ing to Nathan's conversation of the previous evening, particularly that

be interpreted as a hint to me that I was not so well as I fondly imagined; and that, for my own good, and for the convenience of my faithful old nurse-not to

airn, an' I coont it a privilege to get waitin' hand an' foot on ye. It's a nice, easy stair to climb, it's handy for the kitchen, an' mair an' forby, it's no' as if ye'll aye be lyin' here. In a day or twae, or a week at maist, ye'll be up an' aboot again. A' the same, Maister Weelum, believe me when I say that ever sin' ye cam' to bide here I'v

om in good order,

e on noo an' again when the weather's damp. The kitchen an' oor back-room are guid enough for us, and we've juist, as it were, keepit the rest o' the hoose on trust. The picters in your mother's wee drawin'-room are a' juist as they were, the piano-lid has never been lifted since she shu

orrodes them not, and they are stronger to-day than ever they were before. To do her will was my sure pleasure, and so I began gracefully to waive, one by one, objections I had entertained, and to acquiesce with her

remember aright, the ceiling and cornice are very dark, and the wall-paper is a dism

m. His back-en' slackness is on noo. I saw him paintin' his ain doors and windas; an', as there's little chance o' him gettin' fat on that wark, he'll no' swither aboot gi'in' it up for what is likely to pey better. Imphm! Mebbe I should ha'e seen to this afore noo. The

n painting and papering, and I won't allow you to do that now. This is my little affair, Betty, and

Weelum, that ye're t

please say no more on that point, as

l to Cupar maun to Cupar." What kind o

buff canvas, but I refrained from giving my op

in this was always a law unto the paper-hanger, and my mother used to shiver when she

beautifu'. The paper has a kind o' mauve gr'und wi' a gold stripe runnin' up, an' roon the stripe there's a winkle-wankle o' nice bi

are not natu

' the leaves are a brisk green, an' the buds standin' oot abune the bloom as like as life, an' a' this beautifu' colourin' for a shillin' a piece! It w

astonishment, just for something to sa

the mair gold an' roses for th

ly, 'if a wall-paper with roses-blue or otherwi

s ye pey for the job, ye can put ony kind ye like on.' And she added, 'Wad ye no' l

y meals comfortably in a room among blue roses. How would a nice,

uist canna tak' that in; but if it's what I think

and-and-well, I know it is

lack's taste. I aye tak' my cue, as it were, frae her, though I dinna tell her that; an', where colour is concerned, whether in papers or bonnets, I never think sh

and in a most agreeable and ingratiating way I was

kin',' said Betty, and she hurri

hip, and I somehow imagine that, to a thoughtful, observant boy, such as Betty assures me I was, he would have been not only a willing, sympathetic preceptor, but also a great power for good in many ways. I have known him now for only a few months; but during these quiet, une

f the lady of my dream, and of our strange meeting in the Nithbank Wood. Betty, I know, ought to be my confidante; but I have the feeling that her experience is too limited and her outlook on life generally too parochial to admit of a well-reasoned, disp