoose a
bit c