BERKELEY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVE1WTT Of 
 CALIFORNIA 
 
'£j 
 
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 to 
 
 
 
VIOLET KEITH: 
 
 AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
 
 MRS. ROSS. 
 
 PRINTED BY JOHN LOVELL, ST. NICHOLAS STREET. 
 186S. 
 
Entered according to Act of the Parliament of Canada, in the 
 year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, by Mrs. 
 Ellen Boss, in the Office of the Minister of Agriculture. 
 
?5T 
 
 VI o 
 
 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 We stood alone, my brother Willie and I, by the bed from 
 which the body of our dead mother had been removed only 
 a few hours before. Long years have passed since then, but 
 every object in that large cold room seems as distinct as if 
 I had never quitted it ; the lofty bed with its long white 
 curtains, the large windows draped in white, the crimson 
 carpet, the dressing table with its service of white and 
 gold ; the large mirror, above which was suspended an old- 
 fashioned woodcut of " the Pilgrim's Progress/' on which 
 Willie and I used to delight to trace the wanderings of 
 Pilgrim, with eye and finger alike busy following him in his 
 flight from the city of destruction to his entrance into the 
 golden gate ; and more vivid than aught else, is that long 
 dread mark on the white sheet, made by the pressure of the 
 coffin, that indelible mark which time has never been able to 
 efface from my. mind. 
 
 As we looked, our tears fell fast ; it was the last trace of 
 the dear mother, who, a few evenings before, smiled upon us 
 and spoke so kindly, when we came to kiss her before going 
 to bed. How well we remembered and how eagerly we 
 repeated each word and look of that evening now. Ah ! could 
 we but once more feel the touch of that, then, white hand, 
 
 B 
 
 • 016 
 
6 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 smoothing down our hair as it used to do every night ; but it 
 could not be, she had entered into her rest ; and for us, her 
 beloved ones, the days of darkness were come. Darkness 
 came on apace ; with what different aspects this darkness 
 comes, and how differently do we greet his coming. In 
 happy cheerful homes he is welcomed with light and with 
 song, the bright coal fire is stirred, crimson curtains are 
 drawn snugly round, and children's bright faces look sweeter 
 and brighter for the surrounding gloom. But to us, poor 
 lonely children, in that cold large room, he came step by 
 step, slowly and surely, enlarging each object as he envelop- 
 ed it in his misty shroud, and making our hearts beat with a 
 dread of we knew* not what. 
 
 The rain which had fallen without intermission during the 
 day, now increased almost to a tempest, while the wind 
 passed by with a low moaning wail, as if a sick spirit were 
 borne on its blast, and ever returning to raise the branches 
 of the surrounding birch trees and dash them with a dull 
 flapping noise on the dripping windows , the very elements 
 had conspired to show us more forcibly our loneliness and 
 desolation. 
 
 " We will always love each other, Violet." 
 
 I believe there are whispers of God to the soul ; I do not 
 think that the Holy Ghost is shown forth to us in the Bible 
 merely to make up the number three in the Godhead ; I be- 
 lieve there is a divine, penetrating life I power, which comes 
 from the Eternal Father upon us ; I believe that our sense of 
 truth, our thoughts, and our experience in this world, are influ- 
 enced by the immediate touch of the mind of God upon our 
 mind : and so it was that in the power of the Spirit these 
 words passed from Willie's lips into my heart, kindling there 
 a sense of perfect safety and protection, in the abiding love 
 of my young brother, boy as he was. 
 
VIOLET KEITn. 7 
 
 How doth this divine emotion purify both those who exer- 
 cise it, and those who receive its benefactions ! By it God 
 maintains the household. From its secret springs He nour- 
 ishes the new generations of men. Even afar off from its 
 source, it shines with power enough to guide the world, and 
 lead men up the pleasant paths of civilization and peace. 
 What, then, shall be its redemptive and educating power in 
 that far off land of heaven, where our spirit's progress shall 
 be ever onward and upward ? 
 
 We know that in this world, love, like all the higher facul- 
 ties of the soul, grows in power with exercise and age. A. 
 youth does not love his parent as a father loves his son ; love 
 is a thing of leaves, blossoms, and fruit, each in its order. 
 
 We sometimes connect together the manifestations of it, 
 which we see in this life, to get a large view of what it will 
 be in the future ; even in this world, with our imperfectly 
 developed faculties, we occasionally see in others, or exper- 
 ience in ourselves, that which gives us some conception of 
 the divine power of love which we shall possess in the world 
 to come. 
 
 Love is indestructible, there is nothing which love cannot 
 do ; it never faileth, never grows weary, nothing in the soul 
 is superior, nothing equal to it ; let love be an active feeling 
 there, and all the other faculties come before it, and lay down 
 their rubies and pearls at its feet ; by its mighty influence we 
 govern by a smile ; all the higher feelings of our nature fol- 
 low in the train of this mighty power, and open to it as the 
 sunflower to the sun. 
 
 I put my hand in Willie's, and we passed from my mother's 
 deserted room, into the drawing room with all its blaze of 
 light and warmth, where my uncle (whom we had never 
 seen until the preceding day) sat reading a newspaper, and 
 
8 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 did not acknowledge our entrance, by either word or look. 
 While I now write, after a lapse of so many years, the scene 
 I then saw is as fresh as yesterday. 
 
 My uncle, a tall, bony man, grey eyes, grey hair, hook nose, 
 hard mouth, (I can find no other expression which will con- 
 vey my meaning equally well,) sits in a large easy chair, at 
 one side of the fire place, his crossed legs reaching half way 
 over the soft rug, the remainder of which was occupied by a 
 beautiful greyhound, whose handsome head formed a good 
 contrast to the gaily wrought bunches of flowers it rested on. 
 Poor Poftto, one of our trials on the morrow was parting from 
 thee. 
 
 A chandelier hung from the centre of the room glittering 
 with crystal pendants, blue and gold tea-china on the centre 
 table, lace curtains, softly cushioned sofas, pictures, sculpture, 
 and flowers, the pink blossoms of the camelia, contrasting 
 with the white wax-like roses of the Cape jasmine, filling the 
 room with its perfume. The flowers were my mother's espe- 
 cial care. I watered them next morning before our departure, 
 my own tears falling fast while Willie stood by sobbing as if 
 his heart would break. 
 
 Our uncle took us to Scotland where his home was, and 
 placed Willie in the house of a chemist, where a hope was 
 held out to him of one day becoming a Doctor, if he were 
 steady and industrious, while I was sent to a ladies' school, 
 that I might, as my uncle emphatically said, learn to be a 
 governess, and earn my bread honestly. He talked a great 
 deal to the lady preceptress of the necessity of my being 
 taught as quickly a3 possible to earn my bread, as he termed 
 it, in consequence of his being obliged to defray the expense 
 of my own and my brother's education, and thereby injuring 
 his own family, and absolutely depriving them of their birth- 
 right. 
 
VICLET KEITH. 9 
 
 While he spoke, I felt myself a sort of culprit as I sat hud- 
 dled up in my travelling dress, and I thought then, what 
 afterwards I found to be the case, that he had impressed Mrs. 
 Moodie with a high respect for his saintly and generous char- 
 acter. 
 
 Upon my uncle's departure, Mrs. Moodie drew me towards 
 her, removed my travelling dress, smoothed my hair with 
 both hands, kissed my cheek, and spoke lovingly and en- 
 couragingly, gave me some fruit and cakes, and telling me I 
 would find several little girls of my own age there, brought 
 me into the school room. 
 
 The girls were just putting by their books for recess, as it 
 was called there, which means the hour in the middle of the 
 day when the day scholars go home to dine, and the boarders 
 eat their lunch and amuse themselves until the bell rings for 
 school again. For a few minutes all was hubbub and noise, 
 until the day scholars went, and then I found there were 
 fourteen young ladies of different ages in the room, all of 
 them intent on demolishing huge piles of bread and butter, 
 which, together with apples, formed their noonday meal. 
 
 Having satisfied their hunger, one of them observed me 
 sitting apart, my tears falling in large drops into my lap, 
 and coming up to me, she said, laughingly — 
 
 w Come Miss, what's your name, and I will introduce you 
 to your future friends ?" 
 
 Taking me by the hand, she led me to the table where 
 most of the girls stood, and rattled over in succession : Miss 
 Gordon, Miss Rose, Miss Brown, Miss Goodbrand, when, 
 seeing my look of misery, she stopped suddenly, and putting 
 a hand on eaeh side of my face, drew it towards her own, 
 shutting one eye, and squinting in the most ludicrous manner 
 with the other, she drawled out — 
 
10 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 " Cry, baby, cry, put 'your finger in your eye,'' — until all 
 the girls, and I among the number, shouted with laughter. 
 
 Miss Baird was the name of the young lady who had 
 thus set me at my ease ; she was a good-tempered, kind- 
 hearted girl, who depended more on her neighbour's than her 
 own exertion, for obtaining a knowledge of her lessons, and 
 in every way took life as easy as possible ; she was my best 
 friend in these my most trying days, and I repaid her in the 
 after time \)j regularly writing her French exercises for her. 
 This was an easy matter to me ; all my early days were spent 
 in the south-west of France, we having only removed to Eng- 
 land a year previous to the death of my mother. French 
 was virtually my own language, and I spoke, read, and wrote 
 French with a facility which I only acquired in English by 
 hard study. My power in French was soon discovered, and 
 made me very popular. 
 
 u Violet will sit by me," Miss Baird would say. " No she 
 shan't, she'll sit by me," two or three other voices would call 
 out simultaneously, while during the hour in which we studied 
 our French lessons, I was made use of as a kind of living 
 dictionary and grammar. 
 
 The greatest difficulty they had to encounter seemed to be 
 their inability to distinguish the gender of inanimate nouns, 
 and in consequence I was constantly assailed by such ques- 
 tions as il Is garden male or female ?" " Is the room a woman 
 or a man ? ' ' 
 
 Mrs. Moodie was a woman in whom the milk of human kind- 
 ness flowed largely, well informed, and sensible, altogether 
 more suited for the arduous duties she had assumed, than most 
 people who undertake them. Her household consisted . of 
 fourteen young ladies besides myself, two governesses, one 
 fat, good tempered, and young, yclept Miss Walker, the 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 11 
 
 other Miss Forrester, thin, severe, and thirty-five, both per- 
 forming their duties to the best of their ability. 
 
 The Sunday after my arrival Willie came to see me, was 
 kindly received by Mrs. Moodie, and ultimately I was allowed 
 to spend two hours in the garden with him every Sunday 
 afternoon ; these Sunday walks were the white days in a 
 life otherwise weary enough. It is the dull monotony of each 
 day being so like the last, which makes a school-girl's life so 
 weary. A girl in her father's house, however quiet and re- 
 cluse the life they may lead, sees an occasional visitor, or 
 goes out shopping, or sometimes visits a neighbour ; but thelife 
 of a school girl knows no such luxury ; Monday in one week 
 is the exact counterpart of Monday in the next ; the same les- 
 sons, the same walk, taken at the same time, and at the same 
 pace, even the 3ame dinner ; we knew what we were to have for 
 dinner quite as well as the cook, and I am sure we would all 
 have hailed potatoes and salt with delight, merely because it 
 was different from the constant round of beef to-day and mut- 
 ton to-morrow. I had lived about six months in Ellenkirk, 
 when one day after dinner Mrs. Moodie said, taking a letter 
 from her pocket : 
 
 "You will all be glad to hear that Miss Hamilton will be 
 among us once more in a few days ; she sends her love to 
 all, especially Miss Baird and Mis3 Goodbrand." 
 
 " I am so glad," burst simultaneously from the lips of each 
 of the young ladies so addressed. 
 
 They often spoke of Gertrude Hamilton as the best and 
 prettiest girl in the school ; she was an acknowledged favour- 
 ite, and Miss Baird and Miss Goodbrand were her class mates.. 
 
 A day or two afterwards she walked into the school-room, 
 in recess, and was instantly surrounded by a troop of rejoicing 
 girls. 
 
12 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 She seemed about fourteen years of age, rather tall, well 
 made, deep grey eye, sunny hair, and light step. I did not 
 wonder that the other girls said she was so pretty ; she looked 
 like a princess in the midst of our homely faces. 
 
 " These are the new girls ?" said she, interrogatively, to 
 Miss Baird, as she turned towards myself and five or six 
 others, and as we were named, gave her right hand to one, 
 her left to another, until she had spoken a kind word, and 
 given a bright smile to each ; it was evident she was the 
 queen of the school. And so it was in her lessons ; her 
 music was far above what any of us could attempt, she spoke 
 Italian with its own soft cadence, German with the guttural 
 accent of Herman, and French almost as easily as I did. She 
 was an heiress and an only child, and yet the least selfish 
 girl among us all. 
 
 She used to say that until she came to Mrs. Moodie's 
 school at Ellenkirk, she had no home, wandering about with 
 her father and mother, in search of health for the latter, 
 which was never to come. From Rome to Florence, from 
 Florence to Paris, and again on the German banks of the 
 Rhine, no wonder she could speak the language of the French 
 and German school girls she studied among, or deftly imitate 
 the soft accents of the dark-eyed children she played with 
 on the banks of the Po. 
 
 At her mother's death she was placed with Mrs. Moodie, 
 where she remained until six months previous to the time of 
 which I write ; she then went to spend with her father the 
 remaining few months he was to reside in Britain, before going 
 to join his regiment in Canada. 
 
 Our French and Italian master was a Roman Catholic 
 priest, whose income, derived from a congregation of some 
 hundred of the middling class, was so scanty as to oblige him 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 13 
 
 to teach those languages, a perfect facility in which he had 
 acquired during a residence of many years in the Vatican. 
 
 Mr. Forbes, such was our French teacher's name, was 
 handsome, tall, and gentlemanly, with a composure and suav- 
 ity of manner, which, to unprejudiced people, must have gone 
 far to win favour. With the girls in Mrs. Moodie's school, 
 the mere fact of his being a priest was sufficient cause of 
 doubt and dislike ; he was nicknamed Guy Fawkes by one, 
 Pope John the twenty-third by another, although what analo- 
 gy existed between Mr. Forbes and either of these gentlemen, 
 it would not be easy to say. 
 
 Neither Gertrude or I joined in these popular outbursts 
 against the French master ; I did not because I had been 
 accustomed to associate with Roman Catholics equally with 
 Protestants, and could not conceive why the one was not as 
 good as the other ; Gertrude, because she was herself a Ca- 
 tholic, and Mr, Forbes, besides being her teacher, was her 
 spiritual director. 
 
 A few weeks after Gertrude's return to school, little Sara 
 Douglas, a fine intelligent child of eight years of age, had 
 measles, and was sent to a large room in one of the wings of 
 the house to be nursed. Several of the older girls who had 
 already had the disease, I among the number, took it in turns 
 to amuse her as she became convalescent ; I liked this duty 
 very much, and used to take the place of any of the others 
 willingly ; by so doing I quite won her confidence. 
 
 One day she had a large piece of sponge cake, and drawing 
 me towards her, and speaking very softly, although there was 
 no one in the room, said, " take this key, Miss Keith, and in my 
 drawer you will find a red box, bring it to me, if you please." 
 I went to her room as she desired, and returned with a red 
 
14 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 painted box, about a foot long and half as wide, fastened by 
 a little hook ; she took it from my hand and smiled, saying : 
 
 " I will tell you a great secret ; my brother James, who is 
 now in the West Indies, made this box for me, and I am 
 keeping all the nice things I get in it, and when I leave 
 school I am to go to Jamaica to him, and I shall bring all 
 the things I have and give them to him." 
 
 She then opened the box, and I found it contained a gin- 
 gerbread cake, nearly large enough to cover the bottom of 
 the box, on which appeared the alphabet in raised letters, an 
 apple, and a penny. She gave a look of joyous triumph as 
 I examined the contents of the box, but alas, upon touching 
 the apple it was found to be a mass of rottenness. Poor lit- 
 tle thing, how she cried, sobbing so bitterly. I had some 
 painted and lettered lozenges in my own keeping, and slip- 
 ping from the room, I returned with, and placed them in the 
 box, five in number. 
 
 " Look," said I, " these are much nicer than the apple ; 
 beautiful red and white lozenges, and they will keep for years." 
 
 She looked at me as I spoke, and then at the lozenges, 
 which I had arranged in a row above the gingerbread. 
 
 " 0, Miss Keith, I will never forget you," she exclaimed, 
 smiling gladly through the tears which still stood on her 
 cheek, and then, as if shocked by her own selfishness, she 
 hurriedly said, pushing the box towards me : 
 
 "0,1 cannot take them, I am sure you were keeping them 
 for your own brother." 
 
 " No, indeed ; Willie brought me those last Sunday, and 
 when you go to the West Indies you will tell James that I 
 sent them to him." 
 
 Wc placed the sponge cake also in the box, fastened it up, 
 and returned it to the drawer ; subsequently she told me that 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 15 
 
 sometimes she was so impatient to see James, that she thought 
 of running away from school and going to the West Indies, 
 how glad James would be to see her, and how happy they 
 would both live together. 
 
 She showed me one or two of his letters, and I did not fee 
 surprised by her devotion to the loving heart which dictated 
 them. 
 
 At the end of the summer holidays, Sara came back as 
 thin and pale as she had been before fat and rosy, her black 
 dress telling its usual tale ; she put her right hand into my 
 left, and stood for a few seconds without speaking. I kissed 
 her thin cheek, and then she said in a soft low voice, without 
 either a sigh or tear : 
 
 ■} Brother James is dead ; I will never go to the West 
 Indies." 
 
 Six weeks afterwards we were all assembled in the drawing 
 room, it was Friday evening, and we frequently spent our 
 Friday evenings there, as we had no lessons for next day ; 
 Miss Forrester was singing that most beautiful of all Scottish 
 airs,. " Logie O'Buchan," and had just finished the line, 
 " They hae ta'en awa Jamie the flower o' them aw," when 
 we observed Sara fall gently down on the sofa where she was 
 sitting. .Mrs. Moodie lifted her up exclaiming : 
 
 " Go for Dr. White, she has fainted !" 
 
 The doctor was with us in a few minutes. No, she had not 
 fainted ; she was dead ! all efforts were useless — most surely 
 dead— died, as the doctor said, of disease of ihe heart ; truly 
 he judged well, so she did. 
 
 A few weeks before this sad event, we were seated at 
 breakfast one morning, when Sara said, " Mrs. Moodie, may 
 I tell my dream ? I had such a beautiful dream last night.' 
 
 " Yes, Sara, tell us your dream." 
 
16 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 " I dreamt," said the child, " I was standing by the draw- 
 ing room window, when all at once the street was filled 
 with angels, each having a crown on his head formed of stars; 
 one of the angels, in addition to the crown on his head, had 
 one in his hand ; he crossed the street and went into Annie 
 Maitland's house, and placed the crown he carried in his 
 hand on her mamma's head : Mrs. Maitland then came out with 
 the angel, and they all ascended towards the sky by a path 
 formed of the clouds ; I watched them until they were out of 
 sight." 
 
 An hour afterwards we had intelligence of the death of 
 Mrs. Maitland, which occurred through the night.* 
 
 The morning after Sara's death, her father and mother 
 came to bring her to the place of sleep ; Gertrude and I were 
 arranging a wreath of white jessamine to place on the coffin ; 
 when they entered the room where we were, and where the 
 body lay ; such a contrast they were to each other ; Mrs. Dou- 
 glas, little, thin, and very like Sara, the very same sad face she 
 wore since her brother's death ; the father a sensual, eating 
 and drinking looking man, about the middle size, fat, red 
 faced, head and neck in one. 
 
 Mrs. Douglas walked up to the child's body without notic- 
 ing any one, tool^ne small hand in both her own, kissed 
 the cold face just once, and then turned away, her pale lips 
 rigidly compressed, evidently fearing her heart would fail. 
 
 The man looked at the body, not the face, it was covered, 
 shut down the lid of the coffin with the spring, and raising it 
 on his shoulder, walked out and placed it on the opposite seat 
 of the carriage they had just left, and which was to convey 
 them, together with their dead, again to the railway cars. 
 
 * A fact. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 17 
 
 As her husband left the room, Mrs. Douglas asked, " where 
 is Violet Keith?" 
 
 I was pointed out to her, and coming towards me, she put 
 one cold thin hand on my shoulder, and pressed her pale lips 
 to my cheek, and then passing from among us without utter- 
 ing a word, entered the carriage which contained her living 
 and her dead. 
 
 The deep eloquence of her touch on my shoulder and cheek, 
 could have no rival in words ; in my after life I never receiv- 
 ed such thanks ; she, too, will die of disease of the heart some 
 day. 
 
 After their departure, Miss Forrester packed up the child's 
 clothes ; while she did so, I carried the red box to Mrs. 
 Moodie, who decided it was not to be sent to her mother. 
 Mrs. Moodie opened the box in my presence ; everything was 
 there as it- had been left months before, gingerbread, penny, 
 lozenges, and sponge cake, with the addition of a small wax 
 doll, about an inch and a half in length, dressed in a pink 
 gauze frock. 
 
 We all, teachers, boarders, and day scholars, mourned very 
 sincerely for Sara : the boarders, with the true demonstrative- 
 ness of school girls, wore black ribbon fastening their collars 
 for a month. ^k 
 
 In summer we spent our hour of recess in the garden, and 
 a fine place it was for our plays or w r alks, as our dispositions 
 or age might dictate ; a few flower beds surrounded the house, 
 and then, stretching for two or three acres, were green fields 
 and forest trees, together with the more artificial and useful 
 beauties of arbours and swings, the whole surrounded by a 
 high and thick hawthorn hedge, outside of which rose a stone 
 wall eight feet high. 
 
 When we returned from the garden when recess was over. 
 
18 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 one or other of the older girls generally brought a flower to 
 be presented to Mr. Forbes or Dr. Byers, the music master, 
 both of these gentlemen receiving such presents very graci- 
 ously. 
 
 We did not know where Dr. Byers lived ; he kept that secret 
 to himself — he might have lived in paradise for aught we knew. 
 I for one often wished him in heaven ; I never was intended 
 for a musician, and received more harsh words and sour looks 
 for badly practised lessons in that branch of my education, 
 than for all my other studies put together. 
 
 Mr. Forbes treasured our offerings ; he had a great love 
 for the beautiful, and certainly his home, if home it could be 
 called, was not calculated to gratify his taste in that respect ; 
 his house consisted of four rooms, built two above two, 
 against the back of the little chapel, in which he officiated. A 
 high stone wall surrounded the paved court, in which not a 
 bkde of grass was to be seen. 
 
 One lovely day, during recess, we had strayed to the very 
 op of the garden. When the bell rung for school, we ran as 
 quickly as possible, so that we might be in the school room, 
 as the rule was, ere the bell ceased ringing ; and so we 
 thought not of a flower for our teacher. Gertrude had a rose 
 in her hand, it was true, but it was faded with the hot sun, 
 and not fit to be given away. During the French hour, she 
 continued to pick, one by one, each bud and leaf it possessed, 
 until naught was left but a crushed pink blossom at one end 
 of a brown stem, which she threw upon the table, when the 
 lesson was ended. 
 
 It was my day to lay aside the books in the book cupboard, 
 — this duty devolved on each of the elder girls in succession ; 
 and while thus occupied, I observed Mr. Forbes (who always 
 took ten minutes after the hour in correcting the exercises) 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 19 
 
 take up Gertrude's crushed rose, press it to his lips, and then 
 carefully put it inside his vest. 
 
 My heart smote me when I saw him thus carefully lay up 
 the crushed thing ; and picking from a vase on the mantel 
 shelf a beautiful moss rose full of buds and foliage, I laid it 
 on the table before him. He thanked me with a smile, and 
 seemed much gratified ; an hour afterwards I found my 
 beautiful rose on the table. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 My uncle paid periodical visits to myself and Willie, at the 
 end of each successive six months — in my case, to pay for my 
 board, and impress upon me the necessity of studying night 
 and day if possible, the sooner to relieve him of the burden, 
 which pressed so heavily upon him. 
 
 The visit to Willie was to pay his tailor's bill, the amount 
 being limited to three pounds in six months. Mr. Rexford al- 
 lowed Willie his board for the service he rendered in the shop 
 after the two first year3 of his residence there , yet notwith- 
 standing, Mr. Keith never failed to urge him to improve his 
 time, so that he, (our uncle) might be spared this heavy ex- 
 pense of three pounds per six months. We had twice a year 
 an invitation to spend an evening at Haddo Hall, where my 
 uncle's family lived ; these invitations were always given by 
 my uncle in person, and were by him limited to three hours, 
 we being sent for at six, and returned to our respective homes 
 at nine o'clock, by the same conveyance, his own carriage. 
 
 Haddo Hall was a large old house, built more like a Castle, 
 than what we understand by a Hall ; situated in the midst of 
 a noble park, filled with fine old trees, which could only have 
 attained their present growth in centuries ; and a trout stream 
 running through the grounds to the sea. 
 
 Haddo Hall came into our family by my great grand- 
 mother, who was the last of her race ; an honourable and an 
 heiress in her own right. Her picture hung there in the gal- 
 lery, full length, dressed in white satin, with the long pointed 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 21 
 
 bodice and lace ruffles of the time ; she is represented stand- 
 ing in the recess of a deep oriel window ; the fingers of an 
 exquisitely shaped hand touching the strings of a lute ; which 
 with its antique stand occupies one side of the window. The 
 face is one of perfect beauty, with the square forehead and 
 small mouth betokening firmness and truth, a rich flood of 
 mellow light from the setting sun streams into the room, and 
 between the oriel and the sun, are seen pictured those very 
 giant pines and elms that now spread their great arms beneath 
 the wintry and summer sky. 
 
 The picture is a chef d'oeuvre of Sir Joshua Reynolds, the 
 gem of the gallery, surrounded by knights in armour, with 
 the long curls belonging to the time of the first Charles, 
 statesmen, and officers of the reigns of the Georges, with 
 their ladies in crimson and gold ; but there she stands in her 
 quiet beauty far outshining all her compeers. 
 
 I never went to Haddo without passing part of my time 
 with her. It was no picture to me ; it seemed a living, breath- 
 ing reality, in very deed my great grandmother ; there she 
 stood in all her dignified beauty, smiling sweetly on me, her 
 poor lonely grandchild ; and ever seeming to say " bear on,, 
 bear nobly on ; " " what is right do it though the heavens- 
 come down ; what is wrong do it not, though by so doing you 
 should gain a kingly crown." 
 
 Mrs. Keith was a gay, dashing woman, the very opposite of 
 her husband. She dressed well and saw a great deal of com- 
 pany. I never saw my uncle's family alone : there were 
 generally some English friends of Mr. Keith's or her own 
 relations, of whom the name seemed to be legion, staying with 
 them ; I heard her say that nothing on earth could tempt her 
 to live at the Hall for one week alone, she meant with her 
 husband and family ; she was tall, fat, rather pretty, very 
 
 c 
 
22 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 good tempered, and liked to see all around her enjoy them- 
 selves ; she was invariably kind to both of us ; while my uncle 
 as invariably received and dismissed us with a scowl. 
 
 Mrs. Keith played and sung well, and so did her eldest 
 daughter ; both ladies seemed to think that music was the sun 
 and centre of all feminine accomplishments. Lizzie, the eldest 
 daughter, was at the time I write of, a fine looking girl of 
 nineteen or twenty summers ; rode and danced well, dressed 
 with good taste, and was altogether a fitting bride for the 
 officer of the dragoon-guards, to whom she was engaged, and 
 who seemed to find more congenial employment, in attending 
 his lady love at Haddo Hall, than in the service of Her Bri- 
 tannic Majesty. 
 
 A boy of twelve years old, painfully like his father, and a 
 beautiful little girl of eight, made up the number of my 
 uncle's family. 
 
 During all my school life, I never spent a whole day at 
 Haddo ; although Willie and I would have given much to 
 wander for one day amid the old woods and by the clear 
 stream, where our father's young days were passed. 
 
 Mrs. Moodie sent for me one morning in my sixteenth year, 
 to-ask me if I would like to learn Spanish ? 
 
 Would I like to learn ? I had only been prevented from 
 doing so, by my uncle's decided refusal to pay the fees, and 
 for the last six months, Gertrude had regularly given me her 
 lesson of the previous day, before seven o'clock in the morn- 
 ing. 
 
 Miss Baird was to leave school, and Mr. Forbes had re- 
 quested Mrs. Moodie to allow me to study with Miss Hamilton, 
 as he said her interest might flag if she learnt alone. No, truly 
 her interest would not flag, but good Mr. Forbes had discovered 
 that I wished to learn the language, and hence the proposal. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 23 
 
 These Spanish lessons were the most pleasant hours I spent 
 in school ; Gertrude and I were alone with our teacher and 
 the governess, who always sat by while the masters taught. 
 Mr. Forbes used to encourage us to ask him questions on any 
 subject we liked, so as to make the time pass pleasantly, 
 while we became familiar with the language. These questions 
 with Gertrude always took a religious turn, and I naturally 
 followed in the same strain. She used to say that theology was 
 the only subject she cared to talk of, cared to study ; every- 
 thing else was only learnt as a part of this great whole, and 
 in subserviency to it. 
 
 In these conversations Mr. Forbes took care to eulogize 
 his own as the only true Church, out of the pale of which 
 there was no salvation. A favourite theme of his against the 
 Protestant Church, was to shew the blasphemy, as he said, of 
 which it was guilty, in denying a purgatorial expiation of sin, 
 thereby taking away one of the greatest attributes of God, 
 namely, his mercy. 
 
 He would illustrate this by saying, " a man dies suddenly 
 In unrepented sin, — if the Protestant creed be true, he cannot 
 enter heaven ; because he has not repented and obtained for- 
 giveness of sin here below, thus making God less merciful 
 than man : for what man is there who would not, if appealed 
 to, say, let him be punished, certainly, but in the end let his 
 penance and the prayers of the Church avail for his redemp- 
 tion." 
 
 The sophistry of this reasoning was not such as a school 
 girl could combat ; nor did it then occur to me, that the Deity 
 maybe, in truth, a more severe avenger of guilt than a humane 
 and benevolent man would be, for this very reason, that he is 
 infinitely more humane and more benevolent than any man can 
 be. For who is it, even in this world, that beholds guilt with the 
 
24 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 greatest indignation ? Who is most intent on bringing the trans- 
 gressor to punishment ? Is it the unprincipled immoral man ? 
 or is it, on the contrary, the good, the virtuous ? The sensual 
 man would indeed shew great mercy to another sensualist ; 
 the thief would reprove dishonesty with mildness ; the mur- 
 derer be a lenient judge of another murderer ; in general the 
 man who had little regard for moral obligation himself, would 
 be far from thinking it proper that the crimes of others should 
 be visited with severity of punishment. But as in a human 
 tribunal, the judge is cruel where the accomplice, or even the 
 by-stander would be humane, so the Judge of all the earth, who 
 cannot look on iniquity but with abhorrence, will indeed be 
 more severe, more rigorous than the most upright of mankind, 
 who, comparatively speaking, can look upon guilt with com- 
 placency and toleration. The mercy of God is not the 
 mere animal sympathy, which cannot look at the infliction of 
 pain ; it is not the indolence, which will not be troubled with 
 avenging ; it is not the careless good nature, which overlooks 
 or forgets transgression ; it is not the ignorance or perplexity, 
 which cannot discern the guilt ; it is not the timidity, which 
 fears to commit wrong, and will rather take the safe side : it 
 is the deliberate, purposed, measured abatement of the claims 
 of justice in respect that the transgressor has repented, has 
 earnestly and sincerely desired that he had acted otherwise ; 
 has deeply bewailed his infringement of the divine law, and 
 sedulously and anxiously sought amendment and pardon 
 through the blood of a crucified Saviour. 
 
 To suppose that the Deity will, in any case, however tri- 
 fling, grant his pardon, grant the slightest commiseration to 
 sin, that is to say while it remains sin, I should also say if it 
 really is sin, after all allowances have been made for the ignor- 
 ance and weakness of the agent and the constitutional infir- 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 25 
 
 mity of his moral principle, for everything, in short, that can 
 palliate his guilt, while it has not been unmade, undone, (as 
 it -were,) again by repentance and amendment, is to suppose 
 the Deity either weak in his nature or imperfect in his moral 
 purity ; is to suppose either that he wants steadiness of pur- 
 pose to execute his own laws, or that he hates sin with some- 
 thing less than a perfect hatred. " Let all the people fear him, 
 " for he cometh, for he cometh, to judge the earth : clouds 
 <; and darkness are round about him ; righteousness and judg- 
 " ment are the habitations of his holiness." 
 
 In Mr. Forbes we had an earnest teacher, one who did 
 everything as unto the Lord. With him, earth was so small 
 because heaven was so vast : man nothing, but God all. To 
 him it seemed little were we to tread the thorny path of the 
 desert with unshod feet all our lives long, so at last it led to 
 God. 
 
 I have read somewhere of a strange speech that dropped 
 from the lips of Epictieus, a heathen : " If it be thy will," 
 said he, " Lord, command me what thou wilt ; send me 
 whither thou wilt ; I will not withdraw myself from anything 
 that seems good to Thee." 
 
 And Priest Forbes lived out these words in his life ; what 
 he believed the Lord had given him to do, he did it with all 
 his might, his mind, and strength, and spirit ; from early morn 
 until dark, he went from school to school, and from house to 
 house, teaching to those he believed heretics the languages of 
 the continent of Europe, every word of which flowed from 
 his lips as if he were speaking his native tongue ; he dressed 
 plainly, and ate the simplest fare ; and this was all done, not 
 to serve for any earthly end, but that the money so earned 
 might be given unto the God, whom he served, through that 
 Church whieh he believed alone to be holy, catholic, and 
 
26 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 apostolic ; and that he, the humble instrument, might so tend 
 to the glory of the Great Master. Our nature can make no 
 perfect whole ; here and there the circle will break. The bright 
 sun as it comes bringing light and life to one-half the world, 
 leaves the other in deepest midnight ; and so, incomplete by 
 the very law of his being, this man, unselfish, earnest, devoted 
 as he was, would draw the contrast, sharp as truth, between 
 human frailty and the perfect law of God ; and had he lived 
 in past days, would have swelled the procession of an " Auto 
 da fe," with a spirit on fire from the excess of its own zeal. 
 Well hath the poet said, ll Fear is easy but love is- hard," 
 " he prayeth best who loveth best." I heard him say in 
 speaking of the fires of Smithfield : " This was necessary, 
 these men were burnt for the glory of God I" 
 
 Truly, God's glory is a wondrous thing, most strange in 
 all its ways, and of all things, least like what men agree to 
 call it. God is other than we think, his ways far above our 
 ways ; far above reason's height, and only to be reached by 
 child-like love. God's ways are love's life-long study, and 
 love can be bold and guess, where reason would not dare. 
 
 The mind of Gertrude was a rich soil in which Mr. Forbes 
 might sow, what he deemed, his good seed ; and doubtless it 
 was to his teaching as her spiritual director, that she owed, in 
 a great measure, the unworldliness of her character. The world 
 had no charms for her, it lay all beneath her ; she lived in an 
 ideal world of her own, beyond the fragrant hills of myrrh, 
 the mounts of Bethel. From her Protestant mother, she had 
 learnt to wait and watch for the coming of the Lord, which 
 will yet burst with lustre on this long shadowy night. This 
 part of her mother's teaching, her confessor, for reasons best 
 known to himself, had left undisturbed, and thus she ever sat 
 in her white garments, with her lamp trimmed ; his bosom- 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 27 
 
 treasured word ever in her soul : " I come quickly.'' I have 
 seen her raise her eyes to heaven as if she then expected to 
 hear the joyful song, which will usher in the rising of the day 
 star ; for her the earth was full of greenness and beauty, the 
 heavens of joy and gladness, because she believed with the 
 most child-like faith that the marriage feast was nigh. 
 
 " Violet, do you not think Mr. Forbes the most spiritual 
 minded man you have ever known?" said Gertrude one day? 
 after he had given us a long dissertation on the perfect com- 
 munion of saints which exists in the Catholic Church. 
 
 " I cannot answer your question," replied I, " I have known 
 very few men, scarcely one whose character I admire, and I 
 do not know if he is spiritual-minded or not." 
 
 u Then I do," replied she, " and you know that I am your 
 superior in all worldly knowledge ; I have mixed in the society 
 of grown men since my childhood, and I have never known 
 one I could at all compare to Mr. Forbes." 
 
 " You have probably never known a clergyman so inti- 
 mately." 
 
 " Why, yes ; we all know Mr. Dusty very intimately, and 
 I always feel sick when we are to have a dose of him." 
 
 Mr. Dusty was the clergyman whose church we all, with 
 the exception of Gertrude, attended, and we attended his 
 church certainly, but nothing more ; I do not recollect one 
 sentence I ever heard the good man utter; hearing nothing 
 I could understand or appreciate, I preferred occupying my- 
 self with examining the bright ribbons and pretty bonnets 
 within my range of vision; and I suspect my school-mates 
 were equally idle. 
 
 Gertrude's experience of Mr. Dusty's powers was confined 
 to certain short addresses given by that gentleman to Mrs. 
 Moodie's pupils at the end of each term, and consisted 
 
28 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 mainly in praise of the performance of each young lady, 
 whether her forte was Music, Drawing, Languages, or 
 English ; all came under Mr. Dusty's approval or dis- 
 approval, — he, good man, being supposed to be equally 
 learned in all the branches taught in Mrs. Moodie's establish- 
 ment as he was presumed to be in Latin and Greek. For- 
 tunately for us, his good nature inclined him to pass lightly 
 over our defalcations ; and where he could, give unlimited 
 praise. 
 
 " It is scarcely fair to compare Mr. Dusty with Mr. Forbes," 
 was my reply. " Mr. Forbes is a learned man, he has lived 
 on the continent, and possibly associated with the first minds 
 of the age ; Mr. Dusty, on the contrary, has probably never 
 travelled beyond the city in whose university he studied ; he 
 has no opportunity of converse with minds better informed 
 than his own. and most likely has never taken one step out 
 of the beaten path of study his predecessor trode before him." 
 
 " Then, Violet, we shall take your uncle ; he at least is a 
 learned man, president of all the Literary Societies in town, 
 subscribes to the Art Journal, the Athenaeum, and I do not 
 know all what else ; he is also a rich man, and we all know 
 riches give their possessor many virtues both negative and 
 positive, he has also, to give him refinement of soul, what 
 wealth cannot buy, a long line of ancestry; he is the child of 
 many sires, renowned in tourney and in war, while on the 
 other hand, Mr. Forbes is the descendant of some plebeian, 
 he himself poor as poverty. Now, Violet, how goes the rest of 
 the comparison ? You shall finish it." 
 
 " No, Gertrude, I shall do no such thing ; I owe, or think I 
 •owe, a debt of gratitude to my uncle, therefore I shall make 
 no comparison, the result of which would be anything but 
 flattering to myself as his niece ; but tell me this, was it his 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 29 
 
 spirituality which made Mr. Forbes put away your hand 
 from his arm the other day so unceremoniously, or set down 
 Minnie from the table so ungraciously." 
 
 The circumstances to which I alluded occurred a few days 
 before ; Gertrude asked a question relative to her lessons, 
 twice ; the second time, to draw his attention more forcibly to 
 herself, laid her hand upon Mr. Forbes' arm ; he immediately 
 drew his arm from under her hand, and stood up looking ner- 
 vous and frightened ; (a very curious look for a cool man like 
 him to assume), and then moved his chair almost a yard distant 
 from her seat, while Gertrude stared in simple wonder. 
 
 Little Minnie was a niece of Mrs. Moodie's,who sometimes 
 spent a day with us ; she was a lovely little dark-eyed girl of 
 three years, and a great pet with us all. On one occasion 
 Gertrude and myself had carefully combed up her hair in front, 
 in the way it is worn by French children, so that in Scotland 
 she looked like a little boy. Minnie had a carte blanche to 
 come at will through the house, and going into Mr. Forbes' 
 class-room, he had never seen her before, and lifting her up, 
 seated her on the table and kissed her, saying, " are you a 
 good boy?" "Minnie's not a boy," said she very indignantly, 
 while Gertrude and I simultaneously exclaimed, " It is a girl." 
 He got up hurriedly, lifted the child, and placed her quite at 
 the door of the room. When returning to the table, he de- 
 sired us to recommence our studies, rather authoritatively. 
 
 I told this at the time to Miss Forester, who made a laugh 
 of the whole affair, at Mr. Forbes' expense, and Gertrude, 
 who was always his champion, did not like my allusion to it. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 The time now drew near when Gertrude and I were both to 
 leave school ; with what different prospects ; she to join her 
 father, who was now with his regiment in Canada, to be the 
 pet of a luxurious home, to know no law but her own will, 
 the heiress of ten thousand pounds in right of her mother. In 
 one short year this, to me almost fabulous sum, would be at 
 her own disposal. Happy Gertrude, I used then almost to 
 envy you, and wish so earnestly that one, only one, of those 
 thousands belonged to Willie and I. It never occurred to 
 me to think of the awful responsibilty attached to every 
 thousand, every hundred, every pound ; how the Lord at his 
 coming, will exact an account from all those whom he hath 
 made the stewards of his gold and silver, and how the voice of 
 him who cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Boz- 
 rah, the gentlest voice earth ever heard, will then shout in 
 accents of thunder, reaching from the east even unto the 
 west : " Inasmuch as ye did it not unto the least of these my 
 brethren, ye did it not unto me." Marvel not, that while he 
 was yet among us, he gave that solemn warning : " It is easier 
 for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a 
 rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven." 
 
 And I, where was I to go ? — I knew not whither, I only 
 knew it must be abroad into the wide world, to seek that bread 
 which, for eight years, I had been learning to earn. Yea, and 
 so I will. " Thou hast, oh God, of thy goodness, prepared for 
 the poor," and I will go bravely forth, trusting in thine own 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 31 
 
 promise, " He that now goeth on his way weeping, and bear- 
 eth forth good seed, shall doubtless come again with joy, and 
 bring his sheaves with him." 
 
 Were it possible, I would gladly have taken a situation in 
 Ellenkirk or the vicinity, but it was vain thinking of such a 
 thing. The families in town, who could afford to keep a 
 governess, preferred sending their children to Mrs. Moodie's, 
 or some similar establishment, of which there were one or two 
 in Ellenkirk. The neighbouring proprietors, who kept gover- 
 nesses, would never dream of trusting the education of their 
 daughters to one who had not studied in either London or 
 Paris ; although, if I may judge from the young lady to whose 
 care my cousin Catherine's education was entrusted, it was 
 not always an advantage having a governess from London. 
 
 During the past eight years Catherine had thrice a change 
 of governesses ; each in succession, speaking a great deal of 
 bad French, with a broad Anglo-Saxon accent. In one of 
 my earlier visits to Haddo Hall, before I was wise enough or 
 had sufficiently felt my own insignificance to know my great- 
 est safety was in silence, I got into a scrape with my aunt 
 on this subject, which, but for her unvarying good temper, 
 might have cost me dear. 
 
 The way in which it happened was this : — Miss Howe, the 
 governess, spoke almost entirely to Catherine in French ; 
 very bad French, almost unintelligible, and so doing wished 
 Catherine to reply : telling her first the words she was to use. 
 " Tr£s bien," which Miss Howe pronounced " Tray beang." 
 Girl-like, without a moment's consideration, I said, Miss 
 Howe, we do not say " Tray beang " in France, we say " tr&s 
 bien." Miss Howe's face became scarlet, as with a flashing 
 eye, she replied, " It is not of the least consequence how you 
 pronounce your words ; Miss Catherine Keith is not to take 
 
32 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 you as a pattern in anything." Mrs. Keith, who caught these 
 last words, and observed the excited way in which Miss Howe 
 spoke, asked : " What is the matter ?" 
 
 It was explained to her that I had presumed to correct 
 Miss Howe's pronunciation. She in her turn recounted the 
 impertinence to her husband, who also had requested an ex- 
 planation. I shall never forget the look of withering scorn, 
 largely mixed with hatred, which the latter bestowed upon me. 
 After a moment's pause, Mrs. Keith, evidently wishing to 
 conciliate both parties, said : " When Miss Violet is a little 
 older, she will understand better the difference there must be 
 between the teaching of an accomplished young lady like Miss 
 Howe, and that of a poor man like Mr. Forbes, who, of course, 
 never had an opportunity of hearing Parisian French spoken." 
 
 Were it not that my uncle " held me with his eye " I would 
 have answered that. It is now in the long ago. It was well 
 I did not. 
 
 Willie and I had spent all our Sabbath afternoons together 
 in Mrs. Moodie's garden for the last eight years, under the 
 great elm tree, whose branches, drooping almost to the ground, 
 formed a shade alike from summer's sun and wintry wind, 
 until the turf seat, surrounding the giant bole, had more of 
 home in it for us, than any other place in the wide world. 
 Even when the snow lay thick on the ground, we would borrow 
 a broom from the kitchen, and having swept the seat and trod- 
 den down a resting-place for our feet, we sat there until our 
 fingers ached and our lips were blue with the cold. 
 
 The last Sabbath we sat there, we read from our mother's 
 Bible, as we had done on every preceding Sunday ; each of 
 us reading a verse alternately. 
 
 We promised our mother, only a few days before her death, 
 and again when she could only signify her wish for a reitera- 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 33 
 
 tio.n of our promise by signs, that if ever we were separated, 
 an event which she knew must soon take place, we would, if 
 possible, read a portion of the Bible thus, as we had been 
 accustomed to do from our childhood, each time we met. 
 We kept our promise and we had our reward. 
 
 All our after lives were influenced and bore the impress 
 of the hours spent thus in that hill-side garden, and we learnt 
 in simple faith, not by man's teaching, but from our Saviour's 
 own words, that he had left that glory which He had with 
 His Father, before the world was ; lived a life of weariness, 
 pain and toil ; and died a shameful death, that we might have 
 life, and have it more abundantly, and that, as those men of 
 Galilee had seen him ascend up into heaven, so in like man- 
 ner would he come again, and of that day and hour no man 
 should know ; no warning should be given : that they would 
 be marrying and giving in marriage, until the very hour when 
 the voice of the great archangel shall proclaim, " Behold the 
 Lord cometh with ten thousand of His saints ; and then 
 those who wait and watch for His coming, will be caught up 
 to meet Him in the air, and so be for ever with the Lord." 
 
 In those long years how tall and strong Willie had grown, 
 and so handsome : on our visits to Haddo Hall, how often 
 have I, with a feeling akin to triumph, compared him to our 
 dwarfish looking cousin, who was to be the lord of the broad 
 acres there, and now that we were to part, I felt how very 
 desolate I should be without him ; he, the only living being 
 to whose love I had a clear title. 
 
 Willie was two years my junior ; his medical studies would 
 not be finished for four years to come, the winter months of 
 which were to be spent in Edinburgh attending college. 
 Through Mr. Forbes' recommendation I had obtained a situa- 
 tion as governess in a family living between Edinburgh and 
 
34 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 Portobello ; we would then only be separated for half the 
 year, so that all things considered, neither of us had a right 
 to complain. 
 
 Gertrude had gone to Canada some months before I left 
 Ellenkirk, and I missed her every day, and all day long ; we 
 parted with vows of eternal friendship, exchanging locks of 
 hair. The long sunny tress which thus became mine, I 
 plaited to form a bracelet, and sometimes wound its length of 
 two feet round and round my arm — in those poor days tied 
 with a little bit of pale blue ribbon. In the after time it had 
 a clasp of gold, her name on one side, and " Omni tempore" 
 engraved on the other. " Omni tempore," verily so it was. 
 Mrs. Moodie smiled rather sadly on witnessing our parting. 
 " Foolish girls, I have heard at least a hundred such vows 
 exchanged during the last twenty years ; shall I tell you 
 how many of these were kept ?" " Oh ! no," exclaimed Ger- 
 trude. " In Violet my faith has perfect rest, and I don't want 
 to have it shaken." 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 " Morn on the waters and purple and bright." 
 
 How lovely and fresh everything looked and felt ; the breeze so 
 cool and pleasant, as it came careering round the ship, setting 
 ribbons and veils streaming forth like so many gay pennons. 
 The long white trail, made by the engine of the steam- vessel, and 
 the little baby waves on either side with their easy motion, 
 seeming like things of life ; everything so new ; so like fairy 
 land, or rather fairy life on sea. I felt as I threw off my 
 neckscarf and held up my face for another bath in the sweet 
 south wind, surely there is much happiness merely in living. 
 
 My time passed quietly and pleasantly by, at times watch- 
 ing the groups of ladies and gentlemen who paced the deck, 
 chattering and laughing merrily ; at times reading Sir Walter 
 Scott's Kenilworth — being the first novel I had ever seen — - 
 at last I became so interested in its pages, that, seated in 
 the corner of one of the deck sofas, my parasol resting on 
 my hat, so as to shield me at once from the rays of the sun, 
 and the gaze of my fellow passengers, I was wholly uncon- 
 scious that every one (except myself and the good-tempered 
 looking old gentleman, who had succeeded at last in recalling 
 me to what was passing around me) had left the deck for the 
 dinner table. Under his escort I obtained a comfortable seat. 
 
 I should think we sat an hour at dinner, during which my 
 old friend amused me by his piquant remarks on those who 
 sat opposite. 
 
36 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 " That fat lady with two bracelets on each arm is Mrs. 
 Thorn, the wife of a grocer who lives in the High Street of 
 Edinburgh. She has, doubtless, been visiting her friends 
 on the east coast, and astonishing them with her grand dis- 
 play of jewellery. '' 
 
 " Those two young ladies in grey, are descendants of Robert- 
 son, the historian, and relatives of Lord B , and evidently 
 
 feel their own consequence. That young dandy who is doing 
 the agreeable to them, is an advocate from Edinburgh, he is 
 thought very clever, and is a rising man. You see he is quite 
 smitten with the tallest sister.' ' 
 
 As he spoke I looked at the descendants of Robertson 
 with interest ; they were pretty and lady like, the tallest very 
 beautiful. Their companion did not look much like a dandy, 
 but he did look clever and like a rising man, tall, rather 
 slight, dark handsome face, finely cut features and firm 
 mouth ; he seemed indeed to look with interest on his pretty 
 neighbour. 
 
 I saw them several times walking the deck together in the 
 course of the afternoon, and fancied from the heightened 
 colour of the young lady, that the attentions of the hand- 
 some advocate were not lost upon her. 
 
 Towards evening her sister left the deck. He offered his 
 arm and they walked slowly up and down, while he talked so 
 earnestly ; what could he have said in those few minutes to 
 make her cheek so like a crimson rose leaf, and her eye flash 
 with such a pleasant light ? 
 
 After tea the wind became chilly, so with my companion 
 Kenilworth, I went to the saloon, and sat there by a pleasant 
 fire, until the bell rung for us to go ashore. 
 
 On ascending to the deck, I found that the rain, which 
 threatened to pay us a visit in the afternoon, had now come 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 61 
 
 in earnest, and in addition everything around was black as the 
 tents of Kedar. 
 
 With the aid of the stewardess, I soon found my luggage. 
 It consisting of only one trunk, in which was stored all my 
 worldly goods. I seated myself thereon, and awaited as 
 patiently as possible, under the circumstances, for the cabmen, 
 who, my friend of the dinner table told me, would come on 
 board to be hired. 
 
 The old gentleman left the vessel at one of the interme- 
 diate ports, early in the evening, having first come to bid me 
 a kindly good-bye. 
 
 I sat there for about ten minutes, and was getting tolerably 
 wet, my tiny parasol serving only to protect my hat, while 
 each whalebone point formed a miniature spout to conduct the 
 rain which fell on the parasol round my back and should- 
 ers. 
 
 As I sat thus, feeling rather forlorn, the two young ladies 
 who were pointed out to me at dinner, passed closely by me, 
 on their way to the gangway, accompanied by their handsome 
 friend and another gentleman ; by the light from the lamps 
 placed on either side of the gangway, I saw them handed into 
 a carriage which one of the gentlemen entered, while the other 
 raised his hat as they drove off. 
 
 The gentleman who was left returned to the vessel, and 
 lifting up a leather travelling sack, was on the point of leaving 
 a second time, when one of the brass clasps of my trunk (an 
 old military chest of my father's) which had lost a nail, 
 caught his sack — while disengaging it he asked, courteously, 
 if I expected my friends to come for me ? 
 
 " No, I am waiting for a cab. I believe the men come on 
 board to be hired." 
 
 " I shall call a cab for you with pleasure." 
 
 D 
 
38 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 " Thank you very much," I said heartily, and in a few 
 minutes I was handed into one. 
 
 " Where shall I tell the man to drive." 
 
 " Iona Villa, on the Portobello road." 
 
 " Ah !" replied he ; and his voice expressed surprise, " I too 
 am going to the Portobello road, will you allow me occupy the 
 vacant seat in your carriage ?" 
 
 " Certainly, with pleasure." 
 
 He handed his travelling sack to the driver, stepped lightly 
 inside, and in a few minutes we were driving quickly on from 
 Leith to Edinburgh, from Edinburgh to Portobello. 
 
 The handsome advocate, for it was he who was my tra- 
 velling companion, did his best to make the time pass plea- 
 santly, by telling me on which side of the way the various 
 objects of interest we passed were situated. This was all 
 that was possible, as the darkness was almost such as might 
 be felt, relieved here and there by the light streaming from 
 the lighted-up villas we passed. 
 
 As we neared Peirshill Barracks, popularly called Jock's 
 Lodge, the sentry was calling the hour. The noise or the 
 glare of the lights at the gate made the horse restive, and 
 the driver was obliged to dismount and lead him for a few 
 yards. 
 
 When just at the gate, my companion leant forward to the 
 carriage window to look at his watch by the lamp light. As 
 he did so, one of the sentries observed to the other, in 
 accents more fortissimo thm forte: " Gin I had that chap's 
 face, I would hae a better-looking lass to court on sic a wild 
 night, or else I wad bide at hame." 
 
 I can smile now when I recall the soldier's words, and 
 the loud laugh of his companion, but it galled me then, and 
 for many a day afterwards. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 39 
 
 Iona Villa at last ! How glad I felt ; shivering with cold 
 and wet, as I sat for the last hour and a half, it seemed as if 
 we were never to arrive at my destination. At a glance, I 
 saw a large house, lower and upper halls well lit up ; as 
 also two windows to the right of the door, and several others 
 in the second and third storeys. 
 
 My companion stepped from the carriage and opened the 
 iron gate of the parterre in front of the house, as if it was 
 an old acquaintance. He had scarcely reached the house 
 door, when it was opened, and a young lady, nearly as tall 
 as himself, put her arms round his neck and kissed him, 
 exclaiming, " I knew it was you, Robert." 
 
 He took both her hands in his own, kissed her cheek, and 
 was back at the carriage-door again. All this passed in a 
 moment ; in another I was inside the hall, in a flood of light 
 and warmth. 
 
 " Georgy, this is your new governess, Miss Keith," said 
 the advocate ; (and, turning to me), " Am I not correct ?" 
 
 I bowed an acquiescence, feeling not a little surprised. 
 
 " Miss Keith, Georgy Scott, my little sister." 
 
 The young lady thus introduced to me was very tall, very 
 slight, with a pale, sweet-looking, very young face. 
 
 She acknowledged the introduction, and then said : " Miss 
 Keith, I am so glad you are come ; but you are quite wet, 
 let Simpson take your cloak and hat, and come with me by 
 the dining-room fire," unfastening my cloak as she spoke. 
 
 The dining-room, the door of which opened into the hall, 
 looked very inviting ; a large fire blazing brightly, chande- 
 lier from the ceiling, shedding its light on the scarlet table- 
 cloth, on which stood lighted wax-candles beside an open 
 book. 
 
 " I am sure Miss Keith would prefer going at once to her 
 
40 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 own room ; she must be very tired, and it is nearly mid- 
 
 night." 
 
 These words were spoken by a young lady, whose presence 
 I had not before observed. She formed quite a contrast 
 to the other ; under the middle size, well-proportioned, with 
 a beautiful face, a little faded ; such an expressive, earnest 
 eye. Robert's sister ; no mistake about, that. 
 
 She took my hand, with a quiet, kind air, and led me up 
 the broad staircase. 
 
 As I passed along, I observed that everything wore an air 
 of comfort ; but there were no superfluities, no pictures in 
 the halls or staircases — no niche, with flower-vase or sculp- 
 ture, as at Haddo ; carpets, chairs, one table in each hall. 
 On the table in the lower hall lay a small silver salver, for 
 letters ; nothing more. I thought, as we passed upstairs, if 
 the beautiful is thought of here, it must be confined to the 
 rooms. 
 
 My conductor preceded me to the third storey, where, 
 opening one of the four doors in the hall, we entered a good- 
 sized room, redolent of the perfume of mignonette, comfort 
 and warmth. 
 
 " This is your room — I hope you will find it comfortable," 
 said the young lady as we entered. "Simpson will help you to 
 undress, and will bring you anything you may fancy. I 
 would advise some sago or oatmeal gruel ; either will most 
 likely help to prevent your catching cokl from your wet 
 clothes." 
 
 I thanked her warmly, and bidding me good night, she 
 left me to Simpson's care, whose nimble fingers soon divested 
 me of my wet clothes. Bringing me my promised gruel, and 
 a huge jug of hot water, that I might bathe my feet, she left 
 me with a respectful good night. I had now leisure to exa- 
 mine my future domicile. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 41 
 
 The first thing to be noticed was the bright, clear fire in a 
 clean, well-brushed grate, and white hearth, shining brass 
 fender and fire-irons ; a large easy-chair, covered with white 
 dimity, and drawn in front of the fire, to the left of which 
 was placed a small round-table, on which stood a lighted wax- 
 candle ; a dark-coloured wardrobe, the drawers and doors of 
 which were open, disclosing linings of newspaper, with laven- 
 der leaves scattered thereon; a small-sized bedstead with 
 snow-white quilt and curtains ; a toilet-table, also in white, 
 with a larger mirror than had ever fallen to my share before ; 
 a new dark carpet, and, more delightful than all, a china 
 bowl on the toilet containing a wealth of fresh wall-flower 
 blossom. 
 
 What a nice room ! what kind people ! how different from 
 the half-carpeted, cheerless apartment that generally falls 
 to the lot of the governess, and which Mrs. Moodie warned 
 me, with motherly kindness, I had to expect ! how different 
 from my own forebodings ! " Surely the lines have fallen 
 unto me in pleasant places ;" " Thou hast dealt well with 
 thy servant, Lord, according to thy word." 
 
 I knelt by my little bed and thanked my Heavenly 
 Father for all his loving-kindness towards me, and prayed 
 for grace to walk in his ways and keep his charge all my 
 life long. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 On awaking next morning, I found that my room had an east- 
 ern exposure, and the bright, morning sun was streaming 
 through the window in rich golden radiance. The reflection 
 of his beams had just reached the outer edge of a picture of 
 the cup found in Benjamin's sack, which hung above the 
 mantelshelf. I looked at my watch, so that next morning I 
 might know. the hour by my sun-dial. 
 
 It was six o'clock, the hour we all rose at Mrs. Moodie's. I 
 thought of them all there, of dear Willie, who would be so 
 lonely without me, until I was startled by feeling a large tear 
 dropping on my pillow. 
 
 "This will never do," I mentally exclaimed, " how ungrateful 
 I am," and jumping out of bed, I raised the window sash, so as 
 to admit the fresh air, and there another pleasant surprise 
 awaited me ; a green box fitted into the window-sill, outside, 
 full of mignonette in full blossom, filling the air with its fra- 
 grance. This was but a little thing, but it made me ashamed 
 of the discontented spirit I had indulged in a few minutes 
 before. 
 
 It is these little things which make the sum of human hap- 
 piness. " Whoso is wise will ponder "these things, and they 
 will understand the loving kindness of the Lord." 
 
 I had been dressed nearly two hours, had arranged part of 
 my clothes in the drawers, and written a letter to Willie, 
 when Simpson tapped at the door of my room, asking leave to 
 enter. She stared at me. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 43 
 
 " Oh ! Miss, what made you rise so early ? I suppose you 
 did not know what o'clock it was : it is only eight o'clock." 
 
 I pointed to my watch, which lay on the table ; it was my 
 mothers , and she had hung it round my neck some weeks 
 before her death, bidding me keep it for her until she was 
 well again. 
 
 The watch diverted the current of the girl's thoughts. 
 
 " ! Miss, what a beautiful watch and chain ! was it very 
 dear ?" 
 
 " I don't know," replied I. 
 
 " It was given you as a present ?" 
 
 I nodded : she saw I was not inclined to be communicative, 
 and stopped short. 
 
 " I have brought you a jug of hot water, but you have 
 already washed. Miss Hariote desired me say breakfast is 
 at nine ; and Miss Georgina will come to bring you to the 
 breakfast parlour." 
 
 With nine o'clock came Miss Georgina, looking so pretty 
 in her white morning dress. After bidding me good morning, 
 she asked if I had slept well ? if my room was comfortable ? 
 and hoped I had not taken cold ? all these questions were 
 asked in a tone of interest, and augured well for my future 
 happiness while in the house, from the spirit of kindness they 
 evinced. 
 
 On going down stairs we turned to the left and entered a 
 charming breakfast parlour at the back of the dining-room. 
 
 The family had already taken their seats at the breakfast- 
 table. Miss Georgina, taking my hand, led me to a seat near 
 her mother, introducing me with the easy air which betokens 
 good breeding. 
 
 " Miss Keith — Mamma, Papa, my eldest sister, Miss 
 Scott." 
 
44 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 Mrs. and Miss Scott bade me a courteous good morning ; 
 while the companion of my voyage, Mr. Robert Scott, politely 
 inquired whether I felt quite well after the soaking of the pre- 
 vious evening. 
 
 Mr. Scott stared but did not speak ; did not even move 
 his head in acknowledgment of the introduction. We sat at 
 breakfast about half an hour, and during that time there were 
 not three needless words spoken : " Do you prefer tea or 
 coffee ? do you take rolls or toast ?" nothing more ; not the 
 least attempt at conversation ; not a single remark of any 
 kind. 
 
 While we were at breakfast, I had ample time to examine 
 the room and its inmates. The room was rather large, the 
 furniture dark green, the curtains, carpet, sofa, and chairs 
 all a deep dark green : very pretty. Four large landscapes 
 painted in oil ; one placed above the mantelpiece, a woodland 
 scene of great beauty, representing the stillness of nature at 
 early dawn, the only living object being a stag that had come 
 to drink from a stream, which, with mossy rocks and under- 
 wood, formed the foreground ; an immense picture of Indian 
 life in the woods, with all the gorgeous colouring of autumn, 
 hung opposite, and completely covered the space above the 
 sideboard. The two others were hung on the wall to which 
 my back was turned. The other side of the room consisted 
 almost entirely of folding doors, which opened into a conser- 
 vatory. The doors were wide open, and the fragrance and 
 beauty of the bright blossoms gave the parlour the air of a 
 little paradise. 
 
 Mrs. Scott was a middle-sized elderly woman, certainly 
 more than fifty years of age ; very plain, eyes of the palest 
 blue, grey skin very much wrinkled, dark brown hair mixed 
 with grey, her face betokening discontent and fret-fulness. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 45 
 
 Miss Scott was a large stout looking woman, fat white face, a 
 little marked by small pox, with a lymphatic expression, and 
 the pale eyes of her mother, in whose sight, I afterwards 
 found, she was the beauty of the family. Mr. Scott's face 
 must once have been handsome ; a square forehead and deeply 
 seated keen brown eyes ; a well formed mouth and nose, beau- 
 tiful teeth, even and white ; very gray hair. His three younger 
 children had their beauty from him, but his must have been 
 lost long ago, from the indulgence of bad temper, which was 
 the characteristic expression of his face ; his figure was large 
 and heavy. He looked a hale old man beyond sixty years of 
 age. Mr. Scott and his son had each a newspaper which they 
 perused diligently during the whole meal : breakfast seemed 
 to be quite a secondary consideration with them, it consisted 
 of only tea and toast, and that taken in mouthfuls, at inter- 
 vals, which seemed to mark the pauses in their reading. 
 
 Mrs. Scott was equally busy with some crochet work. Miss 
 Hariote had a huge volumn to which she devoted almost her 
 whole attention, eating sparingly. Miss Scott did the honours 
 of the table, and I fancied enjoyed her breakfast as a sensi- 
 ble woman ought to do. Mr. Scott did not sit at table as 
 people usually do at meals : he sat with his side to the table, 
 with one arm laid from the elbow downwards on the cloth, 
 both hands engaged in holding the newspaper ; when he had 
 finished eating, or rather drinking his tea (I do not think I 
 ever saw him eat at breakfast), he folded his newspaper, 
 laid it on the table, took off his spectacles, and put them on 
 the newspaper ; he then crossed his legs and hummed the 
 Scotch air " Gin a body meet a body," beating time with his 
 fingers on the table. In a few minutes he got up, lifted his 
 spectacles and went into the conservatory, where he seemed 
 to be examining several of the flowers with interest : from 
 
46 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 one of these he culled a tiny blossom, and as he walked from 
 the room he said to his son, in passing, holding up the flower : 
 
 " See, Artty, I have been stealing one of your favourites." 
 
 His son looked up smilingly in his father's face with such 
 an amiable expression — such a sunny smile — no wonder Miss 
 Syme's eyes flashed with pleasure yesterday. 
 
 Mr. Scott spoke and walked with the look and air of a 
 gentleman, notwithstanding his being dressed in a flaming 
 red dressing-gown, which I have found to be a very trying 
 article of costume even to a younger man. 
 
 Almost immediately upon her husband's departure from 
 the room, Mrs. Scott stopped her crochet work, measured 
 it on her finger, and laying it down, asked me if I thought I 
 should like to live there ? — a curious question, truly, to ask 
 of one who had not as yet spent an hour of day life in their 
 society ; I, however, had no hesitation in answering in the 
 affirmative ; they all seemed pleasant people with the excep- 
 tion of the father, and with him I would have nothing to do. 
 Besides, he might be very different from what he seemed — 
 so many are. 
 
 " Dear mamma, how can you ask such a question ?" said 
 Miss Hariote, looking up from her book with a petulant, mor- 
 tified air. " Miss Keith has not heard any one in the house 
 speak a dozen words— how is it possible she should know 
 whether she will like to live with us or not ?" 
 
 " Georgy," said she, turning to her sister, " you had bet- 
 ter not commence your studies to-day ; Miss Keith must be 
 very tired, and needs rest ; besides, this is Saturday, and is 
 always a holiday." Addressing herself to me: 
 
 " Miss Keith, are you fond of flowers ; would you like to 
 look through our little conservatory ?" 
 
 " I love all lovely things : I will have much pleasure in 
 paying a visit to the flowers — they seem so beautiful." 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 47 
 
 My pupil and I went into the conservatory. What a gem 
 of a place, and without anything very rare or expensive ; 
 soft, beautiful mosses and light wavy ferns forming a fore- 
 ground of green and brown, in all shades ; next, wallflowers, 
 the darker kinds of stock gillyflower, pansies and carnations, 
 while above were several tiers of roses and camelias, in the 
 greatest profusion; on either side hundreds of geraniums 
 and salvias dazzling the eye by their scarlet and crimson- 
 velvet beauty. Close to the parlour door were vines, 
 planted on each side, and trained so as to meet over-head, 
 and thus form a shade with their broad leaves and incipient 
 clusters of fruits, grateful to the mosses and ferns which 
 grew beneath, and love not the fierce blaze of the noon-day 
 sun. 
 
 Unlike all other conservatories I had seen, there were 
 here broad walks, quite six feet wide, in which were placed 
 rustic seats, formed of the long, gnarled roots of forest 
 trees ; and here, among the ferns and mosses, Georgy and I 
 used to sit, with our French books, for hours, during those 
 happy summer and autumn days I spent there : they were 
 white days in my life then, and will be for evermore. 
 
 Quite at the other end. and just opposite the door opening 
 into the grounds, was an artificial rock, formed of blocks of 
 grey Aberdeen granite, clear Derbyshire spar, several large 
 pieces of finely-veined marble from Portsoy, and red granite 
 from Inverness-shire. 
 
 These were held together by earth sufficient to feed abund- 
 ance of wild flowers; the digitalis, with its fairy bells, which 
 are supposed to ring when the fairies hold their midnight 
 revels; the blue and white hyacinth, lots of primroses, yellow 
 and white, rose-tipt gowans, queen's clover and king's clover, 
 with their tiny golden and brown blossoms ; the white convol- 
 
48 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 volus, clinging with earnest love to every sprig and spray 
 within her reach, the flaunting scarlet poppy, and the little, 
 blue-eyed veronica, so dear to us all by its old home name of 
 forget-me-not. In the middle, and quite hid by the clustering 
 wildflowers, was a jet not more than six inches in height, from 
 whence sprung a shower of light, misty rain, falling on the 
 rocks and flowers in a thousand living diamonds. 
 
 While I was admiring the varied colours of stone and 
 flowers so skilfully heaped together, I picked a little spray of 
 blue-bell, and asked my companion if she could tell me what 
 family it belonged to ? 
 
 " You know botany, I am sure," said she inquiringly. 
 
 " But I am sure of no such thing," was my reply ; " you 
 don't expect me to know everything ?" 
 
 u I am so glad you don't. I shall teach you all I know 
 of it if you like ; it is such a pleasant study, and makes 
 every step we take in the fields interesting to us." 
 
 Stooping down, she drew from the ground a little plant 
 of blue-bell, carefully preserving the roots, then passing into 
 the garden — if so it might be called — washed it in a little 
 rill that ran among the grasses at our feet ; — putting the 
 flower on her handkerchief, she skillfully divided its various 
 parts, and beginning at the root, she passed on from stem 
 to calix, petals, pistil and stamen, explaining everything in a 
 more lucid manner than I have heard those do who pretended 
 to lecture on the subject. 
 
 Was this the girl I had come to teach ? I mentally hoped 
 she did not know French and Spanish equally well. 
 
 Outside the conservatory, and within a few yards of it, 
 was an immense bowling-green ; such mossy green sward 
 our feet pressed at every step ; and beyond this, a broad 
 belt of forest trees, skirting the bottom and both sides of : i ) 
 ground belonging to the house. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 49 
 
 At eleven o'clock Simpson came to call Miss Georgina 
 to take her music lesson ; so, as I had not entered on my 
 duties, I went to my own room, finished my English letter 
 to Mrs. Moodie, and wrote in French to Willie. French 
 was the language of our childhood and early youth, and after 
 our removal to Scotland we always spoke to each other in 
 French when alone. It would not have seemed natural for 
 me to write to Willie in English. 
 
 At two o'clock I met the ladies of the family at lunch, 
 which was laid out in the breakfast parlour, on two trays, 
 each covered with a cloth pure as snow. 
 
 One tray contained two rather large-sized silver salvers, 
 with a glass dish placed on each. In one of these were a 
 pile of thinly- cut slices of bread and butter ; in the other, 
 water-cresses. 
 
 The other tray was occupied by small-sized china plates, 
 on each of which were placed table-napkins and silver- 
 handled knives, finely-cut glasses, and water in a white jug 
 of Parian china, each side of which represented a scene from 
 the mythology of ancient Greece in alto-relievo, cut so 
 deeply as almost to stand out from the jug. 
 
 This, with little variation, formed our mid-day meal during 
 the time I spent at Iona villa. Sometimes we had a plate 
 of fruit in place of the cresses, always served in the same 
 punctilious manner. 
 
 The old lady was chatty, asked me all she could think of 
 regarding my voyage, and then, encouraged by the sound 
 of her own voice, questioned me on my own affairs and my 
 family ; where my father and mother lived ? what was my 
 father's profession ? how the expense of my education was 
 defrayed, &c. ; notwithstanding Miss Hariote's repeated 
 expostulation of: 
 
50 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 " Dear mamma, such questions must be painful to Miss 
 Keith." 
 
 No matter, on the mamma went ; another question, equally 
 pertinent. 
 
 " My dearest mother, you do not think of what you are 
 saying: we are such entire strangers to Miss Keith, this 
 conversation cannot be pleasant." 
 
 She then turned to her younger sister, and said hastily, (I 
 suspect to prevent a rejoinder from the mamma), " Georgy, 
 if you have finished lunch, we will go out at once, as Robert 
 has left a parcel with me to be taken to Mrs. Macintosh's, 
 and it is a long way to the village." Addressing herself to 
 me — 
 
 <; Would you like to go with us, Miss Keith ?" 
 
 " Very much ;" so away we went. 
 
 I found Miss Hariote very pleasant, very intelligent — 
 she seemed to know everything, and I nothing. After 
 trying in vain to draw me into conversation on the merits 
 of books I had never seen or even heard of, she asked 
 me, I fancy in despair : " What is your favorite style of 
 reading, Miss Keith ?" 
 
 I told her my time for the last eight years had been 
 chiefly spent in learning languages, which I had again 
 taught to others, my English reading having been entirely 
 confined to the works of biography, history, &c, taught in 
 Mrs. Moodie's school — I had also read a very few books on 
 natural science, and that my nearest approaoh to light read- 
 ing were the biographies written by Miss Strickland, Pres- 
 cott, and a few others — that until yesterday, I had never 
 seen a novel. 
 
 " What ! you have never read a novel ; never read Sir 
 Walter Scott's novels ?" 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 51 
 
 " No. I knew Sir Walter Scott as the historian of Napo- 
 leon, Swift, Dryden, and others, but as a novelist, no." 
 
 " You have a rich field of enjoyment before you," said 
 she : " I almost wish I had never seen his novels, just that I 
 might have the pleasure before me of reading them again. 
 How did it happen that you never saw a novel ?" 
 
 " Mrs. Moodie did not approve of young people reading 
 works of fiction, and never permitted such books to be in 
 the house." 
 
 " I dare say ; I know that among Protestants those who 
 are considered pious people look upon novel-reading as 
 nearly allied to the sin against the Holy Ghost. I simply 
 pity such people. There are novels written by Kingsley, 
 Warren, Miss Muloch, and many others, which are calculated 
 to do more good than all the sermons in the land ; for this 
 reason, that they are read by those who will not read ser- 
 mons, nor indeed any religious books professing only to 
 teach us our duty, or elucidate difficult points of doctrine or 
 Scripture : no one can read Kingsley 's Alton Locke, or 
 Yeast, without every better feeling of his nature being 
 aroused to sympathise with the poor and oppressed, whose 
 cause he advocates so well. I hope Mrs. Moodie, in her 
 zeal for the future well-being of her pupils, did not exclude 
 poetry from her bookshelves ?" 
 
 " On the contrary, she had a well-filled library of the 
 works of the best British and American poets, and encour- 
 aged us in such reading both by precept and example." 
 
 "I am glad to hear you say so," was her reply; "a 
 love of poetry is seldom acquired in after-life, and there is 
 no feeling of our nature the indulgence of which is more 
 calculated to refine and elevate the soul." 
 
 The utility of novel-reading was an entirely new doctrine to 
 
52 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 me. Mrs. Moodie and Miss Forester had both denounced novel 
 reading, not simply as a waste of the time which our accounta- 
 bility as immortal beings renders it of the first importance 
 we should employ to the best advantage, but as a style of 
 reading decidedly demoralizing, and which would undoubt- 
 edly, if indulged in, leave its evil impress on our after-life. 
 Mrs. Moodie and her elder governess had gained my entire 
 confidence, because they had never, by word or look, for- 
 feited my respect. The precepts they taught were well 
 enforced by the example they gave. Few are such good 
 judges of the characters of those they live among as chil- 
 dren. In the presence of persons of our own age and sta- 
 tion we are careful neither to say or do what will leave a 
 bad impression, while no one would take the trouble to seem 
 other than they really are to children or domestics. The 
 day -scholars had frequently told us of the delights of novel- 
 reading, and favoured us with specimens of the works they 
 perused. These often consisted of love scenes, which either 
 excited our ridicule or disgust ; so that we had no temptation 
 to break the rule imposed on us in this respect. I began to 
 read John Halifax because I had no other resource from 
 ennui, and I have read other works by. the some authoress 
 since, and have found in all good moral lessons — not one 
 objectionable word or thought in any. 
 
 In due time we arrived at Mrs. Macintosh's cottage, and 
 were ushered into a room on the ground-floor, where we 
 found her surrounded by some thirty pupils. Mrs. Macin- 
 tosh and her eldest daughter, Mary Ann, came forward and 
 received us very graciously. Mrs. Macintosh was the vil- 
 lage school-mistress — a little, subdued-looking woman, wear- 
 ing under her wig and white cap a pair of spectacles, which 
 I found, when speaking, she always raised to her forehead. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 53 
 
 Her daughter was fat and short, her plain face being set off 
 by a quantity of beautiful black hair, which she made the 
 most of, disposing of it in plaits and braids round her head 
 and low forehead. She had small black eyes, which every 
 now and then she lifted to the ceiling while addressing Miss 
 Hariote, to whom she devoted most of her attention. 
 
 Mary Ann bustled about very obsequiously, placing chairs 
 for us, and doing the agreeable to the utmost of her power. 
 
 Miss Hariote insisted that Mrs. Macintosh would resume 
 her duties, leaving us to the care of Mary Ann, expressing 
 at the same time, her surprise at seeing her teaching on 
 Saturday. 
 
 Lowering her voice almost to a whisper, and moving a little 
 way from her pupils, so that they might not hear what she 
 said, she shook her head very solemnly, and, I thought, sadly 
 saying : 
 
 "You see, ma'am, there's always trouble of some kind; 
 no such thing as rest in this weary world. The school was 
 never in a better state : thirty-five scholars, and all paying 
 their quarter pence quite regular, except the two you know of. 
 Well, I take the most of it out in bread. Well, ma'am, just 
 a month ago, Monday last, an old maid from Edinburgh, who 
 can't speak good English herself, let alone learning others 
 to read, and the grammar ; and you know, ma'am, it takes 
 experience to learn grammar. Well, as I was saying, she 
 comes and hires a room opposite the door and puts up a board, 
 and commences keeping school. Well, ma'am, this wasn't 
 enough, but see how bold people will be ; she goes right round 
 to all the parents and tells them that she would teach for a 
 shilling less in the quarter, and give the Saturday afternoons. 
 
 " Well, ma'am, some of the parents sent me word, that if I 
 would not give the Saturday afternoons, they would send the 
 
 E 
 
54 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 children to Miss Wylie's, so you see, ma'am, I had to give in. 
 The children is very troublesome at home, and it is very handy 
 for the parents to have them here after dinner, when the pas- 
 sage and stairs is scouring ; for you see you may shut the 
 room door and keep them out, but you can't keep them out 
 of the stairs. 
 
 " It makes our scouring late enough ;'' and she sighed as 
 she turned to her pupils. 
 
 She spoke a few words in a low key ; I fancied reproving 
 them for various little pushes of each other, and half expres- 
 sed laughs we were conscious of while she was talking to 
 Miss Hariote, and then raising her voice a little, so that they 
 might all hear, she said : 
 
 " Now any one who speaks or laughs, remember your cor- 
 rections on Monday !" 
 
 Miss Mary Ann took up her mother's discourse just where 
 she left off. 
 
 " Miss Wylie keeps up the blinds of the windows all Sab- 
 bath day ; mother never lets ours be lifted, so it was only 
 when we was going to church, we saw the sign : she put it up 
 on Saturday night late. She is a very mean woman. She 
 went to Mrs. Frazer, the merchant's wife, and asked for Mag- 
 gie and Sarah to go to her school, but Mrs. Frazer is a very 
 nice woman, and she wouldn't let them leave mother. Miss 
 Wylie is a Methodist, and so is the Frazers, and the Method- 
 ists is very clannish, and stick together, and so Miss Wylie 
 thought, for that, she would get Maggie and Sarah to her 
 school ; but she didn't." 
 
 Miss Hariote asked: rt Has Miss Wylie got any scholars?" 
 
 " Oh yes, ma'am, she has ; and she keeps them in very bad 
 order. She had eight at first, and she got the two Mac Andrews, 
 last Monday : so that makes ten. They used to come to us, but 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 55 
 
 it was very troublesome to get their quarter pence, and some- 
 times they never paid at all : so mother did not care much 
 when they went." 
 
 u It must be very unpleasant having her so near," said 
 Miss Hariote. 
 
 " Oh ! we don't like it at all ; because her scholars are so 
 unruly, but we can't help it. When they come out, it's just 
 like a ragged school. Our scholars always sing a hymn be- 
 fore they leave ; but her's are let out sharp at four, like a lot 
 of sheep, and they used to come close to the window, and 
 screech and make a noise, and sing to mock our scholars ; till, 
 at last, mother was forced to go out and tell them that she 
 would send the police after them." 
 
 " What did they say to that ?" inquired Miss Hariote. 
 
 " They had the daring assurance to call mother names." 
 
 The look of pious indignation with which the girl gave ut- 
 terance to the appalling fact of the children, " calling mother 
 names," so overset Miss Georgina's gravity, that she laughed 
 outright. 
 
 Mary Ann got up and went to the window, smiling, as she 
 did so. 
 
 " You are laughing at her sign-board ; mother was just the 
 same, when she first saw it. She said if she could'nt pay for 
 getting a better sign-board, she would write one for herself." 
 
 This remark seemed a relief to Miss Hariote, who was 
 evidently annoyed by her sister's inconsiderate laughter. 
 
 Miss Hariote having given the parcel we brought, and 
 delivered her message, we were about to depart when four 
 o'clock struck. The girls stood up in two rows at one end of the 
 room, while the boys, who were all children under eight years of 
 age, ranged themselves on each side of the mistress, as they 
 called Mrs. Macintosh. Mary Ann whispered, " they are just 
 
66 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 going to sing their hymn." The hymn they sung was one I had 
 never heard before, the simple words of which, to me, were full 
 of beauty : the air sweet and plaintive. Several of the children 
 had rich, clear voices ; one girl sung clear and strong above 
 every one else, and her voice was rich and sweet. I found 
 afterwards that the sweet singer was a daughter of the 
 mistress. 
 
 Mrs. Macintosh led the singing, and did so with an earnest 
 devotion, which had its due effect on her young charges. There 
 is nothing so impressive or attractive as truth, and the tone 
 and air of solemn truthfulness which this woman's voice and 
 look expressed while praising God for his mercies, seemed to 
 pervade, with a holy influence, every one of those young 
 children who joined in her song. 
 
 I felt a respect for this woman then, which every succeed- 
 ing interview increased ; it needed no more than the tone of her 
 voice and the solemn yet joyful expression of her face, to 
 tell that she had found the " Pearl of great price," and was 
 resting with firm faith on His promise, who hath said : " There 
 remaineth a rest for the people of God." 
 
 On our way home we naturally talked of the scene we had 
 just witnessed. 
 
 a She is a good woman, and has endured many bitter trials,' ' 
 Miss Hariote observed, "and the new school is, I fear, going 
 to be another ; and one not very easily dealt with. Mrs. 
 Frazer, of whom she spoke, and several others have fancied, for 
 some time back, that Mrs. Macintosh's mode of teaching was 
 too old-fashioned for the aspiring views of their young ladies. 
 The village is not sufficiently large to support two, and if Miss 
 Wylie can teach, I fear the days of Mrs. Macintosh's school 
 are numbered. 
 
 " Then she has kept school for a long time in the village ?" 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 57 
 
 " Yes, all ner life ; her mother, Mrs. Gibb, taught * the 
 young idea how to shoot/ when Mrs. Macintosh was a girl, 
 and she assisted her mother then as Mary Ann does now ; 
 my brothers learnt their alphabet of her, and we all feel a 
 deep interest in her welfare." 
 
 " She is a widow, I suppose ?" 
 
 "No, I wish she were; her husband is an idle, good-for- 
 nothing fellow, who goes about pretending to be, what she 
 really is, religious. He distributes tracts and holds meetings 
 within a circuit of fifty miles, ostensibly for religious purposes, 
 but in reality to induce the poor country people, who look 
 upon him as a kind of saint, to feed him on the best they pos- 
 sibly can, with the addition of a dram, at least, after every 
 meal. He also receives contributions for different religious 
 purposes, which all find their way into his own pocket, and are 
 useful for buying drams, and occasionally dinners, when they 
 cannot be easily had otherwise. His clothes he buys in the 
 village, and his poor wife's furniture has more than once been 
 seized to pay such debts. When he is asked who provides 
 for his wife and family, he invariably replies " Providence," 
 and this has earned for him the cognomen of "Providence," 
 by which he is better known than his own name. 
 
 Dinner was served at six o'clock, in the dining-room, of 
 which I had a peep the night before, in passing through the 
 hall. The side-board was loaded with plate; on the table 
 an epergne, corner, and side dishes of silver ; fine damask 
 table-cloth and napkins ; china dinner service ; everything 
 perfect in its way. The dinner consisted of soup, roast mut- 
 ton, and four kinds of vegetables ; no pudding, no dessert ; 
 but in their place, bread and cheese, served on silver salvers. 
 The dinner was always equally simple, unless (rare occur- 
 rence), we had company, then everything was in abundance. 
 
58 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 The dinner passed almost as silently as the breakfast had 
 done. Mr. Robert made some remarks about the weather, 
 asked if his sisters had been out, and was answered by a 
 simple affirmative. 
 
 Mr. Scott asked his son one question about a law-suit in 
 which the latter was engaged ; I have forgotten the question ; 
 the answer was, " No, it will not.'' The cheese was removed, 
 and spirits of three different kinds put on the table ; sugar 
 and hot water ; the latter in a silver jug with a lid. Almost 
 immediately Mrs. Scott rose, the young ladies and I followed, 
 and Mr. Robert opening the door, bowed us out, with as 
 courtly an air as if he was an earl ; and we countesses in our 
 own right. We went into the breakfast parlour, where tea 
 was laid, and a bright fire diffusing warmth and cheerfulness. 
 Miss Scott took from the drawer of a small table, in one of 
 the windows, a piece of muslin embroidery, in which the 
 pattern was formed by making holes ; and sitting down on one 
 side the fire, devoted herself assiduously to this most popular 
 of all lady-like employments. 
 
 Mrs. Scott drew her crotchet from her pocket, and seated 
 herself in her large easy chair by the fire, opposite her eldest 
 daughter. 
 
 Miss Hariote took from the side-table the book she occu- 
 pied herself with in the morning ; sat by the table, put both 
 her elbows thereon, and resting her bent head between her 
 up-raised hands, she neither spoke nor moved, except to 
 turn the pages of her book, until eight o'clock. Georgy 
 lifted the four pillows from the sofa, placed them on the hearth 
 rug, and sitting down among them, Turkish fashion, related to 
 her mamma, in the most comic manner, interspersed with 
 comments of her own, all we had seen and heard in our 
 walk and visit to the village school ; mimicking to the life 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 59 
 
 Mary Ann s upturned eyes, and look of pious horror, while 
 she told of the " daring assurance " of Miss Wylie's scholars 
 in calling " mother names." 
 
 Mrs. Scott and her eldest daughter seemed to be much 
 amused, and encouraged Georgy in this rather questionable 
 use of her satirical talents. 
 
 " Oh ! mamma, if you had only seen the little dumpy thing, 
 with her eyes searching in the ceiling for the stars, so that 
 you could scarcely see anything but the white, and her toes 
 absolutely turned in with religion, you would have died laugh- 
 ing; but," continued she, " it is rather dangerous laughing- 
 there. I incurred Mrs. Macintosh's wrath long ago by 
 laughing at one of her speeches, and she has never looked 
 on me with a favourable eye since." 
 
 " How did that happen, Georgy ?" asked her mamma. 
 
 " I went there one afternoon, to bring Harry home : there 
 was to be a donkey race that evening ; and just before dis- 
 missing the scholars, she stood up and said, with one of her 
 most solemn faces : — u I hear there is to be a donkey race to 
 night ; the races is a black place, and many a black man will 
 be there ; and if you go there, my dear children, remember 
 your corrections to-morrow." 
 
 She repeated this speech of Mrs. Macintosh's with such 
 a ridiculously sanctimonious air, that one could scarcely help 
 laughing : her mother and sister certainly did not attempt 
 to restrain their mirth. 
 
 Miss Hariote got up from the table, shut her book and laid 
 it aside, saying, as she rang the bell for Simpson, to bring tea : 
 " Papa has not gone out yet, and if he hears this noise you 
 will not require to wait until to-morrow for your ' corrections,' 
 Georgy." 
 
 Simpson entered with tea-urn and tea-pot, and Miss Hari- 
 
60 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 ote busied herself infusing tea, desiring Simpson to tell Mr. 
 Robert we waited for him. I had observed when we left the 
 dining-room, that instead of going back to the table, he had 
 immediately ascended the staircase, so that Mr. Scott must 
 have been enjoying his toddy alone. As we sat down to tea 
 the outer door opened and shut with a loud slam. 
 
 •What a pleasant tea drinking we had. It seemed as if to make 
 up for the way in which he lagged at dinner, old time had put 
 on his swiftest wings. Mr. Robert had something pleasant 
 to say to every one. He had in his visit to Aberdeenshire 
 (from which he was returning when we met, so opportunely 
 for me, on board the steam vessel), gone to see Braemar and 
 Balmoral ; and while at the latter place, had heard many in- 
 teresting anecdotes of the Queen and the Royal family in their 
 intercourse with the peasantry ; these he told with such a 
 quaint humour, and gave such vivid descriptions of the wild 
 scenery at Braemar, that he seemed at one moment to trans- 
 port us to the interior of some shepherd's hut, while in 
 another, we were wandering among the craggy rocks, and 
 listening to the wild tones of the bagpipe, as it sounded the 
 pibroch of some old chieftain through the wild caves and 
 glens of Braemar. 
 
 Georgy, whose sense of the beautiful in nature seemed 
 to be quite as vivid as her sense of the ridiculous, sat with 
 her eyes wide open, looking into her brother's face all the 
 while as if she were drinking in every word he said, and was 
 only reminded that she had neither tasted tea or bread and 
 butter, by the servant coming to remove them at nine o'clock. 
 
 This used to be the time for retiring to rest at Ellenkirk ; 
 at Iona Villa it was evidently quite early. 
 
 Mr. Robert asked his sister Hariote some questions rela- 
 tive to her music, and then proposed that she should play for 
 
VIOLET KEITH. • 61 
 
 us : for this purpose we adjourned to the drawing-room, which 
 we entered by the door on the left side of the hall. 
 
 Here everything was, as in the rest of the house, handsome, 
 in good taste and in good order. The room ran along the 
 whole side of the house, occupying the same space on the left 
 as the breakfast and dining-room did on the right. It was divi- 
 ded by folding-doors in the middle : the first half, furnished 
 in deep crimson, the other in rose-colour. We walked at 
 once into the inner room, where the piano was placed — a grand 
 square in a very plain rose-wood case. 
 
 Mr. Robert opened the instrument, ran his fingers over a 
 few of the notes, and then, turning to the canterbury, asked 
 Miss Hariote what music he would give her ? 
 
 " What you please," was her reply. 
 
 He put some sheets of music on the stand. Miss Hariote 
 looked at the title page. 
 
 ff Rossini, what made you choose that ? I have not played 
 a note of his music for a year." 
 
 She touched a few chords in the same key as the music 
 before her, and then playing softly, and rather slowly at first, 
 increased in rapidity, with a firm light touch, until at last the 
 music seemed to flash from beneath her fingers, with a bril- 
 liancy I had then never heard equalled. I have since heard 
 much good music, but in no instance have I known a non- 
 professional pianist, who excelled Miss Hariote Scott. She 
 continued for upwards of an hour at the piano, playing the 
 most difficult arrangements of Schubert's lovely airs of the 
 " Earl King," and " Serenade." Spindler's " Spinlied," &c, 
 the last so rapidly, yet every note clear, distinct, and strong 
 as a silver bell. I had never heard music until then. 
 
 " And now to finish," said to Mr. Robert ; " If you are not 
 tired, we will have something from Mendelssohn — his Wedding 
 March, will it be ?" 
 
62 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 " No, you recollect the evening Ellen Syme astonished us 
 all by playing it so well. I told you it would take three 
 months' practice before I would venture to play it again." 
 
 " Oh ! how stupid," her brother exclaimed ; " I quite forgot 
 to tell you the Symes have come home ; I should not have 
 forgotten such an important event. I found them on board 
 the steam vessel when I embarked at Aberdeen." 
 
 As he said these words he stooped over the canterbury, 
 arranging the sheets of music ; I fancied that his face might 
 not belie his words. " Oh ! fie, Mr. Robert, you have not 
 increased the respect I had for you," and with such a truthful- 
 looking lip and brow: 
 
 Georgy got up from the sofa, where she had been for the 
 last half hour indulging in some day-dream, with eyes steadily 
 fixed on the face of ' Rembrandt's Peasant Boy ;' a highly 
 finished copy of which hung in the room. 
 
 <• Oh ! Artty," exclaimed she, " how could you be so silly ? 
 I should have liked so much to have gone to see them this 
 afternoon." 
 
 Miss Hariote rejoined in calmer tones, 
 
 " Dear Robert, it was very careless ; I am sure they expect- 
 ed us every hour ; we must go early on Monday, and give 
 you all the blame." 
 
 u Aye, do. I shall contrive some how to make my peace 
 with the young ladies." 
 
 "Has Ellen quite recovered ?" 
 
 " Yes, quite well again." 
 
 " And is she as beautiful as ever ?" asked Georgy. 
 I think so." 
 
 And he turned to the piano, evidently to get rid of being 
 again questioned ; and shutting it down, said playfully : 
 
 " You remember, girls, I keep Sunday, and a little bit of 
 Saturday. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 My first Sabbath among strangers, the first Sabbath I could 
 remember without seeing Willie at least a part of the day. I 
 could not see him now, that was true, but I could pray for 
 him, pray that our Heavenly Father would set a hedge round 
 his path, and keep him from the snare of the scoffer. 
 
 1 had ever since my mother's death felt as if I was a sort 
 of little mother to Willie, and I had entered on the battle of 
 life, with more alacrity and good will, because the money I 
 was to earn would materially assist in defraying the expense 
 of his professional education, the burden of which our uncle 
 had long ago warned him must fall on himself. For some year s 
 back he had received a small salary from Mr. Rexford y 
 which would be increased after he had been a session at 
 college, and so with economy, our united savings would 
 suffice for the object we had in view. Our parting would not 
 be for a very long time ; a few years would soon pass away, 
 and then Willie would know his profession and we would 
 have a little house of our own, ever such a little mite of a 
 thing, no matter how small : I could have a few pupils ; and 
 we would be so happy. 
 
 I was sitting at the open window with its sweet box of 
 mignonnette, Mamma's bible open in my lap, dreaming all this 
 over and over, when Simpson entered to say breakfast was 
 ready. " Why, my watch tells me it is only eight o'clock." 
 " Breakfast is always served at eight on Sunday morning." 
 The same solemn meal as yesterday : just the same, except 
 
64 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 that Mr. Robert had a book instead of a newspaper ; Mr. 
 Scott had two papers folded on the table, besides the one he 
 read from ; perfect silence, which, after the first cup of coffee 
 had been served, I ventured to break by asking Mrs. Scott 
 whose ministry she attended. 
 
 " I and my daughters go to the chapel in " said 
 
 she, with all the stiffness and dignity the little woman seemed 
 able to assume ; why, was to me a mystery. A low " hem" from 
 Mr. Scott attracted my notice to where he sat ; he was looking 
 full in his wife's face, with such an expression of drollery, his 
 eyes twinkling with mirth. What could they mean ? 
 
 I was wondering who was the officiating clergyman in the 
 chapel she had named, not having courage sufficient again to 
 break the silence, when Miss Hariote addressing me said : 
 
 "All of the family who go to church, except Robert, 
 attend a Catholic place of worship ; this is the reason we 
 breakfast at eight-o'clock on Sunday morning, as mass begins 
 at a quarter after nine. Mamma," added she, looking at her 
 watch, " we had better go. " 
 
 I got up from table along with the ladies, feeling rather 
 uncomfortable about the way in which I was to spend my 
 Sabbath ; when just as we were leaving the room, Mr. 
 Robert coming up to his mother, said : If Miss Keith will 
 come to Free St. John's to-day with me, we can make an 
 arrangement by next Sunday for her going to any church she 
 pleases. 
 
 I accepted his offer with thankfulness, and promising to 
 be ready at ten o'clock, the time he appointed, I sought my 
 own room with a gladdened spirit. 
 
 I knew that Dr. Guthrie officiated in Free St. John's. 
 Miss Forrester was a hearer of his during the four years she 
 spent in Edinburgh previous to her residence in Mrs.Moodie's , 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 65 
 
 and she spoke of him with love and respect. I recollected her 
 saying that, during all those four years, she had never heard 
 him preach a sermon which she had entirely forgotten ; in 
 every one there was something which, as she expressed it, 
 she would " remember for ever and aye." 
 
 At ten o'clock the omnibus stopped at the door ; we en- 
 tered, and in due time descended therefrom within a few 
 yards of Free St. John's. Dr. Guthrie did not preach, and 
 the clergyman who officiated in his place, said nothing that 
 struck me particularly then, or which I can at all remem- 
 ber now ; but the subject he chose was the twenty-third 
 psalm ; one in which David expresses his strong trust, and 
 tells of the goodness of the Lord. 
 
 " The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. 
 " He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. 
 " He leadeth me beside the still waters." 
 
 And well might I join in his song with the sweet singer 
 of Israel. He had also given me to lie down in " the green 
 pastures, and by the still waters." That psalm did me good 
 then, and it does now. 
 
 After service, my companion whispered that he always 
 spent the interval between morning and evening worship 
 with a friend, but that he would meet me again in church 
 in the afternoon and see me home. I bowed my thanks, 
 and in a moment more he was in the aisle talking to the 
 Misses Syine. 
 
 The young ladies were accompanied by an elderly lady 
 and gentleman, both of whom greeted Mr. Robert with great 
 warmth. He walked down the aisle with the young lady who 
 received so much of his attention on Friday. The aisle was 
 crowded and they walked slowly. She was certainly very 
 beautiful, her hair fair and shining, fell in long curls under 
 
66 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 her hat, the pale blue feather of which, falling behind her ear, 
 contrasted well with her fair and clear complexion ; her 
 mouth was well formed, her eyes blue and dreamy ; and 
 then she listened with such a composedly happy air to all 
 he said. A very pleasant friend, Mr. Robert, to spend the 
 interval with. 
 
 I sat quietly in my seat until most of the congregation 
 had retired, and then I left the church and walked slowly 
 down one side of the street and up the other twice, so that 
 I had a long walk before going into church again ; and no 
 fear of losing my way. 
 
 Instead of returning by the omnibus, we, at my request, 
 walked home. The afternoon was lovely, and my companion 
 able to entertain a more fastidious listener than I. 
 
 We had the same silent dinner as yesterday, and went 
 through exactly the same forms, only I observed that when 
 Mr. Robert opened the door for us after dinner, he took 
 his hat and gloves from the hall table and went out. 
 
 Immediately on going into the parlour, Miss Georgy piled 
 her cushions on the hearth rug, lay down and went to sleep ; 
 her mother and Miss Scott adjusted themselves in their 
 easy chairs for the same laudable purpose, Miss Hariote 
 took the book she read from the previous evening and sat 
 exactly in the same position. 
 
 I rose from the sofa where I was seated, and saying to 
 Miss Hariote I would spend an hour or two in my own room, 
 and Simpson might call me when tea was ready, was on 
 the point of leaving the parlour, when Mrs. Scott called me 
 to her, and asked in a low voice : 
 
 " Where did Robert go between sermons ? did you see 
 him speaking to any one ?" 
 
 " Mr. Robert left the church immediately after the blessing 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 67 
 
 ■was pronounced, and I remained until almost every one else 
 had gone. I did not see him again until the afternoon, when 
 he joined me in church. When service was over, we walked 
 home alone." 
 
 While I spoke, Miss Hariote looked up from her book, 
 listened attentively, and then, without speaking, resumed her 
 former position. 
 
 In my own room I sat reading for some time, until the day- 
 light changed to gloaming, which again, in its turn, was 
 gradually fading into night. I felt very tired. I had no 
 candle, and did not care to encounter the amount of trouble 
 needed to procure one ; and so, listening to the suggestions 
 of laziness, I went to bed, and lay in a dreamy state, looking 
 at the grey sky, through the uncurtained window, watching 
 each bright star as the darkness brought them out one by 
 one ; and wondering, as each child of Adam has done for nearly 
 six thousand years, if those great jewels of the sky contain 
 beings, each having a heart filled with hopes and fears like 
 our own. 
 
 I had been in bed for some time when Simpson entered. 
 
 " You are in the dark, Miss," exclaimed she ; " I am so 
 sorry I forgot to set your candle." 
 
 " No matter, Simpson, I have been in bed for an hour." 
 
 " And you have had no tea. I will bring up some for 
 you. They always drink tea at nine o'clock on Sundays to 
 accommodate Mr. Robert ; he teaches Sabbath-school in Mrs. 
 Macintosh's, and it does n't come out till nine." 
 
 " Thank you, Simpson, but you must not bring me any- 
 thing to eat. I never eat after going to bed, and I do not 
 feel at all hungry." 
 
 The girl lingered in the room, remarked that the night was 
 dark, and then that the moon would not rise until midnight. 
 
68 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 She felt that I was lonely and a stranger, and would fain have 
 done me a kindness if she knew how. 
 
 Next morning, after breakfast, I proposed to Miss Georgy 
 that we should now begin our lessons. 
 
 " Very well," said the young lady, not more than half 
 pleased, " we can go to the schoolroom ; but I do not know 
 where my books are, and I am sure the school room wants dust- 
 ing ; I have never entered it since Miss Watson left three 
 months ago." 
 
 She led the way to the second flat, and entered the room 
 above the inner drawing-room, looking to the back. " Want3 
 dusting." No indeed, everything in the same order and neat- 
 ness as pervaded the whole house. The window was open, 
 and the air came in balmy and pleasant through the fragrant 
 leaves and light wavy branches of an immense birch and larch 
 tree, both growing so close to the house, that their branches 
 almost touched the window, on the outside sill of which was 
 placed a large bird cage, fully three feet high, and long 
 enough to fill the window, which was made like a French win- 
 dow to open in the middle, the cage being supported outside 
 by a broad shelf fitted into the sill ; and there sported in great 
 glee two sweet little canary birds. 
 
 A window-seat covered with pale green filled the recess, 
 while at each side were placed an oleander growing in a large 
 green box, each box and flower so much alike, they seemed 
 to be twins. The plants were taller than my pupil, and ab- 
 solutely crimson and pink, with their fragrant blossoms. 
 
 " If you have not been here for three months, some one 
 else has,'' said I, going up to the window, to inhale the sweet 
 fresh air. 
 
 " Yes, Hariote has put her birds here," was the reply. 
 The furniture was very plain, but everything that was 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 69 
 
 needed ; a large bookcase almost filled the bottom of the 
 room, and contained more books than I knew the names of ; 
 to these books I owe more gratitude for the instruction they 
 gave me, than to any living man or woman ; a sofa, two 
 tables, some chairs, and a pair of globes, the best I had ever 
 seen ; on the walls were hung clear well-defined maps of the 
 four quarters of the globe, and several of the principal coun- 
 tries of Europe. 
 
 Notwithstanding Miss Georgy's fears, the books were found 
 at once ; the two she had been accustomed to use were (Esop's 
 fables in French, and Ollendorff's Easy Method. She had 
 no Spanish or Italian books, both of which languages I was 
 expected to teach her in conjunction with French. 
 
 I requested my pupil to give me a specimen of her reading 
 in French. 
 
 She read a fable with a broad Saxon accent, and mal pro- 
 nunciation, such as no child of twelve years old in Mrs. Moo- 
 die's school would have done. I was rather pleased with the 
 deficiency ; she was evidently very clever. I knew from ex- 
 perience my own power of imparting information. I would 
 ■teach her, I had no fear of that. Oh that some one would 
 lend us a child just beginning to speak, for two years ! then 
 both would acquire a good accent ; but even as it was, I had 
 no fear of her being able to translate and read without mis- 
 pronunciation ; but as to teaching this young lady three lan- 
 guages simultaneously, oh no ! that was simply impossible in 
 the present state of things. When I agreed to do so, I was 
 under the impression that she knew French well. 
 
 1 explained this to herself to her entire satisfaction ; it was 
 evidently a task, now it was come to the point, she did not 
 like at all. 
 
70 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 " Pray, Miss Georgina, go and ask your mamma if I may 
 see her for a few minutes." 
 
 Off she went, and almost immediately returned with her 
 mamma ; the latter, crotchet in hand, seated herself on the 
 sofa, and commenced her work. 
 
 I began by explaining my pupil's deficiency in French, as 
 delicately as possible. She interrupted me almost at once. 
 
 " You must explain all this, Miss Keith, to Hariote and 
 Robert ; it is a craze of theirs that the child should learn those 
 languages ; 2" cannot see what use she is to make of them ; I 
 never learnt either, and never felt the want of them; but as 
 to her French, you must permit me to say she reads well. I 
 myself have heard her read twice a week since her last gov- 
 erness left her." 
 
 " But you know, mamma, Miss Watson said I pronounced 
 badly, and that I had a horrid accent," said Georgy, depre- 
 catingly. 
 
 " I differed from Miss Watson in that, as in most other 
 things," said her mother, as she swept out of the room with 
 what she intended to be an air of great dignity. 
 
 I must have looked what I felt, very much perplexed. 
 
 " Shall I go for Hattie ?" asked Georgy, with a look and 
 tone as if the pity she before entertained for herself was now 
 transferred to me. 
 
 " Pray do," said I, scarcely knowing what to expect, but 
 feeling certain of one thing, that if Miss Hariote's apprecia- 
 tion of language was equal to her mother's, there was but one 
 line of conduct left for me to pursue, and that was at once to 
 resign my situation. It would take twelve months' hard 
 study entirely devoted to French, before my pupil could 
 have advanced far enough to be in a position, with regard to 
 her knowledge of that language, to warrant her in commencing 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 71 
 
 one other, far less two ; and as to beginning both at present, 
 what nonsense ! how could they be so foolish ? If I could be 
 capable of going on as was proposed, and receiving money for 
 instructions which I knew were useless, I would be virtually 
 picking their pockets. A common thief would be less guilty. 
 It would be nothing less than a course of deceit persevered in 
 from day to day. No ! And I went in spirit back to the 
 picture gallery at Haddo, and looked in the face of my great- 
 grandmother, and I heard her spirit say, " Do it not, though by 
 so doing you should gain a kingly crown." No ! If I must 
 go, where is it to be ? and how am I to go ? I had exactly 
 twelve shillings in the world : how far would that bring me ? 
 how long would it buy food ? These were serious questions, 
 and made me shiver. Where was I to find another situation, 
 and among such people, so kind, so considerate. I might never 
 find such another. Even so, at all risks, no ! 
 
 I had plenty of time to think over all this, and fully to 
 make up my mind, half an hour having elapsed before Georgy 
 returned accompanied by Miss Hariote. 
 
 " I hope you will excuse me, Miss Keith. When Georgy 
 came to call me, I was surrounded by six or eight of Robert's 
 Sunday School scholars ; it is more a ragged school than any- 
 thing else. He has occasionally to provide shoes, hats and 
 frocks, and I am his almoner; so this must plead my apol- 
 ogy." Saying this she sat down as if she was prepared to 
 give me her entire attention. 
 
 I explained to her candidly how matters stood, and that , 
 under existing circumstances, it would be impossible for me 
 to fulfil my original engagement. I spoke for at least ten 
 minutes, and explained as simply as I could the difference be- 
 tween the languages and the degree of mental effort required 
 
72 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 for the acquisition of each. She heard me patiently to the 
 end, and then said : 
 
 " Miss Keith, we are quite sure of your ability to teach 
 what you agreed to do, and we are also certain of your integ- 
 rity. Father Forbes, whose knowledge of your acquirements 
 and character extends over a period of eight years, and to 
 whose kindness we are indebted for procuring your services, 
 has perfectly satisfied us on these points ; and I can speak for 
 Robert as well as myself, when I say that we are willing to 
 do in this matter as you think best. Three years hence we 
 intend going to the continent for some time, part of which 
 will be spent in Spain and Italy, and we are anxious that 
 Georgy should at least be able to make herself understood 
 while there. Pursue the plan you think best for the end in 
 view." 
 
 What a relief! While I spoke, and during her reply, my 
 cheek burned and my heart beat with various emotions, the 
 predominate of which was fear lest her reply would have been 
 the very opposite of what it was. 
 
 " So standeth the Lord round about his^ people." 
 
 I had been six weeks at Iona Villa; every week-day seemed 
 the sister of the day before, and every Sabbath the brother 
 of the preceding. Georgy was getting on with her French 
 famously, better than I had anticipated. Instead of the half- 
 lazy manner in which she used to ascend the staircase to the 
 school-room at ten o'clock, she now went up with a light 
 springy step ; and one day, when finishing her lesson, she 
 said " I will know French well in a year." How happy it 
 made me to hear her say so ! Another proof of her progress 
 — Mr. Robert generally came home at five o'clock, and oc- 
 casionally spent a few minutes in the schoolroom, where Miss 
 Hariote always sat in the afternoon, before six. He always 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 73 
 
 talked French, which he spoke well. At first she could not 
 understand a word that was said ; latterly she could tell the 
 subject of conversation, and even repeat whole sentences, 
 translating them into English. 
 
 One evening the Misses Syme were at tea ; Miss Ellen 
 was singing the little ballad of " Pescator del onda," which 
 she did with great pathos and beauty. Mr. Kobert was 
 standing close behind her chair, and regardless of the vicinity 
 of Georgy, who he fancied could not understand what he 
 said, spoke a few words in French, which tinged her cheek 
 with the same rose tint I had once before seen it wear. 
 
 Next day Georgy said, " did you see Ellen Syme blush last 
 night when Robert spoke to her in French after she sung 
 < Pescator V " 
 
 " Yes, I observed she did." 
 
 a I'll tell you what he said ; I understood it all." 
 
 " No, you certainly must not ; it was not intended for your 
 ears or mine ; and therefore you are bound in honour not to 
 repeat it. Your brother most likely would not have said 
 what he did, if he thought you understood French well enough 
 to comprehend his meaning." 
 
 " I know he would not ; but I knew their secret long ago, 
 although they do not think so." 
 
 " Well, Georgy, you must keep their secret, whatever it is ; 
 it is always the sign of a well regulated mind, when we can- 
 not only keep our own secrets but those of others." 
 
 A few days after this conversation, just as we sat down to 
 our lessons in the morning, a most unwonted clatter of feet on 
 the staircase made us both look up. Georgy's eyes sparkled, 
 and turning her head a little to one side, she seemed all eyes 
 and ears ; we were not long in suspense, in a moment the 
 door opened with quite a noise, and a handsome boy of thir- 
 
74 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 teen or fourteen years of age burst into the room, accompanied 
 by a large Newfoundland dog. 
 
 " Oh ! Harry. Oh ! Don," burst in the same breath from 
 Georgy's lips. 
 
 The last named gentleman put both his forepaws and great 
 curly head on Georgy's lap, leaving the impression of the 
 former in mud on her light coloured dress. 
 
 " Oh ! Donny, you pet, you darling, you bad boy, why did 
 you stay away so long ? How did you get a holiday, 
 Harry ? where did you find Don ?" 
 
 All this seemed to come from her lips at once. 
 
 " Uncle brought him into town three days ago, and desired 
 me to send him to Artty's office, but I knew we were to have 
 a holiday to-day, so I kept him to bring myself. There's 
 always some good thing happening, so one of Gibson's young- 
 sters kicked the bucket, and to-day is his funeral ; so we 
 have a holiday. Maitland lives next door to Gibson's house, 
 and he says it's the small pox, and the other youngster is 
 sick, so perhaps we'll have another holiday next week. 
 
 " Come, George," continued he, " you must ask Miss what's- 
 her-name to give you a holiday too. Come, hurry up your 
 cakes ; I can't wait," and he took hold of her arm as he spoke. 
 
 " May I go, Miss Keith ?" asked Georgy. 
 
 It was a hopeless case, she must go of course, and oflf they 
 went, and Don with them. What a mess the floor was in ; 
 the dog must have passed through all the puddles between 
 this and the high school of Edinburgh. 
 
 A few minutes after they left the room, Simpson entered 
 armed with brush and pail, scrubbing cloth, &c, her face 
 crimson with anger. 
 
 " I never saw such a boy as that Master Harry is. I wish 
 he was in Greenland ; it's always the same, he never comes 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 75 
 
 home that he doesn't make a mess of dirt from top to bottom 
 of the house ; and that abominable dog come home again. 
 I never saw such a house ; between boys and dogs, no two 
 hands could keep it clean ; but they can just look out for 
 some one else, I would'nt stay another year for double wages. ,, 
 
 She delivered all this in rather a loud key, while endea- 
 vouring to erase the marks of the dog's feet from the carpet, 
 and was interrupted by Mr. Harry entering in a great hurry, 
 to possess himself of a large ball of cord, which he took from 
 one of the drawers of the table, that went by the name of 
 Harry's drawer, and in which all his precious things were 
 stowed away. 
 
 He turned round on seeing Simpson, whom he did not 
 observe on entering. 
 
 " What a nice chap, that mason of yours is, Simpson," said 
 he. I saw him to-day at a new house they are building near 
 the Calton Hill, and he's coming down here to-night after six 
 with a lot of pieces of brown and white marble he's been keep- 
 ing for me. 
 
 Simpson's face changed in a moment, it seemed as if the 
 sun shone out in the darkness of night. 
 
 " I am sure he's not my mason, Master Harry." 
 
 " What a wopper ! did'nt I see you walking with him on 
 two Sunday afternoons, when you got leave to come up to 
 church to Edinburgh." 
 
 " It could'nt have been me, Master Harry." 
 
 " Get out. Perhaps it was'nt you that was speaking to him 
 at Watt's door, the day you brought my clean clothes, and I 
 asked him to keep the marble for me." 
 
 Simpson laughed and blushed as she gathered up her im- 
 plements of labour, saying : — " Oh ! Master Harry, you are 
 so funny. I declare the house has no life in it, when you are 
 not at home.'' 
 
76 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 Harry seemed pleased, so was Simpson ; she evidently 
 would not leave her place this time. After lunch, Georgy 
 came up to the schoolroom, and throwing herself on the sofa 
 declared she was too tired to go out again. 
 
 " What lazy things girls are," exclaimed Harry impatiently, 
 u they are always tired or something else. You are tired for 
 nothing, and I walked down from Edinburgh, and I'm not 
 tired." 
 
 And he walked from the room rather slowly and sulkily. 
 In ten minutes he was back again, calling out : — " George, 
 George, come and see this ; get a paper, hurry up." 
 
 Georgy seemed to know what was coming ; she sprung up 
 from the sofa, and put a newspaper on the table, which was 
 immediately filled with mud, water and worms taken from the 
 young gentleman's pocket. Georgy put her pocket handker- 
 chief on the table, lifted the paper with its contents into it, 
 and both hurried from the room. What they were to do with 
 the worms I could not then even guess. 
 
 The table-cloth was quite wet and rather dirty, and I was 
 obliged very reluctantly to call Simpson to repair the mis- 
 chief. To my surprise she took off the cloth saying good 
 humouredly : — " Is'nt Master Harry stirring ?" 
 
 What a change since the morning ! 
 
 Towards five o'clock both Georgy and Harry came in ; one 
 lay on the sofa, the other on the window seat, completely tired 
 out. Miss Hariote having given up the window seat, which 
 was considered her property, for Master Harry's accommoda- 
 tion. 
 
 By and bye Mr. Robert joined us. 
 
 " What, Harry, you here V 
 
 " Got a holiday ;*' replied he laconically. 
 
 Mr. Robert opened a flab japanned box he carried in his 
 hand and displayed a quantity of beautiful sea-weed. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 77 
 
 " I was down at Leith to-day, and gathered these myself,' * 
 said he, handing the box to Miss Hariote. 
 
 While we were admiring its contents, he inquired : — " How 
 goes your Latin, Hall ?" 
 
 " Oh bother," was the reply. 
 
 And then sitting up on the seat, as if the idea had just 
 struck him, he said : — " Did you gather that sea weed for 
 Ellen Syme ? I saw you pass our house twice with her last 
 week." 
 
 Mr. Robert bit his lip ; he will doubtless choose another 
 direction for his walk in future. 
 
 " What o'clock is it, Hattie ?" Master Harry asked this 
 question in a particularly ill-tempered tone of voice, and then 
 turning to me without giving Miss Hariote time to answer him,, 
 said : — " You see, Miss Keith, I have no watch. Alec. 
 Chalmers and Johnny Maitland, and lots more of the boys 
 have watches. Artty has one locked up idle, but he won't 
 give it to me, although it's of no use to himself." 
 
 " Artty had to work for his watch, and he thinks it best 
 that you should do so too," said Miss Hariote ; and then look- 
 ing at her watch, she added : — " It is half-past five. Why do 
 you wish to know ?" 
 
 " I want to know how long it will be before pa comes." 
 
 " I thought so ; will you ask him to give vou some money 
 for me when you are getting, your own ?" said his sister with 
 a comic expression. 
 
 " 'Deed I won't," was Master Harry's reply, as he sat, his 
 hands in his trowsers pockets, kicking his heels with vehe- 
 mence against the window seat, and becoming perceptibly 
 more irritable every five minutes ; presently a carriage 
 etopped at the door, and he jumped from his seat calling out : 
 
 ' " Crikey, here's pa ;" and was gone from the room in a. 
 
78 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 moment ; we heard him give a great shout of merry laughter 
 as he exclaimed, — " I knew it was you, pa !" and then Mr. 
 Scott's staid deliberate step on the staircase, accompanied by 
 Harry's noisy clatter of feet and tongue, laughing and talking 
 louder than ever I had heard in the house before, even in 
 Mr. Scott's absence, and in his most awful presence ! The 
 noise accompanying his solemn self even into his sanctum 
 sanctorum, the door thereof left open, and Master Harry, his 
 hands in his coat pockets, performing in the door-way a dance 
 of joy, by dexterously hopping on each foot alternately, while 
 the other kicked the boot of the dancing foot. " 'Twas 
 strange, 'twas passing strange." Mr. Robert got up to shut 
 the door of the schoolroom which young hopeful had left open, 
 observing as he did so, " That is our Benjamin." 
 
 A very handsome Benjamin he looked, as he entered the 
 dining room with his father. His face had been carefully 
 washed, and his hair brushed from the perspiration and dust 
 it had acquired in the many labours of the day ; his suit of 
 coarse grey cloth changed for one of invisible green, which 
 set off well his bright cheek and dark eye. 
 
 His father was evidently very proud of him ; he behaved 
 well at table and talked little until the cloth was removed, but 
 that little, made the dinner pass off very differently from the 
 usual way. 
 
 While the cheese was on the table, he gave his papa a des- 
 cription of various school feats, which the latter seemed to 
 -enjoy, drawing the boy out now and then by a leading ques- 
 tion, 
 
 " What did you all say, when you were told of the holiday ?" 
 
 " We didn't say anything. Oh ! Dido, you should have 
 heard the shout we gave ; it made the old school ring." 
 
 After dinner he searched his father's pockets in order to 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 79 
 
 find a shilling, which he said he must have ; his father evi- 
 dently enjoying the boy's coaxing, told him he had no money ; 
 nothing daunted, Harry continued his search until his in- 
 dustry was rewarded by half a crown. 
 
 Seven o'clock struck. " Oh, crikey," he exclaimed, 
 " what'll I do ? Old Watts '11 be mad. You are going to 
 town to-night, pa ?" 
 
 " No, my boy." 
 
 " Oh, yes, though ; Watts '11 be in a towering passion ; I 
 should have been home at seven." 
 
 "I am tired; Robert will go with you." 
 
 " No, I shan't have him, he's such a sulky fellow ; you 
 must come, pa." 
 
 A great deal more of this ; at last Harry won the day ; it 
 was decided the old man should go, and away they both 
 went to the great distress of Georgy. 
 
 To comfort her, in parting, Harry whispered, " I am going 
 to get a watch." 
 
 That evening Miss Hariote rung twice for. tea before 
 Simpson appeared ; when I went to my room I had no candle, 
 fortunately there was a bright moon; my bed was unfolded, 
 and I had no water to wash with ; before Harry went away, 
 I saw him intrust Georgy with his pieces of marble. 
 
 Perhaps the mason took tea with the young ladies in the 
 kitchen. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 In the beginning of July Harry came home for the holi- 
 days, two or three of which were occupied by him in turn- 
 ing Georgy's head, and making a noise, while Miss Hariote, 
 the mainspring of the household, ordered new clothes, put 
 buttons on his shirts, &c. After these arrangements were 
 completed, Mr. Scott and he went for a tour through the 
 Western Isles ; what a relief ! how he did, to use Simpson's 
 expression, " turn the house up-side down ;" yet it was not a 
 relief to all the inmates of Iona Villa ; his mamma declared 
 Harry had brought life to the house, and taken it with him 
 when he went, and Georgy cried for half a day after his 
 departure. 
 
 We were to have an evening party ; I fancy Mr. Scott's 
 absence being considered an advantage, and so it was; on 
 former occasions when we had company in the house, the 
 members of his own family seemed to be afraid lest even a 
 laugh should be heard. 
 
 On the afternoon of the day on which the company were 
 to arrive, Mr. Robert came into the school room, with a news- 
 paper full of flowers for his sisters to wear in their hair. 
 
 The conservatory was his own property, built and kept at 
 his expense, and no one ever cut the flowers without his 
 permission. 
 
 A lovely bunch of pink china roses for Georgy ; dazzling 
 scarlet geranium, with its round green and brown leaves, for 
 Miss Hariote ; crimson camelias for Miss Scott. He laid 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 81 
 
 * 
 
 these on the table, each on a sheet of paper, telling me to 
 whom they belonged. There still remained a quantity of rich 
 starlike jasmine, so pure and white ; these must be for his 
 mother ; how much better to have given them to Georgy ! 
 
 He lifted up the sprays, and placing them lightly and 
 gracefully together, came over to where I sat, and half-bend- 
 ing over my chair, he said: 6l will Miss Keith wear those 
 flowers in her hair ?" 
 
 " How beautiful, how very kind," I said, almost involun- 
 tarily. 
 
 The company consisted of the Misses Syme' — we never had 
 company without them — their brother, tall, handsome and gen- 
 tlemanly ; our neighbours Dr. and Mrs. Nelson, and six or 
 eight others. 
 
 Tea was served in the outer drawing-room, from china 
 which had been' in the family for sixty years : Georgy looking 
 very pretty with her pink roses and pale blue silk dress. 
 Miss Hariote wore black velvet, with her geraniums placed 
 quite at the back of her head. How handsome she looked ! not 
 tired and faded as she generally did, but bright and joyous ; 
 not so lovely as Ellen Syme, but far more intellectual look- 
 ing. If I were a man I know which I would choose. When 
 tea was over they all went into the conservatory, and hence to 
 the bowling green and shrubbery. I remained in the conser- 
 vatory ; I well knew that .the governess was nobody, and I 
 felt happier sitting with my Aytoun's " Bagwell, 5 ' (which 
 Miss Syme had brought for me to read,) hid in the vine which 
 was now full of broad leaves and purple fruit. The con- 
 servatory was so much higher than the grounds, that I could 
 see over every part of it, and when tired of reading I amused 
 myself by watching the others as they strolled in groups of 
 two and three about the grounds. 
 
82 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 Young Syme was doing the amiable to Georgy, making a 
 wreath of daisies and doing his best to make her wear it, not 
 that he cared for the raw young girl of sixteen, not he, but 
 he was amused and would have been very pleased if she cared 
 for him. I would have given something to put a stop to his 
 nonsense ; I knew how it would be ; she certainly would not 
 attend to her lessons for a week to come. 
 
 While I was watching Georgy and her beau with anything 
 but good humour, Robert and Ellen Syme entered the conser- 
 vatory ; he led her to a seat, and taking a ring from his pocket, 
 lifted her left hand and put it on her finger, and then raised 
 the white hand to his lips — what a blush ! it absolutely extend- 
 ed from shoulder to forehead ; she must have expressed a 
 wish for some water, as he took a tumbler from one of the 
 flower shelves and went to the spring in the grounds to get it 
 filled. When he was gone she took off the ring (how it 
 sparkled,) and pressed it to her lips, looking so happy. So 
 she might, she had drawn a prize in the matrimonial lottery. 
 
 Don came in through the breakfast parlour, snuffing about 
 and searching for Georgy, whose particular property he was, 
 straight through the conservatory he went, to the bowling 
 green, where Georgy sat on the upper circle, her pretended 
 swain at her feet ; through the brook Don went, and then 
 dripping wet as he was, bounded up to Georgy over her lover. 
 Alas ! for the dress-coat, white vest and spotless shirt, spotless 
 no longer ; Georgy shrieked with laughter, she had no com- 
 mand over herself. 
 
 " Oh ! Don, you bad boy," said she, bending her head oyer 
 the dog in a fit of uncontrollable laughter. 
 
 a Donny, Donny, you must be whipt." 
 
 Her companion looked ferocious ; she bent over the dog's 
 head shaking with laughter. Mr. Syme said a few words and 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 83T 
 
 immediately left her, coming through the conservatory in a 
 sadly bespattered condition. 
 
 " An accident has happened," said I, as he passed. 
 
 " Yes," he replied rather sharply, having evidently lost his 
 temper, " if people keep such animals loose, they should not 
 invite company to their houses. Will you have the goodness 
 to bid good-bye to Mrs. Scott for me V 9 
 
 You did your mistress a good turn to-night, Don, and in 
 return I will forgive you the next time you come into the 
 school-room during lessons. 
 
 I joined Georgy in the bowling green, and told her Mr. 
 Syme's message to her mamma. 
 
 She then told me the whole story, mimicking her ci-devant 
 lover to the life, until she made me laugh as heartily as 
 herself. 
 
 During the evening we had a great deal of music ; Mrs. 
 Nelson played well, and so did her husband ; Miss Hariote 
 also played more than plain well ; Ellen Syme was asked to 
 sing. 
 
 "No," she said, "she could not, she was so tired, but she would 
 rest and then sing after all the others." And so we had 
 Meyerbeer, Thalberg, Gottschalk, Mendelssohn & Blumen- 
 thal, for nearly two hours, until every one felt at least a little 
 tired : each piece was beautiful, but we had too much of it. At 
 last Ellen Syme went to the piano, put her fingers on the keys, 
 but scarcely touched them, and sung in her best style, soft 
 and low, the Scotch ballad " Wha's at my window, wha> 
 wha V* The effect was magical, there was perfect silence ; 
 and before she finished every gentleman in the room was 
 behind her chair. 
 
 One of the guests was a Mr. Erskine, whom I had never seen 
 before at the house, although I recognised him as a gen- 
 
$4 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 tleman who, several weeks previous, entered a shop in 
 Edinburgh, where Miss Hariote and I were making purchases, 
 and accompanied us in our walk home, almost to the door, 
 much to my annoyance, as I was very tired, having, as part of 
 my duty, accompanied Georgy in her constitutional walk of 
 the morning, and then done. quite a large amount of shopping. 
 I anticipated riding home in the omnibus, but my companion, 
 contrary to usage, decided otherwise, and I, as governess, 
 had no voice in the matter. 
 
 I did not recognise him at first as the same person, he 
 looked so different in dress to what he did in the shooting 
 coat and grey unmentionables he wore when I first saw him. 
 Perhaps I was in a bad humour from having to walk instead 
 of ride home, but that day he did not, in my eyes, look 
 much superior to Simpson's mason. He seemed very much 
 at home ; Robert and he called each other by their Christian 
 names. I also heard him address Miss Scott and Georgy in 
 the same manner, but he seemed to have no place in the old 
 lady's good graces. He evidently wished to conciliate her 
 and made several advances, which, however, she repelled 
 with the affected pomposity which she chose occasionally to 
 assume, and considered dignity. 
 
 After Ellen Syme had finished her Scotch song, she was 
 besieged by the gentlemen to sing another, which she did at 
 once with taste and sweetness. 
 
 Several of the gentlemen seated themselves near the piano. 
 Mr. Erskine took possession of the corner of a sofa beside 
 Miss Hariote, who was amusing herself with a solitaire board ; 
 ■close by his elbow was a little table, on which stood a vase 
 of flowers and a chess board ; these I was endeavouring to 
 occupy myself with by placing and replacing the men. Mr. 
 Erskine was certainly not attending to the music, although 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 85 
 
 he was one of the most earnest in asking for the song ; he 
 kept talking to Miss Hariote in a low voice all the while, and 
 just as Miss Ellen was enjoying her second triumph of loudly 
 expressed praise, he took from the vase a single pansy (pop- 
 ularly called heart's ease) and putting it on her hand rather 
 than in it, said, in the same low tone, but so clear I could not 
 help hearing : 
 
 " Hattie, will you give me this ?" 
 
 She answered not, by word or look, but her dark eye-lash 
 lay for a moment on her cheek, and her lips quivered. I 
 knew, I knew. 
 
 And so great, tall, broad Mr. Erskine, with his large 
 hands, large feet, and high cheek bones, was Miss Hariote's 
 lover ; well, there is no accounting for taste, but then why 
 was she not Mrs. Erskine ? He was not a man with empty 
 pockets ; oh no, not the least look of that ; then what can 
 be the meaning of this ? It seems a mystery. 
 
 It is said, " there is a skeleton in every house," and I 
 used to think Mr. Scott's bad temper was the skeleton in 
 ours, but no, it is not that which makes Miss Hariote's face, 
 now so bright and radiant, in general tired and faded. 
 Neither is it Mr. Erskine's religion that is the bar to their 
 union. I heard Miss Hariote say she would marry the man 
 she loved, whether he were Protestant or Catholic. 
 
 Some days afterwards Miss Hariote left the book she was 
 reading in the schoolroom, and Georgy, in moving it from 
 the table, let it fall, when from its pages dropped a pressed 
 pansy. I lifted the book from the floor, and in doing so 
 observed that it was a Protestant Bible, and presented to her 
 by J. E. 
 
 The party was on Friday ; on Saturday afternoon Mis3 
 Hariote proposed to Georgy and I that we should accompany 
 
 G 
 
86 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 her to Mrs. Macintosh's, where we had gone with her the 
 first Saturday I spent at Iona Villa. 
 
 I was very pleased to go; Mrs. Macintosh had impressed 
 me very favourably the first time I saw her, and I was 
 glad to renew the acquaintance. The path chosen was one 
 which passed through the fields and beltings of wood a long 
 way behind the houses ; the afternoon was lovely, and as we 
 passed a field of beans on our way, the soft west wind sent 
 its fresh breeze in our faces laden with perfume from the 
 fragrant blossom ; the birds sang a song of praise on every 
 hedge and tree, and even Don, staid and grave as he gene- 
 rally was, seemed to have imbibed some of the sprightliness 
 and joy which pervaded all nature. Sometimes a rabbit 
 would cross our path, when he would immediately run after it, 
 frightening the poor little thing almost to death ; but it was 
 only a bit of doggish fun. Back he would come bounding to 
 his mistress' feet, to walk quietly by her side until the next 
 rabbit made his appearance. 
 
 Mrs. Macintosh was engaged with her school when we en- 
 tered ; everything exactly as we left it the last time we were 
 there, three months before ; every boy and girl in the very 
 same place they occupied then. We were placed in the same 
 part of the room, on the same chairs. We might almost have 
 fancied we had closed our eyes for half an hour, and dreamt 
 the events which had taken place in the interval. 
 
 I was sorry to observe a few more lines of care in Mrs. Mac- 
 intosh's anxious-looking face. The hymn sung and the chil- 
 dren dismissed, the mistress came herself to entertain us. 
 
 " I hope," said Miss Hariote, " you have not lost any more 
 of your scholars ?" 
 
 " Not as yet, ma'am," was the reply, " but after the play 
 I would not wonder if I did." 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 87 
 
 " You do not give long play ; the high school boys have 
 had theirs for a fortnight back." 
 
 " I dare say, ma'am, that's very good for quality children, 
 but the parents here would put up with no such thing. I never 
 give but eight days, and Mary Ann and me was considering 
 if it would not be better to give no play this year." 
 
 u Why not ? You seem quite worn out, and it will be a great 
 relief for you to have a rest for even a week." 
 
 " That's very true, ma'am, but you see, Miss Wylie has 
 sent her niece to learn music more than a week ago, and she is 
 to be back before Christmas, to teach it in the school. So you 
 see it won't do to trifle with the parents this year." 
 
 Miss Hariote seemed to be lost in thought. 
 
 " Would it not be possible," asked she, " to have Katie 
 taught music ? She would soon learn." 
 
 " Oh, Miss Scott, you don't know what you are speaking 
 about !" and the poor woman smiled bitterly as she spoke ; 
 " there is no one teaches music here ; and if there was, it 
 costs a pound in the quarter to learn, and where would that 
 come out of ? and if she was learnt to-morrow, where is the 
 piano to come from ? They say the cheapest piano you can 
 buy, to be anything like the thing, is ten pounds ; and if every 
 article we have in the world wa& made a roup of they would 
 not draw ten pounds, no, nor eight. Oh, there is no use 
 speaking about it." 
 
 It was very evident it had been talked over, and all the fors 
 and againsts considered before our arrival. 
 
 There was a long pause, during which the poor woman lean- 
 ed back in her chair, and put her left hand over her eyes, 
 as if she communed with Him who is a very present help in 
 every time of trouble. 
 
 She was the first to speak. 
 
88 YIOLET KEITH. 
 
 " This young lady goes to the Catholic church with your- 
 selves, I suppose ?" 
 
 " No ; she goes to Free St. John's with Robert." 
 
 " Oh, I am glad of that." 
 
 Another long pause, and then she added : 
 
 " There's a great want of teachers in the Sabbath school — 
 a hundred and sixty scholars last Sabbath, and only seven 
 teachers, and not all very regular. Mr. Robert takes thirty 
 himself. And you know no one can do justice to thirty ; and by 
 rights he shouldn't teach at all, but just look over the other 
 teachers." 
 
 No one answered. Another pause. 
 
 " I daresay the young lady, would think it too far to come 
 down this length to take a class ?" 
 
 The young lady now answered for herself. 
 
 " No, indeed, it is only a pleasant walk. I should like 
 very much to have a class." 
 
 " Oh ! my ! Mr. Robert will be so glad ; it is well I 
 thought of speaking." 
 
 It was well for me she did ; such listless, useless Sabbath 
 evenings as I had passed since I came to Iona Villa. The 
 Sabbath was only a day of rest there — not the Sabbath of the 
 Lord, honorable, no holy convocation to the Lord there. I 
 spent my Sunday evenings in my own room, reading my 
 Bible ; but this would be very different — I would be doing 
 something useful — I would be employing a small portion of 
 my time in the Lord's vineyard. While I was talking to 
 Mrs. Macintosh about the hours the school assembled, and 
 whether my class would consist of boys or girls, I found 
 Georgy had left her seat, and upon looking round the room, 
 I saw her at the further end, just behind Mrs. Macintosh, 
 her hat off and replaced by what was evidently Mrs. Macln- 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 89 
 
 tosh's Sunday cap ; one that I observed hung on a nail by 
 the window as we entered. There she sat, her hands crossed 
 on her lap, while mimicking to the life every uplifted eye 
 and shake of the head, which the poor woman, unconscious of 
 being an object of ridicule, was indulging in. 
 
 I looked what I really was, very much displeased, when in 
 a moment she threw up both her hands to the ceiling, sent 
 her eyes after them, squinting at the same time, and shaking 
 her body alternately backwards and forwards, or from side to 
 side. The effect was so irresistibly ludicrous, that I was 
 obliged to withdraw my eyes lest I should laugh outright. 
 
 On Monday morning, before we commenced our lessons, I 
 spoke to her gravely and earnestly on the subject, pointing 
 out the evil effect indulging in such habits would have on 
 her own mind. She sat perfectly still all the time I was 
 speaking ; and when I had finished, she took up a pencil and 
 amused herself by sketching on the cover of her French 
 exercise-book. When examining the exercises for correction, 
 I found there a pencilled head of Mrs. Macintosh, with an 
 enormously exaggerated cap border placed on the body of a 
 little fat boy with short legs, his hands stuffed in a pair of 
 pockets nearly as large as himself ! I fear my lecture had 
 not much effect. 
 
 That Monday morning was a white day to me. I received 
 letters from both Willie and Mrs. Moodie; that from the 
 latter enclosing one from Gertrude, the first I had received 
 since she left Scotland. She did not like Canada — she had 
 found no one, with the, exception of her father, she cared to 
 be intimate with, and longed for the time when the regiment 
 would be ordered home. 
 
 Willie I heard from every week. His letter was just as 
 usual, full of hope, and gave me an account of all the little 
 
90 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 chit-chat in Ellenkirk. Mrs. Moodie's, if not so dearly wel- 
 come as the others, was of more importance. She wished to 
 know if I was satisfied with my situation ; if not, she would 
 give me ten pounds more than my present salary if I chose 
 to take Mr. Forbes' place in her establishment. Mr. Forbes, 
 she regretted to say, was to leave Scotland in November, 
 and he had recommended her to offer me the situation, in 
 case I was not happy in my present home. 
 
 My dear good teacher ! how much I owed to his kind- 
 ness, when my uncle became pale with rage at the proposal 
 that I should learn Spanish, and thereby increase his expense 
 a few pounds yearly, dear Mr. Forbes proposed that I should 
 receive my lessons for nothing. It was to him I owed my 
 present situation, and now, in case my present life was not a 
 happy one, I was through him again offered a home, where 
 my school-days passed so calmly by. 
 
 1 wrote to Mrs. Moodie in reply, telling her how I was 
 placed. After I had been two months here, Mrs. Scott, or 
 rather, Miss Hariote, in her mother's name, had engaged me 
 for three year3. Their kindness had been unvarying ; from 
 the first moment I entered the house I never, in one instance, 
 was made to feel that I was the governess ; so that my 
 leaving my present home was out of the question. 
 
 The latter part of Mrs. Moodie's letter gave me a little 
 trouble ; Willie and his cousin, the half-dwarfish heir of 
 Haddo, had a fierce quarrel some time before. Of course, 
 my uncle considered Willie entirely in fault. The conse- 
 quence was, that the latter was formally turned out of the 
 house, and told that he never should enter it again. My 
 uncle's rage must have made him forget what was due to 
 himself, in his character as host, even although his guest 
 was a boy and a poor relative ; as, when sending him away, 
 
^ 
 
 VIOLET KEITH. 91 
 
 he endeavoured to make Carlo, the Irish retriever, chase 
 Willie from the grounds. 
 
 Fortunately Carlo and Willie were intimate friends ; be- 
 sides our visits to Haddo, Willie had many opportunities of 
 seeing the dog. My uncle's man came into town three 
 times a week for letters, papers, &c, which were left at Mr* 
 Bexford's shop; on these occasions he was always accom- 
 panied by Carlo, who became a great favourite with Willie, 
 and the sequel will shew that the affection was mutual. 
 
 When Willie heard my uncle setting the dog upon him he 
 turned round and held out his hand, which the dog* imme- 
 diately licked, fawning on the boy. My uncle, seeing this, 
 came to Willie, and with an oath, struck him a blow on the 
 head, which almost stunned him. Carlo, a large, powerful 
 animal, in a moment sprung upon my uncle, seized him by 
 the throat and pulled him to the ground. Willie, although 
 half-stunned by the blow, walked quietly away. Poor Carlo 
 paid for his affection with his life. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 # 
 
 Nearly three weeks after our last visit to Mrs. Macintosh's, 
 Miss Hariote offered to accompany Georgy and I in our after- 
 noon walk, if we would agree to take the direction of the 
 village ; her presence was always an agreeable addition,whether 
 in the school room or in our rambles ; so we gladly assented. 
 
 Miss Hariote carried a large music book under her arm, 
 and Georgy asked her if she was going to take lessons from 
 Miss Wylie's niece ? 
 
 " No, indeed ; I am a more important person than you think ; 
 I have been installed musical governess to Miss Katie Mac- 
 intosh for a fortnight back, and I am happy to say my pupil 
 improves so rapidly, that I have seen fit to advance her a step ; 
 hence my bringing this book." 
 
 " If you are to be good girls," continued she, archly glan- 
 cing at Georgy, " perhaps I may allow you to hear her per- 
 form some day soon." 
 
 " I do not know," said I, " if Georgy and I can go to Mrs. 
 Macintosh's together for a long time to come. But where 
 did you get the piano ? 
 
 " John Erskine gave it to Mrs. Macintosh," said she, and 
 her colour rose just a little as she said so. The Erskines lived 
 here when he was a boy; John was one of Mrs. Macintosh's 
 scholars when she was a girl not older than Mary Ann is 
 now, and he feels a great interest in her welfare ; he gave 
 the piano very willingly. 
 
 " What a horrid old maid you are, Miss Keith," said Georgy. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 93 
 
 " I know it is because I made fun of Mrs. Macintosh's cap that 
 you won't go there ; you should have heard how mamma and 
 Mary laughed on Saturday evening when I told them about 
 it. Mamma says that you are just cut out for an old maid.'' 
 
 " Then, Miss Keith, you and I will take up house together," 
 said Miss Hariote. " I shall teach music, and you languages ; 
 and we will do it in no small way ; we will commence in style 
 and make a fortune." 
 
 " So, you have decided on being an old maid, is this your 
 deliberate choice ? " 
 
 " I am not sure that it would be, were the choice in my own 
 power, but we are not allowed to shape our own destiny. I 
 wonder whether we will be able to do so in the spirit land ; 
 our non-ability to do so here, is surely part of the discipline 
 of life." I thought of what she said, but made no reply ; it was 
 an interesting subject. 
 
 " Here we are at Mrs. Macintosh's," said Miss Hariote. " I 
 suppose this, to you, is Tom Tiddler's ground, where you 
 cannot enter, so good-bye.' ' 
 
 Georgy was rather sulky on our way home ; she liked to 
 visit the school ; besides the amusement of seeing the village 
 girls ply their tasks, and hearing Mrs. Macintosh talk religion, 
 as she called it, she liked a little gossip with Mary Ann, more 
 so with Katie, which she had contrived to indulge in on our 
 former visits. 
 
 She walked very slowly and perfectly silent, quite an un- 
 usual mood for the young lady ; no matter, the day was love- 
 ly, the air was cool and pleasant, the birds as gay, and the 
 flowers, trees and grass as beautiful and green as ever. I had 
 plenty of company, and the lesson would do the damsel 
 good. 
 
 Our greatest troubles only endure for a time ; in the even- 
 
94 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 ing Georgy's star was in the ascendant. Harry returned 
 from his tour, as noisy and boisterous as ever, and Mrs. Scott 
 decided that, for the few days intervening before his return 
 to school, Georgy should have holidays, not one lesson until 
 the day after Harry's departure. 
 
 The Misses Syme came to pay a half hour visit that even- 
 ing, accompanied by their brother. The young ladies were 
 frequent visitors ; they often walked down from Edinburgh in 
 the fine summer evenings, and returned (always accompanied 
 by Mr. Robert) ere the daylight left us. 
 
 They were general favourites; every one, from Mrs. Scott 
 to Georgy, felt pleased when the Symes made their appear- 
 ance, even Harry ; it was very evident Ellen Syme had found 
 out his soft side, as well as his brother's, although in a less 
 ratio. 
 
 Young Syme proposed, as a pleasant way of passing one of 
 Harry's remaining holidays, that on the morrow, we should 
 hire donkeys at Portobello, ride down to Joppa, take lunch 
 there, gipsy fashion, under the trees, and return in the even- 
 ing. 
 
 Mr. Robert, who would of course have to bear the expense, 
 seconded the motion, so in ten minutes, to the great delight 
 of Georgy and Harry (I suspect also to the delight of older 
 people,) it was fixed as the laws of the Medes and Persians. 
 The Misses Syme had come in a light pony phaeton driven 
 by their brother, so Mr. Robert had no excuse for seeing them 
 home, and said to Miss Hariote after their departure, " that 
 he was glad he had not to go with them, he felt so tired." How 
 is it that people, who are otherwise perfectly truthful, think 
 nothing of telling fibs on such occasions ? And Miss Hariote 
 too,— her reply was, " I dare say," — she did not " dare say," 
 she knew as well as he himself did, he would have liked very 
 much to go home with Ellen Syme. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 95 
 
 It was arranged that our party were to meet at Portobello 
 at twelve o'clock precisely ; it was now only ten ; Georgy and 
 Harry were amusing themselves in the belting of wood, which 
 surrounded the house, and Miss Hariote and I were busy in 
 the schoolroom making some white seam for Harry, which I 
 had voluntered to help with. 
 
 While seated thus, everything in and around the house 
 wrapt in such perfect quiet, that sitting at the open window, 
 we could hear the rippling of the little brook, as it wound its 
 way lazily along, past the bowling green to the conservatory ; 
 even a bee humming in the birch trees would attract our 
 notice — when suddenly there arose such an uproar as I had 
 never heard before, either there or anywhere else. It seemed 
 like Bedlam let loose, slamming of doors, knocking about of 
 furniture, stamping of feet, swearing the most appalling oaths, 
 loud shouting, all mixed up in the most shocking and pande- 
 monium like confusion. Just as the noise commenced, Miss 
 Hariote became pale as death, let her work drop to the floor, 
 and almost flew from the room, taking care, however, to shut 
 the door in her retreat. 
 
 I could hear the dining room door burst open, then a loud 
 crash as if a quantity of things piled against it had fallen in ; 
 afterwards the door shut with a loud slam. The noise then 
 died gradually away ; the loud talking, however, continued 
 at intervals after the rest ceased. 
 
 What in the world could be the meaning of all this ? Any 
 where, under any circumstances, such an uproar would be 
 most disreputable, but in an intensely respectable house like 
 Mr. Scott's, a house where the master looked up in angry 
 surprise if the servants jingled the plates noisily in carrying 
 them from the dinner table. What could it mean ? 
 
 Whatever it was, I was not to know ; the house returned to 
 
96 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 its old stillness, the brook made itself heard again, the wild 
 bee sung her song undisturbed in the birch tree ; and the tick- 
 ing of my watch, as it lay on the table, seemed to say ; " see, 
 how time is hurrying on into eternity." 
 
 I should have liked to hear what that noise was. We some- 
 times have little temptations as well as great ones. I had 
 one then. Half an hour after the noise ceased, Simpson came 
 into the room, and busied herself in dusting the furniture ; she 
 had evidently something she was very anxious to commu- 
 nicate, and at last began by asking : 
 
 " Did you hear the noise downstairs, Miss Keith ?" 
 
 " Oh ! Simpson," said I, looking at my watch ; " will you run 
 out to the belting, and tell Georgy that it is past eleven 
 o'clock, tell her to hurry, I fear we will be late." 
 
 About half past eleven, Georgy and I descended to the 
 lower hall, where we were joined by Mr. Robert and Miss 
 Hariote, who came from the breakfast parlour, the former 
 looking very grave, the latter pale as death. 
 
 We found Harry walking up and down the path in front of 
 the parterre in great impatience. 
 
 " I know we will be too late," said he ; li I should not wonder 
 if all the donkeys were engaged," and a great deal more to 
 the same purpose ; but when we arrived at Portobello, the 
 donkeys were not engaged, but all waiting to be so. The 
 Symes arrived on the ground almost at the same time. John 
 Erskine was there too, looking so w r ell ; he came forward, shook 
 hands with Miss Hariote and Robert, talked and laughed for 
 a few minutes, and then lifting Miss Hariote into the saddle, 
 as if she were a baby, stalked off with her, both looking exactly 
 like Joseph and the blessed Virgin, as they are exhibited to 
 us in old Roman Catholic prints, only the Scotch Joseph had 
 a coat and trowsers, instead of the flowing robes his eastern 
 prototype wore. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 97 
 
 Mr. Robert, of course, took charge of Miss Ellen Syme, 
 Mrs. Nelson's brother of Miss Scott, and thus matched, 
 away they all went. Dr. and Mrs. Nelson, Georgy and Harry, 
 had been the first to leave the ground. So I found myself 
 alone with young Syme. 
 
 He seemed to have some misunderstanding with the owner 
 of the two remaining donkeys, and with true womanly curios- 
 ity, I walked towards them. As I came within hearing, young 
 Syme said in a very angry tone. 
 
 " Do you know who I am W 
 
 " aye," returned the man, " I ken vera well wha ye are : 
 ye'er ane o' thae clerk lads frae Auld Reekie, wha come 
 down here ilka ither whip, an hire donkeys an dinna pay for 
 them. 
 
 "Oh! stuff," said the offended lad, looking at the same 
 time very silly ; " I am Mr. Syme, son of Alexander Syme, 
 clerk of the Session Court.' ' 
 
 The man had a tin jug, full of water, which he had just 
 taken from one of the many boys by whom we were surround- 
 ed, and turning with mock respect to young Syme, his small 
 eyes twinkling with a peculiarly comic expression, he said : 
 
 " Are ye though ?" and then lifting his bonnet with one hand, 
 while with the other he raised the jug of water to his lips, he 
 continued, " my service to ye, Maister Sim ; an I'll be obliged 
 to ye to gane hame an tell ye'er mither nae to lat ye down 
 here anither foreneen, wanten siller tae pay for ye'er ride : 
 for my certie, gin ye hae na ony siller, ye'er lass or you 
 either wonna ride the day." 
 
 Understanding how the matter lay, I took my purse from 
 my pocket, and placed it in the lad's hand ; he took from it 
 sufficient to pay for the use of the donkey until five o'clock ; 
 and away we went after the others as fast as possible. 
 
98 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 A happy day we all had. Mr. Erskine and Robert gent 
 down the lunch from Little John's, and he took care we lack- 
 ed nothing. Harry filled both his pockets with the good things, 
 to the great amusement of Georgy and Ellen Syme. This 
 done he was in great good humour, and displayed his watch to 
 the admiring multitude ; a very nice watch it was, a silver 
 lever, with chain and key and seal. 
 
 " Where did you get it, Harry ? " asked his brother. 
 
 " In Glasgow. Pa and me went through almost every shop 
 in the town before I could get one I liked." 
 
 " And did you find it in the last shop you went to ?" 
 
 " No, we had to go back to a shop we went to the first day : 
 pa knew it was a good one, and wanted me to take it at once, 
 but I would'nt, so we just tried every shop we could find, 
 and at last we had to go back to that one after all. You 
 should have heard some of the chaps," continued he, " how they 
 tried to cram down pa's throat that their watches were the 
 best ever was made. Pa just stood and heard all their 
 lingo, and then said to me, i well, Hal, will you have it V I 
 always said no ; so out we went, and off to some other shop." 
 
 We had a great proof of Harry's good humour ; he lent his 
 precious watch to Georgy, as he said, just for an hour or two ; 
 the possession thereof was no sinecure, he was constantly cau- 
 tioning her to be careful. 
 
 " George, take care, you will break the glass of my watch," 
 and again, " George, if you go on in your rough way, you'll 
 break the main spring of ray watch." At last before half an 
 hour had expired, it was demanded again. 
 
 " George, you must give me my watch, you'll be sure to 
 break it, and pa '11 go mad at me for lending it to you." 
 
 At last Harry announced that it was nearly five o'clock, 
 and each gathering the precious things collected in the course 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 99 
 
 of the day, in the shape of wild flowers, shells, geological 
 specimens, &c, we mounted our donkeys, and after delivering 
 them to their respective owners, we were in due time dressing 
 for dinner at Iona Villa. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 It was late in October, the weather fine and dry, the trees 
 were becoming almost bare, the flowers all gone, and the grass 
 withered, but what of that ? it was a happy time for me. 
 
 And now the last week of October had come ; next Monday 
 would be the first of November, and the weather was cold 
 and raw, but what of that ? it was the happiest time of all the 
 year for me. 
 
 The twenty-fifth of October, such a disagreeable morning ; 
 fine drizzling rain ; damp and cold even in the house, and 
 I had to go to Edinburgh ; perhaps every afternoon this 
 week. I looked from the windows : what a lot of mud ! the 
 path-way fully an inch deep, and the business which called 
 me to Edinburgh was my own, so I must not think of spend- 
 ing six-pence a day riding up and down in the omnibus ; not 
 I, I was not so foolish, I had plenty to do with my money, 
 and my donkey ride to Joppa, in August, cost me five shil- 
 lings, so I must save now, and what did I care for the muddy 
 roads and streets, and the drizzling rain ? I was never so 
 happy in all my life. Oh ! that it were one o'clock ! Georgy's 
 music master came at one on Monday and Thursday, so I 
 would have an hour longer in Edinburgh to-day ; an hour 
 longer for my search and preparations. How long the time 
 seemed ! would one o'clock never come ? 
 
 And what was the cause of all this happiness to the poor 
 little governess, who in general had to seek for happiness in 
 the light reflected from the joys of those around her ? * 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 101 
 
 I had a letter yesterday from Willie, telling me he would he 
 n Edinburgh on Saturday, in order to commence his college 
 duties, in the beginning of November; he said he would 
 arrive by the railway, at five o'clock, would go to a hotel 
 until Monday, and then find himself some cheap lodging. 
 
 No, indeed, he would not go to a hotel, where he would 
 not be very comfortable at best, and where he would have 
 to spend so much useful money ; I could find a lodging for 
 him, and I was sure Mrs. Scott would not object to my going 
 one or two afternoons to Edinburgh to make a search. 
 
 I wrote to him that I would be at the railway station when 
 the train came in on Saturday evening, and if possible would 
 hire a lodging for a week, and when he arrived, he could 
 decide whether it would suit him for the winter or not. 
 
 I despatched my letter, and before dinner told Miss Hariote 
 that I expected my brother, and would like to have one or two 
 afternoons to myself, that I might search for a home for him ; 
 did she think Mrs. Scott would have any objections ? 
 
 " Oh no," was her reply, " on the contrary, I think mamma 
 will be very glad to have an excuse for taking Georgy with 
 her while paying her autumn visits : I shall settle it all for 
 you." 
 
 And so she did, as she did everything else, with the greatest 
 kindness and consideration : I was to have every afternoon 
 this week, and the whole of Saturday for myself. I was con- 
 strained to say, as I did on a former occasion in this house : 
 " Surely the lines have fallen unto me in pleasant places." 
 
 How few governesses were placed as I was. Mrs. Nelson's 
 governess had three little girls under twelve years of age to 
 instructin English, French, and Music, to which Georgy added 
 in giving a list of Miss Grant's duties " General Fascination." 
 Miss Grant was expected to superintend the toilet of the 
 
 H 
 
102 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 young ladies ; not to assist them, but to see that it was pro- 
 perly accomplished ; take them to walk twice a day, and see 
 them put to bed. And she received thirty pounds while my 
 salary was forty. How would it be possible for Miss Grant to 
 leave her charge every afternoon for a week ? and yet she 
 was not worse off than most of our class who teach for twenty 
 pounds ; and probably had never been asked to perform a 
 single duty which was not specified in her engagement. 
 
 I was dressed in my thick boots, cloak, and felt hat, and 
 proceeding downstairs to commence my travels, when I was 
 met by Miss Hariotte on the stair-case. 
 
 " I was going to seek you," said she ; " there is a card 
 which Robert gave me for you this morning ; it is the address 
 of an old lady with whom a friend of his, who left town last 
 week, lived. Robert says he thinks your brother would be 
 very comfortable there, and it may save you trouble in search- 
 ing for a place. " 
 
 I took the offered card with thanks, and read, written in 
 a clear strong hand, ' Mrs. Livingston, No. 9, St. Bernard's 
 Row.' — This was certainly a great relief. I had been cogita- 
 ting with myself all the morning, how I was to find a lodging, 
 and after it was found, how I was to know whether it was a 
 respectable house or not, and a great many more hows ; here 
 they were all solved in a moment ; doubtless this was an intense- 
 ly respectable house, or Mr. Robert's friend would not have 
 lived there : the only doubt I had, was it not probable that 
 the rooms would be too expensive for us to pay for ; I would 
 see. 
 
 On my arrival in Edinburgh, I began to inquire my way \ 
 and I think I must have entered at least six or seven shops 
 for the purpose. I always received the same answer. — ' It is 
 a long way off, go to the end or the middle (as the case might 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 103 
 
 be,) of this street and then turn down to your left ; you had 
 better ask your way again, it is a long way off;' and so it was, 
 I was tired enough before I reached my haven of rest : how- 
 ever, there it was at last— St. Bernard's Row ; and here is 
 No. 9. 
 
 I knocked,, and the door was opened by a neat looking 
 young girl of about sixteen years of age. 
 
 " Is Mrs. Livingston at home ?" 
 
 " Yes, ma'am ; walk in." 
 
 I was shewn into a nice clean parlour, with a bed-room 
 attached, the door of which opened from the parlour. I saw 
 at a glance everything was new and handsome ; although on 
 a small scale, it was too good for us ; all my walking this day 
 was for nothing, that was evident. 
 
 Mrs. Livingston entered, most surely the mother of the 
 girl who opened the door. 
 
 "I came to ask if you have a parlour and bedroom to let." 
 
 " Yes, the one we are in, and that is the bed-room," and 
 she moved her hand in the direction of the inner room as she 
 spoke. 
 
 " What do you charge for it ?" 
 
 " For a gentleman, who is in an office and sees no company ; 
 a pound a week, for a lady and gentleman, twenty-five 
 shillings." 
 
 II The rooms I want," said I, " are for my brother, who is 
 coming to attend college; I got your address from Mr. 
 Robert Scott — he knew the last gentleman who lived here ; 
 but these rooms are too expensive for us — I knew they 
 were so, when I came in ; but I have walked . almost from 
 Portobello and am glad to sit down, otherwise I do not 
 think I should have remained." 
 
 " You must be very tired after so long a walk ; do rest 
 yourself as long as you like," was her reply. 
 
104 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 " Do you know of any one else who has a small parlour and 
 bed-room to let, not nearly so large as this, and plainer fur- 
 niture ?" 
 
 " What price does your brother wish to give ?" 
 
 " I cannot tell; we do not know the price of lodgings — 
 perhaps you could tell me, — we wish to get rooms as cheap 
 as possible ; we do not care how plain they are, so that the 
 house is respectable. " 
 
 " Well, I know a place that I think will suit, provided you 
 do not object to living in a land ?" 
 
 " Oh ! not at all." 
 
 " Well, my husband's aunt has a nice little parlour in the 
 third land, above Mr. Wilson's shop in the High Street ; the 
 bed-room is not very large, that is true — -just a little mite of 
 a place — but she is a very clean, decent woman, and keeps 
 the Sabbath well, and that's a good example for a young 
 man ; and it's cheap, only five shillings a week." 
 
 " That would be the very place for us," said I ; a are you 
 sure it is to let ?" 
 
 " She was here at her tea on Sabbath night, and it was 
 not let then, and I am sure she would like your brother ; 
 it's mostly divinity students she has. You see they're 
 mostly in straightened circumstances, and N they like a cheap 
 place, and they're quiet and she's quiet, so the one does wi' 
 the ithir." 
 
 As she continued to speak, she unconsciously adopted the 
 broad pronunciation, which was most familiar to her, and 
 flowed most naturally from her lips. 
 
 " My brother is not a divinity student, but he is very 
 quiet, and if the rooms are not let, I feel sure the old lady 
 would like him." 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 105 
 
 I looked at my watch, it was four o'clock — I must be 
 home before six — and I rose to go. 
 
 " You are very tired," said my hostess ; " it is a long way 
 to walk; you had better take the omnibus — it will put ye 
 down two or three doors frae my aunt's for threepence." 
 
 I was glad of the suggestion ; we went to the door, the 
 omnibus was just passing. Good-bye ! Good-bye ! I was 
 inside, and on my way to the High Street. 
 
 I asked the conductor to put me down as near Mr. Wilson's 
 shop in the High Street as possible. The third land above 
 Mr. Wilson's shop — that was all the address I had. In the 
 hurry of getting into the omnibus I had forgotten to ask, 
 and Mrs. Livingstone to give, any other; however, I would 
 find her out — I knew the old lady was Mrs. Livingstone's 
 husband's aunt. 
 
 I had not long to wait ; by and bye the conductor signed 
 to me to come forward, saying at same time, " Come awa, 
 lassie, here's ye'er place — ye'er gaun to auld Mrs. Living- 
 stone's, at bides aboon Wilson's shop, are nae ye ?" 
 
 I assented, and was set down, as Mrs. Livingstone styled 
 it. I had learned the old lady's name from the speech of 
 the conductor; she also was a Livingstone. 
 
 It seemed a long way up to the third land, which in plain 
 English means a landing, ascended to by a common stair — 
 each flat forming a separate dwelling, shut in by its own 
 outer door. I knocked, and the door was opened by a clean- 
 looking young girl, dressed in a white cotton jacket and 
 black petticoat. This boded better for me than the smartly- 
 dressed girl at the first Mrs. Livingstone's. " Does Mrs. 
 Livingston live here ?" 
 
 " Yes, mem, come in." 
 
 I could not see very well where she meant me to go ; the 
 
106 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 little entrance hall had no other light than was afforded by 
 fan-lights above the doors inside, — and the daylight was fast 
 fading into night. She thought of this herself. 
 
 " Wait, mem, I'll get a candle." 
 
 She opened one of the doors from within, which issued a 
 stream of light, and presently returned with a candle in a 
 small, bright brass candlestick. 
 
 " Tak the leddy in here, Jean," said a voice inside, and I 
 was ushered into the room in which the speaker was seated. 
 She was an elderly woman, dressed in a black gown, and 
 wearing a widow's cap. 
 
 " Sit doun," said she, pointing to a chair at the opposite 
 side of the fire to that she herself occupied, scrutinizing my 
 face as she spoke with a keen searching glance from a cold 
 blue eye, the expression of which was anything but flattering 
 to my self-love. I daresay that I presented rather a strange 
 appearance, wet and weary as I was ; I sat down utterly 
 tired out. 
 
 " What's ye'er wul," asked she, and the tone of her voice 
 was as cold and repelling as the expression of her eye. 
 
 <* Have you any rooms to let ? your niece, Mrs. Living- 
 stone, in St. Bernard's Row, directed me here. 
 
 " Aye, we hae twa ; but we dinna tak leddys." 
 
 " It is for my brother I want the rooms." 
 
 " weel, even so ; I aye like ane o' the young ministers ; 
 we dinna tak a' body here." 
 
 I saw she was unfavourably impressed with me, and I 
 thought I would try the strength of Mr. Robert's name, it 
 was possible she might know him. I felt dispirited and sick 
 at heart ; I had ate nothing since morning, and felt weak 
 and tired. 
 
 " Mr. Robert Scott, the advocate, who sits in Dr. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 107 
 
 Guthrie's church, sent me to Mrs. Livingstone. My brother 
 is not a divinity student, but he is a quiet, good boy ; he 
 has never been in Edinburgh before, and I am anxious to 
 obtain a home for him with some respectable people; but 
 we cannot afford to pay a high price." 
 
 " Aye, sae ye ken Maister Robert Scott," said she, re- 
 laxing a very little. " He's a vera decent gentleman — 
 he's ane o' our deacons ; what way dae ye ken him ?" 
 
 "I am governess to his youngest sister, and I sit in 
 Dr. Guthrie's church," replied I. 
 
 " Ye sit in St. John's kirk, do ye," and her voice and 
 face both softened visibly as she spoke ; "are ye the young 
 leddy who sits in Maister Scott's pew and aye comes in 
 lang afore the rest i' the afternoon to read her bible ?" 
 
 " I always go early to church in the afternoon," said I, 
 very thankful to see the turn things were taking. 
 
 "They're decent folk, thae Scotts, I reckon," observed 
 she, as if she were thinking aloud rather than speaking 1 
 " he's a gude lad, Maister Robert ; maybe ye wad like to 
 tak a look at the rooms ? Jean, light anither candle." 
 
 The girl did as she was bid, and then preceded her mis" 
 tress and I into a small parlour, one of the doors of which 
 opened into the room in which we sat. 
 
 The room we entered was like that we had just left, 
 scrupulously clean, a table in the middle, on which lay a 
 bible, at least a foot and a half long; another at the foot 
 of the room, on which were placed several large books in 
 good condition ; and above these a set of deers' horns, six 
 chairs, a carpet reaching within a yard of the wall, a hearth- 
 rug made from a piece of the carpet, with a black fringe 
 round it, a brightly-brushed grate, fender, and fire-irons. 
 On the mantle-shelf were placed several china tea-cups, and 
 
108 VIOJiET KEITH. 
 
 above hung an oil painting, so dark, that it seemed impos- 
 sible to say what the painter meant to represent. Mrs. 
 Livingstone took the candle from the girl's hand, and held 
 it up to the picture, saying, as she did so, " That's my 
 gude man." 
 
 Opening a door opposite that we entered by, she shewed 
 me the bed-room; it was indeed what her niece said, a 
 " little mite of a room," but neat and clean; a white coun- 
 terpane on the bed ; white curtains on the window ; a chair, a 
 little dressing table, a little basin stand, and a little looking 
 
 " It's but a wee place," said she, as she held up the light 
 that I might see it better, " but it just does well enough for a 
 lad at the skulle, and he can pet his claes into the drawers 
 ben in the room." 
 
 I had not observed that piece of furniture, but on leaving 
 the bed-room, there it was at the side of the room to which 
 my back was turned as I entered : above the chest of drawers 
 stood a cupboard with glass door, well stocked with china and 
 glass ware. 
 
 " The rooms are very nice," said I, as we again entered the 
 family sitting room, with its bright fire and cleanly sanded 
 floor, " and I am sure my brother will like them ; what is the 
 rent?" 
 
 I used to get five shillings in the week ; but we wonna fight 
 for the price ; it disna mak muckle for two or three bawbee3 
 up or doun. Wha's gane to pay the rent? is't the lad's father ? 
 
 " No ; his father is dead long ago ; but you will be sure of 
 the rent, we will pay it between us ; if Willie likes the room 
 we can give the rent in advance every week, and I will pay 
 for the first week now, if you will let me have the room," said 
 I, taking out my purse for the purpose. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 109 
 
 "Pit ye'er siller in ye'er pouch, my bairn," said she with a 
 grim smile ; " dinna be sae ready ge'en ye'er hard wan baw 
 bees tae folk ye ken naething about." 
 
 " Ye'er aw weet," remarked she, taking hold of my cloak as 
 she spoke, and evidently observing my dripping condition for 
 the first time ; " tak aff ye'er weet claes and sit doun at the 
 fire side, an tak a cup o tea ; we was just gane to tak ours 
 when ye cam in." 
 
 I looked at my watch, it was nearly six o'clock ; I could 
 not be at home in time for dinner ; I was wet and weary, and 
 felt very glad to accept her invitation. 
 
 Mrs. Livingstone took off my cloak and hat, giving them to 
 the girl with instructions to hang them on a chair near the 
 fire, placed a foot-stool inside the wide fender, and made me 
 place my feet thereon. 
 
 This done, she busied herself for a few minutes in arrang- 
 ing the tea table — the tea I could see was already made, one 
 side of the hob being occupied by the tea pot, the other by 
 the tea kettle — she drew the table close to my side, seated 
 herself opposite, and lifting the tea-pot from the hob placed 
 it on a plate on the tray. Then placing her hands reverently 
 together, she asked a blessing on the meal. 
 
 A very nice meal it was, nice black tea, white sugar, white 
 fresh bread, honey, thin oaten cakes and fresh butter. 
 
 " You have given me a tea fit for a prince," said I, while 
 I did ample justice to the good things set before me ; I had 
 tasted nothing since breakfast, and I felt faint and hungry. 
 
 " Weel, its easy to gee a gude cup o tea, vera lettle will 
 do that," replied she, pressing me to eat and seeming to feel 
 a real pleasure in seeing me do so. 
 
 I felt a little ashamed of making such inroads into the oaten 
 cake, and told her I had ate nothing since breakfast. 
 
110 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 " Have a care o' us," said she, " and what for did ye no ?" 
 "I was anxious to find a home for my brother, and I did not 
 know but it might take several days to find one." 
 
 " Na, weel then, that coo's aw ; as gin there wasna twa 
 lodgings for every lad at's tae pit in them," and she laughed 
 heartily as she spoke. 
 
 " An whar does your mither bide ? I reckon your young 
 brither is wi' her the noo." 
 
 " No, my mother is dead nearly nine years since. My 
 brother is living with a Doctor in Ellenkirk, where I came 
 from ; and it is to study medicine that he is coming to Edin- 
 burgh 
 
 She sat looking at the fire as if wrapt in thought, but 
 made no reply. 
 
 When we, or rather I, had finished eating, the girl, at a 
 sign from her mistress, came forward and stood by the table, 
 while the latter returned thanks ; she then removed the tray 
 to a table at the other end of the room, where she before had 
 sat knitting, then rubbed up the table until it shone, and 
 seating herself by the tray, commenced her supper. 
 
 I looked at my watch, it was after seven o'clock, I shewed 
 it to my hostess, saying " it will be late before I get home." 
 a A weel, ye canna help it for ance : I'll pit on my shawl, 
 and gang down to the omnibus we ye myseP." I was selfish 
 enough not to refuse her offered kindness ; the night was dark, 
 and I doubted very much if I could find my way to the place 
 from where the omnibus left for Portobello without some 
 such help. 
 
 My cloak and hat were by this time quite dry, and the old 
 lady insisted on putting a worsted scarf round my neck. 
 Having dressed herself in a close black bonnet and shepherd- 
 plaid shawl, we sallied forth, Mrs. Livingstone having first 
 
VIOLET KEITH. Ill 
 
 given strict injunctions to Jean, not to open the door to any 
 one in her absence ; saying as she departed, " gaen ye do, 
 ye'U maybe be murdered ; as the lassie in the cannogate 
 was, last winter was a year." The girl did not look as if she 
 was likely to open the door to any one. 
 
 My kind conductress waited until she saw me safe in the 
 omnibus ; and said as she took my hand in parting " pit ye'er 
 feet into het water whan ye gang to ye'er bed, my bairn/ ' 
 and the good will o' Him wha dwelt in the bush be about ye." 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 As I alighted from the omnibus at the little iron gate, which 
 divided Iona Villa from the highway, I felt a little uneasy 
 about the lateness of the hour. Comparatively speaking, I 
 was a stranger to those I lived among ; this was the first time 
 I had gone to Edinburgh alone, the first time indeed I had 
 ever been out alone, even to the village, since I became an 
 inmate of Iona Villa ; and I did not know in what light these 
 fastidious people might view my remaining among entire 
 strangers to such a late hour ; however, as Mrs. Livingstone 
 philosophically observed, there was no help for it. 
 
 When ascending the broad steps in front of the door I 
 could not help contrasting my feelings and situation then, with 
 what they were seven months previous, when I first passed 
 over the threshold. What a lonely being I felt myself then, 
 uncertain of the people I was to meet, or those I was to live 
 among ; separated from the only living thing to whose love I 
 could lay claim ; and now had I not much cause for the fer- 
 vent thank God which rose from my heart to my lips. In 
 another moment I was in the lighted hall, the darkness and 
 damp outside, the light and warmth within, exactly as it was 
 on the night I first entered its precincts ; ' strange too, as I 
 glanced at the dining room, the door was open, the glass 
 chandelier lit, scarlet cloth, candles, and open book on the 
 table ! 
 
 Almost before Simpson had time to shut the hall door as 
 I entered, Miss Hariote and Georgy came to meet me from 
 the little parlour. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 113 
 
 " I am so glad you are come ; what kept you ? we were 
 afraid you had lost your way, or some accident had happened," 
 burst almost simultaneously from the lips of both. 
 
 " I shall tell you all, by and bye," said I, as Miss Hariote 
 pressed my hand, and Georgy touched my cheek lightly with 
 her lips, laughing as she did so. 
 
 " I have had so many adventures, I have lived a year since 
 one o'clock," and seeing a shade of anxiety pass over Miss 
 Hariote's face, I added, " and such a pleasant year too." 
 
 Simpson took my hat and cloak ; and Miss Hariote hurried 
 me up-stairs, in the same kind way she had done the evening 
 I first saw her. 
 
 There was my own room in all its comfort, the first fire of 
 the season replacing the birch boughs I had left in the grate 
 when I went out. The large white chair in front of the fire, 
 the little round table with the candle, all as I had first seen 
 them. 
 
 Miss Hariote and Georgy had both accompanied me to my 
 room, and e'er five minutes had elapsed, I had exchanged my 
 wet boots for a pair of thin slippers, and was seated in my 
 large chair relating my adventures to an eagerly listening 
 audience of two. I had just finished my story, when we 
 heard the gate and then the hall door open, and Mr. Robert's 
 voice making some inquiry of Simpson. 
 
 " Goodnight," said Miss Hariote, as they both rose to leave 
 the room, " I must go to give Robert his tea. Go to bed as 
 soon as possible and dream of old Mrs. Livingstone. As they 
 left the room, the hall clock struck nine, I had never known 
 Mr. Robert take his tea so late except on Sunday ; he must 
 have dined in town. 
 
 Simpson, with her usual kindness, brought me the hot 
 water Mrs. Livingstone recommended, and which I would not 
 
114 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 have thought of asking for myself, and told me, very gravely 
 " that they (the cook and herself) never thought to see me 
 again ; Edinburgh was such a dangerous place at night, and 
 Sandy Robinson had been down with pieces of marble for 
 Master Harry in the evening, and he said he was sure you 
 would never be heard or seen again, because the young doc- 
 tors are all coming into the college next week, and there is 
 always a great lot of folk murdered the week before they 
 come in— they murder them to sell their bodies to the doctors 
 —and he told us there was a young leddy just about your age 
 murdered just this day last week in a house in the Gallowgate, 
 where some men was drinking, and two of the men was taken 
 up for it, and was in the Calton jail waitin' their trial. " 
 
 Having delivered this long speech she sighed, whether for 
 the young lady, the men in the Calton jail, or myself, I was 
 not exactly sure, it is possible she did not know herself. 
 
 " Good-night, Simpson, thank you for all your kindness." 
 
 " Good-night, ma'am," and she shut the door, leaving me 
 to my meditations. 
 
 And very pleasant theyjwere : with all its fatigue and little 
 annoyances, had it not been, as I said in the morning, a happy 
 day for me ? 
 
 In the first place, I had found a home for Willie, and such 
 a nice home too. I liked that old woman even already, al- 
 though she was so grim and uncivil at first, and then it was 
 so cheap, only one pound a month, thirty shillings more would 
 buy his food ; why, I could pay all that myself, and I was 
 sure with Willie's savings, we would have money to save after 
 paying college fees, and buying books and clothes. 
 
 Oh yes, no fear, he would get on nicely ; this was the first 
 step to our cottage home. 
 
 What a long time it seemed to be until Saturday —this was 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 115 
 
 only Tuesday night — Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, three 
 long days — well, they will pass away, — I will go up to Edin- 
 burgh to-morrow, see the rooms again, and pay one week in 
 advance ; perhaps too, I could make some little improvements, 
 but I must have a care. I must not offend Mrs. Livingstone, 
 who doubtless considers her arrangements as the very best 
 which could be made ; no, I would not risk offending her, I 
 would take care of that. 
 
 I had another cause for happiness, which I had not at all 
 anticipated, the kiss Georgy gave me in the hall was a proof 
 I had now at least a small corner in her heart. I had cer- 
 tainly sought her love by every lawful means, but she had 
 been a spoiled child all her life ; if her faults were observed 
 by Miss Hariote or Mr. Robert, they were taken not the 
 slightest notice of; I fancy under the popular failing, that as 
 she grew older, she would correct them herself. In the opinion 
 of the Mrs. and Miss Scott, the young lady was as near per- 
 fection as it was possible for a human being to be, and as to 
 her father, he seemed never to interfere with either person or 
 thing in the house, saving only his darling Harry, provided 
 everything was kept still and in perfect order. 
 
 Georgy had naturally a fine mind, but it was full of weeds 
 fiom over indulgence ; I had never shrunk from the disagree- 
 able duty of pointing out her faults, and as far as I would 
 be allowed, correcting them ; under these circumstances, I 
 could hardly have expected to gain her love. There was 
 surely much cause of thankfulness in this. 
 
 I had indulged my pleasant meditations so long, that it 
 was now nearly eleven o'clock, and taking my bible I opened 
 it at a chapter Willie and I used often to read together : 
 
 " In my father's house are many mansions, if it were not so 
 I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if 
 
116 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive 
 you unto myself ; that where I am, there ye may be also." 
 
 I sat thinking of all the great promises which were contained 
 in these few lines: not only a house not made with hands, eter- 
 nal in the heavens, but also lest we should be weary, and faint 
 by the way, when all was ready for our exception, he would 
 come again, he himself to bring us home. " I will come again/' 
 — no ambiguity there, — the eternal promise, — his own words, 
 — fast and sure, — though the hills be removed, — most surely 
 he shall come again. 
 
 The fire had become hollow, and taking the poker, I broke 
 the outer crust, and made the fresh coals above fall into the 
 red fire ; this made such a dazzling blaze, I was fain to shut 
 my eyes for a few minutes, to escape from it. While I sat thus, 
 I began thinking of Dr. Doddrige's wonderful dream, and pre- 
 sently, I was with him passing through the regions of space, 
 treading on the blue and grey clouds, as if they were firm 
 earth, swiftly onward and upward, away and away ; I staid 
 with him as he paused in his aerial ascent, over the great city 
 of London, and I heard the words in which he prayed for 
 grace and pardon to be given to that countless multitude 
 passing to and fro beneath, in all their worldliness and folly. 
 In a moment I was away, far away from the heavenly mes- 
 senger, the blue sky, and light and air ; I was lying in a deep 
 dungeon, dug in the bowels of the earth, surrounded by thick 
 darkness such as might be felt. I was confined there for some 
 offence, of which I was quite guiltless ; and it was darkness 
 evermore ; and days and months passed away, and I was still 
 there, surrounded by that black darkness ; only once in a 
 long time a faint ray of light came from above, and a myster- 
 ious hand let down a pitcher of water and a morsel of bread. 
 How earnestly I seized the pitcher and drank, that I might 
 
VIOLET KBITH. / 117 
 
 oool my lips, hot with fever in that cold damp dungeon, and 
 after a long countless dark time, knowing nought of day and 
 night ; when my heart and flesh were failing me for fear, 
 came one in the guise of an angel of light ; but I knew he 
 was an emissary of darkness, and he said " Curse God and 
 die," but the hand that was ever under, about and around Dr. 
 Doddrige, appeared to me there even amid the darkness, and 
 I knew the evil one lied, and a sweet low voice whispered in 
 mine ear, " I will come again." " Behold I come quickly, 
 and my reward is with me," and the evil one looked in my 
 face, and he saw no fear or faltering there, and he fled away, 
 screaming, into the outer darkness. 
 
 I awoke to find myself stiff and cold, the fire out, and the 
 candle flickering in the socket. 
 
 My watch was on the table and pointed to four o'clock ; 
 now my head ached and my lips burned ! I drank a long 
 draught of cold water, put out my candle and went to bed. 
 
 I tried in vain to sleep ; my feet and limbs were stiff with 
 cold, while my head and hands burned as with fire ; how often 
 in the weary tossing of that dark morning, I said, " would 
 that it were light." 
 
 At last the daylight came, and with it Simpson, bringing 
 with her my usual jug of hot water. 
 
 ".Oh, Miss Keith," said she, " your cheeks are like fire." 
 
 " I dare say," replied I. " I feel as if I had taken cold, 
 but when I rise I will feel better. 
 
 I arose and tried to dress, but I could not ; the room swung 
 with long sweeps, backwards and forwards ; beneath my 
 feet my head reeled, and it was with difficulty I reached my 
 bed again. 
 
 I lay there all that day and the next, scarcely conscious of 
 anything, except the blessed coolness of the wet cloths, 
 
 I 
 
118 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 ■which kind hands were every now and then putting on my 
 head. On Wednesday night the fever left me, and I was then 
 conscious of the care and attention which was bestowed upon 
 me ; everything which kindness could suggest. 
 
 An old servant who had married long ago, and was now 
 a widow living in the village, where she and a grown up 
 daughter kept a little shop, was sent for to nurse me well 
 again ; a better nurse never was, so quiet and gentle ; no 
 whispered gossip, that most annoying of all sounds to a sick 
 ear, just enough of attention, everything that was needed and 
 no more, no needless tormenting " well, how are you's," 
 how often I said mentally, if ever I am sick again, I should 
 like you, Mrs. Wilson, to nurse me. 
 
 After eight o'clock that evening, Georgy came into the 
 room, smiled and kissed my forehead, and laying a daisy on 
 my pillow, she noiselessly left the room again. 
 
 " Mony a gowan she brought you these twa days," said 
 the nurse, " they are aw as muckle taen up about you as if 
 you was their ain sister ; Mr. Robert came twice yesterday, 
 and twice the day, to the head of the stair, and signed to me 
 to come and tell him how you was, and very glad he looked 
 whan I telPt him the night at ye was better ; and Miss 
 Hariote — but there's nae use speaking about her, she was aye 
 gude, gude tae aw body, gentle and simple. 
 
 On Thursday I awoke, feeling so well that I wished to get 
 up, but my kind nurse made me lie still until after breakfast * r 
 I then rose and sent for Georgy to give her a lesson ; she 
 came at my request, but would " have no lesson ; " she said 
 her mamma had told her she was to have no lessons until 
 Wednesday next, she had no holidays when Harry had his, 
 and she was to have them now. I knew the meaning of this. 
 
 In the afternoon Miss Hariote came to sit with me, bring- 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 119 
 
 ing her work ; she had in her hand a bunch of pink roses 
 tied up with moss. 
 
 " Robert sent you these," said she, laying them on my 
 lap. How beautiful the delicate blossoms and pale green 
 moss looked lying on my white muslin dressing-gown. " Ellen 
 Syme was here yesterday, and sent you her love ; she wished 
 to come up to your room, but mamma feared she might have 
 disturbed you." 
 
 I answered by a grateful look. I was still weak and 
 weary, but I thought how handsome they both, Robert and 
 Ellen Syme, were, and I inwardly prayed that she might 
 equal him in mind as well as in face and form ; and that 
 both might be among those " whom the Lord will count, 
 when he maketh up his jewels." 
 
 I told Miss Hariote that I intended to meet Willie at the 
 railway station on Saturday evening. 
 
 " I fancy it would be of no use trying to dissuade you from 
 doing so," was her reply. " I will see what arrangement Robert 
 can make for your going there without injuring your health. 
 It is a very precious boon to us all, but in your case it is 
 doubly so ; your brother's advancement in life, everything 
 seems to depend on your health. 
 
 How true, everything indeed; what would become of Willie 
 if I were to die now, or worse, to become sickly and useless ? 
 it made me think that speech of hers. 
 
 Before she went to dinner, Miss Hariote made me come 
 down to the schoolroom ; I was very pleased to do so, being 
 heartily tired of my own room ; as I entered, I observed a 
 large easy chair placed beside the fire ; the chair did not be- 
 long to the room and was evidently brought there for my 
 sick self. It was not such an unpleasant thing after all being 
 sick here. 
 
120 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 By and bye my dinner was brought in a tray covered with 
 a fine white cloth ; how I enjoyed that dinner, and then my 
 walk afterwards up and down the room. 
 
 I was quite strong, as much so as before my illness, and 
 my spirits rose to an unwonted pitch as I thought of what 
 would be this time to-morrow. I had an almost irresistible 
 inclination to sing Willie's song of " Scott's wha hae wi* 
 Wallace bled," as I paced up and down the room. 
 
 What would the good people below have thought if I had 
 indulged my fancy ? how it would have electrified haughty, 
 silent Mr. Scott ! 
 
 When I went down to breakfast next morning every one 
 'expressed themselves glad to see me. Even Mr. Scott 
 looked up from his paper, and said, " You have had a sick 
 bout, Mis3 Keith, you must not get wet again." Quite a 
 long speech for him. 
 
 Before leaving the room after breakfast, Mr. Robert said, 
 addressing himself to me : 
 
 " If you will allow me, Miss Keith, I will be here at half 
 past four to take you to the railway station." 
 
 " Thank you very much," I said heartily. It would be 
 dark at five ; I still felt weak and did not like the idea of 
 waiting in the railway station alone. I was very glad there- 
 fore to accept of Mr. Robert's kind offer. 
 
 With half past four came Mr. Robert ; I went down to the 
 hall and was handed into a carriage ; this annoyed me, why 
 go to that expense, we could have gone in the omnibus ; if 
 he made, as Georgy said, plenty of money, I knew he had 
 plenty to do with it ; Mrs. Macintosh had enlightened me on 
 the subject. 
 
 " How old is your brother, Miss Keith," he asked after 
 we were seated. 
 
 " Eighteen ; he is younger than I." 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 121 
 
 " So I should suppose, from this being his first year at 
 college." No compliment there to my youthful appearance. 
 
 " He must be taller than you ?" 
 
 " He could look over my head last year." 
 
 — The railway station. — I was handed from the car- 
 riage and into the waiting room, Mr. Robert finding me a 
 seat away from the draught of the door. I found several 
 ladies there, and I knew from the snatches of conversation I 
 heard, they were on the same errand as myself. 
 
 "We sat for a few minutes, when my companion said, " I 
 think the train must have arrived, from the bustle outside, 
 although I did not hear the whistle ; I will go and see ; do 
 not leave your seat until I come ; I will be back in a few 
 minutes." 
 
 I kept looking in the direction of the door, but the room 
 was so large and so dimly lighted, while people entered and 
 retired in such quick succession — such confusion: laughing, 
 talking, and shaking hands, that it would have been impos- 
 sible to recognize any one at the distance I sat from the 
 entrance : what a sea of faces, hats and bonnets, moving 
 backwards and forwards. I did not see Mr. Robert enter 
 until he was by my side. I looked up in his face, my heart 
 beating audibly ; dreading, yet expecting him to say : " your 
 brother has not arrived," when a clear well known voice at 
 my back and close to my ear said, " Es-tu la, ma soeur ?" 
 In a moment, I was back in the home of our early days, in 
 the old chateau on the banks of the Gironde, where playing 
 our favourite game of hide and seek, I would wrap myself in 
 the thick folds of the damask window curtain, or some other, 
 to me, impossible to be found place, when a little curly black 
 head and bright eye would peep slily in just at my shoulder, 
 saying clearly and merrily, as it had now been uttered, " Es- 
 
122 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 tu la, ma soeur ?" and I involuntarily exclaimed, as I was 
 wont in our old French home, " me*chant." 
 
 What a revulsion of feeling ; how handsome he looked ! and 
 how proud I felt as I introduced him to Mr. Robert. I 
 think he must have grown a foot since I saw him last, and 
 he was so gentlemanly, I felt he was inferior to none, supe- 
 rior to most I had met since we parted, chemist's boy as he 
 was. 
 
 We moved towards the door, when Willie looking sharply 
 round, called out " Carlo, Carlo ; " and in a second my uncle's 
 Carlo, who I believed to be dead and buried, came pushing 
 his way through the crowd. 
 
 " Willie, who is this ?" I asked in amazement. 
 
 " Don't you know Carlo, uncle's Carlo." 
 
 " Yes, I know him, but I thought he was dead. 
 
 ;< Nonsense, who told you that ; you see he's not, and he's 
 mine now," and he added laughingly, " I will tell you 
 Carlo's history by and bye, it is quite a romance." 
 
 We entered the carriage, and I sat with Willie's hand 
 clasped in both mine : Tuesday was my happiest day then, 
 this was my happiest day now. 
 
 " I have got you such a nice little parlour and bedroom," 
 said I, " but the bedroom is no bigger than a cupboard." 
 
 " If it is cheap enough all the rest will do." 
 
 " Then I think that will do ; but Carlo, I fear your land- 
 lady will object to Carlo. 
 
 " I hope not ; if so, she must kick me out along with 
 Carlo, we must be together." 
 
 The carriage stopped at the common stair leading to Mrs. 
 Livingstone's land ; Willie left the carriage first, then Mr. 
 Robert, who in handing me out said, " I shall not leave town 
 for some hours, and will call for you at nine o'clock, if that 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 123 
 
 is not too early." " How very kind and good you are," said 
 I, and in my happiness and gratitude I clasped his offered 
 hand in both my own. 
 
 He looked earnestly in my face ; a look of such powerful 
 meaning. I put it by in my heart, and kept it there, and 
 years afterwards, in a time of great trouble, when his very 
 name had become almost a shadow, I took it out, looked at 
 it, and was comforted. 
 
 We ascended to the land, lighted on our way by one miser- 
 able lamp, which hung midway in the staircase, and served 
 just to make the darkness visible. The door was opened by 
 Mrs. Livingstone in person. 
 
 " How's aw wi' ye ; come in ; this will be your brither," 
 said she, in a tone of voice which of itself gave a hearty wel- 
 come, " come awa in, sir," and she measured him with her 
 eye from head to foot, evidently surprised ; and added, " I 
 thought he was a laddie, but he's a young man." Willie 
 looked very pleased and drew himself up to his full height. 
 
 " Will you show me your door-mat, Madame ?" (Willie's 
 French stuck more closely to him than mine did,) looking at 
 the same time for such a piece of furniture. 
 
 " It's just inside the door," said our hostess pointing it 
 out, U we aye tak it in, in the gloamin ; there's sae money 
 orra folk gangs up and down the stair, it might be taen 
 awa." 
 
 The mat being found, Willie called Carlo, and shewed it 
 to him, when he, with great doggish sagacity, brushed all his 
 four feet. 
 
 " I taught him to do that myself," said Willie, evidently 
 proud of the feat. 
 
 " Na weel then, that coo's aw," said Mrs. Livingstone, 
 " but come ben ye'er surely caul, and Maister Scott tillet 
 me at ye've been in yer bed sine ye ware here." 
 
124 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 We entered the parlour that was to be Willie's, not pas- 
 sing through the sitting room as I done done, but by a door 
 opening from the landing ; it was the very picture of com- 
 fort on a small scale ; a small but bright fire, the tea pot on 
 one hob, the kettle on the other ; on the table a tray contain- 
 ing cups and saucers, sugar, &c, outside the tray fresh 
 bread, butter, eggs, and last but not least, a glass dish con- 
 taining preserves. 
 
 " Pit aff your things in the chamber there, and come to 
 the fire side and tak your tae." 
 
 A behest and invitation which we most gladly obeyed. 
 " Fess ben the eggs, Jean," said her Mistress ; and pre- 
 sently Jean appeared bringing in a plate of fried eggs in 
 addition to those already on the table ; and acknowledging 
 my acquaintance by a slight smile and a curtsey. Mrs. 
 Livingston made tea for us, during which she said to Willie , 
 " I gae Jean twa shillins and gart her buy as muckle tae and 
 sugar and white bread and butter and eggs, as will serve ye 
 for a week, an ye can buy meal on Monday, an fa'an Jean 
 bakes our ain bread, she'll bake for you. I put down the 
 jam o' my ain to welcome you, but young lads dinna need 
 jam ilka day." 
 
 " No, indeed," said I ; " Willie wishes to live as cheaply 
 as he can," and turning to him, I said, # the rent is only 
 five shillings a week, and I am sure we can pay that ; but, 
 (to Mrs. Livingstone) how much will it cost us for coals ?" 
 
 " It wonna cost ye ony thing, nor his drap milk either ; 
 I get my milk frae ain o'my ain bairns, at bids out at the 
 meadows, an I aye hae mair than I can had my face to : 
 bit ae' thing, I dinna like ye'er dog muckle, we aw his main- 
 ners, he'll file the house whiles, an' I canna abide a fule 
 house." 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 125 
 
 " Let Carlo stay until Tuesday," said I, " and by that 
 time we may perhaps think of some place to put him." 
 
 " Je ne resterai pas sans mon chien," said Willie. 
 
 " What's ye'er wull ?" inquired she, turning her head to 
 one side, and then quickly added, " I whiles think I'm grown 
 deaf." After a pause, she returned thanks, and taking the 
 eatables from the table, locked them in a corner cupboard, 
 which I did not observe in my former survey of the room, 
 while doing this she observed : 
 
 " Their kind dacent folk, thae ye bide wi'. Mr. Scott came 
 here seeking ye, about an hour after I came hame on Tues- 
 day night ; he was down at Bernard's Row, and they sent 
 him here ; he said he was feart ye had lost the gaet, and he 
 came again on Wednesday and tald me ye was in your bed r 
 and bade me be sure an' keep the room for the lad." 
 
 We were now left alone ; and after Willie told me the state 
 of his finances, which were much better than I could have at 
 all supposed, he asked how I heard of the dog's death. I 
 told him of Mrs. Moodie's letter, and repeated what I knew 
 of the story. 
 
 " All is quite correct as far as it goes," said he, " only, 
 that my story begins where Mrs. Moodie's ends, she having 
 obtained her information from my uncle." 
 
 " After the dog pulled uncle to the ground, the whole in- 
 habitants of the house came hurry-scurry out to the lawn, 
 attracted by his cries, which were loud enough in all con- 
 science. A thought struck me— I knew I would never enter 
 the house again ; I cared little for that, but a desire strong 
 as death came over me — I must go and bid goodbye to my 
 great grand-mother's picture. I had come to be nearly as 
 fond of it as yourself, after you went away ; and I think I 
 wanted to show uncle I could go into the house whether he 
 
126 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 would or not. At all events, I walked straight up to the front 
 door, up stairs and round to the picture gallery ; the ladder 
 was there which they used when dusting the pictures ; I 
 placed it by the picture, went up, and kissed the face ; I 
 then descended at my leisure, and going along the gallery 
 went out by the left wing ; on coming out the coast was clear, 
 but at a little distance I saw James Robb, who goes for the 
 letters, and another man, • I think the coachman, dragging 
 Carlo between them ; I whistled to Carlo and they let him 
 go at once, so away he came with me ; however, after we 
 were a quarter of a mile from the gate, Jamie came running, 
 almost breathless, calling to me to stop. 
 
 " ' I mun tak the dog !' said he, ' the master ordered us to 
 kill him.' 
 
 " I asked if he had hurt my uncle — you should have seen 
 the queer expression of his face ; uncle is a harsh master ; 
 none of his servants like him, and I fear satisfaction was the 
 predominate feeling of his mind as he said — 
 
 " * Weel, I canna say that I think he's much hurt, but his 
 long-tailed black coat is torn in repacks ; I wadna gie three 
 pence for't to make garters, and I hae orders to kill the dog 
 and bury him, and never let the master see bane or hede o' 
 him again.' 
 
 " i Jamie,' said I, i give me the dog and I'll give you 
 a shilling for him ; I am going to Edinburgh very soon, and 
 I will chain him in the back court until I go ; no one shall 
 £ver see him here again,' and I offered him the shilling. 
 
 " The old man looked at me for a moment, and then said 
 with some emotion : — ' I'll give ye the dog, Master Willie, but 
 no for your siller, I winna tak that, but for your father's face 
 that sets on your shoulders an' looks at me through your een ; 
 I carried him about in my arms mony a day, and gin he was 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 127 
 
 livin' now you wadna need to rin like that frae your grand- 
 father's place, an its my thought that gin he was lookin' up 
 that's beneath the ground, yon proud peat up at the Hall 
 wadna hae sae muckle siller to ware on that ill faurt loon o' 
 his/ 
 
 "'Tak the dog, Master Willie/ said he, letting him go, 
 ' but for my sake dinna let him be seen or heard of; gin ye 
 do, I wanna be lang o' getting my leave frae the old place 
 whar I served your grandfather lang afore your father or 
 the master we hae now was born or thought of.' 
 
 '• * Fare ye well, my bonny lad,' he continued, ' and when 
 ye gang to Edinburgh mind ye come o' gentle blood, and 
 dinna be drawin' up we aw the common trash that's at the 
 college, but keep yoursel to yoursel, fear the Lord an' be an 
 honest man, and there's nae fear of ye.' 
 
 " When Jamie went off I came home with Carlo, whistling 
 ' Scot's wha hae wi' Wallace bled ' every step of the road. 
 I told Mrs. Rexford all about it, and she laughed heartily. 
 The doctor had been sent for to see my uncle, and when he 
 came home I told him ; all he said was to take care I would 
 not allow Carlo to be seen. I asked if uncle was hurt. — 
 * No,' said he, ' not his body, but his coat was, as Jamie 
 Robb said, not worth threepence to make garters, and if your 
 uncle is not hurt he was dreadfully frightened, which amounts 
 to much the same thing.' " 
 
 Faithful to his promise, with nine o'clock came Mr. Robert; 
 he asked Willie to occupy a seat in his pew on the morrow, 
 and accompany us home to dinner ; to this Willie gladly as- 
 sented. Mr. Robert's plaid was spread on the seat of the 
 carriage for me to sit on, and wrapping me round as if I were 
 an Egyptian mummy, he said : — " There is no fear of your 
 taking cold this time !" 
 
128 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 On the morrow after the second service Willie came ; I 
 had not seen him since the evening previous, as feeling too 
 weak to go to Edinburgh, I went to Mrs. Macintosh's pew in 
 the village church, which I had done on one or two former 
 occasions. I took him into the conservatory, and was pleased 
 to see with what interest he examined all the plants ; it was a 
 lovely afternoon, the twilight creeping in upon the day. Into 
 the bowling green and round the belting we went ; there was a 
 little nook there that Georgy called her bower, where the spring 
 rose that fed the brook in the shrubbery. The gnarled roots 
 of a giant elm had formed an alcove over the little shallow 
 pool with its clear pebbly bottom, scarce a foot in diameter, 
 where the spring gurgled up. Among the elm roots above, 
 yet near enough the pool to be mirrored there, grew a single 
 plant of wild violet, while out and in through the great roots, 
 and completely covering the bank above up to the bole of 
 the tree, an abundance of long-trailing moss and curling lady 
 fern, had made their home ; these overshadowed, and would 
 have quite hid the violet, but for her blue eyes which were 
 ever bending forward to look down into the clear water, that 
 she might see her own fair form reflected there. 
 
 I brought Willie to the great elm and shewed him Georgy's 
 pet. — " The pretty little thing," said he, " how lovely she will 
 look in the bright moonlight when the stars come peeping in 
 to see her admiring herself." 
 
 These few words were to me cause of deep thankfulness ; 
 they told me his soul had entered the " chambers of imagery," 
 and that wandering in the wide labyrinths and drinking from 
 the pure fountains there, he would never long to tread the 
 miry ways, or thirst to drink from the polluted and troubled 
 springs which form the enjoyment of so large a portion of his 
 compeers. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 129 
 
 I felt a little uneasy as to how Willie might behave at 
 table : when only ten years of age there was no fear of his 
 making any mistake ; we had been carefully trained in this 
 as in everything else, by a loving mother, but I had not 
 dined with him since we came to Scotland, and I was not at 
 all sure as to the etiquette of the table ; we are so much the 
 creatures of circumstances that we generally imitate the 
 habits of those around us, even when we degenerate by so 
 doing ; however, by the time the cloth was removed, I was 
 perfectly at ease on this score. After dinner we spent an 
 hour in performing the promise we had made to mamma, and 
 which we had not forgotten when we met last in Willie's new 
 home. 
 
 We spent the evening in Mr. Robert's] Sabbath school, 
 where Willie agreed to take a class, and we bid each other 
 goodnight at the gate of Iona Villa, he going full of hope on 
 his way to Edinburgh, and I entering my happy home with a 
 light and thankful heart. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Willie passed his examination with credit, and was admitted 
 as a medical student ; that was cause of thankfulness, although, 
 until after he passed, and I saw him in such spirits because he 
 had done so, the possibility of his failing had never occurred 
 to me. Drawling, dreary dark November came and went with 
 its short wet days, and December came and passed away like- 
 wise, with its bright smiles and Christmas cheer. 
 
 One morning, early in January, I called Georgy to her 
 lessons twice before she came ; and at last when she appeared, 
 her eyes were red and swollen with weeping. " What is the 
 matter, child ?" I asked. 
 
 " Papa is in one of his rages about nothing ; I would rather 
 be dead than live in this way." 
 
 " What were you doing to excite your papa's anger ? " 
 
 " Oh ! nothing that need have displeased any one : I was 
 plucking a few roses in the conservatory : I heard Robert say 
 in the morning, that he thought there were worms in the soil, 
 and so I thought I would turn them out to save him the trouble, 
 so that was all the reason ; he called me a wasteful Papist 
 like my mother ; I am sure mamma is much better than him." 
 
 " Were you potting the roses with that dress on ? " I asked, 
 and I looked at the violet coloured merino she wore, soiled 
 with earth on the skirt and sleeves. 
 
 " Yes, " was her answer, " but I can brush that off, " she 
 added, as she saw my eye resting on her earth stained dress, 
 and with her handkerchief she made several ineffectua 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 131 
 
 attempts to remove the marks, at last giving it up for a bad 
 job, saying as she seated herself: — " I wonder mamma ever 
 married him, he's so ugly : and when mamma was young, she 
 was perfectly beautiful." 
 
 I had my doubts about that, but said nothing. 
 
 " Dont you think papa awfully ugly ? " asked she. 
 
 " No, I certainly do not ? " 
 
 " Well, Miss Keith," said she hastily, " every one else- 
 does : and mamma told me herself, that she could never have 
 her picture taken correctly, because her features were too 
 good ! " 
 
 I fancy she must have thought I looked rather sceptical, as 
 she continued with heightened colour : 
 
 " And Mary says that she remembers mamma one of the 
 most beautiful women in Edinburgh ; but of course papa's 
 temper has changed her very much ; Mary says so ! " 
 
 There must indeed have been a wonderful change in both 
 complexion and features. 
 
 That night when going to bed, I wished to drink, but as 
 there was no water in the room, a very unusual neglect with 
 Simpson, I preferred suffering a little from thirst, to wander- 
 ing downstairs, and perhaps encountering Mr. Robert, who 
 always sat up late, or worse still, Mr. Scott, whose temper 
 seemed not to have recovered its equilibrium since the affair 
 with Georgy in the morning. 
 
 In the middle of the night, however, I awoke so parched 
 with thirst, that it seemed as if I must drink or die, so putting 
 on a dark dressing gown and slippers, I went down to the 
 parlour without a light, as I knew I could find the water, by 
 the light from the hall, which was always left burning. 
 
 When I reached the parlour, 1 found there was no water 
 on the side board — (Simpson's mason must have been at Iona 
 
132 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 Villa to-night) taking a tumbler I went into the conserva- 
 tory, certain of being able to quench my thirst at the fountain 
 there. As I finished one of the most delicious draughts of 
 pure water I ever tasted, I heard loud footsteps tramp tramp, 
 in the hall, and in a second Mr. Scott entered the parlour, and 
 passed from thence into the conservatory, with a candle in 
 one hand and a carving knife in the other. 
 
 " Damn them, the papist set," said he, as he entered. " I'll 
 teach them to spend my money that way." 
 
 I was in the shadow of the fountain, and I remained per- 
 fectly still, almost paralyzed with fear ; he placed the candle- 
 stick on one of the garden chairs, and then going to the front 
 shelves containing the roses, cut down every one, equal with 
 the pot, throwing them to the ground as he did so, and then 
 stamping upon them in his rage, swore the most horrible oaths, 
 as he stamped, again and again, on the broken roses : at last 
 snatching up the candle he exclaimed, " damn them, I'll fire 
 the house about their ears, " and in another moment he was 
 gone. What was I to do ? he seemed as if he were capable of 
 this or anything else he might take into his head to do in 
 his present state of frenzy ; if I waited for five minutes, it 
 might be too late, the house would be in a blaze ; in a second 
 I was at the foot of the staircase on my way to arouse Mr. 
 Robert, but before I had time to ascend one step, I heard 
 Miss Hariote speaking, in a clear low voice ; and looking up, 
 I saw her standing on the last step of the stairs, her hand 
 *ipon her father's arm as he stood two steps below. 1 stood 
 looking up, feeling as if I were transfixed to the spot ! she 
 spoke for a few minutes, her hand still resting on his arm, 
 and then taking the candle from his hand, she walked slowly 
 into his room, he following at the same pace. 
 
 I remained standing there until I was thoroughly chilled, 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 133 
 
 fearing to go up stairs lest I should meet Miss Hariote com- 
 ing from her father's room : I would not on any accoun 
 that she should know I had seen this sad exhibition of the 
 poor man's ungovernable temper. 
 
 At last I was so cold, I could wait no longer, and treading 
 as softly as possible, I was in my own room and in bed in a 
 few minutes. 
 
 Poor girl ; what can keep her in that room so long ? I 
 had rather be the governess than Miss Hariote Scott. 
 
 Next morning I glanced into the conservatory as I sat 
 down to breakfast ; everything there was in its usual order, 
 only there were stocks of different bright colours where the 
 roses were wont to be : three days later the rose trees ap- 
 peared again and in full blossom, we had benefitted by the 
 change, those that were destroyed had only green leaves. 
 
 One morning it rained so heavily that Georgy and I 
 could not take our usual walk, which at this season of the 
 year we always did in the morning ; on our rising from 
 breakfast, Mr. Robert proposed, as we could not go out, that 
 Georgy and I should each take a pair of scissors and re- 
 move the dead leaves from the plants, which exercise would 
 form a good substitute for a walk 
 
 We very readily agreed to do so, and set to work at once, 
 leaving Mr. Scott and his son seated at the breakfast table. 
 
 As we commenced our labours, Mr. Robert said, addressing 
 his father, " you must see about Harry ; Mr. Watts has been 
 at my office twice lately, and I have tried my influence without 
 success." 
 
 " What is the matter now ? What has Harry been doing, or 
 rather, what is it that he won't do ? no tying together of cats 
 tails again, I hope. " 
 
 J 1 Oh no, but the old story of the Latin resumed ; Mr. 
 
 K 
 
134 VIOLET KIETH. 
 
 Watts says it is perfectly impossible to get a proper transla- 
 tion or a well-written exercise from him ; he has tried punish- 
 ment in all its forms with no effect ; would it not be better to 
 lay aside the idea of bringing him up to the law ?" 
 
 " No," said the old man, and rising from his chair he 
 paced up and down the room with a heavy tread, his hands 
 thrust into his pockets, and his scarlet dressing-gown waving 
 to and fro behind. 
 
 " No," twice, and such a determined no. " Here is nothing 
 for a man to do now, except the law or the church : you 
 would make a better parson than Harry yourself, Artty: 
 besides every black coat in the country is expected to know 
 Latin, although the half of them don't know more about it 
 than Harry does." 
 
 He stopped short in his walk, looked at the floor, as if he 
 became suddenly sensible of something extraordinary in the 
 pattern of the carpet, and then, raising his head, and turning 
 to his son, said in a tone of voice I should not have fancied at 
 all if I had been in Harry's place : — " Bring him down here 
 to me at five o'clock." 
 
 And he strode from the room, with the firm step and erect 
 gait of a man of fifty. 
 
 After both father and son had left the room, Georgy whis- 
 pered almost below her breath, as if she feared the vine leaves 
 overhead would repeat her words, " I should not like to be 
 Harry to-night." 
 
 With five o'clock came Mr. Robert, accompanied by Harry, 
 the latter going at once to his mamma's room, where, how- 
 ever, he only remained a few minutes, having found there no 
 elucidation of the mystery of his being brought home so sud- 
 denly. 
 
 He then came into the school-room very unceremoniously y 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 135 
 
 and without shutting the door or speaking to any one, seated 
 himself on the window-seat, with his back to the window, and 
 his hands in his trowsers' pockets ; this elegant mode of dis- 
 posing of his hands, I found he copied from his papa, and 
 after sitting thus for a few minutes, said with a very ill-tem- 
 pered look and voice : — " George, what's up with pa now ? 
 Artty sent one of his chaps to school for me, but like him he 
 would not tell me a word about it." 
 
 And he kicked his heels with vehemence against the side 
 of the window-seat, as I had seen him do on a former occasion. 
 
 Georgy told him all about it, that is all she knew, repeat- 
 ing faithfully every word her father and brother had said in 
 the morning. 
 
 " Well," said he, his face scarlet with rage, " after that 
 anything : if Bob is'nt the deceitfullest fellow in all the world, 
 and I asked him twice coming down what it was, — that beats 
 dickey ; and him at the beginning and the end of it himself; 
 what business has he coming down to clash on me to pa ?" 
 
 After a pause, during which he kicked the window-seat 
 with more violence than ever, he said : — " I wont stay at 
 school any more, George, I think I'll run off." 
 
 " Where to, Harry ?" asked Georgy, pale with terror at 
 the mischief she had made. 
 
 " Don't know : perhaps off to sea with some of the ships." 
 
 " But your always sea-sick, Harry," suggested Georgy. 
 
 " Of course I am, and is'nt that just what he wants? 
 would'nt he laugh, if he got me out of the way off to Calcutta 
 or somewhere, and pa all to himself." 
 
 " Oh," continued he, beating the carpet with one foot in a 
 half kicking sort of motion : " if Bob is'nt the meanest dog 
 out, I don't know who is : first to clash all the stories he can 
 scrape up to pa, and then bring a fellow down and not say a 
 
136 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 word about it beats all ; let him come past the high school 
 the first snowy day, wont he catch it, Dido ! I'd just like to 
 have a shy at him." 
 
 " But if you go to sea ?" said I. 
 
 " What's your business ?" said he, getting upon his feet, 
 " do you think I'm going to sea to please you or Bob either ; 
 its like you, always poking in church with him." 
 
 " I'll tell you what I'll do, George ; I'll provoke him, see 
 if I don't ; to-morrow night is Friday ; so I'll ask old Watts to 
 let me go to the Symes, and I'll tell Ellen Syme every word, 
 and if she'll mind him after that she's as mean as himself.' ' 
 
 " The very thing," said G-eorgy, " I would if I were you ;" 
 and they both laughed ; the mirth, however, was put a sudden 
 stop to, by Simpson coming to desire Harry go to his father 
 in the dining-room. 
 
 " Tell him I've got to wash my face and hands first," said 
 he, suddenly recollecting that this was necessary. 
 
 When we came down to dinner, Harry was standing on the 
 hearth-rug sharpening his pencil ; he must have found it difficult 
 to succeed in making a point, as the hearth inside the fender 
 was literally covered with little chips of wood. 
 
 Mr. Scott was sitting in the large leather chair opposite, his 
 head leaning on the back, his legs crossed and his arms rest- 
 ing on the projecting side of the chair ; between the finger and 
 thumb of his right hand, he held a long gold pencil case, 
 which he turned up and down slowly and at regular intervals ; 
 !he kept his eye steadily fixed on the boy, and said as we en- 
 tered : — " Now, Hal, you know I can keep my promise, be 
 at for good or evil." 
 
 During dinner Master Harry gave sundry very angry 
 glances at his brother ; at last finding that it was impossible to 
 control his temper without some little outburst, he kicked 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 13T 
 
 poor Don, who was streched at full length under the table, and 
 turning to his father said, in a quick manner and with flash- 
 ing eye : — " Pa, will you make Bob keep his feet to his own 
 side of the table ?" 
 
 His father looked under the dining table, and having 
 satisfied himself that Mr. Robert's feet were where they 
 ought to be, hemmed in reply. 
 
 " After dinner, Harry and his father went to Edinburgh, 
 the former coming first to bid good-bye, Georgy whispered 
 softly: — " What did papa say ?" 
 
 " Not much," was his reply; " Bob missed fire this time ; 
 but I'll never speak to him again all my life, he's too mean." 
 
 We were to have a great dinner party, a gentleman's 
 
 party, it was to be, but a very great affair. Lord B , 
 
 was in Edinburgh — he and Mr. Scott were great friends in 
 their younger days, and as Lord B. resided in France, only 
 visiting London when his parliamentary duties called him there, 
 and seldom coming to Scotland, they had not met for years 
 — and the party was given for him. 
 
 Dr. S also was to be an honoured guest, that is, if 
 
 he came, a question which would be doubtful up to the hour of 
 cause. The rest of the party consisted of gentlemen holding 
 the same situation as Mr. Scott, among whom was Mr. 
 Syme and others of high standing in the law. 
 
 I assisted Miss Hariote in writing the invitations, and very 
 carefully they were done — plain cream laid paper, the enve- 
 lopes not of a very small size, and sealed with an impression 
 of the family arms in red wax. 
 
 In addressing the cards, I found that John Erskine, ad- 
 vocate, was one of the invited guests. 
 
 There were ten guests, which, with Mr. Scott and his son, 
 made the proper number of gentlemen : twelve, Mrs. and 
 
138 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 Miss Scott were to dine at table ; if all the guests came, Miss 
 Hariote was not to make one at the table, if one only did not 
 ■arrive, she must fill the empty chair; if two were wanting, she 
 was again relieved from the duty ; but if three, then she must 
 be there ; the numbers must be equal on each side of the 
 table. 
 
 If we lived plainly in general, everything now was to be in 
 profusion, and the best which could be got. 
 
 The salmon was one of the first and finest of the season, 
 so large that I wondered where the saucepan would be got 
 4o boil it, or the ashet to put it on when boiled. 
 
 When the day came, every invited guest came with it ; 
 
 ■even Dr. S was there in time to hear grace said ; dinner 
 
 was at seven, and the Misses Syme and two Misses Campbell 
 I had never seen, were to come at eight to help the ladies of 
 the family to entertain their guests. 
 
 The Misses Campbell were pretty girls, tall and well made, 
 with blue eyes and fair hair, the latter a little tinged with the 
 national colour ; they were easy and pleasant in their man- 
 ners, and evidently great favourites with Mrs. and Miss 
 Scott. 
 
 Mr. Erskine and Mr. Weimes were the first to leave the 
 dining-room, and by degrees we were favoured by older and 
 brighter lights. 
 
 I watched each face as its possessor came into the drawing 
 
 room, anxious to see the lion of the evening, Lord B ; 
 
 when he came, I knew him at once before he was pointed out 
 to me : there was the same peculiar looking nose, the same 
 truly Scotch face as I possessed embossed on a card half a foot 
 square, presented to me in my school days, as a prize for my 
 •knowledge in English history. 
 
 Next in interest was Dr. S- ; he was a short stout 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 139 
 
 man, who very evidently paid little attention to the duties of 
 the toilet ; an immense head ; strongly marked features ; with 
 beautiful eyes and a great quantity of fine hair ; his mouth 
 most expressive ; at one moment firmly set, at another full of 
 tenderness and again of drollery. 
 
 After tea, which consisted in most cases of a cup of 
 tea being held in the hand, one or two little sips taken, enough 
 to moisten the lips, and then placed on the table, we had a 
 little vocal music. Miss Ellen Syme sung " a wee bird cam to 
 our ha door," as usual, very beautifully, the Misses Campbell 
 sung one or two Jacobite songs, duettes, with great applause ; 
 but a Gaelic song, the air of which was arranged for the piano 
 as a duette by the young ladies themselves, and sung in parts, 
 was received with an approbation which must have been very 
 flattering to the fair performers. Nearly all the gentlemen 
 were Gaelic scholars, or at least understood enough of the lan- 
 guage to comprehend the meaning of the song. Later in the 
 evening Miss Elizabeth Campbell translated it for me, it ran 
 thus : 
 
 * Oh ! my lovely Mary, thou, in thy beauty, dost far outshine 
 All the other maids who wander in the glen ; 
 Oh ! my beautiful love, elegance is thine." 
 
 One or twice during the evening I was annoyed by Mr. 
 Weimes staring very unceremoniously in my face ; I changed 
 my seat to no purpose, his eyes were still upon me : at last 
 Ellen Syme, who sat next to me, said with a smile : — " Miss 
 Keith, you are a fortunate girl, you have made a conquest of 
 Nabob Weimes.' ' 
 
 I answered by some pleasantry, and almost immediately 
 after Mr. Robert, advancing towards me, accompanied by Mr. 
 Weimes, begged leave to introduce him. 
 
 I felt exceedingly awkward, and was not relieved by Ellen 
 
140 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 Syme, rising from her seat by my side, and taking Robert 
 Scott's arm, saying, as she did so : — " You will give me a few 
 roses, won't you ? look at my poor flower, how the heat of the 
 room has withered it." 
 
 In my eyes her bouquet was fresh and beautiful, but away 
 they went through the hall to the conservatory, which was 
 lighted up for the occasion, and was doubtless a more pleas- 
 ant place for a promenade, than the crowded drawing-room ; 
 particularly as Miss Ellen was sure there to have the conver- 
 sation of her handsome lover all to herself. 
 
 Mr. Weimes took the seat on the sofa vacated by Miss 
 Syme, and almost immediately said : — " I have sought an 
 introduction to you, Miss Keith, to ask if your mother's name 
 was Violet de Sallaberry, and also, if your father was a Colonel 
 in the East Indian Company's service." 
 
 " My mother's name was Violet de Sallaberry, and my 
 father was a Colonel in the East India Company's service ;" 
 and I looked in his face for an explanation of his motive in 
 making the inquiry. 
 
 " I was your father's groomsman," was his answer, — " and 
 I had also the pleasure of being one of your earliest acquain- 
 tances. A dear sister, whom I lost six months ago, was your 
 Godmother. Your father and mother, soon after their mar- 
 riage, went to live on the banks of the Garonne, and I hired 
 a house there also, to be near my old friend, where we spent 
 two happy summers, at the end of which my business 
 required my presence in India, and we never met again. 
 Your likeness to your mother is so striking, that on finding 
 your name was Keith, I felt convinced you could be no other 
 than the daughter of my old friend." 
 
 Mr. Weimes sat by me the whole evening, and gave me 
 his arm to the supper table, asking me many questions about 
 
VOLET KEITH. 141 
 
 my mother, and telling me several interesting anecdotes of 
 my parents during their residence at Lamotte, in the early 
 days of their married life. I often thought of the vivid pic. 
 tures he drew of their happy days, and repeated them to 
 Willie, but his being present at my mother's marriage and my 
 baptism I quite forgot ; no I did not forget, thank God for it, 
 there is no such thing as forgetting ; a record once written on 
 the memory is never obliterated ; there it is safe ; and wave 
 upon wave of our every day life comes, each bringing its por- 
 tion of sand and debris, until the loose sand becomes a solid 
 rock where the earth accumulates and the grass grows, and 
 we pass over it, but one day the rock is shivered to pieces, 
 and lo ! the little unthought of pebble is there round and 
 smooth, not one red or brown streak lost. 
 
 And so, these words of his, which seemed forgotten almost 
 as soon as spoken, came to me in my greatest need, in my 
 sorest trial, filling my soul with joy and gladness, turning my 
 captivity as the waters in the south. 
 
 At supper Lord B asked Mr. Syme his opinion on 
 
 some right of way case, which had been tried in the Court of 
 Session, and on which their Lordships were to deliver judg- 
 ment in a few days. 
 
 " You must ask Robert Scott, he is junior counsel for the 
 defendant," said Mr. Syme. 
 
 Lord B then requested Mr. Robert to give him an 
 
 idea of the leading facts of the case. 
 
 He at once complied, speaking with great eloquence for 
 fully ten minutes, during which not a finger was raised, 
 scarcely a breath drawn. 
 
 The great statesman sat eyeing the speaker, one hand 
 placed on the table, his head bent a little to one side and for- 
 ward, his keen eye never for a moment relaxing in its intense 
 look of attention ; not a muscle of his face moved. 
 
142 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 I looked from Lord B to Mr. Scott ; there the old 
 
 man sat, all eye, all ear ; his thin lips firmly pressed together ; 
 his whole frame dilated with the pride he felt in listening to 
 his son's eloquence. 
 
 When he had finished, no one spoke for full half a minute ; 
 at last Lord B said, 
 
 " Mr. Scott, why don't you go to the English bar ?" 
 
 I do not know what Mr. Robert's answer was, or if he 
 made one, but immediately a hubbub of voices arose each 
 declaiming against such a proceeding. 
 
 Miss Hariote's eyes were filled with tears of joy. 
 
 Ellen Syme's whole face glowed with happiness as she 
 looked at her handsome and eloquent lover, his words flowing 
 forth in their beauty, diamonds and pearls and emeralds entran- 
 cing these men learned in all the learning of the Egyptians, 
 with the power of his intellect — she had good cause for hap- 
 piness — he was handsome, learned, eloquent, and much more, 
 he prayed while other men talked, and while others cast their 
 gifts into the treasury, his left hand knew not what his right 
 did ; when the eye saw him it blessed him, and he caused the 
 widow's heart to sing for joy. 
 
 We had another demonstration, and a very painful one, of 
 Mr. Scott's ungovernable temper, a few weeks after the 
 dinner party. 
 
 In the paddock behind the shrubbery was kept a dear little 
 shaggy Shetland pony, which, as well as Don, was Georgy's 
 private property. Popity was a general favorite and possess- 
 ed a large share of his mistress's affection, and helped to give 
 tier healthful exercise as well as amusement in her play 
 hours. 
 
 We used to feed him with biscuit, gingerbread, in short, 
 anything we had to give. Popity was always ready to eat, 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 143 
 
 and so knowing was he, that on seeing any of us at the pad- 
 dock gate with outstretched hand, he would come running to 
 us in his helter-skelter way, eager to receive our offerings. 
 
 Poor Popity was too knowing ; when the gate was left with 
 only the latch keeping it shut, he would open that most un- 
 ceremoniously, and walk into the forbidden ground of the 
 bowling green. 
 
 Now, although the green was never used for the purpose 
 which its name would imply, yet Mr. Scott liked to see it 
 smooth and nicely kept, as he did everything in and around 
 his house, and Popity 's feet made most unseemingly marks 
 on the closely shaven grass, and more than once he trod down 
 the early crocuses, as they came up with their golden and 
 purple heads and shiny green leaves, above the brown cold 
 earth, to make us glad, and he did not spare even the little 
 snowdrop, which, with no guardian leaves to keep her safe 
 from the cold damp earth, seemed to hang her fair young 
 head, asking for the protection nature had denied her. 
 
 I must confess Popity's offences in this respect were many 
 and most provoking. At last Mr. Scott brought home a pad- 
 lock, which was to replace the sliding bar used for fastening 
 the gate in addition to the latch. 
 
 Mr. Scott fastened the gate himself with the padlock 
 attached to a chain, and hung the key in the porch of the 
 back door leading to the bowling green, informing us all that 
 he had done so, and, that the first time, he found the pony in 
 the shrubbery, he would shoot him. 
 
 The key had been in use about a month, when one morning 
 Miss Hariote, Georgy and I were seated in the school room ; 
 (it was Georgy's hour for French reading, in which she was 
 now very proficient,) when suddenly we heard the report of a 
 pistol ; Georgy clasped her hands together, and pale with 
 
144 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 terror cried out ? Popity.' We all ran to the window, and sure 
 enough there lay poor Popity in the bowling green, a long 
 dark streak from his neck, telling but too surely his hours 
 were numbered. Mr. Scott was walking slowly towards the 
 house, examining the pistol which he still held in his hand 
 as he walked along. 
 
 The look and air of intense rage which Georgy's face and 
 whole form presented as she left the room with erect head, 
 staring eye and dilated nostril, I shall ever remember. 
 
 Miss Hariote and I hurried out after her ; she had already 
 thrown herself on the ground beside the dying pony. Poor 
 fellow, he knew that she was there, and made an ineffectual 
 effort to stretch his head towards her ; she put one arm over 
 his neck and laid her fair young head on the pony's, sobbing 
 as if her heart would break. 
 
 " Popity, Popity," she said, in a low and bitter tone, as if 
 her last hope had fled. Poor Popity tried twice to raise one 
 of his fore feet in answer to the kind voice he loved so well, 
 but it would not be, that little shaggy ' foot will never rise 
 again. Georgy raised her head for a moment, lifted the foot 
 and put it in her lap, and then laid her head down as before 
 on Popity's, and long after his heart had ceased to beat, and 
 no breath came, no muscle moved, and he was dead, dead, 
 she lay there, and no persuasion that Miss Hariote or I could 
 urge were of any avail to make her move from the body of 
 her pet. Poor child, it was her first great sorrow, and per- 
 haps as bitter as any she will ever feel. 
 
 " I will go and bring mamma," said Miss Hariote, and 
 going into the house she returned in a few minutes with Mrs. 
 Scott, who, with Don's assistance, succeded in making 
 Georgy leave poor Popity's body, and go into the house, from 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 145 
 
 whence they both departed an hour afterwards in a close 
 carriage with valise and bandbox. 
 
 Miss Hariote told me her mother was very fierce when she 
 heard of the pony's death, having been quite ignorant of all 
 that had occurred, until her daughter went to call her. 
 
 Miss Hariote added, rt I am sure they have gone to Roslin ; 
 my aunt lives there, a sister of mamma's, whose two youngest 
 girls are about Georgy's age. We will not see them for about 
 a week at least." 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 April had come with its smiles and tears, and with it the, to- 
 me, rather curious announcement that Miss Scott was to be 
 married. 
 
 The happy man was a Mr. Murray, a Catholic gentleman, 
 who frequently visited at Iona Villa, and who always paid 
 particular attention to both Mrs. and Miss Scott, and who, I 
 knew, was a particular favourite with the former, but the idea 
 of Miss Scott's having a lover, never once entered into my 
 calculations. 
 
 When Mrs. Scott informed me, which she did with her 
 usual dignity, of the approach of the auspicious event, she 
 said, a Mary has been particularly fortunate in her choice of 
 a husband — rich, of a good family, gentlemanly manners, 
 very much attached to herself,! an( *> above all, a Catholic ;" 
 and speaking at Miss Hariote, she added, " a Catholic wo- 
 man, who, after twenty years of age, marries either a Protes- 
 tant, a Jew, or a Mahomedan, or£in short, any one outside 
 the pale of the Catholic Church, must have, as Bishop Mac- 
 Donnell observed last Sunday in his beautiful sermon on the 
 duty of confession, a heart harder than the nether millstone, 
 and deserves the anguish which will wring it." 
 
 Mrs. Scott must have married before her twentieth year. 
 
 Mrs. Murray to be, was to have a carriage, an old family 
 mansion in Fifeshire, and a handsome town house in George 
 street, Edinburgh ; and in addition to all this, Mr. Murray 
 being a widower, she would have four children under twelve 
 years of age to welcome her home. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 14T 
 
 Miss Scott and her mother were in town every day buying 
 and giving orders for the wedding, which was to be a very 
 handsome one, Mr. Scott's heart having been opened in an 
 unwonted degree by the unexpected good fortune of his 
 daughter. The marriage was to take place as early in May 
 as possible, and the happy couple were to spend, at least, 
 three months on the continent, visiting friends of both families 
 in Rome and Florence. 
 
 On the first of April I had a long letter from Gertrude ; 
 it contained the sad intelligence of her father's death ; she 
 wrote on the subject just as I would have expected her to do, 
 full of the hope of a glorious immortality. " It is only part- 
 ing for a short time," she wrote, " when the Lord will come 
 he will most surely live again ; have we not the express pro- 
 mise that we who remain will not prevent those who are 
 asleep, and then shall we rise together to meet the Lord in 
 the air, and so shall we be for ever with the Lord." 
 
 They were settled at Algona, one of the first cities in Ca- 
 nada, at the time of her father's death, and by the advice of 
 Mr. Forbes, who was one of the parish priests there, she had 
 entered the convent of St. Bride as a boarder. 
 
 Her description of convent life was very beautiful ; the 
 nuns so amiable and sympathising, so full of good works. 
 
 Attached to the convent was an hospital for the sick and 
 aged, which, at the time she wrote, contained one hundred 
 and ten old and infirm people, whose bodily and spiritual 
 wants were attended to by the good nuns with the care and 
 attention bestowed by children on their parents. 
 
 There was also an educational establishment attached tc» 
 the convent, where some twenty-five young ladies were board- 
 ed and educated. Their English governess, who was re- 
 quired also to understand French wejl, the young ladies 
 
148 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 being, with few exceptions, French, had a salary of seventy- 
 five pounds a year ; she was to leave them in the vacation, 
 which took place in July, and in September ; if I would like 
 to come to Canada for a few years, Gertrude was sure that 
 she had interest sufficient with the Superior to procure the 
 situation for me. Gertrude said she would remain, at least, 
 three years in the convent, perhaps she would never leave 
 its walls ; convent life was the nearest to life in heaven we 
 could conceive of on earth; she pressed me very much to 
 oome to Canada, and urged every reason she could think of : 
 I would see part of another quarter of the globe at no expense 
 to myself, I would make as much money in one year as I 
 <jould make here in almost two, and so be better able to help 
 Willie, and I would be with one I loved well, and who had 
 been the companion of half my life ; and a great many more 
 ands. 
 
 I saw all these advantages : I would again be an inhabi- 
 tant of the same house with the one who, next to Willie, for 
 •eight years of my life, I loved the best in all the world, and 
 who still held her place in my affections, and ever would ; 
 again, with that large salary, I could afford, besides helping 
 Willie as much as I did at present, to lay by a sum each 
 year, which, at the end of three years — and Willie would 
 have finished his studies then — would suffice to purchase the 
 furniture needed for our cottage. But it was impossible to 
 think of such a thing. In the first place my engagement did 
 not terminate for two years to come, and even if it did, I 
 was too happy in my present home to think of leaving it for 
 any pecuniary advantage, unless, indeed, it were absolutely 
 needed for Willie's education. 
 
 To leave Iona Villa, and those there I loved so dearly, the 
 only true home I had known since my mother's death ! Oh, 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 149 
 
 no, no ; the very thought of such a thing, made my heart 
 beat with accelerated pace, and with a fluttering painful motion 
 I can scarcely describe ; go to Canada and not see Willie, 
 and those around me, who were so dear, for three years. Oh, 
 no ; when Willie and I have our cottage, I hope it will be in 
 Portobello, or in the nearest Suburb of Edinburgh, so that I 
 may teach my class in the same Sabbath-school and sit in the 
 same pew in church ; I wish for as little change as possible. 
 
 I answered Gertrude's letter, telling her of my present en- 
 gagement and my future plans, and I begged of her to write 
 to me often, and tell me all about her convent life. I wrote 
 my letter between dinner and tea, and had just finished when 
 Simpson came to call me. 
 
 As I entered the parlour, Mr. Robert, who had not dined 
 at home, came into the room with a newspaper in his hand. 
 
 " I have good news to tell to-night," said he, " Harry 
 Enderby has got his company." 
 
 " Is that all ?" said Miss Hariote. " I do not see how much 
 good that is going to do." 
 
 " Well, will this satisfy you ? " said he, and unfolding the 
 newspaper he read as follows : 
 
 "At Enderby Hall, on the twenty-second March, Sir Ernest 
 Enderby, Baronet. The estates and title descend to his nephew 
 Captain Henry Enderby, of her Majesty's Royal horse guards, 
 blue. 
 
 Every one seemed transfixed with astonishment, and very 
 agreeable astonishment ; at last Miss Scott asked, 
 
 " But where is his son ? " 
 
 " He died about a month previous to his father, from the 
 effects of a fall from his horse." 
 
 " Oh ! I am so glad ; what does Ellen say ? " did you see 
 
 L 
 
150 ' VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 Ellen ? " came from the lips of each of the three young ladies 
 almost at once. 
 
 " I have seen Miss Ellen Syme, and she says very little, 
 but she looks as happy and as beautiful as ever." 
 
 " Did you see Mr. Syme ? and what did he say ? " asked 
 Mrs. Scott. 
 
 ¥ I saw him certainly, and I find he looks with quite a dif- 
 ferent eye upon Sir Henry Enderby, to what he did on Lieu- 
 tenant Enderby ; they seem to be two distinct persons ; on 
 receiving my letters, I went to Mr. Syme's, and found them 
 at dinner, and Mr. Syme in the old way insisted on my sitting 
 down to table with them, although I had dined at the club ; 
 I knew very well how it would end, so at the risk of 
 frightening Ellen I said, ' I only called to give Ellen a note 
 I received in a letter this afternoon.' Ellen's face became as 
 white as the table cloth, and she looked as if she were petrified 
 with fear. Mr. Syme's face had exactly the look we see in 
 the close black cloud, before the thunder storm bursts, and 
 turning his face so as to look full in my eyes, he said : 
 
 " ' Mr. Robert Scott, may I ask who your letter was from ? ' 
 
 " ' Certainly, sir, from Sir Henry Enderby.' 
 
 " ' Sir Henry Enderby, who is he ? ' 
 
 " ' Why, don't you remember Harry Enderby, who two win- 
 ters ago won all the girls hearts ; he is now Sir H. Enderby 
 of Enderby Hall, in the county of Suffolk, and as he wished 
 me to deliver a note to Ellen from him, I thought there 
 would be no harm in doing so ; ' and I handed him the news- 
 paper with the black border, portioning off the account of the 
 funeral procession, folded outside so as first to meet his 
 eye. 
 
 " He took the paper from my hand, and at the same time 
 kept his eye on the note I handed to Ellen, he then rubbed 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 151 
 
 his spectacles, put them on ; and I suppose from the time he 
 took, read the account of the grand way in which Sir Ernest 
 was gathered to his fathers twice over ; he then returned me 
 the newspaper, saying, 
 
 " ' He's a lucky fellow that ; I remember him well — a tall, 
 thin, slip of an awkward looking lad.' 
 
 " ! Pardon me, sir,' said I, ' my memory brings me the 
 likeness of a very handsome soldier.' 
 
 " I looked to see how Ellen took all this, but saw only her 
 chair, so handing her father a letter I had for him, I said : — 
 ' Sir Henry has also addressed you, sir.' 
 
 " He took the letter from my hand, and put it on the table, 
 without saying a word ; I looked for the answer in his face ; 
 I might as well have looked on a sheet of blank paper ; as on 
 the face of the cool calculating lawyer." 
 
 " Miss Scott," said Mr. Robert, addressing his elder sister, 
 who always made tea, " having now satisfied the curiosity 
 of all the ladies present, I will, if you please, take a cup of 
 tea." 
 
 During tea, Ellen Syme, and her fortunate lover, formed, 
 the principle topic of conversation. 
 
 " I am so glad, — Ellen is so amiable, — she will be quite^ m, 
 great lady, they will be such a handsome couple," was echoed 
 on all sides. During all this, I felt perfectly overwhelmed 
 with surprise, it so upset all my former speculations on Miss 
 Ellen Syme's love affairs, although it explained satisfactorily, 
 what had before appeared to me her very openly displayed 
 preference for Mr. Robert ; she certainly rose in my esteem, , 
 as even under the impression that an engagement subsisted! 
 between them, I had formerly considered her as sadly want- 
 ing in maidenly reserve. 
 
 I was twice conscious of Mr. Robert's eye resting upon me 
 
152 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 with a peculiarly searching expression ; so much so, that it 
 made my cheek burn even to pain ; perhaps my face did not 
 possess the useful quality which he evidently appreciated so 
 highly in Mr. Syme's, and that he was reading there the 
 strange thoughts that were passing in such quick succession 
 .through my brain. I hope not. 
 
 The time appointed for Miss Scott's marriage was the 
 second of May, and it was now drawing very near ; I had de- 
 termined beforehand to ask a holiday for myself on that 
 day. Fortunately it was Willie's birthday, so that gave me 
 a good excuse for wishing to absent myself. How I dreaded 
 the usual question of, who is that ? — and its reply, — only the 
 governess. 
 
 The happy day arrived, and having obtained Mrs. Scott's 
 permission, who, it struck me, seemed very much pleased by 
 my making the request, I was on my way to Edinburgh 
 before eight o'clock in the morning. 
 
 As I opened the hall door in going out, I met Mr. Robert, 
 "who was returning from the walk which he took every morn- 
 ing before breakfast. 
 
 " Miss Keith," said he in a tone of surprise, " why so 
 early abroad ? " 
 
 "This i3 my brother's birthday, and I am going to Edin- 
 burgh, so that we may spend it together ; he does not expect 
 me, so it will be a pleasant surprise." 
 
 He opened the little gate for me to pass, and following me 
 •out, shut the gate and accompanied me on my way to town. 
 
 " It still wants twenty-five minutes to eight," said he 
 "looking at his watch ; " the air is so balmy, it is a punishment 
 to remain in the house ; if you will allow me, I will be the 
 vcompanion of your walk." 
 
 I gladly assented, and proposed that we should take the 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 15$ 
 
 way through the King's park. Although I often went to 
 Edinburgh, this path was to me untrodden as well as classic 
 ground ; when either of the Misses Scott were with me, we 
 always rode, and when alone, I had feared going through the 
 park lest I should miss my way. 
 
 Almost as we set out my companion said : — " I surprised 
 you the other night, when I told my sisters of the good fortune 
 of Sir Henry Enderby." 
 
 " You did indeed," I replied. " I had given Miss Syme 
 quite a different person as a lover." 
 
 " And to whom did you assign the fair lady ?" he inquired., 
 
 u Why, of course to yourself." 
 
 "To me ! " said he in a voice which he intended to ex- 
 press surprise, but instead, it told me plainly enough, he had 
 received the answer he expected, and he laughed so merrily,, 
 looking in my face as he did so, with that earnest expression 
 of eye I had seen him wear once before. " To me ! how very 
 preposterous. Ellen Syme would feel like a caged bird by 
 my side ; Ellen Syme, the beautiful moss rose courting the 
 sun's rays, shewing its dazzling beauty in the noonday light 
 and flinging its delicate fragrance on the passing breeze, 
 would soon wither and die buffeting the waves of fate, and 
 walking in the sunless by-paths which my love must tread ; 
 she herself the sweet violet, hiding her head in her own lowly 
 leaves, keeping her perfume for the touch of the loved one, 
 and smiling alike in tangled brake or woodland dell." 
 
 My face felt so hot, I had to untie my bonnet and throw 
 it as far off my head as propriety would permit ; we had ar- 
 rived at a hollow, where the ground was still soft, and the 
 turf wet, from the wintry rains not having yet dried up ; some 
 kind hand had placed large stones at regular distances, so. 
 that with care, the mimic swamp might be passed in safety. 
 
154 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 Mr. Robert gave me his hand, to assist me in crossing, 
 and walking in front himself, I passed over without even soil- 
 ing my shoes ; when we got to the smooth dry grass again, he 
 still kept my hand, as if to help me along : I tried to disen- 
 gage it from his, but he still kept it firmly, saying laughingly, 
 •" you will fall if I let you go alone." 
 
 " Ellen Syme," said he, resuming the subject we were 
 talking of before we came to the swampy ground, " will, as she 
 has ever wished to do, braid her sunny tresse3 with sparkling 
 gems ; my love must gather the pure pale jasmine or the flower 
 of the mountain side to wave in her bright hair. Ellen Syme 
 will shine in her own stately halls, the brightest there, but 
 my wife must trim the midnight lamp, and soothe with her 
 isweet smile the grave student who has to ascend the hard 
 steep path of the law in the battle of life. And as a help 
 mate, given of the Lord, share with me one hope, one fear, 
 in the efforts I shall make all my life long to glorify the God 
 of Israel." 
 
 He paused for a few seconds, and I tried to disengage my 
 hand, but he held it more firmly than ever, and walking so 
 far a few yards he said : 
 
 " The day your brother arrived in Edinburgh, you took 
 my hand in both your own, and now I want you to give me 
 this one, to give me a right to put a ring on it, — to call it by 
 my name for evermore." 
 
 Was I in my senses, — could I have heard aright ? — I felt 
 as if I occupied some giddy height, from which I was about 
 to fall ; was it possible that he could seek me for his mate. I 
 the little plain girl, whose eyes and pale brown hair were the 
 only things those who loved her best had ever noticed, the 
 little brown sparrow, with just enough of knowledge to pick 
 aip the crumbs necessary for its daily food, — whose fate was 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 155 
 
 to spend its life hopping about the eaves where its nest was 
 built ; — and he, the glorious mountain bird, — the bright eyed 
 forest king — with his dazzling plumage of scarlet and gold, — 
 he whose path lay on the tops of the lofty pines, and the 
 highest peaks of the snow capped mountains, — and along 
 the rushing river, whose breast the prow of the mariner had 
 never ruffled, — he who knew everything, — the names of all 
 the birds, — every flower of the field, — every tree of the wild 
 wood — he the learned man — the great lawyer, whose voice 
 grey haired men listened to with respect, and whose advice 
 was asked by all his peers — the good Christian whose praise 
 was in all the churches. It could not be reality. It must 
 be a dream, from which I would awake and feel so desolate. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 " Many happy returns of the day," said I, as Willie opened 
 the door of Mrs. Livingstone's land for me. 
 
 " Ma chere soeur, " replied he, kissing my cheek as he 
 spoke. Carlo also came to welcome me, putting his head in 
 my open hand as I held it out to him ; poor fellow, he had 
 soon reconciled Willie's landlady to himself, with what she 
 called his good manners. 
 
 " I did not expect you to-day, Violet ; how could you 
 come ?" inquired he. 
 
 " Well, my brother, I did not wish you to expect me ; and 
 I came because I wished to spend your birthday, in your 
 home, with you ; and this being Miss Scott's marriage day, 
 my presence was not at all needed there : so now I want 
 some breakfast," and I put off my cloak and bonnet, sitting 
 down quite tired as I did so. 
 
 " Breakfast !" said Willie smiling, " it is past ten o'clock." 
 
 " Nonsense," replied I ; " I left home at twenty minutes 
 to eight." I looked at my watch as I spoke, and lo ! 'twas 
 half past ten. 
 
 " You shall have breakfast notwithstanding the lateness of 
 the hour," said Willie. " I have had none myself ; I did not 
 feel as if I could eat in the morning ; but I can now." 
 
 He went into Mrs. Livingstone's room, and returned accom- 
 panied by his landlady. 
 
 " How's aw wi' ye, Miss Keith ?" said she, in her usual 
 kind tone of voice, which, since we became friends, had 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 157 
 
 changed wonderfully from the frigid accents I first heard her 
 speak in, u and sae ye hanna taen onny meat the day ; that's 
 nae a gude fashion to come out i' the mornin' fasten'." 
 
 I told her my reason for leaving home so early ; adding, 
 a I came through the King's park, and up the Canongate, and 
 spent more time there than I should have done." 
 
 " Aweel, that's nae wonder, its a bonny place ; mony a 
 hearty hour I pued the gowens there, whan I was a young 
 lass ; and mony a happy day I clamb Arther's seat wi' him 
 at's awa;" and as she spoke she glanced sadly enough at the 
 picture above the mantle-piece. 
 
 "Sae it's your birthday," continued she, addressing Willie y 
 " an ye'er nineteen the day ; well, my bonny man, pray to the 
 Lord to gie ye grace, ilka year, to serve him better ; and then 
 your birthdays will be waymarks in your path, that yell 
 look back on wi' joy and rejoicing." 
 
 She gave us a nice breakfast, and because it was Willie's 
 birthday the glass dish was filled with honey. 
 
 " I maun gang ben the house," said Mrs. Livingstone, after 
 putting the breakfast on the table, which I was rather sur- 
 prised by seeing her do, as in general, the girl did every- 
 thing under her orders ; " I hae latten Jean gang to see her 
 friens for twa or three months ; I dare say ye ken that my 
 son here (looking at Willie) is gane awa the morn for sax 
 months, and sae I'll jist red up the house and gang the day 
 after ; I hae a visit o' my ain to mak' as weel as younger folk." 
 
 After breakfast, I brought a cloth and warm water from 
 the kitchen, and washed the tea cups, put them in the cup- 
 board, wiped the table and swept up the crumbs. 
 
 Willie was really to go on the morrow ; he had been for 
 some time back in correspondence with a Doctor in Perthshire, 
 who kept a chemist's shop, and he had concluded an engage- 
 
158 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 ment, by which he was to receive fifteen pounds and his 
 board, from May to November ; the preceding evening he 
 had received a letter requiring his immediate presence, in 
 consequence of the departure of his predecessor ; this was 
 very sudden, but we knew he might be sent for at an hour's 
 notice, and everything was ready a week before ; not a shirt 
 button less, not a sock with a hole the size of a pin head. 
 
 And now we sat down to calculate our debts, and what we 
 had to pay them, I had drawn my quarter's salary on the 
 thirtieth of April, ten pounds ; and there were three bills to 
 pay, the bookseller's, the grocer's, and the tailor's, these were 
 found to amount to eight pounds, leaving two pounds to pay 
 travelling expenses ; the sum in hand would not only suffice 
 for that, but leave a little pocket money for Willie. 
 
 " I have a birthday present for you," said I, producing 
 our mother's bible, which I had brought with me ; you know 
 Willie the half of this is mine ; and I give you my half as a 
 birthday present." 
 
 We then read it together in the way prescribed by mamma 
 as we had always done. Willie took the bible in both his 
 hands when we finished reading, and said, " I don't like to take 
 mamma's bible from you, Violet, it seems as if you had a 
 better right to it than I." 
 
 " But," replied I, " I have made up my mind that you 
 will take it, so you must not say another word on the sub- 
 ject." 
 
 " What must be must," replied he ; " when I arrive at my 
 new home, I will devote part of my money to buy a new cover 
 for it. " 
 
 I almost screamed with horror, a very unusual thing for 
 me to do, my nature not being demonstrative. " Willie, a 
 new cover, I would not know mamma's bible if it had another 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 159 
 
 cover, it would never be the same to me." Taking it from his 
 hands, I shewed him that it was glued to the boards. 
 
 " Poor mamma," said I, " did this herself; I recollect well 
 the day it was done, not long before her death ; Oh ! no, it 
 must never be taken off." 
 
 The cover in question, though certainly shabby and a little 
 worn, was one of black leather, and was quite good enough to 
 last for years to come, and I could not bear to have mamma's 
 work undone. 
 
 Late in the evening Willie walked home with me to the 
 gate, and we bid each other good-bye there. " The train for 
 Perth started at twelve o'clock at night ; if the hour had been 
 earlier I would have waited to see him off, but at that hour 
 it was impossible. I have always heard that when friends part, 
 the one who remains feels more deeply than the other : with 
 us it was the reverse, when I left Ellenkirk I felt very bitterly 
 parting with Willie, to come among strangers, and he was 
 comparatively composed ; now he wept like a child, while I, 
 although very sorry to part from my brother, felt calm and 
 hopeful. 
 
 "It would only be for six months," I urged. "In November 
 he would be back again in his little parlour. He was quite 
 a pet of Mrs. Livingstone's, and she had assured him 
 that if Prince Albert hired it for the summer, he would have 
 to vacate it before the first of November. " It was of no avail 
 talking thus, he would not be comforted, but came back twice 
 to bid me good-bye again over and over : The second time he 
 said: 
 
 " Violet, I feel as if we would never meet again, when I 
 come back, I am sure you will be dead." 
 
 " Oh Willie," replied I laughing, " what a foolish boy you 
 are : I too have my presentiment as well as you, and mine is 
 
160 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 that I shall send for you before November to be bridesman 
 at my marriage." 
 
 I could not make him smile ; I kissed him several times and 
 told him he must go, and at last, when I prevailed on him to 
 do so, he turned at every few steps he took to look at me as I 
 stood at the door. When I entered the house I went to my 
 own room, opened the window and looked out, and there, in 
 the pale moonlight, was Willie, standing on the pathway, 
 looking at the hall door, as if he expected me to emerge from it. 
 
 Tears came into my eyes, but they were those of sympathy 
 rather than of sorrow; I knew it was best he should go to 
 learn his profession, and that by spending six months in the 
 country, his constitution would be made stronger for his winter 
 studies and as for his presentiments, I smiled in very joy 
 when I thought how different in all probability the issue would 
 be. I was in the midst of the most delicious day-dream ; 
 fanned by the light wings of the perfumed breeze, and wearing 
 lilies and roses in my hair which had no thorns. 
 
 I watched Willie from my window until he moved away ; 
 he walked slowly on his way towards Edinburgh, turning 
 once or twice, as he did so, to look at the house ; I stood 
 gazing after him until his figure became less and less distinct 
 in the moonlight, and at length disappeared entirely. 
 
 When I could see him no more, I came in and shut the 
 window, and then I knelt by my bed, and prayed our Heaven- 
 ly Father to keep him by his right hand and his stretched 
 out arm, until we should meet again. 
 
 Next morning Georgy presented me with a piece of the 
 wedding cake, which had been consigned to her care for me. 
 
 The bridal had gone off with great eclat, the bride look- 
 ing remarkably well, as brides always do, and had gone off 
 in high spirits in a carriage and pair of her own. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 161 
 
 We were to have a long walk that morning, as Georgy had 
 no taste for lessons after the festivities of yesterday. We had 
 long talked of a 'walk to the King's park, and as we did not 
 wish to return until the hour for lunch, we bent our steps in 
 that direction. 
 
 In our walk we encountered a number of gypsies ; they 
 were gathered round a fire, which was lit outside their tent.: 
 above the fire hung an iron pot, suspended from a hook 
 which was attached to three poles fastened into the ground ; 
 from the pot issued a strong smell of onions and boiled fowls, 
 while at the edge of the fire in the ashes, were dozens of 
 eggs. There were three women and seven children ; two of 
 the former were occupied in caring for and adding to the 
 contents of the iron pot, while the other, a large, handsome 
 looking woman, with the dark penetrating eye characteristic 
 of her race, sat a little distance from the fire, knitting ; her 
 seat consisted of a bundle of straw, on which was placed the 
 harness and other accoutrements of the donkey, who was 
 grazing beside his crazy looking cart, which latter was almost 
 filled with tin pans, kettles, milk dishes, &c. ; an immense 
 pile of fir and pine branches were beside the cart, from 
 which the women in attendance on the pot replenished the 
 fire. We went up to them and spoke to the children, and 
 were instantly deafened by the whole calling out at once. 
 " ge's a bawbee, lady, ge's a bawbee." One of the women at 
 the fire came forward, calling to the children, " lat the leddes 
 alane ; had ye'er whisht, had ye'er whisht, or else ye'll get 
 ye'er sairen," and she slapt one or two of the children on the 
 head, upon seeing which the whole retreated behind the 
 cart. 
 
 The woman then lifted up the shafts of the cart on two 
 pieces of wood, which seemed to be kept for the purpose, and 
 
162 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 asked us to sit thereon ; the seat was rather elevated for our 
 views, but not wishing entirely to refuse the offered hospita- 
 lity, we leant against it. 
 
 The woman, who sat knitting, asked Georgy if she would 
 like to have her fortune told ; I at once objected, but Georgy 
 begged so hard to allow her have it done, telling me that when- 
 ever the gypsies came to Iona Villa their mamma always gave 
 them money to tell the fortunes of herself and Harry, when 
 he was at home, that at last I consented, truly against my 
 better judgment. Georgy gave her a shilling, and the woman 
 looking at her hand said, " Deed, my leddy, I've little to tell, 
 ye'll hae very little sorrow all ye'er days, ye'll get a handsome 
 husband and a rich, and he'll hae mair land than ye can ride 
 round on a summer's day ; and all the tears ye'll ever shed, 
 will never sink deeper into your heart than that," and as she 
 spoke she placed the point of her forefinger on the fat 
 shoulder of one of the little children, the impression of which 
 formed a dimple that was gone almost as soon as made ; she 
 then turned to me, saying : 
 
 " Will ye lat me tell your fortune, my leddy ? " 
 " Oh no," said I, " I know my fortune very well." 
 " That ye dinna," said she, shaking her head, " gin ye 
 kent what I ken ye wadna stand there sae light o' heart." 
 
 " It is very curious that," said she, looking in my eyes, a* 
 if she saw there what she spoke of; "the sun's shinin sae 
 bright on ane side, that aw thing looks like the red gowd an 
 the laverock's singing his sweetest sang up in the blue lifts ; 
 an' on the ither side, the cluds are as black as the mirkest 
 night can mak' them, an' rollin the ane ower the ither like the 
 waves o' the sea, and there they are up yonder fu to over 
 flowin, wi' the caul win' an' the loud thunner, and down aneath 
 is your bare head." 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 16& 
 
 I turned away with a shiver ; I knew well why I had se- 
 cured such a dark doom ; but I would have far rather I had 
 given her the shilling, and thereby bought her silence. That 
 woman's ominous look, dark eye, and uplifted finger, would 
 cross my mind's vision, resist it as I might, like a dark shadow 
 sweeping over a bright stream, and make me shiver with an 
 undefined dread of I knew not what. 
 
 The first Sunday in May was a bright Sabbath day, and the 
 sun set among the grey clouds in the west with an unwonted 
 amount of gold and crimson. 
 
 As we went to the Sabbath school at seven o'clock, Robert 
 repeated some of those beautiful lines on the Sabbath, which 
 Graham has left us. It was easy to realize his description in 
 the scene around. 
 
 As we came home Robert pointed out a cottage, a little 
 farther removed from the road than the others, a porch in 
 front of the door, and bow windows on either side, round which 
 clustered, in wild profusion, jasmine and honeysuckle, while 
 underneath lay plots of closely •shaven grass, the whole en- 
 closed by a fence and gate of trellis work. 
 
 I had often before noticed it in passing, and admired its- 
 look of quiet home comfort. 
 
 " That is mine," said he ; " will you be contented with such 
 a lowly dwelling for your home ? " 
 
 I did not reply in words ; my heart was too full of happiness 
 to allow of my giving utterance to my feelings in speech ; but 
 in my inmost spirit I thanked the great All Father for the 
 true heart that was to give me such a pleasant home. 
 
 Early next morning Robert left home for an absence of 
 six weeks, his clients' business obliging him to go with the 
 Lord's Justiciary on their northern circuit, and as soon after 
 his return as the arrangements could be made our marriage 
 was to take place. 
 
164 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 With the exception of Mr. Scott, the family were aware 
 and approved of Robert's choice ; they all called me Violet, 
 and dear Hariote frequently addressed me in playfulness as 
 her " little sister." Mr. Scott was not to be informed until 
 after Mr. Robert's return from the north. I did not know 
 what was the meaning of this, and I did not ask ; I was per- 
 fectly willing to trust all else to him to whom I had trusted 
 myself. 
 
 Before going Robert promised that he would write to me 
 twice a week, and that his letters would lie at the Portobello 
 post-office until called for. " You must go," said he, " for my 
 letters yourself; every Monday and Thursday, if I am alive 
 and well, you shall receive a letter." 
 
 On the following Thursday Georgy and I went to the village 
 post-office, and there was my dear letter and also one for 
 Mrs. Scott. 
 
 When we came home, I found a letter from Willie waiting 
 for me on the hall table. I was rich to-day ; I went to my 
 -own room, shut the door, locked it, and without putting off 
 my hat, sat down to read my letter. 
 
 Robert began by giving me an account of the work await- 
 ing himself and his brethren, the advocates attached to the 
 circuit court. They had made a list of the number of persons 
 who were to stand their trial ; the number was greater than 
 usual, and what was also an unusual occurrence, there were 
 more than one accused of the crime of murder ; they had also 
 made a synopsis, as far as they had materials, of the course 
 which led to each particular crime, and in all, without a single 
 exception, the huge demon, who stalks unmolested through 
 the length and breadth of our fair country, a sword in his 
 red right hand, slaying, as he goes hurrying on, from 
 palace to cottage — from the sheltered home of him who mi- 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 165 
 
 nisters at God's Altar, to the stately halls of our senators — 
 placing one within the stone walls and iron bars of a jail, 
 causing another to pass by with averted head, lest those 
 who were wont to be the companions of his midnight carouse 
 should recognize him in his tattered robe and crownless hat, 
 and laugh in their mad folly at his present degradation ; and 
 the last worst phase of all, consigning hundreds of his votaries, 
 whose name is legion, some from their homes of luxury in our 
 finest squares and crescents ; others from dens of misery in 
 filthy alleys, such as our well-cared-for household dogs would 
 abhor to enter, and alas ! alas ! not a few from the green 
 lanes and sunny cottages of our rural villages : all alike con- 
 signed by their fell master whom they have so sedulously 
 worshipped, to dishonoured graves, there to await the coming 
 of the Lord, when they will arise to call on the mountains and 
 rocks to fall on them and hide them from the wrath of the 
 Lamb. And the name of the demon who thus rules his tens of 
 thousands with an iron rod, and with such a full assurance in 
 their very heart of hearts that the end will be destruction, is 
 " Strong Drink." 
 
 I have his letter now before me, and have copied from it 
 almost verbatim ; I will now continue in his own words : 
 " When I was a boy a year younger than Harry is now, John 
 Syme and I were boarded with Mr. Watts, and attended 
 together the high school. For many months a pretty little fair 
 haired boy, about eight years of age, came regularly every 
 day to the school gate, in order to receive the morsels left 
 by the boys after eating their lunch, which most of them did 
 in the school park: bringing bread, sandwiches, cakes, &c, 
 in their satchels for the purpose. The child, unlike his class, 
 had always clean hands and face ; he was very fair, but pale 
 and delicate looking, with a broad high forehead, round which 
 
 if 
 
166 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 his fair hair clustered in rich curls ; he was a great favourite 
 with us all, and we dubbed him e bonnie Charlie.' 
 
 " Bonnie Charlie- poor fellow, was very ragged ; never, even 
 on the coldest day, a shoe or stocking on his feet ; he never 
 asked for clothes — only for the remains of our lunch — but 
 at various times we brought him clothes, trousers, jackets, 
 caps, shoes and stockings. Charlie received all without mani- 
 festing any great pleasure, brought the clothes away with him ; 
 and that, in every instance, was the last we saw of them : not 
 one article of anything given ever appeared on Charlie ; and 
 when we asked where they were, he would hang down his 
 head, say his mother took them, and that was all we could 
 get out of him. 
 
 " At last we tired of giving him clothes that were to be of 
 no use to him, and we resolved upon another plan ; so having 
 from the wardrobes of several contributors obtained a whole 
 suit of clothes, we took Charlie inside the gate, stripped him of 
 his rags, and dressed him in his new clothes, a full suit, from 
 the crown of hi3 head to the sole of hi3 foot : what a differ- 
 ence a few minutes had made ! such a transformation ! bonnie 
 Charlie looked quite a gentleman. The poor little fellow 
 smiled with evident pleasure, as he looked at his legs and 
 arms, dressed perhaps for the first time in decent clothing ; 
 he took off his cap, looked at it, smoothing the cloth, and then 
 put it on his head again ; he did this several times, as if to 
 convince himself of the reality of his having such a fine cap 
 of his own. 
 
 " At last, tired of admiring himself in his new clothes, he pro- 
 ceeded to make a bundle of his former rags, in order to bring 
 them home. To this we decidedly objected, saying we had 
 only given the others in exchange, and that we should most 
 certainly keep the rags for ourselves; Charlie was very 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 167 
 
 unwilling to go without them, saying, almost with tears in his 
 eyes : 6 Im feart to gang hame wantin' my ain claes, my 
 mither i'll gang mad at me, leavin' them.' 
 
 " One of the boys made a bundle of them and sat down upon 
 it ; Charlie tried in vain to obtain possession of it, making 
 many ineffectual attempts to push the boy from his seat. 
 
 " ' I say, gi'es my claes, I'll get a licken gin I dinna tak 
 them hame,' said he, giving another push, but with little 
 avail. At last we took a summary mode of putting a stop to his 
 entreaties ; two or three boys took hold of each garment and 
 literally tore it to shreds. 
 
 " Next morning we congratulated ourselves on the work of 
 destruction we had made as being quite successful when 
 bonnie Charlie made his appearance in his new clothes. 
 
 " * Was your mother angry for the loss of your tatters, 
 Charlie ? ' we inquired. 
 
 " She didna say muckle aboot it,' was his reply ; but alas ! 
 in four or five days at most, Charlie came as usual, but his 
 new clothes, as we called them, were gone ; and in their place, 
 a pair of trousers and coat fully as bad a3 his former rags, 
 and which had evidently been the property of a boy twice his 
 size ; the tails of the coat and half the legs of the trousers 
 being cut off to enable the present wearer to walk with them. 
 We all raised a shout of indignation. 
 
 " ' Where's your new clothes, Charlie ? ' was asked by at 
 least twenty voices at once. 
 
 " c My mither wadna lat me keep them,' was all he would 
 say ; and when questioned as to their whereabouts, he would 
 invariably reply : 
 
 " ' I dinna ken, 1 dinna ken. ' 
 
 " We asked him where he lived. 
 
 " ' Ye couldna fin out whare I bide,' said he, evidently 
 
168 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 not wishing to give the desired information ; ' its owre far 
 awa, and its nae easy to win at either : ' 
 
 " However, we were not to be baulked thus, so we determin- 
 ed to follow him home — at least some of us would do so, and 
 John Syme and I were appointed by general consent to do 
 the work : we asked Charlie if he would come at four o'clock. 
 
 " ' Its no easy to do that, said he, shaking his head." 
 
 " ' But we'll give you some gingerbread if you'll come, 
 Charlie ; ' ' I dinna ken, may be I'll come ; I'll try.' 
 
 " * You'll get six penny rolls, besides the gingerbread, if 
 you'll come ; will you come now, Charlie ? ' 
 
 " < Weel, I'll come,' said he, as if all difficulty was removed ; 
 and sure enough with four o'clock came Charlie, basket, long 
 coat and all. The school was out, as we termed it, and so 
 going outside the gate we gave Charlie his promised rolls 
 and gingerbread ; and in order to prevent his suspecting 
 our intention of following him, we continued talking as long as 
 he would stay, asking him to come on Saturday and shew us 
 the way to his home. He would not promise, he said, as if 
 he wished to put us off; ' may be he couldna win out on 
 Saturday, maybe ye wad forget to come yursels on Satur- 
 day, when ye dinna come to the skule : at ony rate, I hae 
 nae muckle time, I winna promise to come ;' and saying so 
 he bounded off like a young deer, his long ragged coat 
 fluttering behind the little creature in the evening breeze. 
 
 " We ran after him as fast as we could, having hard work 
 to keep him in sight, his shoeless feet running along the 
 pavement at a far swifter pace then we could do. Down the 
 street we went, then across to another, then down again, 
 where our feet had never before trode, until at last he en 
 tered a miserable dark court, ' where the light came only 
 from a narrow strip of sky up far overhead, between the 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 169 
 
 two black looking stone walls formed by the houses on 
 either side ; far down the court he went and entered a door, 
 which was only attached to the doorpost by one hinge, and con- 
 sequently hung awry. Charlie entered another door inside, 
 close to the bottom of a staircase. We kept out of sight of 
 the inmates of the house, and yet so close to the door as 
 to be able to hear whafc was said inside ; as to seeing, it 
 was too dark for that in the court, although up at the high 
 school it would be broad daylight for two hours to come. 
 
 " ' Whar hae ye been aw the afterneen, ye ne'er-io-weel ? 
 said a woman's voice inside, in no gentle tones. 
 
 " ' See, mither!' said Charlie in reply, look at that; I've aw 
 thae cakes o gingbred and sax rolls." 
 
 Ci ' Hae ye nae ony siller ?' asked the woman, her tone of 
 voice a little modified. We had by this time, favoured by the 
 darkness, got inside the door close to the wall, so that we saw 
 all that was going on ; a large rather young-looking woman, 
 with a very red face, was standing close to the only window 
 in the place, which shut out as much light as it admitted, 
 being covered with dust and cobwebs ; she held the ginger- 
 bread in one hand, and in the other the basket Charlie always 
 carried. 
 
 " Charlie stood before her, his face turned up to hers, but 
 his back being towards us, we could not see whether in hope 
 or fear as he replied. 
 
 " ' Na, mither, I didna get aw bawbee ; ye ken I had to come 
 hame rinnin aw the road to lat you out.' 
 
 " * That's like your tricks,' said the woman, with a great 
 oath, as she threw the gingerbread and the basket into the 
 dirty window-sill, and struck Charlie such a hard blow on his 
 head as made the little thing reel to the wall. ' You just 
 geid threepence for thae bits o gingbread for yoursel an' 
 
170 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 Geordie to ate ; its little ye care, gin ye stap ye'er ain stam- 
 akes fue aneuch, what comes of the puir mither 'ats i'the head 
 o'ye baith, an hae's na a drap or a bit to pit in her mou ; bit 
 I'll learn ye ' (another great oath and a slap) ' to play thae 
 tricks on me.' 
 
 "While saying this, she gathered up the gingerbread and 
 rolls which had fallen from the basket while she was chastis- 
 ing Charlie, and putting some dry crusts that also formed 
 part of its contents on the window-sill seized the now re- 
 plenished basket, and a small tin pail, and went out swearing 
 vengeance against Charlie as she did so. 
 
 " We stood close up to the wall and in the shadow, so that 
 she passed without observing us. When she came into the ad- 
 ditional light afforded by the outer door, we saw that her cap 
 was dirty and crushed, and the rest of her clothes as old and 
 ragged as Charlie's. 
 
 " When she had fairly gone we came forward to the window 
 to comfort Charlie ; he was sitting on the ground, with one 
 little hand pressed to his head, where he had been struck, 
 and crying bitterly, although without making the slightest 
 noise. We endeavoured to comfort him in our own peculiar 
 way. 
 
 " ' Come, Charlie man, don't cry ; never mind her/ and we 
 tried to raise him as we spoke. 
 
 " l Whisht, dinna speak sae loud ; ye'll waken Geordie, — 
 what for did ye come here ? I'm sure I didna want ye to 
 come.' 
 
 Ci c Who is Geordie ? and where is he V we asked. 
 
 " Come, an I'll lat ye see him, but dinna mak a noise, he's 
 my little brither,' said he, seemingly reconciled to our pres- 
 ence now that the ice was broken and we had seen the 
 poverty of the land. While he was speaking he went to the 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 171 
 
 other side of the room, and there, in a cradle, the top of 
 which was entirely gone, and the sides patched with pieces 
 of boards in all directions, lay a boy so emaciated that his 
 head presented more the appearance of a skull with skin 
 drawn over it than a living being. As we came close to the 
 cradle he opened his eyes, large blue eyes they were, and 
 must once have been beautiful ; but now it was easy to see 
 the glaze of death was fast drawing over them : 
 
 " I had seen death once before ; a favourite dog had been 
 accidentally poisoned, and she took a long time to die, lin- 
 gering for days in her agony. Hariote and I tended her care- 
 fully, fancying we could cure her, and I knew well, when I 
 saw it again, the look which came over the eyes of poor Juno. 
 
 " ' Geordie, my bonnie man, look what I hae for ye,' said 
 Charlie, taking a piece of apple from the depths of his trous- 
 er's pocket, and biting off the skin before putting it to the 
 child's parched lips ; ' tak a bit, Geordie, its rale nice,' said 
 he, trying in vain to put the apple into the child's mouth. His 
 eyelids closed over the great blue eyes, and there was no 
 mistaking the look of the face. John Syme had never seen 
 death, but, (he told me afterwards) he knew him now as well 
 as if he had been familiar with him years ago. 
 
 " f Geordie's deem,' Charlie almost shrieked ; and flew 
 rather than ran out of the house, calling out as he went, 
 ' mither, mither, Geordie's deem.' 
 
 " In a few minutes he returned again in the same haste as 
 he had gone out, and going to the cradle, lifted the dying boy 
 in his arms, keeping the thin dirty blanket around him as he 
 did so, and sitting down upon the floor, placed the child in his 
 lap, supporting the dying head with one arm, while the other 
 was clasped across his legs ; as he raised his brother from the 
 cradle, we observed that he was nearly as tall as Charlie 
 himself. 
 
172 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 "' Oh Geordie, Geordie, winna ye speak ta me/ wailed Char- 
 lie. ' Oh, Geordie, speak to me jest ance, is there ony thino- at 
 ye wad tak V 
 
 " And then, turning to me he said, ' gie me the bowl wi r the 
 water, 'ats in the window/ 
 
 " I went to the window and found there a bowl with a piece 
 broken from the side, containing a little water ; we tried in 
 vain to get a little into the thin lips which were fast closing 
 in death. 
 
 ' : f Geordie, Geordie,' sobbed Charlie, as again and again 
 he kissed the worn cheek on which his tears fell, and which, 
 in his deep sorrow, he seemed to be unconscious of. 
 
 " All at once the child raised his eyes to his brother's face 
 with a bright joyous glance — no death there, no death glaze — 
 now life most abundant was beaming from eye and brow ; the 
 thin rigid lips relaxed into a smile such as those angels wear, 
 who always behold the face of the Father. 
 
 " ' Oh ! Geordie, ye'er better,' cried Charlie, his accents 
 ringing with joy, as he kissed the wan face over and over ; 
 but even while he did so, the heavy eyes closed, and the thin 
 jaw fell — all his troubles were over,— it was well with Geor- 
 die. 
 
 " As the little spirit departed with the ministering angel, 
 who had waited, unseen of mortal eyes, so long besides Geor- 
 die's poor cradle, the mother entered, the empty basket on 
 her arm, and the pail in her hand ; the latter evidently con- 
 taining something precious, from the care with which she 
 placed it in the window-sill. 
 
 " 'Come here, mither, and look at Geordie ; Im feart he's 
 deein,' said Charlie, never removing his eyes from the child's 
 face for one instant. 
 
 " The woman had been drinking, — our olfactory nerves told 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 173 
 
 us that — but she was by no means drunk ; only what we Scotch 
 so graphically call greetin fu'. 
 
 " She came forward to the place where Charlie sat, and tak- 
 ing the child's body from his arms, prest it to her breast. ' Na, 
 he's nae dead ' said she, her tears falling fast, he's only 
 taen anither o' thae fits ; puir bairn, he's like mysell, deein wi' 
 cauld an' hunger, a saw the puir folk dee, an' the gentles hae 
 mair mate an' claes than they ken what to mak o' !' looking 
 at us as she spoke ; and then added : * What took ye here, 
 young gentlemen ?' 
 
 " She did not wait for an answer; looking at the child the 
 little motherly feeling she still retained was again excited, 
 and she begun to wail over him : ' My puir bairn, he's as 
 cauld as ice, my puir wee Geordie. Shak up the bed, Charlie.' 
 
 " Charlie went to the corner of the room next the fireplace, 
 and busied himself in arranging a filthy looking bed, which 
 lay on the floor, without either sheet, blanket, or pillow ; and 
 from various apertures, in which protruded part of the straw 
 and chaff of which it was composed, having made it as even 
 as possible, he took the mattrass from the cradle and placed 
 it close to the wall to serve as a pillow. While he was making 
 the bed the woman went to the window-sill and took a drink 
 from the pail, keeping the dead child all the while wrapped 
 in the piece of blanket in a reclining posture on her arm ; 
 she then laid down on the bed, and spreading a piece of her 
 tattered dress on one side, she placed the child's body upon 
 it, and putting her arm below her head, she pressed it close- 
 ly to her bosom, endeavouring to restore warmth to the little 
 dead limbs. We watched her as she lay weeping and wailing 
 over her troubles in a voice which every instant became more 
 indistinct ; our patience was not long tried ; I should think 
 in three or four minutes she had wept herself to sleep. We 
 
174 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 then endeavoured to persuade Charlie to come home with u3. 
 I do not think either of us had a very definite idea of where 
 we were to bring him to, but we might as well have talked to 
 the wall ; he would not listen to us. 
 
 " ' Na, na, I'll never leave my mither an' Geordie ; what 
 wad they dee wantin' me ; there's naebody to win bread for 
 them bit me.' 
 
 " ' But Charlie,' we urged, ' if Geordie is not dead, (we 
 had not the heart to tell him the truth at once) he will soon 
 die.' 
 
 " ' Nae maitter gin he war dead the morn, I'll never leave 
 my mither ; she never begs or gathers sticks for hersell ; she 
 wad dee o' cauld an' hunger.' 
 
 11 ' I'll come to the school the morn,' said he, evidently 
 wishing to get rid of us ; * I'm rale tired the night, an' 
 whan ye gang awa I'll steek the door and gang to my bed 
 at my mither's back.' 
 
 " Thus dismissed, we left him, and on emerging from the 
 court, we were rather relieved to find it was still broad day- 
 light. 
 
 " On our way home, each took the other's hand, and made 
 a vow, boys as we were, that whiskey should never pollute 
 our lips, or when we grew to be men, and had houses of our 
 own, should it ever pass threshold of ours, and that the money 
 thus saved should be scrupulously laid aside to aid in purging 
 from the land the accursed thing which had wrought all the 
 woe we had witnessed that day. 
 
 " I must finish Charlie's history up to the present time, al- 
 though I have far outstript the limits of a reasonable letter, 
 and perhaps have taxed both your time and patience. 
 
 u For three days Charlie came not to the high school, and 
 the fourth being Saturday, John Syme and I went to fish him 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 175 
 
 out, as we termed it ; we had a half holiday, and by permission 
 of Mr. Watts we were to pa3S the afternoon and evening at 
 Mr. Syme's house in George Street. 
 
 " When we arrived at Charlie's miserable home we found it 
 fastened up, but by dint of wiping the glass of the window 
 with our pocket handkerchiefs, we could discover that the 
 room was quite empty — dirty bed, cradle, all gone. 
 
 " We were at our wits end how we were to obtain any trace 
 of Charlie. The outer door still stood open, hanging by its 
 one hinge, but on the opposite side from Charlie's door was a 
 dead wall ; true, there was the staircase, a narrow ladder- 
 looking aifair, very dirty, of course, with a black wall on each 
 side, and a thick rope doing duty as a bannister; we deter- 
 mined to ascend the staircase and see whether the inhabitanst 
 of the upper story could not give us some information about 
 Charlie ; as we were about to go up, a man entered the door- 
 way with a sackful of chips on his back. 
 
 " We asked him if he knew what had become of the woman 
 who lived here ? 
 
 " ? Gin I ken far the wife is the noo wha bade but there ? 
 0, aye, I ken that weel enough, but what dae ye want wi' 
 the wife, my young masters V and he eyed us suspiciously 
 as he spoke. 
 
 " ' We want to see her little boy !' said John Syme. 
 
 " ' Weel, my man, the wife's i' the jail for murderin the lad- 
 die 'at ye'er seekin, and a bonnie little chap he was, wi' his 
 white head ; he had used to beg for bits o' bread an' the like, 
 i' the new town.' 
 
 " ' She was a drunken wife that : I heard say 'at they were 
 decent folks once, but they baith drank afore the man died, 
 an' sine, fan she was left her lane, she never halted ; she 
 drank the claes off the callant's back twa or three times, 'at 
 the gentle folks i' the new town gied him." 
 
176 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 " The man went up the stairs with his sack, and we turned, 
 sick at heart, into the court again. 
 
 " As we walked slowly from the court, we looked into every 
 window we passed, all nearly as dirty as poor Charlie's ; when 
 about to emerge into the street, a clean window attracted our 
 attention ; we looked in as we had done with the others, and 
 wonderful to tell, there stood a geranium plant in a wooden 
 box. 
 
 " John Syme put his face close to the window, with a hand 
 on either side, so that he might see all that was inside besides 
 the geranium, and after a second or two spent in examination, 
 shouted at the top of his voice, ' bonnie Charlie !' We rushed 
 into the house sans ceremonie, and truly there sat bonnie 
 Charlie in ' living flesh and blood.' 
 
 "He sat at the side of a cheerful fire in a clean swept house, 
 with clean, decent, although very poor looking people, his 
 head bound up with a white cloth, and his arm in a sling. 
 
 " We did not ask him a question, but we told him We had 
 come to the court on purpose to see him, and we gave him 
 the cakes and oranges we had brought for him, and all the 
 pence we had in our pockets. 
 
 " The poor fellow was very glad to see us, and at parting 
 said : ' Will ye come next Saturday ?' 
 
 I promised we would, but John Syme said : ' I think, 
 Charlie, we'll come back to-night,' and so we did. 
 
 " When we went to George street we repeated all our story 
 to Mrs. Syme — every word and look we could recollect of 
 both visits — and after dinner Mrs. Syme sent for a carriage, 
 and taking John and I with her, went to see Charlie ; she 
 sat down beside him and spoke to him as she does to every 
 one in trouble — with the kindest look and voice ever woman 
 had — gave him a little basket full of delicacies prepared ex- 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 177 
 
 pressly for himself, and a suit of Alexander's clothes, who 
 was two years younger than Charlie, but quite as large. 
 
 " Mrs. Syme also paid the woman who had kindly taken him 
 in twice the amount of board she would have asked for him, 
 promising to pay a similar sum each week. 
 
 " The woman was prevailed upon with great difficulty to 
 take the money ; she said : ' he's hearty welcome, puir lad- 
 die, to a bit and a sup we our ain bairn3, and my gude man 
 says he'll share wi' the lave ; we'll never miss what he gets ; 
 we kent his mother weel whan she was a young lassie nae 
 bigger than our Jean, and a bonnie bairn she was, and her 
 father an' mither rale decent folk, and weel to do, and whan 
 she was aughteen years auld, there was nae a bonnier or bet- 
 ter lass in the gate 'aen, and proud was the auld folk o' her, 
 for they had nae bit hersel ; but she married a lad wi' a 
 bonnie face and little grace, and her father stood out lang 
 against it, but it had to be — she wadna want him ; ilka ane 
 man dree their werd, and for a while he was sober enough, 
 though now and than he wad tak a drap mair than was good 
 for him, but after the auld folk diet he broke out aw thege- 
 ther, an' sine we began to notice at the hous an' the bairns 
 war vera ill reed up, an' I kent brawdly at Phemie was 
 takin' it hersel, and twa year past at Whitsunday, Sandy fell 
 fae a hous they were buildin i' the new town, an' he never 
 spoke again ; puir man, he had been drinkin' i' the mornin' 
 afore he gaid to his Avark, and after that Phemie never did 
 a good tarn, but drank on aw the time ; she lost aw heart, 
 an' she never halted till she sellt ilka thing at was in the 
 house, and sine she took Charlie frae the charity school 
 whare he gaed wi' our bairns, an pat him out wi' a basket to 
 beg, and this is the upshot o'tt.' 
 
 " Bonnie Charlie was ultimately taken into Mr. Syme's fa- 
 
178 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 mily, not as a menial, but to receive an education equal in 
 every way to that given to Alexander Syme, their own son, 
 who, as I said before, was only two years younger than 
 Charlie. Which of the two have profited best by the care 
 bestowed upon them, you will be able to judge for yourself, 
 when I introduce you to Mr. Gordon, a licentiate of the Free 
 Church, who was once * bonnie Charlie.' His poor mother 
 died in prison, where she was sent by those who prevented 
 her from killing Charlie on the day his brother was buried ; 
 she had no trial, dying before it came on, in that most terri- 
 ble of all deaths, the drunkard's madness ; may the Lord 
 have mercy on her soul." 
 
 There was only one line more in the letter, but that line 
 made my breath come faint and quick with very happiness, 
 and I lifted up my soul in accents of gladness and praise to 
 my Heavenly Father for the strong true heart that was all 
 my own. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Willie's letter gave me much pleasure ; he was very happy. 
 Doctor Macdonald's family consisted of himself, his wife, and 
 two grownup daughters, both over twenty years of age ; they 
 were good people, and their household was a pleasant and 
 cheerful one. 
 
 The Doctor seemed pleased with what Willie could do, and 
 he was doing his best ; Carlo was quite a pet, and Willie was 
 already warned that he would not be allowed to take him to 
 town in November. He had never felt so much at home as he 
 did now since we lost our own home in the long ago. 
 
 This day was to be a memorable one : Georgy was to begin 
 her Italian lessons. Some time previous Hariote regretted in 
 my presence having neglected her Italian since she left school ; 
 and I proposed that she should read Italian with me every 
 day, and also sit in the room while Georgy took her les- 
 sons, for her reading would be an advantage to Georgy, as it 
 would accustom her ear to the accent of the language. 
 
 Georgy had taken her lesson, and found it so easy that it 
 put her in great good humour. The book Hariote chose to 
 read from was " Tasso's Grerusalemme liber -ata" and she 
 had proceeded as far as the words " Vede Tancredi aver la 
 vita a sdegno" when Mrs. Scott, contrary to all precedent, en- 
 tered the room. 
 
 I had nev er seen her in the schoolroom before except on one 
 occasion, and then she came at my own request ; we were all 
 taken by surprise, and rose simultaneously to offer her a 
 
180 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 chair. I saw from the important air she always assumed on such 
 occasions that she had something to communicate which she 
 considered of great consequence ; seating herself exactly in the 
 middle of the sofa, and keeping her body so upright, that not 
 a crease was to be seen in skirt or waist, she, with a face of 
 great gravity, commenced : 
 
 " I have received a letter from Robert, and he send3 his 
 love to you all :" a long pause, and then ; "Violet, my dear 
 child, under existing circumstances, I think you should not 
 confine yourself to the schoolroom ; you had better be en- 
 joying yourself in the open air," and a great deal more to the 
 same purpose. I forget what she said ; I only know it made 
 me feel very uncomfortable at the time, and I think Hariote 
 and Georgy felt equally so. 
 
 I begged she would leave us to pursue the course we had 
 laid out. I had never lived an idle life, and if I were obliged 
 to do so now I would be most unhappy. 
 
 She still insisted, talking a great deal with most oppres- 
 sive kindness. I felt nervous and hot, as if there was not 
 enough of air in the room. 
 
 At last Hariote rose and went down-stairs ; presently Simp- 
 son came to say some one wished to see Mrs. Scott in the 
 parlour ; doubtless it was Hariote, who had taken this method 
 of putting a stop to this ill judged show of kindness : what a 
 relief ! 
 
 Some days afterwards Mr. Scott, addressing Mrs. Scott at 
 breakfast, said : "By the bye, I have ordered a carriage 
 for you and the two girls to go to Roslin, it will be here in an 
 hour." 
 
 They were all much pleased ; they always were to go there. 
 I was also pleased to be alone ; it was the day I expected my 
 second letter, and I would have all day to myself to answer 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 181 
 
 it, and if it were as long as the first, it would take no little 
 time to read it twice over. 
 
 I put on my hat after breakast to go to the village post 
 office for my letter, and had scarcely reached the hall door 
 when Hariote came running down-stairs. 
 
 " I have been to your room in search of you ; you will go 
 with us to Roslin ? I am sure you will enjoy yourself." 
 
 . " Another time," I answered, " I would be very pleased 
 to go ; to-day I had more than one letter to write, and 
 wished particularly to do so." It was easily settled, Hariote 
 was too polite and too unselfish to be exigent. 
 
 I went quickly to the village ; it was a lovely morning, warm 
 and sunny, yet not too bright, the little garden plots in front 
 of the villas (which form almost a continuous line down to 
 the village) looked radiant with beauty in their spring attire 
 of auricula, polyanthus, wall flower and violet, while the haw- 
 thorn hedges, loaded with white and pink blossoms, scented the 
 morning air with their rich and sweet perfume. 
 
 I fancied the grass looked a brighter green under the clear 
 dew-drops ; the flowers more lovely, and the birds were more 
 abundant, and sung a louder and sweeter song than I had 
 ever known ; all nature seemed to keep holiday, and to be as 
 happy as I was myself. 
 
 The post office reached, I inquired " Have you any letters 
 for Iona Villa?" 
 
 " No, ma'am ; Mr. Scott was here by eight in the morning 
 and got them all." 
 
 " How provoking : had you a letter for Miss Keith ?" 
 
 " Yes, ma'ma ; Mr. Scott got it also." 
 
 How annoyed I felt ; what could have made him go to the 
 village post-office ? During my residence in his house I had 
 never known him go to the village for any purpose. I felt very 
 
182 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 uneasy, yet I knew not why ; and turning to the lad, who 
 gave out the letters and who now had gone to his work at the 
 opposite side of the place, I asked. 
 
 " Did Mr. Scott bring letters to put into the post office ? ,J 
 
 u I think not ; if he did, he must have put them in out- 
 side," was his answer. 
 
 " Good morning," said I, in as cheerful a tone as I could 
 assume, recollecting that by these questions I might give 
 food for village gossip, but could by no means help myself to 
 solve the problem which puzzled and annoyed me so much. 
 I walked lazily home, wishing now I had gone to Roslin, or 
 better still, had gone to the post-office in the morning. Mr. 
 Scott would not be at home until five o'clock, perhaps not 
 then ; when Mrs. Scott went to Roslin with Georgy on the 
 occasion of poor Popity's death, Mr. Scott always dined in 
 town, and then it occurred to me again and again, what 
 could be the meaning of his going to the post-office ? What 
 could he mean by not giving me my letter ? 
 
 The sun was by this time high in the heavens, and the 
 heat, together with the dust rising in light clouds from the 
 dry road, made me feel nervous. I sat down under the shade 
 of the hawthorn hedge beside a little spring, which in summer 
 was quite dry, but now ran pure and bright out and in among 
 the grass at my feet ; after resting a little, I laid my hat on 
 the bank, and kneeling down, put my face close to the spring, 
 and drank the true wine, made of God, that which gives 
 strength to the body and vigour to the soul ; what a differ- 
 ence that little rest in the shade and that drink, of clear 
 water made ; I could reason now ; I could understand that it 
 was very possible Mr. Scott went often to the village for his 
 letters; he was an early riser, and might go there every 
 morning for ought I could tell, and as to his not having given 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 183 
 
 me mine, most probably he put it in his pocket and forgot all 
 about it ; yes, this must be the reason, and no matter, what- 
 ever it was, I should have my letter in the evening. 
 
 I walked on until I came to the cottage, which was to be 
 my own home in the happy time to come ; I passed so swiftly 
 along in the morning that I had not noticed it ; now I linger- 
 ed for a few minutes by the iron railing in front. The grass 
 had been shorn since I saw it last, and was now dazzling to 
 look upon in the bright sunshine, with thousands of go wans 
 lifting their red-tipped, star-like heads to the morning sky. 
 
 The window of the room opposite which I stood was made 
 so as to open in the middle as a door, and reached to the 
 ground ; it was wide open, and I could see the white marble 
 mantle-piece with mirror reaching to the ceiling, a table with 
 flowers, pictures on the walls, and over all a glow of purple 
 and gold, a very beau ideal of a cottage home, such an 
 one as a few months since I had never dreamt of calling my 
 own. 
 
 I looked at my watch as I arrived at the gate — it was past 
 ten ; how quickly the time had passed, and yet it seemed to 
 be a long time to wait until six o'clock for my letter ; how- 
 ever, I would begin my answer, and tell of my disappoint- 
 ment, and how beautiful the cottage looked, and I would 
 write to Willie — the time would pass. 
 
 As I walked through the hall, I was surprised and not a 
 little pleased to see Mr. Scott had not yet gone to town ; 
 there he was, walking up and down the dining-room, dressed 
 in his red dressing-gown, with his hands set deep in his 
 pockets, apparently in no gentle mood. 
 
 I was debating with myself whether I would at once go 
 and ask for my letter, or send Simpson to make the request, 
 when Mr. Scott came to the dining-room door, and stood in the 
 
184 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 doorway, drawn up to his full height, his grey hair, which in 
 general he wore combed to one side and flat, was raised from 
 his forehead, his colour heightened, and his eye looking ex- 
 cited and angry. 
 
 "Miss Keith," said he, speaking rather louder than he 
 usually did, " I wish to speak to you," and saying so he 
 moved from the doorway so as to let me pass ; he then shut 
 and, I think, locked the door. 
 
 He motioned me to take a chair by the sideboard, which 
 was on a line with the door, and waiting until I was seated, 
 he took an open letter from his pocket and threw it on the 
 table, saying as he did so : — " Miss Keith, did you expect a 
 letter from my son this morning ?" and he fixed his eye upon 
 mine, as if he would read my very soul. 
 
 I replied firmly enough, " I did ; " although feeling, I scarce 
 knew # why, considerably frightened. 
 
 He came up to where I sat and stood exactly in front, and 
 very close to my chair, his hands still in his pockets, and 
 bending his body so that his face almost touched mine, he 
 said, still speaking in a louder voice than usual, but very 
 distinct and slow : — " Young woman, are you not ashamed to 
 tell me that you have entered into a clandestine correspon- 
 dence with my son ?" 
 
 I answered now with perfect firmness : " I am never 
 ashamed to tell the truth. I have entered into no clandes- 
 tine correspondence with your son ; if I had done so you 
 could not have obtained possession of his letter to me, which 
 I see now on the table, and which you have opened." 
 
 While I spoke, he walked up and down the room in short 
 turns, his eyes absolutely burning with rage ; when I finished 
 he came close up to me, holding his clenched hand so near 
 my face as almost to touch my eyes. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 185 
 
 " You tell the truth !" he roared rather than spoke ; 
 u you, whose whole life has been a lie ; you, who never told 
 the truth except by accident, you infernal liar." 
 
 As he said this, he shook his clenched fist in my face, al- 
 most on my eyes, grinding his teeth in his rage. Strange to 
 say, I felt little fear, but I felt my blood run hot in my veins 
 with indignation, and if my strength had been sufficient, I 
 would have crushed him to the earth. 
 
 I leant on the back of my chair, and threw my head as 
 far back as possible, so as to get away from his hand and 
 face ; perhaps my movement recalled him a little to himself; 
 at all events, from whatever cause, he became calmer, and 
 drawing himself up to his full height, he stood erect, his 
 shoulders and head thrown back, and his hands resuming 
 their old place in his pockets. 
 
 " Now madam," said he, " you will tell me before you 
 leave this room, when this cursed marriage took place, and 
 which of your damned parsons had a hand in the precious 
 
 job?' 
 
 " What marriage do you refer to ? " I inquired calmly. 
 
 "What marriage do you refer to?" said he, mockingly, 
 mimicking my voice in a lower tone than that I used, and 
 then, as if his passion had returned, he added, in his former 
 loud key, but without manifesting the same violence, and 
 speaking slowly : — " I refer to your marriage with my son, 
 you insolent jade." 
 
 " I am not married to your son," said I firmly. 
 
 "You are the greatest liar out of hell," said he, and 
 again he clenched his hand and put it close to my eyes. 
 
 I pushed my chair as far back to the wall as I could, 
 and looking him full in the face, I said in a calm, strong 
 tone, my eye never quailing for a moment under his stead- 
 
186 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 fast gaze : — " If you believe me to be a liar, what purpose 
 will it serve your asking me questions or I answering them ?" 
 
 "Aye!" said he, almost in his natural tone of voice, 
 " you have enough of mother wit, but in the midst of it all, 
 you have forgot that I have read that letter, and know its 
 contents," and he kept his eye fixed on mine as if watching 
 for the least shadow of falsehood. 
 
 " I do not know what is in the letter,' ' was my reply ; 
 M but I know there can be no allusion there to an event which 
 has not taken place ; neither do I forget that you have read 
 the letter; and were you not Robert Scott's father, you 
 should answer to your brethren of the law in Edinburgh 
 for the crime you have committed in opening my letter." 
 
 "Well, my young woman," said he, in a quieter tone than 
 he had yet used; " as to your threats of vengeance they are 
 not worth the breath you spend in making them ; I, as Ro- 
 bert Scott's father, am at perfect liberty to open any letter 
 he writes except his business letters, while he is an inmate 
 of my house." 
 
 "And now," continued he after a pause, "if you tell the 
 truth as to your not being married to Robert Scott, you may 
 thank your stars ; you are the fourth young woman, who in 
 as many years, have left the situation you now hold, to be 
 married to him : whether he married them or not, the devil 
 knows, we don't ; but we saw no more of them ; and now, my 
 young woman, you pack off from this, bag and baggage, to-day; 
 and if ever I see, or hear, of your prowling about here, or in 
 the village [and here he produced from his pocket, the 
 pistol he killed poor Popity with, a small silver, pretty-looking 
 thing] by the Heavens I'll blow your brains out with this 
 pistol ; and if I catch your snivelling cur of a brother here, 
 I'll dispatch him also. And mind what I tell you ; I am 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 187 
 
 tired of all the disgraceful conduct that has been going on 
 in my house for the last four years, with young women,' ' 
 (and while he spoke, his face expressed the abhorrence he 
 felt, more than even the words he uttered) " and I have 
 come to the firm resolution, in weal or woe, to put a stop to 
 it, and I warn you if I find you writing to Robert Scott or 
 holding any communication with him, and I have twenty pair 
 of eyes in Edinburgh watching you, by the Lord, I'll shoot 
 him." 
 
 When he had finished speaking, he went to the door, 
 either unlocking it or taking off the check bar, and then 
 went to the mantle-piece and pulled the bell ; walking up and 
 down until Simpson made her appearance. 
 
 " Simpson," said he, in a quiet composed tone of voice, 
 u Poor Miss Keith has received a letter, glancing at the one 
 on the table as he spoke, which obliges her to leave this in 
 as short a time as possible ; go up stairs and pack up her 
 traps as quickly as you can, and bring them here ; she is too 
 much excited to be able to do so herself." 
 
 Simpson had not much to do ; there was very little to pack, 
 and in less than five minutes my trunk was in the hall ; it 
 used to lie almost empty, with the key in the lock ; I had 
 not sufficient clothes to fill the large chest of drawers that 
 were in the room. 
 
 She brought me the key, which she handed to me with a 
 look of respectful sorrow. 
 
 " Bring me my coat, Simpson," said her master, " I will 
 see Miss Keith into town myself." 
 
 Simpson looked at him in evident admiration of his kindness 
 and condescension. 
 
 His coat was brought ; he was helped to put it on, his hat 
 and stick handed to him, and Simpson was by the gate hailing 
 the omnibus in less time than I have taken to write it. 
 
188 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 My trunk was lifted on the top, Mr. Scott and myself 
 inside, and the omnibus on its way to Edinburgh in a few 
 minutes more ; if its seats and sides could speak, how many 
 tales of cherished hopes, crushed in silence, and wounded 
 hearts from which beneath a calm face the life blood is drop- 
 ping, they could tell. 
 
 I was seated at the opposite side of the omnibus from my 
 old home, and I looked at it until the last rod of the iron 
 railing, the chimney tops, and last of all the great elm tree 
 at the bottom of the. bowling green, which towered above all 
 the rest was lost to view. 
 
 I can scarcely tell with what feelings I looked upon these 
 objects for the last time : my brain was in a whirl ; I tried in 
 vain to collect and form into order my scattered thoughts ; 
 it was impossible — sorrow, indignation, anxiety, anger, would 
 each in turn present itself, and clamour loudly to be heard ; 
 and I fear uppermost of all was abhorrence of the man seated 
 opposite me, and on whom I looked, with alternate feelings, 
 of dread and contempt. 
 
 The great clock of St. Giles was striking twelve o'clock 
 as we arrived in Prince street ; Mr. Scott offered his hand to 
 assist me in descending from the omnibus : I was now in the 
 free air of God's heaven, and brave men passing every 
 moment, any one of whom would have felled him to the earth, 
 gentleman as he called himself, and clerk of Session Court 
 as he was, had he lifted a finger against me ; and so trust- 
 ing myself to the protection of God's noblemen, the masons 
 and carpenters, who were passing to their homes to eat their 
 frugal dinners, I said in a firm voice, and looking him full in 
 the face : — " I would not pollute mine by touching hand of 
 yours, after all the falsehoods I have heard you utter this day, 
 to be made the heiress of all the land that lies around Edin- 
 
VIOLEI KEITH. 189 
 
 burgh." He did not answer me ; but he gave me such a look 
 of hatred, of deep detestation, that haunted me in my dreams 
 for years after, when the Atlantic Ocean, with its wild winds 
 and its three thousand miles of waves, rolled between me and 
 the land that contained his sleeping dust. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 I asked the man in charge of the office where the omnibus 
 halted, to take my trunk until I should call for it ; he at 
 once had it put inside the counter. 
 
 I must now seek a home where I could rest and think what 
 I was to do. In all the great city, with its thousands of hu- 
 man beings, in hearts of each one of whom flowed less or more 
 sympathy with their fellow creatures, I knew not one to whom 
 I could apply for the advice I so much needed. As I stood 
 looking into the crowded street, I could not help asking my- 
 self, is there one among all those passers by so lonely and 
 sore at heart as I ? 
 
 I bad given all my last quarter's salary to Willie, leaving 
 myself with only five shillings ; this would have been quite 
 enough for all my wants until the end of July, had I remain- 
 ed at Iona Villa ; now it was all I had to procure food and 
 lodging until I found another situation. 
 
 Had Mrs. Livingstone been at home I knew that I might 
 have rested there for a week until I could hear from Willie, 
 or Mrs. Moodie, or in truth I know not what ; I only knew I 
 had my bread and Willie's to win, and I must seek a place to 
 win it in ; and, worst of all, my once hopeful spirit was gone, 
 and in its place my heart was full to overflowing with misery 
 and distrust. 
 
 I asked the man in the office if he knew of any cheap and 
 decent lodging, where I could go at oace. He answered in 
 the affirmative, and gave me the address of one in the neigh- 
 bourhood. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 191 
 
 It was like Mrs. Livingstone's, in a land. I knew it was the 
 woman who kept the house who came to the door, a decent- 
 looking, well-dressed young woman, with a clean pretty baby 
 in her arms. 
 
 I asked her if she could give me a room for a few days. 
 
 " Yes, come in." 
 
 She showed me a room far above my means. 
 
 " What is the rent of this ?" 
 
 " This room, with the litle bed-room, is ten shillings a week." 
 
 " That is too expensive for me. Have you a bedroom you 
 could give without a room ? I wish to live as cheaply as pos- 
 sible." 
 
 " No, she had no other." 
 
 " Do you know of any other place you could recommend V* 
 
 " No, she had only come to this part of the town a few 
 weeks since, and knew no one." 
 
 What a mystery is the human heart ; — I knew that Robert 
 Scott was virtually as dead to me, as if the grass grew green 
 above his head. From the moment I was aware of his con- 
 duct to those three young girls, who, most likely, he had 
 falsely deceived and left, I made an inward vow that my lips 
 should never utter a single word in reply to word of his ; that 
 my hand should never pen a line, or my head bow in acknow- 
 ledgment of any attempt he might make in explanation ; yet 
 I would fain have had these rooms, from the windows of 
 which I could see him each day as he went to his office. 
 His father need not have held out such dire threats of ven- 
 geance as the penalty of my ever speaking or writing to his 
 son : no fear of my doing either. Oh ! no, never. But the 
 blow I had received was too recent, too sudden to snap the 
 silver cord which bound me to him ; it was broken, but not 
 severed. I knew it would be in the far future, but now my 
 
192 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 heart was too sore, I could not tear him from it, all bleeding 
 as it was. 
 
 I turned away to renew my search ; I thought of Mrs. Liv- 
 ingstone, St. Bernard's Row ; perhaps she could tell me of a 
 cheap place. I would go there and try. 
 
 I looked at my watch, it was one o'clock ; what a long day 
 it had been : it seemed as if I had lived long years since the 
 morning. 
 
 The sun shone with a fierce heat ; the day was very close, 
 and my head ached with every footstep I took, as if it would 
 burst. The hot rays of the sun seemed to be lying on my 
 head. I had forgot my parasol on the hall table, and I missed 
 it now, small as it was. 
 
 St. Bernard's Row at last. I rapped, and Mrs. Livings- 
 tone herself opened the door. She recognized me at once, and 
 smilingly asked me to walk in. 
 
 I told her my errand. 
 
 " Rest yourself a little," said she, " the day is very warm, 
 and you look so very tired ; I will try and think of some 
 place." How grateful I felt for her kind looks and gentle 
 words. Oh if we only knew how much good a little smile, a 
 kind word, may do to those bruised hearts hid under calm 
 faces we are constantly coming in contact with, we would 
 be less chary of these cups of cold water, and the blessing we 
 bestow would come back seven-fold on our own heads. 
 
 I was glad to rest. It was half-past two by Mrs. Livingstone's 
 time-piece. I looked at my watch ; they nearly agreed. I 
 must have walked at a snail's pace. 
 
 I sat nearly an hour. Mrs. Livingstone gave me an ad- 
 dress in Pitt street, to which I bent my steps. 
 
 There was a stay-maker's sign in the window ; it was down in 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 193 
 
 the area. I knocked at the door, which was opened by a nice 
 looking young woman. 
 
 " Have you any rooms to let ?" 
 
 " Yes, I have one nice bed-room." 
 
 " Is it cheap ? I cannot pay much." 
 
 "Yes, it is only six shillings a week.'' 
 
 I looked at it, a large room, and a nice clean looking bed. 
 I would be so thankful to lie down. I had not six shillings 
 to give ; but I would write to Willie, and by the end of the 
 week he would send me all the money he had. I knew he 
 had not spent his pocket-money, or he would have told me so ; 
 my food need not costme much. 
 
 " I will take the room for a week." 
 
 " Very well, ma'am ; I always require the money in ad- 
 vance." 
 
 I explained how my finances stood. 
 
 " She was very sorry," she said, " but they had lost so much 
 money by giving the lodgings without the price in advance, 
 her husband preferred having them empty." 
 
 The woman looked sorry, as she said she was, looking hard 
 at my face, she continued : — " You look tired and sick-like. 
 If you will wait for a half hour, I will make you a cup of tea." 
 
 I thanked her, " No, I could not take anything, but did she 
 know of any other place equally cheap V 9 
 
 " Yes, one in the same street ; number twenty-three. She 
 is a lone woman, — she can do as she likes, — she has no one 
 to control her." 
 
 I tried this place also. The landlady was a woman past 
 fifty : thin, very wrinkled; sharp looking. 
 
 u Have you a cheap bed-room to let ?" 
 
 " I dinna tak weman," was the reply, in a thin, ill-tempered 
 voice and scrutinizing look. 
 
194 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 " I am so sick I would be very thankful to get in for only 
 <one week ;" and as I spoke, I felt so ill, I leant against the 
 "door-post. 
 
 " Weel, ye maun gang wi' yer sickness to some ither place, 
 we dinna keep nane o' yer kind here, ,, and she shut the door. 
 
 What was I to do, I was almost fainting with fatigue, and 
 my head throbbed as if the veins in my temples would burst. 
 I walked on a little further, — I came to a street running par- 
 allel with George street ; I walked along scarcely knowing 
 why : I felt parched with thirst, — there is a baker's shop, 
 — I can have a drink of water there perhaps. 
 
 " Will you have the goodness to give me a drink of water ?" 
 I asked a clean-looking young girl inside the counter. 
 
 " Surely ; sit down, ma'am." 
 
 She brought me a glass of clear delicious water, and pre- 
 sented it with a smiling face. How grateful I felt for that 
 smile ! 
 
 " You look tired, Miss ; will you take a seat ?" 
 
 I looked the thanks I was hardly able to speak. I sat a 
 long time ; my limbs seemed glued to my seat. 
 
 " Do you know of any lodgings to let here ?" I asked the 
 
 girl- 
 
 " Yes, three doors above this, they let rooms. Would you 
 not eat one of these warm buns ?" 
 
 M Thank you, no ; I am not hungry." I was not; I felt as 
 if I should never care to eat again. That girl was a good 
 Samaritan. I bade her good-bye, and went in the direction 
 she had pointed out to me. 
 
 A servant girl came to the door in answer to my knock. 
 I asked my usual question. The girl turned her head inside 
 the dark-looking passage, and said in a loud key : — " There's 
 a leddy here wants the rooms, mem." 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 195 
 
 The mistress came forward, a large dirty-looking woman, 
 wearing a thick muslin cap, and hair that looked as if it had 
 not been combed for a week. 
 
 " Did ye want them for yersel'?" she inquired. 
 ■" Yes, only a bedroom, no matter how small." 
 ** Come in, ye'll see what we hae." 
 The rooms were in keeping with the lady of the house, 
 dirty and untidy. 
 " What is the price of the bedroom alone?" 
 " Weel, ye can hae it for seven shillings, an' that's nae 
 dear; but I maun hae the siller afore han\" 
 
 I told her it was rather too much for me to give, and I 
 could not give the money for a few days. I would receive it 
 by post in six days at most. 
 
 u Nae, I canna gie the room ; I winna wait for sax hours." 
 When I came out to the street, a large drop of rain fell on 
 the stone pavement, and then another and another ; at last it 
 came in earnest, a heavy shower. I stood in a doorway until 
 the rain lightened a little, and then I tried other lodging 
 houses, all with the same success : every one must have the 
 money in advance. 
 
 I was wet as well as weary now ; the street lamps were lit, 
 and I began to ask myself whether I might not have to re- 
 main in the streets all night, and if so, where I should sit 
 down. I felt quite prostrated in mind and body. The last 
 house I had gone to, the woman told me if T went to the Old 
 Town, I would find a cheap lodging there. I thought of Mrs. 
 Livingstone : there might be another like her there ; and, 
 weary and sick as I was, I bent my steps towards the High 
 street. 
 
 The night was very dark, with a drizzling cold rain. The 
 lamps were lit, but seemed not to give half their usual light. 
 
196 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 Just at the entrance to the High street, I stood by a lamp 
 post, leaning against it for a few minutes, my limbs trembling 
 with fatigue. Two women passed with large bundles on their 
 backs, and walking quickly, yet with a hard tread and un- 
 steady motion, more like that of a half drunk man than a woman. 
 When they had passed a few yards, one of them addressed the 
 other loud enough for me to hear, but in a language I did not 
 understand; and the speaker, turning sharply back, peered un- 
 der my hat ; the light from the lamp fell full on her dark eyes 
 and handsome face, as she said with a wicked triumph in her 
 eye and voice, which thrilled through my every nerve : 
 
 " Ye widna believe me yon day, my leddy ; bit the rain's 
 come noo, and the win' 'ill blaw loud eneuch afore the morn's 
 morning ; bit it 'ill no halt the rain, an' the storm winna be 
 ower for mony a lang day." So saying, she rejoined her 
 companion, and was lost in the darkness. It was the gipsy 
 woman of the King's park. 
 
 I turned to resume my search with a shudder, and sought 
 the house I had been directed to in the High street. I re- 
 ceived there the same response as I had met with all along ; 
 it was in a land, and the staircase was very wide, and had 
 scarce any light, the lamp being placed in the first flight. By 
 sitting close to the wall, I would not be observed by those go- 
 ing up or down ; they would naturally hold by the bannister. 
 I would sit down and rest at all events. 
 
 I thought over the events of the morning, what Mr. Scott had 
 said of his son — was it not possible it might be false, false as 
 the story he told Simpson so unblushingly in my presence ? 
 Such a man would not hesitate to vilify the character of his 
 son, if it suited his own convenience. 
 
 But, on the other hand, it occurred to me that on one or 
 two occasions, when Georgy spoke of her former governess; 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 197 
 
 Hariote had stopt her by a look. The last, Miss Watson, 
 was only four months in the house, and Georgy spoke of her 
 as one who had done her duty. How was this to be account- 
 ed for ? And young Syme, on the day of the donkey ride, 
 told me with a peculiar laugh, that Miss Watson sat in Ro- 
 bert's seat in church, and that he always accompanied her 
 in her visits to her friends in the interval of public worship ; 
 and, more convincing than all, a testimony against which there 
 was no appeal ; one that to me was " confirmation strong as 
 proof of holy writ" was the truthful and earnest look with 
 which Mr. Scott made the accusation against his son. Alas ! 
 look which way I would, it was all too true. 
 
 Where were the roses and lilies now ? The fierce north 
 wind had come — and the cruel biting hail and sleet beat upon 
 my roses, and there they lay, withered and dead at my feet. 
 They would never bloom again. I could not bear to see 
 them lie there, soiled with the black earth and splashed with 
 the cold rain. I lifted them up, and shook off the mud from 
 the poor crushed blossoms, and pressed them, all wet as they 
 were, to my hot brow. Alas ! they were full of great thorns, 
 and made my temples bleed. 
 
 Two men passed up the staircase. I kept close to the 
 wall, and, coming in from the comparatively lighted street, 
 they did not see me. They each held by the bannister of the 
 staircase as they went up. This roused me from my reverie. 
 I put my hand over my eyes, and leant on it for a second or 
 two, trying to think what I should do. I knew it was impos- 
 sible to pass the night there ; when I heard a whisper in my 
 ear, as distinct as if breathed by human voice, low yet clear, 
 say, " The Lord is in heaven yet," and my soul answered, 
 " Verily so he is — I will call upon him in the day of trouble, 
 and he shall deliver me." 
 
 o 
 
198 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 And there, in that dark staircase, I knelt and prayed to 
 the God of Israel, that he would set a light on my path, 
 and provide me a shelter, -where I might lay my weary 
 head. I arose from my knees comforted, and sure that the 
 Lord would send me an answer in peace. 
 
 I went into the street, and it immediately occurred to me 
 that I could not be far from Mr. Wilson's shop. 
 
 I knew Mr. Wilson well; he was a relation of Mrs. Living- 
 stone's, and Willie and I had purchased from him the few ar- 
 ticles of clothing we allowed ourselves. I would go there ; most 
 likely he could direct me to a lodging for the night. I had a 
 strong conviction that my troubles for the night at least were 
 ended. 
 
 In two or three minutes I was. in Mr. Wilson's shop. He 
 was putting up the shutters. 
 
 " Miss Keith," said he in surprise, " you are late in Edin- 
 bro' the night." 
 
 " Yes," said I, " I am to spend the night in town, and have 
 come to ask you to recommend me to a lodging." 
 
 " Ye'll surely gang to Mrs. Livingstone's," said he, looking 
 still more surprised than before. " She'll tak it vera ill if 
 ye dinna ; no for the sake o' the siller, but ye used to be sae 
 thrang." 
 
 " But you forget," replied I, " Mrs. Livingstone left town 
 the morning after my brother went." 
 
 "0!" said he, as if he now understood what I meant ; 
 " ye didna hear, at she fell down the stair an hurt hersel 
 the night ye'er brother gaed awa ? he was na five minutes out 
 o' the house whan it happened ; it was a gude thing at I was 
 there or else there widna hae been a livin' soul to lift her up ; 
 she was feart to sleep in the house, her leafu lane, and bade 
 me come up whan I shut the shop." 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 199 
 
 u I am very sorry to hear that, and I would have come in 
 to town on purpose to see her, had I known of the accident, 
 which I did not." 
 
 " Aweel, its ower true though ; and she was laid up for 
 aught days, or mair, and her dochter cam up fae the mea- 
 dows to notice the hous an' tak care o' her mither ; but she's 
 hame again, an' Mrs. Livingstone's weel ancough noo, an' she'll 
 be real pleased to see you, I warrant ; come awa, I'll light ye 
 up the stair mysel." 
 
 And taking up the lantern, which was on the counter al- 
 ready lit, he turned off the gas, locked the shop-door, put on 
 an iron bar with a padlock, locked it also, and in a few min- 
 utes I was seated by Mrs. Livingstone's bright little fire, my 
 wet cloak and hat hung up to dry, my muddy boots off, and 
 my feet in a pair of Willie's old slippers, resting on a foot- 
 stool placed inside the old fashioned round fender. 
 
 In a few minutes more, she gave me a cup of weak tea, 
 with a piece of biscuit floating in the tea-cup. " Drink that, 
 my bairn," said she, in her kind motherly way, " ye'er nae 
 like as ye ware hungry, but ye'er very like as ye'd fastit 
 ower lang." She had defined well ; I certainly did not feel 
 hungry, but I was sick and faint from want of food. 
 
 When I had drank the tea, she took the cup and saucer, 
 washed and put them in the cupboard, took up her knitting 
 and sat in her easy chair on one side the fire. 
 
 " An noo, my bonnie bairn," said she, " ye'll tell me what 
 brought ye to Edinbro' sae tired an' weary at this time o' 
 night." 
 
 I did not answer for some time, and my companion sat be- 
 side me quietly knitting, manifesting not the least symptom 
 of impatience. I had made up my mind that no one should 
 ever know from me of my engagement to Robert Scott ; I 
 
200 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 would fain have buried my reminiscences of him deep in my 
 heart, as a thing never to be spoken of. I thought, then , 
 it was impossible for me ever to know happiness again ; but 
 it was not a part of my nature, to throw the shadow from my 
 own life, on that of another, and I would fain have put his 
 image in the innermost recess of my heart, and piled the au- 
 tumn leaves and wintry snow so high above it, that those who 
 knew me best, and to whom I was most dear, would never 
 suspect it was there. 
 
 But I was placed in a peculiar position by coming to Mrs. 
 Livingstone's house, at the hour and in the way I did. Had 
 I left my situation at my own request, and on good terms 
 with my employer, it was not likely I would have gone, with- 
 out at least having provided myself with a temporary home. 
 I was without sufficient money to pay for food and shelter for 
 even one week ; and I wanted advice as to how I should pro- 
 ceed in order to procure another situation, as much as I 
 needed the home, the kind words and kindlier looks which 
 Mrs. Livingstone had bestowed upon me. 
 
 During the time all this was passing through my mind, she 
 sat knitting as if her breakfast on the morrow depended upon 
 her work being finished in a given time, and as if she was 
 perfectly oblivious to my presence. 
 
 At last, I told her the truth, all the truth, my engagement 
 to Robert Scott, the time at which that engagement was to 
 be consumated, his mother and sister's being cognizant of the 
 same, and lastly I repeated every word I could recollect of 
 the violent scene in the morning. 
 
 I watched her narrowly as I spoke ; towards the end of my 
 recital she knitted so quickly I could scarcely distinguish 
 which needle she used ; when I had finished, she took her spare 
 needle, stuck it behind her ear, as a clerk does bis pen, and 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 201 
 
 laying her knitting on her lap, locked one hand in the other, 
 and put them above it, sitting for some minutes without speak- 
 ing. 
 
 " Weel, my bairn," said she, at length, " ye ma'an e'en put 
 a stout heart to a stae brae : but gin I ware in your place I wad 
 na gee ower muckle heed to what a man like auld Maister 
 Scott wad say, clerk o' Session Court though he be ; a man at 
 wad tell sae mony lies to his ain servant lass in your very 
 face, wadna care aie bawbee to tell a dizen mair gin they wad 
 sair his ain purpose : an nae doubt it wad gang sair against 
 the proud stamacks o' thae Scotts to lat their auldest son 
 marry the governess. And for the twa young leddies at was 
 ilka ain o' them sweethearts o' Maister Robert Scott's, I 
 dinna believe aye word o't : its vera like what the generality 
 o' young men wad dee, an' little doubt the auld man was 
 minden on his ain ongaens in his young days, whan he made 
 up that lee ; but its nae like young Deacon Scott : na, na, its 
 aw aye lee frae tap to tail : but there's aye thing ats clear 
 anaugh to me, the woman folk are jist as far against ye as 
 the auld man is, gin it ware nae sae, what for wad they gang 
 aff to Roslin at a minute's warnin'like that ; they never gaed 
 afore sae sudden, did they ?" 
 
 " No, that was very true, but I would stake my existence 
 on the truth of Hariote Scott's character." 
 
 " Weel, may be ye wid, bit I wadna stake my twa feet 
 atween this an the kirk door on nae sich thing ; what for did 
 na she speer at ye in the mornin gin ye wad gang wi' them, 
 an nae wait till ye had on ye'er bonnet an' was maist out at 
 the door to seek ye'er letter ; an' faw tell't the auld man at 
 ye'er letter wad be there, but the young lassie at ye took to 
 the post office wi' ye the first time." 
 
 This seemed all very good reasoning, but I knew Hariote 
 
202 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 and Georgy too well to suffer a doubt of their integrity to 
 exist in my mind for one moment ; and I said so very deci- 
 dedly. 
 
 " Weel, weel, ye'll hae your thought about it, an I'll hae 
 mine ; but the upshot o't aw is, that ye man gee the young 
 man up for a while at ony rate." 
 
 " I have made up my mind to give him up for ever." 
 " Weel na, I wadna dee that either. Maister Scott is nae 
 bound to be answerable for aw his father's rampageen an' lees : 
 but it wadna dee for you at aw, to marry him the noo, con- 
 trary to aw his folk's wul ; ye'er nae sae auld yet, bit ye can 
 wait for twa or three years, an be abetter wife for the waitin' ; 
 and gin Deacon Scott be the godly man I tak him to be, he 
 wonna brak his word to you for aw his folk can say or dee." 
 And gin ye faw in wi' a gude place i' the new toun, an 
 nae doubt but ye'll do that, ye'll aye be seein ilk ither, at 
 the kirk on Sabbath, an that i'll keep ye baeth frae forget- 
 ten ; and in the course o' Providence, something i'll turn up 
 afore lang." 
 
 " I do not wish to remain in Edinburgh if I can possibly 
 help it. The threat contained in Mr. Scott's last words be- 
 fore we left the house would be ever in my thoughts. I could 
 not pass along the street without fancying myself watched by 
 some of his spies, and the violence of his temper is such that 
 if he were roused I could fancy him shooting his son with as 
 little hesitation as he did Popity." And I told her the story 
 of poor Popity 's death. 
 
 " Na weel than, did I ever hear the like ? the auld haythen 
 at he is, at never sets his feet inside a kirk door. But its a 
 great difference, my bairn, shootin a poney and shootin his ain 
 auldest son : na, nae fear o' that, he jest said that tae frighten 
 ye, and I'll tell ye anither thing, at 'ill haud him frae shootin' his 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 203 
 
 son mair than ony thing else ; gin he did it the day, he kens 
 brawly, nane better, that in aye sax weeks after, he wad be 
 hangit himsel on the streets o' Edinbro' : na, he'll nae try that 
 trick, I'se warrant ; he has ower muckle regard for his ain four 
 quarters." 
 
 As she said this, she stirred the fire, which was now getting 
 low, and raking the cinders together, put a peat upon the live 
 coals preparatory to resting it for the night, and again sat 
 down to wait until the peat would kindle a little before putting 
 on the coals. 
 
 " An' his twenty pair o' een ats watchin' you," continued she, 
 " ! the sinfu' lein man, theres nae aye 'ee, bit his ain ougly 
 guilty cockles, an' afore this time next year maybe they'll be 
 lien caul an' dark aneath the kirkyard moold. sirs," conti- 
 nued she, sighing deeply, " isnae it awfu' an auld man we ae 
 fit i' the grave to pit sae muckle sin on his soul for naething, to 
 pit eternity in comparison wi' a wheen havers. Oh ! me, me." 
 
 She then rose, and going to the other side of the room return- 
 ed with the Bible, which she put in my hand, saying, " Ye'll 
 read the word o' the Lord, in the forty-second psalm, and then 
 we'll commit oursels to the keeping o' him, whaslumbereth not, 
 an' we'll pray to Him to create a new heart in the puir auld man, 
 that I'm sair feart never prays for himsel." 
 
 And she did pray earnestly that there might be a new heart 
 and a right spirit created and renewed within him. 
 
 I slept in Willie's bed, and I praised the Lord with my 
 whole heart, for his great mercy in giving me a bed to lie on and 
 a shelter over my head. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 I awoke next morning with the early dawn ; perhaps the un- 
 wonted noise in the streets, so different from the perfect still- 
 ness I was accustomed to, broke my rest e'er the physical 
 wants of my nature were satisfied. 
 
 In the beautiful home I had left but yesterday, where I 
 was so happy — happier than I had ever been before, happier 
 than I could ever hope to be again — my day was ushered in 
 by the wild bird singing his song of praise, or the winds 
 stirring among the green leaves of a huge oak, whose branches 
 almost touched my window pane. A robin had built his nest 
 in the ivy and jasmine which covered the eastern wall of the 
 house, where my window was placed ; I used regularly every 
 night to scatter crumbs in the box of mignonette which filled 
 the window sill ; and the robin and his mate, who knew well 
 where to find their morning meal, repaid me by singing there 
 their sweetest matin hymn. Here, the noise of heavily laden 
 carts passing over the paved streets, and the loud shouting of 
 the carters, were the sounds that were ringing in my ears. 
 I was only half conscious, my eyes still shut, but my heart 
 was oppressed with a feeling of such intense woe as I had 
 never felt before, and in all my troubles have never felt since. 
 
 A sense of utter desolation, some dire calamity, I knew not 
 what, oppressed my soul, as if the gates of hope were for ever 
 closed, and I cried out in my misery, " would God it were 
 morning ;" — the sound of my own voice awoke me to perfect 
 consciousness; I opened my eyes, and lo ! " t'was morning," 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 205 
 
 I could not at once comprehend where I was, and why; but 
 when I did I knew that although I had suffered a sore trial, 
 and one that would not lightly pass away, the effects of which 
 I then fancied I would carry to my grave, yet I also knew 
 my trouble was not of my own seeking ; I feared not the 
 searching eye of the great all Father, and I could still, in firm 
 faith, plead the precious promise, " when thou passest through 
 the fire I will be with thee, and through the rivers, they shall 
 not overflow thee." 
 
 When I met Mrs. Livingstone at breakfast, I told her of the 
 offer I had received from Mrs. Moodie long ago. 
 
 I knew she had found a governess, but not one who suited 
 her, and that she was now on the out look for some one to 
 fill the situation after the vacation, and would, I felt sure, 
 gladly give it to me, were I to write to her asking for it. I 
 also told her the reason I had for wishing for the present at 
 least to be away from that part of the country. 
 
 I then spoke of Gertrude's letter, and the salary I would 
 receive were I to go to Canada : the teacher in the convent 
 there would not be required until the first of September, and 
 by writing now, there was every probability of my obtaining 
 the situation. 
 
 The old lady seemed lost in thought for some time ; at last 
 she said : 
 
 " As to your gaen back to Ellenkirk, I think ye are weel 
 out o't or any ither place at your uncle wad be in ; its ower 
 easy seen he disna like aye bit o' ane o'ye, an he's a great 
 gentleman, an' ye'er a puir fatherless an' mitherless lassie, 
 sae its better for ye to had out o' his road, folk will hearken 
 to the like o him' at wonna to you, and gin ye'er nae near 
 him he'll forget you, and if he shouldna, his ill word 'ill do 
 ye nae scaith." 
 
206 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 " But," continued she, after a short pause, " gin ye ware 
 nae frightened to gang sae far awa's America, I think ye 
 wad mak a good job o' that : afore three years ware ower ye 
 wad hae a pouch fu' o siller to help you to begin hous-keepin' 
 wi' ; an I'm nae feart gin Maister Keith has ony chance at 
 aw, but he'll haud up his head wi' the best o' them yet." She 
 stopped for a few minutes, and then again continued : — " But 
 its a far gait for a young lassie like you to gang her lee fu 
 lane ; I doubt ye wad be ower fearet ; deed its nae reasonable 
 to think o't." 
 
 " No," said I; "I would not be in the least afraid to go, 
 and I think I would like it very much ; I would remain three 
 years, and come home when Willie has finished his fourth 
 year, but then it is impossible for me to think of that ; and I 
 explained to her exactly the state of my finances. 
 
 She reached over her hand for my tea-cup, from which I 
 had drank my tea, and placing it beside her, said : — " Aweel, 
 gin that's the only thing that keeps ye frae ga'en ye'll nae 
 bide at hame for that ; I'll lend you as muckle as will tak you 
 there, and twa or three bawbees for bye ; it wonna dee for 
 you to gang there wi' an empty pouch ; and gin you like, I'll 
 gar Andrew Wilson write to a frien we hae in Glasgow, and 
 tell him to send word whan the first ship is gaen to sail, and 
 what will be the price o' the passage ; and afore the answer 
 comes ye'll hae time to mak up your mind if ye'll gang or no." 
 
 To this arrangement I most readily assented, expressing 
 my sense of gratitude for the kindness : Mrs. Livingstone 
 then took up my cup, and looking into it, said : — " There's 
 a journey as plain as a pike staff in the bottom o' ye'er cup. 
 When I was a young lass we used aye to look at ilka cup o T 
 tae we drank, (but we didna drink tae ilka mornin' or night 
 either then ;) gin we ware only gaen doun to the meadows the 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 207 
 
 morn's mornin like, we had try gin there was a journey in 
 our cup.' 
 
 " Oh ! sirs," continued she, and her face assumed a sad 
 earnest expression, " thea ware blithe days ; but aw the folk 
 that read the cups wi' me then are cauld and quaet noo." 
 
 After breakfast Mrs. Livingstone put on her shawl and 
 bonnet, saying, ' I am gaen doun to the office for your kist, 
 and I'll speak to Andrew Wilson tae write to Glasgow ; and 
 for bye that I've twa three errands o' my ain ; sae it will be 
 weel on to twal o'clock afore I win ham ; and ye '11 mind, my 
 bairn, an' nae open the door to ilka ane at chaps : jest speir 
 " faws there" first. There's a wheen orrow folk frae the Gal- 
 lowgate and there about, at c omes roun regular to the lands 
 (that they ken there's nae men folk bidden in), big stout 
 chields wi' sticks in their hands ; and its vera easy to lat them 
 in ; but its nae sae easy to get them out again : sae just keep 
 the Smith's fingers atween you an' ony ane at chaps till ye 
 ken wha it is.' 
 
 Having, as she thought, frightened me into keeping the 
 door securely locked in her absence, she departed, returning, 
 however, in less than ten minutes, and as she knocked at the 
 door, called out, " its me." 
 
 The reason of my kind hostess's return was to bring me 
 some writing paper; taking the keys from her pocket she 
 opened her bureau, and bringing therefrom pens and ink, 
 laid them before me, saying : " I came back to gee ye that ; I 
 thought ye wad be tired aw the forenoon readin' your Bible 
 and Pilgrim, sae I brought ye a sheet o' paper to write to 
 Maister Keith on ; and ye needna tell him ower muckle 
 about yeersell ; jest say ye left ye'er place, ye needna say 
 gin ye left it wi' ye'er will or against ye'er will ; puir lad, 
 there's nae reason for pitten his head through ither wi' a 
 
208 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 thing that i'll be sae soon mendet. Sae noo gude day to ye, 
 for a while, and tak care ye keep the hallen door fast steeket." 
 
 I was very glad to receive the writing materials ; under 
 any circumstances I should have quite dreaded passing a 
 whole forenoon without employment for either my head or 
 my hands ; but at present, I knew that activity of mind and 
 body was my best resource ; that the greatest help I had in 
 endeavouring to recover my usual tone of mind was constant 
 work. 
 
 I felt more deeply now, even than yesterday, with all its 
 anxiety and mortification, the woe and weariness that was so 
 surely my future lot. I could not all at once banish the 
 image of Robert Scott from my heart, the all unworthy lover 
 of four young girls in succession as I knew him to be ; every 
 look he had ever given me, almost every word I had heard 
 him utter, were engraven with a pen of fire on my soul ; even 
 when I believed him to be the affianced husband of another, 
 he occupied no common place in my esteem ; since first I knew 
 him, he had been my beau ideal of all that was good and 
 great in man. I tried earnestly to say in my soul, " I was 
 dumb and opened not my mouth, because thou didst it," but 
 It would not be, I could not, not yet. I new well that the 
 promises were shining like countless stars above my head ; 
 but I saw them not for the black clouds which intervened 
 and obscured their light. I felt as a sapling shivered and 
 bent before the rough tempest ; whenere I essayed to raise 
 my head, the thoughts of what had been, came, and it was 
 beaten down, down. I was as one striving to walk on the 
 stormy sea ; but as each strong wave came up heaving in its 
 angry might, I sank where'er I trode. I knew God's co- 
 venant stood sure as ever, but I could not clasp it to my 
 breast and say: 'for me, for me.' My faith's flame quivered 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 209 
 
 almost to extinction ; I strove to walk in my own strength, 
 and weakness was thrilling through every nerve ; my only 
 consolation lay in thinking that soon this bitter life would 
 be ended, and then man's wrath would be harmless ; then, 
 no false one could be arrayed as an angel of light ; there, we 
 shall know, even as we are known, — and then the question 
 came sharp and strong as a poisoned arrow, k * who should I 
 best like to meet there ?" and I lay down on my face and 
 wept bitterly. 
 
 The great clock of St. Giles chiming eleven woke me to 
 consciousness ; the indulgence in unavailing sorrow would 
 never do ; I was a responsible creature, placed in a state of 
 probation ; I, even I, cipher as I am, have work to do for 
 God, and thinking of the past will do me no good, but it will 
 totally unfit me for obeying the direct command, " whatso- 
 ever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." 
 
 I wrote to Willie, and in doing so, took Mrs. Livingstone's 
 advice. I told him I had left my situation at Iona Villa, 
 but that I expected soon to get another ; that some time since 
 I had an offer of one, with a salary of seventy-five pounds, 
 which I then refused , but I believed it was still unfilled, and 
 I meant to apply for it ; the only draw back was, if I obtained 
 this situation with its large salary, I would be obliged to live 
 at a distance from Edinburgh, so that we might not be able to 
 see each other during the three remaining years of his student 
 life ; however, this would seem but a small sacrifice when the 
 time came for us to commence our life's journey in earnest, 
 and we found ourselves possessed of quite a little sum to be- 
 gin with. 
 
 With what different emotions we write, and those we write 
 to read ! Little would poor Willie think while reading this 
 letter, so replete with hope, that while my pen traced these 
 pleasant words, my life blood was dropping, dropping. 
 
210 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 I also wrote to Mrs. Moodie, and after telling I had left 
 Portobello, in consequence of a misunderstanding with Mr. 
 Scott, I told her of the offer I had received through 
 Gertrude, and that I had some thoughts of accepting it. I 
 wished her to give me the advice I knew she was so willing 
 to bestow on all her old pupils, and I told her why I would 
 not like to go back to Ellenkirk. I need not have done this, 
 she knew it well. 
 
 Gertrude's letter was not so easily managed ; I had said too 
 much of my happiness in my former letter when I refused to 
 go to Canada ; she would not be satisfied by my merely say- 
 ing I had left my situation. I told her I had left from the 
 force of circumstances, over which I had no control, and 
 through no fault of mine ; that my leaving Iona Villa had 
 cost me the bitterest tears I would ever shed, but that, were 
 it in my power, I would not again return to my former pleas- 
 ant home. I offered, if the situation of English governess was 
 vacant still, to fill it to the best of my ability. 
 
 I had finished my letters as Mrs. Livingstone came in. Ger- 
 trude's was the last, and the reminiscences it called up were 
 not calculated to raise my spirits. I dare say I looked what I 
 felt. 
 
 The good woman sat down on a chair opposite to me, as if 
 she were very tired, and without putting off her bonnet or 
 shawl, folded her hands together, and looking me full in the 
 face, said : — " Sae' my bairn, ye are nae willin to lippen 
 yoursel to the Lord yet." 
 
 " Be strong and of a good courage, be not afraid ; neither 
 " be thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with thee, whi- 
 " thersoever thou goest." 
 
 She spoke those words, not with the broad pronunciation 
 she generally used, but just as they are written ; only with 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 211 
 
 her strong accent, and in a solemn manner, which said as 
 plainly as words could have done. " I have a message from 
 God unto thee.' , And so it proved in very deed, in spirit and 
 in power ; it did not take away the sting which rankled in my 
 bosom, but it look away all fear ; I was ready to go forth, 
 trusting all to him whose blessed words she had used. 
 
 I untied Mrs. Livingstone's bonnet and shawl, folded the 
 latter, and laid both in the drawer from which I had seen 
 them taken. 
 
 ** That's a gude bairn," said she, smiling kindly upon me ; 
 " and noo Maister Wilson's letter is aff to Glasgow, and we'll 
 hae an answer the day after the morn 5 and after dinner ye'll 
 need to gang yoursel for your kist, they wadna gee't to me nor 
 thanks ; sae we'll baith gang doun in the afterneen and tak it 
 up in a cab." 
 
 In a couple of days Mr. Wilson received an answer to his 
 letter. The sailing ship Winged Zephyr was to sail in a fort- 
 night, with accommodation for ten steerage and six cabin pas- 
 sengers, the price of the passage was ten pounds in the cabin; 
 that of the steerage four. There were steamships sailing 
 every fortnight, but in those the price of the passage was 
 nearly double that of a sailing vessel. 
 
 Before deciding finally, I waited for Mrs. Moodie's letter. 
 It came in due time, and strange to say, a letter from Ger- 
 trude inclosed in it. 
 
 Mrs. Moodie approved highly of my going to Canada. She 
 wrote thus : " Besides making more money than at your age 
 you could hope to do here, you will receive very material 
 advantage yourself in associating with highly educated and 
 refined women such as nuns who conduct educational esta- 
 blishments for the higher classes are ; they are almost without 
 exception the daughters of the aristocracy of the land which 
 
212 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 they represent ; and by mixing familiarly with French ladies 
 of their rank, you will unavoidably acquire the best and pur- 
 est style of the language, which, I have sometimes feared, 
 you prefer to your own ; and, which is now almost the uni- 
 versal medium of communication on the continent ; and apart 
 from any consideration relative to yourself, I should rejoice 
 at your being with Gertrude." 
 
 Gertrude's letter was written for the acknowledged pur- 
 pose of again urging me to accept of the situation which I 
 had already refused, but which I now was so anxious to 
 obtain. By the date of her letter I saw that she could not 
 have received my reply to her last. 
 
 She described her life as being happy and tranquil beyond 
 what she had ever imagined possible in this world, previous 
 to the happy time when there will be no sin, no sorrow, when 
 each will love his neighbour as himself. 
 
 There was an immense hospital attached to the convent, 
 and her description of the unremitting efforts of the good 
 nuns, and their unwearied labours in their attendance on the 
 sick and aged, was certainly one of the most beautiful pic- 
 tures of self-denying benevolence that pen could draw ; their 
 simple and child-like faith, their sincere affection for each 
 other, and implicit obedience to their Mother Superior, were 
 themes she delighted to dwell on. They were to have a 
 bazaar for the benefit of a poor monastry of the order of the 
 " Passionists," and the diligence of the nuns in working for 
 it amounted to absolute hard labour, rising at four o'clock in 
 the morning, and working busily in the intervals of worship 
 and their usual every day duties, until eight o'clock in the 
 evening ; and this not for a few days, but for six weeks at 
 once. And all so cheerful, so unostentatious ; none taking 
 credit to themselves for their good deeds, but each esteeming 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 213 
 
 the other better than themselves ; each anxious she should be 
 allowed to do the most to exercise the greatest self-denial. 
 
 I read both Mrs. Moodie's and Gertrude's letters to Mrs. 
 Livingstone, saying, as I concluded, that I now felt almost 
 glad at the prospect of going to Canada. 
 
 " Aweel, my bairn," observed she, (alluding to Gertrude's 
 description of convent life) " that's aw vera gude, and I 
 dinna doubt bit thae nuns aften lead better lives than them 
 •that has had the word of the Lord in their hands sine they 
 could pit twa words thegither ; and doubtless the Lord has 
 his ain among ilka tribe an tongue, but dinna lat them mak 
 a Catholic o' you, my lassie ; that was ae thing I didna think 
 o' afore : gaen in among them is jist like setten your feet on 
 the edge o' a precipice ; ye'U need mair care in half a dizin 
 steps there than ye wad need in sax mile on the high road ; 
 ye hae a clearer light than they hae, and ye ken that aw the 
 good deeds ony sinfu creature can do, atween the rising 
 o' the sun and the gaen down o' the same, will stand for 
 naething in the great day o' the Lord. Nae doubt aw the 
 good works we can do are necessary to let the world ken that 
 we are the servants o' Him wha has said : i Inasmuch as 
 
 * ye did it unto one of these my brethren, ye did it unto 
 
 * me.' But there's a great danger o' placing our trust in 
 these filthy rags of our own righteousness, and forgetten 
 the weary steps that were ta'en for three and thirty years 
 
 auld Jerusalem, and the precious blood that was shed 
 on Calvary for us lang ago." 
 
 It was finally decided that I should go. Mr. Wilson 
 wrote to Mr. Brown, his Glasgow correspondent, to take a 
 cabin passage for me on board the Winged Zephyr, which 
 was to sail from the Clyde on the tenth of July. It was now 
 the eighth, and on the morrow Mrs. Livingstone and I 
 
 p 
 
214 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 were to go by rail to Glasgow, and remain all night in the 
 house of her friend Mrs. Brown. 
 
 Mrs. Livingstone went out in the afternoon, leaving me 
 at home to prepare tea and pack my trunk in her absence. 
 I had all my letters in one packet kept together by two 
 bands of elastic : Robert Scott's letter was among the rest, 
 and I took it out that I might burn it ; there was no 
 good in keeping it, but much evil. The sight of this letter, 
 I felt sure, would for years to come be sufficient to awaken 
 thoughts and feelings which had better far lie buried deep in 
 some unfathomable abyss, never again to rise to the surface. 
 
 I walked to the fire place and held it above the fire I 
 had made to boil the tea kettle, when a thought struck me, 
 I will look once more, only once, at the signature. I opened 
 the letter, I would only look once and then burn it. I read 
 the first and last paragraphs. No, I would not burn it : 
 what use would there be in doing that ? I would never 
 look at it again, only this once, but I would not burn it. 
 I sat down and read it all through. And then I laid it 
 at the very bottom of my trunk, that it might be quite out 
 of sight. 
 
 It did me no good reading that letter ; my cheek burned, 
 and my spirit wandered on the mountains of vanity all that 
 evening, and far into the night. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 We were not to leave Edinburgh until eleven o'clock, and I 
 had laid aside the morning for Willie's letter, which was still 
 unfinished. I had to tell him where I was going, and had 
 delayed it as long as possible. I knew well the pain this letter 
 would give to the one who loved me best ; but I was doing 
 what seemed best for us both ; he was the only one I had to 
 live for, and- if it had not been best for him as well as for my- 
 self, I would not have gone. I told him all this, and expa- 
 tiated as largely as possible on the benefits which the money 
 I was to win in Canada would bestow on us both when his 
 studies were finished; then said I had parted with Mr. 
 Scott on bad terms, that both he and Mr. Robert had be- 
 haved ill towards me, and that for the future it was my wish 
 that neither he or I would have any communication with the 
 family. We were not likely to come in contact with them ; 
 our respective paths in life lay on each side of a broad river ; 
 theirs, by reason of their wealth and position, lay high up on 
 the broad," green table land above, while ours, even after we 
 had succeeded in passing across the stream, must for a time 
 at least, be with slow, careful steps among the thick brush- 
 wood, by the pebbly shore and occasionally the marsh which 
 skirts the border of the stream. It was possible we might 
 never meet again, except in the street. Simple recognisance 
 there was all that was necessary. 
 
 I had written to Gertrude and Mrs. Moodie the previous 
 evening, and I now put all three letters aside, to put into the 
 post-office at Glasgow. 
 
216 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 By eleven o'clock we were on our way to Glasgow, where 
 we were kindly received by Mr. Wilson's friend, Mrs. Brown. 
 Mrs. Brown was the widow of a clergyman, who had come 
 to Glasgow with her only son on the death of her husband. 
 
 They occupied the half of a house, consisting of a parlour, 
 three bed-rooms, and kitchen ; a young lady lived with them, 
 who taught music, and who Mrs Brown introduced as Miss 
 Watson from Edinburgh. 
 
 Miss Watson, before our arrival, had consented to give me 
 the half of her bed, Mrs. Brown being to share hers with 
 Mrs. Livingstone. Mrs." Brown was a woman of about forty 
 years of age, very pleasant and well informed ; her son, Mr. 
 James Brown, was tall and handsome, with a bright eye and 
 thoughtful brow ; he might well have a thoughtful brow ! he, 
 with his eighteen or twenty summers, at most, was the prin- 
 cipal support of his widowed mother, she having besides only 
 twenty pounds from some fund. 
 
 Miss Watson was five and thirty certainly, perhaps more ; 
 but she dressed handsomely and youthfully, and probably 
 looked younger on this account ; her face betokened sense and 
 much sarcasm ; she spoke a great deal, but everything was 
 well said and to the point ; she was cheerful withal, and had 
 the rare gift of making those around her fall into her own 
 mood. 
 
 After dinner Miss Watson took me, as she said, under her 
 own wing, that she might shew me the lions. We walked 
 about two hours, during which she pointed out each object 
 of interest we came to, and told me all about what it was, or 
 was to be : talking and laughing all the time, and making me 
 do so also, as far as the laughing went, although it must have 
 been in sympathy, as in truth, I scarcely knew for what, my 
 thoughts being far away with dear Willie among the hills of 
 Perthshire. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 217 
 
 Before entering the house on our return home, we went 
 into the bookseller's shop, which formed part of the same 
 building, and was under the rooms occupied by Mrs. Brown. 
 Young Brown was there behind the counter, and seemed with 
 his quick eye to be looking everywhere at once ; Miss Wat- 
 son told me that though only nineteen years of age, he filled 
 one of the most onerous situations in the shop, and that his 
 mother paid a mere nominal rent for the flat she occupied, 
 all the rooms of which were large and handsome, Mr. Pringle, 
 his master, considering he received a benefit equal to the 
 rent from young Brown's living on the premises. 
 
 After tea, Miss Watson seated herself on one side of a 
 window-seat, raised a step from the floor, and projecting from 
 each side of the window, so that those occupying it had their 
 faces to each other, and also saw all that passed on the street 
 below. She invited me to take the opposite side, and drawing 
 some tatting from her pocket, divided her time equally 
 between it and the passers by, making the most piquant re- 
 marks on the latter. 
 
 All at once she dropped her work, threw up the window- 
 sash and looked out, exclaiming " As sure as a gun that's 
 Robert Scott." She continued watching some one going up the 
 street for fully five minutes, she then shut down the window, 
 and resumed her seat. 
 
 " That gentleman who has just passed is the brother of a 
 young lady to whom I was governess for a few months a year 
 and a half ago ; he has been and is a good friend to a brother- 
 in-law of mine. I cannot think what has brought him here, 
 I saw his name some eight or ten days ago, on the list of 
 advocates attached to the Northern circuit." 
 
 Robert Scott so near, what of that ? he was nothing to me, 
 or ever could be ; I felt my blood run cold through every 
 vein. 
 
218 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 " Put off that sad face of yours," said my companion, 
 giving me a shake as she spoke. " Canada is in reality to us 
 governesses not further off than London ; were we in the latter? 
 we could only come home to see our friends at the year's end, 
 and we would have to work for half the sum you are to 
 receive ; if you tire of Canada you can come back next year, 
 pay your passage, and have fifty pounds in your pocket to 
 live on for a year, if you wish to do so. Going to a convent in 
 Canada is part of the romance of governess life ; if you live 
 in single blessedness until you are as old as I am, you will see 
 romance enough to fill a volume. Part of the romance of my 
 life is connected with the gentleman I looked after just now? 
 and I will tell it to you to make you laugh." 
 
 " The family live at Iona Villa, a house with an acre or 
 two of ground near Portobello ; they are not rich, but as 
 proud as Lucifer." 
 
 " I know them" said I ; u I lived there." 
 
 " You, is it possible ?" how long were you there ? when did 
 you go there ? when did you leave ?" 
 
 I smiled at the eager look and tone with which these 
 questions were put ; " You must give me time to answer your 
 questions one at a time. I left Iona Villa nearly a fortnight 
 past, and I was nearly fifteen months there." 
 
 " Fifteen months !" said she, holding up her hands and eyes, 
 " and you are not a petrifaction yet ; if you could live fifteen 
 months at Iona Villa, you need not fear to live in a convent. 
 I never saw such a stiff, silent set ; I would not live a year 
 there for a hundred pounds, but I need not say that, they 
 did not put it in my power to stay ; I was sent away, whether 
 I would or not. " I must tell you all about it. Oh it was 
 such rare fun!" 
 
 " To begin properly, you, my hearer, must bear in your 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 219 
 
 mind's eye what Mr. Robert Scott is : young, handsome, in- 
 tellectual, one who a very few years hence will be at the top 
 of his profession, and on the death of his aunt, passing rich. 
 Now you must look at me : nearly ten years his senior ; never 
 had the least pretentions to beauty in my youngest days ; I 
 know French pretty well, and music indifferently ; these are 
 the extent of my attainments ; have not a penny in the world 
 but what I earn. 
 
 " Now for my story. Mr. and Mrs. Scott, who often dis- 
 agreed upon other subjects, agreed on this, that these attrac- 
 tions of mine were too great for their handsome son to resist, 
 and the two eldest young ladies, who are themselves fast 
 waning into the sear and yellow leaf, saw the affair exactly 
 in the same light ; so one day I was sent for, to speak with 
 awful Mr. Scott in the dining-room, and was there informed by 
 him that he had discovered all the arts I practised to entrap 
 Mr. Robert Scott, as he called him : that he, as Mr. Robert 
 Scott's father, must tell me he could never give his consent to 
 his son's marriage with one, who at best was only a little above 
 a servant, and therefore it was necessary I should leave his 
 house within half an hour. I know he intended I should be very 
 much overawed ; but he reckoned without his host there. I 
 told him, (staring him in full in the face while I spoke) I was 
 never happy for one day in his house, and that I would be very 
 glad to get out of it, that residing there seemed tome like living 
 in a church-yard with the grave digger, he himself repre- 
 senting the latter important personage, and that I would be 
 very happy to go whenever he paid me for my year's service. 
 
 " It was with great difficulty I could make him hear me 
 to the end. He interrupted me several times, but I was 
 more than a match for him. He had a strong will, but I had 
 a stronger ; he talked loud and fast ; I spoke in a low voice, 
 
220 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 and drawled out ray words as slowly as possible. "What a fury 
 the old gentleman was in ! how he stamped and swore, assur- 
 ing me over and over again I should never touch a shilling of 
 his money. I saw his aim ; he was not only desirous to keep 
 his son, but his money also; but I was no child, and told him 
 so. The chambermaid, who, by the by, was a particular friend 
 of mine, had warned me long before that he had turned away 
 two of my predecessors without paying them ; but they were 
 young girls, and were easily frightened. I thought of this, 
 and said : — ' Old man, are you not ashamed with your grey 
 hairs to cheat people in the way you do. I am aware you 
 cheated the last two governesses who were here ; but I am — ' 
 
 " He stopt me there. Oh, what a noise, calling servants, 
 ringing the bell, stamping, flinging chairs out of his way. De- 
 pend upon it, that man will kill some one, and be hanged for 
 it yet. However, the end of it was, I only received four 
 months' salary before I left the house ; but Mr. Robert paid 
 me for the whole year, whether out of his own pocket or not I 
 cannot tell. 
 
 " What made them take this wild idea into their heads it 
 would be hard to say, unless it was that Mr. Robert used to 
 go with me to see my poor brother-in-law every Sunday, be- 
 tween the services. My poor sister's husband, John Lillie, 
 was a schoolfellow of Robert Scott's ; he is now miserably 
 poor, and has been paralyzed for upwards of two years. If 
 he had been an honest man, he would never have known the 
 poverty he has suffered. And I did not wish these proud 
 Scotts to know that John Lillie w T as my brother-in-law ; and 
 when they were told by the Misses Syme that Mr. Robert ac- 
 companied me every Sunday forenoon out of church, I begged 
 of him not to tell where we went to ; he still goes every Sun- 
 day to see John, and does much more for him than that. I 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 221 
 
 hope the old man and the sisters think he comes to see me 
 still. How you got on with them for fifteen months is be- 
 yond my comprehension. Miss Hariote Scott, who really 
 rules the roast at Iona Villa, is the most disagreeable old maid 
 I ever met." 
 
 " I am surprised to hear you say so," I replied ; " when I 
 lived there I loved Miss Hariote as if she had been my sister, 
 and I will ever respect and esteem her highly." 
 
 M Well, I suspect you are more of an old maid yourself than 
 I am," said she, laughing; " and the point of affinity between 
 Hariote Scott and you must be silence ; you are quite as silent 
 as herself." 
 
 Next morning Mrs. Livingstone paid ten pounds for my 
 passage, and she insisted on me taking a draft for five more. 
 This I did not wish to do, as I really had no use for so much 
 money, but she would not listen to anything I had to say. 
 
 We were to go on board at four o'clock, the time appointed 
 for the vessel to sail being five. 
 
 Miss Watson had gone out to give some music lessons, and 
 Mrs. Livingstone came into her room with me, so that we might 
 spend the remaining time together. 
 
 She spoke long and earnestly, warning me of the danger I 
 was in of becoming a Catholic, if I did not pray and strive 
 against the influence which, she said, she was sure would be 
 brought to bear on me. She seemed now to have quite a fear 
 of my going, and twice proposed that I should not go. We 
 would, she said, remain in Glasgow a week, and go home 
 again, or I would go with her to the braes of Ballquider, where 
 she was to visit her only sister, and spend some months. 
 
 But I would not hear of remaining at home. I had thought 
 myself into going, and I was now as anxious to see Canada 
 as I was averse to leaving Scotland a few months previously. 
 
222 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 How little we can judge by the feelings of to-day what those 
 of to-morrow will be ! 
 
 There was one thing I must do before leaving Scotland, and 
 I had delayed it to the very last moment. 
 
 In the event of my never reaching Canada, Mrs. Living- 
 stone could not be paid the money she so generously advanced 
 to me, for many years. Poor Willie, unaided, would find it 
 hard work to educate himself. How was he to pay fifteen 
 pounds. It would indeed be a long time ere he could do 
 that. 
 
 I had nothing to give as an equivalent except mamma's 
 watch, which she had hung round my neck so shortly before 
 we parted for ever. It cost me a pang to part with it, but 
 what could I do ? I had nothing else, and there must not be 
 even a chance of Mrs. Livingstone losing her money. I had 
 recollections of jewels, which mamma told us were sent to her 
 as a marriage gift by our paternal grandfather ; and we also 
 remembered our father's watch with its gold chain and seals, 
 the great object of Willie's childish ambition ; where were 
 they ? Perhaps some day, when my position would be dif- 
 ferent, I would ask uncle that question. 
 
 But the present must be thought of now. I knew it would 
 not be easy to make Mrs. Livingstone take the care of my 
 watch into her hands ; but it must be done. I could not leave 
 Scotland unfettered otherways. 
 
 " You must keep mamma's watch for me," said I, putting 
 it into her hands ; " if we were to be shipwrecked I should 
 lose it, or it might be stolen from me." 
 
 She looked hard and grimly in my face ; that old woman 
 could read my very soul. 
 
 " Keep your mother's watch ! Na, I'll no do that ; you 
 must never part wi' it, till you part wi' yoursel'." 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 223 
 
 " But by your keeping it for me, I will be more sure of it 
 than if I had it in my own possession. I am only going to 
 remain in Canada three years ; and if I lost it during that 
 time, it would cause me great pain. Besides, if I never re- 
 turn, you will give it to Willie. If I leave it in Canada, who 
 there will take that trouble ?" 
 
 " Aweel,'' replied she, " there's twa sides to ilka ques- 
 tion, an' gin ye hae honest folk about ye, they wad sen' your 
 watch hame at any rate. Bit nae matter ; I'll no keep it, sae 
 let's hear nae mair about it." 
 
 Mrs. Livingstone and Miss Watson went into the cab, which 
 contained my luggage, and Mrs. Wilson and I were to walk 
 to the ship. I was to have quite an escort to see me on 
 board. 
 
 I suspect that this arrangement was made by Mrs. Living- 
 stone for my particular benefit, as Mrs. Wilson entertained 
 me, during the whole of our walk, with various accounts of the 
 many artifices Roman Catholics resorted to, to obtain prose- 
 lytes. 
 
 The wharf was absolutely covered with packages, boxes, 
 carts, loading and unloading, carriages, etc., and out and in 
 through these we had to pick our way to the ship. A small 
 steam vessel was about to start, and the passengers were hur- 
 rying towards her. Two gentlemen on their way to the 
 steamer passed us so closely that the handle of an umbrella, 
 which one of them carried under his arm, fastened in the 
 hood of my cloak ; and he, unconscious of what stopped his 
 progress, in his efforts to disengage his umbrella, threw me 
 over one of the packages. His companion and he both came 
 to the rescue : the latter helped me to rise, and asked me if 
 I was hurt, in a voice that thrilled through every nerve. I 
 looked in his face — it was Robert Scott. I knew I could 
 
224 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 not be recognised. I had a green crape veil tied double over 
 my face. I murmured some indistinct response lest my voice 
 should betray me. He again said some words of apology, 
 and was gone. 
 
 I was transfixed to the spot, and stood watching him until 
 he passed along the way leading from the wharf to the 
 steamboat, and was lost to my sight in the crowd on board. 
 
 " I fear you have been hurt," said my companion." 
 
 " No, I feel giddy, that is all." 
 
 I felt giddy enough, but not from the effects of my fall ; 
 the wharf and all its various burdens, the vessels with their 
 decks crowded with human beings ; the very earth and sky 
 swung backwards and forwards in long sweeps ; I sat down 
 on one of the bales at my side ; it was well I did, in a moment 
 a noise surrounded me, as if a cataract were pouring its 
 waters on my head, and then the whole world whirled round 
 and round in rapid whirls, and I the centre. 
 
 Mrs. Wilson removed my veil and bonnet, some water was 
 thrown on my face, and by degrees, the skies and earth, ships 
 and wharf, steadied themselves down into their old places. 
 
 Before we went on board the ship, I placed my watch in 
 Mrs. Wilson's hands, telling her to give it to Mrs. Living- 
 stone on the morrow. 
 
 The Winged Zephyr was a small merchantman, that also 
 carried a few passengers ; there was a poop cabin on deck, 
 the small saloon of which was lighted from the top ; at each 
 side of the saloon were two doors, each opening into a small 
 cabin, in which was a bed and sufficient room for a trunk at 
 each end. 
 
 Besides my own trunk, I found another in the small cabin 
 allotted to me, which Mrs. Livingstone said she had brought 
 from Edinburgh, packed with a few necessaries for the 
 voyage. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 225 
 
 Before we parted, she took me aside and told me, should I 
 be disappointed in my expectations on my arrival in Canada, 
 to write to her, and she would immediately send me money 
 to bring me home, and she made me promise to pray night 
 and morning for grace and strength, to keep in the faith of 
 my fathers, and that I should never bend my knees but to 
 the God of Israel, whom they worshipped in my native land. 
 
 I bade Mrs. Livingstone good-bye with many tears ; she 
 blessed me as if I had been her own child, and prayed that 
 my soul and spirit might be kept blameless unto the coming 
 of the Lord. 
 
 I liked that old woman well, and I had cause. With rever- 
 ence be it spoken, she showered her benefits upon me as the 
 Lord sends the rain on the dry ground. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 My travelling companions in the cabin were a lady and 
 gentleman from the Northern Highlands, who, with their two 
 little children, were on their way to seek a home in the west ; 
 they were pleasant, kind people, and shared with me the 
 little luxuries they had stored for the voyage with no sparing 
 hand. 
 
 The steerage passengers consisted of a woman from the 
 Western Isles, with her two little girls, going to join her hus- 
 band, who, as a common laborer, had landed in Montreal 
 two years before with half a crown in his pocket, and now 
 had a couple of well furnished rooms to welcome her to, 
 besides having sent her so much money every month, as 
 enabled her, during these two years of absence, to save ten 
 pounds. These ten pounds she had in gold, and carried in 
 her bosom, carefully folded in a piece of newspaper, over 
 which was again folded a piece of printed cotton, the whole 
 being placed in the foot of a stocking. She and I became 
 very friendly during the voyage, and it was towards the end 
 that she showed me her pose ; she said that from the day he 
 went away, she had never bought a shilling's worth of clothes 
 for herself or the children, with the exception of shoes. 
 
 A young, well-dressed widow from Glasgow occupied the 
 sleeping berth next to the Highland woman ; she had also two 
 little girls, and went to fulfil a matrimonial engagement, and 
 whose intended husband, she took care to tell, was to come 
 from Kingston in Upper Canada, to Montreal, to meet her, 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 227 
 
 and also told, to show how she was valued, that it was her 
 lover who had sent her the money to bring herself and her 
 children to Canada. 
 
 A young girl and her brother going to their parents, who 
 had preceeded them. This girl was the admiration of us all ; 
 her industry was untiring ; from early morn until the light 
 failed her, she sat on deck or on the last step of the ladder- 
 like staircase, leading down to the steerage, knitting lace , which 
 she intended for sale when she arrived. Before she left the 
 vessel she had accomplished a task of twelve yards. 
 
 Next, a shoemaker from Upper Canada, who was return- 
 ing from a visit paid to his friends in Scotland, after an ab- 
 sence of twenty years ; a very great man was the shoemaker, 
 a little pompous, and no wonder, he had become a man of 
 wealth and consequence. The house he lived in was his own ; 
 he employed two men to work for him ; he had a hair-cloth 
 sofa and chairs in his parlour ; and he had only come out in 
 the steerage, because he considered all money spent in tra- 
 velling was wasted ; when we arrived at our place of destina- 
 tion we had nothing for our money. Although he had a just 
 sense of his own importance, and liked to be spoken to with 
 deference by his fellow passengers in the steerage, whom he 
 evidently considered his inferiors in the social scale, yet he 
 was a kind-hearted body, and regularly shared the comfort- 
 able breakfast and dinner he cooked for himself, with one of 
 the others, always selecting those who seemed most to require 
 a good meal. 
 
 And last, though not least in inches certainly, was a Glas- 
 gow weaver, who having quarrelled with his wife, had left 
 Scotland in a pet. Poor man, we had scarcely set sail when 
 he amused every one on board by his bitter lamentations at 
 his own folly, in having, as he expressed it : — " Left the land 
 
228 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 where he was bred and born, to gang amang haythens and 
 Catholics and aw kind o' folk. Oh !" said he, with almost 
 a groan of despair, " gin I were at hame the nicht, I wadna 
 flyte wi' the wife, gin she was as fu as the Baltic, and cawed 
 me aw at ever was cawed ane." 
 
 The poor weaver was a great lank fellow, at least six feet 
 high, with legs and arms so long and thin, that they seemed 
 out of all proportion to his body ; and as he walked up and 
 down the deck, giving vent to his lamentations and swinging 
 his long arms to and fro, with every step his unsteady waver- 
 ing legs took, the younger part of his audience laughed out- 
 right. 
 
 We had tea soon after we set sail, and when the tea things 
 were removed, Mrs. Lessely placed her work-basket and key 
 tray on the table, giving it quite a home look. 
 
 Her two children were pretty and good ; the little girl fair, 
 with long flaxen hair ; the boy, a merry, black eyed, curly 
 haired fellow, little more than a baby. 
 
 Franky, as he called himself, was soon a pet with every 
 one ; even the sailors had a word or two for Franky, as he 
 went along imitating the swing with which they walked, until 
 he was as perfect in it as themselves. 
 
 Captain Russel, the sailing master, was a little, stout, fair 
 haired man, with a quick eye and a turned-up nose ; he was 
 activity personified, and we very soon observed that when his 
 orders were executed in a slovenly manner, he went at once 
 and did the work over again himself, with a quickness and 
 precision which none of his men possessed. The captain, as 
 we called him, was always in great good humour when we 
 had, what he called, a spanking gale, and we called a hurri- 
 cane, with the wind blowing in our favour. 
 
 Mrs. Lessely was very sick for three or four days, so dur- 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 229 
 
 ing that time I installed myself head nurse, and got to be 
 quite an adept in my profession, and a favourite with the 
 children. 
 
 Mrs. Lessely was not alone in her sickness, every passen- 
 ger on board, with the exception of myself and children, were 
 sick for two or three days, and in consequence, the decks 
 seemed quite deserted, and presented a very different ap- 
 pearance from the evening in which we set sail. The shoe- 
 maker was the first to recover, and on the forenoon of the 
 third day, gladdened our eyes by appearing on deck with his 
 frying-pan, with which he wended his way to the cook-room, 
 a little place on deck two or three yards square, from which 
 in due time he issued, still carrying his frying-pan, now filled 
 with a most savoury mess of ham and eggs, with which he 
 descended to the steerage, declaring he would soon cure the 
 others and have them on deck again. 
 
 I was fortunate enough never to feel sick for an hour, no 
 matter whether we had fair weather or foul, I was always well, 
 enjoying the cool sea breeze on deck. 
 
 By degrees our sick passengers all appeared, with the ex- 
 ception of the eldest child of the widow ; she, poor little thing, 
 seemed never to have power to rally from the weakness which 
 the sickness left. The captain was most kind and attentive 
 to the child, carried her on deck in his own arms, gave her 
 medicine himself, in case her mother would not do so proper- 
 ly ; in short, did all it was possible for him to do, but in vain. 
 The child sank by degrees, and at last died on the seventh 
 
 There was a coffin made, and the little girl's body decently 
 laid out in it, as it would have been on shore. 
 
 When it was to be sunk, the passengers and crew were all 
 called on deck, and Mr. Lessely read the beautiful service 
 
 Q 
 
230 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 of the Scotch Episcopal Church, (to which he belonged) for 
 the burial of the dead at sea. 
 
 Mr. Lessely was a tall handsome man, of grave aspect, and 
 his appearance accorded well with the solemn words he utter- 
 ed. I have seen few clergymen whose looks accorded so well 
 with their sacred office, as Mr. Lessely's did. 
 
 The coffin was placed on a long plank, which was slightly 
 fastened to the bulwark of the lower deck. 
 
 Every one stood uncovered, and with quiet attention and 
 reverence, when he pronounced the words : 
 
 " We commit this our sister's body to the deep, in the sure 
 " and certain hope of a blessed resurrection to eternal life ; 
 " through Jesus Christ our Lord." 
 
 The fastening of the plank was removed, and the coffin let 
 slowly down among the waves, there to. rest until the sea gives 
 up her dead. 
 
 It was an impressive scene. The broad blue sky, without 
 a single cloud, above our heads. The deep green sea, with 
 its rolling billows all around ; and we, a handful of wanderers, 
 on the deck of our frail bark, lifting voice and eye to the 
 Creator of all this immensity, and consigning our dead to the 
 keeping of the sea — in firm unwavering faith — that our Lord 
 at his coming would bring her also. 
 
 Mrs. Lessely's little girl wept as if her mamma had died 
 and been consigned to that fathomless grave. The mother 
 of the child, and the young sister, looked on with grave faces, 
 but unmoved. No one wept but little Mary Lessely. 
 
 On our arrival at Quebec, several French women came in 
 boats alongside the vessel, selling fruit and flowers. Mary 
 begged her mamma to buy her a bunch of white china-asters, 
 which, on receiving, she untied, and let fall, one by one, over 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 231 
 
 the ship's side, watching them as they floated with the tide 
 out to sea, until they were lost to sight. 
 
 I asked her why she had thrown away her flowers ? 
 
 " I have not thrown them away," was her reply, " I have 
 sent them all down to poor little Bessie's grave !" * 
 
 There were among the crew two English boys. Jack, a 
 bright, handsome boy, about sixteen years of age ; he had 
 been on the ship for two years, and was a favourite with cap- 
 tain, mate, sailors, every one. 
 
 The other, a tall, stout fellow, evidently the * black sheep ' 
 of the ship. Tom, as far as he dared, disobeyed orders, and 
 quarrelled with everyone. Jack sometimes played with the 
 children on deck, and on such occasions Tom invariably tried 
 to make them fall, by placing an unseen rope in their way, 
 which he had the dexterity to pull in such a manner as to 
 make the whole tumble. Every one disliked Tom, and Tom 
 returned the feeling with interest. 
 
 When we were about ten or twelve days out at sea, a 
 storm arose towards evening, which increased during the night 
 to a perfect hurricane. 
 
 I was lying awake listening to the roaring of the sea, as it 
 dashed its angry waves with giant fury against the side of the 
 ship where I lay, and the loud voice of the wind, as it came 
 in gusts, sweeping through the bare rigging, and across the 
 decks, when suddenly there arose a loud noise, I fancied 
 quite close to my ear. Stamping of many feet, several loud, 
 angry voices, clanking of chains ; and now as I listened, I 
 could distinguish the clear, silver sounds of a woman's voice, 
 as if in fear and used in entreaty. It instantly occurred 
 o me that the ship had struck on a rock, and Willie's parting 
 vrords and sad face were before my eyes in the darkness, 
 and ringing in my ears distinctly, amid the noise of jarring 
 voices within, and the wild war of elements without. 
 
232 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 I had turned with contempt from the gypsy's prophecy : 
 and in three short months, how bitterly did the sharp storm 
 of adversity break over my devoted head. 
 
 And when Willie wept with the sad presentiment which 
 unmanned him, and drew tears from his eyes, I smiled, with 
 no dread of the future, knowing in my present path was full- 
 ness of joy. Were those sad words of his, that I held so light- 
 ly, now about to be fulfilled ? — " My sister, my sister ! when 
 I come again, I will not meet you, you will be dead ?" All 
 this passed through my mind in half the time I have taken to 
 write it. I slipped on my gown and shoes, and pulling back 
 the door of the cabin, I saw by the night-light, which hung 
 in the saloon, that a door in the back, which I had never 
 seen used, was now wide open, and the space behind filled 
 with men; among whom I recognized the captain, second 
 mate, and Tom ; the latter with his hands chained together. 
 Tom and the captain seemed both frenzied with rage. Mrs. 
 Lessely was inside the saloon, but close to the door, dressed 
 in a white dressing-gown, her hair braided quite off her face, 
 and rolled up into a large shell-like knot behind ; her hands 
 were clasped and uplifted in a beseeching attitude — she 
 seemed to be speaking and acting under the greatest excite- 
 ment and fear. 
 
 I stood as still as possible, glad to find it was no ship- 
 wreck which occasioned the uproar that alarmed me so much. 
 I could scarcely distinguish what any one person said, but I 
 could gather from the whole that Tom was put in irons for 
 disobeying the captain's orders, and was to be confined in the 
 hold, where they were about placing him, by means of a trap 
 door, (opening close to the saloon door, already referrred to) 
 when Mrs. Lessely came to plead for Tom's pardon, evidently 
 impressed with the idea that he was to suffer death, or some- 
 thing very near it. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 233 
 
 The second-mate was standing close to Tom, his hands 
 grasping the culprit's arm, and his face as pale as death ; he 
 looked as if he were trembling with fear ; if ever I saw abject 
 fear pictured on a human face, it was on that man's. I think 
 had the captain desired him to kill the boy, and it could have 
 been done at Tom's back, he would have done it. The cap- 
 tain was struggling with Tom, while the latter, a great giant 
 in comparison to the captain, was only prevented from batter- 
 ing the little man's brains out with the hand-cuffs and chains 
 attached to his wrists, by the grasp the second-mate had of 
 one shoulder, and the steward of the other. 
 
 Captain Russel was stamping, talking to Tom, and at Mrs. 
 Lessley, swearing that all the women in the world should not 
 save him, when Mr. Lessely appeared at the door of his own 
 cabin. He came forward, and seeming to understand it all 
 in a moment, took his wife by the arm, and drew her gently 
 away from the scene of action. He was talking to her in a 
 low voice, and I heard him say as he passed my cabin door : 
 
 " If the captain were interfered with, it might lead to a 
 mutiny on board, an hour hence." 
 
 How these words of Mr. Lessely thrilled through my every 
 vein ; they effected an entire revolution in my opinion ; be- 
 fore hearing them I was decidedly a partizan of Tom's, now I 
 was willing the captain should have his way. 
 
 Mr. Lessely made his wife go into her sleeping-berth and 
 lie down, he seating himself on one of the saloon seats close 
 
 by- 
 
 Tom was forced down the ladder into the hold, and was, I 
 believe, for several hours hung up by his chained hands. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 The darkness and storm passed away together, and the morn- 
 ing rose bright and clear ; everything so calm ; not a breath 
 of wind stirring, and only by the swell in the sea, whose white 
 crested billows came with a quicker dash, and climbed higher 
 up the ship's sides than before, were we reminded of last 
 night's tempest. 
 
 Not so the temper of the captain : he took his meals in the 
 saloon with us, and always sat at the head of the table ; in 
 general, he was good humored and chatty ; but that morning 
 he maintained a dignified silence, which did not at all accord 
 with his red hair and turned-up nose. 
 
 However, Mr. Lessely took Captain Russel's side of the 
 question, and looked upon his wife's interference as a most 
 grave offence. 
 
 It appeared that the storm came on so suddenly, that all 
 hands were required on deck ; and upon the captain desiring 
 Tom to go into the rigging to arrange something there, he 
 refused, and this was the cause of all the trouble ; Tom was now 
 in the hold, and was to remain there for the rest of the voyage- 
 
 The Glasgow weaver played the flute very sweetly, and we 
 used to get him to come up on the poop deck and play for u& 
 every evening, to the great delight of the children, who 
 absolutely screamed with laughter at the faces he made while 
 playing. 
 
 Poor fellow, he never failed to give us a dose of his un- 
 ceasing lamentations, after the happy home he had left ia 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 235 
 
 the Cowgate of Glasgow, and the good wife " who was sitting 
 her lane there." 
 
 When the weaver came on board, he was very wrath against 
 his wife ; after we set sail and he found we were fairly off, he 
 still blamed her a little ; but distance and time had endowed her 
 with every virtue — she was now an angel, suffering all sorts of 
 privations from his waywardness and folly. 
 
 6< Sirs !" he would occasionally burst out with, " what an 
 idle wratch am I, idlein' awa my time, doing naething a' day 
 here, and my puir wife sittin' maybe at hame wi' neither fire or 
 meat i' the house ! An' sic a gude wife as she ; there is nae 
 ane in a' the Cowgate 'at can beat her at makin' bannocks or 
 langkail." 
 
 On his making this speech, the little lace knitter, who, in 
 her quiet deinure way, liked a little mischief, and was besides 
 a privileged person, having been a neighbour of Sandy's in 
 that happy place, the Cowgate of Glasgow, reminded him 
 slily that his wife occasionally indulged in something stronger 
 than langkail." 
 
 Sandy was now angry, and replied in sharper accents than 
 I thought he was capable of using : 
 
 " Gin she does, she does na mair than her neebours ; 
 there is nae a wife in the gate end, 'at doesna tak a dram 
 whan she can get it ; and whan my wife takes a drap, she aye 
 gies siller for't, but mony a wife i' the Cowgate pawns her 
 good man's sabbath coat for drink ; puir Jannet, she wad long 
 look at it afore she wad do that." 
 
 And the poor man sighed heavily, as he recounted the good 
 qualities of the injured woman he had left to mourn his 
 absence in the Cowgate. 
 
 The Upper Canaaa shoemaker was a wit in his own way, 
 and to amuse the ladies in the steerage, told the weaver that, 
 
236 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 if the captain liked, he could hail a passing ship, and send 
 him home — it was in vain for the captain to declare the 
 thing was impossible, it could not be done, Sandy was 
 assured that it was a matter of every day occurrence ; and if 
 he would persevere, no doubt the captain, wearied out by his 
 importunity, would finally hail a ship and send him home. 
 
 When the morning was chilly, Mrs. Lessely and I used to 
 walk with the children on the lower deck; as it was more 
 sheltered than the poop. 
 
 One morning while thus taking our constitution walk, as 
 Mr. Lessely termed it, we were amused by listening to a con- 
 versation between the shoemaker and his butt Sandy. 
 
 There was a sail in sight, and the shoemaker calling Sandy's 
 attention to it, declared he knew it was a ship bound for 
 Glasgow ; the ship in question, was, at the time, so distant, 
 it appeared like a toy. 
 
 "Now's your time, Sandy man," said the shoemaker, 
 u pluck up your courage and speak to the captain like one who 
 knows what he's about, and my word to you, at the rate that 
 ship's going at, you'll be in Glasgow in six days." 
 
 "Think ye that, man?" said the other, doubtfully ; " it has 
 ta'en us fourteen days to won this length ;" and saying so he 
 formed the fingers and thumb of his left hand into the nearest 
 approach he could make to a spy glass, applying it to his 
 eye in order to have a better view of the said ship. 
 
 " So it has," said the shoemaker, " but don't you know 
 that there's a current in the sea, the very same as in the 
 rivers and burns that run down to the sea ; and the current 
 runs from America to Scotland, so we have to sail against 
 the current, and that ship is sailing with it." 
 
 " Deed," continued he, looking very wise, " I wouldna say 
 but you would be in your ain bed on Saturday nicht, if ye 
 take the right way about it." 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 237 
 
 * I would do muckle to be in my ain house on Saturday 
 nicht," said the tall, lank weaver, bending even more than he 
 usually did, and looking on the deck at his feet as if he would 
 read there whether such a blissful consummation were possi- 
 ble, and the best way of accomplishing his purpose. 
 
 u Well,'' said his friend, drawing himself up to his full height 
 of five feet, and pacing the deck backwards and forwards within 
 a length of six yards, his thumbs stuck in the arm-holes of his 
 vest, and his shoulders thrown back, so as to give full breadth 
 to his ample chest ; his figure, unlike the generality of his 
 craft, making up in breadth for what it wanted in length ; 
 " well, if you tell the captain that right or wrong you're 
 bound to sail with that ship, he'll be forced to put you on 
 board ; but take no • ither body's name in to it, or he'll ken 
 you know nothing about it yoursel ; the law is on your side, 
 but if he thinks your na just sure o' that, he'll gar might 
 make right, and keep you on board his own ship whither ye 
 will or no." 
 
 The shoemaker spoke as much English as he could ; he 
 thought it a more dignified and genteel language than his 
 native Scotch ; but when he was very earnest, the broad pro- 
 nunciation and accent of his mother tongue would slip in, 
 whether he would or not. 
 
 Sandy threw off his listless air in a moment, rubbed his 
 hands, and nodding his head to one side with the wisest look 
 he could assume, said : 
 
 " My faith, he'll nae trick me that gett ; gin its the law 
 as ye say it is, and it stan's to reason as it is sae, he wonna 
 gar me bide wi' him for a' his cuteness." 
 
 As he spoke he became more confident and bolder in the 
 defence of his right, and added, with great decision, striking 
 
238 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 his clenched right hand into the open palm of his left as he 
 spoke : 
 
 " I wadna bide here anither nicht gin he wad gie me his 
 wecht in red gowd ; but I am only spendin' time here ; I'll 
 jest rin down and pit the flute an my bit traps thegither, an' 
 maybe ye'll keep a gude look out on the ship, 'at she'll nae 
 gang by whan I'm down the stairs." He spoke in a hurried 
 manner as if he had now learned the value of time, and dis- 
 carded his old lymphatic air and slow drawling mode of speech. 
 
 " No fear of that," replied the shoemaker ; " I'll no lat her 
 pass ; but pack up your things wi' all the speed ye can, for its 
 better for you to settle wi' the captain afore the Glasgow ship 
 comes too close, for you see there will be a boat to get ready 
 to put you on board." 
 
 Sandy scarcely waited to hear the shoemaker's reply, but 
 hurried along th e deck and down the ladder staircase leading 
 to the steerage, with more the air of a man than I had ever 
 seen him wear before. 
 
 Twice Sandy's head appeared above the ladder, inquiring 
 " Is she near yet ?" 
 
 " Nae yet." 
 
 In a few minutes the head popped up again. 
 
 " She's nae near han' yet, is she ?" 
 
 " No, no," said his friend, nodding his head significantly, 
 and continuing his walk up and down the deck. 
 
 " But stick ye to your last, and close the boot in a crack." 
 
 He must have been thinking of his own " profession," as 
 he termed it, while he meant to hurry the weaver in the pre- 
 parations he was making for departure. 
 
 At last he ascended, dressed in a clean shirt, brushed 
 shoes, and a better suit of clothes than I had supposed him 
 possessed of. What a difference, almost a metamorphosis I 
 
VIOLET KEITK. 23$ 
 
 The unshaven, half silly looking, flapping about creature of 
 the morning, whose clothes always hung about him as if they 
 had been put on with a pitch-fork, looked a decent respect- 
 able man, with a degree of energy in his tread and gait that 
 was most marvellous. 
 
 He had a brown paper parcel under one arm, which look- 
 ed as if it contained the flute and music books, while in the 
 other he carried a large carpet bag. 
 
 The rest of the steerage passengers followed him up stairs, 
 several of whom were evidently impressed with the idea that 
 the weaver was going to leave them. 
 
 " You havena forgotten anything, have ye ?" inquired the 
 shoemaker. 
 
 " Na, na, I counted them aw ower three times," replied 
 Sandy ; his face shining with soap and joy, and his mouth in 
 a broad grin from ear to ear. 
 
 " There's nothing but change in this world, on the sea as 
 well as on the land ; little did I think whan I fried the ham 
 and eggs this morning for us baith, that one o' us would be 
 on the road to Scotland afore nicht.' , And the rogue put 
 on a serious face and heaved a sigh, as if for the unstable 
 nature of all things, friendship included, here below. 
 
 " Aweel," replied his dupe, trying to twist his face into 
 an expression which he meant to be in sympathy with the 
 shoemaker's sigh, "the waft an' the warp, man part in 
 time, and sae man we, but freins will meet whan the hills 
 winna ; and I'm sure I'm muckle obliged to you for aw your 
 kindness, and gin ye ever come back to Glasgow, baith me 
 an' the wife will be rale glad gin yell come an tak ye'er kail 
 wi's i' the Cowgate ; we haena a gran house like yours, but 
 its aye clean, an' we hae plenty to eat and drink, and that's 
 nae a tale at awbody i' the Cowgate can tell." 
 
"2&Q VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 The shoemaker was very proud of his house, and a fa- 
 vourite theme of his was describing his fine furniture, and 
 the fine dresses of his wife and one daughter, who was his 
 only child, both of whom he took care to make known early in 
 the voyage, were as well dressed as any ladies in Kingston ; 
 and it was doubtless some reminiscence of these glowing des- 
 criptions which made Sandy warn him in case he should pay 
 them a visit, not to expect such finery in his humble home. 
 
 As he finished his speech of thanks and invitation to his 
 friend, the captain came up in the leisurely manner he walked 
 the deck in fine weather, with his hands clasped behind his 
 back. 
 
 I think he must have understood what was going on, his 
 light blue eyes twinkled with merriment, and his whole face 
 was lighted up with fun. 
 
 " What's ado now, Sandy V 9 said he, standing, sailor fashion, 
 his legs wide apart, and putting his hands into his trowsers 
 pockets as he spoke. 
 
 I found this was a popular way of disposing of the hands, 
 w^th sailors as well as landsmen. 
 
 " Naething at aw," returned the weaver, a only I'm just 
 biden gude bye to thae folk ; I'm gaen hame the day with the 
 Glasgow ship yonder, captain," and he pointed in the direction 
 of the ship, which had now considerably increased in her pro- 
 portions. 
 
 " Oh ! ye are, are ye ? and who told you it was a Glasgow 
 ship ?" 
 
 M I didnaneed ony body to tell me that," replied he, warned 
 by a look from his friend, who stood in front of the weaver, and 
 a little behind Captain Russel. 
 
 " Aye, and what way did ye find it out ?" 
 
 " That was vera easy ; I ken the mak o' a Glasgow ship ; 
 that's nae the first ane I ever saw." 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 241 
 
 His courage seemed to be failing a little, but he was quickly 
 reassured by a look from his friend in rear of the captain, and 
 plucking up heart he continued, 
 
 " I'm sayen, captain, I'll be obleeged to ye, to gar ane o' your 
 lads tak doun a boat to pit me on board wi." 
 
 " Oh ! man," said the captain, enjoying the joke, 'there's no 
 ane o' thae boats that would hold a pail-full of water, we have 
 had such a long tack o' dry weather, they're cast every one o' 
 them." 
 
 " Weel, captain," replied the weaver, with a more determin- 
 ed air than I thought he could put on, " it's no a likely like 
 story at aw your boats hae gaen gizen ; but whither or no, I'll 
 nae bide anither nicht on this ship, gin ye wad gee me the 
 rights o' her for biden, I hae aw my claes packed up, and 
 I'm nae gaen to loose them out again for naebody." 
 
 " If that's the case, I fear ye'll hae to swim to the Glasgow 
 ship, as ye call her." 
 
 " Na, I'll nae do that either, captain ; I hae the law on my 
 side, I ken that, and sae its better for you to pit me on board wi'' 
 quateness." 
 
 The captain called to the mate to bring him the spy glass T 
 and putting it to his eye, he said, " Sandy, that's a French 
 ship." 
 
 " It's nae that, captain ; ye canna make a fule o' me, bit I'll 
 tell ye what, ye needna be feart for me seeken the siller back 
 at I paid for my passage ; I'll never look after a bawbee o't ; an' 
 mair than that, gin ye like ye can keep it to yoursel, and nae 
 body at the office will be the wiser ; I'm sure I'll never say a 
 word about it as lang as I live, sae pit it in your ain pouch, cap- 
 tain." 
 
 The captain laughed heartily, and putting his hand on San- 
 dy's shoulder, said, " Ye'er no a bad chap after all ; but the 
 
242 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 worst of it is, they have the siller at the office, and I'm afraid 
 they'll no ge'et to you or me either." 
 
 E'er long it was found that the ship was on another tack, and 
 it sailed away, without coming within hail. 
 
 The poor weaver could not be prevailed upon to unpack the 
 paper parcel containing the flute, for three days, waiting in full 
 confidence of another Glasgow ship passing ; most likely he did 
 not unpack the carpet bag during the whole of the voyage. 
 
 Mrs. Lessely and I, by dint of perseverance, found out the 
 *open sesame' of the back door of the saloon ; this done, it was an 
 easy matter to lift the trap door, which shut in poor Tom, who 
 was confined in a part of the hold where a ray of light never 
 reached him, except when his bread and water was brought 
 morning and evening. 
 
 Unless the captain's presence was required on deck, he 
 always went to bed, from two o'clock until four in the afternoon; 
 during this period, Mrs. Lessely and I regularly visited Tom, 
 bringing him pieces of pudding, bread and ham, hard boiled 
 eggs, crackers, &c. 
 
 Mrs. Lessely used also to give him good advice, and speak to 
 him of the love of Christ and of his gospel, telling him the won- 
 drous story of that birth, and life, and death, which the angels 
 of God, bringing light with them from their home in the high 
 heavens, came to announce to a few shepherds keeping watch 
 o'er their flocks on the dark plains of Bethlehem, in the solemn 
 midnight, centuries ago ; and she told him of the love which 
 that God-man bears to every wayward or forsaken brother, 
 wandering in doubt and darkness here below, and that even 
 while she was speaking, he, the blessed Saviour, unseen of 
 mortal eyes, was stretching his arms of love and mercy to the 
 dark hold where Tom was chained, and calling him to come up 
 to the holy heavens, and join the songs of the angels, and eat of 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 243 
 
 the fruit given for the healing of the nations, and walk by the 
 river, the streams whereof do make glad the city of our God. 
 
 And by degrees she led him on, and told him of the bright- 
 ness of the great white throne, and the Ancient of days, whom 
 the sun-eyed seraph host behold with awe and fear ; and of 
 the golden crowns, and the glassy sea, and of all the wonders 
 which were shown John in the lone desert of Patmos more 
 than eighteen hundred years ago. 
 
 Tom always listened to Mrs. Lessely without the frown he 
 usually wore on our first visit to the trap-door ; he told us he 
 recognised her as the lady in white, who pleaded so earnestly 
 for him on the night of the storm, when he was consigned to 
 the hold, and he used to gaze with open mouth and eyes, 
 while she told of the wonders of redeeming love ; she felt 
 sure an impression had been made on his heart. I was not 
 so hopeful. 
 
 He told us that when we came to the first port he would 
 be taken to prison. 
 
 Mrs. Lessely promised to intercede with the captain for 
 him, but he shook his head and told her it would be of no use ; 
 the poor fellow probably remembered how little impression 
 her former intercession in his behalf had made. One day we 
 had nothing but crackers to bring him, and we asked the steward 
 to give us some slices of cold beef. 
 
 " If I gave you a biscuit for Tom," said he, " and Captain 
 Russel were to hear of it, I would be confined in the hold 
 myself in ten minutes afterward s." 
 
 We were now within a day's sail of the coast, we had for a 
 time remarked the clear blue of the sky, the apparently in- 
 creased size of the moon and stars ; the sun also rose and set 
 here with a radiance never known at home ; clouds of deep pur- 
 ple, floating in a sea of gold, and the sun itself one mass of living 
 
244: . VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 fire. The morning on which we were told the glad news of 
 our near approach to the land each of us were seeking, with 
 such different hopes and fears, we came up with a ship we 
 had seen the evening before, although then far ahead of us. 
 
 She seemed to be lying like a tub on the water, her motion 
 so slow, it was scarcely perceptible. 
 
 The captain brought from his cabin a speaking-trumpet 
 and spoke the ship in passing. What an unearthly sound that 
 trumpet gave to the voice, it seemed as if the old genie of 
 the sea had roused themselves from their long sleep, and to 
 convince the unbelievers of the nineteenth century that they 
 were still alive, were calling to each other from out their 
 hollow caves and wondrous forests, of green and purple sea- 
 weed, down in the fathomless deep. 
 
 In an instant every passenger in cabin and steerage was 
 on deck, the latter placing themselves as close to where the 
 captain stood as the mates would permit. 
 
 We learned the ship was the " Home from Dundee, out 
 ninety days ; she had opened at the side, and they were obliged 
 to have men at the pumps night and day : they had enough of 
 provisions and water. 
 
 The conversation ended, our ship exhibited a black board, 
 on which were marked the latitude and longitude, in large 
 white figures, traced in chalk. — The " Home" replied by 
 hoisting a similar board marked in like manner. 
 
 After this interchange of ocean civilities, our little bark sped 
 swiftly on, each half-hour making the distance greater and 
 greater between us and the poor " Home" until at last we 
 lost sight of her altogether. 
 
 Late in the same afternoon, another sail appeared, about 
 fourteen miles distant from our vessel : the stranger hoisted 
 a yellow flag, as a sign there was sickness on board. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 245 
 
 A few minutes afterwards, they hoisted several other 
 signals : ours were taken from their keepings and unfolded in 
 a second or two but the code of signals by which we were 
 to arrange our own, and understand those of the other ship, 
 was no where to be found, and neither captain or mate were 
 able to tell what the signals hoisted on the fever-ship, as they 
 called her, meant, or to hoist our own. 
 
 Mrs. Lessely asked the captain if he would not approach 
 the strange ship near enough to speak her,but he shook his head, 
 saying : " Depend on it, that poor craft has the ship fever, with 
 all its horrors on board; were I to go as near her as you say, 
 I would endanger the life of every man and woman on board 
 my own vessel." 
 
 We gave many a look to the poor fever ship, as the shades 
 of evening darkened around her, and distance at last hid hull, 
 sail and pennon from our sight. 
 
 Next morning the glad cry of "land, land !" thrilled through 
 every heart, and all rushed simultaneously on board to obtain 
 a glance of that land we all so earnestly desired to reacn. 
 The land, which was greeted with such a joyous shout, could 
 only be descried as a line on the verge of the horizon. What 
 varied emotions the sight of that dark line must have awoko 
 in each breast, filled with its different hopes and fears ! 
 
 We had still many hundred miles of the immense gulf 
 and the mighty river St. Lawrence between us and our 
 haven of rest, yet all that day we talked of landing, as if 
 it were to be on the morrow ! however, when the morrow 
 came, we had settled down into our old routine again, 
 
 The next break in the monotony of our sea-life was our 
 arrival at Grosse Isle, where we cast anchor in order that 
 the doctor might come on board to give us a bill of health, 
 without which we could not land at our destined port. 
 
 R 
 
246 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 The doctor came on board, and dined with us ; a good- 
 tempered, gentlemanly man ; and finding us all in good 
 health, gave his dictum accordingly. 
 
 In three days more we had cast anchor opposite Quebec. 
 
 Scarely an hour after our arrival, two men belonging to 
 the water police came on board, and poor Tom was brought 
 up from his dark abode to be consigned by them to the jail. 
 
 Mrs. Lessely begged of them to allow her to speak to Tom 
 for a few minutes : they stared, as if they thought she was 
 crazy, but nevertheless acceded to her request. 
 
 She drew him aside, and placing one hand upon his 
 chained arm, spoke earnestly for a few minutes. Tom said a 
 single word in reply, looking the while as if he thought she 
 was an angel. The captain was at the other end of the 
 deck; Mrs. Lessely signed to him, and he came up to where 
 she and Tom were standing. I did not hear what Mrs. 
 Lessely said, but the captain's reply was, u He shall remain 
 on board if you will go security in ten pounds for him." 
 
 " I will.' 1 
 
 The captain called to him the second mate and one of the 
 sailors ; another moment and Tom's irons were off, and he 
 v as a free man again. 
 
 His ugly face was much marked by the small-pox, and it 
 had the peculiar grey colour which that terrible disease 
 always leaves behind. He was a dogged-looking fellow, and 
 I fancied that during his confinement his expression became 
 harder, and I used to think that in his future life he would 
 most likely go on from bad to worse. I didn't think so now 
 — his pale, ugly face became almost handsome with the rich 
 dark blood which mounted up to his forehead — his eyes filled 
 with tears, and the first use he made of the freedom given 
 to his hands was to seize one of Mrs. Lessely's hands in both 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 247 
 
 his own great, rough-looking paws. It was doubtful what he 
 meant to do ; the unbidden tears fell from his eyes in 
 showers, and letting her hand fall, he rushed to the other end 
 of the deck. Poor boy, the sunshine had followed the rain 
 too quickly, even for his iron nerves. 
 
 We were now anchored midway out in the river ; the captain 
 did this to prevent his men from running away, which they 
 are very apt to do. Sailors are paid by the month, and 
 when hired in Britain, saldom receive more than £4a month 
 as their wages. They are hired for the voyage, which 
 generally extends over a period of ten weeks or three 
 months, and they do not receive their wages until their 
 return home. Thus, at the end of three months, a common 
 sailor is entitled to twelve pounds, whereas, if he succeeds in 
 running away from his ship in Quebec or Montreal, he can 
 easily hire himself in one of the many ships which are built 
 there every summer, and secures, for the return voyage 
 alone, fifteen pounds. This is a great temptation to a man 
 who is, or thinks he is, hardly used by his captain ; hence, 
 those captains who are not popular with their men take 
 every precaution to prevent them running away. 
 
 Mr. Lessely wished to go on shore at Quebec, having 
 business matters to arrange there, and the captain sent a 
 boat for the purpose, Mrs. Lessely and I accepting very 
 gladly his invitation to accompany him. 
 
 Quebec is built on the rocky and shelving sides of a hill, 
 which rises almost perpendicularly from the river. It is 
 divided, more in words than reality, into the lower and 
 upper towns. The streets leading from the wharf to the 
 upper town are so much up-hill as to be a perfect climb all 
 the way. 
 
 We saw in some of the shop windows, as we passed along 5 
 
248 VIOLET KEITH, 
 
 very beautiful work done by the Algonquin Indians, on the 
 bark of the silver birch. This bark is a pale fawn colour, 
 and forms a beautiful soft groundwork for the bright flowers 
 and birds which they work upon it, with the fine sinews of 
 the moose and other deer, which they prepare and dye of all 
 colours, and of the most brilliant hues possible. It is the 
 Algonquin women who make this beautiful work. They, 
 indeed, are the busy-bees of the hive, tilling the ground, 
 gathering the scanty harvest — the result of tillage entirely 
 left to women — cooking the food; and in winter making 
 bark-work, bead-work, and baskets ; and then trudging long 
 weary miles, on heavy snow-shoes, over trackless fields of 
 snow in winter, or under the burning rays of the summer 
 sun, laden with the produce of their industry, to sell in the 
 nearest town ; while their lords hunt and fish during the 
 short season, and in the long intervals smoke or sleep away 
 their time in their huts, or under the nearest tree, as their 
 fierce Indian sun, or bitter Canadian frost, are in the 
 ascendant. 
 
 We were shown, among other things, a portfolio, a little 
 more than a foot in length, where the flowers were worked 
 their natural size, and the colours of the most brilliant and 
 beautiful description. The price asked for it was four 
 pounds ; how much of this money found its way into the poor 
 Indian woman's hands ? 
 
 I have never seen anything in work which at all equals 
 the brilliancy of colour the North-American Indians give to 
 their bark-work, although the colours used by the Chinese 
 in painting on rice paper certainly equal, perhaps surpass, 
 those in common use among the Indians. The women of 
 the tribes round Quebec and Montreal are dressed in a semi- 
 savage style, their skirts reaching only a little below the 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 249 
 
 knee. Of these they wear several — the lowest generally of 
 some dark worsted stuff, the second, which is always a finger- 
 length shorter than the first, is invariably of scarlet or crim- 
 son calico, the third and last skirt, being thin white muslin, 
 sometimes scalloped and worked with coarse embroidery at 
 the edge — this is, of course, the shortest of all ; each lady 
 has two or three necklaces, if possible — gilded beads, of a 
 large size, being the favourite; on their feet they wear 
 stockings made from pieces of cloth, and instead of shoes, 
 moccasins, which they themselves make from the skin of the 
 deer, and invariably ornament with bead-work : each woman, 
 young and old alike, have blankets given them by the 
 Government every year — these supply the place of both 
 bonnet and shawl, being worn over the head and pinned at 
 the waist. An Indian woman is seldom seen outside her 
 hut without her blanket. 
 
 Mr. Lessely bought a basket, and then had it filled with 
 the most beautiful apples I had seen since I was a child in 
 France. There were on the counter a basket of tomatoes, 
 which I also recollected as old acquaintances in my French 
 home. They were thought early here, but in France we 
 used to have them in July. 
 
 In the streets, almost every one we met spoke French- 
 Mrs. Lessely turned to me with a sad look, saying, " How 
 everything here tells us we are not at home — I hope Mon- 
 treal will not be like this — I should tremble lest my children, 
 brought up in a French population, as this seems to be, 
 would forget the words of their northern tongue, and with 
 that also the manners and customs of their native land." 
 
 I did not reply ; French was my first language, France 
 my mother's land, the land of my childhood, and hallowed 
 hy the memory of all my home joys. 
 
250 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 Few thoughts of Willie came without bringing thoughts of 
 dear France, and so the French accents falling upon my ears 
 in the busy street, were to me like the sound of pleasant 
 waters, the old, familiar tones of which made me involuntarily 
 turn and look in the face of the speaker, as if there I ought 
 to recognise one I had known and loved in the happy, care- 
 less time, before I had learnt to shrink from the harsh words 
 and cold looks which my English speaking uncle so liberally 
 bestowed upon me. 
 
 After an absence of nearly four hours we returned to the 
 ship, loaded with fresh bread, butter, eggs and fruit, all of 
 which Mrs. Lessely shared freely with every one on board. 
 
 When we awoke next morning we found our ship attached 
 to a tug-boat and sailing up the St. Lawrence to Montreal. 
 
 The banks on each side were thickly studded with cot- 
 tages and farm-houses, some of the latter large and hand- 
 some. The houses were invariably white-washed, as pure 
 as snow, with green shutters outside the windows. Those of 
 the better farm-houses have Venetian blinds instead of 
 shutters. The roofs were all covered with thin wooden tiles, 
 painted red ; these latter, with the white walls and bright 
 green blinds, giving a gay and picturesque look to the land- 
 scape. 
 
 As we approached Montreal, we observed the gardens and 
 orchards becoming larger and better filled with fruit trees, 
 thus betokening an improvement in the climate as we as- 
 cended the river. 
 
 By eight o'clock in the evening we were within a short 
 distance of Montreal, and lay there for the night, close to 
 a small island, called St. Helen's Island, garrisoned by the 
 Royal Artillery. This island divides the St. Lawrence, and 
 the current formed by this division is called the St. Mary's 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 251 
 
 current « it is so strong, that a steam-vessel is required 
 to tow a ship up the current from St. Helen's Island to 
 Montreal. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Lessely and I sat on the deck for an hour 
 or two after the ship anchored by the island, looking at the 
 large, bright star3, larger and brighter than we denizens of 
 the north of Europe had ever seen them, and the lights 
 shining along the streets, and from the windows of the 
 crowded town. 
 
 While we sat in the bright starlight, talking of the time 
 when Jacques Cartier landed on these shores to teach 
 the savage Indian to worship and to raise an altar to the 
 Triune God, a cannon boomed along the little island by our 
 side, and startled us not a little. We found afterwards it 
 was fired every night to warn the soldiers garrisoned on the 
 island it was time to retire for the night. 
 
 Before we parted for the night, Mr3. Lessely asked me 
 to remain in Montreal with her for a week or two. 
 
 I gladly accepted her invitation, although for no specified 
 time. I knew that my services would not be required at 
 Algona for nearly three week3, as school did not re-open at 
 St. Bride's convent until the first of September ; and be- 
 sides the pleasure I anticipated from seeing the lions in the 
 principal city of Canada, I had become attached to both Mrs. 
 Lessely and her children, and felt loathe to part with them ; 
 they seemed to be the last link that bound me to home. 
 
 I now, strange to say, felt the greatest repugnance to 
 entering the convent. Perhaps this feeling was induced by 
 the pertinacity with which both Mr. and Mrs. Lessely, dur- 
 ing the latter part of the voyage, endeavoured to persuade 
 me from doing so ; at all events, whether from this cause or 
 my own natural love of freedom, such as I could not enjoy 
 
252 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 there, had my mean3 and wishes agreed, I would rather 
 have remained with Mrs. Lessely and taught her children 
 for nothing, than go to St. Bride's for the large salary I 
 was to receive there. I had another motive — by remaining 
 for a week in Montreal, I could write to Gertrude and re- 
 ceive her reply before going to Algona, thus making myself 
 certain of the welcome I was to receive there. It is true I had 
 written to St. Bride's before leaving Scotland, accepting of 
 the situation on the terms offered, and at same time advising 
 Gertrude of my departure from Scotland ; but still, it would 
 make assurance doubly sure could I again hear from the 
 inmates of the convent previous to my leaving Montreal. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Next morning we awoke to find the vessel anchored at the 
 wharf of Montreal, and people passing and repassing from the 
 ship to the wharf. 
 
 I shall never forget the feelings of admiration with which 
 for the first time, I gazed on this young and beautiful f Queen 
 of the West.' 
 
 The morning was lovely, the air fresh and pure, not such 
 air as we inhale on the wharves in Britain — the sky one sheet 
 of clear, unclouded blue — no smoke hanging above this beau- 
 tiful city of the river, bringing uncleanness and sickness, with 
 all their attendant evils, to those who live below. There it 
 lay in all its beauty of situation and architecture, embowered 
 in giant trees, with vine-shaped leaves, brown and scarlet and 
 gold, gemmed by millions of dewdrops, under a sky as clear 
 and blue as that of Italy. The bright morning sun, bathing 
 river and mountain, trees and town, in a flood of living light, 
 his radiant beams throwing such deep shadows of the passers- 
 by on wharf and wall, that one might fancy the spirits of the 
 Indians had donned the garb, and were following in shadowy 
 guise the children of those who had driven them from their 
 beautiful mountain home. 
 
 The day was one of the numerous fetes of the Roman Ca- 
 tholic Church, and the wide-spreading-town, and the ships 
 below, were alike gay with flags hung in every available space 
 on the housetops, above bright tin roofs glittering in the morn- 
 ing sunshine. Streaming from windows, or suspended by 
 
254 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 cords hung from one house to another, across the streets, the 
 tricolour of La Belle France, hanging in peace and amity 
 side by side with the old lion of England, who in his dazzling 
 golden dress pawed the scarlet folds surrounding him, and 
 looked proudly down, as if guarding, and pleased to see the 
 citizens in their holiday attire. 
 
 And almost encircling this emerald of his own, lay the 
 mighty St. Lawrence, his rushing waters, with their pearl- 
 crested waves, hurrying on to supply the wants, and rest in 
 the bosom of his ocean bride, as they had ever done since the 
 day when the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the 
 waters, and as they will do until that other great day dawns 
 when there shall be no more sea. 
 
 The island of Montreal is formed by the confluence of the 
 rivers St. Lawrence and Ottawa, and is thirty miles long by 
 ten broad. The town is built on the base, and extends up the 
 sides of a beautifully wooded mountain, situated on the north 
 shore of the St. Lawrence, called Mount Royal. 
 
 The mountain is formed, from the base to nearly the top, of 
 large steppes, and on the broad table land forming the top of 
 each are built the principal streets, which thus run parallel to 
 each other ; these being approached by cross streets reaching 
 halfway up the mountain, and in some instances much farther. 
 
 It possesses many fine buildings and several squares, in one 
 of which is a large reservoir of clear water, supplied by 
 several jets, which are constantly playing and diffusing a 
 grateful coolness to the surrounding atmosphere. 
 
 The city contains upwards of one hundred thousand inhab- 
 itants, and appears quite immense from its being so scattered ; 
 whole streets on the upper part of the mountain being built in 
 detached villas, surrounded by large orchards or gardens. 
 Several of the streets are lined on either side by trees, some 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 255 
 
 of which are of no late growth. The poplars are, many of 
 them, a yard and a half in diameter. 
 
 There are many fine churches, both Protestant and Roman 
 Catholic. The Cathedral of Notre Dame, built on the street 
 which bears its name, is the largest place of worship on the 
 American continent with the exception of the cathedral in the 
 city of Mexico. We found that whatever part of the town 
 we were in, the towers of this cathedral were conspicuous 
 objects in the landscape. 
 
 I have made a long digression in thinking of beautiful Mon- 
 treal. I had almost forgot that I left my reader still on board 
 ship. After breakfast we all prepared to depart. Mr. Les- 
 sely had obtained from a friend the address of a private board- 
 ing-house, to which we bent our steps, leaving our luggage to 
 follow in the afternoon, when we were secure of an entrance. 
 
 Our residence for a few weeks was quickly arranged. My 
 room was a very small one, looking out on the yard, but so 
 white and clean, that I soon forgot all about its size and look" 
 out. 
 
 In the afternoon Mrs. Lessely and I took the children out 
 for a walk, Mr. Lessely going to the ship, and also to leave his 
 card for the Rev. Mr. B., an Episcopalian clergyman, to whom 
 he had an introduction from a friend who lived several years 
 in Montreal, and was now in Scotland, where he had gone to en- 
 joy the fruits of twenty years' labour ; instead of which his life 
 was spent in vain regrets for the sunny skies and dry climate 
 of Canada, that better suited his advanced years, than the 
 chilly and damp atmosphere of his island home. The street 
 Mrs. Lessely chose for our walk was a continuation of the one 
 in which we lived, but called by a different name, where it 
 diverged a little from the straight line : it was lined by large 
 trees on one side along nearly the entire length of two miles. 
 
256 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 This leafy covering overhead was very grateful, the sun shone 
 with a fierce heat unknown in Britain, and we, not knowing 
 better, had gone out during the very hottest part of the day. 
 
 We were in search of a registry office for servants, one of 
 which we found on our line of walk. Mrs. Lessely requested 
 the person in charge to send her a nursemaid in the course of 
 the morrow, and in reply was asked — 
 
 " What wages do you give ?" 
 
 " I am a stranger in the country. I do not know what 
 wages are given. But I will give whatever is necessary to 
 obtain a tidy, trustworthy girl who can sew welL ,, 
 
 " For such an one you will have to give from fifteen to 
 eighteen pounds a year, hiring and paying her by the 
 month." 
 
 What a price ! nearly the salary of an English governess 
 at home. Why do not miserably paid Scotch girls come here 
 where they will gain more in one year than they can hope to 
 win by harder work in three years at home ? 
 
 Soon after breakfast next day, a gentleman was shown in 
 who announced himself as Mr. B. He regretted being from 
 home when Mr. Lessely called the preceding day, and said he 
 came early to be sure of finding Mr. Lessely within. 
 
 We were all very favourably impressed by him ; he is of a 
 serious, grave demeanour, has a fine face, large forehead, and 
 an eye full of penetration and firmness ; his manner is calm 
 and dignified, and he seems to possess the rare gift of shew- 
 ing he takes an interest in your welfare, without intruding 
 into your private affairs. 
 
 He asked Mr. Lessely if he meant to make a lengthened 
 stay in Montreal. 
 
 Mr. Lessely at once mentioned the business which brought 
 him to Canada, adding that he intended to remain in the 
 country. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 257 
 
 Mr. B., in the most friendly manner, offered him intro- 
 ductions to some gentlemen -whom he thought might be able 
 to forward his views. 
 
 This promise he faithfully performed, and these introduc- 
 tions were ultimately of the greatest benefit, in enabling Mr. 
 Lessely to settle as he wished. 
 
 Mr. B. is the rector of one of the largest congregations 
 in town, and from all we could hear, is the most popular 
 Episcopalian clergyman in Montreal, and strange to say, 
 nearly as much liked among dissenters as among his own 
 people. 
 
 After his departure, our hostess entertained us for half an 
 hour by repeating instances of his unwearied kindness and 
 liberality to the poor of all denominations. 
 
 In the afternoon we had several visits from young ladies, 
 as they invariably called themselves, who came from the 
 registry office to be engaged as child's maid. 
 
 They were not, in either appearance or ability, at all to be 
 compared with a respectable English or Scotch girl of the 
 same clas3, and the most modest gave themselves airs that 
 would not for a moment be endured at home. 
 
 The first, a great tall untidy-looking girl, came in saying, 
 as she entered the room ; 
 
 " Please, ma'am, I'm the young lady as came from the 
 register." 
 
 According to her own account, she was perfect. She was 
 told that in addition to attending upon the children, taking 
 them to walk, &c, she would have to sew. 
 
 " Very well," she replied, " as the blind man said, we'll 
 see. If I have time, I'll sew for you ; and if I have not, I 
 won't ; so we'll let it rest there : but I think any girl as has 
 two children to attend to, has enough to do, without sewing,. 
 
258 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 if there's a reasonable woman for a mistress ; and for me, I 
 never stays more nor a month in a place, where they don't 
 make me comfortable : I've seen me leave at five minutes' 
 warning, when people goes contrary." 
 
 Mrs. Lessely did not seem to like the prospect of being 
 left at five minutes' warning, and told her she would not suit. 
 The girl took no notice of this, but said : 
 
 " I have decided to tell you my name. My name is Mary 
 Barron, and you'll hear my * caracter* at No. 10 Dorches- 
 ter street." 
 
 Half an hour later, another " young lady," came on the 
 same errand. On entering the room, she placed a chair for 
 herself, and on sitting down, enquired of Mrs. Lessely — 
 
 " Are you the person who wants a young lady to help you 
 keep house ?" 
 
 " I want a child's maid, who can give me a good character 
 from her last place, and who is willing to sew in her leisure 
 hours." 
 
 " There is my ' caracterf " said the young lady, handing 
 Mrs. Lessely a very nice, clean-looking envelope, containing 
 the missive in question. " I can sew very well, and I sup- 
 pose I'll suit you, if you'll suit me. Who brushes the chil- 
 dren's shoes ?" 
 
 "I expect their maid to do everything for them." 
 " That's enough," was the laconic reply of the offended 
 young woman, who got up, held out her hand for her ' carac- 
 ter,' and was gone. 
 
 We had several other visits, but all with similar success. 
 One of the damsels objected to sewing, as being double work ; 
 observing " that as she made all her own clothes, she had 
 enough to do in the evenings, without sewing for others. If 
 people wanted a sewing girl, they ought to hire one, and not 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 259 
 
 try to make slaves of others." And having decided that the 
 place would not suit her, she turned to me and said in the 
 same tone and manner as she would have addressed her fellow- 
 servant — 
 
 " I would like to get a black silk thread, if you have one 
 by you." 
 
 I gave her the thread, which she received without the 
 slightest thanks, and taking a needle from her shawl, that 
 seemed to be fastening that piece of dress, she lifted up the 
 skirt of her gown, from which the braid-binding was unripped, 
 and coolly sat down to repair the mischief. 
 
 " You had better go down to the kitchen and mend your 
 dress there," suggested Mrs. Lessely. 
 
 " No, thank you," said the young lady, with great compo- 
 sure, " I'll not bother ; I'll do it here for all that's of it. 
 When I'm in place I won't have nobody coming poking into 
 my kitchen, so I never does it to others." 
 
 She certainly completed her task in a wonderfully short 
 time, and was evidently a smart girl, notwithstanding her 
 dislike to sew for her mistress . 
 
 Having finished her work, she arose from her chair, and as 
 a prelude to her departure, carefully arranged her dress 
 above a set of most extensive hoops. While thus employed, 
 the chambermaid came into the room, to take something from 
 a cupboard. They at once recognized each other as old 
 friends, the visitor exclaiming, with a bright glad look, as she 
 held out her hand — 
 
 " Confounding to you, Susan Breet, are you here ?" 
 
 " Sure, that's not you, Bridget ; did you hire ?" enquired 
 the other, as they shook hands and laughed merrily with each 
 other, \ sans ceremonief apparently quite oblivious of our 
 presence. 
 
260 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 " Faith, an' I didn't then," was the energetic rejoinder of 
 her friend. " I'm not the fool she takes me for, to work all 
 day worriting with children, and sew all night." 
 
 No one could be found to suit for several days, but at last, 
 a nice, tidy-looking girl agreed to do all that she was told. 
 She was very handy, and did her work cheerfully and well. 
 
 The fourth day of our residence in Montreal, the sun rose 
 in clouds and rain ; or rather, to our sight, he did not make 
 his appearance during the whole day. The evening previous 
 had been close and sultry ; and during the night, at intervals, 
 the awful thunder was heard lifting its deep-toned voice to 
 God. This is always the harbinger of rain here, and our 
 fellow-boarders warned us that we would most likely have 
 three days of it. 
 
 This was not pleasant news for us, who had time, inclina- 
 tion, and opportunity for sight-seeing. However, there was 
 nothing for it but to submit with a good grace. 
 
 We occupied ourselves in writing to those loved ones each 
 of us had left in our home beyond the sea ; father-land and 
 friends now both doubly dear that they were so far away. 
 
 Later in the evening, Mr. Lessely took our letters to the 
 post-office, and on his return, he brought with him a boy about 
 twelve or thirteen years of age, who, in addition to being so 
 wet, that while he stood in the hall, the water running from 
 his clothes formed first a pool and then a stream which 
 reached along the whole length of the place : he was clothed 
 in a suit of perfect rags ; had no shirt, no vest, and his trou- 
 sers were suspended by a piece of rope untwisted, (I fancy 
 that it might not cut his poor thin shoulders) and fastened on 
 the left side in front, from hence passing over the righe 
 shoulder, and finally tied into a hole cut in the band of tht 
 trousers on the right side of the back. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 261 
 
 Mr. Lessely had found him sitting on a neighbouring door- 
 step fast asleep, and on shaking him up, and bidding him go 
 home, had been told he had no home, -but that he would wait 
 there until the policeman came round, when he would be 
 taken to the police office, and so have a shelter for the 
 night. 
 
 Our good landlady was applied to, to permit him to 
 remain in her house, and on the morrow Mr. Lessely would 
 see what could be done for him. This was easily settled ; 
 she not only agreed to this, but gave little Joe, as he called 
 himself, a suit of clothes belonging to one of her own children, 
 and very soon his wet rags were thrown into the court yard, 
 and the poor child clothed, most likely, better than ever he 
 had been in his life. When he was brought in, he had no 
 shoes or stockings, but both were provided by the kind-hearted 
 motherly woman, by whose kitchen stove he was now sitting. 
 These were the last articles of dress given him to put on, and 
 before doing so, he put his hand into each stocking, and find- 
 ing there were no holes in either, he fancied they must have 
 been given him by mistake, and said to one of the servants, 
 holding out the stockings as he spoke — 
 
 " Tell her they're new." 
 
 Poor boy, what a revelation he made of the vicissitudes of 
 his short life ; he had no recollection of either father or 
 mother ; he had been a waif on the ocean of life ever since he 
 could remember ; he had often been in jail ; at one time going 
 about with a blind man, who beat him for buying candy with 
 one of the pennies that should have been handed to himself ; 
 so Joe ran off and joined a train of four children begging 
 with an old woman, who personated their grandmother ; at 
 another, following a man with an organ and monkey, he was 
 engaged to go round for the half-pence with the man's hat ; 
 
 s 
 
262 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 later in life he was promoted to wandering about with a lot 
 of strolling players ; and again, happy time, which he still 
 sighed after with vain regrets, he made one of a strolling 
 circus. 
 
 One morning he awoke to find them all gone ! horses and 
 all ! even the big dog, with whom he used to be such friends, 
 went with the rest, and he was alone in the barn ! His 
 account of this was most pathetic. 
 
 He cried, and thought he would wait there always, until 
 they came back ; they told him they had been twice there 
 before, they would be sure to come back ; Tom Spring, the 
 clown, told him he would keep him for a boy to himself ; they 
 had only gone for a day to some fair, and would be back at 
 night ; how sorry he was he had slept so soundly, but for 
 that he, too, might have been at the fair; no matter, he 
 would run about and pick berries, the night would soon 
 come, and how he would laugh when he saw the horses and 
 Tom Spring, and the great dog, come back again from the 
 fair. 
 
 The morning passed slowly, it was late in the year, and 
 there were not many berries, and he had searched all the 
 shady places that no one else knew of but himself; but the 
 birds ate such lots now, the young ones were so strong and 
 ate so much, they had not left one. 
 
 He was very hungry, but it was noon ; he knew that by 
 the shadow of the great poplar falling just in the middle of 
 the gap in the fence, through which the farmer's son brought 
 the horses down to the water in the evening; that was a 
 good thought, he would gather a lot of dry twigs ready to 
 light the fire, and they would have such a roaring fire that 
 night, and he would make Tom Spring promise to wake him 
 when they went away early again ; or, better still, he would 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 263 
 
 tie a string to Bull's collar and then fasten the other end 
 round his own waist, and so when Bull stirred he would awake ; 
 and he laughed when he found out this good plan ; what a lot 
 of dry twigs he gathered ! and then he broke a great pile 
 quite short ; wouldn't there be a blaze ! they would see it 
 almost at* the farm-house —the village people would see it 
 well ; wouldn't they wonder ! 
 
 " If he went to the farm-house now, he could have some- 
 thing to eat ; the woman always gave him bread and milk ; 
 and the little girl twice gave him cakes, and once a piece 
 of a sugar-stick; but it took a long time to go to the 
 farm-house ; Tom Spring and the master and all might be 
 back again, and want the fire lit while he was away ; and they 
 would be sure to want him to go for water to the stream ; 
 what could they have meant by taking all the pitchers to 
 the fair ? if they had only left one, he would have it full of 
 the clearest water from the top of the stream, ready for 
 them when they came, and now they would have to wait, it 
 took quite a while to go to the stream. 
 
 There is the farmer's son with the horses — the horses 
 are not working much now, that is why he takes them all the 
 way down here to the water." 
 
 " Hillo, Joe ! why didn't you go off with the rest ; what 
 for did they leave you ?" 
 
 " I slept in, and so they forgot to waken me ; they have 
 gone to the fair, and will be back to-night." 
 
 " What fair ? where is the fair ?" 
 
 a I don't know; I only know they have gone to the fair." 
 
 M Come along, Joe, and water the horses." 
 
 u No, can't go to-night, perhaps they'd come when I was 
 gone, and nobody to light the fire." 
 
 " Never mind the fire, Joe ; it'll light itself with all that 
 
264 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 sticks ; you've surely done nothing but gather sticks for a 
 week!" 
 
 " I gathered them all to-day, and broke the little ones, 
 too.' , 
 
 " You've worked well for your supper ; come along to the 
 water, Joe, and here's Lady Elgin for you to rida on." 
 
 Since the first day the circus people had lived by the 
 old barn, Joe went regularly to water the horses with the 
 farmer's boy, and a ride on Lady Elgin had been the great 
 though unattained object of his ambition ; but now he would 
 not go, not even for that ; he would not stir from the barn 
 now, it was too late ; they might come any moment, they 
 would be sure to come soon ; no. he would sit there, and 
 look in the direction of the town all the time, and just as he 
 saw the caravan on the brow of the hill between him and 
 the sky, he would light the fire ; wouldn't Tom Spring and 
 the Golden Star laugh when they saw such a roarer of a 
 fire ! How long the farmer's boy stays away with the horses 
 to-night ! he used to come back whenever the horses had 
 done drinking, but to night it seems as if he never would 
 come — surely he has gone round by the other way — what a 
 fool he is; the moon does not give much light, it is not 
 nearly at its full, and the way by the smithy is two miles 
 round, and so lonesome ! yes, he has just gone round, there 
 is something wanted to be done to one of the horse's shoes ; 
 ah, he is a sly cove the farmer, he always sends to the 
 smithy at night, and so does not lose the boy's work during 
 the day ; them fathers always makes the boys work well. Joe 
 was glad he hadn't no father ; he remembers going round 
 by the smithy one night with the boy, and coming back so 
 late that Tom Spring thought he was lost. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 265 
 
 " Ah-ha ! there he is coming back, Lady Elgin and all ; 
 he didn't go to the smithy!" 
 
 " What kept you so long at the water ?" 
 
 " I wasn't long; come, Joe, and sleep by the kitchen fire, 
 the circus folk won't come to-night !" 
 
 " Yes, but they will, they're having a lamp-light show, and 
 that's what keeps them so late : won't the Golden Star be 
 beautiful to-night ? won't there be crowds to see her ? I wish 
 I hadn't slept in !" 
 
 " I never seed the Golden Star ; that is like — I never seed 
 her in circus — what like is she, Joe ?'' 
 
 " Like nothing at all as you ever seed, if you never seed 
 herself: and for seem' of her out here it's nothin' — she's no 
 more like herself out here than that old rotten stump is like 
 the big poplar with all its lots o' green leaves. At the circus 
 she's drest in a blue dress, wery short, and white trow- 
 sers (not like your'n, as you wears on Sundays), but beauti- 
 ful white trowsers, wi' red shoes, and beads on her arms, and 
 three long red and blue and white feathers sticking up from 
 her head, the very same as the Prince of England wears on 
 his head — they calls them Prince's feathers, 'cause he wears 
 them — you see the Prince is King now, since the old Prince 
 is dead, and they as knows says as how he puts on them three 
 feathers so grand every mornin' afore he goes out, and never 
 takes them off till night — you see them grand folks don't care 
 for spendin'." 
 
 " But for why do they call her the Golden Star, Joe ?" 
 
 " 0, I didn't tell you about that ; why, man, she has a 
 star o' gold, real gold, as big as that (and Joe put both his 
 hands together and spread them out) on her head, and ano- 
 ther, twice as big, on her breast ; and when she has on the 
 
266 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 white and red paint on her face you never seed nothin' so 
 beautiful." 
 
 " I guess as how she's the master's wife, Joe.'' 
 
 " I guess she's nothin' o' the kind ; she's Tom Spring's wife ; 
 the master's wife is no more like her than nothin' ; the Gol- 
 den Star is wantin' but an inch of six feet, and the master's 
 wife is but five feet six ; they was measured often, and often ; 
 and the Wanderin' Beauty has a squint in one of her eyes, 
 but that's nothin', 'cause in circus she has a long red feather 
 almost covers it ; and she paints, o' my eye, as red as ripe 
 cherries ; and the folks think heaps o' her ; but ! la, she's 
 not the Golden Star paint and all, no how." 
 
 " And why did'nt the master marry the Golden Star his- 
 self?" 
 
 " 'Cause she would'nt marry him ; Tom Spring is a real 
 gentleman, and the master's not ; in course the master's a 
 gentleman, and so is they all, but not a real born gentleman 
 like Tom Spring. Tom Spring's father keeps a grand hotel, 
 an' place of entertainment for man and beast, ale and porter, 
 wine and British spirits sold here. And Tom run'd off wi' 
 the circus folk 'cause he likes a wanderin' life better nor 
 waiten or measurin' o' spirits all the time. Tom tells me all 
 about them things when we goes for fowls to the hen roosts ; 
 you see we has to go far off, 'cause we never takes no hens 
 from the folks we lives near, and we has to go o' nights when 
 its dark, 'cause Tom's too much of a gentleman to be carryin' 
 of hens and turkeys on his back in the daylight." 
 
 It was getting dark ; Ned must go with the horses, his 
 father would wonder what kept him all this time. 
 
 "You'd better come along to the house, Joe, sure enough 
 the circus folk won't come to-night ; and the ghost with the 
 ten bloody heads as always looks out o' the barn window there 
 will be sure- to carry you off." 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 267 
 
 " Oh ! for any sake don't speak o' them things ; I can't 
 abide them ; but I won't go no how. I'll never go out o' this 
 till Tom Spring comes back." 
 
 The farmer's boy went away with his horses, and Joe 
 watched them until they were lost in the shadow of the wil- 
 lows, which grew on the skirting of the bush, and stooped 
 down to the ground with their long sweeping arms, as if to 
 hide those who were passing underneath ; and when he could 
 see them no more, he listened for the tramping of the horses' 
 feet, straining his ear until the last faint sound was lost in 
 the distance. 
 
 " How lonesome it is to be out here alone ; and it gets so 
 dark ; ha, there are the bull frogs, the jolly boys, croak, 
 croak; they keep one's heart up, they'r a'most as good as 
 some company ; better nor sulky, one-legged Dick, as cleans 
 the caravan and minds the horses, and won't let a body ride 
 on a horse no how." 
 
 Joe wished he wasn't so hungry, but wouldn't he eat when 
 they came home. 
 
 The night became darker, and darker ; the sky so full of 
 clouds, and only two or three stars ; " last night there was so 
 many you couldn't count them ; the air was becoming quite 
 cold; he would light a fire, just a little one; it wouldn't 
 waste many sticks ; and he had such heaps ; and when they 
 came it would be easier to pile a lot of sticks on the fire than 
 to strike a light with the flint." So the fire was lit, and he 
 warmed himself spreading his hands over the glowing flame. 
 It must be very late now, the lights in the farm houses are 
 all extinct, and he has fallen asleep once or twice, as he sits 
 on the ground and looks at the fire ; but he cannot go into 
 the barn to lie down there, he still hoped they would come 
 that night, and besides, did the farmer's boy not bid him 
 
268 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 beware of the ghost with the bloody heads ; how frightened 
 he was now that it was so dark, he could not bear to look in 
 the direction of the window where the ghost always put out 
 his head. 
 
 Poor Joe stretched himself by the little fire as close as pos- 
 sible ; in the fire there was light and heat, and protection 
 from the ghost ; when the circus folk came he would be sure 
 to awake with the noise. 
 
 But when he awoke it was with the song of birds 
 filling the morning air, from every leaf-clad twig and bough ; 
 and the light zephyr passing by with accents of praise in 
 the rustling of its wings ; every fitful gust laden with fresh 
 incense for the great altar. The gush of falling waters from 
 above, the limped gurgling stream, just where the great grey- 
 stones made a mimic rapid, whispering soft and low their 
 morning matins. Poor Joe's voice alone was mute. 
 
 His fathers in the far past, and before they went to the 
 land where there is no forge tfulness, had known this universal 
 hymn; but each, in his time, had forgotten a little, and a 
 little, until it was remembered no more ; and their was no 
 fear of God before their eyes. 
 
 And Joe, poor Joe ; no one cared for his soul. 
 
 The farmer's boy came early and brought him bread and 
 cheese ; and Joe lingered all that day and made himself a 
 broom of cedar, and swept the barn and tidied it up ; but at 
 night when the boy came again, bringing the horses to the 
 water, he went home with him to the farm kitchen, and was 
 warmed and fed ; but he returned to the barn in the morning, 
 and waited all that day ; and so he did for many days, return- 
 ing faithfully each morning to wait with wistful eye and 
 listening ear for those who were never to come — until with 
 the frost and snow the bitter conviction forced itself upon 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 269 
 
 him, that they had indeed gone to return no more. Even 
 then he believed most implicitly in Tom Spring's affection 
 for him, and relied upon his promise, "I will take you for 
 my own boy.'' 
 
 Joe knew why he had been left ; " it was not Tom's fault," 
 he would never have done it ; but he remembered well the 
 day he went to the bush, and after many hours search return- 
 ed with a basket of strawberries and a bunch of flowers, such 
 a big bunch as big as his head ; and he gave all, strawberries 
 and flowers, every one to the Golden Star ; the Wandering 
 Beauty beat Joe that very evening, and several times after 
 that, wished to turn him away, but his friend Tom Spring, 
 always came to the rescue ; it was sjie who had contrived 
 that he should be left, yes, he knew it was she." 
 
 The farmer's wife wished to keep him, but he could'nt 
 stay there, it was too lonesome, and he had to work; and he 
 didn't like work ; not every day ; one day in the week per- 
 haps he would like to work ; but at the farm they worked 
 every day but one ; it wasn't like being with the circus folk 
 at all. 
 
 So one morning when the glad spring time came again, 
 and the trees were full of green leaves, and the birds were 
 singing all day, and the water so warm that you could stay in 
 for an hour and not feel cold, Joe slipt down from the garret 
 where he slept, and going into the best parlour, (where he 
 had never been but once before, when the boy took him in 
 to show him how grand it was,) he took a lot of nice things 
 for Tom Spring and the Golden Star, and he walked all that 
 day until he could walk no longer, he was so tired, and then 
 he crept into the bush and slept there ; and ever since he had 
 been wandering from town to town, and from village to 
 village — every where that he heard there was a circus — in 
 
270 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 hopes of meeting with Murphy's Royal Circus again ; he had 
 lost all the nice things that he brought from the farm house, 
 but he didn't care for that, he could easily find others if he 
 could only find Tom Spring again ; this was all he cared for. 
 
 Two days before, he heard that there was a circus in Mon- 
 treal, and it was this that brought him thither ; he had 
 arrived the day Mr. Lessely found him ; he had walked a long 
 way ; he did not know how many miles ; he sat down on the 
 step to rest and fell asleep. 
 
 Mr. Lessely intended to consult the Rev. Mr. B. as to what 
 could be done for Joe, although it seemed a hopeless case. 
 There was no place of refuge in Montreal, or indeed any- 
 where else, for such as Joe ; one who was old enough to earn 
 his own bread, if he had only been brought up with habits 
 of industry : but Joe's hands were as unused to useful labour 
 as his mind was a blank. Joe had been taught nothing ; all 
 he knew he had learnt of himself. Joe had as surely 
 " growed" as any little negro Topsy, under the most careless 
 master " down South." Joe never remembered living no- 
 where, only sometimes a woman would let him sleep with the 
 other boys " o' nights," and he always got " bits o' bread 
 round about;" an' when one folks was tired on him, he went 
 round till he got some other boy as would take him home. 
 Joe knew there was a good man up in the skies, and one 
 woman told him some words to say to the good man ; but 
 they was about a father, and when he left that house, he never 
 said the words again. c Joe didn't want no father ; he was 
 glad he hadn't never had no father.' 'Joe didn't like 
 fathers, they was always drunk, or sulky, or something. Joe 
 could never go home o' nights wi' boys as had fathers ; 
 fathers didn't like strange boys, and wouldn't let them come 
 home o' nights, no, not if it was ever so cold.' In summer 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 271 
 
 Joe slept anywhere ; there was plenty places to sleep in then. 
 He wouldn't sleep in a house in summer, not for nothin' ; oh, 
 he didn't like it, only when it rained like to-night. Joe didn't 
 like nobody but Tom Spring ; the women in the houses he 
 went home to o' nights, washed their own boys' faces, and 
 combed their hair, but nobody never washed his face, nor 
 combed his hair, but only Tom Spring." 
 
 Had Mr. Lessely been in his own house, he would have 
 kept the boy, and endeavoured by degrees to win him from 
 the semi-savage life he had been accustomed to, and delighted 
 in; but living in a boarding-house, and with his limited 
 means, it was impossible. After a time, when he was settled 
 in business, he meant to give Joe a trial. His devotion to 
 Tom Spring had shown that he had strong affections, which, if 
 they could only be turned into a proper channel, might be 
 the means of making him a good member of society, instead 
 of the little lawless vagrant he now was, utterly regardless of 
 the rights of property, and ignorant alike of what was for his 
 true well-being in time or eternity ; of the latter he knew 
 nothing. 
 
 After tea we had Joe up stairs in the parlour ; we were 
 not surprised to find that, although he had some idea of a 
 God, he had never heard of a Saviour. 
 
 There were a pair of old fashioned pistols lying upon the 
 table, which Mr. Lessely had undertaken to convey to a gen- 
 tleman in Montreal, from his grandfather, who was a General 
 in the British Army, and in whose family they had been 
 treasured as heirlooms for generations, tradition having 
 pointed to their first owner as being coeval with, and a friend 
 of, the Regent Murray. Mr. Lessely had unpacked the pis- 
 tols for the purpose of conveying them to their destination, 
 but was prevented from doing so by the rain which fell in 
 torrents. 
 
272 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 Mrs. Lessely gave Joe some candies, and while lie enjoyed 
 eating the sweets, he was bent on amusing himself by examin- 
 ing the various " nice things" which were in the room ; all 
 at once he uttered an exclamation of joy, and seizing one of 
 the pistols absolutely screamed with laughter, calling out, 
 " Tom Spring's pistol, Tom Spring's pistol," leaping once or 
 twice high in the air, and waving the pistol round his head, as 
 he shouted at the top of his voice. We allowed his transports 
 to subside a little, and then taking the pistol, (which he did 
 not seem at all inclined to part with,) from his hand, Mrs. 
 Lessely told him the story attached to it ; he shook his head 
 incredulously, and lifting up the pistol, pointed with a look 
 full of meaning to a large S. inlaid with silver on the side ; it 
 was explained to him that that was the first letter of the 
 name of the family it belonged to. 
 
 " It is the first letter of Tom Spring's name, and he show- 
 ed it to me hisself, I have had it in my hand a many a time 
 afore," and he looked as if he did not believe a word which 
 had been told him. 
 
 We were sorry for this as it would doubtless have the effect 
 of making him distrust what was said to him by Mrs. Lessely ; 
 the pistol was again taken from his hand, and laid on the 
 table j he did not speak for some minutes, but at length said, 
 
 " If you tell me where Tom Spring is, I won't tell him you 
 took his pistol." 
 
 16 My poor child," said Mrs. Lessely, laying her hand 
 kindly on his shoulder as she spoke, "we do not know any- 
 thing of Tom Spring, we never saw him, never heard of such 
 a person, until you told us of him this afternoon ; this pistol 
 was only brought to Canada four days ago, and it was in 
 Scotland, far across the sea, ever since it was made, before 
 then." 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 273 
 
 " No it wasn't though," said Joe, and his countenance 
 changed from its usually good-natured expression, to one of 
 doubt and sullenness, " it wasn't in Scotland never, nor any 
 way a near Scotland ; and Tom Spring couldn't abear them 
 Scotlanders nor Irelanders ; Tom's father bringed it from 
 England a many a year afore Tom was born, and he would 
 never give it to Tom to shoot sparrows nor nothin, an' so Tom 
 took it for hisself, and hid it safe in a place as the old man 
 did'nt know of, and he gave Tom such a licking 'cause he 
 wouldn't tell he'd took the pistol ; an' Tom was real lonesome 
 'cause he'd no brothers nor sisters ; so next mornin' afore the 
 old folks was out on their bed, Tom runned off, an' he took 
 lots of money wi' him ; the money was all done, but he never 
 lost the pistol till you took it." 
 
 Mrs. Lessely lifted one of the pistols from the table, and 
 holding it towards him said, " take the pistol in your own 
 hand and look over it carefully, and see if there is not some- 
 thing there," (pointing to the inlaid work with which it was 
 nearly covered) " that you do not remember to have seen on 
 Tom Spring's pistol." 
 
 He looked at the pistol as she held it towards him for a 
 second or two, and then pushing her hand rudely away, 
 exclaimed with impatience : 
 
 " You know well enough as how that's not Tom Spring's 
 pistol, that pistol hasn't no moon, nor no sun, like Tom's 
 pistol has, and them birds is swallows, and Tom's is red- 
 breasts." 
 
 Mrs. Lessely and I compared both pistols examining them 
 closely, and found that on one end in the inlaid work, was a 
 small spot, not so large as a pea, while at the other, was one 
 of similar size with diverging rays, most likely intended to 
 represent the sun and moon, as Joe said, while the birds on 
 the one without sun or moon, were swallow tailed ! 
 
274 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 There was a poser — we were at our wits end — Mrs. Les- 
 sely, probably thinking it better to end the conversation for 
 the time, at least, told Joe that he might go down stairs, and 
 that Mr. Lessely would perhaps talk to him about the pistol 
 on the morrow. 
 
 By and bye we were joined by Mr. Lessely, who, on being 
 told of the extraordinary scene with Joe and the pistol, said : 
 
 " This is one of those strange things which are ever taking 
 place, and pass unheeded because we lack the key to unlock 
 
 the mystery. General S , upon entrusting those pistols 
 
 to my charge, called my attention to those very differences 
 in the embellishment, which you have just pointed out. 
 Some forty years since, the General, who was then a 
 young man, was with his regiment at Hill Sea barracks, near 
 Southampton, in the south of England, and while there, 
 had one of those pistols stolen from him, as he supposed, by 
 his servant, an Englishman named Spring, who was one of 
 the soldiers in his regiment ; but as the man denied the 
 charge with apparent innocence, at same time offering every 
 facility for searching his person and kit, General S be- 
 came ashamed of his suspicions and apologized for the injus- 
 tice he had been guilty of. A large reward was offered for 
 the recovery of the pistol, but without effect ; subsequently, 
 however, the valet absconded, taking with him money and 
 jewels, the property of his master, to a large amount- 
 There was no electric telegraph in those days, and it 
 was supposed, that the thief made his escape to America. 
 
 Some years since, General S found the other in an old 
 
 curiosity shop in Paris, and so perfect was the similarity to 
 his own, that it was only on his return to Scotland, when he 
 had an opportunity of comparing the one with the other, that 
 he made the discovery of the difference pointed out by Joe ; 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 275 
 
 until then, he was satisfied he had recovered his lost pistol. 
 How certain is the law of retribution," continued Mr. 
 Lessely, leaning back and resting his head on the easy chair 
 in which he sat, while his countenance assumed a graver 
 look than usual : " A young man steals a pistol in England, 
 flies off with his booty to America, and, it may be, prospers 
 there, spreading his roots to the waters, as a green bay tree ; 
 but time goes hurrying by ; and his only child sees and 
 covets the stolen pistol ; again a little while, and pistol and 
 son are both lost to the man, who perilled his soul, and for- 
 feited his Briton's birthright of freedom in his native land 
 long years ago for the one ; so long ago that he had come 
 to consider it as much his own, as if he had won the money 
 which bought it by the labour of his strong right hand ; and 
 for the other, could he but find him now, how gladly would 
 he give all the ill-gotten gains he had toiled for and amassed 
 during these forty years — poor lonely old man, does it ever 
 occur to him that his sin has found him out." 
 
 On retiring for the night, Mr. Lessely took the pistols 
 with him to his own room, and, placing them in a drawer, 
 said, " he would go next morning immediately after break- 
 fast, and deliver them to their owner." Mrs. Lessely ob- 
 served, " That she would not feel easy after the exhibition 
 she had witnessed this evening, until she knew they had 
 reached their destination in safety." 
 
 Next morning during breakfast, Mr. Lessely was pleasantly 
 surprised by receiving a note informing him, that the senior 
 partner of a mercantile house, to which he had made applica- 
 tion for a situation now vacant, was waiting in his office to 
 make the wished-for arrangement, and that his presence was re- 
 quested immediately, the gentleman in question being obliged 
 to leave Montreal for Upper Canada within an hour. 
 
276 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 This was indeed good news, and would put an end to much 
 harrassing anxiety, and Mr. Lessely left us at once, going with 
 the young man who brought the note, saying as he went out, 
 that he would not return until one o'clock ; and bidding 
 Mrs. Lessely and I go a house-hunting in his absence, adding, 
 we will have a home now for Joe. 
 
 We gladly obeyed his injunction, and set out on our mis- 
 sion ; we were not long in finding a wooden cottage quite 
 good enough for Mrs. Lessely's simple taste and straitened 
 means. The cottage consisted of four rooms and a kitchen, 
 to which was attached a small garden, containing several 
 apple trees, which were loaded with fruit. 
 
 " The children will be delighted to find they have a gar- 
 den, with lots of fruit to play in," said I. 
 
 " Yes," replied Mrs. Lessely " and how Joe will laugh ; 
 I hope it will assist in making him forget f Tom Spring's 
 pistol.' " 
 
 But the rent, when we came to inquire about that, forty 
 pounds a year ! in addition to which were five pounds 
 for taxes and three pounds to the water company ; in Scot- 
 land quite a large house might be rented for that sum ; how- 
 ever, on going to inquire the rent of other vacant houses, we 
 found our cottage was the cheapest, and on the whole best 
 suited for the purpose ; several brick housse, bold, staring 
 upright things, without a tree or a foot of ground for the 
 children to play on, were fifty pounds, " because they were 
 brick." So we arranged with the landlord that he was not 
 to let the cottage until the following day, when we would 
 bring Mr. Lessely to give his decision. 
 
 On arriving at home, we found that we were a little late, 
 and that Mr. Lessely had already dined ; he had entered on 
 the duties of his situation, and was to return to his office at 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 277 
 
 two o'clock ; we told him what our success in house-hunting 
 had been, and he desired Mrs. Lessely to close the bargain 
 for the cottage, so that they might commence furnishing their 
 new home as soon as possible. 
 
 Before returning to his office, Mr. Lessely went upstairs 
 to bring the pistols, that on his way he might deliver them 
 to their owner ; he returned in a few minutes with one only, 
 the other, " Tom Spring's pistol was gone." Joe was called 
 upstairs, but did not answer to the call ; a search was made 
 in both house and court yard, no Joe was to be found ; no 
 one recollected to have seen him since ten o'clock, he had 
 been employed previous to that in helping the chamber-maid 
 to fill the water jugs, and seemed to like the work ; running 
 quickly and cheerfully from kitchen to bedroom with the 
 water pitcher ; the last jug he filled was in Mrs. Lessely's 
 room, the girl put some things in the drawer and saw the 
 pistols there, " She was not sure if Joe was in the room 
 when she did so ; she could not say if she left the drawer 
 open or not," at all events the pistol was gone, and so was 
 Joe. 
 
 Mr. Lessely went at once to the police office, and was 
 assured that the culprit would be found in a few days ; not- 
 withstanding, he telegraphed in every direction, giving a full 
 description of both Joe and the pistol. 
 
 In three days Joe was found, tried in the police court, 
 and sent to prison there to await his trial before the Grand 
 Jury. This was done in order that he might be sent to the 
 Reformatory prison at Isle-aux-Noix, where he could not go 
 without a trial before the Grand Jury. 
 
 Fortunately for poor Joe, the Grand Jury were sitting at 
 the time, so he had only to wait two days in prison, until his 
 turn came to be tried. 
 
278 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 Mrs. Lessely went twice to see Joe, and tried to make 
 him understand something about God and the Saviour, but 
 she was in a false position with Joe, he looked upon her as 
 at least having a hand in taking Tom Spring's pistol, and all 
 she said passed by him as the " light wind." Mr. Lessely 
 had to appear as a witness on the day of Joe's trial, and as 
 Mrs. Lessely wished to go there as a spectator, I had no 
 choice but to accompany her. 
 
 We were by some mistake fully an hour in advance of the 
 time for Joe's trial ; the criminal at the bar was a young 
 woman not over two and twenty years of age, who had 
 stolen a sum of money in a house where she was employed 
 to work by the day ; she had three children under five years 
 of age, her husband was dead ; she paid three shillings and 
 nine pence a week for the room she and her children lived 
 in ; she was paid two shillings a day for her work, and on 
 an average had three days work in the week , she was a fair, 
 delicate looking young woman, with large soft brown eyes 
 and eyelashes that lay like a dark fringe on her cheek, as she 
 closed her eyes languidly for a second or two, which she did 
 often during the trial ; she must have been very pretty, be- 
 fore she was so thin, and as the blood mounted to her pale 
 cheek (on hearing her sentence pronounced), suffusing it 
 with the glow of health, and she raised her dark jeyes for a 
 moment to the ceiling, as if she sought there for the God 
 that is so hidden ; I could not help mentally exclaiming how 
 beautiful ; she was sentenced to two years confinement in 
 the penitentiary at Kingston. 
 
 I wondered what was to become of the three children ; 
 were they to become three little Joe's ? 
 
 And poor Joe, his sentence was five years residence in 
 the reformatory prison. I hope he may reform in constant 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 279 
 
 intercourse with those who are probably wiser and older in 
 the ways of sin than himself. 
 
 Both crimes were legally established, the jury found the 
 criminals guilty, in the sense that the law requires, and the 
 spectators were satisfied that the criminals had been dealt 
 with according to law, and that the law itself, was a just and 
 necessary one — just at least as far as the objects and the 
 nature of human laws admit of being just — but did the ques- 
 tion never arise in the minds of the actors in this scene, how 
 far the criminal as a matter of retribution, deserved to suffer ? 
 Is it not felt amid all the formalities of trial ; all the precau- 
 tions, by which the possibility of* injustice has been fenced out, 
 all the inquiries, with which truth has been sought ; all the 
 machinery, by which the effects of ignorance or partiality on 
 the part of his judges have been excluded, is it not but too 
 evident, that amid all this, the real guilt of the criminal, as 
 a moral agent, his desert of suffering as a retributive measure, 
 is a point that has been comparatively unattended to. That 
 not one circumstance has been mentioned in the course of 
 trial, otherwise than incidentally, which would enable us to 
 form a judgment in this particular. 
 
 And if the criminal has been under the influence of power- 
 ful temptation — powerful either in the attractions of the 
 tempting object, — the dire necessity, which prompted the 
 theft, or the peculiar constitution of his mind, this last acting 
 as a more powerful incentive than either of the others, do we 
 not consider these as alleviations of his guilt ? And more- 
 over, if we are satisfied that the temptation operated with 
 increased effect from his want of moral principle, — a want, 
 not the effect of a wilful abandonment of former virtuous 
 habits, but of neglected or perverted education, of constant 
 familiarity with vice, and evil company, exemption from dis- 
 
280 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 ciplinc and want of instruction (still allowing him to be aware, 
 that he was committing a crime,) should we not pity him on 
 account of these circumstances ? 
 
 And can we avoid believing, that when he comes to be 
 tried at last by the Omniscient God, He who " searcheth the 
 hearts and trieth the reins of the children of men," his sen- 
 tence will be past on very different grounds from those on 
 which it has been founded by an earthly tribunal. 
 
 I cannot help thinking, that there is much thoughtlessness 
 and want of consideration, and benevolence, in the feelings 
 with which the respectable part of mankind, (which means 
 in fact, the fortunate and comfortable part,) behold the crimes 
 and punishments of the more wretched of their brethren. 
 
 How a person living in comfort and independance, holds up 
 his hands, at the grossness, the deceit, the ingratitude, or 
 violence of those whose crimes are exposed and avenged by 
 public justice. How just, how well deserved does he think 
 the punishment ? How does he congratulate himself, that 
 his conduct is so different. 
 
 But have you considered also the difference of your cir- 
 cumstances ? Sated with enjoyment ; with every desire gra- 
 tified, every joy of life tasted, until, perhaps the appetite has 
 become palled; with the ministers of pleasure, ever ready to 
 attend your call, how little can you understand the avidity 
 with which an occasional, it may be an unlawful gratification 
 is grasped at, how little need you wonder at the gross excess 
 in which it is indulged ! Unruffled by disappointment, un- 
 disturbed by anxiety, unexposed to rudeness, contradiction, 
 anger, flattered into complacency, by the respect and obse- 
 quiousness of inferiors, and the elegant mildness of equals ; 
 never hearing a word uttered that is not, to say the least, 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 281 
 
 either subdued by mercenary submission, or smoothed by 
 artificial polish — how little can you comprehend, the temper 
 of him who is soured by misfortune, maddened by the pros- 
 pect of hopeless, helpless, poverty, and an entire exclusion 
 from all the enjoyments or even comforts of life ; exasperated 
 by the neglect and contempt of those, who have been only 
 more fortunate than himself, hardened by continual contact 
 with the discontent, the fierceness, the rapacity of those who 
 have been as unfortunate. 
 
 Placed in the midst of abundance and security, satisfied 
 with the present, and at ease about the future, feeling no 
 embarassment, no want ; so circumstanced in short, as that 
 dishonesty is either impracticable, or if practicable would be 
 utter madness — would be disgrace and ruin without a motive, 
 how little can you imagine what it is to be without a morsel 
 of bread, without a covering against the inclemency of the 
 weather, without a home, without a friend ; or harder still to 
 bear, to have those, who are dearer to you than life, pining 
 with sickness, in a bare garret or damp cellar, shivering with 
 cold, and asking for bread in vain, and to feel that you are 
 utterly helpless, that to-morrow and to-morrow must be the 
 same, until this weary life has passed away; and it may be 
 with no hope for the unknown, untrodden land beyond the 
 dark river; but in its place, " a fearful looking forward too 
 of punishment " for crimes, the temptations to which were 
 irresistible ; how little can you imagine, what it is to ask for 
 work, bare work, for scanty wages, and to be refused with 
 coldness, perhaps driven away with suspicion ! how little need 
 you be surprised that he, whose very misery often procures 
 for him the reputation of being dishonest, should yield to the 
 temptation of really deserving such a character. 
 
282 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 Undoubtedly crimes must be punished, whether committed 
 with or without temptation — with or without excuse ; if it is 
 not morally just that the criminal should be punished, it may 
 at least be necessary that he should be restrained or even 
 extirpated, and this, if only for the safety of others ; but one 
 cannot help thinking, that if a part of the time, the ingenuity 
 and expense, that are employed to detect and punish crime, 
 when committed, were employed to remove the causes that 
 led to crime; if some part of the time, which legislators 
 spend, in first, second, and third readings ; in committees, 
 speeches and debates, motions and amendments on criminal 
 laws, were applied to discover and remedy the circumstances 
 which form the criminal ; if some of the expense, that is 
 incurred in counsel's fees, officer's fees, in courts, judges and 
 juries, were given to supply the want which prompted the 
 theft ; nay even if the purse, or the jewels, or the plate, or 
 some portion of the value stolen, had been expended in beni- 
 ficence ; if the same ingenuity that is used in examining evi- 
 dence to ascertain the point guilty or not guilty, were 
 applied to discover how the criminal became guilty ? how was 
 he ignorant ? how was he become hardened ? how came he 
 to be in want, in destitution, in desperation ? and above all 
 other questions, let us each ask ourselves, how came he to 
 have no faith in the God, who is so near his people, who cry 
 unto him ? and no hope of the land, that is very far off, and 
 is yet so near, so sure — the land that was bought with toil, 
 and with sorrow, and with blood, in distant Asia long ago, for 
 the thief on the cross, for the poor charwoman with her three 
 children, for little Joe, and for you, and for me ? If some part 
 of the maintenance allowed to the criminal had been allowed 
 him before he became a criminal ; if the massive edifices con- 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 283 
 
 structed to secure him, had a little sooner been offered to 
 shelter, surely some part of the vast degradation, suffering, 
 and guilt, which abound in this and in every civilized land, 
 would admit of being removed. In the mode of our manag- 
 ing such things, surely there is something like beginning at 
 the wrong end ! 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 We went on Sunday morning to hear Mr. £ preach, 
 
 he spoke well and earnestly, as the expression of his coun- 
 tenance betokened he would; he seemed never for a mo- 
 ment to forget that he came there bearing a message from 
 God to man, or to be highly conscious of the awful responsibi- 
 lity attached to his office, and the deep importance of how 
 this message was delivered and how heard. 
 
 We had many delightful walks in the shady paths leading 
 up the sides of the beautiful mountain, on which Montreal is 
 built, and in the public gardens and squares, where gigantic 
 trees, many of them upwards of a yard in diameter, formed a 
 shade for delicate flowers, whose gorgeous dye and profusion 
 of blossom are unknown in our northern clime. 
 
 We laid aside one afternoon to visit the " ship " as we de- 
 nominated the Winged Zephyr, it was our ship, we knew no 
 other. 
 
 I do not know, whether it is from having no home of my 
 own, and so very few to love, or an innate feeling which clings 
 to all of us, and creates a fondness for familiar things, giving 
 to them a grace, and beauty, and attraction, which they do 
 not of themselves at all possess, but I have never lived any 
 where for even a week or two, without feeling a fondness for 
 every thing around me ; so strongly is this feeling implanted 
 in my nature, that I have at times suffered exquisite pain, in 
 parting from scenes and people, who a month previous were 
 unknown to me ; and so before leaving Montreal, I wished to 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 285 
 
 bid good bye to the ship, and speak once more to the kind 
 simple men we lived among so happily, while crossing the 
 ocean. The captain was not on board, but the mates and 
 sailors came forward to meet us as kindly as if we had been 
 old friends of their own. The steward was gone, he went out 
 to the wharf one evening three days before, telling Jack to 
 put a candle in his pantry, as he would be back in three 
 minutes ; but the three minutes lengthened into three days, 
 and the steward came not ; I suspected he would run away. 
 The captain often scolded him, and one day during dinner, 
 on the steward's replying rather pertly, the captain said, 
 " no sauce ; repeat that again, and I'll send you down below,' ' 
 (meaning to the hold, beside Tom.) After dinner the steward 
 came into the saloon, where Mrs. Lessely and I were seated, 
 and occupying himself in arranging the room said, " The 
 skipper said he would put me in the hold, he'll not have the 
 chance going home." 
 
 The Glasgow weaver was still on board, and we asked him 
 in joke " if he meant to stay there." 
 
 " Oh ! aye," said he looking as if he was surprised by the 
 question, " did ye no ken, I'm gaen hame we her again ; I 
 canna abide America, its the lonesomesfc place at ever I was 
 in." 
 
 " Have you been through the town, Sandy ? " asked Mrs. 
 Lessely. 
 
 " I was na aw through the town," was his reply, " but I gaed 
 aye day up the first street there, and that was eneugh, I did 
 na see ae gude shop in't aw, or a hous at a Glasgow gentle- 
 man wad bide in, bit I dar say the place is weel aneugh for 
 the folk, they did na look as gen they war great things." 
 
 " But, Sandy," said Mrs. Lessely, "you have only been 
 along the street fronting the wharf, where of course, yon 
 
286 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 could see nothing, there are shops filled with beautiful things 
 up in the town, and finer streets than you have ever seen in 
 Glasgow." 
 
 " Gen there be let them be," said he, " I'll nae file my sheen 
 gaen to see them, I've gotten my sick sairen o' the sea an 
 America baith, bit it was aw my ain faut, I was weel, an I 
 wad na bide weel ; mony a decent man gangs tae their bed, 
 whan the wife flytes, an never lats on at they hear her, as my 
 father, honest man, did mony a day ; bit that wadna dee for 
 me, na, I ma* an be aff till America ; less wadna sair me, sae 
 lat me tak fat I got ; gin I ever won hame again," continued 
 he, and his countenance assumed a most doleful aspect ; " it'll 
 learn me, whan the wife flytes to jouk an lat the jaw ower." 
 
 " What are you to pay, Sandy, for your passage home ? " 
 inquired Mrs. Lessely, I suppose thinking he would be short 
 enough of funds. 
 
 " I'm nae needen to pay ony thing, I got the steward's 
 place fan he desertet ; deed I was rale glaid, whan I heerd at 
 he ran aff, I gaed tae the Captain that menit, an tellt him I 
 wad dee the wark for naething gen he wad only tak me hame ; 
 its a rale gude birth I'm only feart at he'll come back 
 again." 
 
 "Has the steward left any of his clothes ? " 
 
 " Nae ae screed o' them, he did na leave as mukle as the 
 paren o' a nael at wis his ain on board." 
 
 Mrs. Lessely had a conversation with Tom, and then dis- 
 tributing some fruit which she had brought on purpose, we 
 bade farewell to all on board, and received from them a hearty 
 good-bye. On our return, I found a letter awaiting me from 
 St. Bride's, in reply to one I had written the day after my 
 arrival in Montreal. 
 
 My letter was from Gertrude ; she was in great joy because 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 287 
 
 of my arrival in Canada, and all impatience to see me. The 
 Superior requested that I would leave Montreal on the day 
 after the receipt of her letter, giving me the name of the 
 steamboat I was to sail with, the time it left Montreal, and 
 the name of the wharf, it started from ; the boat stopped at 
 several places on the way, and in consequence would not 
 reach Algona until the evening of the second, or the morning 
 of the third day ; when the boat arrived at Algona, I would 
 find a conveyance waiting on the wharf, to bring me to St. 
 Bride's. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Lessely both expressed themselves sorry to 
 part with me, requested that I would write to them, and 
 offered me a home, in case I should not feel happy at St. 
 Bride's. 
 
 I felt very grateful for this offer ; a presentiment of evil 
 seemed to haunt me, when I thought of St. Bride's, and I 
 would most willingly have declined going, were it in my power, 
 but I had made the engagement, and in addition to that I 
 was in Mrs. Livingstone's debt, and I knew that the money 
 Willie would make in summer, would not be more than half 
 what he would require for his expenses during the winter 
 session of college. 
 
 However, Mrs. Lessely's kind invitation had made me 
 more independent, and tended to reconcile me, not a little, 
 to going to St. Bride's ; if I did not like my new home, I at 
 least knew where I could remain, until I found another, and 
 I had still Mrs. Livingstone's five pounds untouched in my 
 pocket. By Gertrude's letter, I was informed that my pas- 
 sage money from Montreal to Algona was already paid, and 
 a passage ticket was enclosed in my letter, for me to shew 
 when I went on board the vessel. 
 
 Both Mr. and Mrs. Lessely accompanied me on board the 
 Lord Elgin, and I parted from them with much regret. 
 
288 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 After gazing from the deck, where I was standing by the 
 bulwark, until the very shadows of my kind friends were los* 
 in the distance, I went to the ladies' parlour to secure my 
 berth. An American lady was seated by the table feeding 
 a fat little baby, while a boy of four years of age was exerting 
 himself to the utmost in dragging about the various band-boxes 
 and packages — and they were by no means few in number — 
 belonging to his mother, screaming as he did so with never- 
 wearying lungs. 
 
 u Whatever are you about, Nally ?" said his mother, in a 
 beseeching tone of voice, and looking at me, continued, " I 
 don't know whatever he means ; I suppose it's because he's 
 among strangers; he's always so quiet at home." 
 
 " No, I ain't, either," said the youngster, " I always makes 
 a noise when I chooses to." 
 
 And he choose to then, and pulled about the boxes more 
 vigorously than ever, to the great annoyance of his mother, 
 a pretty good tempered looking woman, who evidently was too 
 much accustomed to noise to suffer from it herself, but did 
 not like I should be troubled. 
 
 I said a few words to put her at her ease, and having 
 chosen my berth, and in token thereof, placed the satchel con- 
 taining my night clothes, brushes, &c, in the one I had 
 selected, I again sought the deck. 
 
 Having found myself a comfortable seat, I opened the 
 book my kind friend, Mr. Lessely, had presented me with for 
 the purpose of making my time onboard pass more pleasantly, 
 but I had scarcely read a page when I was interrupted by 
 some one at my side, whose presence I was previously un- 
 conscious of, saying— 
 
 " This is a fine morning, Miss !" 
 
 I looked up and found that the speaker was a fat, short, 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 289 
 
 very plainly dressed lady, between thirty and forty years of 
 age, who, with her little daughter, a pretty slight child, ap- 
 parently about eight years old, were seated on the sofa behind 
 me. 
 
 I replied in the affirmative, and then I was catechised as 
 to where I was going, if my parents lived in Algona, whether 
 I had been long in Montreal, and several other questions 
 equally pertinent, all of which I answered with, at least, an 
 air of patience. In return she informed me that she was 
 Mrs. Butters, of Boston ; the child interrupted her mother by 
 saying, " No mamma, of Stoneham." 
 
 II Sadia, let me speak," hastily exclaimed her mother, and 
 turning to me, added, " I always say of Boston, because I 
 have lived so much there ; I went to school to Boston, and 
 after I left off school, I lived quite a while there with my uncle, 
 Mr. Silas Stimson, of Boston, you have heard of him ; he was 
 my mother's brother. I suppose you know he made his for- 
 tune in the shoe trade ? I always call myself of Boston 
 because Stoneham is such a small place, and every one knows 
 Boston ; this is my daughter, Miss Sadia F. Butters, of Bos- 
 ton ; she is our only child, and we think everything of her ; 
 that gentleman walking with his hands behind him, is Mr. 
 Butters, Algernon Brutus Butters, Esquire, of the firm of 
 Butters & Winks, in the shoe trade ; do a large business every 
 year in Montreal. Mr. Butters is a senior partner, and he 
 makes one journey to Montreal every year himself. I will 
 introduce you when he comes up to here." 
 
 " Where did you live before you came to Canada ?" 
 " In Britain." 
 
 " Well now ain't that far away, in Britain ; you ain't 
 Scotch?" 
 "Yes." 
 
290 VIOLET KIETH. 
 
 " Well now, I'm real glad ; Mr. Butters' family are Scotch ; 
 his grandfather, I think, came from Scotland ; the Butters 
 property is one of the largest estates in Scotland ; Mr. But- 
 ters is a descendant of Mary, Queen of Scots, she is dead 
 you know long ago ; yes," continued she, as if she was con- 
 sidering some doubtful point, "I think it's Mary, Queen of 
 Scots ; she's not bloOdy Mary, is she ?" 
 
 I assured her that on the contrary, Mary, Queen of Scots, 
 had a great horror of shedding blood. 
 
 li Had she ? then it's she ; I was sure I was right, yes, 
 it's Mary, Queen of Scots ; grandmother Butters bought 
 her picture at a sale, because she was a relation ; it had a 
 shocking shabby frame, and was real old itself, but grand- 
 mother Butters had it varnished and put into a gilt frame, 
 cost ten dollars ; you wouldn't believe it was the same." 
 
 Mrs. Butters stopped, perhaps exhausted from " much 
 speaking," and Miss Sadia F. Butters took up the strain. 
 
 " Did you ever live at Stoneham ?" 
 
 " No, I never was so fortunate." 
 
 " Would you like to live there ?" 
 
 " I am not sure ; were you sorry to leave Stoneham ?" 
 asked I of the child, questioning in order that I might not 
 be questioned. 
 
 "I felt real glad; I've been there all my life, and I was 
 real tired of it." 
 
 The child said this with the look and air of a woman of 
 thirty. I looked at her but did not reply. 
 
 " You should go to the land of Stoneham only to see it ; 
 Pa's store is there, and cousin Althine lives there, too; I'd 
 give you a note to introduce you to her ; they're so rich 
 you'd like them of all things. I wish I saw her now, I'd give 
 her a real good hug." 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 291 
 
 At the first landing place, one or two gentlemen went on 
 shore, and a lady, with two grown up daughters, came on 
 board. The young ladies were showily dressed in blue silk 
 dresses, with feathers in their hats to match, which, with their 
 scarlet cloaks, made them look, at least, conspicuous. They 
 found some acquaintances among the gentleman on board, 
 and after walking about for some time, both sat down to the 
 piano in the deck saloon, and played duets for fully two 
 hours. 
 
 Mrs. Butters was at first pleased with the music, if such it 
 could be called, but at last she became quite indignant, said 
 she wondered if they thought no one on board could play but 
 themselves, &c, &c. ; she looked at her watch, it was near 
 the dinner hour, and addressing the child, she said : 
 
 " When you finish your dinner, Sadia, you come right up 
 here and sit on that piano stool and don't leave it till I come 
 up stairs ; I want to play as well as they do ;'' turning to me 
 she said, inquiringly : 
 
 " You don't play, do you ?" 
 
 " Not well enough to play in public." 
 
 u Well, I dare say ; you see it takes a deal of money for 
 people to learn to play as they'd like to, not that I call that 
 good playing," nodding her head towards the performers. 
 "What I call good playing is slow airs played with expression 
 and pianaissima." 
 
 After dinner Miss Sadia Butters did exactly as she was 
 bid — went up stairs and took possession of the music stool, 
 there to await her mamma's appearance in the deck saloon. 
 
 The young ladies in blue gave themselves a great many 
 airs, and so did their mamma, although her airs did not sit so 
 easily upon her as theirs did. Their party was quite a large 
 one, the young ladies having attracted all the beaux on board, 
 
292 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 and the ease with which they became intimate was, to my 
 unsophisticated eyes, quite marvellous. They were seated 
 opposite to Mrs. Butters and I; they evidently took us both 
 for Americans, and looking at us, talked to each other and 
 their beaux of their dislike to Yankees, speaking in whispers 
 not very low. 
 
 When they had satisfied themselves by giving this proof of 
 their high breeding, and so made sure that they themselves 
 would not be mistaken for Yankees, they indulged in pleasant 
 reminiscences of their school days, which were, they said, in 
 a very loud key, passed in one of the first boarding schools 
 in Paris, where, happy coincidence, Lord DoodelPs four 
 elegant daughters were being educated at the same time. 
 They were untiring in their descriptions of the beauties and 
 accomplishments of the four honorable Miss Doodells, and 
 Miss Elvira Todd showed, and kissed as she showed, her dar- 
 ling Beauty, who was a pup of the honorable Miss Rosina 
 Doodell's Beauty, and given to Miss Elvira as a parting gift 
 by that young lady ; later in the day, the mamma, oblivious of 
 Beauty's former history, told the large price which was paid 
 for the poodle to a dog fancier in Montreal. I am sorry to 
 say that I discovered, by " the accents of the mountain 
 tongue," which still hung on their mamma's speech, that she 
 was a countrywoman of my own. Miss Todd had the kind- 
 ness to inform all at the table who were not deaf, that her 
 father's family was one of the first in Belfast. I can fancy 
 now, how an Irish gentleman would laugh, and his lady open 
 her eyes upon hearing such an anouncement. 
 
 In due time Mrs. Butters was led to the piano by her 
 husband, Augustus Brutus Butters, Esquire, who stood 
 behind her chair, or rather piano stool, for an hour, during 
 which time his lady tinkled Hail Columbia, Ben Bolt, and 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 293 
 
 Home Sweet Home, going over each twice, and playing them 
 in succession all very slow, and I suppose with expression ; 
 but the most delicious sweets will cloy, and having tired her- 
 self and her listeners out, Mr. Butters turned solemnly round 
 to where Sadia and I sat, (the child having taken up her 
 former seat beside me, when her mamma replaced her on the 
 music stool,) and beckoning with his fore finger, she at once 
 obeyed the summons, and cast a triumphant look around the 
 saloon, as she walked with a very upright gait towards the 
 piano ; she then joined her mamma in singing The Star 
 Spangled Banner, and various other popular songs, to the 
 great delight of at least themselves and Augustus Brutus 
 Butters, Esquire ; for my own part, I much preferred good 
 humoured, sincere Mrs. Butters, and her tinkling music, to 
 the vulgar assumed consequence and noisy thumping, without 
 either time or tune, of my own countrywomen in the blue. 
 
 Mrs. Butters having finished her musical display entirely 
 to her own satisfaction, left the piano, (which, without a 
 moment's intermission, was occupied by the Misses Todd, who, 
 as one of their beaux remarked, loud enough for us to hear, 
 preferred playing as they did hunting (query— husband hunt- 
 ing ?) in couples. 
 
 Mrs. Butters seated herself again beside me, introducing 
 her husband, and making room for him on the sofa betwixt 
 herself and I, telling him at same time that I was Scotch, and 
 knew all about Mary, Queen of Scots, which information he 
 received with the same solemn air which he beckoned to 
 Sadia with. 
 
 " I guess," said Mrs. Butters, addressing her husband, 
 " that if all the Butters family down at Scotland would die off, 
 we'd be considerable richer ; perhaps, my dear, we'd be obliged 
 to go down there to heir the estate ; wouldn't it be nice ?" 
 
 u 
 
294 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 " Well, it would be real nice," chimed in Miss Sadia. 
 
 " I guess I'd not live there, supposing I did heir it," 
 observed Mr. Butters, looking very important, " it id inter- 
 fere with my political principles ; I'd not take up with the 
 commonality, no how ; and the lords is such bad men swearing 
 and drinking ; I guess they wouldn't one of them get a chance 
 to be introduced to my family." 
 
 Mrs. Butters' broad face became broader still, by the 
 pleased look with which she rewarded her husband for this 
 speech, and leaning forward, so as to speak to me, in what 
 she meant to be a whisper, said : " He's so awful particular. 
 
 Towards evening, the lady who had the fat baby and noisy 
 sonny, as she called him, came on deck. 
 
 " Come and sit here Mrs. Chubbock," said Mr. Butters, 
 " why didn't you come sooner on deck, we've been having 
 such a good time, Mrs. Butters has been playing and singing 
 all the afternoon." 
 
 "And so was I singing, too, pa/' said Miss Sadia, not liking 
 to be overlooked. 
 
 Sadia was eating some sweet cakes which her papa had 
 brought her from the desert ; young Master Chubbock seeing 
 this, placed himself in front of her, his little legs wide apart, 
 and his arms akimbo, exclaiming : " I say, you young rat, give 
 me a piece of poi." 
 
 Sadia seemed afraid of him, and raising her hands with a 
 cake in each, until they were nearly above her head, called 
 out : " Pa, pa, he's calling me a rat." 
 
 " So you are a rat and an ugly rat too, I say give me a piece 
 of your poi;" and becoming more vehement, he stamped his 
 little fat foot impatiently, saying, " give me a bit of your poi ; 
 give me a bit of your poi." 
 
 I gave him some of the bon bons Mrs. Lessely had put in 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 295 
 
 my satchel, which he accepted, as if my giving them were a 
 matter of course, and walked up and down the deck with a 
 step like a little giant, his mother's eyes following him with 
 delight for a second or two, and then turning to Mrs. Butters, 
 she said : " Is'nt he stirring." 
 
 " He is," replied Mrs. Butters, with whom Nally seemed to 
 be no favourite ; il but our way, we make our children mind 
 better." 
 
 " I want to have you play with me, said Nally," coming up 
 again to Sadia, who did not meet his advances as he wished, 
 " mount my horse and I'll give you a ride, come hurry up your 
 cakes.' 9 
 
 But Sadia would not be entreated, so off he went, together 
 with his horse, a toy half a foot in length. 
 
 c< How did you come to baptize Nally, ' Ronaldo,' '' asked 
 Mr3. Butters, " I guess none of your folks have that name." 
 
 Mrs. Chubbock looked the surprise she felt, " why ! I like 
 to know ;" I guess its a family name ; did you never hear Mr. 
 Chubbock's name ? its Ronaldo; I'll tell you how the name 
 came into the family. Grandfather Chubbock's a mighty 
 learned man ; so after puppy (papa) was born, grandfather 
 Chubbock was reading about Europe and France, and them 
 foreign places, as he always do be ; so he takes right hold 
 on two names, and makes out Ronaldo his own self ; so I 
 reckon any how its a family name of the Chubbocks ; they 
 have the best right to it." 
 
 The good tempered pretty woman having delivered this 
 history of the family name, and well knowing the importance 
 it would give herself in the eyes of her audience, looked pleased 
 and dignified as she glanced from one face to another in 
 expectation of the astonishment which the wonderful talents 
 of her father-in-law were calculated to excite. 
 
296 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 " My !" said Mrs. Butters, after a short pause, evidently 
 greatly impressed with respect for her friend's father-in-law, 
 " he must be a smart man, old Mr. Chubbock must." 
 
 " I guess, he knows a thing or two, does grandfather 
 Chubbock ; well, that's nothing, he's reading all the time ; 
 I reckon he has more than twenty books on his shelf, and 
 every one he has read twice over ;" and turning to me, with 
 her good tempered smile, she said : " I guess if he'd go to 
 London he'd astonish you Britishers considerably, old Mr. 
 Chubbock would." 
 
 And both ladies smiled and nodded to each other, in admir- 
 ation of their country and its clever learned men. 
 
 " Does your Mr. Chubbock follow his father s reading 
 ways ?" enquired Mr. Butters. 
 
 " He don't at all," replied her friend, drawing herself up 
 with grave dignity, " he goes right off tother way, we havn't 
 a book in the house but the Bible and hymn book, and some 
 other book as is a pious book too ; you cant think, puppy's 
 such a right down one for making money all day and every 
 evening he goes to meetin' or lecture, or something ; you 
 should see the sight of money he gives to the chapel." 
 
 u Why ! I should like to know," said Mrs. Butter's, if 
 possible more impressed with the devotion to business and 
 high religious views of the son, than she had before been by 
 the literary attainments of the father, " does he speak his 
 self at meetins ?" 
 
 " I guess he does, and lectures too," replied the delighted 
 Mrs. Chubbock, justly proud of the position she held as the 
 daughter-in-law of the old, and wife of the young Chubbock. 
 
 Presently we were joined by Mr. Chubbock in person, a 
 tall, thin young man, with long, lank hair of a dusty hue, 
 and immense pale blue eyes ; it was painfully evident that 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 297 
 
 Mr. Chubbock had dressed hurriedly, he had quite forgotten 
 to change his shirt collar, and to have his boots blacked, and 
 as his trowsers were short, his unblacked boots looked con- 
 spicuous. 
 
 I was presented in form to Mr. Chubbock, who seemed to 
 have ODe predominant idea, and that was a deep sense of his 
 own importance. 
 
 The introduction was peculiar, — " Mr. Chubbock, from 
 the United States of America," "Miss Keith, from Bri- 
 tain ;" the words were peculiar, the manner in which these 
 words were uttered, implied, " Mr. Chubbock, a free born 
 citizen of the land which rules the globe," " Miss Keith, 
 who has just crept out from a nut shell." 
 
 " So you'r from Britain ?" said the gentleman, spitting a 
 large mouthful of the tobacco juice he was chewing on one 
 side as he spoke. 
 
 " I bowed in acquiescence." 
 
 " From Britain," repeated he, " what a long time since 
 I heard that word ; do you know ladies," and he turned to 
 his wife and Mrs. Butters as he spoke ; " it had gone sleek 
 out of mind with me that there wor sich a place ;" addressing 
 himself to me, he continued, " I reckon you know how it is, 
 we're the greatest and the largest nation in the world, and 
 we rule the nation ourselves, and so we have no time to 
 think on other folks as lives outside of us." 
 
 I felt humbled by the insignificance of Britain, and made 
 no reply. 
 
 ;t What part of Britain do you come from, Belfast or 
 Glasgow ?" 
 
 " Neither." 
 
 " Wall now," said he, poising himself on his heels, his 
 thumbs in his trowsers' pockets, swaying himself backwards 
 
298 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 and forwards and using the part of his hands which were 
 free as fins to keep his balance ; " I guess there's not much 
 else place to come from as ever I heard on." 
 
 " Why, now Puppy," said his better half, " aint there 
 London, where the fashions come from, altho' I never have 
 my things made but from a Paris or New York fashion 
 book." 
 
 " Wall, I guess," responded her husband, " if a free born 
 American lady can't find fashions enough in New York, 
 she's considerable hard to please, don't you think she is, 
 Miss Keith ?" 
 
 I thought to get out of the unpleasant position of arbitrer, 
 by simply telling the truth, and replied that I had never seen 
 a New York fashion book. 
 
 " My !" exclaimed both ladies simultaneously, " never 
 saw a New York fashion book," and I saw, at a glance, 
 that I had fallen in their opinion " considerable " below par. 
 
 " Wall," said Mr. Chubbock, " I see through it all, the 
 London booksellers buy up all the New York fashion books 
 as comes there ; if they did'nt, they'd be in a fix, they'd 
 never sell one of their own." 
 
 " My> what a shabby mean set," said Mrs. Butters. 
 
 And both ladies exchanged glances full of meaning such 
 as it was. 
 
 " So you hail from London, Miss Keith ?" Mr. Chubbock 
 recommended. 
 
 " No, from Edinburgh." 
 
 " Why ! you don't say ; that's the place Mr. John Knox 
 preaches in, I have his book to home, his confession of faith, 
 I don't read much, cause I don't never see much to be got 
 by it ; my father, I guess, has pretty nearly read all the 
 books as is worth reading ; and I don't believe he ever made 
 
VOLET KEITH. 299 
 
 a red cent by it ; but I reads Mr. Knox's book on Sunday 
 afternoons when there's no meetin, and I reckon it's better 
 doing of that than wanderin about in the vain fields, or 
 shootin sparrows." He paused for a second and then con- ' 
 tinued, " I guess when you'r to home you go pretty much 
 to Mr. John Knox's meetin, I take it he fixes them pretty 
 sleek ?" 
 
 " I said, in reply, that I had never had the pleasure of 
 hearing John Knox preach, but that I was aware of his 
 being a famous preacher." 
 
 " Wall, now, if that aint like a Britisher ; when there is a 
 man among you as can preach the gospel, you'r afeared to 
 go and hear him, cause he'll tell you your sins and no mis- 
 take ; I guess if he'd come to the United States, he'd have 
 full meetins every night of the week." 
 
 I also " guessed " he would, but I did so without saying 
 why. 
 
 We had quite a scene on the evening of the second day. 
 
 Miss Elvina Todd took off her hat, and placed it on the 
 sofa where she sat, reading, unconscious that Beauty, feeling 
 lonesome as Nally expressed it, took the hat in his mouth, 
 and by way of sport had torn the straw apart in several 
 places. Nally, however, who was constantly on the trot in 
 search of amusement, saw what happened, and brought both 
 dog and hat under the ytmng lady's notice. She was very 
 •much annoyed, as well she might, having no other hat on 
 board ; but the mamma's lamentations were loud and long ; 
 that short stout lady, displaying more energy than grace, ran 
 in pursuit of the hapless Beauty up and down the dsck, and 
 having at last succeeded in capturing the recipient of her 
 daughter's yesterday caresses, bestowed upon him marks of 
 disapprobation, in the shape of several hearty cuffs, to which 
 
800 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 Beauty replied with loud whines, setting the spectators almost 
 in fits with laughter ; thi3 done, the mamma lifted the dilapi- 
 dated bat, mourning over its " glory gone/' and related to 
 a crowd of eager listeners, the trouble bestowed on its forma- 
 tion and the price it cost ; the hat, ribbon, and lace having 
 cost seven dollars, while the feather, which inconsiderate 
 Beauty had snapt in two places, cost eight more, in all fifteen 
 dollars ! Miss Elvina looked as if she could die with vexation, 
 and so excited the sympathy of Nally, that in order to com- 
 fort her, and with a view to repair the mischief, he proposed 
 that she should give the hat to her Pa to mend. 
 
 Oh ! the storm, which instantly ensued, the young lady 
 slapt him more than once, calling him an impudent brat, the 
 old lady seized and shook him with a will, which equalled 
 the energy she displayed in the pursuit of Beauty round the 
 deck, and doubling her not very small hand, bent down and 
 shook it in the child's face, telling him with scarlet face and 
 stuttering utterance, that she would teach him to keep his 
 ill bred Yankee tongue within his teeth. 
 
 Mrs. Chubbock flew from the ladies saloon, where she was 
 putting her baby to sleep, to the rescue of sonny, who was 
 now bawling lustily ; and certainly the Yankee lady behaved 
 with a coolness and moderation which, under the circum- 
 stances, few would have exercised,, showing herself to be by 
 far the best bred woman of the three'. 
 
 One of the beaux, who was an acquaintance of Mrs. Chub- 
 bock's, came to lend his aid in consoling Nally, and when 
 peace was once more restored, accounted for the violent 
 emotion which Nally's advice had given rise to, by telling 
 her that Mr. Todd (the Papa) had made his money as a 
 tailor in New York. Instead of hating, they should have 
 loved the Yankees, who doubtless helped to raise their Ma 
 and themselves so much in the social scale. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 301 
 
 My two days sail passed wearily enough, between listen- 
 ing to the peculiar style of music both young and old ladies 
 chose to entertain us with on the one hand, and on the other, 
 Mrs. Butters and Mrs. Chubbock's descriptions of their 
 household, furniture, dresses, family connections, riches and 
 last and favourite theme, the vast superiority of the United 
 States of America and its inhabitants over every other coun- 
 try and people, or rather over all other countries and people 
 put together on the face of the globe. 
 
 As to reading, I found this was impossible ; Mrs. Butters 
 considered herself guilty of great neglect if I was allowed to 
 read quietly for half an hour. 
 
 When I came on board, it was with a feeling of great 
 reluctance. I dreaded going to St. Bride's for I knew not what ; 
 now I looked forward to our landing at Algona, as a relief 
 from the danger of having my skirts spit upon by the men, or 
 the disgust of seeing men, women and children heap their 
 plates with beefstake, fowl, pie, green peas, preserves, fish, 
 in short, everything within reach. The second day, at dinner, 
 the gentleman who sat next to Mrs. Butters emptied the dish 
 of green peas into his own plate, although she was unserved, 
 saying as he did so *. 
 
 " I like green pease a'most better than green corn." 
 
 We reached Algona about two o'clock in the afternoon ; our 
 luggage was all on the deck, at one end, and I easily secured 
 my two trunks, so that they might be ready when the person 
 who was to come for me arrived. 
 
 I had not long to wait ; the gangway, which connects the 
 vessel with the wharf, was scarcely a minute arranged, when 
 two nuns, accompanied by a young lady, came on board ; I 
 knew well who it was, although I did not see her face. 
 
 I was seated on one of my trunks, with the other by my 
 
302 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 side, taking care of both lest they might be carried off by 
 mistake. The group passed without observing me, going in 
 the direction of the deck salooon. I went softly after them 
 and put my hand on Gertrude's shoulder. I shall ever remem- 
 ber the look of happiness her face lighted up with when she 
 found who had touched her. 
 
 " Oh ! darling," she exclaimed, as she clasped my hand, 
 and touched my cheek lightly with her lips. How much that 
 one word and light touch expressed ! it was something to cross 
 the Atlantic for, to see and hear Gertrude speak and look 
 thus. The nuns stood smilingly by, looking at us both as we 
 spoke for a few minutes, and I saw at a glance, that they did 
 not understand a word we said ; they were happy and good- 
 tempered looking, and not in the least like my preconceived 
 ideas of a nun, except in their costume. 
 
 In a few minutes we were seated in a light-covered carriage, 
 with a square top, such as I had seen at Montreal, my trunks 
 being disposed of under the seats. 
 
 Gertrude introduced the nuns as Sister St. Hermonie and 
 Sister Marie ; the former a woman of fifty years or upwards, 
 and the latter, not older than myself. 
 
 As we were about to start Master Nally came rushing from 
 the vessel, calling out, " Come back, come back, you shan't go 
 off !*' and as he came near enough to see the nun on the side 
 of the carriage next to himself, he added, " with that old ugly 
 rat." 
 
 " Nally, you must go back, like a good boy, to your mam- 
 ma," said I, not a little frightened to see the child in the 
 crowd ; but in a second his mamma came in person, still wear- 
 ing the same calm, good-tempered face. 
 
 " Nally, you ain't a going to leave puppy and mummy, 
 puppy says you're to come and walk on deck with him." 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 303 
 
 " No I ain't, either ; I's a-going in the buggy with her." 
 
 " Why, Nally ! Miss Keith 's going to the small-pox hos- 
 pital." 
 
 " No, she ain't, them old rats ain't sick." 
 
 '' Well, I guess she's going into town to buy some more 
 candies, and she'll be back in half an hour, but, I reckon, if 
 you hold on so to the buggy, she can't go ; come to puppy and 
 let Miss Keith go for the candies." 
 
 " I guess I'll go too." ' 
 
 That was an unlucky thought of his mother. Nally now 
 tried to climb into the carriage, to the great astonishment of 
 the nuns, who did not understand a word that was said, and 
 consequently could not comprehend what the scene meant. — 
 Nally had just succeeded in seating himself on my knee, 
 when hi3 puppy made his appearance, and poor Nally was 
 borne back to the ship, screaming and kicking with all his 
 might. 
 
 As we drove into the town, Gertrude called my attention 
 to an irregularly built, immense house, with wings and addi- 
 tions innumerable, surrounded by a high stone wall. 
 
 " That is St. Bride's Convent," said she. " We don't live 
 there in summer ; I mean the boarders do not ; the community 
 have another convent, called St. Mary's of St. Bride's, where 
 part of the nuns always reside : it is about two miles out of 
 the town, and the Superior thinks it more healthy for the 
 boarders to spend the summer months (which, in this coun- 
 try, are always very hot) in the green fields, among the trees 
 and flowers out at St. Mary's : we are driving there now. I 
 hope to see the day when we will live always at St. Mary's." 
 
 The road by which we left the town wound by a gentle 
 slope to a high table-land above. The country was richly 
 wooded, and the fields white with harvest; we were con- 
 
304 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 stantly passing large orchards full of apple trees, so loaded 
 with fruit that the branches were bent almost to the ground. 
 The fameuse apple reminded me of my early home, this being 
 the first time I had seen it since I left France ; it is one of the 
 most delicious variety of that useful fruit, bright red outside, 
 and when cut, as white as snow. The striped immense St. 
 Lawrence, and the rough pomme grise, were in the same 
 abundance ; while here and there the cerise sauvage hung its 
 lovely pale green leaves, and long clusters of grape-like crim- 
 son fruit, which the slender twigs they hung by, seemed scarce 
 able to bear ; and the wild vine towering queen above all the 
 rest, her broad shiny leaves of pomona green lined with grey 
 velvet, softer and more beautiful than human hands ever wove, 
 as if nature made them so, to protect the rich bunches of 
 purple fruit, with its soft downy bloom peeping out from under 
 the thick covering which strove in vain to hide them alike 
 from sun and passer by. 
 
 The air seemed all life, hundreds of birds, many of almost 
 Indian brilliancy of colour — the wild canary and blue bird 
 making the woods ring with their song. A clinging plant with 
 scarlet blossoms hung every now and then from the great arms 
 of some gigantic forest tree as we passed, and there we were 
 sure to see the little grey, or green and scarlet humming-bird, 
 with its butterfly-like motion, darting in and out among the 
 bright flowers ; no lack of butterflies, purple and brown, red 
 and yellow, several varieties so large that they quite eclipsed 
 the dear little humming-birds in size. The wild bee, humming 
 as she goes round the flower-cup, as if considering whether 
 she would enter or not, and then diving inside until she almost 
 disappears, was there also, not a solitary labourer as we see 
 her in Scotland, but six or seven at a time working in commu- 
 nity, out-of-doors as well as in their own mossy home. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 805 
 
 We stopped in front of a great gate made of wood, and 
 studded with round pieces of iron as large as a half-penny, 
 giving it an appearance of great strength ; the gate was about 
 ten feet high, and was placed in a stone wall fully three feet 
 higher. A few yards from the gate, on either side, was a round 
 tower, built into the wall, and so placed that half the building 
 was inside and half out; both towers were at least six or eight 
 feet higher than the wall, and were each surmounted by a 
 stone cross ; they were exactly alike, and had each one narrow 
 window visible from the outside, about a foot and a half long. 
 
 The driver descended from the carriage on our arrival, and 
 rapped at the gate by means of an iron knocker, which made 
 noise enough to be heard a quarter of a mile off. I was look- 
 ing at the right hand tower, when the man knocked at the 
 gate, and almost immediately saw the window open, and a 
 man's face put out and drawn in again in a second, and when 
 the gate was opened I recognized the face of the man who 
 opened it as being the same. We were drawn up a broad 
 walk which went straight from the gate to the house, a long 
 way off. 
 
 What a scene of beauty that high stone wall and great 
 wood and iron gate shut in ! the greenest and most beautiful 
 grass, closely shorn, formed a ground work, on which were 
 placed plots, in all fantastic forms, none of which were larger 
 than two yards square, filled with flowers rich alike in blossom 
 and perfume, and growing so close to each other, that each 
 little parterre seemed like a huge bouquet, lying under the 
 warm air in its own green mossy bed, and dazzling the eye 
 with scarlet, purple and gold. These beautiful little gardens, 
 whose name was legion, lay shaded from the hot summer sun 
 by grand old trees, larger than any I had ever seen, and which 
 must have taken many centuries to attain their present heighth 
 
306 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 and breadth. Hemlock and pine, whose heads seemed to soar 
 into the clouds,giant elms, underneath whose drooping branches 
 a small cottage might have been built ; cedars, a tree which in 
 our cold clime is little more than a shrub, were here spreading 
 their great fan-like branches out to the sun, which in their 
 proportions, might vie with the cedars of Lebanon. I saw 
 there, for the first time, the beautiful locust tree, its delicate 
 tiny laburnum leaf and lovely white and pink blossom droop- 
 ing, acacia-like, from their red brown stems, raising its lofty 
 head up to the heavens, high above all the rest. Fountains, 
 throwing up their pure silvery water high above our heads, 
 played on each side of the walk, the water not flowing from the 
 jets in a continuous stream, but springing up by fits and starts, 
 and falling down in the basin below with a splash, as if it was 
 there by its own spontaneous act, and for its own amusement, 
 unaided by any help of man, and giving a delicious and fresh 
 coolness to the air, which would otherwise have been oppressed 
 with perfume. 
 
 The house was an immense place, built in the pointed Gothic 
 style, and, like its sister, or rather mother in the town below? 
 had evidently received additions at various times. 
 
 As we neared the house, fruit trees took the place of the 
 denizens of the forest : apple, pear and plum trees loaded to 
 profusion \wth their gold and purple burdens. Light wire 
 palisades, over which were trained vines whose clusters of 
 red and white grapes were giving a large promise for the 
 coming wine month. 
 
 The house-door was rounded at the top, and placed in a 
 deeply-groined arch similar to those used in churches, the door 
 itself large and heavy ; the windows in front were also rounded 
 at the top. 
 
 Besides the heavy door with its groined arches, I could see 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 307 
 
 nothing which I fancied convent-like, at least outside the 
 house, and this, trivial as it was, lightened me in a slight 
 degree of my recently acquired dread of convent life, which 
 seemed to be a sort of intermittent fever of the mind, having 
 its heats and chills, the former full of a fear I could not 
 define. 
 
 The conversation of the nuns, too, as we passed along, was 
 anything but what I had anticipated. They chatted cheer- 
 fully, as people do who are at ease with themselves and the 
 rest of the world. Sister St. Hermonie particularly seemed to 
 delight in saying smart things of the habitans as they passed 
 by our carriage in their charettes, each lifting his tuque with 
 great respect to the nuns. 
 
 Sister Mary knocked at the door, and then stepped back to 
 allow Sister St. Hermonie enter first, which she did as soon 
 as the door was opened by the porteress, a stout elderly woman 
 dressed in black, with a small round cape on her shoulders, 
 and a very white thick muslin cap. Sister Mary followed the 
 elder nun, and Gertrude and I brought up the rear. When 
 all had entered, the porteress shut and locked the door, and 
 put on a heavy iron bar that we had heard her take off before 
 she opened it. 
 
 Sister St. Hermonie led the way through a long passage 
 to a large room, which Gertrude said was the waiting room, 
 where visitors were brought to wait for whichever of the 
 boarders they wished to see. 
 
 Gertrude and I were left there for nearly a quarter of an 
 hour before Sister St. Hermonie returned. Sister Mary left 
 us immediately on entering, and I did not see her again. Ger- 
 trude told me Sister St. Hermonie had gone for the Prioress, 
 Sister St. Angelo, adding " you will soon learn to like her. 
 I love her dearly, and so do we all, nuns and boarders and 
 
308 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 every one. When our Mother dies— and she is now old and 
 frail ; no wonder — she has been Superior forty years — before 
 her no one ever held the office for more than half the time — 
 Sister St. Angelo will be Lady Superior. I will be glad for 
 her sake, and sorry for my own, and we all feel in the same 
 way." 
 
 I asked why they would be sorry. 
 
 il Because," Gertrude replied, "we will see her seldom 
 then, and she is always with us now, and creates an atmos- 
 phere of happiness around her. The Superior of a convent is 
 as seldom seen by the lower nuns and boarders in the sister- 
 hood, as the Queen of England is by the common people." 
 
 The room we were seated in was a large one, without a 
 carpet, but the floor so clean that I feared to tread on it, lest 
 my footsteps should be seen ; a row of chairs on one side, 
 and a row of benches on the other. The wall at the back 
 of the chairs consisted almost entirely of glass, and inside 
 this half-glass wall was another room, long and narrow, where 
 three nuns were seated sewing. A half-glass door commu- 
 nicated with the receiving room. On the walls were several 
 texts from the Scriptures, printed in type half an inch long, 
 framed and glazed. One of these was " Charity suffereth long 
 and is kind," another, " For every idle word that ye speak ye 
 shall give an account at the day of judgment." There was a 
 large crucifix, about a foot and a half long, hung at one end 
 of the room, the cros3 of black shining wood, the figure of 
 our Saviour of silver, and underneath the crucifix hung a 
 small vase for holy water. 
 
 A glass door at the further end of the room led out to a 
 gallery, and on the ground below the grass grew fresh and 
 green. A plum tree was so near, that although I sat quite 
 at the other end of the room, I could see the branches full 
 of fruit leaning over and into the gallery. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 309 
 
 Sister St. Angelo at last entered, and I was presented by 
 Gertrude. The Prioress asked me about my voyage, if I was 
 sea-sick, if my fellow-passengers to Canada were companion- 
 able people —who I had seen at Montreal — if I had been 
 inside the Catholic cathedral ?" and made me describe the 
 altar-piece and the stations of the cross, asking the most 
 minute questions as to the figures and painting, seeming to be 
 much pleased when I told her it was the largest building I 
 had ever seen, and by far the finest in Montreal. 
 
 " I have a dear friend who is one of the gentlemen of St. 
 Sulpice," said she ; " but I have not seen him for nearly thirty 
 years. He must be an old man now, and growing grey like 
 myself. They are the richest community in Canada. It is 
 to them the cathedral belongs, although it is the parish 
 church." 
 
 Sister St. Angelo was an Irishwoman by birth, but having 
 entered St. Bride's at an early age, she now spoke good French 
 and indifferent English. She and another nun who belonged 
 to the lower convent, were the only persons who could speak 
 English among a community of one hundred. 
 
 Sister St. Angelo was a middle-sized, thin woman, grey 
 hair, grey skin, and sharp penetrating grey eyes, but her eye 
 was the only sharp thing about her, with the exception of her 
 intellect — that was clear and sharp as a Damascus blade. Her 
 voice and manner were soft and ingratiating ; and in after 
 years when I came to know her well, I found her heart kind 
 and true, her life pure and good. 
 
 Dear Sister St. Angelo, when I forget thee, and all thou 
 didst for my sake, when passing through the burning fiery 
 furnace, may my right hand forget her cunning. 
 
 She sat talking with me for half an hour, during which 
 time Gertrude walked up and down the room fanning herself 
 
310 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 with her hat. The sun shone with intense power, making the 
 air outside hot in the shade, and even within the thick stone 
 walls of the convent, and they were fully three feet thick, 
 the heat was most oppressive, and were it not that decorum 
 forbade an entire stranger like myself from doing so, I would 
 gladly have followed Gertrude's example. 
 
 During our conversation Sister St. Angelo had informed 
 herself of all the leading facts in my short life's history, 
 that is, all I felt inclined to tell. She now knew I was an 
 orphan, that I had an only brother, whose life made the sun- 
 shine of mine ; that we had an uncle whom neither of us loved 
 overmuch ; that I was educated with a view to teaching, and 
 had left my first and last situation suddenly. When she had 
 fully satisfied herself that I had nothing else to tell, except 
 what I absolutely refused to disclose, namely, the reason why 
 I left Iona villa, where I lived so happily, and the inmates 
 of which I loved so dearly, she desired Gertrude to shew me 
 where to put my hat and cloak, and then bring me to the little 
 refectory, where we would again find her. 
 
 I went with Gertrude to a long narrow room at the farther 
 end of the passage, on one side of which were fixed pins for 
 hats and cloaks, and on the other side, along the whole length 
 of the room, was a table about a foot and a half broad, in 
 which were sunk lead basins within half a foot of each othei> 
 each basin having a small tap attached to and above it pro- 
 jecting from the wall, by which it was supplied with fresh 
 water, while a little brass drain at the bottom allowed the 
 water to pass out again ; each basin was provided with soap 
 dish, sponge and towel, while on the wall above each, hung a 
 looking-glass eight inches square. 
 
 Gertrude took my hat and cloak, hung them up together 
 with her own, and taking from her pocket a little dressing 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 311 
 
 comb, gave it to me, that I might arrange my hair ; saying, 
 " You will get one the same for yourself to-morrow.' - 
 
 I asked her to shew me to my room, where, by opening 
 my trunk, I could find my own brush and comb, having 
 placed my satchel, containing these necessary articles, in my 
 trunk before leaving the vessel. 
 
 " I cannot shew you to your own room," she replied. " In 
 the first place I do not know where your room is to be, and 
 if I did, you could not go there at this hour ; we never enter 
 our rooms from the time we rise in the morning until we 
 retire for the night." 
 
 I did not like this, nor could I see any good end to be 
 gained by such an inconvenient arrangement, but, of course, 
 submitted with a good grace. 
 
 We retraced our steps, and entered the little refectory, a 
 room next to the one with the glass wall. 
 
 The little refectory was a long narrow room, with four 
 doors, all of half glass ; one door entered from the passage, 
 two were on the side furthest from the entrance room, and 
 led to other rooms, and the last led out to the gallery. 
 
 Along the whole length of the room ran a long narrow table 
 about three feet broad, and on either side were ranged curious 
 looking chairs made of common wood painted black, the seats 
 of which were made from thick wheat straw, painted bright 
 yellow ; the legs and backs were formed of wood cut square 
 instead of round, as we have them, and about two inches in 
 diameter, the front legs being raised fully two inches above 
 the yellow seat, looking like little black posts, and very incon- 
 venient they were for all except nuns and those who, like 
 them, were innocent of crinoline. Upon the table were placed 
 at one end, two covers, a jug of milk that in Montreal would 
 be called cream, a loaf of bread, and a glass dish filled with 
 raspberries. 
 
312 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 Sister St. Angelo was already there, and invited me to eat 
 something, as their evening meal would not be served for two 
 hours, and she feared I might feel hungry after my journey. 
 I was thirsty enough at least, and partook gladly of the fruit 
 and milk. Sister St. Angelo left Gertrude and I alone, when 
 we seated ourselves at the table, having, as she said, fifty-five 
 things to do. 
 
 " That is almost literally true," said Gertrude, upon the 
 nun's taking her departure, " never was busy bee more active 
 than the Prioress, nothing can be done in chapel, schoolroom, 
 hospital, field, garden, dairy or poultry yard, without her 
 superintendence, and yet there is no novice in the convent more 
 humble, few so much so ; all her orders are given in the name 
 of the Superior, who, poor old lady, would sink under one- 
 fourth of the duties Sister St. Angelo has to attend to in the 
 course of the day." 
 
 " I do not know if you are fond of pets," said Gertrude, 
 as we rose from our delicious meal, " Mrs. Moodie never 
 suffered such troublesome things within the precincts of her 
 dwelling. Here, however, it is very different, we have pigeons, 
 rabbits, a tame racoon, families of tame squirrels, a couple of 
 parrots, an aviary full of birds, two great St. Bernard dogs, 
 which I pretend are my particular property, and last though 
 not least, two pets belonging to a lady in Algona, who was 
 herself educated at St. Bride's, and has now gone to Eng- 
 land for six months, and before her departure brought her 
 pets here for the Prioress to take care of in her absence ; 
 and as Sister St. Angelo has so many things else to attend 
 to, I have taken charge of these, always subject, however, 
 to her directions. Come, I shall show you the new pets from 
 Algona." 
 
 I followed her, wondering at the confidence of the lady 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 313 
 
 who could be selfish enough to ask a nun, with so much to 
 occupy her time, to add to her other cares, that of taking 
 charge of bird or beast, knowing they must be one or the 
 other. 
 
 We passed through the door leading to the gallery, and 
 along the latter to one of the wings, where, opening a door, 
 half glass, like all I had yet seen, we entered a nice little 
 square room, furnished with a table placed in the middle of 
 the floor, half a dozen chairs, a work-basket containing work, 
 a cupboard, and two strips of cotton carpet placed at a dis- 
 tance of half a yard from each other. 
 
 When we entered, Gertrude called out, " Ma belle Donda, 
 Donda" but no beautiful Donda appeared. 
 
 We then passed through a glass door to another room larger 
 than the first ; in this apartment were two little French beds 
 without curtains, covered with pure white quilts. This 
 room had two windows trimmed with curtains of thin white 
 cotton, reaching half way down the window, and finished by a 
 narrow fringe ; these were stiffly starched and looked as if 
 they had been crimped by a giant crimping iron, each fold 
 being more than an inch broad. I observed afterwards that 
 every window or glass door had either thin cotton or spotted 
 muslin curtains plaited in this way attached to the two lower 
 panes, and forming a sort of blind, and that all the windows 
 opened in the middle, like doors. 
 
 Gertrude called u Donda" here again, but was again 
 doomed to be disappointed. 
 
 We returned now to the gallery and, descending by steps 
 to the green lawn, found ourselves at the east side of the 
 house, and consequently in the shade, and there appeared 
 Donda in the form of a beautiful little boy, about three years 
 old, his short white frock shewing his fat neck, arm and legs 
 
314 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 to full advantage ; he was assisted in his efforts to draw a 
 little cart full of pine and cedar branches, by his sister, a 
 child about four years his senior, both being cared for by a 
 tidy looking girl who sat sewing on the grass, under the 
 shade of a group of trees formed of the mountain ash and 
 maple tree. The latter I had never seen in Europe ; its leaf is 
 shaped something like that of the vine ; it was then of a beau- 
 tiful light pomona green. I saw it in autumn scarlet, brown, 
 crimson and bright gold colour, the most beautiful leaf out of 
 fairy land ; at the time I first saw it, forming a shade over 
 the playground of those beautiful children, its leaf was pale 
 green, and made a fine contrast to the dark feathery leaf 
 and scarlet berries of the mountain ash. 
 
 Gertrude sat down on the grass, and in an instant, both the 
 children came running up to us ; she took Donda on her lap, 
 and seating the little black-eyed sister beside herself, intro- 
 duced me in great form to Miss Belle Morton ; she then pro- 
 duced from her pocket some small round cakes of what looked 
 like dirty gingerbread, and gave one to each of the children, 
 and also to me, saying to me, " they were made of the sugar 
 of the maple tree, which is tapped in spring as we do the 
 birch." We in Scotland make wine of the juice so obtained, 
 while in Canada they more wisely turn theirs into sugar. 
 
 The children ate the maple sugar greedily. I tasted it but 
 could not eat it then ; afterwards I learned to like it as much 
 as the children did. 
 
 When Belle had finished her sugar, Gertrude asked her to 
 sing, which she did in a clear sweet voice, and with a correct- 
 ness of ear a young lady of seventeen might have envied. The 
 rest of the song I have forgotten, but the chorus, which 
 Gertrude helped her with, was, " Sliding swiftly down the hill, 
 over the frozen snow, over the frozen snow," and the little 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 315 
 
 thing sung with a spirit which was quite amusing when viewed 
 in conjunction with the childish fat face of the singer. 
 
 By-and-by the two great St. Bernard dogs came and 
 formed a part of our living group ; beautiful creatures they 
 were ! immense dogs, longer and higher than a large New- 
 foundland, the colour a fawn so light as almost to approach a 
 cream colour, and so gentle were they, that they allowed 
 Belle and Donda tumble over them, and pull them about as 
 they would a pet lamb. We could also see in our vicinity a 
 peacock and peahen walking about in great majesty, as if 
 conscious that they were king and queen of the birds. 
 
 " Come into the house and you shall hear Belle exhibit 
 on the piano," said Gertrude, leading the way with Donda in 
 her arms, Belle following with a grave look in her pretty fat 
 face that was quite amusing. 
 
 We walked round the wing of the house we were seated by, 
 and entered by a similar gallery and glass door in another 
 and larger wing. The door opened into a long passage, which 
 divided this part of the building in two, and on each side of 
 which I could see were several half glass doors. Gertrude 
 opened one of the nearest, and we entered a large room, car- 
 peted with the same strips of cotton carpet I had seen before. 
 
 This room was large and lofty ; all the furniture it contained 
 was two pianos and a few chairs. Hung on the wall were 
 texts from scripture, framed and glazed as I had seen in the 
 receiving room, one of which, very different from all the others, 
 was the work of a pupil, and dated twenty years back ; her 
 name and age (sixteen years,) were there, and a short pre- 
 face. " Pour faire plaisir a ma tante," and then the words 
 of the text " Redeeming the Time." It was placed in a per- 
 forated ivory frame, long and narrow, as suited the style of the 
 work it was to preserve, and hung in the most conspicuous 
 
316 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 part of the room between two windows ; the letters of the text 
 six inches long, and of all colours. 
 
 u That," said Gertrude, pointing it out to me, " was the 
 work of a favourite pupil of Sister St. Angelo. She died here 
 at the age of sixteen, of a few hours' illness of inflammation of 
 the lungs, and the good Prioress always talks of her as her 
 daughter in heaven. 
 
 This little history made me go close to the picture, if so it 
 might be called. On examining it closely, I found that the 
 huge letters were composed of flowers, painted in water colour, 
 of the most delicate outline, and the colours combined with 
 exquisite skill. I do not know whether it was the taste of the 
 young artiste, or that time had done his work, but the colours 
 were all pale. Pink roses and blue forget-me-not, rose tipped 
 daisies and primroses, clustered round the pale green wavy 
 leaves of the meadow fern, and sensitive plant, the pure 
 white blossoms of the rose of Sharon seemed to have been a 
 great favourite with the young painter, who died one week 
 after her work was finished, I fancied the flowers assumed 
 their pale hues because the fair face they grew beneath 
 would see them no more for ever. Here and there, wherever 
 it was admissible, were placed birds and butterflies of the 
 same tiny dimensions and delicate colouring as the flowers, 
 projecting into the diverging silver rays which spread from 
 each letter. 
 
 As I stood admiring a style of work I had never seen 
 before, except in the title pages of prayer and other religious 
 books, which had in my eyes, with very few exceptions, a gay, 
 flaunting look, wholly unadapted to the character of the books 
 they are meant to adorn ; this was very different, the artiste 
 instead of being sixteen might have been sixty, from the beauty 
 of execution and design. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 317 
 
 Gertrude came and stood by me as I lingered, unwilling to- 
 withdraw my eyes from the picture, and taking my right hand 
 in her left, as she used to do in our school days, she said : 
 
 " I will shew you her grave some day ; she was buried, by 
 her own request, where her happy school days were spent, 
 and where she knew happy girls would play in the fresh morn- 
 ing air, and the calm eventide, until He who cometh, hath 
 come, and she, with them, shall rise to meet Him in the air.'' 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Little Belle sat down to the piano, as if she was conscious 
 she could perform her part well, and so she did, playing for- 
 half an hour, every thing she was bid ; not one note by book, 
 all by ear ; when a running passage occurred, it had such a 
 stuting sound that at last I went to the piano to look at her 
 hands, when I found that these passages were all performed 
 lby one fat finger being passed quickly from key to key ; the 
 little thing had never received a single lesson, and this, I 
 fancy, seemed to her the best method of performing a run- 
 ning passage. 
 
 You play a great many pieces, Belle." 
 
 " Yes," she replied gravely, " I play everything mamma 
 and Miss Hamilton play." 
 
 A bell now rang for several seconds, and Gertrude giving 
 Donda into his nurse's arms, said : 
 
 " This is the Vesper bell, we must go to chapel." 
 
 I went with her through several rooms and passages, until 
 we came to the long passage running parallel with the door 
 hy which I had first entered the house, and quite at the 
 eastern end of this passage was the chapel. 
 
 A long file of nuns, walking two by two, almost filled the 
 passage; we kept back until they had entered, Gertrude 
 standing all the while with her hands clasped in front and 
 her head bent down, as in reverence of the sisters. When 
 they had all passed in, we followed. 
 
 The nuns knelt on the bare floor occupying the space near- 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 319 
 
 est to the altar; Belle and Gertrude knelt also, and I sat 
 down on the bench in front of which the latter knelt. 
 
 The chapel was quite a large place, capable of containing 
 at least five hundred people, and instead of the intense heat 
 which pervaded every other place, outside and within, here 
 it was cool and pleasant ; the light streaming dimly through 
 the painted windows, gave a look of holy calm, which must 
 have been deeply felt by those who believed that God dwelt 
 there. 
 
 The chapel had a very different appearance from the 
 other part of the house which I had seen ; there everything 
 was simple almost to nudity, here everything beautiful and 
 suitable to the place, was in abundance : gorgeous colour- 
 ing, painting, and sculpture ; flowers and incense ; every 
 rare and costly gift they could offer to adorn the temple of 
 the God they honoured. If we have a clearer light than they, 
 surely the Roman Catholic places more of his substance on 
 the altar he bows before, than we do. Do we ever ask our- 
 selves the question is the money we thus spare devoted to 
 God's service ? do we give tithes of all we possess ? do we feed 
 the hungry ? clothe the naked ? visit the sick and in prison ? 
 or on the other hand do we live in costly houses and fare 
 sumptuously every day, while those of our father land, it 
 may be of our kindred, nay, even of those who worshipped 
 at the same family altar and played by the same hearth 
 stone, who with those now at rest gathered shells with us on 
 that very sea shore, perchance the very one we led by the 
 little hand that sunny Monday morning, so many years ago, 
 when she would fain have lingered in the green lane, and 
 pulled buttercups and gowans there instead of going to 
 school, and is now passing days of toil and weariness, and 
 nights of tossing, wishing for, yet dreading the morning 
 
320 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 light; longing for the dawn, that the labours of the day 
 may be commenced, that labour — which the sick and help- 
 less household cannot live without — and which each morning 
 is begun e'er the wearied body has had half repose, and 
 while no eye is unclosed or window open in the long silent 
 street, except those of other over-burdened ones, rising for 
 the same purpose to prevent the day, yet, when the hour 
 comes that men are stirring abroad, and the smoke rises 
 from the chimneys opposite, and the doors are opened, 
 and all is life and motion now in the busy street — -one man 
 going to his honest labour, in field or factory, another rid- 
 ing to his counting house — then comes the time of dread, 
 lest that knock which sounds so often by anticipation in the 
 anxious ear, should bring the dreaded creditor, who, without 
 rudeness, seeks only his own, and which, it may be, he needs 
 so much, and has sought for so often in vain, from the tired 
 eyes and over tasked brain, directing the ceaseless fingers 
 which, with pen or needle, toil on, at half paid work ; unable r 
 in homely phrase, to make two ends of the year meet : and the 
 oft repeated excuse, " Oh ! I cannot pay now, but soon, when 
 this work is done, and when the money comes, I will be 
 so glad to pay," God knows so truly said from the inmost 
 heart ; and the man looks at the faded black gown and the 
 weary face, and he knows it is true, and he goes away say- 
 ing " another time." He is poor himself, and the poor help 
 the poor. 
 
 But the rent day comes, and the rich man sends for his 
 rent, and there is none to give — not one pound, not one shil- 
 ling. That last essay, which the poor trembling writer thought 
 would pay so well, and which even the publisher of the 
 magazine she writes for called a " great success," brought just 
 five dollars! that basket of needle work over which were 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 321 
 
 $hed so many bitter tears in the long, silent morning hours 
 that were occupied in completing it, brought five shillings ! 
 and with the five dollars, there was bread and flannel and 
 medicine to buy, which ten dollars would scarcely have done ; 
 and the five shillings, how can it be stretched out to buy fire 
 and bread for so many, and clothes ? Oh ! what a mockery, 
 the poor needle-woman buy clothes ! She did long ago, 
 when she had a man's strong arm and true heart to work 
 for, and shield, and love, herself and the little ones, but 
 now — 
 
 And how is the rent to be paid ? the landlord has him- 
 self come, and the troubled heart, which fear has almost 
 made cease to beat, must steel itself to listen patiently to all 
 the harsh words that are poured forth, and ask for time, only 
 a few weeks, or a few days, and then — 
 
 He is gone, but how will she smooth the anxious brow, 
 so that the helpless ones around see not the grief they are 
 powerless to aid ? See how she looks so earnestly at the 
 blue cloudless heavens, and turns with a shiver from what is 
 so fair. Ah ! Satan, how busy thou art. Yes, wearied one, 
 there is rest there, and fulness of joy ; but it only re- 
 maineth for the people of God, for those who watch and 
 wait, not for those who rush uncalled into his presence. Bear 
 all, believe all, " at evening time there shall be light. ,, 
 
 The chapel occupied the whole wing in which it was 
 placed ; there were three aisles, all of which were carpeted 
 with rich crimson ; on the two broad steps surrounding the 
 altar, the carpet was of a darker hue ; inside the altar rails, 
 another and a darker shade, while a space three feet in 
 breadth, close to the altar, assumed the deepest dye. The 
 altar was white with a great deal of gilding ; a large, lozenge 
 
322 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 shaped group in front represented the Holy family in alto 
 relievo ; upon the altar were placed an immense gilt crucifix? 
 three feet long, the arms of the cross beautifully covered 
 with fret work ; candlesticks of the same material and propor- 
 tions, and ornamented like the cross, stood on each side ; 
 several marble and alabaster figures representing saints, and 
 vases of wax flowers, conspicuous rmong which was the large 
 white lily, considered sacred to the Virgin, covered almost 
 entirely the top of the altar behind, and were so placed that 
 a light from above fell on the painting, giving it a startlingly 
 life-like appearance. It was a painting of the blessed Virgin, 
 her hands clasped, and her beautiful head bowed down 
 over the dead body of our Saviour, which lay below. The 
 face of the Virgin was one of perfect beauty and sadness 
 combined ; the picture was one which was not likely to fade 
 from the memory. It was so real, it seemed a living, breathing 
 woman oppressed with sorrow for her dead. I have more 
 than once felt an impulse to take my handkerchief and wipe 
 off the tear which lay upon her cheek. 
 
 The windows, of which there were five on each side, were 
 of stained glass, each representing a subject from Scripture. 
 Between the windows were large oil paintings, the figures in 
 which were as large as life. They were considered of great 
 value, and were beautiful beyond any I had ever seen ; under 
 the windows were a series of smaller paintings let into panels 
 in the wall ; these represented what was called " Le chemin 
 de la croix" and consisted of fourteen different subjects, 
 representing the incidents in the life of our Saviour, from 
 his condemnation by Pontius Pilate to the taking of his body 
 down from the cross ; this service of the stations of the 
 cross, which Catholics consider a very sacred one, consists 
 of repeating certain prayers kneeling before these pictures, 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 323 
 
 each picture having certain prayers assigned to it ; these 
 stations of the cross are frequently given as a penance, and 
 at other times enjoined to be performed as pleasing to Al- 
 mighty God. In front of the altar, and just inside the rails, 
 was a large gilded vase more than a foot in diameter, which 
 hung from the ceiling by three chains of the same material. 
 Suspended also from the ceiling, exactly in the same place, so 
 as to hang above, and within a foot of the vase, was a small 
 glass lamp of great beauty, the chains of which were like the 
 others, but fine and thin ; this lamp was constantly kept 
 burning day and night in honour of the sacrament upon the 
 altar, and which Roman Catholics believe to be the soul,, 
 body, and divinity of our Lord. 
 
 The roof was of carved oak, " beautiful exceedingly," 
 the portion above the altar representing a group of angels 
 surrounding the infant Saviour, carved in alto relievo. 
 
 At evening service the chapel was lighted by three large 
 crystal chandeliers, glittering with hundreds of small flat 
 pieces of crystal strung together, and formed into tassels and 
 loops, having quite a dazzling effect, whether they reflected 
 the rays of the sun, lighting them up with diverse colours, as 
 it shone through the stained glass of the windows, or giving 
 back a thousand little lights when the candles were lit for 
 evening service. 
 
 The seats were of oak, finely polished, but without cushions 
 or backs, unless a narrow piece of wood running along the 
 back might be considered the latter ; and every one always 
 knelt on the bare floor. 
 
 We were in the chapel only a few minutes, when the 
 priest entered by a side door, and passing within the altar 
 rails, repeated a few prayers in Latin ; afterwards a portion of 
 the Vesper service was chanted by the nuns ; the music was 
 
324 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 very beautiful, but of course the words of both prayers and 
 chant being in Latin, were to me a dead letter. 
 
 I should think altogether the service did not occupy more 
 than fifteen minutes. In coming out I observed a small stone 
 vessel in a niche by the door, full of holy water, into which 
 each person in passing out dipped her finger, and then with 
 the water made the sign of -the cross on the face. 
 
 On each side of the chapel door was fixed a round brass 
 medalion, on which was moulded the head and shoulders of 
 an old man, one hand resting upon a large round ball, and 
 the whole surrounded by what looked to me like the waves 
 of the sea. This was meant to represent God the Father : the 
 ball, the world ; the waves, the waves of time. In my Pres- 
 byterian ideas this amounted to something very like sacrilege. 
 
 At six o'clock Gertrude, Belle, Donda, and I, had tea, or, 
 as they called it here, supper ; it consisted of weak tea, milk, 
 bread, butter and eggs. One of the nuns came into the room, 
 and read aloud during the time we were eating ; Gertrude 
 said grace before and after supper, standing with her face 
 turned towards the east, Belle and Donda bowing most 
 reverently after she had finished. 
 
 After supper we again went to chapel to say our, prayers 
 for the slight, this occupying about five minmtes ; this was the 
 routine of every day when the pupils were in the house, and 
 it was kept up now for the benefit of Belle and Donda ! 
 
 ?(«■ *F ^F ^(r ^(t "3f£ 
 
 When I unpacked my trunk in Montreal, I took out and 
 read the last letter I received from Willie before leaving 
 Scotland, and when replacing it in my packet of letters, my 
 eye fell on Robert Scott's letter, and I took it out intending 
 to read it. This I did not do — I think I had not courage — 
 but instead of replacing it in my trunk, I put it in an inside 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 325 
 
 pocket in the bosom of my dress, which Mrs. Livingstone 
 made and put there the evening previous to my leaving 
 Edinburgh, that I might put my money in ; and there my 
 letter still remained. I had cause to be thankful that it was 
 so ; poor as I was, and much as I had suFered from Robert 
 Scott's conduct, I would not part with that letter now for its 
 weight in gold. Oh no, not now, when I was so far away 
 from all I had loved and lost so recently. False as I knew 
 Robert Scott to be, every word in that letter was truth to 
 me, and itself a thing of life. In long years yet to come, 
 when Willie has left our first little cottage, and I have his 
 children as well as his wife and himself to love and to be 
 loved by, perhaps, then, I will part with it voluntarily, but 
 not now, not now. 
 
 At eight o'clock Sister St. Hermonie came and said she 
 would shew me my room, and away I went with her, well 
 pleased, not thinking I was to be put to bed, baby-fashion, 
 at that hour. 
 
 We ascended a staircase at the east side of the house, and 
 on reaching the third flat entered a long passage, on each 
 side of which were placed half-glass doors at intervals of 
 twelve feet ; the nun opened one of those, and on entering I 
 found both my trunks and Sister Mary waiting our arrival. 
 
 Sister St. Hermonie asked me to give her the keys of my 
 trunks, as she wished to tell the Superior what they con- 
 tained. Gertrude had warned me of this, so I gave my keys 
 at once. Every thing was taken out, unfolded, refolded, and 
 put on one side, until she came to the letters ; these were 
 handed to Sister Mary, who prepared to leave the room, 
 carrying my letters with her. I stopt her, saying, " they 
 were my brother's letters, and those of female friends, and I 
 would not part with them on any account." 
 
 w 
 
oL'D VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 a The letters will all be returned," said Sister St. Her- 
 moine, " when our mother has looked over them — that is, 
 all those written by your brother or any other relative." 
 
 I pressed my hand on my bosom above my letter ; how 
 glad I felt that it was safe. 
 
 Having finished her inspection of my trunk, the nun took 
 up the paper that was laid at the bottom, and having satis- 
 fied herself there was nothing below, replaced it, and 
 arranged my trunk in a neater manner than it had ever been 
 done before, although I piqued myself on my love of order. 
 
 Her task completed as far as regarded my trunk, she 
 set about opening Mrs. Livingstone's, which was a nailed 
 box, and had not been opened by me. I told her I did not 
 know what it contained, but she and Sister Mary were not 
 long in ascertaining, with the aid of hammer and chisel, both 
 of which were in readiness. 
 
 The box contained a large cake of gingerbread, a quantity 
 of smaller cakes, a pot of marmalade, and a pot of black 
 currant jelly ; six pairs of white worsted stockings, and a 
 dozen pocket handkerchiefs, hemmed, and marked in ink, 
 Violet Keith. 
 
 " Dear, kind Mrs. Livingstone ; my tears, which will never 
 flow when I am in real trouble, and need their soothing 
 influence, fell down like rain, when I looked at the contents 
 of your box." 
 
 The good-natured nuns, seeing my tears, fancied they 
 were those of disappointment, and the predispositions of each 
 shewed themselves in the way they took to comfort me. 
 Sister St. Hermonie fancied the cakes and preserves were 
 not such as I liked, and assured me that the Prioress would 
 exchange them for me ; while Sister Mary being young, and, I 
 fear, still leaning a little to worldly vanities, said, looking at 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 327 
 
 the stockings and handkerchiefs, " that although not suited 
 for this warm weather, they were very nice, and would come 
 in well a few months hence, and was it not better to have a 
 dozen pocket handkerchiefs, plain and good, like these, than 
 one or two, however beautiful." 
 
 I explained to them that I was thinking of the kind friend 
 who gave me the box and its contents, not of the things 
 themselves, and that my tears were those of gratitude and 
 affection, not of sorrow. 
 
 Both nuns looked at me approvingly, and then at each 
 other, with an expression which seemed to say, " Is it 
 possible an English woman can feel thus ?" A French 
 woman's emotions are almost invariably expressed as soon as 
 felt ; hence, the more guarded English woman is generally 
 looked upon as one who, if she feels at all, docs so very 
 slightly. They cannot understand how sorrow or joy can 
 exist without giving birth to sighs and tears, on the one 
 hand, or, on the other, making itself known to all around by 
 smiles and song. 
 
 The Sisters then wished me good night, enjoining me not 
 to go to bed before saying my prayers, Sister St. Hermoine 
 enforcing her injunction by saying, that there are many 
 instances of people who did so being snatched away, soul 
 and body, in the night, — adding, " You will hear a bell at 
 four o'clock, but do not rise then unless it is your own wish to 
 do so ; that bell is to call the sisters to early mass ; the next 
 rings at five, and by rising then you will have time to pre- 
 pare for chapel at half-past ; you know the way to the 
 chapel ?" 
 
 I bowed an affirmative, and they were gone. 
 
 I had now time to examine my room and its contents : 
 at one side was a narrow flock bed, clean and white, at the 
 
328 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 side of -which was a small basin-stand, a table of the same 
 dimensions, a chair, a strip of cotton carpet, and my own 
 trunk, completed the furniture, quite sufficient, too, for a 
 room six feet broad by nine long. On the wall above the 
 bed hung a small white crucifix, attached to which was a 
 little cup of the same white material, for holy water. 
 
 Exactly in front of the bed, so as to strike the eye the 
 first thing on awaking, was the same black glazed frame I 
 had seen so often down-stairs, with texts. My text was, 
 " Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy 
 might," an appropriate text for the governess. 
 
 I now sat down by the window, took my Bible from my 
 pocket, and read the life of my Saviour, until the light failed 
 me. 
 
 I could not go to bed. I felt more widely awake than I 
 did in the forenoon ; I undressed, and putting on my dress- 
 ing-gown, seated myself again by the window, feeling pretty 
 much like a wild bird in a cage. My thoughts wandered 
 back to the first night I had spent at Iona Villa, and Har- 
 riote Scott's face and another came to me as vividly in the 
 darkness of that convent cell as ever I looked upon them, 
 when they lived and breathed beside me, and my tears fell 
 fast on my bare hands, as they lay crossed upon my lap." 
 
 After a while I got up and bathed my face, determined 
 to shake off all this folly. Iona Villa and its inmates were 
 to me, now and for evermore, but as a dream. Were I 
 back again in Scotland to-night, I would be, as to all inter- 
 course with them, as far off as in Canada. I asked myself 
 if I wished it otherwise ? I could answer my own heart 
 truly, no ; knowing, as I now knew, were the one I loved 
 best there — who was once the sunshine on my path — now 
 beside me, I would recoil from his lightest touch as from that 
 of a serpent. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 329 
 
 I could not expect convent life to be congenial at first, 
 but I would become accustomed to it, and perhaps like it as 
 well as Gertrude did. At all events, three years would soon 
 pass away; I would all the time be making the money, 
 without which Willie must remain uneducated, and when the 
 three years were over, I would return with sufficient to fur- 
 nish our little home. 
 
 I knelt by my bed and prayed our Heavenly Father to 
 " create a clean heart and renew aright spirit within me." I 
 never had more need — the spirit of discontent I was indulg- 
 ing in wa3 one foreign to my nature and painful in the extreme. 
 I rose from my knees, feeling that it was already passing 
 away, and assured that if my present situation would be less 
 happy, it would never leave the life-long sting behind which 
 the past year had done. 
 
 Next morning I awoke with the ringing of a bell ; I knew 
 it must be the first, as I saw through the grey dawn a single 
 silver streak beyond the far purple mountains, and as I looked 
 it broadened and became deeper, until lost in a wide ocean 
 of red and gold, with light clouds of a crimson rose-tint float- 
 ing along the golden sea ; and then the window of my room 
 was illuminated with a flood of living light, and, a moment 
 more, another window of softer hue was thrown on the wall 
 and part of my bed opposite, bathing my head in glory 
 borrowed from the heavens. 
 
 I arose and dressed, inspirited by the good omen, and 
 descended to the chapel ; the nuns had all gone, and I seated 
 myself, taking my Bible from my pocket, which I read until 
 Gertrude, Belle and Donda joined me ; his nurse having enough 
 trouble to keep the latter quiet during prayers ; notwithstand - 
 ing the awe he evidently stood in of the priest or his surplice, 
 I know not which. 
 
330 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 After breakfast I went with Gertrude to walk round the 
 grounds. In this walk I found that I had at first entered by 
 the door at the back of the house, the principal entrance being 
 at the other side of the building, and very different from the 
 other I entered by. Here was a portico, the pillars of which, 
 fourteen in number, were of a gigantic size, with beautifully 
 finished base and capital. Above the door, inside the portico, 
 was a niche, in which stood a figure, as large as life, of the 
 Virgin with the infant Jesus in her arms, and on either side, 
 placed in smaller niches, were figures of St. Joseph and St. 
 Bride — the patron saint of the convent. Over the whole of 
 the house in front were niches containing figures of saints or 
 angels, the huge portico occupying almost the entire breadth, 
 and with the broad steps ascending to it, giving quite a grand 
 appearance to the building. The western side of the convent 
 was occupied exclusively by the nuns, and never entered by 
 any one, except themselves and their visitors — the lay nuns 
 doing the menial work. 
 
 When we returned from our walk, I told Gertrude she 
 must find me some work, as I would get sick with ennui if 
 I had nothing to do. 
 
 " You won't complain of that," said she ; "I shall bring 
 Sister St. Angelo, and she will give you as much work as you 
 have a fancy for." 
 
 The Prioress came, bright and cheerful as the day before, 
 and with the same quick active step. 
 
 " Bon jour, ma chere" you want work, come with me and 
 you shall have work to your heart's content." 
 
 We went through the receiving room, into the one beyond 
 with the glass partition : there were two nuns seated there 
 at work, and Sister St. Angelo took from a cupboard a basket 
 with work, and giving it into my hands, said : 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 331 
 
 " There are some under-skirts for my children ; you will 
 find needles, thread, scissors, everything you require there ; 
 do as much or as little as you please. When you are tired, 
 put the basket again in the cupboard, and when you are 
 ennui you will find it there." 
 
 The work consisted of six under-skirts for little girls. — 
 Gertrude, who had followed me into the room and now sat read- 
 ing, told me the skirts, which were of striped blue cotton, were 
 for some of the orphan children at St. Bride's convent in town, 
 of whom there were, generally, one hundred, sometimes more. 
 
 I sewed until we were called to dinner, and found the nuns 
 very companionable. They asked all sorts of questions about 
 Britain and France, were delighted to find I could speak good 
 French, as their former English governesses could speak 
 little more than was barely sufficient to make themselves under- 
 stood ; and were charmed to find I had been in France only 
 eleven years since. One of them had left France forty-six 
 years before, and talked of her country as if it were a little 
 superior to Paradise, and what then surprised me, in a nun, 
 gave vivid descriptions of dances, pleasure parties, in wood 
 and on river ; she amused us for half an hour with a descrip- 
 tion of a pic-nic, which she had attended with her cavalier, 
 forty-seven years ago, in the forest of Fontainbleau. They were 
 both simple and child-like, and seemed to know as much about 
 the world as children of twelve or thirteen do. I asked the 
 youngest, a very pretty young woman, how long she had been 
 in the convent ? 
 
 " Ten years. I entered my novitiate when I was thirteen 
 years old," was her reply. 
 
 " And have you never been outside the convent since ?" 
 
 " Not outside the grounds. I am a cloistered nun," and 
 she said this with a look of great importance and satisfaction 
 on her pretty face. 
 
332 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 " You have been at St. Bride's convent in Algona," said I. 
 
 " I never saw St. Bride's convent or Algona, either," she 
 replied, with a look of even greater self-satisfaction than 
 before. 
 
 " It must be a great sacrifice for you never to go outside 
 these walls ?" 
 
 " Yes," said she, smiling complaisantly, as if I had paid her 
 a compliment which pleased her, " a beautiful sacrifice. " 
 
 " And how long have you been without going outside the 
 walls ?" enquired I of the other nun, who was at least thirty 
 years the senior of the first. 
 
 " I go when our mother desires me, I am not a cloistered 
 nun," replied she, in a tone, and with an air, which told that 
 she envied the self-denial of her companion, although she did 
 not possess the resolution, or as she termed it a " vocation," 
 to practice it to such a degree as would enable her to become 
 a cloistered nun. 
 
 The pretty nun let her sewing fall on her lap for a second 
 or two, clasped her hands upon her breast, and looked up to 
 the ceiling, with what appeared to me a look of devout self- 
 admiration ! 
 
 The nuns left the room at eleven for dinner ; Gertrude, the 
 two children and I did not dine until twelve. In the after- 
 noon I asked Gertrude to give me a book, " I have not a book 
 in the world," said she, " except my missal and vesper prayers. 
 Mamma's Bible I keep in my pocket," she added, with a sig- 
 nificant look, "but if you like you can have books from the 
 convent library, by paying three dollars a year, it probably 
 contains three hundred volumes." 
 
 I looked at the book she was reading ; it was a finely bound 
 and illustrated copy of Paul and Virginia ! Every succeeding 
 day was the same as the first and second I spent here, varied 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 333 
 
 one day by seeing the dairy, the other the aviary, and so on ; 
 the latter a little room, the windows of which were placed so 
 closely together, as almost to form a glass wall. Orange and 
 lemon trees nearly filled the room ; the former, with green 
 and ripe fruit, and a profusion of white odorous blossoms. 
 These were inhabited by several families of canaries, blue- 
 birds and robins, the latter not the humble little bird we call 
 robin red-breast, but a great magnificent creature, glorying in 
 scarlet, black and yellow. 
 
 When I saw the library its contents were not such as to 
 tempt me to spend three dollars in its perusal. Conspicuous 
 there, was Lingard's History of England. I asked Gertrude 
 if I was expected to teach his distorted views to the pupils ? 
 
 u You will not teach English or any other history, fear 
 not," was her reply ; " you will never have a chance of im- 
 parting your opinions on history or biography either. " I 
 had not yet seen the Superior or heard any thing about my 
 engagement, except what Gertrude had written to me ; these 
 letters the Superior read together with Willie's, and returned 
 to me through the hands of Sister St. Hermonie. 
 
 I asked Gertrude if she knew when I was to have my 
 engagement arranged ; in two days more the pupils would 
 arrive, and it seemed strange that I had never been spoken 
 to on the subject. 
 
 Her answer was, " they are taking all the time they can 
 to ascertain your character before making a regular engage- 
 ment ; if you are not approved of, your term will be for six 
 months, and very little to do ; if you are considered fit for a 
 better position, the engagement will be for three years, and 
 you will have no complaint to make of ennui from want of 
 employment." 
 
 I had fancied myself quite a favourite with Sister St. 
 
334 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 Angelo, she brought me with her every day to the dairy, 
 poultry yard, pantry, cellar, sewing room, in short wherever 
 she went, and more than once or twice, I was chosen to 
 accompany her in her semi-weekly visits to the old men's 
 hospital at St. Bride's. 
 
 It now occurred to me, that all our conversation was 
 exactly such as was calculated to draw out my opinions and 
 show the turn of my character and disposition, the Prioress 
 frequently asking my opinion on the manners and customs of 
 different nations, my views on religion and even on politics. 
 Verily Violet Keith, with her one and twenty years, was no 
 match for Sister St. Angelo ; she knew me well no doubt — her 
 fifteen days investigation had not been in vain. 
 
 As to myself, I liked Sister St. Angelo better by far than 
 any one I had known for so short a time, and now that I 
 knew she had been watching to find the flaw in my character, 
 I still liked her, although this knowledge gave me an uneasy 
 feeling I could not define. I was thinking over this when the 
 Prioress came into the room. 
 
 " Come, Miss Keith," said she, in her usual pleasant way, 
 " I want you to go with me for a long walk ; our mountain 
 porteress is sick, and I shall teach you how to prescribe in 
 such cases." 
 
 Strange to say, I felt equally pleased to be her com- 
 panion to-day as yesterday, although I knew every word I 
 said was to be weighed. 
 
 I took the basket she carried from her hand, and following 
 her we passed by the door opposite to the receiving room, 
 and going round to the front of the house, with its beautiful 
 portico and statues, we walked in nearly a straight line towards 
 the gate at the upper end. This gate was built with towers, 
 and in every way exactly similar to the one at the bottom of 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 335 
 
 the hill. As we walked along the Prioress said, "it is pro- 
 bable our mother will send for you to-morrow, to ask you how 
 long you would wish to remain among us." She paused, but 
 as I made no reply, she then continued : 
 
 " Our mother is old and frail, she is, therefore, often 
 obliged to intrust myself and sisters to perform duties which, 
 with her knowledge of human nature, she could perform her- 
 self far better than I fear any of us will ever be able to do. 
 When you arrived here our mother desired that I might have 
 you as much with me as possible, in order to discover 
 whether or not your disposition would be suited for our 
 retired life. I have satisfied our Superior on this point, the 
 next thing is to ascertain what your views are, whether you 
 would prefer a long or short engagement." 
 
 I replied, that if the duties required of me were such as 
 I would feel able to perform, I should prefer an engagement 
 for the term of three years, proposed in Gertrude's letter. 
 
 " The three years' term is, I know, what our mother would 
 prefer, and the duties required you will be able to perform 
 to her satisfaction ; the situation is no sinecure, but you are 
 no idler." 
 
 We had now arrived at the tower. The woman was ill with 
 violent pain in the side. Sister St. Angelo applied a mus- 
 tard blister, giving some orders to the lay sister, who was in 
 attendance upon her, in the same pleasant, cheerful way she 
 did every thing. It was evident she was as much a favourite 
 in the porteress' tower as in the convent. 
 
 On our way home, the Prioress took a different path from 
 that by which we reached the tower. 
 
 " I am going," said she, " to visit the grave of a dear child 
 of mine, who I hope will be the first to meet me in paradise ; 
 if ever I win Heaven, so surely will I meet her there." We 
 
336 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 had turned to the eastern side, and about half way between 
 the tower and the convent, entered a grove of larch, the 
 pale green tassels of which formed a pleasant shade from the 
 hot rays of the afternoon sun. In the middle of the grove 
 was a grassy mound, soft with moss, in which the hand sunk 
 down among the violets and daisies, which peeped out like 
 little stars from the dark green moss, in which their roots 
 were hidden. The nun knelt in prayer for some time, and 
 then lay down with her face buried in the moss of the grave. 
 
 It was long before she arose, and when I looked in her 
 face, her lips wore the ashy hue of death. 
 
 " You are ill !" said I inquiringly. 
 
 She shook her head but did not reply, and we walked on 
 in silence for some time. At length she said: 
 
 "In that grave lies the body of one who has been for 
 twenty years wearing the white robe and the virgin crown, 
 and strewing lilies at the feet of the blessed mother of God 
 in paradise, while I, in my selfishness, would fain have kept 
 her here. Her mother gave her into my arms when she was 
 only a year and a half old, and after I closed the mother's eyes, 
 I took the baby home here to be the star of St. Mary's. She 
 was the light of us all, and in order that I might watch over 
 night and day, our mother permitted me to leave my cell her 
 and sleep in the same room with her. It was for her those 
 rooms that little Belle and Donda now have were fitted up. 
 All those fourteen years, I watched her every day and every 
 hour. My beautiful, she loved me as no one ever did before, 
 and never will again. She was ever by my side, even in my 
 visits to the hospital she, too, must go; she would not suffer 
 me to Joe absent from her for one hour. When her father 
 came to see her, which he did every three months, travelling 
 a long way to see his only child, she would say, < I will never 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 337 
 
 go home, papa, without my aunt.' Every one who saw her 
 talked of her beauty and grace ; she won every prize in every 
 class she entered, and this without an effort. I would not 
 allow her to study as she wished to do, lest it would injure 
 her health, and she grew so strong in her young bloom. One 
 evening she complained of pain after Vespers, and we had one 
 doctor, and then another, and another, until five of the first 
 physicians in Algona stood by her bed side, but we could 
 not force the Blessed Virgin to leave her. From the com- 
 mencement of her illness we had mass said in our own chapel 
 every half hour, and we had grand mass said in every church 
 in Algona, but it could not be. Half an hour before the Virgin 
 took her she put her arm round my neck and asked me to 
 have her buried in the grove there, and that when the time 
 came for me to die, I would lay there with her. I promised 
 all, although I well knew I had no power to do so, but I was 
 crazed in my despair and in my rebellion against God. If she 
 had asked me to put the morning star on her grave, I would 
 have promised to do it. At four in the morning, the angels 
 and she ascended together ; I was a young woman then, and 
 the little hair I was permitted to wear, was as black as a 
 raven's wing ; in that night, it became the colour it is now. 
 Our mother applied to the Bishop to consecrate the ground 
 for her grave, and it was done, and two years since I finished 
 the work it was necessary for me to do, e'er I could have the 
 dispensation given me to sleep beside her. It is five hundred 
 years since a nun last asked to be buried out of her convent 
 vault, and then it was granted to the prayers of a princess. 
 The money consecrated for that dispensation, built one of the 
 finest convents in Italy; and the one I now possess was 
 obtained at the cost of thousands of pounds, besides eighteen 
 years of hard work, and many prayers by night and by day." 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 On the succeeding day, it was evident there were be to some 
 grand doings at the convent. On entering the chapel, which 
 I did every morning as soon as the nuns left it, reading my 
 Bible until prayers began, I found the altars decked out 
 with a profusion of flowers, making the whole place redo- 
 lent of beauty and perfume. There were two small altars, 
 one on each side of the chancel ; these were undergoing 
 some alterations when I came to St. Mary's, and this was 
 the first day I had seen them dressed. They were in all 
 respects like the Grand Altar, the same golden cross and 
 candlesticks, flower vases, images, etc., but in smaller pro- 
 portions. I saw they were dedicated to the Virgin and St. 
 Joseph by their respective altar pieces, the one representing 
 the Virgin with the infant Jesus, the other the angel appear- 
 ing to Joseph in a dream, desiring him to take the young child 
 and his mother and flee into Egypt. Above each picture 
 were niches, in which were placed figures, as large as life, of 
 the Virgin and St. Joseph. 
 
 In the afternoon Sister St. Hermonie came to bring me 
 to the Superior. I had been warned by the Prioress to 
 change my dress for the purpose, and I had done myself 
 all the justice I could. 
 
 Sister St. Hermonie preceded me to the part of the con- 
 vent occupied exclusively by the nuns, and, opening a door 
 to the left, ushered me in to the reception room of the Lady 
 Superior. No bare wall or lack of furniture here ; all was 
 profusion and splendour. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 339 
 
 At the top of the room, on an elevated chair, and footstool 
 of state covered with purple velvet, and fringed with gold, 
 was seated the Lady Superior. 
 
 She was dressed in a long flowing robe of black velvet, 
 which, notwithstanding her elevated seat, swept the floor on 
 one side. Her head-dress consisted of a cap and veil of 
 white silk, the latter divided in two and descending on each 
 side of the head almost to the knee. Her hair, unlike that 
 of the other nuns, was long, but braided back from her fore- 
 head, and was as white as the silk which covered it. She 
 had the remains of a large, fine looking woman, but was 
 evidently very old. 
 
 On each side of the Lady Superior were ranged three nuns, 
 their dresses much finer and longer than those they usually 
 wore, and their veils of black silk. A nun's veil is not worn 
 over the face, but is either thrown back entirely, or is made 
 to hang down on each side like a scarf. The nuns of St. 
 Bride's wore theirs in the scarf style. 
 
 Seated on chairs placed in a row at the further end of the 
 room, and opposite to the Superior, were six priests, dressed 
 in the long black robe which they always wear in Canada. 
 
 In the middle of the room was ah oval table covered with 
 purple velvet fringed with gold. I saw all this at a glance, 
 while Sister St. Hermonie opened the door, and pronounced 
 my name. 
 
 Sister St. Angelo received me at the door of the room, and, 
 taking my hand with a kindly pressure, led me to the side of 
 the room, where I was relieved to see Gertrude. The room was 
 dimly lighted, and everything around had an air of solemn 
 grandeur, which for a few minutes quite awed me. When 
 the Prioress left me, she went to the front of the Superior's 
 chair, or, as I afterwards learned to call it, throne, and 
 
340 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 knelt down, bowed her head, on which the lady mother placed 
 both her hands, repeating some words I could not hear, which 
 was of little moment, as of course they would have been in 
 Latin, and hence to me a dead letter. 
 
 The Prioress then rose and stood at one end of the table, 
 upon which the priests came forward, surrounding the other. 
 One of them handed a paper he held in his hand to his 
 right hand neighbour, who immediately began reading from 
 it in Latin ; and while he did so, I had time to examine the 
 room. 
 
 There were three windows, all of which were draped with 
 purple velvet, bound and fringed with gold. Inside the velvet 
 curtains were others of soft fine lace, very full, fastened close 
 to the windows, and falling in graceful folds down to, and 
 upon the purple carpet below. The chairs were large and 
 cushioned, with high carved backs. Every inch of the walls 
 was covered with paintings from sacred subjects. Conspicuous 
 above all the Virgin held her place. On a side table behind 
 where the priests stood, were placed several small statues of 
 alabaster, covered with glass shades : these were in groups, 
 and of exquisite workmanship. Two jars of Indian china, 
 painted in gorgeous colours, and nearly two feet in height, 
 stood on either side of the table. The side of the room oppo- 
 site to the windows was occupied by a low cabinet of ebony, 
 the back of which was of plate glass ; the shelves were inlaid 
 with mother of pearl, and on these w r ere laid many uncut gems 
 and rare specimens of Indian china. In the recess of each 
 window was a small round table : two of these were of inlaid 
 mosaic, such as in Britain we wear for brooches ; the other was 
 of perforated ivory. On the latter was placed a thin book 
 covered with scarlet velvet ; it was the only book in the room. 
 From the richly fretted roof hung a crystal chandelier, similar 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 341 
 
 to those in the chapel. The whole room had a look of sombre 
 grandeur, which impressed me with a feeling of awe. 
 
 When the priest had finished reading, one of the nuns beck- 
 oned me, more by a look than otherwise, to approach the table. 
 I did so, and one of the priests, speaking my name in full, 
 asked me if I wished to become a teacher in the convent. 
 
 I looked up at the sound of the clear well-known voice — it 
 was my friend and benefactor, Mr. Forbes, who addressed me, 
 but not the slight-made, abstracted-looking man I knew in 
 Ellenkirk ; but a strong, stately man, with a voice of power, 
 and the eye of an eagle. It gave me strength to look at him, 
 and I answered firmly " Yes." 
 
 The list of duties were then read over, and I was asked if I 
 was ready to perform these. They had all been explained to 
 me by the Prioress the evening before, and were such as I could 
 easily undertake, and I again answered in the affirmative. 
 
 The Lady Superior was then asked if she wished to employ 
 me, the terms and length of the engagement being stated. 
 
 Sister St. Angelo answered for the holy mother, and I now 
 understood the meaning of her having been blest by the Supe- 
 rior at the commencement of the proceedings, and I fancied, 
 by the way in which the Superior watched the lips instead of 
 the eyes of the speaker, that she must be deaf. A paper was 
 then handed by Mr. Forbes to the Prioress, and afterwards to 
 myself for signature. This done, one of the nuns opened the 
 room door, and politely bowed Gertrude and myself out. 
 
 Gertrude passed swiftly through the hall along a pas- 
 sage, which, by one of the usual glass doors, opened on the 
 lower gallery. Down the steps we went, and were in the 
 free air and sunshine, among the green grass, and under the 
 great forest trees in a moment. 
 
 " Oh," said Gertrude, inhaling a long breath, as she 
 
 X 
 
342 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 threw herself down on the soft grass, u how glad I am to 
 be under the blue heavens, and away from these stupid old 
 women and silly men." 
 
 "Gertrude!" I exclaimed, scarcely believing my own 
 ears, " I thought you were a devout daughter of the Holy 
 Catholic Church !" 
 
 " You thought right, so I am ; but I cannot bring my 
 reason to approve of all the idle forms, bowings and genu- 
 flexions which her foolish sons and daughters choose to 
 indulge in ; they seem to me more like child's play than 
 anything else." 
 
 " Why, Gertrude, you make me serious ; these were not 
 your ideas when we lived together in old Scotland." 
 
 " No, that is true ; but I am older than I was then, and 
 I have learnt more in these two years than I would have 
 known in ten, had I remained in Mrs. Moodie's. You know 
 I read a Protestant Bible, and doing so can you understand 
 my believing in such dogmas as the worship of the Virgin ?" 
 
 " I will certainly tell Mr. Forbes," said I, laughing. 
 She moved a little nearer to where I sat on the grass, and 
 looking me in the face, said, with a voice and eye alike 
 earnest : 
 
 " Mr. Forbes no more believes in the power of the Vir- 
 gin to help us than I do." 
 
 " Then why does he remain in her church and preach a 
 religion which inculcates her worship as one of its highest 
 duties ?" 
 
 " Mr. Forbes is a priest of God, and his Church, and he 
 never preaches the doctrine of creature worship ; that is one 
 of the abuses which have crept into the Church, not known 
 in the early days of its purity, and Mr. Forbes has more 
 contempt for those useless forms than I can have, because 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 343 
 
 he is so much wiser and better than I am. Did you not 
 observe when the address was given him to read, how he 
 handed it to the old man with the narrow forehead ?" 
 
 " No, I did not ; I scarcely looked at the priests until I 
 heard Mr. Forbes speak. What was the meaning of the 
 paper he read ?" 
 
 " I forgot you did not understand Latin; that is one advan- 
 tage of being a catholic." 
 
 " The address commenced by telling the Lady Superior 
 with what pleasure the six priests then present obeyed her 
 behest in coming to St. Mary's of St. Bride's, and then 
 they complimented her on her various good qualities, the 
 half of which, most likely, the good old lady never possessed. 
 The idea of Mr. Forbes being expected to read such a rhodo- 
 montade of nonsense ! I could see it was with difficulty he 
 restrained his impatience while the other did so. He owes 
 much to his Roman breeding, it has taught him patience ; 
 but for it the thoughts burning in the breast of the perfervid 
 Scotsman would inevitably burst forth unbidden." 
 
 " And was it merely to engage me that these priests 
 came ?" I asked like a simpleton. 
 
 Gertrude absolutely screamed with laughter. 
 
 " Don't natter yourself for a moment," replied she, still 
 laughing, while my face became scarlet, " you were never 
 thought of when the holy men were sent for ; no one knows 
 or will know for what they came, except those nuns who are 
 present — they are cloistered nuns and feel their own conse- 
 quence on occasions like these, and would as soon think of 
 repeating a word they hear as they would of going to a ball 
 in Algona. In fact, they consider whatever is resolved on 
 to-day of as much importance as if it concerned the life and 
 death of hundreds." 
 
344 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 u Sisters St. Hermonie and Mary and many others are 
 doubtless dying to know what the convocation of to-day was 
 for, but they never will more than you and I. St. Bride's," 
 continued she, "is the head of a number of mission con- 
 vents ; the priests probably came to advise about work to 
 be done, at one or more of these, or perhaps to settle about 
 the erection of a new one. All the convocations are held 
 at St. Mary's of St. Bride's, because the Superior lives 
 here ; at all events, we are all glad when they come — we 
 will have a fine ceremony, with a beautifully-sung Te Deum. 
 They will not eat half of the creams and jellies prepared for 
 them, and which at this moment they are busy with in the 
 Superior's dining-room. So we will have a share of these 
 at supper to-night, and then the flowers in the chapel will 
 last for some days, so you see we are gainers in every way." 
 
 Shortly after the bell rung for Vespers. Gertrude was 
 right in saying that we would have an imposing ceremony 
 and fine music ; as I listened to the gran d swelling notes of 
 the organ, the deep, full voices of the priests, relieved every 
 now and then by the clear, silvery tones of the nuns, I 
 could not help wishing that the service was in a language I 
 understood, and contained no creature worship, as Gertrude 
 termed it. 
 
 When Vespers were finished, Gertrude remained in chapel 
 to make her confession, and I went into the vinery, there 
 undisturbed to think over the events of the day. 
 
 What Gertrude had just said on the subject of religion, 
 although it astonished, did not take me entirely by sur- 
 prise. Even when in Scotland I could see that her faith 
 in the Virgin was partially shaken ; but if the surmise with 
 regard to Mr. Forbes was right, what results might not flow 
 from that ? a man of such large brain, who seemed intuitively 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 345 
 
 to hold unresisting sway over all he came in contact with 
 — whose eloquence entranced his hearers, as much as ever 
 did Guthrie in one church, or Millman in another ; — a very 
 Whitfield in his devotedness to the God he worshipped, and 
 the Church whose doctrines he believed in : were ] this man 
 to leave the worship of the saints and Virgin, he would not 
 do so alone. 
 
 I was greatly relieved by my agreement being completed ; 
 I was now secure of my salary for the next three years, if I 
 lived and had strength to work for it, and the work appointed 
 me was neither difficult nor laborious. I had been tormented 
 for the last few days by fears lest I should only be kept for 
 six months ; these fears were all at an end, and I could now 
 begin my work cheerfully and with an easy mind ; I was get- 
 ting accustomed to convent life, and by-and-bye the disa- 
 greeables would fade away. 
 
 I had waited an hour for Gertrude, but she had not yet left 
 the church ; ten minutes used to suffice for her confession in 
 Scotland — perhaps they had prayers before and after confes- 
 sion, which occupied more time here. 
 
 I would wait no longer ; I went into little Belle's parlour, 
 and finding that the nurse and her charge were both out, went 
 to the dressing-room for my writing materials, where I had 
 left them in the morning, that I might write to Willie and 
 Mrs. Livingstone, which I had not done since I came to St. 
 Bride's. Having possessed myself of my portfolio, I returned 
 to the children's room, shut the door carefully, and sitting 
 down with my face towards the door, finished Willie's letter, 
 and was busy writing to Mrs. Livingstone, when a light hand 
 was placed on my shoulder. I looked round and saw Sister 
 St. Angelo. My face must have expressed the surprise I 
 felt ; but the nun had too much policy to notice what was not 
 
346 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 more openly expressed. How she entered I cannot tell ; the 
 door was shut as I left it. 
 
 " Do not seal your letters until the Superior has seen 
 them," said she, in as cool a tone as if she had asked me to 
 open the window. 
 
 " They are for my brother and two old ladies," said I, 
 unwilling they they should be read. 
 
 " My child," replied the Prioress, "if they were for the 
 blessed Virgin, our mother must read them." 
 
 This was conclusive, and saying so she went out by the 
 door ; it puzzled me to think how she came in, at all events 
 she left fetters for me to write in. 
 
 I read over what I had written to Willie, it could never be 
 shewn to the Superior, or rather to Sister St. Angelo ; per- 
 haps she had read it already, as she stood looking over my 
 shoulder ; if so, the boldness of some of the remarks therein 
 must have been anything but in my favour. 
 
 I now tore what I had written in shreds, and wrote shortly 
 to each of my correspondents, mentioning in each letter the 
 reason they were so short ; this was a trifle, but it troubled 
 me, taking away almost entirely the greatest pleasure I had. 
 These little annoyances are like little sins, " the little foxes 
 which spoil the vines." 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 By the tenth of September all the boarders had returned, 
 and many new pupils been added to the establishment. 
 
 They were divided into three classes. The elder girls, who 
 had been at the convent three or more years, were called 
 " the Children of Mary" (of course the Virgin ;) those who 
 had only been a year or so were " Aspirants," that is they 
 aspired to be children of Mary; while children under nine 
 years of age were " Children of Jesus." 
 
 There were four dormitories. 
 
 That in which the " Children of Mary" slept, was carpeted 
 with fine crimson carpet, white cotton-fringed curtains for 
 each bed, a wardrobe between two girls, and the walls entirely 
 covered with coloured prints, framed in light coloured wood ; 
 these represented, in every instance, passages from the lives 
 of the saints or the Virgin, none of which, however, were taken 
 from Scripture. There were five pictures of the Virgin ; two 
 of these nearly as large as life, were placed each in a recess, 
 with an altar in front, decorated as nearly as possible to 
 resemble those in the chapel ; here the young ladies placed 
 fresh flowers every morning in summer ; in winter, these were 
 replaced by paper flowers. 
 
 The "Aspirants" had two dormitories — they were the 
 largest number — these were carpeted with cotton carpet in 
 stripes, no curtains on the beds (a decided improvement in 
 my opinion) and only a few common wood-cuts on the walls, 
 with two very plain altars in each dormitory. 
 
348 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 The dormitory of the " Children of Jesus," was furnished 
 like that of the u Aspirants," only that the wood-cuts were 
 coloured and represented the fourteen stations of the cross ; 
 it had one altar adorned with a wax figure of the infant Jesus 
 asleep. 
 
 My duties were to teach English, spelling, reading, 
 and grammar. There were two nuns in every class room, who 
 did nothing but see that the girls attended to their lessons ; 
 the most perfect order prevailed, and there was never any 
 thing like harshness or severity used to enforce commands ; 
 everything seemed to be effected by the law of love. 
 
 The girls, with few exceptions, were French; they were, 
 as a general rule, quick and easily taught, and, taken all in 
 all, my duties were very pleasant. 
 
 It was late in October before I received a letter from home, 
 as I loved to call Scotland, although I could not point to any 
 particular spot there and say, " that is my home." Well, per- 
 haps I would possess a home there in the days to come. 
 
 I received letters from all my friends this month. Willie 
 was well, and still much pleased with Doctor MacDonald's 
 family ; he promised he would take care to attend to my 
 instructions with regard to the Scotts when he went back to 
 college. 
 
 Mrs. Moodie's letter contained the intelligence of the death 
 of my uncle's son ; he was only a fortnight ill previous to his 
 death, and his father had never crossed the threshold since 
 the day of his burial. She added, " I was in hopes Willie 
 would have got the property, but it seems that it goes to his 
 eldest daughter upon the death of her father." 
 
 " Poor fellow ! I loved my cousin as little as I loved my 
 uncle ; I had received many a cut from his whip, but never 
 a kind look or word ; indeed, I am not sure he ever 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 349 
 
 addressed me except to bid me get out of his way ; but now 
 be was dead, I wished him alive again ; his mother was ever 
 my friend in my short visits to my grandfather's home (I 
 liked to call it so), and I knew she would mourn sadly for 
 her only son, and he himself — there is something in death 
 which cancels all animosity — he was dead ; we have no 
 quarrels with the dead. 
 
 Mrs. Livingstone's letter was such that, had it not been 
 opened before it was given me, I would have felt great deli- 
 cacy in showing it. She expressed great indignation at the 
 impudence of the old wife, (as she called the Superior) in 
 reading the letter I had written to her, but it was just what 
 she expected, Catholics were the same over all the world, 
 they were fit for anything ; she had warned me what they 
 were before I left Scotland, that she trusted, although I 
 was now a dweller in Mesech, I would worship the God of 
 my fathers in purity, and never be tempted to let even the 
 sole of my foot enter their Temple of Baal. In her whole life 
 she had known only one good man who was a Catholic, and 
 he was faithful among the faithless. There was one righteous 
 man in Sodom. She added, I have outwitted them, however ; 
 they won't read .my letter if they have read yours, I will send 
 this to your brother and he will send it to you enclosed in 
 his own ; they will never dare to read his letters ; he's not the 
 man that would let it pass with them if they did, and quite 
 proper. She then gave me a long scold because I left my 
 watch. The last paragraph of her latter, ran thus. " Deacon 
 Scott came three times to the house last month, but I was out 
 every time : twice at the market and once at a prayer meeting 
 in the Independent chapel ; the third time he asket at Jean 
 if she saw you or kent aboot you, but she said, you had never 
 been in our house after Mr. Keith left it ; the lassie kent 
 
350 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 nothing aboot your being here, and only told the truth as she 
 thought : I was very glad I was out ; I wouldna like to 
 affront Deacon Scott, and I wouldna break my promise to 
 you." 
 
 The day I received my letters, I made a scapular of a large 
 size, and in the bright moonlight I took Robert Scott's letter 
 from the pocket in the bosom of my dress, read it over, and 
 then sewed it into the scapular and hung it round my neck. 
 
 I was obliged to do this by moonlight ; I was never alone 
 by day now, and we were only allowed ten minutes to undress 
 and go to bed, after which the nuns came round to take awar 
 the candles. 
 
 I lay in bed until the moon rose ; the moon and stars are 
 always larger and brighter, and the sky clearer in Canada, 
 than they are ever known in Britain ; I can understand here 
 that the stars give their aid in warming the earth. In Octo- 
 ber we have the hunter's moon, and it shines so bright for 
 the hunters to find their prey, and the skies are so cloudless, 
 that without an effort we can read or write, or indeed do 
 almost any thing we can by day ; so when the moon was high 
 in the heavens, I rose from my bed, read my letter, and sewed 
 it in my scapular. What a long time I must have taken in 
 sewing it in, the bell rang for five e'er my task was completed, 
 when I hung it round my neck, dressed myself, and went 
 down to the chapel to read my Bible. I had not slept all night, 
 but I was never less weary ; had I the ability I would willingly 
 have joined the birds in their flight and their song, as they 
 flew, singing in their morning gladness, from tree to tree, among 
 the fir tops outside the chapel window ; I felt as fresh as if 
 I had been bathing in the clear sea on the yellow sand down 
 at Portobello. 
 
CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 Mr. Forbes said mass once a month at St. Mary's ; he used to- 
 come early in the morning, sometimes at four o'clock, heard 
 confessions (Gertrude always confessed to him as also Sister 
 St. Angelo, and one or two other nuns), said mass, took 
 breakfast — always a grand breakfast in the Superior's break- 
 fast room— and was gone back to Algona before seven o'clock. 
 
 It was now the end of November ; he had been four times 
 at St. Mary's since I came, yet I had never spoken to him, 
 except the few words which passed in my engagement on the 
 thirty-first of August. I was often sorry for this, and wished 
 I could speak to him, if only for a few minutes ; but it must 
 be by his own desire, I could not propose such a thing ; it 
 would have been looked upon, even by my friend Sister St. 
 Angelo, as the height of assurance, had I done so ; Mr. Forbes^ 
 in Ellenkirk and Mr. Forbes in Canada were two very dif- 
 ferent persons. He was a great man in St. Bride's, a great 
 man in Algona : if Sister St. Angelo was right (and she had 
 a brain as large as his own, and was no cloistered nun) he 
 would in a few years be a great man through the length and 
 breadth of Canada. 
 
 The first week in December he again celebrated mass, and 
 before his departure, Sister Mary came to say he wished to 
 see me in the sacristy ; I was very glad, and went down the 
 stair-case with a light heart and step. 
 
 On entering the sacristy, I found Sister St. Angelo and 
 Gertrude there, sitting on the only two chairs in the room. 
 
352 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 Mr. Forbes stood leaning against a cornice, made exactly like 
 a mantle-piece, on which was placed a marble statue of the 
 Yirgin ; how handsome and grand he looked, dressed in the 
 flowing robe of his order, which, unlike the other priests, he 
 wore open, its folds thus forming a back-ground to his tall 
 and well-made figure ; how different he was to every other 
 priest I had seen in Canada or anywhere else ! 
 
 He turned towards the door as I entered, and coming 
 towards me, took my hand with the same calm smile he used to 
 greet me with in the old time, when I was a girl in Mrs. 
 Moodie's. He asked me how I liked convent life, said 
 he was happy to find I was a favourite with the Prioress, 
 that he had wished to see me each time he came to St. Mary's, 
 but his time was so limited he could not always do what he 
 would ; asked when I heard from Willie, and told me he had 
 a letter from Mrs. Moodie within the last few days. 
 
 Gertrude offered me her chair, and he walked back to 
 where he stood when I entered the room ; he spoke a few 
 words to Sister St. Angelo, and then inclined his head with a 
 sort of half bow to Gertrude ; she immediately came forward 
 and knelt down before him, he placed his left hand on her 
 head, and lifting the other to heaven, he prayed the 
 Heavenly Father, in a voice clear and strong yet full of emo- 
 tion, to bless her, in her whole soul, and body, and spirit; to 
 shed on her the peace he giveth through His son ; to lift up 
 the light of his countenance upon her, that in that clearest 
 light of his, she might clearly see light. 
 
 There was a moment's pause and he was gone, departing 
 through the door which led from the sacristy to the chapel. 
 Sister St. Angelo took my hand and we left the sacristy, shut- 
 ting the door quietly as we went out ; we left Gertrude on her 
 knees, as the Prioress remarked, praying to the blessed Virgin, 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 358 
 
 before whose image she knelt ; praying, indeed, but not to the 
 Virgin ; I knew more than the grey-haired nun, with all her 
 years and wisdom. 
 
 " She will make a beautiful nun," said the Prioress as we 
 walked along the passage. I did not reply, I thought her very 
 beautiful indeed ; I had never seen one who at all equalled 
 her, but I did not wish her to become a nun, or was it at all 
 likely with her changed views that she would become one. 
 
 On the first Monday in December I received my first 
 quarter's salary ; it came to fifteen pounds sterling, the cur- 
 rency here being sixteen shillings sterling to the pound ; I did 
 not know this when I came here, so that my salary w 7 as fifteen 
 pounds less than I believed it to be; however, it was still more 
 than I could have expected to receive at home, and I was 
 comfortable and contented. 
 
 "When I received the money, I got a draft on the Bank of 
 Scotland in Edinburgh for the whole sum, and sent it to Willie, 
 desiring him to give ten pounds to Mrs. Livingstone in part 
 payment of my debt, the rest with the remains of his own 
 salary, would suffice until March, when I would again remit 
 him the same sum ; I told him of Henry Keith's death, and 
 of the distress my uncle suffered in consequence ; I also men- 
 tioned that on my uncle's death Haddo would go to Lizzie, 
 his eldest daughter. I feared poor Willie might, like Mrs* 
 Moodie, imagine that he was to be the heir. I enclosed a letter 
 for Mrs. Livingstone, and this done, presented both to the 
 Prioress for her perusal. Early in January I received an 
 answer to my letters : Willie had passed his examination with 
 tolerable credit, as he expressed it, and was now busy night 
 and day ; Robert Scott called at Mrs. Livingstone's and also 
 went to college to see him, but Willie was absent on both oc- 
 casions; he then received a note saying that he (Robert Scott) 
 
354 YIOLET KEITH. 
 
 would call at Mrs. Livingstone's on any day and at any hour 
 Willie would appoint ; they saw each other next day, and I 
 give the rest in his own words. 
 
 " Mr. R. Scott asked me why you had left Iona Villa so 
 suddenly; I told him I was entirely ignorant of the cause ; 
 he then inquired where you were, and requested me to give 
 him your address ; I refused to answer his question then, but 
 promised to ask your permission to do so." 
 
 I did not answer this letter until March, when I again 
 remitted my quarter's salary : in the intermediate time I 
 took up my pen for the purpose, at least every week, and 
 laid it down again, — at last I decided my answer would be 
 no. It was evident Robert Scott was not tired of his lost 
 toy, but I was determined there should be no second part in 
 that dream which had ended so bitterly. Whether he was 
 innocent or not of the charge brought against him by his own 
 father, — that father was, without doubt, my bitter enemy, 
 and I could only become Robert Scott's wife by sowing the 
 seeds of discord in his family, and false as knew Mr. Scott 
 to be, the earnest, truthful expression of his countenance while 
 lie uttered his abhorrence of the disgraceful conduct of his 
 son, had made an impression on my memory which could 
 never be erased ; no, that dream life of mine was now of the 
 past; it was true there were words and looks there which 
 came back uncalled for, and, when least expected, as fresh as 
 yesterday, and weak woman as I was, I lifted them up as the 
 rubies and pearls of my existence, strung them together and 
 hung them round my heart ; these I would never part with, 
 they had become part of my very being, but Robert Scott 
 himself I would not willingly hear from or see again. When 
 I had finished Willie's letter, I added a postscript thus—" Do 
 not give my address to any one." 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 355 
 
 This month the snow, which had merely covered the 
 ground before Christmas, and even on New Year's Day only 
 reached a few inches in depth, now began to fall in earnest, 
 not in beautiful large flakes, such as we had during the last 
 two months, but little tiny things, just like a shower of grated 
 crystal, or the moats we see floating in the sunbeam ; there 
 it falls so fine, yet so thick, that soon every crack and cranny 
 is filled up ; every tree, each little twig is laden with its pure 
 beautiful burden ; these tiny flakes are greeted with joy, as the 
 snow which will rest On the ground and make the roads fit for 
 sleighing. 
 
 The fine snow came down almost without intermission for 
 three days, and then the sleighs were passing along the road 
 that lay by the tower-gate, half-way down the mountain, their 
 bells ringing merrily in the frosty air, the snow now fully four 
 feet in depth. 
 
 The scene round the convent was lovely beyond anything 
 I had ever seen or could conceive ; the great building itself, 
 its roof one sheet of pure white, every window, every niche, 
 each figure of saint, or head of angel draped in the soft, 
 white, mossy snow, while each tree seemed to keep its indivi- 
 dual character ; the giant pine with its great branches, green 
 alike in winter's snow or summer's sunshine, so bent under 
 the weight it carried, in flat shelving — like rows, one above 
 another, that branches which were towering above our heads 
 a week previous, were now bent to the ground, while elm, 
 mountain ash and fruit tree, were clothed alike in their 
 white garments, each separate twig or bunch of berries, or 
 seed pod, with its pure feathery dress, telling almost as surely 
 as in its leafy verdure, who it is you look upon. 
 
 The fall of snow over, the sun shone out with a dazzling 
 brightness, such as in Britain we only know at midsummer, 
 
356 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 I doubt if we know it even then. The Prioress was going 
 to St. Bride's, and as it was Thursday — (the holiday in the 
 convent) — offered to take me along with Gertrude (who always 
 accompanied her when the day was fine) for a sleigh drive. 
 I gladly agreed ; it was my first sleigh ride, and I do not 
 know that I ever enjoyed drive or ride on horse back or in 
 carriage as I did my first sleigh ride over the frozen snow. 
 
 We had a double sleigh, with two fine horses full of spirit, 
 and on we went, swiftly and smoothly, along our pure white 
 path, as if we had borrowed the wings of the wind for our 
 journey ; the sun shone brightly over head, not enough of 
 wind to stir the lightest snow flake, the crystal trees lining 
 each side of our way, making the whole seem like fairy-land ; 
 below lay the town with its hundreds of sloping tin-covered 
 roofs, glittering in the sunshine, while far above all the rest 
 rose the square towers of the oldest Church in Canada, dedi- 
 cated to Notre Dame de Douleur. 
 
 We drove through St. Benedict street that we might see 
 a new church, which had been built for the wants of the 
 increasing population. Mr. Forbes had lately been made 
 parish priest there ; it was now the most fashionable church 
 in town, and great things were hoped from his popularity, 
 he being considered the most eloquent preacher in Algona, 
 many said in Canada, and daily attracting crowds of Protes- 
 tants as well as Catholics, who each went home wondering at 
 the startling truths he taught, and asking each one of himself 
 if indeed it were so ? 
 
 We stopped there and went into the church, as the Prioress 
 said, " to say our prayers ;" I fancied the good nun wished 
 to see the altar decorations, which we had for a long time 
 heard spoken of as something extraordinary ; whatever was 
 the motive of the half hour we spent there, certainly not 
 over three minutes were spent in prayer. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 357 
 
 It was an immense place with a great deal of decoration ; 
 the pictures representing the Stations of the Cross were so 
 large that, even seen from below, they seemed as large as 
 life. Some of these pictures contained eight or nine figures. 
 There were three altars, all of which were fitted up with 
 great magnificence, the mellow light from the painted win- 
 dows coming in softened and subdued, suited with and 
 heightened the gorgeous effect of painting, sculpture, and 
 altar decorations ; there were six confession boxes, in several 
 of which there were priests hearing their penitents — we knew 
 this by the doors being shut. 
 
 " Ah !" said the Prioress, " would that the good time 
 were come, when every Protestant in Algona will each in 
 their turn fill these confessionals.' ' She and I had different 
 views of what would constitute the good time coming. There 
 were several people in the church scattered here and there 
 saying their prayers, nearly all of whom seemed very devout ; 
 one old man, however, on his knees, with his beads in his 
 hand, was intently watching all our motions as we walked 
 from picture to picture, his lips never ceased praying or his 
 eyes from following our steps ; we passed close by where he 
 knelt, and I saw by the way he held his beads, he had not 
 said more than half. I hope he found other amusement after 
 our departure. 
 
 On arriving at the convent, we went with the Prioress at 
 once to the hospital. There were about thirty in the menls 
 ward. Sister St. Angelo had a kind word for every one, and, 
 each had something to say to her, very often some little com- 
 plaint to make, which was listened to patiently, and redress 
 promised or the grievance put an end to at once. 
 
 Everything was strictly clean, notwithstanding that all 
 these people were more or less helpless ; one old paralyzed 
 
358 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 man, quite foolish, had been there in that condition for thirty 
 years ! many had lived there for ten and twelve years ; an 
 old man whose chair was placed within six feet of the stove, 
 was constantly trying to sit under it, and in consequence was 
 fastened into his chair by a broad belt ; he complained of this, 
 and the Prioress had the belt removed ; in less than two 
 minutes he was below the stove ; he must have been a sala- 
 mander, six yards off was quite near enough for me. 
 
 Two old men, both above eighty years of age, were taken 
 by the Prioress a month previous from the jail, where they 
 had been put to prevent their starving, as there was no house 
 of refuge in Algona. She visited the jail every month in 
 order to rescue such cases ; they both looked as if they had 
 known starvation by bitter experience ; one of these men had 
 a look of deep thought in his almost skeleton face, and his 
 eye was bright and penetrating ; he had a small white hand, 
 and as he leant his head on the hand, the arm of which 
 rested on the side of the easy chair he occupied, his air and 
 look told through all h» misery he was not one of those he 
 lived among. As we walked about among them, the Prioress 
 said, M I have an affection for this room, although it was the 
 scene of my labour most mortifying to the flesh. For eighteen 
 years I came every morning from four o'clock prayers to 
 clean this room, and here I worked for two hours before I 
 breakfasted; my work was always disagreeable, sometimes 
 most revolting, but God accepted my sacrifice and gave me 
 strength for it ; in all these eighteen years, I was never 
 absent for one morning." We were called to see an old man 
 who was dying ; he lay calm and peaceful, his hands clasped 
 on his breast ; he was evidently passing fast to the better 
 land. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 359 
 
 " He is a countryman of yours and a Protestant," said the 
 nun, turning to Gertrude and me. 
 
 " Do you receive Protestants here ?" I asked. 
 
 u If they are poor and old or sick, we never ask what religion 
 they are of. This poor man was educated at the University 
 of Glasgow as a student of Divinity, and became a licentiate 
 of your Kirk of Scotland, but I believe he was unsteady and 
 hence was not ordained ; he came to Canada forty years 
 ago, and through misfortune became silly ; but for some weeks 
 I have observed a great change in him ; I do not think he is 
 silly now." 
 
 I went beside his bed, and stooping down close to his head 
 spoke to him in a low tone. I told him I was a Protestant 
 and very lately from Scotland ; he raised his heavy eyelids 
 and looked in my face with an eye fall of intelligence, but 
 did not reply ; I took one of his hands in mine and pressed 
 it ; he returned the pressure ; his hand was quite cold ; I said 
 so to the Prioress, looking away from the man and in her 
 face as I spoke ; with her eye she directed my attention again 
 to his face ; his eye was fixed, his fingers had relaxed their 
 hold upon mine, his spirit had passed away. Poor man, this 
 was another victim of the great Goliath intemperance. 
 
 On our way home, I asked the Prioress when we were to 
 go into St. Bride's to live, adding, " when we go I should 
 like very much to help you in the hospital." 
 
 " The pupils will never go to St. Bride's again, it was 
 with this view we had the additions made to St. Mary's last 
 year. St. Bride's is small enough for the poor and sick, St. 
 Mary's, too, is more pleasant and healthy for the pupils ; — 
 that was true enough — but," added she, " if you wish to help 
 with the hospital work, you can come with me every Thurs- 
 day now, and in summer you may come twice or thrice a 
 
360 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 week ; I am always back at St. Mary's by eight ; you must 
 not keep me waiting, I start at half past four precisely." 
 
 I agreed to all this very readily ; the monotony of convent 
 life was to me becoming almost insufferable ; this would make 
 a great break in it, and I would have an opportunity of 
 making myself useful in a way very congenial to my nature, 
 and I proposed that I should at once begin going to St. 
 Bride's in the morning, and so it was arranged. 
 
 On the following Monday morning I commenced my hos- 
 pital work, as the Prioress called it, rising at four o'clock 
 for the purpose, and I continued to do so all the time I lived 
 in St. Mary's, and these were my happiest hours. These 
 lovely morning rides in the starlight or moonlight did more 
 for me than all the education in the world could have done ; 
 they, together with the habits of reflection and promptitude 
 which were nourished and called into action in my atten- 
 dance on the sick and dying, gave me an energy of body 
 and mind which made me pass unscathed through trials, 
 which but for the strength thus obtained might have been 
 fatal in their effects, on both mind and body. 
 
CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 The snow passed away neither so silently or so agreeably 
 as it came ; it passed in broad streams running down the moun- 
 tain, that almost seemed like little rivers, rendering the walks 
 in our convent grounds impassable for all except geese and 
 dueks ; however, it went so rapidly that the ground became 
 green almost while we looked at it. 
 
 The month of May came with its green leaves and flowers, 
 it was also the month of Mary, that is, it was dedicated to the 
 Virgin Mary, and service was held and the church dressed 
 in honour of her every day. 
 
 Early in the morning of the first day of May, Gertrude 
 and I were sent out to gather snowdrops for the Virgin's 
 altar ; it was a difficult task, the flowers were still very scarce, 
 and to find enough, we had to wander all round the grounds, 
 at the same time taking care not to piek buds, as these would 
 be required for next day. 
 
 " How tiresome this silly work is," said Gertrude, "pick- 
 ing flowers at the rate of one every three minutes, and for 
 such useless nonsense." 
 
 " So you consider it useless nonsense to pick flowers for 
 adorning the church ?" I asked in some surprise. 
 
 w If they were for adorning the church as the house of 
 God, I would not consider it useless ; when I am desired to 
 aid in dressing the altar for Trinity Sunday, or any other fete 
 in honour of God, or our blessed Saviour, I consider myself 
 honoured in being chosen for the work ; but these flowers are 
 
362 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 placed on the altar as a mark of devotion to the Virgin Mary, 
 and in my opinion, it is very doubtful whether she knows 
 anything about their being there or not." 
 
 " Go on, Gertrude," said I, "' I see you are in a fair way 
 of being excommunicated." 
 
 "I do not believe in the power of any human being to 
 excommunicate me," Said she, looking up through the leafless 
 trees we were standing under, to the clear blue Canadian sky 
 above. " I believe that neither height, or depth, or length, 
 or breadth, or any other creature is able to separate- me from 
 the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus my Lord ; and I 
 believe, if ever I shall walk in the streets of the New Jeru- 
 salem, it will be by my faith in the blood of Christ, shed for 
 me, and the atoning sacrifice made by my Redeemer on Cal- 
 vary, and not by the filthy rags of my own righteousness or 
 that of any created being, whether saint or angeL" 
 
 " What would the Prioress say, if she heard you speak 
 thus, you whom she expects to become one of her best and 
 favourite nuns, when she is Superior?" 
 
 u "With one exception I would rather please Sister St. 
 Angelo than any human being under God's heaven, and it is 
 my love for her, and the knowledge of what I owe to her r 
 that has kept me silent for months back ; yet I often think 
 it would be better for her, as well as for myself, perhaps both 
 in time and eternity, had I the moral courage to say now, 
 what must be said some day — the want of moral courage is 
 the great fault in my character." 
 
 " Holding such opinions, I cannot understand your remain- 
 ing in the convent ; it is impossible for you to feel happy." 
 
 "1 am not happy, but there are many reasons for my 
 remaining here. In the first place, where am I to go ? I do 
 not know one person in Canada outside the walls of St. Mary's 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 363 
 
 and St. Bride's. During papa's lifetime, the few acquaint- 
 ances I had were the wives and daughters of the officers in 
 his regiment ; these I only knew slightly ; we had nothing in 
 common with each other, and I did not cultivate their friend- 
 ship; I know no one either here or in Scotland except Mrs. 
 Moodie, and were I inclined to go there (which I am not) 
 what could I do without money ; I have never more than 
 twenty dollars at one time in my possession, how long do you 
 think that would last ?" 
 
 " Not long, certainly ; but how is this, why have you not 
 the power over your own money ? You are surely old enough 
 to be able to manage your own affairs, why do you not do so "? 
 
 " Because Sister St. Angelo and papa thought it best. I 
 think papa, during his illness, conceived the idea of my be- 
 coming a nun, and of course, the Prioress considered that life 
 the happiest and best I could lead. Papa's will ordered that 
 I should remain at St. Bride's until I was twenty-five years 
 of age ; that the Superior was to receive a hundred pounds 
 a year for my board : if I became a nun, the whole of my 
 fortune would be at my own disposal, if not, five thousand 
 pounds would go to St. Mary's of St. Bride's, the remaining 
 five to me." 
 
 " What a strange arrangement ! were you cognizant of the 
 terms of the will at the time it was made ?" 
 
 " Yes, and very much pleased with it. I then thought the 
 life of a nun the happiest I could lead in this world, and one 
 by which I would most surely win eternal happiness in the 
 next." 
 
 " Have you no relations ?" 
 
 " Not any that I am aware of, except my mother's brother, 
 Colonel Fanshaw, of the 6th, and it may be stationed in China 
 or Timbuctoo, for aught I know ; besides, papa and uncle 
 
364 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 were not on good terms at the time of mamma's death, and 
 never corresponded afterwards, hence if I could find him out, 
 I do not know how welcome he would make me." 
 
 !< Gertrude," said I, " the 6th regiment is stationed at 
 Algona at present ; I have observed that was the number on 
 the cap of every soldier we passed going or coming from town 
 this winter." 
 
 " That may be, but it doe3 not make the least difference in 
 my case. Uncle certainly would not care for an addition to 
 his family, in the shape, of a grown-up girl of three-and-twenty, 
 who most likely would not have wherewithal to purchase 
 clothes with. I do not know that I am entitled even to 
 pocket money, were I to leave St. Mary's before the time 
 specified in papa's will. I do not think my taking such a 
 step was ever contemplated. A year ago, I did not think it 
 possible I should ever wish to leave these walls." 
 
 July came and brought to us the vacation, and with it came 
 Mrs. Morton to bring Belle and Donda home. She arrived 
 at Algona the previous evening at eight o'clock, and was at 
 St. Mary's to early mass. I shall never forget the joy of both 
 mother and children on seeing each other ; poor little Belle 
 clung to her mamma as if she was afraid she would again leave 
 her for another year. Mrs. Morton spent the day with her 
 children at the convent ; she said it made her feel young 
 again, wandering about in the grounds where her school days 
 were spent ; every vine and tree were old friends reminding 
 her of some girlish joy or sorrow. 
 
 She amused Gertrude and I, who were appointed by the 
 Prioress to be her entertainers, by describing, with a ready 
 wit, the places and people she had been thrown among in 
 Scotland while visiting there. She made us laugh more 
 during that day, than we had done during the previous year. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 365 
 
 Sister St. Angelo came now and then into the room, re- 
 maining for a few minutes, laughing at our guest's wit, and 
 was off to her work again ; she called Mrs. Morton, Annie, 
 and Annie was evidently a great favourite with the Prioress. 
 
 Mr. Morton came before six o'clock in the evening to bring 
 his wife and children home, but ere then it was arranged 
 that Gertrude should go with them, and spend at least part 
 of the holidays in Algona ; she did not return until the first of 
 September, and without her the time hung heavy enough on 
 my hands, although not for lack of work ; I was supplied most 
 liberally with that. 
 
 The autumn passed, and the winter was passing away 
 pretty much as it had done last year. In February I ob- 
 served that Mr. Forbes did not come, as was his wont in the 
 beginning of each month, to say mass and hear confessions. 
 March also came and passed and no Mr. Forbes. What a blank 
 his absence made ! The priest with the narrow forehead, who 
 read the Latin address to the Superior, the day of my engage- 
 ment, came in Mr. Forbes's place, and Gertrude would not 
 confess to him ; — there was trouble in the convent, Sister St. 
 Angelo's pale face became many shades paler and grayer, 
 the lines on her forehead also became closer and deeper ; I 
 would have asked her what was the reason of his absence, 
 if I could have seen her alone, but such a thing did not take 
 place now once in six months ; there seemed to be a restraint 
 and gloom thrown over the convent that I could not compre- 
 hend. In our semi-weekly rides to Algona, we were always 
 accompanied by one or other of the nuns. A nun never leaves 
 the precincts of her convent without another of the sister- 
 hood along with her. It was late in March ere I had an oppor- 
 tunity of asking Gertrude — we were never allowed to be alone 
 together now. My question was useless, Gertrude was as far 
 
366 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 at sea as myself, and more anxious to know. April, May, and 
 June passed away, and still he came not. I often asked myself 
 was it possible he would never come again. 
 
 One morning in the latter end of June, Sister Agatha, a 
 cloistered nun in St. Brides, came into the hospital seeking the 
 Prioress. I had seen this nun before once or twice, and felt 
 an instinctive dread of her, which I could neither account for 
 or shake off. She was a tall, dark, hard-featured woman, with 
 a sullen, defiant look ; she seemed to me as if she was always 
 plotting mischief. She entered the ward in which the Prioress 
 and I were occupied, walking with great strides and a heavy 
 step, more like a man than a woman, coming up to the sick 
 bed where Sister St. Angelo was employed bathing a large 
 tumour on the cheek of a poor boy who was suffering great 
 pain ; she laid her hand on the Prioress' shoulder, quite regard- 
 less of the patient, and said almost fiercely : 
 
 " Listen to this." 
 
 The nun turned towards her, and soon the patient was for- 
 gotten, even by the benevolent heart and kind hand that were 
 ever ready to soothe the afflicted ; every feeling and thought 
 seemed absorbed in listening to the astounding intelligence 
 Sister Agatha had to communicate. They spoke in Spanish ; 
 the grand accents of the language flowing with elegance and 
 rapidity from the lips of Sister Agatha, while the Prioress 
 spoke with difficulty, — Mr. Forbes was the subject of their 
 conversation, Sister St. Angelo deeply lamenting his fall ; the 
 other, with a wicked, triumphant air, saying, she knew he was 
 a heretic in disguise from the first moment she saw him ; he 
 could not hide his cloven foot from her ; she saw the bold 
 devil in his great eyes and brazen forehead, while others were 
 lauding him to the skies. She hated the Saxon and his hissing 
 language, which Satan had sprinkled so well with his own 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 367 
 
 initial ; could she now set hands on him, the worthy represen- 
 tative of his devil-worshipping Saxon face, she would tear 
 him limb from limb. 
 
 When she had calmed down a little by giving vent to her 
 rage, she told the Prioress that information was received at 
 the monastery of St. Benedict the previous evening, that he 
 was daily preaching to congregations of three thousand people 
 in the Public Halls of New York, those who wished to ob- 
 tain seats going an hour in advance of the time in order to 
 secure them, that he was everywhere received with open 
 arms, each great man in the city endeavouring to persuade 
 him to make their house his home, or at least that he would 
 become their honoured guest for a few hours, and worst of all 
 he still declared himself a Catholic, a member of the Catholic 
 Church as it was in the days of its purity. 
 
 " Poor misguided man," said the Prioress, " may the 
 blessed Virgin bring him to repentance and amendment of 
 life." 
 
 " Repentance," replied her companion, with a diabolical 
 sneer, " if he could live a thousand years, and spend it all, 
 day and night, in one long act of penance, it would not 
 atone for the evil he has already done. On his first declaration 
 of heretical opinions, he should have been buried alive, and 
 if I had been Bishop of Algona it would have been done; al- 
 lowing him to escape was the greatest act of madness ; he 
 knew well whom he had to deal with, or he would never have 
 dared to preach the damnable heresy he did, for months pre- 
 vious to his declaration to the Bishop. The priests here," con- 
 tinued she, drawing herself up with a fierce wild look, which 
 for the moment made me fancy she was really insane, u are a 
 poor, pitiful, weak set, unfit alike for good or evil, and wholly 
 unable to combat with the cunning atheistical Saxon. Oh ! if 
 
368 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 they were in my land," and she ground her teeth in her rage, 
 " had he been in Spain with its men of might, who let not their 
 right hand know what their left hand doeth, he would long 
 since have been wagging his tongue to the dungeon walls." 
 
 The Prioress clasped her hands and, shutting her eyes, said 
 \lith ashy lips and a voice trembling with emotion : 
 
 " Holy St. Francois Xavier pray for him, that God may 
 pardon and grant him repentance." 
 
 Sister Agatha seemed beside herself with rage ; she clench- 
 ed her hands, and pushing them before her, while her face 
 became purple, screeched out in a loud shrill voice, " repen- 
 tance, repentance, what makes you harp on repentance, do 
 you not know that we are explicitly forbidden to pray for 
 the forgiveness of the sin he is now committing ? were he 
 hanged to-morrow, and his vile body eaten by dogs, I would 
 long for the Death Angel, that I might look from the gate of 
 heaven, and see him suffering in the hell he deserves so well. 
 Were I not a cloistered nun, I would dog his steps from 
 America to Europe, and if need were, from Europe to Asia, 
 until I could drag his false heart from his reeking body, and 
 dash it in his face." Having said this she strode from the 
 ward, with the same long heavy step as she entered. 
 
 It was eight days afterwards e'er I had an opportunity of 
 relating this scene to Gertrude, and even then I could only 
 tell a part of what I heard. 
 
 Little Belle Morton had been for six months past a boarder 
 at the convent, and Gertrude was to accompany her home, 
 and spend the holidays at Algona, as she had done the pre- 
 vious year. 
 
 On the morning of their departure, I was sent to the dor- 
 mitory of the Children of Jesu3, to pack up Belle's clothes in 
 her trunk. While I was thus occupied, my head bent over 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 36$ 
 
 the clothes I was arranging, I told in a low voice to Gertrude, 
 who sat beside me, a part of the coversation I had heard in St. 
 Bride's. She made no reply, and I dared not look up for 
 one in her face. There were sliding panels in every room in 
 the house, through a slight opening in which we might be 
 strictly watched without being aware of it ; and it occurred 
 to me afterwards that I was sent to pack Belle's trunk in order 
 to discover whether Gertrude and I had any secrets, previous 
 to allowing her to go to Algona. 
 
 When Mrs. Morton came to bring Gertrude and Belle 
 away, we had an early dinner of fruit. A dish of fine straw- 
 berries was placed before Gertrude, and lifting up the- dish 
 she came to the end of the table where I sat, and while pre- 
 senting it to me, said in a scarcely audible voice : " It is well 
 with him." 
 
 Gertrude had been gone three weeks, when the Prioress and 
 I going into St. Bride's, for our Thursday visit, encountered 
 Mrs. Morton, Gertrude, Belle, and Donda, accompanied by a 
 young lady from the United States, on their way to St. Mary's, 
 that the latter might decide whether or not she would enter as 
 a boarder in September. We stopped our horses to exchange 
 civilities, and Gertrude insisted on coming into our carriage, 
 and going to St. Bride's instead of accompanying Mrs Mor- 
 ton and the others, saying that Sister St. Angelo was the only 
 one she cared to see at St. Mary's, and therefore she would 
 go with her to St. Bride's. 
 
 The Prioress urged her to continue her ride with her friends, 
 pretending to be angry, but a child might have seen she was 
 highly gratified. 
 
 Gertrude kept by Sister St. Angelo all the afternoon, and 
 while we were driving to Mrs. Morton's to leave her there, she 
 sat by the Prioress, holding the nun's hand fast locked in 
 
370 VIOLET KEITH, 
 
 hers all the time. After she had descended from the carriage, 
 she jumped up again, put her arms round the Prioress' neck, 
 and kissed her many times ; and as we drove on, we saw her 
 watching us from the steps of the door, until she and it were 
 lost in the distance. il My darling," said the nun, while more 
 than one tear of joy coursed down her pale cheek. 
 
 Time did not pass very pleasantly at the convent without 
 Gertrude, I was terribly ennui, and counting the weeks, and 
 at last the days, until she would come again. At last the 
 first of September arrived. I was in the parlour where the 
 pupils and their parents were received at the beginning of 
 the term ; two nuns and I attended there during the first 
 three days in September, in order to receive the pupils. 
 When a new pupil arrived the Prioress came to make the 
 arrangement ; those who had been previously at the convent 
 the nuns in attendance received. 
 
 I waited impatiently enough for Gertrude's arrival, at last 
 in walked Mrs. Morton and Belle. 
 
 " Where is Miss Hamilton ?" I asked. 
 
 " Why ?" exclaimed Mrs. Morton, " is she not here ? she 
 left us a week since." 
 
 I did not wait to hear any more, but went at once in search 
 of Sister St. Angelo, to whom I repeated Mrs. Morton's words. 
 She did not at first speak, but her face and lips became almost 
 livid, and holding by the bureau, at which she stood writing 
 when I entered, sunk rather than seated herself on the nearest 
 seat. In a second or two she raised her face and clasped her 
 hands, saying in a voice choked with emotion: 
 
 " Mary, Mother of God, shield her young head ! — Mary 
 Mother of God, help me now and at the hour of my death." 
 
 I gave her a glass of water, and presently she rose and 
 went slowly, but with a firm step, towards the parlour. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 371 
 
 From Mrs. Morton Sister St. Angelo learnt that during the 
 seven weeks Gertrude spent in her house, she had been a 
 frequent visitor at her uncle, Colonel Fanshaw's, with whom, 
 as well as his wife, she seemed to be a great favourite. The 
 evening previous to her departure from Mrs. Morton's, she 
 said, quite unexpectedly — 
 
 " I must go to-morrow." 
 
 Mrs. Morton pressed her to remain for the rest of the 
 holidays, but she said it was impossible. On the day she left 
 Mrs. Morton's house, that lady proposed accompanying her to 
 the convent, but she preferred going alone, as she said she 
 intended visiting her uncle's family and spending the fore- 
 noon there. After the first week of her residence in Algona 
 Miss Hamilton received letters every other day, and her 
 evenings were mostly spent in writing ; Mrs. Morton had no 
 idea who were her correspondents, as she regularly put her 
 own letters in the post-office. This was all Mrs. Morton could 
 tell. 
 
 The Prioress heard all in silence, spoke a few words to 
 Belle, asked for Mr. Morton and Donda, pressed Mrs. Mor- 
 ton's hand kindly and was gone. 
 
 In less than ten minutes Sister St. Angelo, accompanied by 
 one of the other nuns, were being drawn rapidly towards the 
 town in a carriage and pair. 
 
 They did not return until long after convent hours that 
 night, and on the following morning they were off again before 
 five o'clock, returning late as on the previous day ; the next 
 day and the next were alike spent in town, and then all things 
 settled down again as usual, but there were more lines of care 
 on the Prioress' brow; her face was paler and her step 
 slower from that day henceforth. It would have been 
 useless to ask any of the nuns who were engaged in teaching 
 
372 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 a single question regarding Gertrude, I well knew they would 
 never hear a word spoken on the subject. There were only 
 six cloistered nuns in St. Mary's ; it was possible they knew, 
 most certainly none of the others did. 
 
 Two months passed ere I had an opportunity of asking the 
 Prioress what had become of Gertrude. Her answer was : 
 " Never speak to me on that subject again, it is owing to my 
 carelessness that she is now a companion of those who make 
 a scoff of the religion she was born and bred in. I made a most 
 solemn promise to her father on his death-bed. Alas ! alas t 
 how have I fulfilled that promise. Every time I speak on this 
 subject I do double penance for the share I have had in this 
 sad story." 
 
 There was no need of her imposing penance on herself, it 
 was but too evident to the most thoughtless inmate of St. 
 Mary's convent, that the Prioress did involuntary penance in 
 mind and body, since the day she first knew of Gertrude's 
 flight. 
 
 
CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 The third New Year's day I spent in St. Mary's I received 
 a letter from Willie, containing a photograph of himself. It 
 was nearly three years since I had seen him last. What a 
 difference these three years had made. The boy of nineteen 
 was now a man of two-and-twenty, dark, tall, and slight, as 
 his boyhood promised. I pressed it to my lips. How happy 
 the possession of it made me ! In the morning I felt so sad 
 and spiritless — my lonely isolated situation pressed so heavily 
 upon me, life was to me a very weariness, a scene of constant 
 effort, a dull round of monotonous duties, without even the 
 hope that when the day closed, a loved or kindred voice 
 would sound in mine ear, a gentle hand touch mine — and 
 beyond this life, what of that ? Ah ! that was the worst of 
 all — thoughts of doubt and darkness ; and with a strange 
 energy I asked myself the startling question, " What, if this 
 life past, death should only bring annihilation ?" 
 
 But now at the sight of my handsome brother, new life 
 seemed to run through every vein. My loneliness, clouds, 
 and darkness were all forgotten, and the sun was above the 
 horizon, and was pouring its glorious beams into my heart of 
 hearts. 
 
 Taking up my picture, I pressed it again to my lips, 
 admired every line and expression of eye, and mouth, and brow, 
 until all was engraven on my heart. I opened my letter. I 
 will give it in his own words. 
 
 " This being my last year, I am now no inapt hand, and 
 
 z 
 
374 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 having come in contact with Dr. B once or twice, I had the 
 
 good fortune to please our king of surgeons, and have been 
 appointed one of his dressers, during his visits to the hospitals. 
 I can scarcely tell you the advantage this haa been to me \ 
 and apart from that, it has introduced me to an old friend of 
 my father's, and one who is inclined to be a friend to his 
 son. 
 
 • I had been dressing for Dr. B for some weeks, when 
 
 he asked me to sit by the dying bed of a favourite patient of 
 his during the night, desiring me, in case the pain of dying 
 should be severe, to use a certain opiate which it would not 
 be safe to put into the hands of a nurse. I fulfilled my mis- 
 sion — the spirit passed at eight next morning in a quiet sleep ; 
 and according to promise, when all was over, I called on Dr. 
 
 B , and told him of the perfect success of his prescription. 
 
 He was at breakfast and alone when I entered. He asked 
 me to take breakfast with him, to which I gladly agreed. 
 When he had done the honours of the table, he said : 
 
 " ' When I was a boy at the high school, I had two com- 
 panions, brothers, of your name, and I have often fancied you 
 are like what the eldest would have become. They were sons 
 of Keith of Haddo, near Ellenkirk. I spent a vacation there, 
 and we had merry times trout-fishing in a little river which 
 runs through the place. My friend Charlie, who was the 
 eldest, was a famous rower, and we used to sail down the river 
 for miles, merely to have the pleasure of rowing up against 
 the stream, but we could never tempt Dick into the boat.' 
 
 " I replied his friend Charles Keith was my father, but 
 that he was dead many years ago. 
 
 " ' You are not the eldest son, I suppose, from your having 
 chosen to study a profession. I am sorry to say our lairds 
 prefer becoming the drones of the hive.' 
 
VIOLET KEITH. * 375 
 
 " ' I am Charles Keith's only son, but you are mistaken as 
 to his being the eldest. My uncle Richard was the elder of 
 the two, and is now in possession of the property.' 
 
 " He threw himself back in his chair, resting his forefinger 
 upon the table, and, putting an emphasis on almost every 
 word, said : i Charles Keith was the eldest brother by at least 
 two years, and if you are his only son, you are the rightful 
 owner of Haddo, no matter by what chicanery you are now 
 kept out of it. And for Charlie's sake, with whom I slept in 
 one room for five years, I will help you to make good your 
 title to your land, my boy. Write to Dick by this evening's 
 post, and tell him what I have said ; and you may add that 
 
 John E keeps his promise now as surely as he did when 
 
 he thrashed him for clashing to the head master nearly forty 
 years ago.' 
 
 " I wrote to my uncle that day. His reply came in course 
 of post: it ran thus: 
 
 " 'Your father was, as Dr. B says, my eldest by two 
 
 years. I did not conceal this from you as you impudently 
 assert, but I allowed you to suppose he was a younger bro- 
 ther, because I fancied this would be more satisfactory to 
 yourself, and place you in a better position with the world 
 at large, than a knowledge of the fact that you are ille- 
 gitimate.' 
 
 " I knew and felt that this was false as hell, but how was I 
 
 to prove that it was so ? I carried my letter to Dr. B . 
 
 He read it carefully over, and then desired me tell him the 
 history of my young days, during my father and mother's 
 lifetime, as far as I could recollect. 
 
 " I did so, and mentioned my recollection of mamma's 
 receiving letters from our paternal grandfather and grand- 
 mother after papa's death, and also of mamma's sorrow when 
 
376 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 the intelligence of the death of her father and mother-in-law, 
 which happened within three weeks of each other, reached 
 her. 
 
 " When I had finished my narration, Dr. B replied : 
 
 1 There is not the least doubt but Dick's story is as false as 
 himself: he lied like a trooper at school, stole tops and marbles 
 ad libitum, and, unless the janitor maligned him, he did not 
 hesitate to appropriate odd shillings and sixpences when they 
 came in his way. The boy is father of the man, and he who 
 stole tops in youth has no doubt in his manhood stole your 
 land. However, there is law enough in Scotland to win it 
 back, and make Dick refund the money he has been spending 
 these ten or twelve years. The question is, how to set about 
 collecting materials for the lawyers to go to work upon.' 
 
 " ' But, Doctor,' said I, ' my sister, who is two years older 
 than myself, and I have both to work hard to pay my college 
 fees. How are the lawyers to be paid V 
 
 " ' Leave that to me. Depend upon it Dick will be very 
 glad one of these days to settle the whole affair with very 
 little law ; and even if it were otherwise, I know a dozen 
 honest men of law in Edinburgh, who will take your case in 
 hand, without asking you for a penny until you are in posses- 
 sion of your property. And if we had not such men as these 
 among us, rogues like Richard Keith would ride rampant 
 through the land. But,' continued he, ' you say your sister 
 is two years your senior ; you must write to her, and request 
 that she will make a list of every visitor, French or English, 
 male or female, whom she can recollect seeing in your early 
 home ; and, if possible, let her state where these visitors lived ; 
 old servants also are most valuable in such cases. You say 
 there are no letters or papers of any kind, no books with pre- 
 sentations upon them V 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 377 
 
 " ' None ; my uncle arrived in time for mamma's interment, 
 and doubtless possessed himself of everything that could be £ 
 used in the way of testimony to the truth of our case, or false- 
 hood of his. The day after my mother's funeral we accom- 
 panied him to Scotland, and during the journey he never 
 addressed one word to either of us. We brought with us a 
 great quantity of clothes and my mother's Bible, one given 
 to her by my father before their marriage, with her maiden 
 name written in it by his pen ; and that is all we possess which 
 ever belonged to father or mother. It was a good thing for us 
 we had so much clothes. When we outgrew them, and before 
 we could earn more for ourselves, we were supplied very spar- 
 ingly. Yes,' said I, all at once recollecting your watch, which 
 Mrs. Livingstone insisted upon my wearing ere her debt was 
 paid; 'there is my mother's watch, which she put round 
 Violet's neck some time previous to her death ;' and I placed 
 the watch in his hands. 
 
 " He looked at it, carefully removing the cap, I fancy in 
 search of name or initials, which might be of service, and 
 then returning it to me, said : 
 
 " ' What a buck you are ! sporting a watch set with pearls ; 
 so it seems your uncle did not supply the means even to 
 enable you to learn your profession V 
 
 " He was already aware of how the case stood, and I 
 replied to his last observation by a look. 
 
 4 Aye,' replied he, ' Dick the boy is Dick the man ; 
 when he bought candy with his penny no other boy got an 
 inch. Ah !' looking at his watch, ' I have lost nearly an 
 hour of my visit time, I must be off; and go you to bed for 
 a couple of hours.' 
 
 " I had passed the night in the hospital attending a case of 
 hemorrhage, which could not be left in unskilled hands, and 
 
378 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 Dr. B had confided to my care. I laughed at the idea of 
 
 going to bed in the day-time, saying that I made up for a 
 night's sleep by a bath and a long walk. He looked at me 
 approvingly. 
 
 " * A good plan, my boy ; day-light sleep does us little 
 good.' And taking his notebook from his pocket, wrote the 
 address of three of his patients thereon, and handing it to 
 me, gave in a few minutes a synopsis of each case. * When 
 you take your walk, (mind you take it before eleven o'clock) 
 pay those visits for me, and in the afternoon bring me the 
 account of your labour !' " 
 
 Willie then continued : " Our most sacred duty in life is 
 to establish the fair fame of our parents in defiance of the 
 tongue of the slanderer. I trust that your memory may help 
 us in our need. Do you remember if Philomene's parents 
 lived in Marmaude, or where ? I think her surname was 
 La Forte." 
 
 When I had finished Willie's letter I laid it down with a 
 feeling akin to despair. No wonder I felt so depressed in 
 the morning. Surely we have forebodings of the evil that is 
 about to overwhelm us. Our only earthly treasure was an 
 unsullied name, and that was taken from us at a stroke. I 
 well knew that it was of no use trying to recollect the names 
 of visitors. We had none. During papa's life-time his 
 health was so bad, that mamma was constantly occupied in 
 nursing him ; and this close confinement to a sick-room 
 induced the disease under which she eventually sunk. As 
 to Philomene, she only entered mamma's service a short 
 time previous to our coming to England, replacing the nurse, 
 who had been our bonne from our childhood, and possibly 
 could give valuable information ; but she had gone on her 
 marriage, which was the reason of her leaving mamma's ser- 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 379 
 
 vice, to live in a distant part of the country, where her 
 husband's relatives resided, and I had not the slightest recol- 
 lection of his name, I had often heard mamma say that her 
 marriage was a private one. I had seen the dress she wore, 
 and the jewels my grandfather sent her as a marriage gift ; 
 but what would this amount to? absolutely nothing. I took 
 up my letter, and going into the chapel, which was now 
 deserted, the principal services for the day being over, I 
 knelt down, exclaiming aloud in bitterness of soul, " All 
 these things are against me." 
 
 I prayed my Heavenly Father to help me in this great 
 woe, and, if it were possible, to make the innocence of my 
 parents clear as the noon-day. When I rose from my knees 
 my first impulse was to seek the Prioress. She had read 
 my letter already. I was sure of that, and if she could not 
 shew me a light in the dark path I now trode, she would, by 
 her sympathy, help me to bear my burden. I had another 
 motive lying deeper in my heart, and stronger than any 
 feeling merely connected with self could be. I wished to 
 tell her all the reasons I had for knowing that my uncle's 
 tale was false, as if Judas had been its inventor. 
 
 I found the Prioress ready to hear me at once, an un- 
 usual thing with her. I shewed her the letter, which she 
 would not read, saying she had done so already, expressing, 
 at the same time, a hope that I would be able to recollect 
 the names and residences of those who could confute my 
 uncle's story. 
 
 I told her no ; I knew not a human being who I had the 
 slightest hope would know anything of the matter, adding a 
 description of the isolated life we led. 
 
 Her countenance fell ; she evidently thought my case a 
 bad one. She spoke to me about submission to the will of 
 
380 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 God, and that now was the time to prove my strength and 
 truth of mind, and to rest in Him with holy confidence. She 
 might as well have said to the raging winds, " Peace, be 
 still." 
 
 All at once I recollected my interview with Mr. Weimes, 
 the gentleman I met at Iona Villa, and, as far as my 
 memory served, I repeated every word he then said. Her 
 clear head at once saw light amid the darkness. 
 
 " Your way is very plain," said she ; Mr. Weimes and 
 his sister were both present at your father and mother's 
 marriage ; he must be found, that can be done through his 
 friends in Edinburgh. From him you will learn the name of 
 the parish where, and the priest by whom, they were mar- 
 ried. No doubt your brother will be a rich man yet." 
 
 I had quite overlooked the prospect of Willie's becoming 
 proprietor of Haddo in my misery at the slur thrown on the 
 fair fame of my parents, and, in truth, I cared not for it ; 
 we had nearly climbed the steepest part of the mountain 
 unaided, and I thought if Willie had his bread to win, and a 
 position to make for himself, his mind would become larger 
 and stronger for the struggle, as I knew my own had done. 
 I did not know then, what I have learned since, that whether 
 we have to earn our wealth or only to spend it, if our posi- 
 tion be high or low, the battle of life is to be fought, and 
 those who would end wisely must fight bravely. 
 
 I sat down to reply to Willie's letter with feelings very 
 different from those I had experienced an hour previously. I 
 felt as if I had been rescued from death and the grave — as 
 if I had trodden a path of darkness hemmed in on every 
 side by great perpendicular rocks, which seemed almost to 
 reach to the black, starless sky above — when, in an instant, 
 my eyes were opened, it was past and gone — I knew it was a 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 381 
 
 dream — and I sat on the smooth, green sward— under the 
 broad, blue vault of heaven, and at my feet the river of hope 
 was running softly by. The daybreak had come and the 
 shadows fled away, and I hied, me to the mountain of myrrh, 
 and to the hill of frankincense ; spikenard and saffron were 
 there, calamus and cinnamon, with all the chief spices. I 
 sat in a fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and 
 streams from Lebanon. 
 
 I told Willie of Mr. Weimes, of his being my father's 
 groomsman at his marriage, that his. sister was my god- 
 mother, and that I thought his address would be obtained 
 from Mr. Erskine, whose guest he was at the time of his 
 visit to Iona Villa. 
 
 Having finished my letter, I brought it to the Prioress for 
 her inspection, asking her, at the same time, if Gros Pierre, 
 or his son, the man who kept the lower gate, would be per- 
 mitted to take it to town, as this was the English mail day. 
 
 " Go and put on your hat and cloak," said she ; " I will 
 go into town myself and take you with me, and we will our- 
 selves put your letter into the post office." 
 
 In half an hour Sister Nativity, Sister St. Gabriel and 
 myself were seated by the Prioress in a large double sleigh, 
 driven by Gros Pierre, and passing swiftly into Algona with 
 a bank of snow five feet high on either side of the road. 
 The snow had fallen in great quantities during the whole of 
 December, almost every second day of which there were 
 snow-ploughs along the road. 
 
 We became terribly chilled during our drive, and Sister 
 St. Angelo thought it best for us to drive to St. Bride's ; 
 and while we warmed ourselves by the great stove. in the 
 receiving-room, Gros Pierre was sent to the post-office with 
 the letters. 
 
382 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 The Prioress sent for Sister Agatha, and they talked 
 together in Spanish during the half hour we were there. 
 
 Sister Agatha said Mr. Forbes was in town, and preaching 
 to crowded audiences every night in the largest Protestant 
 church in Algona — that the evening before he held a meet- 
 ing, at which there were three thousand people, and there 
 he openly denounced asking the intercession of the blessed 
 Virgin as idol worship, denied the authority of the Pope 
 extending beyond his own diocese, called the granting of 
 indulgences a license to commit sin, said that St. Peter was 
 a married man, and lived with his wife after he became an 
 apostle. At this the Prioress lifted up both her hands and 
 eyes to heaven, exclaiming, " Holy Saint Antoine, what will 
 they say next !" 
 
 " Anything the devil bids them," replied Sister Agatha. 
 " If I had him," continued she, " I would put his head down 
 on that floor and tear his guilty tongue out." 
 
 " Much better for us all to join in a no vena to the blessed 
 Virgin for his conversion." A novena is a certain number 
 of prayers to the Virgin, or any of the saints, which continues 
 for nine days, and if strictly held, is kept with fasting. 
 
 " A novena for him," replied Sister Agatha, with a sneer, 
 " I would not waste my prayers on such a wretch ; far better 
 for me to keep a novena for myself." 
 
 I agreed with her there. Mr. Forbes was one of the 
 best and holiest men I ever knew ; Sister Agatha was not 
 the best or holiest woman. 
 
 " Colonel Fanshaw is in Algona with the renegade priest," 
 said Sister Agatha, " but his wife or Miss Hamilton are not 
 with him." 
 
 At the mention of Gertrude's name Sister St. Angelo's 
 brow became troubled and sad, and in a few minutes she hur- 
 ried us away. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 383 
 
 In our way home we passed through the street where Sis- 
 ter Agatha said the Protestant church was in which Mr. 
 Forbes had preached the previous evening. 
 
 There was a great crowd in the street coming to meet us, 
 as if the people were dispersing from a church. As we 
 approached the church the crowd became less; however, 
 we had still to drive very slowly, because of the number of 
 vehicles and also of people. My attention was attracted to 
 a group on one of the side-walks, in which a colonel in his 
 scarlet coat and sash formed a conspicuous figure. Three 
 of the others seemed to be clergymen, one of the latter 
 wearing the hat and undress of a priest. They shook hands 
 and parted, the officer and the three clergymen coming 
 toward us. The one wearing the priest's habit was Mr. 
 Forbes ; the Prioress and I both recognized him at once, 
 and involuntarily looked at each other. I did not like the 
 part of listener which I had again sustained during her second 
 conversation with Sister Agatha in Spanish, and said, using 
 that language, 
 
 "How strange it seems to see him there." The nun 
 turned upon me that sharp, penetrating glance which seemed 
 to read one's very soul, saying, at the same time, " You 
 speak Spanish ?" 
 
 a He taught me," was my reply. 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 In the end of February I heard again from Willie ; he had 
 seen Mr. Erskine, who undertook to obtain Mr. Weimes' 
 address, if the latter was still alive, of which, however, he 
 expressed great doubts. He had not heard anything of him 
 since the previous summer ; he was then in France in very 
 delicate health, and obliged, notwithstanding, to go back to 
 India, in order to withdraw his name, if possible, from a bank, 
 which threatened to involve its shareholders in ruin. 
 
 Mr. Erskine promised by that mail to address a letter to 
 him at his French residence in Caen, and, if he had no answer 
 
 in the course of a few weeks, to write to Lord B , who 
 
 was also a resident there, and from whom he hoped to receive 
 intelligence of Mr. Weimes' whereabouts. 
 
 This part of the letter was anything but satisfactory, but 
 my faith was strong as to our ultimate success, and I was 
 willing to leave it in the hands of Him, without whose permis- 
 sion not " a sparrow can fall to the ground." 
 
 Willie's college days were drawing to a close ; he was study- 
 ing hard, and in addition to this, one day in every week, some- 
 times two, he spent the forenoon visiting such of Doctor 
 B 's patients, as the latter could intrust to him. 
 
 He said the whole of next month must be devoted to hard 
 study; he was sure of his degree, but he wished to do some- 
 thing more than merely pass. 
 
 He gave me a piece of information, at which I did not feel 
 surprised. Poor Mr. Scott was the inmate of an asylum for the 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 385 
 
 insane. What else could be expected from the fits of uncon- 
 trolled passion he allowed himself to indulge in ? He had been 
 under restraint for upwards of a year. It was said that Miss 
 Hariote was soon to become Mrs. Erskine. I cannot under- 
 stand why this did not take place long ago ; maid or wife all 
 happiness attend her. 
 
 March, April, May, went by, and brought only one letter 
 from Willie ; he had passed and with eclat. After securing 
 
 his degree Doctor B offered to take him as his assistant, 
 
 but he would not accept the situation without consulting me, 
 
 as it involved his living in Doctor B 's house ; his salary 
 
 was to be a hundred pounds a year. 
 
 This situation, I was fully aware, would be of the utmost 
 consequence to Willie ; his success in life would most likely 
 be insured by a residence with Doctor B as his assis- 
 tant ; by this means all the heart sickness, longing and wait- 
 ing for patients, which falls to the lot of most young medical 
 men, would be obviated, and provided that his talents were 
 equal to the task, the time would in all probability arrive, 
 when the assistant would become the partner ; and a course 
 of honour and independence secured with less trouble than 
 falls to the lot of most men. 
 
 On the other hand this would put an end for the time, 
 perhaps for ever, to all our former plans of cottage life. I 
 was heartily sick of the convent ; Gertrude had taken away 
 with her every tie which bound me to it ; except Sister St. 
 Angelo there was not one I cared for in St. Mary's or St. 
 Bride's; indeed, I scarcely knew another. The nun I saw and 
 spoke to to-day while we sewed or made wax flowers, (a great 
 branch of industry in the convent, and one much required ; 
 as we not only supplied our own altars, three in St. Mary's 
 and three in St. Bride's, but also the altars of St. Benedict, 
 
386 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 and as they were never covered, they were constantly in 
 want of renewal) I would not speak to or almost see for three 
 weeks, hence I was a stranger in the midst of a crowd ; it 
 was true I had lived calmly and comfortably while there, but 
 that great wall seemed as if it shut me out from communion 
 with my kind, and in reality it was so. I would rejoice at 
 regaining my liberty when the first of September arrived, and 
 would not live another year in St. Mary's on almost any 
 terms. I felt as if I would like, on regaining my freedom, to 
 rush into the woods, and live there wild and free from all 
 restraint. 
 
 But there was no reason for my remaining at St. Mary's 
 because it was thought expedient for Willie to live as assis- 
 tant to Doctor B . I could take another situation in either 
 
 Britain or Canada, the former if possible, (I need have no 
 fear of poor Mr. Scott shooting either myself or his son now,) 
 and in a few years we would be quite rich, by that time Mr. 
 Weimes would surely be found, and then — 
 
 I wrote to Willie inclosing a draft for the past quarter's 
 salary, which I had just received ; he was to add this to our 
 little store, the last money due me by the Superior, I would 
 draw on the thirty-first of August, fifteen pounds sterling ; 
 this would I knew from experience, bring me from St. Bride's 
 to Mrs. Livingstone's land, with its comfortable parlour. How 
 I longed to be there once more, once more to listen to the 
 kind words dictated by her large heart, and above all I longed 
 to see and make the acquaintance of Willie, who would be 
 quite a stranger in those great black whiskers. 
 
 I told him all this and advised him to accept of Doctor 
 
 B 's offer. If I did not hear of a suitable situation in 
 
 Canada, previous to my leaving the convent, I would at once 
 return home, perhaps go to Mrs. Moodie's, although I had 
 still my former objection to going there. 
 
VIOLET KEITK. 387 
 
 At the commencement of the holidays, two of the nuns 
 belonging to St. Mary's and I were to go, at the request of 
 the Prioress, for six weeks, perhaps two months, to St. Bride's ; 
 a couple of new dormitories had been added to the hospital, 
 and we went to assist in making mattresses, sheets, pillow- 
 slips, towels, in short all that was required for furnishing 
 forty beds ; a grant had lately been left to the Prioress for 
 the purpose, and by it she was enabled to take in a class of 
 needy poor, who had been formerly excluded, namely the 
 sick apprentice or servant girl, who wanted a home and 
 medical attendance during illness. 
 
 I cannot say I liked the change from the fine house, beauti- 
 ful grounds, and fresh air of St. Mary's, to the low-roofed 
 rooms and paved court of St. Bride's, but I was glad to spend 
 the few weeks left of my convent life in working for the 
 Prioress, who had done me so many kindnesses during my 
 sojourn at St. Mary's. 
 
 The room assigned me was, if possible, smaller than the one 
 I occupied at St. Mary's ; the bare walls were whitewashed ; 
 not an inch of carpet, and the window consisted of nine panes 
 of glass placed high up in the wall, so that when I wished to 
 look out I had to place the only chair in the room close to 
 the window, and stand thereon ; the bed was covered with a 
 blue striped counterpane, everything clean, but not invit- 
 ing. The morning after I had taken up my abode at St. 
 Bride's I was surprised to see so many nuns when I went to 
 morning prayers at four o'clock ; they were mostly old women, 
 with the exception of the novices ; the younger and stronger 
 must have been sent on missions ; they had all, with the single 
 exception of Sister Agatha, quiet, subdued, almost unhappy 
 looking faces. I did not wonder at this after I had spent a 
 week or two at St. Bride's, the long day there seemed as if 
 
388 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 it would never pass ; to me such a life would have been one of 
 extreme penance. The two nuns from St. Mary's and I sat 
 in the new building, which our work was to furnish, sewing, 
 busy as bees, from five in the morning until six at nighfc, with 
 the intervals necessary for meals and worship. The windows 
 looked out to the paved court, surrounded by a high wall ; 
 the only break in the monotony of our lives being when the 
 gate was opened to admit a cart with hay or straw for the 
 cows, and twice a day when they were led out to or brought 
 from pasture. It was well that it was not to last long, I believe 
 six months of it would have made me crazy. 
 
 On going to my room at night I regularly placed my chair 
 by the window, stood on it, and placing my Bible on the broad 
 sill, formed by a wall four feet thick, I continued reading until 
 the light failed me ; and then I stood looking at the bright 
 stars as they came out, one by one, in the silent night, my 
 thoughts wandering away to that far land which contained all 
 I held dear ; no not all ; Gertrude, I often thought of her, and 
 wondered whether I should ever see her again, and Sister 
 St. Angelo with her ever active body and mind, used to cross 
 my mind's vision, like the angel who stands between the living 
 and the dead. 
 
 One night, a week after I came to live at St. Bride's, the 
 moon shone bright in the heavens, making my little cell almost 
 as light as day. I had wearied myself reading and yet felt no 
 inclination to go to bed ; my spirit went back as it always did to 
 my Scottish home ; I thought of Willie and the new life he was 
 entering on, and I praised the Lord in my heart for raising 
 
 up to him such a friend as Doctor B , and then I thought 
 
 of another whom I had promised myself many times never to 
 think of more, and of the first earnest look with which his 
 eye met mine in Mrs. Livingstone's land, that look which 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 389 
 
 sunk deep in my heart then, and now, when nearly four years 
 old, was as fresh as yesterday, clear and bright as the dew 
 drop glistening in the morning sun, and with more than a 
 quarter of the globe between me and the dark eye which gave 
 it me, making my pulse beat with accelerated pace. I put my 
 hand on my bosom as if I could press down the painful 
 thoughts which rose there, and under my open palm was the 
 little silken scapular with its precious contents. 
 
 In a moment, before I gave myself time to think what I 
 was doing, the silk bag was unripped, and the letter spread 
 out before me ; and as I stood there, reading under the con- 
 vent roof, in the cold midnight, the strong words of the good 
 true heart and firm hand that traced them, I felt sure as if 
 an angel spoke, I had been the dupe of a madman ; that in 
 my pride and folly I had thrown away the noblest, truest 
 heart that ever sought woman's love. With this conviction 
 came the knowledge, sharp as the forked lightning, that the 
 words traced by my own hand had placed a gulf between 
 us which must roll on in its darkness for evermore. My 
 cheek burned and my temples throbbed as I pressed my 
 brow to the cool stone window sill of my cell, and wept in my 
 lonely wretchedness. My cell became intolerable ; I could not 
 breathe ; I must have air and space. I went through the,long 
 corridor and down the staircase leading to the hall where the 
 poor dined ; there the air was close and hot, not a window 
 open. I turned towards the chapel, there to pray to Him 
 who alone knew my soul's bitterness. 
 
 As I entered, the moonlight streaming in through the 
 painted windows, shed a dim light around, aided by the per- 
 petual lamp that hung before the great altar in front of the 
 host, I was startled, on walking up the aisle, to see a coffin 
 laid on trestles placed under the holy lamp. It was covered 
 
 AA 
 
390 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 by a long black cloth pall, which swept the ground except at 
 one end, where it was folded back about half a foot. My 
 curiosity was excited. I had heard of no death among the 
 nuns ; and if any of the poor people had died, they would cer- 
 tainly never have been brought to lay all night in the chapel. 
 I approached, not without a feeling of terror, yet impelled by 
 an irresistible impulse I could not control, and going up to 
 the end where the pall was folded back, I there discovered 
 Sister St. Angelo fast asleep ! 
 
 Doubtless this was a self-imposed penance to win Paradise 
 for some careless soul, dear to the loving heart that in its 
 unselfishness could do and dare for ever for those it loved. 
 
 Next morning I was in the chapel before four o'clock mass, 
 and watched the face of the Prioress both as she came in and 
 went out : it wore the same pale hue and anxious expression 
 which it had done ever since Gertrude's departure, not one 
 shade more, never one shade less. I felt restless and uneasy 
 during the day. I had not sewed my letter into the scapu- 
 lar, and I longed for the night that I might do so, I wanted 
 to make it quite safe once more. 
 
 At eight o'clock, the usual hour, I entered my cell. After 
 completing my arrangements for the night, I got up to my 
 window — the moon large and bright like a silver shield, as on 
 the previous night, not a cloud to be seen, the " bonny lady 
 moon" sailing in her majestic beauty, queen and mistress 
 there. It was the eve before a great fete of obligation, and 
 I had just finished sewing my scapular, and tied it round my 
 neck, when the bells rung in the fete at midnight. 
 
 I did not go to bed. I was excited. I knew I could not 
 sleep, and it was much more pleasant to stand by the cool 
 window, looking out into the solemn night. 
 
 The bells ceased one by one ; first, the great bell of Nctre 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 391 
 
 Dame des Neiges halted with a heavy clash, as if calling upon 
 the others to follow in its wake ; then the three bells of St. 
 Benedict rung out their last note. St. Peter's, St. Patrick's, 
 and St. Bride's, each in their turn, stayed the glad notes, as 
 it were in obedience to our Lady of the Snow. 
 
 Silence once more reigned queen of the night ; the hum of 
 the busy town was still, all around sunk in deep slumber. I 
 was alone with the moon and stars, those old sentinels, who 
 sang at Adam's advent, and rejoiced with him in his joy, 
 when he received his bride fresh from the hands of the 
 Creator ; who have been watching those six thousand years 
 so replete with sin and sorrow ; who have heard all the sighs 
 and seen all the bitter tears his sorrowing children have shed, 
 ever searching with wandering foot and weary breast for the 
 barred gates of the Paradise of God. 
 
 I was tired now ; I had only slept two hours the previous 
 night, and I turned more than once to leave my window and 
 lie down on my little bed, but I felt as if I were fascinated 
 by the pale face of the moon, climbing heaven companionless 
 amid the millions of stars around her. I determined at last 
 to go, and leave her to complete her journey alone, when my 
 ear was caught by the sound of distant wheels. They must 
 have been far away at first, it took such a long time for them 
 to reach the convent wall, and there they stopped. Could it 
 be possible ? The great gate was opening, and from the out- 
 side, what extraordinary thing had taken place to bring visit- 
 ors to the convent at such an hour ; and visitors, too, who could 
 open the great gate for themselves. Verily, wonders will never 
 cease. Yes, most surely there it was opened from the out- 
 side, and the carriage passed into the court. 
 
 I now heard the house door open, but I could not see 
 it from where I stood. Two priests alighted from the car- 
 
392 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 riage, and then helped a lady to descend. She -wore a hat 
 with a long black feather. It must be some boarder for St. 
 Mary's, but why come so late ? The lady took off her hat 
 and swept back her hair as if she felt too warm, and then 
 looked up to the heavens. The moon shone full on her face. 
 It was Gertrude ! pale as death, but surely Gertrude. There 
 was something, I could not tell what, fixed across her mouth, 
 but there was no mistaking the rest of the face, and, as if to 
 make me perfectly certain, she again took off her hat, and 
 carried it in her hand. 
 
 All this passed in a few seconds. They were joined by those 
 who opened the convent door. The priests again entered the 
 carriage, and were drawn out. I then observed that it was 
 a priest who drove. Sister Agatha — I knew it was she by 
 her height, half a head taller than any nun in both convents — 
 shut and locked the gate, after which they all entered the 
 house. I slipped out into the corridor ; they were talking, 
 several voices, not in anger — Sister Agatha, and, thank God, 
 Sister St. Angelo. 
 
CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 Next morning I was at early mass with the nuns, but saw 
 or heard nothing of Gertrude ; I tried in vain to speak to 
 Sister St. Angelo for several days, in hopes she would say 
 something of her, but now I scarcely ever saw the Prioress 
 except at early mass, and immediately after the benediction 
 she was gone ; I knew it was of no use asking any of the 
 nuns about the matter ; the cloistered nuns very likely could 
 tell, but I had never spoken to a cloistered nun in St. 
 Bride's ; even at St. Mary's, where I lived three years, I 
 had only spoken to two of the cloistered nuns, and I must 
 say both of them were humble, self-denying women, endeav- 
 ouring, as far as they had light, to live up to the precepts of 
 our Saviour when he said, "be ye perfect as your Father 
 which is in heaven is perfect." That all cloistered nuns are 
 not so, I had ample proof; Sister Agatha was a cloistered 
 nun, but she was neither self-denying, gentle, or humble. I 
 never encountered her glance without receiving a scowl 
 which made me shudder and think of an evil spirit. 
 
 Ten days had elapsed since I saw Gertrude enter the con- 
 vent at midnight ; when I again saw her at vesper prayers 
 she came in with the nuns ; on seeing me she smiled gladly, 
 and in going from chapel asked me when I came to St. 
 Bride's ; why I was there, &c. She did not appear to be 
 under the least restraint ; she looked very pale ; I asked if 
 she had been ill. 
 
 " Yes," washer answer, " very ill. I came home ten days 
 
394 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 since ; I was then suffering from the effects of fever ; 
 this is the first time I have been in chapel; if I feel as 
 well to-morrow as I do to-day, I will come and help you 
 to work. Sister Agatha told me of the new wing, but did 
 not say you were working for it ; she probably did not 
 know I knew or cared for you." This may have been the 
 case ; she stood behind Gertrude while we talked to each 
 other in English, a language of which she understood not one 
 word, her eyes fixed on my face with a searching glance ; if 
 she understood mind-reading she would not have her love of 
 human nature as represented in my person strengthened by 
 that scrutiny. 
 
 Every day after that interview Gertrude came to the new 
 wing twice, each time spending an hour or two helping us to 
 sew, or sometimes reading, but she never alluded to her ab- 
 sence from St. Mary's or her return to St. Bride's ; I also 
 saw her several times a day in the court yard, sometimes with 
 her hat on, sometimes off, but in her hand ; she never came 
 to the work room, or even the chapel, without her hat ; she 
 wore deep mourning, fashionably made, and of handsome 
 materials, but she never changed her dress ; I asked myself 
 once or twice if she had another in St. Bride's, but whether 
 she came to sew in the hospital or walked in the court, she 
 was always attended by Sister Agatha. The nun never left 
 her for a moment, yet with a policy quite in keeping with her 
 character, she did not allow her presence to seem obtrusive. 
 In the hospital she would come to give orders or cut out 
 work, an office previously left entirely to Sister Mary ; in the 
 yard she would bring one of the lay sisters to clean the steps, 
 01 call the man who attended to the court to pull out the tufts 
 of grass growing between the paving stones, or some such 
 thing, and she would superintend ; all the while, however, 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 395 
 
 watching Gertrude as a cat does the tame bird it has deter- 
 mined to pounce upon. 
 
 One day Gertrude told me she was in mourning for her 
 uncle, Colonel Fanshaw ; that he died about a month before, 
 leaving the bulk of his fortune to his wife, a woman young 
 enough to be his daughter, and that the latter had gone to 
 England, having left Canada on the day of his funeral ; imme- 
 diately after the reading of the will. 
 
 During this recital Sister Agatha's eyes glistened with 
 curiosity ; at last she left the room, returning immediately 
 with another nun, who she doubtless hoped would be able to 
 interpret. Alas ! as poor Burns says, " the best laid schemes 
 of mice and men, gang aft agley." So do the schemes of nuns. 
 Sister St. John Baptist's knowledge of the English language 
 extended to the ability to say, how do you do, and good-bye, 
 which she often misplaced, saying good-bye when she met me, 
 and how do you do when we parted ; but she was proud of 
 her English, and never failed to use it when we encountered 
 each other, this forming her only opportunity for doing so. 
 
 It must have been the frequent mention of Colonel and Mrs. 
 Fanshaw's name which excited Sister Agatha's curiosity, 
 as she could not possibly understand the import of another 
 word we used, and yet I did not dare to ask Gertrude where 
 she had been or when she came back ; the same feeling, it 
 may be, prevented her from telling me. 
 
 There was in St. Bride's a silly creature, quite decrepit, 
 and very old ; she was said to have numbered more than a 
 hundred years, who still wore the purple dress of a novice, 
 and when asked her age, invariably answered " fourteen ;" 
 her thin gray hair was parted on her forehead, and not cut 
 like that of a nun ; she had a soft brown eye, and old as she 
 was, had the remains of beauty. She spent a great deal of 
 
396 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 her time with us in the new wing, attaching herself particu- 
 larly to me ; she was always well received by us, her visits, 
 idiot as she was, relieving the terrible monotony of our lives. 
 
 She had an idea that she was going home on the morrow, 
 and each day washed either an apron or handkerchief, which 
 she would draw out, fold, unfold, and refold again for hours, 
 observing occasionally during the operation, that she would 
 willingly help us with our work, but as she was to leave St. 
 Bride's on the morrow, she would require all the intervening 
 time to make her apron ready. Sister St. Angelo always 
 spoke to her kindly when she found her with us, Emma re- 
 gularly bidding the Prioress good-bye, as she would be gone 
 before her next visit to St. Bride's; she did not at all like 
 Sister Agatha, a shade always coming over her face when 
 " La mauvaise" as she called her, came near. She told me 
 that when " La mauvaise " met her in the passages alone, 
 she always kicked her, but said she in a whisper, " when I 
 bid good-bye to the Superior, I shall tell her all ; she is old 
 enough, and ugly enough to know better." Emma used to 
 say she was to leave the convent because she had no voca- 
 tion to be a nun ; she told me there was a baby boy at 
 home, who was just a year old ; he was two months when she 
 came to St. Bride's ; she was sure she would not know him, 
 he would have grown so big and fat, but he soon would know 
 her ; she would feed him with such nice things every day, very 
 soon he would love her best of all ; and then her poor mind 
 would wander off to the chapel and prayers, the image of 
 the Virgin, and the flowers on the altar, all mixed up with 
 the proper way to fold her apron, which ever occupied her 
 busy fingers. 
 
 No one now in the convent remembered Emma except as 
 the poor silly old creature she now was ; every day for more 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 397 
 
 than eighty years back washing an apron in anticipation of 
 to-morrow ; she had outlived every friend of her young days : 
 the baby boy she loved to talk of, had doubtless grown a man 
 in the far past, pressed babies of his own to his lips and bosom, 
 and forgot while he did so all about poor Emma and her lov- 
 ing heart, that had even in her madness never forgotten him ; 
 and while she still talks of her baby boy, he, a grown man, 
 lies sleeping, the sleep that knows no waking ; and even those 
 who knew her in middle age had long since laid themselves 
 down to rest, and were numbered with the other dead sisters 
 in the great vault below the convent, while she wandered 
 restlessly in the sunshine above their heads, ever preparing 
 for the morrow, in the very rooms they knew so well, where 
 they lived and died, the walls of which witnessed their few 
 joys, and happily their few sorrows also. The only thing 
 known of her now was a tradition that, more than eighty 
 years before, she became silly in the tenth month of her 
 novitiate. It was easily accounting for this being handed down, 
 when she was asked how long she had been in the convent, 
 her answer was always the same, " ten months." For the last 
 eighty years she had been bequeathed by one Superior when 
 dying to the care of another, with the solemn injunction ever 
 accompanying the charge, "that Emma be carefully and 
 tenderly dealt with for the love of the Holy Cross." 
 
 There were a great many alterations going on at St. 
 Mary's ; there was to be another room added to those now in 
 use for the class of aspirants, as the number of pupils in that 
 class would this year exceed by thirty what it had ever been. 
 The class of children of Jesus also was to be much larger, and 
 the arrangements for these fell entirely on Sister St. Angelo. 
 In consequence of this she. was now very little at St. Bride's. 
 One thing Gertrude and I observed, she used to come twice 
 
398 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 a week, late in the evening, after convent hours, to St. Bride's, 
 slept there, attended first mass, and was off to St. Mary's 
 again by five o'clock. 
 
 First mass was at four o'clock, and although not fond of 
 early rising, Gertrude always attended the first service, that 
 she might kiss the nun's pale cheek, which every day seemed 
 to become older and more careworn, and speak a few words 
 to her in passing from the chapel. 
 
 I told Gertrude of my having seen the Prioress sleeping in 
 the coffin in front of the chancel ; she seemed inexpressibly 
 shocked, and for some time made no reply, at last she said, 
 with an abstracted air, as if her thoughts were far off: 
 
 " Dear Violet, will you go again when the Proiress comes 
 here at night and see if the coffin is again in the chancel ; it 
 is impossible for myself to go." 
 
 I knew it was. 
 
 Several times after this I went at midnight to the chapel. 
 I never saw the coffin there again. Each time I went to look 
 for the coffin I told Gertrude of my visit ; with her lips she 
 made no reply, her eyes thanked me in the fullest sense of 
 the word. 
 
 I had no letter from Willie for a long time ; I knew he was 
 waiting for a satisfactory answer to the letters respecting 
 Mr. Weimes. I was not impatient, my convent life would be 
 over in a week or two, and I had resolved to go home. I had 
 written to Mrs. Moodie telling her this, and that I would go 
 to her for the first year at any rate ; I knew she would be 
 pleased, she had told me so several times in her last letters. 
 
 I asked Gertrude what she intended to do when her con- 
 vent life was over, if she would go to Scotland or remain here, 
 her answer was, that she had not made up her mind, she 
 would talk to me on the subject another time. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 39$ 
 
 Three days more, and my engagement would expire. I had 
 been counting the days for some time, and now I had scarcely 
 patience to sit at my work ; I used to go twenty times a day 
 to the window, as if there was anything to be seen there. Ger- 
 trude came and read for an hour that forenoon, and then 
 Sister Agatha said "it was time for her to take her walk 
 before dinner." Very delightful walk it was indeed, round and 
 round the paved court yard ; I could not understand why Ger- 
 trude did not go to St. Mary's ; I was sure she could if she 
 would ; living there was like being in Paradise in comparison 
 to St. Bride's. 
 
 Of course Sister Agatha went to walk in the court also. 
 There is a strange perversity in our human nature ; I despised 
 walking in the court, and yet now the others were gone I 
 should have liked to go too, only had I done so, I would have 
 laid myself open to a rebuke on account of my idleness, which 
 Sister Agatha would not be slow to give ; it seemed to afford 
 her great pleasure pointing out, and enlarging upon, any 
 little deficiency or short-coming of mine ; constantly impres- 
 sing upon me, the wholesome truth, that they who were 
 obliged to earn their bread, should have no will of their own, 
 even in thought. Notwithstanding the knowledge that Sister 
 Agatha's eye was upon me, I left my sewing and stood look- 
 ing at them from the window ; two of the other nuns came 
 from the back of the court, where the clothes were bleached, 
 and joined them, and they all stood on the right handside of 
 the great gate, chatting and laughing ; even Sister Agatha's 
 risible faculties seemed excited in an unusual degree. The 
 great gate bell rung, and the porteress came from the convent 
 with her keys to open the gate j the person who rung was a 
 man with a load of hay. It was a large gate, which opened in 
 the middle, and it required both sides open to let in the hay 
 
400 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 cart ; the nuns and Gertrude were at the right side of the 
 gate as I said, and just as the cart was entering, the mid-day 
 bell rung for the nuns' dinner. I have often heard the other 
 nuns joke about Sister Agatha's love of good eating and the 
 quantity she could consume ; it was she who said grace, and 
 they used to allege she was always first in the refectory, and 
 instances were said to have occurred, when so anxious was 
 she to eat her dinner, that she said grace to bare walls, and 
 commenced supplying her own plate before one of the other 
 nuns had appeared ; of course this could only take place in 
 the absence of the Superior and Prioress, in this case Sister 
 Agatha always acted in their stead, and, it is likely, considered 
 herself entitled to do as she pleased, at all events I was 
 amazed to see the hurry she was in to enter the house ; she 
 passed the back of the open gate, in which stood the hay cart 
 — something had gone wrong with the wheel, and the man was 
 putting it to rights ; it looked as if the linch pin had fallen out — 
 the other nuns followed. Last of all Gertrude, when she came 
 to the edge of the gate instead of following the others in the 
 direction of the house, she turned and passed out into the street 
 by the narrow passage, that was formed by the load of hay 
 and the outer side of the gate, the porteress meanwhile 
 talking to the man at the opposite side of the cart as he en- 
 deavoured to arrange the wheel. The space between the gate 
 and the hay cart was so narrow, that I involuntarily clasped 
 my hands and uttered an exclamation of terror, lest by the 
 least hitch of the latter, she should be crushed between the 
 heavy gate and the load of hay. As the nuns stood at the 
 door waiting for it to be opened, they observed that Gertrude 
 was not with them, and were back at the gate talking with 
 the man and the porteress in a moment, both of whom were 
 evidently denying what the nuns said, pointing to the cart, 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 401 
 
 which by a movement of the horse now leant against the open 
 gate on one side, and they themselves on the other. As a proof 
 that it would have been impossible for any one to pass, the 
 habitant pointed to the side of the convent where the nuns 
 and Gertrude had been before the gate was opened. The man 
 had evidently told them he saw her go round the house in 
 that direction, as they immediately posted off with lightened 
 faces in the way pointed out. They were back again, how- 
 ever, in a moment, and down at the gate, which by this time 
 the porteress was closing. She opened it again, and she, the 
 two younger nuns, and the habitant, went out, Sister Agatha 
 taking her post at the back of the gate, regretting, I fancy, 
 for the second time in her life, that she was a cloistered nun, 
 which was equally effectual now in restraining her from join- 
 ing in the pursuit of Gertrude, as it had been on a former 
 occasion, in preventing her from following the footsteps of 
 Mr. Forbes from Canada to Europe. 
 
 In a few minutes they returned, shaking their heads, and 
 all talking at once. Their search had been unsuccessful. 
 No wonder, Gertrude was at least five minutes in advance 
 of them. There was a cab-stand not ten yards from the 
 convent gate. She would most likely take a cab, and even 
 the man who drove it would not, in all probability, know 
 where she came from. At all events she was gone. As the 
 nuns passed the window where I stood, Sister Agatha looked up 
 with an expression of countenance so full of diabolical rage, I 
 could not help laughing. Her face became at once purple 
 and livid, and her whole frame shook with ill-suppressed 
 emotion. She clenched her hand and shook it in my face. 
 In a second she recovered herself, probably ashamed of having 
 shown such emotion in the presence of one whom she consi- 
 dered so much her inferior in all things, and whom she hated 
 most cordially. That laugh cost me dear. 
 
402 VIOLET KEITH, 
 
 There were three doors to the room in which we worked, 
 and where I then was. I heard all these locked so quickly, 
 the one after the other, that it would have been almost mira- 
 culous if the work of one hand, which, however, I did not 
 doubt it was. However, it troubled me not ; I did not care 
 much for being locked into a room. I seldom left during 
 the day. In three days I would leave it and St. Bride's for 
 ever ; and I rejoiced that it was so. I was heartily tired of con- 
 vent life ; although I did not regret having entered St. Bride's 
 for several reasons, one of which was, I had gained a know- 
 ledge of convent life I could not have acquired except as a 
 resident. I had become convinced, both by the seeing of 
 the eye and the hearing of the ear, that the ideas I had 
 formerly entertained of the happiness and tranquillity enjoyed 
 there were entirely fallacious. I knew by experience that 
 there were little annoyances occurring daily and hourly in 
 the convent, as well as in the world ; and there these locusts, 
 which spoil the grain and eat up the flowers and tender buds 
 of our every-day life, are more poignantly felt, because petty 
 things assume an importance there which we would never 
 accord to them in the outer world. I have known a broken 
 figure of St. Joseph to be the fruitful cause of bitter tears 
 and many falsehoods during a whole month, which, if the 
 good, kind man himself had been on earth to witness, would 
 doubtless have grieved him far more than breaking all the 
 trumpery images representing him in the convent. I had 
 learned that gossiping arrogance and avariee were rife here 
 as in the world, and I well knew there were breaking hearts 
 wearing out a hopeless existence that bitterly regretted 
 the irrevocable step they had taken. 
 
 I sat down to my work and sewed for more than an hour. 
 Surely they were n r + going to keep me here without dinner ! 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 403 
 
 I became hungry with the idea. No matter, I could fast a 
 whole day very easily, and not suffer in the least from it. 
 What could be keeping my companions ? they never used to 
 stay so long at dinner, and I was sure their minds would not 
 be disturbed by hearing of Gertrude's flight. No one within 
 the convent walls would hear of that except those to whom it 
 was absolutely necessary it should be divulged. Even the 
 few who already knew of her departure were bound by a 
 solemn oath never to disclose the secrets of their convent ; 
 and the least sign, the uplifting of a finger from the Superior, 
 was suflicient to ensure their everlasting silence. 
 
 The clock chimed ; I looked up from my work, it was two 
 o'clock, and still they came not ; three, four ; they would not 
 come now — that was certain ; and if my dinner had not been 
 forgotten, I was to be punished for laughing at Sister Agatha 
 by an enforced fast. Be it so, it would do no harm ; in two 
 days and a half I would be as free as the wind, with fifteen 
 pounds of my own earning in my pocket. No one would 
 lock me into a room alone then. How I laughed at the 
 childish way she took of punishing me ! I knew that I could 
 very easily have her punished for acting so without the per- 
 mission of the Prioress ; but I would never think of disturb- 
 ing dear, good Sister St. Angelo with any such nonsense. 
 
 I had been standing by the window, counting the number 
 of paving stones within a given square of the court — I often 
 caught myself engaged in this profitable mental employment 
 since coming to St. Bride's — and tired of that, had returned 
 to my seat and begun my work again, when suddenly I was 
 startled by seeing Sister Agatha by my side. The doors of 
 the room were full in my view — she could not have entered 
 by any of them ; she must have come by a sliding panel, 
 such as Sister St. Angelo doubtless entered by, when she 
 
404 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 surprised me in appearing so suddenly one day during the 
 early part of my residence at St. Mary's. What the Prior- 
 ess meant by this I never could devine. Sister Agatha's 
 motive was easily fathomed. On the one hand, it would 
 shew me I was never secure in thinking myself alone, and 
 thereby perhaps terrify me a little ; on the other, her sudden 
 appearance would probably startle me into some observation 
 which might betray my knowledge of Gertrude's abode ; 
 anything, however slight, which would weaken or startle my 
 mind, if only for a time, and enable her to obtain the slight- 
 est ascendancy over me would, of course, forward the object 
 she had in view. I felt certain, from the time she shook her 
 hand so significantly, that she considered me an accomplice 
 in Gertrude's flight, and that, as far as she dared, she would 
 wreak her vengeance upon me. Let her do her worst, I 
 feared her not; the time was too short — she was quite 
 powerless to do me evil. She remained without speaking for 
 several minutes; at last she said, " You have made a good 
 day's work." 
 
 I misunderstood her, and wondered how she knew that I 
 had sewed so little, fancying she commented ironically on 
 my idleness. After a pause, finding I did not reply, she 
 asked, " Where is Miss Hamilton ?" 
 
 " How can I tell ?" was my answer. 
 
 She seated herself on the other side of the table opposite 
 to where I sat, and replied, with a self-command and cool- 
 ness I did not give her credit for possessing, " You can tell, 
 because it was by your advice and instructions she left the 
 only safe home she has in the world." 
 
 " I never spoke to Miss Hamilton on the subject of her 
 leaving the convent since I came to St. Bride's, nor did she 
 speak of her future plans to me." 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 405 
 
 " Do you mean to tell me that you and Miss Hamilton 
 never talked over and formed plans for the time when both 
 you and she would leave St. Bride's ?" 
 
 " I do not know," replied I, with a firmness which aston- 
 ished myself (for I feared as well as disjjked the nun), " what 
 right you have to put such a question to me, but, notwith- 
 standing, I will answer it truly. Some time since I asked 
 Miss Hamilton if she intended going to Scotland after the 
 period appointed by her father's will for her residence in the 
 convent had elapsed. Her answer was that she had not 
 made up her mind, but would again talk to me on the sub- 
 ject." 
 
 u A very plausibly got up story, provided you could get 
 me to believe it ; but these Protestant prevarications will not 
 avail with me," said the nun. "I am too well aware that 
 your convenient creed, by which you are self-relieved of the 
 necessity of confession, makes it a small matter whether you 
 utter truth or falsehood. Your dread of punishment in what 
 is to you a far-off and very uncertain future being too weak 
 to deter you from committing crimes, and lying to conceal 
 them, which a Catholic would shrink from." 
 
 " If that is your opinion," replied I, " there is no use in 
 your asking me questions, or in my replying to them." 
 
 " As to that I am the best judge," said the nun, with 
 more heat than she had yet shown, " and your impertinence 
 only adds to your crime, but, let me assure you, there are 
 means within these convent walls to enforce a confession of 
 the truth, and I now warn you that your only safety con- 
 sists in telling now what you know, and all you know. 
 Depend upon it, it will yet be wrung from you in a way 
 you little think of." 
 
 " I neither fear you nor any means you dare employ," I 
 
 BB 
 
406 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 replied, fearlessly, my courage rising with the occasion ; " my 
 engagement with the Superior terminates in two days — tell 
 her to keep whatever she may consider sufficient to recom- 
 pense her for my services during that time, and let me leave 
 the convent to-night, or as soon as you can obtain her per- 
 mission for me to do so." 
 
 " A very good proposition," said she, with apparent com- 
 posure, although I could see the storm was rising, " and very 
 convenient for the maturing of plans which have already 
 succeeded so well ; and then you would join Miss Hamilton 
 in whatever horrible low haunt you have appointed as your 
 place of rendezvous, and by your further advice and assist- 
 ance you would make her seven-fold more the child of hell 
 than yourself. No," continued she, in a voice so replete 
 with rage as to sound almost sepulchral, " she will wait from 
 morn to night, and from night to morn again, and long for 
 your coming, with aching head and weary breast — -it may be, 
 until her hair grows gray with age and watching, but you 
 and she will never meet again ; until she is within these 
 walls you shall never cross the threshold. But I need not 
 draw such a picture — it is only fancy; perhaps, ere the 
 stipulated time is over, Miss Hamilton will have tired wait- 
 ing for one she knew too well to value highly. Friendship 
 cemented by intrigue and sin is under the curse of both 
 saints and angels, and lasts no longer than the devil, who 
 made it, thinks necessary for the accomplishment of his own 
 purposes. Perhaps, while we are speaking, Miss Hamilton 
 may be on her way to some of her heretic friends, whom she 
 prefers to Miss Keith." 
 
 I looked at her with all the contempt I could throw into 
 my face, but did not answer. 
 
 The nun rose from her seat, and placing one hand on 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 407 
 
 the back of the chair, drew herself up to her full height, 
 looking grand in her great stature and black robes. I thought 
 of Jezebel as I looked upon her. She stood for fully a 
 minute without speaking, and then said, " Would you like 
 to become such an one as the fool Emma ?" I answered 
 not, but kept my eyes firmly fixed on her face. " There are 
 means down there to make you so,"she added, pointing with 
 her long arm and the outstretched finger of her right hand to 
 the floor, and as she spoke she looked on me with a solemn, 
 warning air. " You have heard of such things, and so did 
 Emma. You have treated all such tales as the visions of a 
 disordered brain or weakly-organized nervous system ; while 
 you vainly think, that to you, with the sceptical creed and 
 calculating brain of a Scotchwoman, they would be as the 
 passing wind, which you regard not. Have a care lest, 
 when too late, you find ( there are more things in heaven 
 and earth than thy philosophy dreams of !' " 
 
 I kept my eye and face as immoveable as possible, while 
 I said firmly and fearlessly : 
 
 " If it were so, the God whom I serve is able to deliver 
 me out of the burning fiery furnace." 
 
 Her whole body, and particularly the arm she still kept 
 pointing to the floor, shook with a rage she was scarcely 
 able to control, as she said, speaking slowly and distinctly, 
 yet her frame quivering as she spoke : 
 
 " I desire again, in the name of the Lady Superior, that 
 you tell where Miss Hamilton is, or if you like it better, 
 where you think she is ?" 
 
 u I have already said all I intend to say on the subject," 
 replied I, " and I demand my liberty ; I did not come to 
 St. Bride's to listen to vain threats, which had you the 
 power you dared not put in force, or t© be locked up in a 
 
408 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 room without food, on suspicion of having aided in the escape 
 of a young lady of fortune from these walls, who was brought 
 back and kept here against her inclination, and depend on 
 it you shall repent having done so ; I have more than one 
 male friend in Scotland who, if I do not arrive there in six 
 weeks from this date, will stir heaven and earth to find me 
 out living or dead, and avenge my cause on those who have 
 done me wrong." 
 
 " Your Scotch friends will have difficulty in finding any 
 trace of you," said she, with a composure of face and a 
 calmness in her tone of voice, which reminded me forcibly of 
 the unnatural hush pervading all earth and heaven previous 
 to a thunder storm. rt You shall have food, but as to leaving 
 the convent, were you to live a hundred years, you will 
 never put your foot outside the walls until Miss Hamilton 
 returns. You shall live and die here, and your bones will 
 be thrown to whiten on the dunghill, when your guilty soul 
 and polluted flesh have left them ;" and lifting up both her 
 hands and eyes to heaven, she added, M I make this solemn 
 vow to the Blessed Virgin and all Saints ; may they help me 
 to keep it." 
 
 As I looked upon her repeating her evil vow, I shuddered 
 to think how easily she might keep it, and yet when I 
 thought of the Prioress, I was reassured ; I knew her too 
 well to entertain for a moment the idea of her giving coun- 
 tenance to any such deed of darkness. 
 
 The angelus rang for evening prayers, and she left me 
 without another word, opening the door as she went out 
 with a key which she took from her pocket. 
 
 Half an hour afterwards she came again, bringing with 
 her a cup of mint tea — a convent beverage which I disliked 
 very much — and a*slice of coarse bread. I had fasted from 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 409 
 
 six in the morning, and I ate it greedily. I had scarcely 
 finished eating when I felt the most irresistible inclination to 
 sleep, and notwithstanding all my efforts to keep awake fell 
 asleep sitting in my chair, Sister Agatha's eyes fixed on me 
 like those of a basilisk. 
 
 The last thing I can recollect before falling asleep, was the 
 regret I felt because I knew Sister St. Angelo would not be 
 at St. Bride's before Thursday, and it was now Monday 
 evening ; there were three days to wait. For several weeks 
 past she had only come on Sunday and Thursday, Sister Her- 
 monie coming twice a week to attend to the old people in her 
 .stead. 
 
CH APTER XXX. 
 
 When I awoke I found myself lying on the floor, or what, 
 I fancied was the floor ; but the darkness was too intense, 
 I could only ascertain by feeling around me. I found that 
 by putting out my hand in a direct line from where I lay, 
 it came in contact with what seemed to me damp earth. 
 I then recollected that there was a large jug of water on the 
 work table. In my sleep I must have fallen from my chair, 
 and probably in my fall shook the table and so upset the 
 jug ; wherever I was I determined to remain until daylight. 
 I felt sure I was not in my own room as it would not be so 
 dark there ; in the work room where I sewed a gallery 
 covered the top of the windows ; this accounted for the great 
 darkness, the convent wall shutting out the light in front 
 and the gallery at the top : if I rose I might hurt myself by 
 coming in contact .with the table or one of the chairs, and 
 the floor was the only place to lie down on ; I was still very 
 sleepy, I knew by this as well as by the darkness it could 
 be no later than midnight. 
 
 I awoke again, I think long after ; the room was still as 
 dark as midnight, darker than any midnight I had ever 
 known before, and yet I was quite awake ; I was sure I had 
 slept enough ; not that I was refreshed by my sleep — my bed 
 was too hard and cold for that — but my eyes were wide open 
 and I was tired of inaction ; I sat up and put out my hand in 
 the direction I had felt the damp floor when I awoke the 
 first time. It was still damp, but surely it was earth, could 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 411 
 
 it be possible ? I scratched it with my nails, yes, it was 
 earth, damp earth. I asked myself in horror, " where am 
 I ?" I put out my hand on the other side, it came in con- 
 tact with a stone wall, cold and damp ; the nun has too surely 
 put her threat in execution. " Heavenly Father, do thou, for 
 thine own name sake, and for my Saviour's sake, send thine 
 angel to comfort and strengthen me in this place of dark- 
 ness." 
 
 I stood up and raised my hand above my head. Within a 
 few inches of my head my hand touched the roof of the 
 place. I feared to move lest I might fall into a well or pit. 
 I came close to the wall again, there were boards there, per- 
 haps these had formed the bed of some other poor unfortu- 
 nate like myself, who it may be had died here, and whose 
 bones were thrown to whiten on the dunghill, as Sister 
 Agatha had said mine would be. I thought of poor Emma, 
 with whose fall the nun had threatened me, and my soul 
 shrank with terror at the long dark future which might be 
 in store for me. I now recollected while at St. Mary's lis- 
 tening to stories of wicked people, who had died long ago in 
 the dungeons of St. Bride's, and whose spirits still haunted 
 the place which had formed their living sepulchre ; then, I 
 laughed at Sister Mary for believing that on stormy nights 
 their voices might still be heard wailing in the midnight 
 wind, and asking with accents of piteous woe for the prayers 
 of the Church, for the sin, which can never be forgiven — not 
 in this life, not in the life to come — the sin against the Holy 
 Ghost, that of wilful disbelief in the power of the Virgin 
 Mary as the mother of God. I asked her if ever she had 
 seen these dungeons ? She answered, " No," with a shudder 
 of horror, " had I ever been there, I would not speak to you 
 now ; no one ever comes back from these dungeons to tell 
 what they have learnt in the eternal darkness there." 
 
412 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 Gertrude and I talked of this afterwards, and I pitied the 
 simple nuns for believing such tales of terror, which most 
 likely had no foundation, except in the vivid imagination of 
 some one, who long ago wished to amuse herself by witnessing 
 the wonder which such revelations from the world of spirits 
 would excite in the simple ones by whom she was surrounded, 
 and said I did not believe there were such places under the 
 convent. 
 
 I recollected now Gertrude's grave look as she said, 
 " there are such places branching off from the vault, which 
 contains all the bodies of the nuns who have lived in St. 
 Bride's for nearly two hundred years. I have never seen 
 them," she added, " although I have several times been in 
 the vault. The grated doors leading to the dungeons always 
 filled me with more terror than I can describe, and the black 
 darkness beyond the gate seemed the embodiment of the 
 darkness which can be felt. In the vault, among the dead 
 nuns, I felt the awe the presence of the dead always inspires ; 
 but there the lamp shed its light, dispelling in a measure the 
 surrounding gloom, while in the dungeons no eye could pierce 
 the darkness." 
 
 And to this darkness I was most surely consigned, with how 
 little hope of ever escaping from it. Sister Agatha had warned 
 me I would never leave the convent unless Gertrude returned. 
 What probability was there of that ever taking place ; warned 
 by her former captivity, was it likely she would again fall into 
 a second snare. I could now understand why she preferred 
 living at St. Bride's. There the event had shown escape was 
 possible ; while at St. Mary's, with its guarded gates, and 
 long way from town, there was little hope of such a thing. 
 
 I knew that in three days the Prioress would be at St. 
 Bride's, and she would then hear of Gertrude's flight, if she 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 413 
 
 was not already aware of it, which was most likely. I was 
 sure Sister Agatha would not dare to conceal from her where 
 I was, and I was equally sure she would release me at once. 
 She was truthful herself, and would give me credit for being 
 so also. I knew she would not miss me at first. In the 
 search for Gertrude everything else would be forgotten ; but 
 on Thursday she would visit the work-room, and then Sister 
 Agatha would tell the truth : one good thing she dared not 
 lie to the Superior or to the Prioress, more than she dared 
 to her confessor. 
 
 But the question occurred to me, was it possible Sister 
 Agatha would starve me to death before the Prioress came. 
 This seemed most likely ; long weary hours passed away, 
 and the horror I felt at first increased so much, that I lay 
 down covering my eyes with my hands, so that I might not 
 see the darkness. As I lay there, I wondered if I should 
 not live till the Prioress came ; if Willie would ever find out 
 what had become of me. Oh, no ; he would no doubt be written 
 to in answer to his next letter, and told, I was dead ; but he 
 would never know of the horrible death I had died, in a cold 
 damp dungeon, surrounded by darkness and starved to death. 
 There was consolation in that ; it was much better he should 
 not ; a knowledge of the truth would embitter all his future life. 
 Again, I thought of the Prioress coming, and I felt as if I 
 was so strong I could well live three days without food. I 
 called to mind all the authorities I could recollect having 
 seen quoted in support of the theory, that life might be pro- 
 longed many days by a strong will, without nourishment of 
 any kind, and I tried to remember all the anecdotes I had 
 heard of people living several days without food. I had read 
 in my school days of a woman who was buried in a wreath of 
 snow, who lived eight days, but she had a small piece of bread 
 
414 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 and some onions, and she ate the snow to quench her thirst. 
 As I lay thinking thus, I began to feel sleepy, and concluded 
 from this, that it must be near the end of my first day's impri- 
 sonment. I lifted up my dress over my head so that I might 
 be warm ; it was a thin muslin, but it would shelter me a 
 little from the damp of the place. I wrapped myself up as 
 well as I could, and, lying down again tried to compose myself to 
 sleep, but it would not do. Thoughts of home and those so 
 dear to me far away, came fast and strong, and the well-known 
 faces were close to me in the darkness, and I almost touched 
 the hand I had clasped so oft in many a midnight dream. I 
 remembered my reluctance to enter the convent, and it 
 seemed to me now like the warning voice of my guardian angel. 
 I fancied I saw a light amid the darkness ; it could only be 
 fancy. No, there it is again. Strange to say, I felt terror- 
 stricken, and shrunk under my uplifted dress. I knew it was 
 something from the world of spirits, a thing of terror, perhaps 
 the very evil one, whose scowl scared away poor Emma's 
 wits. No doubt now remained on my mind, that the poor 
 crazy, restless thing had once been an inmate of this very 
 dungeon. The spirit, who brought madness to her eighty 
 years ago, was so surely bringing it to me now. What was 
 eightv years more than yesterday to one who had passed the 
 barriers of time. I bit my lip in my agony, lest I should 
 scream out in my horror of that light, as it flitted about, 
 within the space of a few feet ; now seen, now gone. I 
 remembered the legion of Ehrenbreitstein, and knew that my 
 only safety was in silence ; on it came, nearing me every 
 time by an inch or two. I clasped my hands on my eyes ; 
 I could endure it no longer ; I fancied the spirits of the 
 dead nuns came trooping round me in hundreds ; and the 
 light I had seen was gleaming from their eyes. One of 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 415 
 
 them called out to me to come. I screamed in answer. I 
 knew I was going mad, and would soon join them in their 
 horrible dance of death. They laughed loud, and called 
 again ; the voice resembled that of the nun Agatha ; the call 
 was repeated a third time. It was indeed Sister Agatha 
 calling me to come to the grate, if I wished for the bread 
 and water she had brought me. 
 
 " Thank God ! thank God ! for the sound of the human 
 voice. These words, spoken by the only woman I ever 
 hated, was the sweetest music that ever sounded in mine 
 ear. 
 
 I uncovered mine eyes, rose and went in the direction of 
 the light I had so much dreaded. 
 
 Sister Agatha stood outside the grate, which was formed 
 of bars of iron, very rusty, and reached from the top to the 
 bottom of the cell. She held a cup of water and a piece of 
 bread in one hand, and a dark lantern in the other. The 
 lantern was hung on a large ring, and by giving it the least 
 touch, she could throw the light into the cell and out again in 
 a moment. She had studied her business, and might well 
 laugh at the success of her stratagem. 
 
 The nun asked me if I would now tell where Miss Hamilton 
 was. 
 
 I replied, " I know nothing at all about Miss Hamilton, 
 and when the Prioress comes she will believe me." 
 
 " You shall never see the Prioress, unless you give me 
 such information as will lead to the discovery of Miss Ham- 
 ilton. When she comes back you will be allowed to go free 
 if she does not come, you never shall." 
 
 " I have no fear of that. On Thursday, when the Prioress 
 comes, she will release me at once." 
 
 She laughed aloud — such a fiendish laugh; while her black 
 
416 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 eyes glistened with a look of triumphant malice. The lantern 
 threw its light on the lower part of her face, while the upper 
 half was in shade, little more than the glitter of her eyes being 
 visible. I never saw anything more ghastly and horrible 
 than she looked, as she stood laughing outside the dungeon 
 grate, her eyes and large wide-set teeth looking as if they 
 were part of a skull with the skin tightened over it. I shud- 
 dered as I looked. She mistook the cause of my emotion, 
 and said : 
 
 " Well may you shake in anticipation of the fate which is 
 before you. You can utter lies with your tongue, but the 
 fear which consumes you will appear. You have good cause 
 for fear ; a few nights more in that dungeon will do its work 
 either on mind or body. Do not trust to the Prioress ; she 
 was here last night, and was told by Sister Mary, who I sent 
 to St. Mary's for her, that you left the convent while we were 
 searching for Miss Hamilton, locking the work-room doors 
 before you went. 
 
 " How could Sister Mary dare to lie to the Prioress ?" 
 
 " Sister Mary never lies," said the nun, as coolly as if she 
 herself was a personification of the truth. " Sister Mary 
 was told to say so, and believed she was telling the simple 
 truth, having been shown the locked doors, in confirmation 
 of your having gone." 
 
 How I despised the contemptible false woman. I turned 
 away. I fancied she held the bread and water only to tempt 
 me. 
 
 " Here," said she, putting the cup with the bread placed 
 on the top, through the grate, " take this, it is the last food 
 you shall ever eat on earth, unless you divulge your guilty 
 secret." 
 
 I took it from her hand, and before eating, thanked God 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 41T 
 
 for that bread and water, more fervently than I had ever 
 done in all my previous life. 
 
 The nun lifted up the lantern from the ground where she 
 had placed it while speaking, and holding it above her head, 
 departed. I then saw that the light flitted backwards and 
 forwards as it had done coming to the grate, when it fright- 
 ened me so much. 
 
 During the time the nun stood at the grate, there was 
 sufficient light thrown into the cell to show me that it was a 
 narrow strip, the entrance to which was the grated door, 
 through which the nun put the bread and water. 
 
 When the last faint gleam of light was gone, and I was 
 again alone, with that thick darkness, I knelt down, and 
 thanked my Heavenly Father for having in the same moment 
 relieved me from that most hideous of all terrors, the fear of 
 the hidden things of darkness — the spirits of the dead (which 
 I, in my folly, had so often laughed at in others) and the 
 dire hunger and thirst which consumed me ; and I prayed 
 earnestly, beseeching Him to shield me from this horrible fear, 
 and again I prayed for the presence of His Angel, that for 
 my Saviour's sake, he might be sent to comfort me in this 
 abode of darkness ; and he did send His angel to strengthen 
 me there, and I arose from my knees with the full convic- 
 tion that He would in His own good way and time, take me 
 out of the dungeon. I remembered Daniel of old, and I 
 knew the God of Daniel was mighty to save now as then, and 
 alone there in the darkness of that dungeon cell He gave 
 me faith to believe that I would yet stand in the free air and 
 blessed sunshine, and sing of His mercies with a sound 
 mind. 
 
 " I will love Thee, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my 
 defence, my Saviour, and my God, in whom I will trust. 
 The horn also of my salvation and my refuge. " 
 
418 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 " I will call upon the Lord, so shall I be safe from my 
 enemies." 
 
 " The pains of hell came about me, the snares of death 
 overtook me. In my trouble I will call upon the Lord, 
 and complain unto my God." 
 
 " He shall send down from on high to save me, and will 
 take me out of many waters." 
 
CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 I slept soundly on the boards in the corner of the dungeon 
 cell, in the full assurance of the Lord's help and omnipresence , 
 and I lived on the strength of His help long, long hours of 
 bitter hunger and thirst, and I knew it was time for my tor- 
 mentor to come with bread and water, but she came not* 
 Could it be that she would fulfil her threat ? I knew she would 
 not come that night ;— - but her master Satan, that old serpent 
 who tempted our mother in the Paradise of God, came in her 
 stead, and he who counselled the angels and made them fall 
 from their allegiance, ere yet the earth was formed, spoke to 
 my soul and counselled me, and he told me there was no God, 
 and no hereafter ; and he bid me bite my own flesh, that I 
 might drink blood and quench the burning thirst which was 
 consuming my very vitals. But God's angel came also, and 
 I knew there was a God, " mighty to save to the uttermost. " 
 I remember, how he had heard and helped me, when cold, and 
 sick, wet and weary, alone in a dark staircase in the crowded 
 city of Edinburgh, and I knew that " His arm was not short- 
 ened that He could not save,'' or " His eye dim, that He could 
 not see," No, no, " He is God and there is none else ; in all 
 the universe there is none other ;" He is omniscient and omni- 
 present still, and will yet save me out of this dark dungeon in 
 Canada ; and in my Redeemer's holy words I shouted with 
 all my strength, until the dungeon echoed back the sound : 
 " Get thee behind me, Satan," and the Holy one who spoke 
 to me more than three years before, spake again in the same 
 
420 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 clear, distinct voice, each low tone sounding in mine ear, sharp 
 as a silver bell ; — 
 
 " Fear not, thou worm Jacob, by my power thou shalt thrash 
 the mountains." 
 
 I laid myself down to sleep, praising my Father in Heaven, 
 in that he had heard and answered my prayer, and I awoke 
 thrice from that heavy sleep only to sleep again, and hunger 
 and thirst were no more. 
 
 I slept again, and in my sleep I dreamt there were spread 
 before me all manner of baked meats, fit for Pharoah's table. 
 I was about to eat when I fancied the nun called me. I heeded 
 her not, I would eat and be satisfied ; again and again the 
 voice of the nun Agatha sounded in mine ear. I awoke, and 
 knew by the light streaming through the grate that she was 
 there in reality. The smell of the baked meats was still strong 
 in my nostrils. I sat up, but felt so weak I did not answer 
 at first. The nun called again, and louder than before, and 
 then said in her native Spanish : 
 
 " Body of Christ, the heretic devil has gone to the bell she 
 deserves so well." 
 
 " Truth is green," replied I, answering her in the same 
 language, and using one of the proverbs of her own tongue. 
 
 "Holy Virgin defend me," said she, " Satan teaches his 
 children all languages ;" and still continuing to speak in Span- 
 ish, she called me to come to the grate if I wished to eat 
 and drink that night. 
 
 On my coming to the grate, she gave me a smaller slice of 
 bread than before, covered with fried ham. Ah ! the wicked 
 one, how well she knew to serve her master. 
 
 I took it from her hand, and lifting the ham from the bread 
 (it felt warm in my fingers, it was not probably five minutes 
 off the fire), I threw it on the damp floor and trod it down with 
 my heel. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 421 
 
 " Good night," said she, with a quite composed air, taking 
 not the least notice of what I had done. " This is Thursday 
 evening, the Prioress is in the convent, she has not yet gone 
 to her cell, before she does so, of course, she will come to 
 release you ;" and she walked away taking with her the cup 
 containing the water. 
 
 I had not yet tasted the bread ; when I did I found, what I 
 might have expected, that it was impregnated with the salt 
 from the ham ; I endeavoured to rub off the particles of salt 
 but without effect ; my hunger was terrible now, and I could 
 not resist eating it. God, who " tempers the wind to the shorn 
 lamb," had not forgotten me. I ate the bread and felt little 
 thirst. On my knees in the dungeon there I thanked God 
 for this mercy, and lay down, " So giveth He His beloved 
 sleep." 
 
 I must have slept many hours. I awoke with a raging thirst, 
 and without opening my eyes put my tongue to the stones of 
 the damp wall at my side ; it was a blessed thought given of 
 God, the wall felt so cool and pleasant to my parched tongue. 
 I repeated this many times, changing the place as the stone 
 warmed under my fevered tongue, until I felt strong enough 
 to open my eyes, which I was too weak to do when I first 
 awoke. 
 
 A faint light gleamed from the side of the dungeon opposite 
 to that on which the grate was placed ; the light was steady 
 but at a distance, yet sufficient to show me that it came 
 through another grate the bars of iron being distinctly visible. 
 I arose and went towards it ; hoping against hope, that the 
 bearer might aid in setting me free. 
 
 I found that the light came through a grated door, similar 
 to the other, and on looking through, I saw that it came 
 from the vault containing the bodies of the dead nuns. I 
 
 cc 
 
422 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 shrank back with the instinctive horror we all feel of the dead, 
 whom in life we have not loved or known, but immediately 
 recovering myself, I took hold of the grate endeavouring to 
 open it, knowing that this might be my last chance for life and 
 liberty. 
 
 The door opened with little trouble, the rusty padlock fall- 
 ing to the ground like powder. Upon entering the vault the 
 first object that met my eyes was the coffin on tressels, cover- 
 ed by a pall, exactly as I had seen a month previous, in the 
 chapel, at midnight. I went close up to it, the end of the 
 pall was folded back as before, and there lay Sister St. An- 
 gelo fast asleep. 
 
 I fell on my knees — I could not utter one accent of praise, 
 the mercy was too great ; no words could give utterance to 
 the gratitude which filled my heart to overflowing, but my 
 soul lifted itself in silence up to Him who searcheth the hearts 
 of the children of men. 
 
 While on my knees I felt the vault shake as if from above, 
 and I fancied I heard noises, which must have been louder 
 than the loudest thunder, ere they could reach these dun- 
 geons beneath the cellars of the convent. 
 
 I rose from my knees, and folding back -the pall, touched 
 Sister St. Angelo ; she sighed but moved not. I bent down 
 and kissed her forehead. She then opened her eyes, fixing 
 them upon me with a wild stare of astonishment. I knew the 
 lie she had been told, and said, " I have been confined here 
 since Monday, and am dying of thirst." 
 
 Without speaking she raised her arm, and pointing to where 
 the light was placed, motioned me towards it. On going in 
 the direction indicated, I found the lamp placed in a niche, 
 built into the wall, for a statue of the Virgin, before which 
 stood a stone vase filled with holy water. I put my face into 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 423 
 
 the vase and drank that stale salt water as if it had been nec- 
 tar ; again and again I drank, and while doing so, another 
 heavy shock came upon the vault. I looked towards the place 
 I had left the Prioress, but, in turning round, saw that she 
 was by my side. Just as my eye met hers, a roar, as if of a 
 thousand waves came down above our heads, with exactly the 
 hurling sound accompanying it, which we occasionally hear 
 emitted by thunder. 
 
 " God have mercy on us," said the Prioress, " the convent 
 Is on fire — come while we have a chance of escape," and 
 snatching up the lamp, she led the way through the windings 
 of the vault, all of which were filled with the dead. In the 
 last was a broad staircase consisting of seven steps, wide 
 enough for several persons to descend at once. We ascended 
 to the top of the staircase, it being within several feet of the 
 roof of the vault, which latter was much loftier than the dun- 
 geon. Sister St. Angelo then pulled a couple of pullies placed 
 there for lifting up a trap door — it did not move ; she pulled 
 again, exerting all her strength, but without effect j when 
 she first tried the pulley, she gave me the lamp ; I now laid it 
 on the floor, and took one of the pullies, while the Prioress 
 took the other ; all our efforts were unavailing, a child might 
 as well attempt to stem the tide of the mighty St. Lawrence, 
 as we to lift that trap door. 
 
 " May God have mercy on our souls," said the nun, " the 
 convent is on fire, and part of the building has fallen into the 
 chapel above our heads." 
 
 As she spoke, another roar louder, and another shock 
 more felt than .the former, seemed to come, as it were, down 
 upon our heads. 
 
 " Let us pray to God," said the Prioress, " He alone can 
 help us to escape from the most horrible of all deaths." 
 
424 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 We knelt down beside the staircase, the Prioress praying 
 for more than an hour, during which time two other shocks 
 occurred. 
 
 When she arose from her knees she sat down on the steps, 
 making me do the same ; she then said : 
 
 " If we live until they clear out the debris from the cha- 
 pel, we can make ourselves heard, but the virgin only knows 
 if our strength will last until then ; tell me how you wander- 
 ed into this place ; your undue curiosity has perhaps cost 
 you your life." 
 
 I told her everything which had occurred since Monday 
 morning j she heard me without speaking a word, until I told 
 her of Sister Agatha bringing me the fried ham, and then 
 clasping her hands and looking up as if her eyes would pierce 
 through, the roof to the firmament above in search of the God 
 who hides Himself so wondrously, so as even to make His 
 own people think, in their hours of doubt and temptation, 
 that there is no God, said with a solemn voice, " may the 
 virgin mother of God have mercy on her unshriven soul this 
 night." 
 
 After a pause, during which the tumult above our heads 
 seemed to have stopped, the Prioress said : 
 
 " You must try and bring me to the cell where you were 
 confined; I will find bread, near it," and saying so, she 
 retraced her steps to the part of the vault where the coffin in 
 which she had slept lay ; she then observed the open grate of 
 the cell, and turning towards me with a strange wild look, 
 said : " It was surely not in that cell you were ?" 
 
 " Yes," replied I, " it was through that door I entered the 
 vault," and carrying the light, I preceded her into the cell ; 
 when I had gone a few steps I observed that she did not 
 follow, and turning round, I waited for her with the light. She 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 425 
 
 stood looking at something above the door of the cell ; when 
 she had finished her scrutiny she said : " Holy Jesus — the 
 wicked woman, she is unworthy the name of a nun — she, 
 indeed, put you into the cell of the Inverted Cross ; if she 
 and I live to meet in this world, her nun's robe and veil will 
 be stript from her dishonoured head and body in the presence 
 of every novice belonging to St. Bride's by the gate porter- 
 ess, while the priests of St. Benedict will be called to witness 
 a sight, and the Bishop to confirm a deed, which no eye 
 ever saw in St. Bride's from its foundation, two hundred 
 years ago. She is the first nun of St. Bride's who has dis- 
 graced her robe ; no marvel that the convent is on fire when 
 such a deed of darkness has been committed under its walls." 
 As she spoke, another loud roar, which sounded nearer to us, 
 but unaccompanied by the shock which had either preceded 
 or come after the others, recalled her to the necessity of 
 searching for the bread, and taking the lamp from my hand, 
 she entered the cell with a look of horror, and shuddering as 
 she did so ; as we passed through, I looked with interest at 
 the place where I seemed to have spent a life time, and 
 there, within four feet of the boards where I lay, was an 
 uncovered well, the water in which rose to within a few 
 inches of the floor of the dungeon. The angel of the cove- 
 nant had preserved me from sundry kinds of death. 
 
 We left the cell by the grated door, through which the 
 nun Agatha gave me my bread and water. In going out I 
 looked for and showed to the Prioress, the ham, lying half 
 imbedded in the damp earth ; the grate opened with little 
 effort, being merely kept by its rusty hinges; we passed 
 through two other dungeons, the doors of which were wide 
 open, and while passing through, the Prioress raised the 
 lamp she held in her hand in order to shew me a plate of 
 
426 VIOLET KIETH. 
 
 knotted glass, about a foot long, in the roof of each ; by this 
 a dim light would be afforded to the dungeon from the cellar 
 above— verily the nun chose the worst place for me— they 
 were also, comparatively speaking, dry; however, this fault 
 was in my favour, I would have suffered more from thirst in 
 a dry place, and had I been in either of the others, I could 
 not have seen the light which led me to the Prioress ; in the 
 third we found a niche similar to that in the vault, but with- 
 out a statue, and there was a loaf of bread from which had 
 been taken the two slices I had eaten since I was a prisoner, 
 and the pewter cup, still filled with water, which the nun 
 had carried away with her on her last visit. At the sight of 
 the bread, I felt hunger return with almost irresistible force ; 
 the Prioress knew this would be so, and at once lifted up a slice 
 and gave it me ; the loaf was cut into eight pieces — there 
 must have been ten in all. 
 
 For some time the tumult above head had, in a measure, 
 ceased, but now another shock occurred that seemed to rock 
 the convent from its very foundation, and was succeeded by 
 the roaring noise : now, the roar did not cease in the course 
 of a minute or two, as it had formerly done, but continued, 
 almost without interruption, for what seemed to us fully half 
 an hour. We gazed at each other speechless, the Prioress' 
 lips ashy white, I myself appalled with terror. 
 
 Sister St. Angelo lifted up the bread and pewter cup, from 
 which I had already drank the contents, and hurrying out 
 by the same way as we had entered, came again to the vault 
 with the dead. " We are safer here," said the nun, " the 
 dungeons are not arched with stonework as this vault is, and 
 were they to fall in we would be smothered with the falling 
 debris in a moment." 
 
 She deposited the bread on the niche beside the figure of 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 427 
 
 the Virgin, and taking the cup, bade me carry the lamp and 
 follow her, saying she would show me the well. It was in a 
 small recess off the dead vault, not larger than a deep cup- 
 board, and covered by a stone fitted into it, so that it turned 
 to one side with very little pressure; an iron chain with a 
 hook was attached to the well, and a small wooden bucket 
 lay on the stone cover ; the Prioress drew water with the 
 bucket, and then filling the pewter cup, gave me to drink, 
 smiling at the eagerness with which I took the cup from her 
 hands. 
 
 Such delicious, pure, cold water, how it sparkled in the 
 lamplight, showing other tiny lamps down to the bottom of 
 the cup, I could not help saying as I finished drinking, 
 having drained it to the last drop, " what a delightful drink, 
 I never tasted such water before." 
 
 " Yes," said the nun, her grave face looking more serious 
 as she spoke, " fresh, pure water must, indeed, be delightful 
 to you, who have drank only, during three days, salted water 
 that has been drawn and lying in these cellars for months — 
 I am sure poor lost Agatha never would trouble herself to 
 bring you water from the well here or from the convent 
 above; no doubt she filled the cup from one of the holy 
 water fonts." 
 
 We returned with the lamp to the Virgin's shrine (each 
 niche containing a figure of the Virgin is considered a shrine 
 from the sacred character of the statue it bears), and sat 
 down on a stone bench exactly opposite, where the coffins 
 containing the dead were always placed for six weeks previous 
 to their being put into the recess assigned to each nun the 
 day she takes the black veil. 
 
 The vault was a long narrow place with many turnings, 
 more resembling a very wide passage than aught else, with 
 
428 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 hundreds of recesses filled and unfilled, covering the wails 
 on either side. 
 
 '' We have bread here to last for three days," said the 
 nun. I looked at it as it lay on the shrine opposite to where 
 we sat, and thought I could eat it all at once. " Water will 
 sustain life at least two days without any food ; but I do not 
 anticipate being left so long ; they will dig out the debris as 
 soon as possible, to secure the valuables which the fire cannot 
 destroy. Those are all in the chapel, and we are under it. 
 The trap door is in front of the chancel before the great altar, 
 and when they find the trap, curiosity will make them 
 open it. 
 
 " Strange to tell," continued she, " forty years ago I was 
 in Mexico, in a convent belonging to our order there, and for 
 a very little fault I was sent to do penance in the place of 
 sleep. I was young then, and so full of fear that sleeping 
 among the dead seemed to me more terrible than death itself. 
 That night the convent was burned to ashes over my head, 
 and every soul within it perished. I, down among the dead, 
 alone was saved of sixty nuns, who dwelt there. Well did I 
 know the meaning of that dread shock and the loud roar 
 which followed. I had listened to the same awful sound on 
 my knees and alone in the darkness for long hours that dis- 
 mal night, thinking, in my agony, that the spirits of evil had 
 left their abode of horror, and were striving in their rage to 
 enter and destroy the place where the holy nuns rested. 
 
 " I was saved then for a long pilgrimage. Be St. Fran- 
 cois Xavier ever blessed. He helped me to spend and be 
 spent in the service of the Holy Trinity, and I have had 
 much comfort by the way, more than falls to the lot of most 
 women. It is true that at times the smooth grass became 
 thorns and sharp rocks beneath my bleeding feet, but it was 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 429 
 
 only for a short distance, and the fresh daisied sward appeared 
 again, and was softer and cooler than ever from the contrast, 
 and I went on my way rejoicing.' ' 
 
 A louder and nearer crash than before startled us from 
 where we sat. I had been saved from a horrible death, one 
 the most revolting to human nature. The convent walls had 
 fallen into the dungeons, and through the grate, which it had 
 pushed open, there poured earth and stones as if it were a 
 torrent. We both stood awestruck, I expecting every 
 moment that the vault would be filled up and we buried alive. 
 How gladly would I have exchanged death by hunger and 
 thirst for the awful death we were threatened with. I became 
 breathless, and shook with terror. The Prioress was calm. 
 " No fear," said she, " the aperture is too small, the earth 
 entering there could not fill the vault, and if it did, there is a 
 long way behind where we could go. The masonry is too 
 strong above the vault to fear its falling through ; and I wish 
 to remain in the vicinity of both trap doors" (as she spoke 
 she pointed with her finger above her head a little to the 
 right ; my eyes followed her uplifted hand, and I saw there 
 another trap door much larger than the one with the stair- 
 case), "so as to be seen, or make ourselves heard as soon as 
 possible." After the lapse of ten or twelve minutes the debris 
 ceased to pour into the vault, although every now and then a 
 few handfuls would slide down from an insecure resting- 
 place, and at intervals we were conscious of portions of the 
 walls or other heavy material falling into the dungeon. How 
 mercifully the Lord had dealt with me ! Had the fire hap- 
 pened the night previous, I would surely now have been 
 numbered with the dead ; and of such a death who can tell 
 the horror ? 
 
 The Prioress knelt down before the Virgin's shrine, and, 
 
430 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 taking my Bible from my pocket, I read the deliverance of 
 Peter by the angel of God, and I knew if it were necessary 
 He could send His angel now to save us from the death which 
 seemed so certainly closing in around us. 
 
 As I read, my hands and the Bible they held, fell on my 
 lap, my eyes closed, and I slept soundly as ever I had done 
 under the birch trees, that waved their towering tops and shed 
 sweet fragrance around my room in Portobello ; and in my 
 sleep my spirit went back there for the first time since I left 
 it, and I trode on the light heather bell — the low murmur of 
 the waves sounding like home music to mine ear — in the grey 
 mist of early morning, and one walked hand in hand with me 
 there, whose dark eye I would never see, or whose hand would 
 never touch mine again. When I awoke, the Prioress was 
 still upon her knees. I slept again, and the second time she 
 still knelt, and prayed as before. I must have slept many 
 hours. I awoke refreshed, and feeling that I needed sleep 
 no longer. 
 
 The pewter cup was placed in the niche beside the Virgin 
 full of water. I longed to drink, but dared not approach, for 
 fear of disturbing the nun. I now believed what I had been 
 told of nuns passing whole nights on their knees praying. 
 
 It was an hour after ere she rose from her knees, and when 
 she did, she went to the coffin, folded back the pall, and, as- 
 cending by two steps which it concealed, lay down, placing 
 the pall with the end turned back as I had first seen it. 
 
 When I thought she had fallen asleep — I did not move before 
 in case I might disturb her — I went to the niche, and drank 
 such a long delicious drink, and then I prayed and read my 
 Bible for several hours. 
 
 How strangely the mind adapts itself to the circumstances 
 in which it is placed. Now that I had light and the presence 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 431 
 
 of Sister St. Angelo I was far from being unhappy. I had 
 little fear of our being ultimately rescued from the living 
 tomb we now occupied, provided we had strength to sustain 
 life with the small portion of food we could afford to eat each 
 day. What the Prioress had said of a search being made for 
 the altar jewels and plate, was enough to satisfy me that in a 
 few days the vault would be opened. St. Bride's altar was 
 the richest in Canada ; the jewels hung round the Virgin alone 
 were worth more than twenty thousand dollars, while the value 
 of the altar plate was enormous, the greater proportion of it 
 being in gold. A service of that precious metal, worth twelve 
 thousand dollars, was left some ten years before by one who 
 had lived anything but a pious life, in hopes of buying heaven. 
 Even if the nuns had all perished, a thing very unlikely to 
 happen, the priests of St. Benedict were doubtless well aware 
 of the immense value of the jewels and plate kept within the 
 chancel of St. Bride's, and would take immediate steps for 
 their recovery. Our release was almost certain to follow. 
 Hence my mind was almost easy on this point ; the vault was 
 not cold and damp like the adjoining cell, and darkness and 
 thirst were no more. 
 
 I wandered round the vault, looking at the coffins, each 
 exactly like the other —no name, or age, or date, but a white 
 cross, the sign of their salvation, placed on the black cloth, 
 which alike covered all. Everything here was as purely clean 
 and in order as in the chapel over our heads — no smell, 
 and, stranger still, no feeling of confined air. 
 
 The Prioress must have slept many hours ; on awaking, she 
 sat up and crossed herself, and then, descending from the 
 coffin, she again knelt before the Virgin's shrine and prayed. 
 
 When her orisons were over, she took the pewter cup 
 and, signing to me with her eye and finger to bring the 
 
432 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 lamp, went to the well, drew water, and gave me to drink ; 
 and, having drunk herself, filled the cup and brought it to 
 the stone bench. She then took from the niche two slices of 
 bread, and, placing them beside the water, stood with her face 
 to the east, crossed herself, and, pronouncing a blessing on the 
 food, sat down with me to our humble meal. 
 
 Having ate our bread with thankful hearts, the Prioress 
 returned thanks to the Giver ; she then asked me if the 
 noise continued after she went to sleep, and having been 
 answered in the negative, she crossed herself and lifted up 
 her hands and eyes to heaven, uttering a few words of praise, 
 adding, " I do not doubt that the clearing away of the earth 
 and stones in search of the altar plate will be commenced 
 immediately ; we must try the pulley of the trap door every 
 hour, when the debris which now covers it is removed, it 
 will open with the least touch." 
 
 We passed long hours without hearing the slightest sound ; 
 I knew afterwards that during all that time of silence, night 
 and day, by torch light and sun light, there were men with 
 warm human hearts and strong arms working above our 
 heads, any one of whom had they known we were there, 
 would have risked their lives to save us ; they were so near 
 and yet so far ; that pile of earth and stones above our 
 heads, although only a few feet in depth, forming a greater 
 barrier than miles of space would have done. 
 
 We tried the pulley often and often, but in vain ; once we 
 fancied for a long time, fully a day, that at intervals we 
 heard a human voice, and we watched and listened for it so 
 eagerly, with hands firmly clasped together, ear and eye 
 alike strained in the direction from whence it came, waiting 
 in silence and with beating hearts to catch the slightest 
 sound ; at last, we distinctly heard a shout as if of one 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 438 
 
 calling to another ; we both rushed to the grate in the direc- 
 tion from whence the sound proceeded, and almost instantly 
 a loud crash of falling debris shook the convent, or rather 
 the foundation, as had occurred once before. 
 
 This was the last sound we heard, no voice or motion ever 
 again broke that dread silence, save our own voices or the 
 dull tread of our footsteps, as we in our weariness paced to 
 and fro in the vault, when we had both lost all hope, but 
 dared not say so to each other. 
 
 Once or twice the Prioress spoke of those around us : 
 " Look at this," said she, putting her hand behind one of 
 the coffins and taking from between it and the wall a bunch 
 of faded roses ; " I often bring a bunch of flowers and place 
 them here, by one who, in her life time, loved them so well ; 
 she came here to hide from the world, the torn heart and 
 pale cheek given by one she loved most undoubtingly ; and 
 for eight years bore her worldly cross in this convent. If 
 these walls could speak they might unfold sad secrets of 
 blighted hopes and crushed affections ; I doubt much if 
 these feelings which spring from the deepest source in the 
 human heart are ever, while we are in this earth, altogether 
 obliterated. Poor Sister Valleiry, I fear long after she was 
 the bride of heaven, her very soul was centered in him, who 
 had been at once the star and curse of her existence. We 
 wished her to go on a mission far away to some distant land, 
 distance and change would have wrought a good work in her, 
 but she would not consent to go, and unfortunately the Supe- 
 rior issued no command. Sister Valleiry could not consent 
 to tear herself from where he lived and breathed, although 
 her own vows and the convent walls had placed a barrier 
 stronger than death between them. Ill-judging people from 
 the world came now and then, and I know they told her how 
 
434 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 he lived and looked, and of his words ; and at last they came 
 and said that he had brought to Algona one young and beau- 
 tiful as she had been eight years before. She repeated their 
 words to me with a smile, but I knew through the thin dis- 
 guise that a terrible struggle was at hand ; and that night I 
 obtained leave from the Superior to visit her in her cell. She 
 lay weeping bitterly, the handkerchief she held in her hand 
 soaking wet ; I took it from her unresisting fingers and put 
 the towel in its stead, e'er I left the cell it also was wet 
 enough to wring. 
 
 " Next morning she went into a retreat of three days, but 
 before the third sun rose, our blue eyed sister lay prostrate 
 before the Virgin's shrine, her rose leaf cheek turned to 
 marble, cold and dead. Our mother was dreadfully shocked, 
 and from that time forth would allow of no retreat within the 
 walls of St. Bride's being made with fasting. It was neither 
 the retreat or the fast that killed fair young Sister Valleiry." 
 
 In different parts of the vault, wherever it branched off 
 into a separate compartment, there was a niche with a figure 
 of the Virgin, and in front of each .figure was placed an 
 unlit lamp ; the Prioress said that the reason why these 
 lamps were there, was that on certain days, such as the anni- 
 versary of the death of St. Bride, Good Friday, and also 
 the anniversaries of the death of each Superior, who had 
 ruled in St. Bride's, there were processions made by all the 
 nuns and novices passing through each winding of the vault, 
 and on such occasions the lamps were all lighted up. In 
 the part of the vault where the foundress lay, the figure of 
 the Virgin was of white marble with a lamp on either side, 
 twice as large as the others, and the shrine was exactly in 
 front of her coffin. 
 
 When the oil in the lamp we used became low, we lit 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 435 
 
 another, Sister St. Angelo putting the extinguished lamp in 
 the place from which she took the one in use, with the same 
 precision as if everything was going on in the convent above, 
 as it had done for ages. 
 
 I asked the Prioress, if the anger she expressed against the 
 nun for putting me in that particular cell, was on account of 
 its darkness or because of the well, which exposed me to the 
 risk of instant death in case I moved about. 
 
 k< For neither of those causes," said she. " There is a tra- 
 dition in the convent so old, that no one knows its origin, 
 that the dungeon you were confined in is haunted by an 
 evil spirit ; in the history of our convent, mention is made 
 almost from the first year of our community settling here, of 
 nuns at their devotion in the vault being disturbed by wild 
 cries immediately succeeded by a loud splash in the well, as 
 if a heavy body had fallen into the water ; the cell has been 
 exorcised more than once, but it was of no avail. Not more 
 than a hundred and twenty years ago, a pious missionary of 
 the order of Passionists, who had walked barefooted over 
 every part of the globe where Catholics have raised the 
 standard of the cross, essayed, together with two of his 
 brethren, to drive away the evil spirit, but it is there still ; 
 we know that too well. It is thought that some terrible deed 
 of darkness was done there by heathen hands in the days of 
 the early Christian settlement, and that there are heathen 
 spells still around the well. I myself have heard in stormy 
 nights in winter what might well be imagined the wail of an 
 evil spirit striving with the blast around the north-east wing 
 of the house above that dungeon. 
 
 " Eighty-six years ago, poor silly Emma lost her senses 
 there ; she was then only fourteen years of age, and in the 
 tenth month of her novitiate ; she had a most insubordinate 
 
436 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 temper and had absolutely refused, first to the nun in 
 charge of the novices, afterwards to the Prioress, and at last 
 even to the lady Superior herself, to perform some irksome 
 duty on which she was ordered. It is no light ordeal a 
 novice has to undergo before she can acquire a right to 
 assume the nun's robe and veil here on earth, together with 
 the full assurance that if that robe and veil are kept spotless 
 until the day when they are resigned for ever, together with 
 the poor, decayed cerement they were made to cover, the 
 renewed soul will then appear in its pristine glory in robes whiter 
 than the driven snow, and for the nun's humble veil receive a 
 crown of purest gold ; there to dwell at God's right hand 
 where there are pleasures for evermore, and to follow the 
 Lamb withersoever He goeth ; this is the promise given to 
 those virgins who have not denied their garments. \ They 
 shall walk with me in white,' are his own blessed words, but 
 they who would inherit the promise must first strive, that 
 they may win the fight, ever bearing in mind that the king- 
 dom of heaven is only for the poor in spirit, and that none 
 but the pure in heart shall see God. This ordeal is too 
 grievous for many — all who run do not obtain the prize ; it was 
 too hard to be borne for poor Emma's proud spirit. The 
 Superior had great patience, and warned her that if she did 
 not comply with the nun's command within six hours, she 
 would be imprisoned for twelve in one of the dungeons, and 
 afterwards expelled from the convent as unworthy of becom- 
 ing a nun. She would not submit, and in consequence was 
 sent to the dungeon ; the nun, who was appointed to conduct 
 her there, was unfortunately one who had only arrived from 
 one of our convents in Europe a few weeks previous, and 
 knew little of our convent, and nought of its traditions, and 
 not knowing what she did, put poor Emma in the haunted 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 437 
 
 cell. In eight hours, not twelve as was threatened, the 
 Superior went herself to bring her out, and to her horror 
 found a raving maniac ! Superior Bourgette from that day 
 until the hour of her death, twenty years after, never per- 
 mitted a lamp to be lit in her own cell, also passing two hours 
 of each day in prayer for Emma down in the vault. Emma 
 was not then the silly, comparatively happy being she is to- 
 day, but at times raving mad, tearing her clothes in shreds, 
 and when the fit was over, so fearful that the least unwonted 
 noise, even the shutting of the convent gate, would throw her 
 into an ecstasy of terror. At such times she would fly to hide 
 herself beside the nearest nun, covering her head with the 
 Sister's robe, while her screams echoed over the whole con- 
 vent, calling out with piteous tears to the Superior to save 
 her from the demon of the inverted cross; every doctor 
 within hundreds of miles, who made insanity his study, was 
 called to minister to her relief — special masses were said for 
 her — every effort was in vain, God at last granted her 
 recovery to peace of mind, to the prayers of Superior Bour- 
 gette ; she has had none of these violent fits for sixty-eight 
 years past. The day on which the Superior received the last 
 sacrament, she told the Superior of St. Benedict, who was 
 her confessor, that it had been revealed to her in a dream, 
 that on the day of Emma's death, the convent of St. Bride's 
 would fall to the ground ; but Emma lived so long (a hun- 
 dred and two years if she is now alive), and the old convent 
 was so strongly built, that a saying went among the nuns 
 that she would never die. The convent of St. Bride's has 
 fallen to the ground, that is most certain, and in all proba- 
 bility Emma is under its walls." 
 
 We had exchanged our lamp six times, and our bread was 
 reduced to one slice. I was becoming very weak, and at 
 
 DD 
 
438 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 times felt so giddy, that I was obliged to sit down on the floor 
 to prevent myself from falling ; but what distressed me far 
 more than aught that concerned myself, was the conviction 
 that the good Prioress was sinking fast into the arms of 
 death; no wonder, when I, with youth and health on my side, 
 felt weaker almost every hour, that she with her many years 
 and painful fasts and vigils should sink beneath this sore trial. 
 She said that she knew by the burning of the lamps that 
 nearly three days had passed since we heard the voice calling 
 near the dungeon grate, that last sound which we had wel- 
 comed with such joy, not thinking that it was the last we 
 should ever hear from the outer world, and the knell pre- 
 saging the doom which awaited us. 
 
 I had only seen her eat once ; twice when she gave me 
 the bread allotted to me, she carried her own to the well to 
 eat it there, and the last time she drew water, she filled the 
 bucket and put it outside the well, desiring me to carry it to 
 the niche, saying, " that she feared if she was unable to 
 help me I would find it hard to draw water with no one to 
 hold the lamp." 
 
 She also made me bring, one by one, six small and the 
 two large lamps from the white Virgin's shrine, and put all 
 in the niche. I knew well what all this betokened, my com- 
 panion in captivity, my kind good friend, the self-denying, 
 true hearted nun, was going away to that far heaven her 
 soul had longed for these many weary years of self-inflicted 
 penance ; she had been many hours in the coffin ; I leaning 
 upon and supported by it stood beside her. She asked me 
 to bring her a drink, I took the cup and went to the well, 
 that the water might be fresh, and there on the stone cover 
 were laid the two slices of bread I thought she had eaten ! 
 unselfish unto death, that my life might be prolonged a day 
 or two longer, she had voluntarily laid down her own. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 439 
 
 I brought the water, taking the bread also with me, and 
 shewed it to her, bj this letting her know that I was aware 
 of the sacrifice she had made. I could not speak, but I felt 
 as if I would gladly lie down in the coffin there and die 
 beside her. 
 
 I raised her head and she drank enough of the water to 
 moisten her lips, but no more ; a faint smile came over her 
 dying face, and collecting all her strength, she said, " When 
 you are out in the world again, go to the Superior of St. 
 Benedict and tell him I am here, he will have me removed 
 to sleep with my darling under the green grass and forest 
 trees at St. Mary's." 
 
 I kissed her cheek, and, with saddened heart and falter- 
 ing voice, told her that if ever I left the vault alive, I would 
 never leave Canada until I had seen her laid in her dear 
 one's grave, and with my own hand planted the shamrock of 
 her native land there. 
 
 She looked in my face and tried to smile, but death was 
 too near. I stood there, her lessening pulse sinking below 
 my touch, listening to the failing breath, and watching the 
 last faint life-streak flying, flying. I stooped down and put 
 my lips to her forehead. I started at the touch, I was alone 
 with death. 
 
 I could not leave the coffin where Sister St. Angelo lay ; 
 I could not realize that she was gone from me ; when by her 
 body I felt as if she were still here, and beyond were the dead 
 nuns, and they were now become things of fear, as they had 
 been when I was alone in the adjoining cell. 
 
 It is a common, saying : " It is a solemn thing to die." 
 To me it has always seemed a far more solemn thing to 
 live. What a mysterious influence soul exercises over soul, 
 while it still inhabits the body ; no matter how weak or 
 
440 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 powerless, though unable to make itself understood by word 
 or sign, the body is cared for with tenderness and affection, its 
 slightest motion attended to and interpreted as love suggests to 
 be best, — the feet are wrapt up lest they be too cold, the hands 
 fanned lest they be too hot, and the lips carefully moistened 
 long after they have ceased to emit a single sound ; a wealth 
 of love is lavished on all its members ; but the last sigh is 
 breathed, and the soul, a moment so low, so agonized, is now 
 beyond the stars, the influence it once possessed for good 
 or for evil all gone. Yesterday, a word of his might have 
 turned the current of our lives, made us less selfish, less 
 worldly, more inclined to make the cause of the poor and 
 needy, the wronged or oppressed, our own. Was that admo- 
 nition given or withheld ? Each of us stand in the same 
 position — each living soul has power to influence, for good or 
 evil, some other soul. The body we so loved yesterday is now, 
 even while we kiss the cold lips and pale forehead in our woe 
 and weeping, become a thing of dread. So will it be with 
 us to-morrow. Let us then arise, be up and doing, ere the 
 day breaks, and the call is given for us also to pass over to 
 the shining shore. 
 
 I remained leaning over the body, and gazing on the 
 calm, worn face until I could stand no longer, and then I 
 folded the pall over her face and lay down on the ground by 
 the side of the coffin. I was weak from want of food and 
 worn by long watching, and my Heavenly Father sent me 
 long and refreshing sleep. I must have slept many hours — 
 the oil in the lamp was quite low when I awoke. 
 
 I tried to light one of the large lamps, but I was too 
 weak, and it fell to the ground. I drank a cup of water and 
 ate all the slice of bread which remained on the niche. I 
 could not touch the others; they seemed to me to be the 
 price of Sister St. Angelo's life. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 441 
 
 I then kissed the dead face of the Prioress many, many 
 times, covered it with the pall, and lay down again beside her 
 coffin. I was unable to stand, and tottered, rather than 
 walked as I came from the niche. 
 
 I must again have slept several hours. When I awoke I 
 was again in the darkness ; but I cared not, all things were 
 alike to me now. I was too weak to think, and closed my 
 eyes in the hope of awaking in the spirit land, where Sister 
 St. Angelo had gone before me, and I tried to think of the 
 happiness of seeing my mother again. 
 
 I was roused from my lethargy by loud voices, and open- 
 ing my eyes, the light from the open trap-door so dazzled 
 me that I was obliged to press both my hands on my eyelids. 
 I tried to rise, and also to speak, but was too weak to do 
 either. 
 
 I remember no more until I was in the open air, borne in 
 the arms of strong men, one of whom said : 
 
 " Call a cab ; I will go with her to the convent of the 
 Holy Assumption." 
 
 I called out, with all the strength I had left, 
 
 " No ; I am a Protestant. " 
 
 I saw and heard no more for many weary days and weeks. 
 I was only conscious of restless tossings to and fro ; my head 
 burning with pain, and my eyes so dazzled with the bright 
 sun, that shone day and night alike upon the bare, white walls 
 around me — its sharp, lightning darts piercing like pointed 
 arrows into my brain — that I fancied I had no eyelids, and 
 could only shield me from its fierce glare by keeping both 
 hands constantly upon my eyes. 
 
 While I lay there, every public print in every land where 
 the English tongue was spoken, told the sad story of the 
 burning of the old convent of St. Bride's, where sixty nuns 
 
442 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 and three hundred paupers — little innocent children, para- 
 lyzed old men and sickly women — every soul in that great 
 nunnery, perished in the flames ; and of the frantic, unavail- 
 ing efforts of the town's people to save them ; — strong men 
 attempting to scale the burning walls within which sisters 
 and daughters were consumed almost before their eyes. 
 Two men, with love and courage stronger than death, 
 ascended ladders placed against these burning walls, and 
 paid their daring with their lives. Priests, men devoted to 
 the cause they served, and believing that those unshriven 
 souls were passing into doubt and darkness, striving to reach 
 those whose cries of despair filled the air, were every moment 
 driven back by the smoke and flames, which were bursting 
 out in all directions. The rest I copy from an old newspa- 
 per, which I have treasured " 'mong my things most pre- 
 cious" for many years : — 
 
 u The fire commenced in the lower part of the building 
 where the old people resided, most likely occasioned by some 
 of the old men smoking in bed, a practice which all the 
 vigilance of the nuns could not prevent, i The dense smoke 
 ascending must have choked the children and many of the 
 nuns ere the fire reached them. Before the town's people 
 were aware of the fire, it was illuminating the country for 
 miles around, the alarm having been given by a country- 
 man coming into town for a doctor, who saw the light against 
 the sky from the cross-roads on the mountain three miles 
 off, and when he reached Algona, found the inhabitants 
 sleeping in fancied security, with the fire raging in the 
 midst of them. 
 
 "In a few minutes there were hundreds of people on the 
 spot, and when the alarm spread that St. Bride's was on fire, 
 there were few men in Algona who were not beneath its 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 443 
 
 walls, each striving to save one or more who were called by 
 his name. There was no water except what could be drawn 
 from wells ; fire-engines were brought, and when used, 
 found to be burst in several places, and to be wholly ineffi- 
 cient. They endeavoured to pull down part of the masonry 
 — alas ! it was built as strong as stone and lime, with iron 
 bars, could make it j St. Bride's was a doomed house, and 
 its inmates were to perish with it. One poor nun, a 
 tall woman, whose proportions seemed greater than that 
 of most men, ran from window to window of the up- 
 per story, shrieking for the help it was impossible to 
 give. Ladders were placed against the walls and ropes 
 thrown up to her aid, but in vain, there were strong iron 
 bars fixed in the firm masonry of those windows, which 
 would take hours of hard labour to dislodge, under the 
 most favourable circumstances. One man after another 
 ascended the wall with a sledge hammer, and working for 
 a few seconds, was forced back by the flames and smoke 
 issuing from the window. At last she called loudly out, her 
 strong voice making itself heard above the roaring of the 
 fire, beseeching a priest to be sent up to her, as she was 
 perishing in mortal sin. Several priests made the attempt, 
 and were each in their turn driven back by the fire, which 
 was burning below and around, ere they could reach the 
 window in the roof where she stood. At last her cries and 
 pleadings were so piteous, that the Prior of St. Benedict 
 declared he would shrive her or die in the attempt ; and 
 tying a handkerchief across his mouth, ascended to the top. 
 She stood in the window, her hands having firm hold of the 
 iron bars, her head and body down to the waist being in full 
 view. The priest reached the window, and she was seen 
 speaking to him for a second, when her body disappeared, 
 
444 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 and nought could be seen but part of her face and hands, 
 which still clung to the iron bars ; an instant more her hands 
 relaxed their hold, and she sunk amid the burning ruins, -with 
 a shriek which few who heard it will ever forget. The roof 
 of the chapel was one of the first things to give way, it hav- 
 ing fallen in at an early stage of the fire. Fortunately the 
 plate and altar jewels were all saved before the chapel was 
 entirely destroyed, the falling in of the roof having stayed the 
 burning for a time, thus giving an opportunity to save them. 
 
 " Four days after the fire, the Superior of St. Benedict 
 returned from a missionary tour, in which he had visited all 
 the convents of his order on the continent of America. He 
 did not hear of the fire until his arrival at Algona, and at 
 once ordered fifty men to be sent to open up the convent 
 vault, to work night and day, and be relieved every hour, he 
 being cognizant of penance done there during two nights in 
 every week by the Prioress of St. Bride's. 
 
 " The vault in due time was opened, and the nun found 
 lying in a coffin, dressed in her veil and robe, cold and dead. 
 Beside her in the vault an English girl lay dying. Near 
 the latter were found a bucket of water and two slices of 
 mouldy bread. The girl had still strength enough left to tell 
 that she was a Protestant ! and was carried to the English 
 hospital. Neither the priests of St. Benedict nor the clois- 
 tered nuns, who alone were left in St. Mary's of St. Bride's, 
 knew who the girl was, and the poor emaciated creature her- 
 self is quite deranged. The only clue by which her friends 
 may identify her is a letter found in a large scapular, which 
 was tied round her neck. It is dated Perth, May 18 — , and 
 was evidently written in Scotland. The signature is Robert 
 Scott." 
 
CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 Weeks were wearing into months, and I was still unconscious 
 of the care strangers were taking of me ; my senses must 
 have returned to me by slow degrees. At first I was conscious 
 of lying in a room where there were several other beds, and 
 I fancied it must be the dormitory of the aspirants at St. 
 Mary's, and wondered what they could mean by putting me 
 there, but what puzzled me was, that it was neither a nun or 
 convent servant who attended to my wants — I knew this by 
 her cotton clothes as they touched me when she smoothed 
 my bed. 
 
 I was then conscious of being visited by a man, who I knew 
 was a doctor by his talking of medicine and feeling my pulse ; 
 but I saw neither he or the nurse for I never opened my eyes. 
 I feared the sun, and fancied if I did so its fierce glare would 
 strike me dead ; I used to lie thinking over one thought — 
 about the woman's dress being cotton, or there being no 
 prints on the walls, and why it was so for hours, until my 
 head ached as if I had studied too much. After a time I used 
 to fancy the Doctor was Willie, and again he was Kobert 
 Scott ; I knew that neither my head or my mind was as it 
 had been in the old time, but it seemed so long ago, that I 
 could not remember it, and I did not care to do so ,* I felt 
 contented if the pain came not back to my head again to lie 
 there always. 
 
 After a long sleep I opened my eyes, and before I recol- 
 lected that the sun would kill me, I saw that there were no 
 
446 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 other beds in the room, and there was a paper on the walls, 
 and then I saw there was a carpet on the floor and Willie's 
 dog Carlo was lying sleeping on it stretched out at full length. 
 I knew that this was all fancy, I had been accustomed for a 
 long while to fancy many things, which had no existence in 
 reality, and I knew this was one of them, that in reality there 
 was no carpet, no Carlo in the room, but there was one thing, 
 which was always real, and I shut my eyes fast when I thought 
 of it. I knew the sun was coming and he would look through 
 my eyes into my brain, and make it burn and whirl round 
 and round as it had done all the long weary time that was 
 gone. I lay very still with my hand pressed down on my 
 eyes to keep out the sun ; the Doctor came and stood by my 
 bed, and took my other hand, which lay on the bedquilt, and 
 felt my pulse ; the woman said, 
 
 " She had her eyes open for two or three minutes just 
 before you came in." 
 
 He answered, " Thank God," in Robert Scott's voice. How 
 well he imitated it ! it startled me and made my heart beat 
 quick at first, until I remembered that he did that to make 
 me open my eyes. I must have dreamt that he did so once 
 before. He then put his hand on my forehead, and instead 
 of his own thick-fingered warm hand, he made it feel like 
 Robert Scott's long thin fingers and cold hand, and he said 
 speaking still in Robert's voice as before : 
 
 " Her temples are quite cool." 
 
 But I kept my eyes shut; he could not deceive me. The 
 Doctor went to the other side of the room and spoke to the 
 nurse, and then he came again and leant over me and said, 
 " ma Soeur, ma Scaur," imitating Willie's voice ; I put both 
 my hands over my eyes, and turned away. In a moment all 
 the memory of my early days came back again, and I wept 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 447 
 
 long and bitterly. He came round to the side on which I had 
 turned, and tried to take my hand, but he had given me too 
 much misery already, and I pushed his hand away with all 
 the strength I had ; the woman then came and made him leave 
 me. I felt more grateful to her for that than for all the 
 kindness she had bestowed on me in the troubled time that 
 was past, of which, indeed, I had but a very indistinct idea ; 
 looking upon her more as a piece of furniture, that was always 
 there than as a kind hearted woman, who was unremittingly 
 ministering to my wants. When he was gone, I put both my 
 hands on my eyes again and wept myself asleep. 
 
 When I next awoke I felt so well and strong that I sat up 
 and looked round the room. I was not in the dormitory of the 
 aspirant's or in any room at St. Mary's ; the walls were covered 
 with paper and a carpet on the floor, and the woman was 
 sitting knitting by the window, dressed in a white cap and 
 lilac cotton gown. 
 
 When she heard me move she came towards the bed, and 
 without speaking, brought me a basin of fresh water, and 
 washed my hands and face ; she then smoothed my pillows, 
 asking me to lie down in the way she would have done to a 
 child — by-and-bye she brought me some tea and bread. I 
 kept my eyes open all the time. I had forgotten about the 
 fierce rays of the sun, perhaps the fear of it was gone. She 
 wished to feed me as she would a child, but I took the tea 
 cup in my own hand, and asked for a glass of water ; I heard 
 afterwards that these were the first words I had spoken for 
 many weeks. Some one knocked at the door, and when the 
 woman opened it the dog of my last day-dream entered ; I 
 held out my hand and said Carlo ; he came to the bed and 
 put his head in my hand, wagged his tail and put up his fore- 
 paws on the counterpane, endeavouring to evince his doggish 
 
448 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 pleasure at being noticed ; he remained beside me, his head 
 resting on the bed, and looking as if he knew I was ill, and 
 a stranger, and that I fondled him for the sake of one like 
 him I had known . in my own land. I closed my eyes and 
 slept ; I felt tired with speaking to the dog and thinking of 
 home. 
 
 When I again awoke, Willie, my own darling brother was 
 by my bedside, not the slight boyish Willie I had left at home, 
 but a tall, strong Willie, six feet high, with great whiskers. 
 And another came and pressed both my thin hands in his own, 
 and his voice uttered no sound, but his dark eye told me the 
 ill I had done to myself in all those years of estrangement, 
 distrust, and doubt. 
 
 I might have seen them both long before if I would have 
 opened my eyes ; perhaps it was well I did not — I think we 
 need to be stronger to bear joy than sorrow — my heart beat 
 almost audibly, and my cheek burned so that I had to take 
 Willie's cold, large hand and put it alternately to each side of 
 mj face ; the nurse became very fidgety, came by my bed, 
 smoothed the counterpane and pillows, said the u room was 
 too warm, — there were too many breaths in it, — that the air 
 was all consumed," — went to the window, opening it wide, — 
 came again by my bed and objected to my talking so much, 
 (I had not spoken two words) at last finding that hints were 
 of no avail, she bluntly observed, " you can come in the 
 evening, gentlemen, but you have been too long here already 
 iust now." 
 
 She was in the right, my head had begun to ache, and very 
 soon I felt as if my bed was swung backwards and forwards 
 by no gentle hand. 
 
 When they left the room she darkened the window, so that 
 she had only enough of light to ply her knitting by sitting 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 449 
 
 close beside it ; she was a good kind woman and knew her 
 business well, and I owe my ultimate recovery out of that 
 time of darkness principally to her unremitting care. 
 
 Next day I was so much better that I sat in an easy chair 
 by the window, wrapped in a blanket, while my bed was made ; 
 four days from that, I was lying on the sofa, clothed and in 
 my right mind. 
 
 The nurse had already told me that on the arrival of my 
 brother and Robert Scott, I had been removed from the public 
 ward to the private room I then occupied, that they had been 
 beside me almost every hour for ten days before I recognized 
 them; she thought they were both my brothers, and in talking 
 of their distress at the state they found me in, she said " your 
 youngest brother would come and kiss you twenty times a 
 day, speaking to you in French so I could not understand 
 him, but, poor young man, it was easy to see his trouble was 
 nearly as bad as your own ; they had a consultation of the 
 first medical men in Algona the day they arrived, and your 
 younger brother went into the consultation along with the 
 rest of the doctors ; from that time the treatment was entirely 
 changed, and your brother took the case in his own hands ; 
 your elder brother never spoke a word, and he kissed your 
 forehead only once, but if I can read the heart from the face, 
 his was the sorest of the two, poor man ; when his wife dies 
 he'll never mourn more for her than he did for you, he looked 
 as if his heart was breaking, the doctor, (this was what she 
 called Willie) used to take his book or his newspaper and 
 amuse himself with that ; but I never saw either book or paper 
 in the other's hand; your face was his book, he never took his 
 eyes off you, and he never spoke but to ask something about 
 you or to answer a question.' ? 
 
 That day Willie brought mamma's Bible and laid it on my 
 
450 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 lap. I was not able to read with him as we used to do, but he 
 read to me, and so fulfilled mamma's behest : he told me he had 
 read from it every day by my bedside since his arrival. 
 
 When he had finished reading, I took it from his hand ; 
 the poor, old cover was much worn now, and getting very 
 shabby, and I determined the first day I was able to sew, I 
 would put a new cover upon it and so surprise Willie. I asked 
 if Mr. Weimes had answered any of the letters yet ? his reply 
 was no. Some days after when he thought I could bear it 
 better, he told me Mr. Weimes was dead, and with him had 
 perished all hope of being able to prove our father and 
 mother's marriage, at least for the present. It might be, he 
 observed, in years to come, some one, who was in a position to 
 bear witness to the fact, might cross the path of one or either 
 of us as suddenly as Mr. Weimes had done. We knew it 
 would be even as He hath said, who ruleth all things, and to 
 Him we were willing to leave it. I myself had a perfect con- 
 fidence that I would live to see the truth made clear to the 
 world as the noon day. " Now that you are well again," said 
 Willie, " I do not care a fig for anything else ; before I heard 
 of your illness I wearied myself day and night in devising 
 schemes for proving my right to Haddo with an unsufiied 
 name, and gloried in the revenge I would take of uncle 
 when I was installed lord there ; every night e'er sleep visited 
 my pillow, I, in imagination, varied the process of humiliation 
 I would subject him to ; now I am a wiser and, I hope, a 
 better man : should Haddo ever be mine I shall certainly 
 rejoice for more reasons than one, but if it never is, I will not 
 trouble myself, it has been like an ignusfatuus to me during 
 the last year ; I have spent more time upon it than I could 
 well afford, and certainly my meditations on the subject have 
 neither enlarged or improved my mind. Seeking the wealth 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 451 
 
 that is in the possession, of another, whether you have a right 
 to it or not, has in my experience a most deteriorating effect ; 
 and now that this trouble is over I should thank God for its 
 having occurred. While you were lying there, I saw in its 
 true light the little happiness which wealth or rank, without 
 one we love to share it with us, can afford ; and were I to 
 fritter off my time in fruitless endeavours after, and idle spe- 
 culations upon what may never be mine, as I have been doing 
 for many months back, instead of applying myself industriously 
 and giving my attention to my profession, I would be laying 
 but a poor foundation for my future life." 
 
 On the same day he told me it was Robert Scott who 
 shewed him the account of the burning of St. Bride's ; they 
 had not spoken to each other for two years and a half, 
 although Willie was aware, through Mr. Erskine, that it was 
 principally to Robert's untiring exertions he owed Mr. 
 Weimes' address. On the morning of the day on which they 
 
 left Edinburgh for Canada, he came to Br. B 's, and 
 
 without sitting down or even speaking, he shewed Willie the 
 newspaper paragraph containing the account of the burning of 
 St. Bride's, the English girl's removal to the hospital, and the 
 subsequent discovery of the letter to which his signature was 
 attached. He then told my brother of our engagement, adding, 
 " I have already made my arrangements to leave this for Liv- 
 erpool by the night train, from thence I will sail by the first 
 steamer for Canada, fortunately she will sail in a couple of 
 hours after the arrival of the train, and whether I find Violet 
 sane or insane, I go to claim my wife, and bring her to her 
 own land." 
 
 It was at once arranged that Willie should go also; that 
 
 afternoon Doctor B held a consultation with two of the 
 
 first physicians in Edinburgh, who made insanity their study 
 
452 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 — the result was the course of treatment which Willie on his 
 arrival pursued so successfully. 
 
 On the voyage out, Willie repeated to his companion the 
 words I used in writing to him of the way in which I believed 
 myself to have been treated by his father and himself. Robert 
 told me afterwards that not receiving any answer to the letters 
 he wrote regularly for a fortnight, he wrote to Hariote, and 
 from her received an account of my departure in nearly the 
 same words used by Mr. Scott when desiring Simpson to pack 
 my trunk ; — when I recognized him on the wharf in Glasgow, 
 he was on his way home to ascertain himself what had be- 
 come of me, and no one expressed more sorrow for my dis- 
 tress, whatever it might be, than Mr. Scott. 
 
 A few days later, I was able to bid good-bye to my kind 
 nurse and leave the hospital where I had been cared for so 
 well. Our plans were to remain for a few days in a hotel 
 and then proceed to New York, where we would embark on 
 board one of the steamships for Britain. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 The day after I left the hospital I became Robert Scott's 
 wife, at the Church of St. James-in-the-fields ; this was the 
 first and last time of my being in a Protestant church in Al- 
 gona. Next day we all went to St. Mary's of St. Bride's, to 
 visit the grave of my dear, dear friend Sister St. Angelo, and 
 I there performed my promise by planting the shamrock, so 
 dear to every Irish heart, on the grave of the holy nun and 
 self-denying woman, who slept beneath — she whom I loved in 
 life and in death. 
 
 I did not enter the convent, it would have been a painful 
 visit full of sad reminiscences. The night of the burning of 
 St£ Bride's, every uncloistered nun, including the Superior, 
 were there ; it was the eve of the festival of St. Bride, on which 
 the fire took place, and all those nuns had taken the veil in 
 the old convent, and consequently wished to spend the fete 
 there. Of the two cloistered nuns whom I knew, one of them 
 died while I was at St. Mary's, and the other I had only 
 spoken to once. St. Mary's convent, where I had passed so 
 many quiet, peaceful hours, would be a sad desert to me with- 
 out the active step and quick eye of her who had been my 
 friend even unto death ; and I did not think it wise to subject 
 myself to painful emotions, which were unnecessary. A shower 
 of light snow, fine as powdered pearls, such as we never see 
 in Britain, and in Canada is hailed as the snow that will lie on 
 the ground and bring winter, had fallen in the morning, and 
 formed a slight covering for the otherwise bare, deserted- 
 
 EE 
 
454 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 looking ground ; but in the grove where lay all that earth 
 held of the Prioress, and her darling, the snow had not pene- 
 trated through the thick inlacing boughs above, protected 
 by the shade they afforded alike, from winter's cold and sum- 
 mer's sun. The grass there was still green, and some of the 
 daisies were still struggling into blossom. I picked one for 
 myself and one for Gertrude, and placing both within the 
 leaves of my pocket-book, turned away with a sadder heart 
 than yesterday I thought I would ever feel again. When I 
 arrived at the hotel I put my own daisy in my Bible, and I 
 laid aside Gertrude's to be companion for one or two little rem- 
 iniscences of Canada, which I knew she would like to have. I 
 felt sure Gertrude was in Britain — if she had been in Canada 
 she would have sought me out while I was in the hospital. 
 
 The evening before our departure from Algona, my husband 
 and brother went to buy me some Indian work like that I had 
 seen at Quebec, worked by the Algonquins. 
 
 I was too tired to go with them, and set about making a 
 cover for mamma's Bible, with a piece of crimson silk I had 
 already provided for that purpose. I had a good deal of 
 trouble in removing the cover, which was folded down inside 
 each of the boards, it being glued to the book. When, at 
 length this was effected, there fell into my lap several papers 
 that had been placed between the boards and the cover. The 
 first I examined was the certificate of my father and mother's 
 marriage ! to which was attached, each with a wafer, the cer- 
 tificate of my own and Willie's birth. 
 
 " Lord God of truth, thou hast not shut me up in the 
 hand of the enemy, thou hast set my feet in a large room, the 
 thing that is hid bringeth He to light." 
 
 There was also a copy of my father's will, and three other 
 papers which seemed to be receipts for money ; all the docu- 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 455 
 
 merits were written in French. The marriage was performed 
 at the church of Notre Dame in Paris, my mother having 
 been a Catholic at the time of her marriage. There was also 
 a second certificate attached to the first from the chapel of the 
 British Embassy, where the marriage was performed a second 
 time on the same day. I read both certificates over and over 
 again, as if to convince myself I saw aright, my whole frame 
 trembling with emotion I could not repress ; I felt as I had 
 done when I discovered that Sister St. Angelo was with my- 
 self an inmate of the vault. My feelings were not those of joy 
 but of such deep thankfulness, I had no words with which to 
 express myself. I knelt before the Lord, my lips uttering no 
 word, my heart conceiving no thought — I knelt there in silent 
 gratitude and adoration to Him who had taken us from " the 
 horrible pit, and the miry clay." When Robert and Willie 
 returned, I put the whole of the papers into their hands. — 
 Those I fancied were receipts for money, were bills to the 
 amount of ten thousand pounds, which were left to me by my 
 father's will. Willie's long minority would entitle him to a 
 like sum, the rental of Haddo being sufficient to provide amply 
 for us both, besides paying mamma's jointure until Willie had 
 attained his majority. 
 
 When mamma was dying she tried several times to speak, 
 and finding herself unable to do so, she signed to me to give 
 her the Bible, which I having done, she put her hand over it 
 twice or thrice. We thought that she wished us to promise 
 to read it, as she had made us do before, and we reiterated 
 the promise. She then endeavoured to shew us that the cover 
 was glued to the boards ; and we still misunderstanding her, 
 promised to take great care of it and always keep it covered. 
 Just then the fit of coughing, in which her life passed away, 
 occurred. 
 
456 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 I was surprised how coolly Willie took his elevation and 
 independence. Robert said " he was sure that my uncle would 
 at once give the property, but as to anything in the shape of 
 restitution for the rents, which he had defrauded Willie of for 
 so many years, he considered it very doubtful his having any- 
 thing to give." 
 
 Willie called Carlo without making any reply, and taking 
 the dog's head in both hands said : 
 
 " So, Monsieur Carlo, we will go to Haddo, both of us, with- 
 out leave from the master." 
 
 I tried in vain before leaving Algona, if it was possible, to 
 hear anything of Gertrude, but no one seemed to have heard 
 that a young lady had left St. Bride's without leave from the 
 Superior. I might have known that such would be the case, 
 Gertrude would fear its being known lest she should again 
 be brought back, and on the other hand anything which at 
 all involves the credit of the convent, is never talked of, or, if 
 possible, allowed to be known inside the nunnery ; far less 
 could it escape and become the subject of conversation out- 
 side the convent walls. I went to Mrs. Morton's, but found 
 that she, her husband and family had all of them gone to 
 England in September. I felt sure Gertrude was there ; not 
 with them, but there, in Britain somewhere, in England or 
 Scotland. 
 
 We went by rail to New York, and in driving to the rail- 
 way station, we passed the blackened and roofless walls of 
 St. Bride's. How I shuddered as I looked for the last time at 
 the place where I had suffered a living death, and lived long 
 years in a few days ; one of the windows in the roof still stood, 
 the glass and wood-work gone, but the stone window frame 
 and strong iron bars were there, as firm as they had been a 
 hundred years ago ; I knew that window well, strange to say 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 457 
 
 It was the one at which, by moon-light, I had read Robert's 
 letter one night, and the next had seen Gertrude brought 
 back at midnight I had put a nail in the wall, and there hung 
 a calendar, a little thing not more than six inches long. I used 
 to leave my window open all day, and to prevent its being blown 
 from the wall, I fastened it securely by knotting the string 
 round the nail, and there hung the little calendar still swing- 
 ing backwards and forwards on its nail, while every living 
 thing in the convent was burnt to ashes. The driver of 
 our vehicle stopped his horses for a few minutes, that we 
 might look at the ruin, and pointing with his whip in the 
 direction of the window, said " I saw there the most 
 awful sight that ever was seen in Algona, one of the nuns, 
 a woman bigger than myself, made her last confession 
 there, and before the priest could open his lips to give 
 the absolution, the flames came round her like tongues of 
 fire ; she was holding by the iron bars, but the flames and 
 smoke were too much for her, and she sunk into the fire with 
 a, cry, that sounded loud above the roaring of the fire and 
 the noise of the falling stones ; many a night since then I have 
 started from my sleep with that cry ringing in my ears, and 
 making my flesh creep and my heart quake as nothing else 
 ever did before ; the burning of the convent was nothing to 
 that wild yell of despair ; every one who heard it trembled and 
 shook like little children, it was the cry of no human being 
 that — they who know about these things, say that it was the 
 demon of the well, who took the form of one of the dead nuns, 
 and tried in this way to escape from the dungeon in which he 
 has been confined for two hundred years — the burning of the 
 convent, and the bursting of the dungeon doors, broke his 
 chains, and he knew if he could get a priest to assoilzie him 
 he would escape into the world. The priest who absolves a 
 
458 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 demon, is in his power, and the evil spirit thought to leave 
 the body of the dead nun and enter that of the holy man, 
 who would be bold enough to climb that burning wall. There 
 were many priests there, who hearing her cries, tried one 
 after the other to ascend the ladder, but the Holy Virgin 
 sent the smoke and flames to drive them back ; at last the 
 Prior of St. Benedict, shocked by the cry that never ceased 
 to pour forth from the lips of the nun : ' I lose my soul, I 
 lose my soul, I perish in mortal sin/ said, * I am an old man, 
 I have numbered my seventy years and ten, I have finished 
 my course, I have kept the faith and, with the help of the 
 Blessed Virgin, I will shrive that nun or perish in the attempt ; 
 and he took off his Prior's cap and knelt on the ground before 
 one of the priests, and said, ' assoilzie me quick ;' the young 
 priest put his hand on the gray head of the old Prior 
 and set his soul free, and the frail, gray man went up the 
 ladder with the step of youth, and stood like an angel of mercy 
 on one side of the burning wall, and the demon on the 
 other. It was an awful sight to see in the dark night, the pre- 
 tended nun, whose size alone might have told it was no nun, her 
 body and head almost filling the window frame, speaking fast 
 into the ear of the aged man, who clung with holy hands to 
 the same bars, as she held by in her wickedness, both seen as 
 clear as a picture up in that giddy height by the light of the 
 flames that towered high above their heads and behind them. 
 She stopped speaking, and the priest made the sign of the cross 
 — the demon was vanquished ; with a howl of despair, she sunk 
 into the midst of the burning convent; the Prior loosened 
 his hold and would have fallen to the ground, but we were 
 prepared for it, and there were piles of straw and beds under 
 him ; his little finger was not hurt, and he walked home that 
 night to the convent, but in seven days the great bell of St. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 459 
 
 Benedict tolled the knell of his departed soul ; the holy man 
 had gone to his reward among the angels, while the demon 
 he conquered, was sent howling to his place of torment. You 
 see," continued he, " no one can live more than seven days 
 after speaking with an evil spirit." 
 
 I, if neither of the others did, listened with interest to the 
 wild tale of superstition, which the death of poor sister Aga- 
 tha, woven in with the old belief of the common people, that 
 a demon dwelt in the dungeons of St. Bride's, had given rise 
 to ; I myself could well imagine the wild cry she would give 
 in her dread despair, as she sunk amid the flames and smoke 
 to rise no more until she meets before the judgment seat of 
 God, those whom she tormented in life. 
 
 We embarked on board the Steamer Asia in the end of. 
 November ; we had a pleasant although cold passage home, 
 and I attribute regaining my strength so soon to the cool sea 
 breeze fanning my pale cheek, and giving strength to my 
 weak limbs in those delightful walks on the deck of the Asia. 
 
 It was in this pleasant time that I learned how foolishly I 
 had acted in believing the accusations made against my hus- 
 band, without even allowing him an opportunity of defending 
 himself; I indeed had been signally punished for my impru- 
 dence and mistrust ; and he, in coming to seek and claim me 
 for his wife, while I was enveloped in clouds and darkness, 
 had given the most noble proof that his love was " passing the 
 love of woman." 
 
 He told me that he had never doubted my faith for one 
 moment, that he had watched the unfoldings of my character 
 during the fourteen months we ate at the same table, and 
 worshipped the God of our fathers at the same altar ; and 
 the result was that, in his thoughts of, or fears for the absent 
 one, his trust in her firm faith knew neither change or waver- 
 
460 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 Willie had told me of the death of Mrs. Scott, which took 
 place only a few weeks after that of her husband, and also of 
 Hariote's marriage to Mr. Erskine, and I knew little more of 
 the changes at Iona Villa until I was on board ship. 
 
 The Erskines lived in a fine house with enclosed grounds in 
 the village of Portobello, where Mr. Erskine had been born 
 and where his parents died. In his bachelor days he let the 
 house, and Georgy had pointed it out to me in one of our 
 walks ; I recollect Hariote saying that if ever she married 
 she would prefer living in Portobello to anywhere else. 
 
 "I am a social body," said she, "I like to be among 
 neighbours, and Portobello is woven up with all my young 
 memories, I fancy that I could not feel at home anywhere 
 else." They were rich people, the Erskines, but they lived as 
 quietly as we used to do at Iona Villa. Their carriage was 
 kept for comfort not state. 
 
 Mrs. Murray, with her husband and two baby boys, lived 
 almost entirely in Edinburgh, and Georgy passed most of her 
 time there. My pulse beat quicker, as he told me that long 
 after my departure Georgy's eyes would fill with tears when 
 my name was mentioned. 
 
 Harry was still with Mr. Watts, but had now overcome his 
 aversion to Latin, and was preparing for college. Simpson, 
 under the guidance of the widow who nursed me during my 
 short illness at Iona Villa, was still there, doing her best to 
 make the old house seem like a home to Robert, who was now 
 master. 
 
 I was Robert's wife several weeks before I summoned 
 courage to tell him of the scene I had in parting with his 
 father. Had the old man been alive I would have felt less 
 delicacy ; but the dead seem to be holy things, of whom we 
 care not to speak lightly, far less do we like to repeat the 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 461 
 
 ■wrong they have done us. I said as little on the subject as 
 possible, repeating of his words only barely what was neces- 
 sary ; but I felt, although unasked to do so, that Robert was 
 entitled to an explanation of the sudden manner in which I 
 left his father's house. 
 
 He replied, " Had Hariote been at home, this could not 
 have taken place. My father was, all his life, a violent tem- 
 pered man ; and until the very last, we had no suspicion that 
 those fits of passion were the result of disease. Years ago 
 it was discovered that Hariote had certain powers by which 
 she could control him in his worst of moods ; but for this she 
 would have been John Erskine's wife long since. Hariote's 
 presence was necessary to our peace at home, and she, 
 unselfish as ever angel was, sacrificed her happiness for years, 
 that she might be the spirit of peace in the household. 
 
 " Our cottage," said he, looking in my face under my hat 
 as he spoke, " is the scene of much happiness. Ellen Syme, 
 as Lady Enderby, lives there with the fondest of husbands, 
 and her two lovely little girls, dressed like fairies, in scarlet 
 and green. They hired the cottage to spend a quiet summer 
 near Hariote. Miss Syme is married to a younger brother of 
 Sir Harry's, who is at the English bar." 
 
 Upon our arrival in Liverpool we went direct by rail to 
 Edinburgh, and at the depot were pleasantly surprised to find 
 Mr. Erskine waiting for us. He seemed shocked on seeing 
 my thin pale face, and the dark circle under my eyes, which 
 all the fresh air of the Atlantic had not been able to dispel • 
 but quickly recovering himself, he welcomed me home to 
 Scotland, addressing me as Mrs. Scott. It was the first time 
 I had heard my new name, and the feelings it called forth 
 were those of gratitude and unmixed happiness. I had much 
 cause. The last time I stood on that spot I was on my way 
 
462 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 to Glasgow, to seek work in another quarter of the globe, 
 where the sweet words of my northern tongue were smiled at 
 as the uncouth accents of a strange language. I went 
 escorted by and with money borrowed from my brothers' 
 landlady, unaided by whom I could not have gone to win 
 bread for myself, and an education for Willie, amid strangers 
 in a strange land. And now I was rich in my own right, 
 beyond what I had ever thought of in my wildest dreams, 
 and far above all, 1 was the wife of one whom I loved better 
 than the daylight, who realized, centered in himself, each high 
 idea I had ever formed of man's excellence in mind or body. 
 My darling brother had passed through his course of study 
 with honour, and if not now, would soon be the proprietor of 
 the lands of our fathers. Verily, I might well say with the 
 Patriarch of old, " with my staff I passed over this Jordan, 
 and lo, I am become two bands." 
 
 "We drove down to Portobello, or rather to Iona Villa, in 
 Mr. Erskine's carriage, under the bright starlight of a frosty 
 December night. Robert almost lifted me into the hall where 
 I was first as a stranger received so kindly. How dear each 
 seemed to be as they pressed rejoicingly around to bid me wel- 
 come home as their old friend and brother's wife. 
 
 Mrs. Murray alone spoke. " Welcome, welcome home 
 again. We have been watching for the sound of wheels 
 stopping at the door for an hour back. How awfully pale and 
 thin you are. You seem all eyes, and look twenty years older 
 than when I saw you last." 
 
 Mrs. Murray, whom I had not seen since her marriage, 
 had not changed. She was still the same matter of fact 
 person, saying what she thought, and never waiting to con- 
 sider whether it would be pleasant or not. 
 
 Hariote interrupted her with heightened colour and flashing 
 eye, saying : 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 463 
 
 " Yes, we all look wretched after a sea voyage of only two 
 or three days, what must a voyage from the other side of the 
 Atlantic do?" 
 
 We had tea in what used to be the school-room, but had 
 been lately fitted up as a library. Robert told me he lived 
 there when he kept bachelor's hall ; adding, " It is not an 
 elysium living alone, particularly when you have been accus- 
 tomed to live with sisters, who watch your looks and spoil 
 you." 
 
 How beautiful Georgy had grown ; she had exchanged her 
 sallow sickly look for the rounded rose-leaf cheek, which only 
 health can give, and her blue eye had a softened air, which 
 to me is beauty's self. Poor child, she had doubtless paid 
 dear for the latter. She was her mother's darling, and all 
 her little joys and sorrows were calmly listened to and sym- 
 pathised in, when confided to her who was, in this respect, at 
 once mother and sister. 
 
 After tea Mr. and Mrs. Murray left us, Mrs. Murray's 
 baby making it impossible for her to pass the night from home. 
 Georgy, at her own request, remained with us. 
 
 When they had gone, Robert, into whose keeping Willie 
 had given the papers found in the cover of the Bible, put 
 them all into Mr. Erskine's hands, requesting him to read them 
 there and then. When he had done so, he placed them on 
 the table, folding each to the length and breadth of the 
 other, saying, in his calculating Scotch way : 
 
 " Ah ! the old rascal, these are the papers he talked of as 
 being missing. It was a loss to him he did not get a hold of 
 them ; he would have made a sure thing of it if he had got 
 these certificates and bank shares into his hands at once ; he 
 told me he had searched every drawer and desk in the house, 
 from top to bottom, and no marriage certificate or paper 
 worth two-pence was to be found. I believe bim now ; then 
 
464 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 I thought he lied like a trooper, and I felt inclined to tell 
 him so." 
 
 Addressing himself to Robert, he said : 
 
 " We will have a good scene when he comes now. Last 
 time he went off with flying colours, acting the part of the 
 virtuous and indignant gentleman beating off the attacks of 
 wily lawyers and poor relations, trying to extort money under 
 false pretences. I knew he was a rogue when he tried to 
 bully me into giving up the case. It is my opinion he knew 
 where the marriage was celebrated. It was on what bears 
 most strongly on this very point I told you he contradicted 
 himself. His first story was that Colonel Keith first met Miss 
 De Salaberry in Paris. The next, that she was the daughter 
 of an obscure peasant and never was in Paris in her life. 
 The cur ! I felt inclined to kick him out of the office for daring 
 to lie in my face, and I told him so. But from the very first, 
 when I heard of him consulting a pettifogger like Renney, 
 instead of the Robertsons, who have had the Haddo business, 
 father and son, for more than sixty years, I knew he was 
 false as hell, and so was the story he trumped up. He no 
 doubt feared the Robertsons had heard something of his 
 brother's marriage, and that the want of a marriage certificate 
 would be no valid reason in their eyes for denying the exist- 
 ence of the marriage ceremony. I saw Robertson and spoke 
 to him on the subject, he says : " Old Haddo died suddenly 
 and without a will ; that he saw little of them for several 
 years before the old man's death, and nothing since, as the 
 present proprietor manages all his own affairs. He knew 
 Colonel Keith was dead ; supposed him married, but without 
 children." However, we will settle the whole affair very 
 easily now. I will write to him by to-morrow's mail, and 
 doubtless we will have him here in a day or two, with his hat 
 in his hand. 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 465 
 
 Willie had not told me that Mr. Erskine was the lawyer 
 
 employed by Dr. B , but I was very pleased when I found 
 
 it was so. 
 
 In the afternoon of next day, I went up to Edinburgh, to 
 see my friend, Mrs. Livingstone, it being arranged that Rob- 
 ert, who left me at the door of her land, would call for me 
 after office hours. I had warned Willie to keep away from 
 the high street, as I wished to give her a pleasant surprise. 
 It was the old lady herself, who opened the door to my 
 knock. " May I be kept and guarded," said she, with 
 unfeigned pleasure and surprise manifested in her face and 
 manner, " is this you come o'er the sea again ; come awa ben, 
 but whar's your luggage ?" 
 
 " I will tell you that by-and-bye," said I, entering. 
 " Sit down here, and warm yoursel, ye'er vary caul like, 
 ye hae nae been weel, I rekon ;" and she placed a chair in 
 front of the fire, at the same time taking my hat and cloak in 
 the old kind way. 
 
 " Aweel, its a sight gude for sair 'een to see you ; I was aye 
 hearin about ye fae Maister Keith, but he's nae at hame the 
 noo, he has nae been here for sax weeks an' mair ; an' I 
 could nae think what was keepin' him, for he aye brings up 
 his socks here, whan they want a steek, an' comes to fess them 
 hame himsel again ; and he thinks his poetry books wi' red 
 boards are safer an' cleaner here than among the fingers o' 
 
 Dr. B 's servant lasses, he aye makes the auld place a kind 
 
 o* hame ; sae whan I mist him 'at he didna come for hale aught 
 days, an' he wasna in the kirk on Sabbath ither, I put on 
 my shawl an' gaed away doun to the doctor's tae speir for 
 him ; sae I was lucky enough to meet the doctor himsel just 
 <x>min' out at the door ; an* he's aye very civil, for I kent 
 him weel whan he was a lad, an' he tellt me at Maister Keith 
 was out o' the town, and wadna be back for sax weeks or may 
 
466 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 be twa month ; he laught and said, c 'Deed, Mrs. Livingstone, 
 its my faut at ye didna ken he was awa, for I promised to 
 sen up word, and I forgot aw about it ;' the doctor's vera 
 jokie," continued she, " an', says he to me in his ain pawky 
 manner, ' you weman folk are aye ailen and that keeps me 
 rinnen, an' sae I whiles forgets the things I wad like best to 
 mind.' I said it was sax weeks sin sine, but, 'deed, I'm weel 
 sure its mair than twa month since I gaed doun to the doc- 
 tor's, sae I wadna say but he's at hame noo ; at ony rate we'll 
 see afore nicht." 
 
 By the time she had given me this information, the table 
 was drawn to the fire side, and covered for tea ; I did not 
 object to these preparations, I knew the trouble she was tak- 
 ing was nothing to the pleasure she felt in the exercise of her 
 hospitality. 
 
 Seating herself opposite me, she put her clasped hands on 
 the table, and first returning thanks to the great All Father, 
 for his merciful kindness in sending me again to my own land, 
 she prayed for a blessing on the absent one, and that we 
 might eat and drink to His glory, who had once more brought 
 us under one roof. 
 
 " Maister Keith took his dog wi' him," observed she, as 
 she poured out the tea, " I wanted to tak him hame whan his 
 maister was awa, for serven lasses are whiles nae ower fond 
 o' dogs, an' altho' I dinna set muckle store by him mysel, 
 I kent vera well it wad gee a sair heart tae some body gin he 
 was lost, but the doctor tellt me he was awa wi' his maister, 
 and said it was him at garet Maister Keith tak Carlo wi' him , 
 for he thought he wad maybe be o' great service whar he was 
 gaen ; but it wadna be easy to tell what service the puir tyke 
 wad dee. I'm thinkin' the maist o't wad be haden his maister 
 out o' langer. Ye hae come hame at a bad time for meetin' 
 aw your friends ; your auld joe Deacon Scott has been awa I 
 
VIOLET KEITn. 467 
 
 reckon, near han as lang as Maister Keith, at ony rate he hasna 
 been in the kirk for a lang time, I heard tell at he had gaen 
 to America. Ye did nae see him there, did ye ? but na ; 
 America 'a a wide word, he might be in aye town an' you in 
 anither, an' the ane nae ken at the ither was there.' ' 
 
 " I bade Maister Keith," continued she, " be sure an' tell 
 you aw about the auld man's death. sirs, bit that was a 
 sair thing, the father o' a family tae pit a han in his ain life, 
 mad or nae mad, an' his puir wife never liftet up her head 
 after she heard o't ; they tried to keep it frae her, but the 
 youngest lassie heard it and told her mither, unwitten to the 
 rest, an' sae puir Mrs. Scott jist gaed aff like the snuff o' a 
 candle twa days after. Little doubt but the auld man was as 
 mad as a March hare whan he fly tted wi' you about his son . 
 A weel," said she, sighing, her dislike of the man having been 
 buried with him, " its aw ower noo, an* I trust the Lord has 
 had mercy on his soul, he'll neither flyte or fecht wi' ony body 
 in this warld mair, an' gin Deacon Scott be worth your pains, 
 he'll mak up to ye now whan there's nae body to gang atween 
 ye, and gin he doesna he's nae muckle worth, your better 
 wantin' him ; there's mair lads in Edinburgh, and ye'll get a 
 better than him." 
 
 I said nothing, but I doubted very much in my own mind 
 if there were any such. 
 
 I did not know that Mr. Scott had committed suicide until 
 now, and I felt truly shocked. 
 
 Mrs. Livingstone resumed, " Ye maun tell me now your 
 ain story ; I doubt ye'ev had hard wark makin' aw the siller 
 ye sent hame, ye'er white face and thin hands tell that plain 
 enough ; but I'll tak ye down to the brae3 o' Ballquider wi' me 
 in the summer, and ye'll grow as strong there as ever ye were." 
 
 I took off my left glove, which I had kept on on purpose, 
 and showed her my ring. 
 
468 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 " Ye dinna mean to say," she exclaimed in surprise; and 
 pausing for a moment, " weel, I'm sorry for't ; I aye thought 
 ye wad be Mrs. Deacon Scott some day, an' wha's your gude 
 
 man 
 
 ?» 
 
 I took from my pocket the first present I received from 
 my husband ; it was a small pocket-bible bound in white ena- 
 mel with gold clasps, and opening it at the first leaf, put it 
 into her hands. 
 
 She took her spectacles from her pocket, and rubbed the 
 glasses with her apron, all the time wearing the same grim 
 look I had seen on her face, and gazed on with such anxiety 
 the first evening we met. She then took the book from my 
 hands, and read with a slow, distinct pronunciation, her coun- 
 tenance gradually changing its expression as she read : 
 
 " Presented to my dear wife, Violet Scott, on her marriage 
 day, 10th November, 18 . . Algona, Canada." 
 
 She read the inscription twice over, as if to assure herself 
 she read aright, and then laying down the book, and taking 
 off her spectacles said : 
 
 " An, he gaed aw the road to America to seek you ; weel, 
 its just what he should hae done, though its nae aw body at 
 would hae done it, but I aye thought I could nae be muckle 
 mistane in young Deacon Scott." 
 
 I told her as much of my three years' experience in Cana- 
 da as I deemed necessary, and no more. I told her also of 
 the prospect there was of Willie's becoming Laird of Haddo, 
 and of the money found in my mother's Bible. 
 
 l( And that's the auld reprobate that hounded the dog after 
 Maister Keith," said she, looking very grim as she spoke, 
 " weel, weel, the Lord has his ain, and Satan has his ain in 
 ilka tribe and tongue. I heard the godly minister o' Gallasheels 
 say forty years sine, 'at in the judgment, it wad be seen at 
 ilka family had its ain black sheep, and your folk maun be warl 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 469 
 
 like ; the great rascal, to keep his brother's orphan lad sae lang 
 out o' his birthright ; he has wrought weel for the gallows, an' 
 its a pity but he got it, only it would affront decent folk at bears 
 his name. I'm nae rich, but I wad be willin' to pay ony ane 
 that would hound him wi' dogs through the Cannongate at five 
 shillings the score ; hechsirsit wouldna be every day at we wad 
 see a sight like that." 
 
 And the old lady laughed heartily as in imagination she 
 saw an old gentleman, supposed to be my uncle, running 
 down the street with dozens of boys and dogs at his heels ; 
 having satisfied her indignant feelings by thus expressing 
 herself, she took out her knitting and sat down with her 
 usual industry. 
 
 I now produced a watch and chain which I had bought on 
 purpose for her, and throwing the chain over her neck, put 
 the watch into her hand. 
 
 " I brought this from New York for you, and I hope you 
 will wear it in remembrance of all the kindness done to one 
 pennyless and friendless but for you." 
 
 She looked at both for a moment without speaking, but 
 her face was the most easily read of all books, and reading 
 there, I knew the pleasure my gift created. 
 
 u An* ye brought this aw the rood frae America tae the 
 auld wife in the high street o' Edinboro' : weel, ye was very idle 
 to ware your siller on ony sic nonsense ; do ye no think it 
 would be very gluicket-like o* an auld wife like me, at never 
 had a bit o' gowd about her aw her life, only the ring her 
 gude man gae her to be marriet wi', to gang to the kirk 
 decket out wi' a gowd watch and chain, as gin she thought 
 she'd grown a lady ! hech sirs, there wad be mony a laigh 
 laugh and a touchin' o' elbows in the kirk that forenoon ; I 
 wad get mair to look at me, I'se warrant, than would hearken 
 
 FF 
 
470 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 to the minister; I wad nae wonder," continued she, with a 
 grim but pleased smile, " but yer ain gude man wad be 
 drawen me up for't." 
 
 I shewed her that her shawl would cover it in the church, 
 and that her friends would know that it was a present from 
 one whom she had befriended in poverty and loneliness, and 
 there were few things could give me more pleasure than to 
 know it was put on the first thing after dressing in the morn- 
 ing, and put off the last thing at night. 
 
 " Weel, my bairn, I'll nae take it aff the noo, at ony rate — 
 it's very bonny, and ower gran' for the like o' me, but may 
 be I'll wear't whiles for a' that, and at kirk or market I 
 needna speir the hour fae nobody." 
 
 Robert came to bring me home, and Mrs. Livingstone wish- 
 ed him joy in the authorized form, 
 
 A few days later Robert sent me a note in the forenoon, 
 informing me that Mr. Erskine, Willie, and my uncle, would 
 accompany us from town to dine with us. In due time they 
 arrived, my uncle wishing me joy as if he had been one of 
 my best friends in all time past ; while we Were in the draw- 
 ing-room before dinner, he asked me where I went on my 
 marriage tour — regretted I did not come to visit them at 
 Haddo, &c, &c, all with a suavity of manner and expression 
 perfectly amazing. He surely must have thought I had been 
 drinking of the waters of Lethe ; nothing exhibited his craven 
 soul more than that short interview ; the gentlemanly urban- 
 ity he thought proper to assume towards me in my own 
 house was, if possible, more irksome than the harshness with 
 which he always treated me at Haddo or Ellenkirk, and I 
 would have told him so had he not been a fallen foe ; I knew 
 he would make peace on any terms. 
 
 He did not require to be asked to give up the estate — he 
 was perfectly willing to do so at once ; he pretended having 
 
VIOLET KEITH. 471 
 
 within the last few days found a letter of my father informing 
 their father and mother of his marriage ; this he produced in 
 testimony of the truth of his assertion ; Willie took it from 
 his hand, and looking over it, said with great coolness : 
 
 " I'm astonished you did not burn this ; had the certificates 
 never been found, this letter might have done damage to 
 your grandchildren. ' 
 
 He "was quite unable to make restitution of the money he 
 had been drawing from the estate for so many long years. 
 He was a lazy man, and had given up his profession upon 
 the death of his father, from which time he had been defraud- 
 ing us. He would now be wholly dependant upon his wife, 
 whose private income amounted to two hundred a year. 
 
 The mean-spirited fellow looked and spoke as if he would 
 lick the dust beneath Willie's feet, caressed Carlo, who 
 growled in return, and, I verily believe, would have signed 
 himself rogue and knave to escape the peril he had incurred 
 by his misdeeds. 
 
 It was finally settled that John Erskine, Willie, and my 
 uncle should go down to Haddo by the night train, Willie 
 to be put in possession of, and he to vacate the premises and 
 resign his false title. Fortunately his wife and daughter 
 were spared the humiliation of this scene, they being on a 
 visit to some of their friends in England. 
 
 A few days after my brother's departure for Ellenkirk, 
 Robert told me that Mr. Forbes was preaching in the Free 
 churches in Edinburgh, and attracting great crowds. He 
 declared himself still a Roman Catholic, but denounced the 
 temporal power of the Pope and transubstantiation, the belief 
 in the intercession of the Virgin and other saints, and the 
 granting of indulgences. He preached the Gospel with 
 eloquence and fervour, and was talked of by many as in his 
 own way a second Whitefield. He preached in Protestant 
 
472 VIOLET KEITH. 
 
 churches because none other were open to him, and he hoped 
 to win those of his own creed, who came to scoff, or from 
 curiosity, to remain to pray. 
 
 We went to hear him from two motives, one to hear the 
 preacher, whose name and praise was in every mouth ; and 
 the other, and with me stronger motive of the two, that I 
 might learn from him where my earliest friend — the one I had 
 known the longest and esteemed the most — was to be found. I 
 was sure he knew. She would have communicated with him 
 as soon as possible. 
 
 We went early and yet with difficulty obtained a seat, and 
 long before the service commenced, every seat and aisle 
 was crowded to suffocation. When Mr. Forbes entered the 
 pulpifc, I was grieved to see the change which had taken place 
 in his appearance. When I last saw him without his hat in 
 the sacristy of St. Mary's, I thought him one of the hand- 
 somest men I had ever seen. His dark hair, which he did not 
 cut priestly fashion, forming a strong contrast to a forehead 
 white and smooth as a girl's. Now, his hair was nearer white 
 than black, and his forehead full of lines, which the expres- 
 sion of his eye told, were graven more deeply in his heart than 
 on his brow. After service was over, we waited that we 
 might speak to him. We had considerable difficulty in getting 
 access to him through the crowd by whom he was surrounded. 
 When at last I found myself near enough, I put out my hand 
 with a smile. He looked at first as if he tried to recollect 
 who I was, and then said, " Miss Keith," his countenance not 
 for a moment changing its solemn, sad expression. 
 
 I expressed my pleasure at seeing him again, and then asked 
 whether he could tell me anything of Gertrude. " Yes," he 
 replied, compressing his lips and brow as if in pain while he 
 spoke, " she is beyond the stars, and her body lies in the 
 cemetery at Ellenkirk." 
 
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