. "And have I no seen ye walking on the hill wi' Maister Lewie?"
When the girl assented, he asked, with the indignation of the
privileged, "Then what for are ye sac keen this body Stocks should win
in? If Maister Lewie's fond o' ye, wad it no be wiser--like to wark for
him? Poalitics! What should a woman's poalitics be but just the same
as her lad's? I hae nae opeenion o' this clash about weemen's
eddication." And with flaming cheeks the poor girl had risen and fled
from the old reactionary.

The incident burned into her mind, and she was wretched with the anomaly
of her position. A dawning respect for her rejected lover began to rise
in her heart. The first of his meetings which she attended had
impressed her with his skill in his own vocation. He had held those
people interested. He had spoken bluntly, strongly, honestly. To few
women is it given to distinguish the subtle shades of sincerity in
speech, and to the rule Alice was no exception. The rhetoric and the
cheers which followed had roused the speaker to a new life. His face
became keen, almost attractive, without question full of power. He was
an orator beyond doubt, and when he concluded in a riot of applause,
Alice sat with small hands clenched and eyes shining with delight. He
had spoken the main articles of her creed, but with what force and
freshness! She was convinced, satisfied, delighted; though somewhere in
her thought lurked her old dislike of the man and the memory of another.

As ill-luck would have it, the next night she went to hear Lewis in
Gledsmuir, when that young gentleman was at his worst. She went
unattended, being a fearless young woman, and consequently found herself
in the very back of the hall crowded among some vehement politicians.
The audience, to begin with, was not unkind. Lewis was greeted with
applause, and at the first heard with patience. But his speech was
vague, incoherent, and tactless. To her unquiet eyes he seemed to be
afraid of the men before him. Every phrase was guarded with a proviso,
and "possiblys" bristled in every sentence. The politicians at the back
grew restless, and Alice was compelled to listen to their short,
scathing criticisms. Soon the meeting was hopelessly out of hand. Men
rose and rudely marched to the door. Catcalls were frequent from the
corners, and the back of the hall became aggressive. The girl had sat
with white, pained face, understanding little save that Lewis was
talking nonsense and losing a