in Ardmuirland, be it known, one neighbor helps another in return for
the like service when required; thus Robina would lend a hand at
hay-time, harvest, potato planting, and the rest, and would be entitled
to a few days' plowing and harrowing on her own land in compensation.

The Lamonts, though not exceedingly poor, could not be called
well-to-do. The absence of a resident man in a small croft must be of
necessity a difficulty; but they were upright, hard-working women, and
managed to maintain themselves in a simple, frugal way. Oatmeal and
potatoes were grown on the croft; bread could be obtained from the
passing baker's cart in exchange for eggs; butter, and sometimes milk,
could be sold to neighbors; the widow's knitted stockings fetched a
fair price with the hosier in the county town; in these various ways
they made ends meet.

Old-age pensions were then unheard of, and the Lamonts would have
thought themselves insulted had any one suggested parish relief for the
old woman; although her helpless condition would have justified it, for
she never moved from her corner by the fire, to which she was carried
from her bed in the morning to be borne back to bed at night. An
accident which had befallen her when in the prime of life had rendered
her a cripple without power to move her lower limbs.

Like many of their class, the Lamonts were full of an honest pride, and
although they may have possibly felt the pinch of poverty now and
again, they would have scorned to acknowledge it. By the exercise of
diplomacy Penny has often managed to help them in little ways from time
to time; she will visit the old woman to inquire after her health, and
take with her in a neighborly way some little delicacy in the shape of
soup or pudding. At one time she tried to furnish her with some orders