iable young person whom Miss Langden was
educating to be his wife, and the model for all the ministers' wives of
the generation, never came into the mind of either. Miss Elizabeth was
a true and useful friend, and the satisfaction that this afforded him
was not to his consciousness incompatible with a happy and just
appreciation of his good fortune in having a claim on the affection of
Miss Langden's niece.

Elizabeth did not know at this time of the existence of Miss Langden's
niece. If she had known it, it is not at all likely that she would have
allowed such knowledge to interfere with the friendly relations into
which she had fallen with the minister. She would have liked him none
the less had she known of his tacit engagement to that young lady, and
would have manifested her friendliness none the less, but rather the
more because of it. And, on the whole, it was a pity that she did not
know it.

CHAPTER NINE.

MASTER AND PUPILS.

At Ythan Brae the winter opened sadly. The grandfather had an illness
which kept both Davie and Katie at home from the school for a while; and
what was worse, when he grew better he would fain have kept them at home
still. This would have been a serious matter to Davie, and he vexed
Katie and his grandmother by suggesting possible and painful
consequences all round should his grandfather persist. For the lad had
been seized with a great hunger for knowledge. He desired it partly for
its own sake, but partly also because he had heard many a time and
implicitly believed that "knowledge is power," which is true in a
certain sense, but not in the sense or to the extent that it seemed true
to Davie. His grandfather was afraid of the boy's eager craving, and of
what might come of it, and would far rather have seen him content, as
his father had been, to plod through the winter, busy with the
occupations which the season brought, than so eager to get away to Mr
Burnet and his books. The grandfather had his sorrowful reasons for
wishing to keep the lad in the quiet and safe paths which his father had
trod. The grandmother knew how it was with him, and Katie and Davie
guessed something of what his reasons might be. "And, bairns," said
their grandmother, "ye are no to doubt that your grandfather is right,
though he doesna see as ye do in this matter. For knowledge is whiles a
snare and a curse; and a true heart, and an honest life, and a will to
do your duty in the place in whi