“Wisht, wisht, grannie; he's mither's only son, an' she wes prood o' him, a've heard ye say, an' he 'ill maybe mend; div ye ken a' wes juist imaginin' that he set tae work and githered a lot o' siller, an' paid back a' ye hae dune for him.
“Ye 'ill no be angry, but a' telt Marget Hoo ae day aboot oor tribble an' ma houp o' Chairlie—for ye canna look at Marget an' no want tae unburden yersel—an' she said, 'Dinna be ashamed o' yir dreams, Lily; they 'ill a' come true some day, for we canna think better than God wull dae.'”
“Marget Hoo is nearer the heart o' things than onybody in the Glen, an' a'm prayin' she may be richt. Get the bukes; it's time for oor readin'.” And Mary asked that “the heart o' him that wes far awa micht be turned tae gudeness, an' that he micht be a kind brother to his sister.”
No girl had gone to service in London before, and the Glen took a general interest in Lily's outfit. The wricht made her kist of sound, well-seasoned wood, and the Glen, looking in from time to time, highly approved of its strength and security. Sandie was particularly proud of an inner compartment which he had contrived with much ingenuity, and which was secured by a padlock whose key defied imitation.
“Noo, you see, if ony ill-conditioned wratch got intae the kist, he micht get a goon or a jaicket, but he wudna be able tae titch her siller. Na, na, what she wins she keeps; ma certes, that boxie 'ill beat them.”
“Ye ken what ye're aboot, wricht,” said Hillocks, who felt that one going to distant parts could hardly take too many precautions, “an' ye've turned oot a wise-like kist; sall, Lily, 'ill dae weel gin she fill it.”
Concerning the filling long and anxious consultations were held in Mary's kitchen, and Elspeth Macfadyen was called in as a specialist, because she had been once in service herself, and because her sister was cook in the house of the Provost of Muirtown.
“We maunna gang a saxpence intae debt,” and Mary laid down preliminary conditions, “an' a'thing sud be genuine, in an' oot—nae show on the back and poverty ablow; that's puir cleidin' (clothing) for Christian fouk.”
“Lily 's savit aucht pund at the Lodge, an' a' can spare twa or three. How mony dresses an' sic-like 'ill she need tae begin respectable, for the hoose an' the kirk?”
“Lily 'ill need twa prints for certain, an' ae black dress for the house, an' anither dress for gaein' oot tae kirk or tae see her freends. She wud be better o' a third print an' a second oot-side goon—for a bit change, ye ken. Then she maun hae a bonnet for Sabbath an' a hat tae gae oot a message in forby. The ither things she 'ill hae already,” for Elspeth had been going over the matter carefully for weeks; “ye 'ill be getting her things at Muirtown, an' a 'll be gied to gie ye ony help in ma poor.”