a change came that i did not expect. one day a lady came in for some refreshments, and i was in attendance. she knew us, and she saw that i was not looking as well as my sister. she asked if i would come with her and help her with her children. her husband was a contractor, and undertook railway works. with his partners he had a contract to build a railroad from maybole to wilmington, in ayrshire. wilmingtonn was close to "the banks and braes of bonny doon." as some nice houses were on the route of the line, and would have to be pulled down, he lived at different places till the five and twenty miles of line was finished. i thought it would be nice to see once again the green fields and flowers, so i promised to go to mrs. scott. she had been a servant lass herself once, but she had a good husband and they were comfortable. she was then on her way to one of the houses near maybole, which had to be pulled down.

i had two more months of my time to serve, as i had agreed to stop for six months with mrs. wilson, and they did not like to part with me, but i would not agree to stop on after the term. i was to get as wages 30/ for the six months. we could not give a week's notice and leave.

to give some idea of how this kind of business paid, i may say that mrs. wilson had a summer-house in a place at the seaside, "doon the water," as it was termed. the name of the place was "killmunn." another girl and myself were sent there to get some of the rooms in order, the youngest daughter, miss jane, being ill, and the doctor having recommended that she should be sent to the seaside. it was a good distance from glasgow. we went in the steamboat "iona," and saw balmoral castle as we passed. mrs. wilson's house had 40 rooms altogether. it was a beautiful place and very interesting with its house-boat and other conveniences. there was some lovely furniture, but it was all covered up with holland, and all the carpets had been taken up and carefully put away. the mistress and the young lady came two days after us, and they said that i would be able to do all that they would require for a week or two, so the other girl went back to glasgow. life was then brighter than it had been since i left benny hill. it was a new experience to me to see the ships passing. many persons had their summer-houses there, and were beginning to arrive. i was sent up to glasgow with some message all by myself, but it was pleasant, and i was not a bit afraid. a man and his wife acted as caretakers during the winter months. they were very old, but still useful. i used to go out with miss jane to carry her books and other[pg 17] things, and i watched the excursions or pleasure trips up and down to killmunn. there were villas and what were called "self-contained" houses, let whole or in part, with sometimes "a but and a ben," which were filled to overflowing. all faced the sea and were close to the very water's edge, and so were nicely suited for summer visitors. what with the yachts and skiffs and the glad voices of the mothers and their children on the beach the place was very merry. there was nice shade from the trees. i did not think the five weeks we stayed there a long time. we returned to glasgow a week or so before the end of my term.

i saw mrs. scott again, and she told me that if i would stay with them till the railway was finished that they were going back to slamannan, and i could go with them. so she gave me the address to put on my box and the money to pay my fare to maybole. i went through to slamannan to tell where i was going, and with whom. i had hoped when mr. and mrs. scott came back that my father would have a house, and that i would live at home. he was still in lodgings, but i knew that i could stop there for a few days. it seemed like "auld lang syne" to me. and those dear kind women, how pleased they were to see me, and to tell me how i had grown! how different their speech, too, to the dialect of glasgow! they said it was a long journey to ayrshire, and tried to persuade me not to go. however, i liked the appearance of mrs. scott. she looked so motherly and kind. i was all excitement; i would have to go to glasgow again, but i knew that i could get a train from the station at glasgow right through to kilmarnock, and change for maybole, where they would be waiting for me. i went and saw my sister, who was still at the same place. i thought whatever i had to do i would never be a farm servant. it was rough and hard feeding and milking cows, attending fowls and horses and other animals. sometimes she would harness a horse and go harrowing in the field after the men had ploughed it.

i took my departure from benny hill, caught the train in the early morning, but had to wait till the afternoon, as i missed the train in the forenoon. i got a third-class ticket for 3/3 for 35 miles. i had a whole compartment to myself for the last part of the way, and went to sleep and did not hear them calling out to change at kilmarnock for maybole. i woke up and came out at the next station and asked where i was, when a guard told me i was in a train on its way to london. then i cried, and asked for my box, and the man looked in the van, but there was no box of mine. he asked if it was addressed, and i said it was. he then remembered that it had been sent on to maybole, and he said i should have had an address put on me too, as then i should be comfortably in my bed. it was then midnight. some more men gathered round, and they were sorry,[pg 18] for me. they did not often see such a young girl so far away from home. they took me into the station, where a nice fire was burning, and obtained some rugs and brought me a cup of coffee and some bread and butter. then they told me to go to sleep, as a train would be coming from london in the morning, and they would wake me up. i did not sleep, but cried all the time, for i thought i had lost all my clothes and my box. it was the first box i ever had, and i was so pleased with it. i did not look at the name of the station i had reached, as it was dark, but it must have been a long way, as i did not get to maybole till about 8 o'clock in the morning. i found my box was there, and the people were anxious as to where i was. mr. scott made enquiries, and the railway men said that they saw a little girl asleep, but they thought i was with someone who was travelling by the train. they never thought of me as a lone passenger.

i felt quite at home with mrs. scott and the dear children. it was my first experience amongst children, and i was delighted. we got into the trucks that were used on the line, and got pushed along as far as the line was made. mr. scott and mrs. scott also came sometimes. it was great fun. we nearly lived out of doors all the time. it was a grand house, but had to be pulled down, so there was not much trouble taken over it. i was very happy at changing from work by stifling gaslight to the light of day. a daily governess came a few hours to teach the children, and i also had lessons with them. it was a new life for me.

i never heard maybole called either a village or a town. it was only "maybole." it was close to the house; it must have been very old. the buildings looked so gloomy and dark. there were no bright gardens or flowers, and, oh, the people were so poor! the only industry i saw was that of the weavers. the people all had looms in their houses—big, clumsy wooden structures. men, women, and children all worked at the looms in such small places, and they lived and slept there. to me it seemed as bad as the collieries. there came a depression in the weaving trade, but i never knew the cause of it. it might have been that machinery was constructed to do away with hand-weaving. at any rate, i had once again the awful dread of seeing people perish with hunger. they broke out and took everything they could obtain in the way of eatables, while they tore off the palings and fencing, and armed themselves with sticks. they came to our place, and we could only stand and look at them divide the flour. i remember we had what was known as the american flour. it came in large barrels from the united states. mr. scott was up the line when they came, and they took everything in the way of food, but nothing else. they broke into the bakers' shops, and the grocery shops,[pg 19] and butchers', so we were told, and cleared away with all they could lay their hands on.

i did not see much of maybole, being afraid to go there. there were no tall chimneys to the mills or factories, or we could have seen them from the house. i saw the castle from which sir james fergusson brought his wife, lady edith fergusson, who died in adelaide, whence her body was taken back to the vault at the castle, near "maybole." meanwhile we tried to be ignorant of the excitement stirred up, as we knew we would not be long there, but the touch of melancholy was felt by all.