there's a' kind o' mairriages,' she began. 'Some
lassies mairry thinkin' they'll hae an easier time an' a man to work for
them, an' they sometimes fin' oot they've only ta'en somebody to keep;
some mairry for spite, an' some because they'd raither dee than be auld
maids. I dinna think, mysel', love--if there be sic a thing--has ony
thing to do wi't.'

It was rather a cynical doctrine, but Teen implicitly believed what she
was saying.

'Are _you_ thinkin' on mairryin'?' she asked then; and, without waiting
for an answer, continued in rather a hurried, troubled way, 'I wadna if
I were you--at least, for a while. Wait or ye see what turns up. Ye'll
never be better than ye are, an' men are jist men. I wadna gie a brass
fardin' for the best o' them.'

Gladys did not resent this plain expression of opinion, because she
perceived that a genuine kindliness prompted it.

'I am quite sure I shall not marry for a very long time,' Gladys
replied; then they fell to talking over the other subject, which was so
interesting to them both.

Underneath all her cynical philosophy there was real kindness as well as
shrewd common-sense in the little seamstress. She was in some respects
one of the best advisers Gladys could possibly have taken into her
confidence.

These sweet, restful days were a benediction to the weary, half-starved
heart of the city girl, and under their benign influence she became a
different creature. Little Miss Peck, who adored Gladys, sometimes
observed, with a smile of approval, the grateful, pathetic look in
Teen's large solemn eyes when they followed the sweet young creature who
had shown her a glimpse of the sunny side of life. It was not a glimpse,
however, which Gladys intended to be merely transient. She had in view a
scheme which was to be of permanent value to the poor little seamstress.

In the course of that week Gladys had occasion to be over-night in
Glasgow, for the purpose of attending a concert with the family in
Bellairs Crescent. It was a very select and fashionable affair, at which
the _elite_ and beauty of Glasgow were present. Gladys enjoyed the gay
and animated scene as much as the music, which was also to her a rare
treat. When they left the hall it was nearly eleven o'clock, and they
had to wait some time in the vestibule till their carriage should move
towards the door. It was a fine mild night, and the girls, with their
soft hoods drawn over their heads, and their fleecy wraps close