Mr. Hamilton shook a big stick at them.

’I shall give no pennies to children with dirty faces.  Well, Peggy, how is mother?  Have the boys gone to school, both of them?  That is right.  This is the lady who is coming to look after mother.’

Here Peggy dropped a courtesy, and said, ‘Yes, sir,’ and ’yes please, mum.’

’Mind you do all she tells you.  Now out of my way.  I want to speak to your grandmother a moment, and then I will come into the other room.’

I followed him into the untidy, miserable looking kitchen.  An old woman was sitting by the fire with an infant in her arms; we found out that it belonged to the neighbour who was washing out some things in the yard.  She came in by and by, clattering over the stones in her thick clogs,—­a brisk, untidy-looking young woman,—­and looked at me curiously as she took her baby.

‘I must be going home now, granny,’ she said, in a loud, good-humoured voice.  ‘Peggy can rinse out the few things I’ve left.’

Granny had a pleasant, weather-beaten face, only it looked sunken and pale, and the poor blind eyes had a pathetic, unseeing look in them.  To my surprise, she looked neat and clean.  I had yet to learn the slow martyrdom the poor soul had endured during the last few months in that squalid, miserable household.  To her, cleanliness was next to godliness.  She had brought up a large family well and thriftily, and now in her old age and helplessness her life had no comfort in it.  I was rather surprised to see Mr. Hamilton shake the wrinkled hand heartily.

‘Well, Elspeth, what news of your son?  Is he likely to come home soon?’

‘Nay, doctor,’ in a faint old treble:  ’Andrew cannot leave his job for two or three months to come.  He is terrible down-hearted about poor Mary.  Ay, she has been a good wife to him and the bairns; but look at her now!  Poor thing!  Poor thing!’

’We must all dree our weird.  You are a canny Scotch-woman, and know what that means.  Come, you must cheer up, for I have brought a young lady with me who is going to put your daughter-in-law a little more comfortable and see after her from time to time.’

‘Ay, but that is cheering news,’ returned Elspeth; and one of the rare tears of old age stole down her withered cheek.  ’My poor Mary! she is patient, and never complains; but the good Lord is laying a heavy cross on her.’

‘That is true,’ muttered Mr. Hamilton, and then he said, in a business-like tone, ‘Now for the patient, Miss Garston’; and as he led the way across the narrow passage we could hear the hard, gasping cough of the sick woman.