A CROWNING EVENT.

Here, in the Hilltown, he continued to push on in business till he heard of what was considered a better opening-a larger shop and much nearer the centre of the town. He removed, and again did well, taking an active part in all such efforts as he considered likely to promote the social and spiritual welfare of the people. It was while in this shop that he brought out the little book entitled, "Passages in the Life of a Young Weaver." It was "this humble production that awoke in us much of that hearty sympathy and kindly feeling" of which he has spoken in grateful terms. As was said at the time, "Few could read it without tears and smiles, and none without profit."

But the crowning event in this shop is yet to be told. Here his pen was often employed in writing other "Passages,” also full of life and earnest thought. They were short and evidently to the point. In short, "Auntie Maggie" had come from Edinburgh to live with her parents, who had retired from the bustle of town life to a quiet neat cottage in Lochee. "They had," he says, "some beautiful flowers in their garden, and I went for my morning bouquet. Many a beauty I got, but none so beautiful as the fair one by whose hand each flower was gathered and given. For years the conviction that her worth was equal to her beauty had grown stronger in me, till it became too strong for the thought I had once entertained, not to marry till I had finished my education, as the phrase goes. At last-after a little more of the usual thinking about it -she said, 'Yes.'"

The result was, we had the pleasure in November, 1851, of linking their destinies in happy wedlock.

That this attachment was mutual and fortunate, that "the beauteous maiden" was made for our struggling hero, we have only to call as witness his own words-written not in the

fervour of anticipation, but after the bliss of realisation-after she had proved herself to be, as he says, "one of the best of wives, and one of the most loving of mothers."

"We have had," he says, "reverses as well as successes. From causes over which we had no control, distress and poverty soon came upon us with all their deadly weight, sickening and sinking influences. More than once misfortune's blast swept away all we had, save love and hope; but this only proved the more her affectionate fidelity, tender solicitude, and undaunted heroism. Our great suffering-which I cannot here indicate, far less describe-tested those principles and manifested those feelings which adorn virtuous womanhood and bless those under its hallowed influence. The fiery furnace was often very hot, but we were one, and God was with us, hence we were not consumed. And, in the midst of our most trying hours, we were enabled to be helpful to those in want of help, realizing that usefulness in the work of the Lord is a blessed source of undying happiness.'

CHAPTER XI.

FROM DUNDEE AND BACK.

AN UNLOOKED FOR REWARD.

THE first of their reverses was not long in coming upon them. After their marriage they opened a new business in the drug line in Broughty Ferry-a bathing-place about four miles east of Dundee. At the beginning, and for some time after, they seemed bound to prosper. The happy pair, with their affectionate niece, Aggie, were much beloved by all who made their acquaintance, especially the poor. And yet a large portion of the time spent there—though far from being an entire blank-is deeply tinged with melancholy reflection. They suffered severely, and one of the causes was, they would not swerve from that rectitude which stamps the life of the upright-their "being true as well as faithful to the erring.”

In these last nine words there is the essence of much that might be valuable to the novelist and exciting to the reader ; but we prefer to pass on to one of those happy incidents on which Mr Hillocks loves to dwell. From the first they tried to be useful, and it was not long before they saw that the power of strong drink was too much for many here; and hence to try to meet the increasing evil results, they took the lead in the re-organisation of the Total Abstinence Society, and succeeded. But this is not the effort to which we refer as bringing "the unlooked for reward." Among their first efforts to

AN UNLOOKED FOR REWARD.

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help others was gratis teaching. Mr Hillocks says:-" Of those who were the first to come for medicine was a young man called Robert. He was a shoemaker's apprentice, and had suffered much pain in the chest ever since he had taken to the awl. It was clear his trade was against him, and I told him so. He could read and write but badly, and he knew nothing of casting accounts. This he told me in confidence, seeing I felt for him. I offered to help him. In time he soon improved so that he was able take a porter's situation, which was much more favourable to his health than any medicine I could give him.

"Years after, I was benighted in the country, in the midst of a great storm. The thunder roared, the lightning flashed, the rain fell in torrents, and the roads seemed to be one sheet of water. Having emerged from between the two woods. which had been named to me as a guide to the first steps toward the village to which I was bound, a rise on the road enabled me to see the cross roads. But there I stood, not knowing which way to go. I saw a light in the distance, and thinking it was a light in some window for me, my first impulse was to make for it; but, on second thoughts, and while praying for guidance, I stood still. At last it appeared as if drawing nearer to where I was; and perceiving distinctly, I asked myself, who may these be? Are they likely to help or destroy? Hearing the sound of voices in conversation, I spoke, asking my way, even before I could well see who were approaching.

"I can tell you the way, Mr Hillocks, but you cannot go there to-night,' said one of the two men.

"I thought I knew the voice, but could not remember the name of the speaker. It proved to be no other than Robert, who now held a responsible appointment at the very railway station I had lately left. He and another servant were on their way home to a hamlet not far from where I had been waiting.

"You'll have my best room, a good supper, and a better breakfast, my friend,' said Robert, as he shook my hand most heartily, and then told his companion how and where we first met, and how God had blessed to him the lessons and kindness he received at Broughty Ferry.

"All this and more of the same kind he repeated to his tidy wife who had been anxiously waiting his return-all the more anxious because of the dreadful thunder-storm which yet raged. I do not know for which I was most thankful to God -the welcome shelter, or the sympathising heart which led us to help Robert to open this door of refuge in the night of trouble.

"With God, nothing is lost,' said I to myself, as I retired to rest that night, weeping for joy-a joy in which my beloved. help-meet shared as I next day related the incident to her."

AT GAULSWELL SCHOOL.

Our friends wisely resolve to leave Broughty Ferry, the scene of their first sorrows. He accepted a very timely invitation to become the teacher of Gaulswell school, connected with Banff estate, near Alyth, and then under the kindly patronage of the late Sir James Ramsay. This happy change was a great improvement. The teacher was once more restored to his proper element, and his devoted partner in life manifested her readiness to assist him in his duties in making the best of their altered circumstances. But it was some time before they could forget the ills through which they had passed. This is evident in a letter written some time after to their friend, the late Alexander Laing, the author of "Wayside Flowers." After detailing the distressing causes and the penniless condition into which they had been suddenly thrown, Mr Hillocks says: "Even yet the agony and anguish of the past make me shudder. Words cannot describe the dark