For once Alec had taken a step which pleased his father. The laird commended his son’s intention of earning his own living during the summer; and Alec fancied that his father used towards him a tone of greater consideration than he had ever adopted before. Margaret was much chagrined at her brother leaving home so soon after his return; but she did not say a word on the subject. She knew she had not reason on her side; and she was too proud to show her mortification. It might have been better if she had spoken her mind; for a coolness sprang up between brother and sister, which even the parting did not quite remove. FOOTNOTES: [6] Moss. CHAPTER X. ARROCHAR. The Clyde is not, except in the neighbourhood of Lanark, a particularly interesting river. When Scotchmen talk of the scenery of the Clyde they are thinking, not of the river, but of the frith which bears its name. When Alec Lindsay set out for Arrochar to enter upon his duties as tutor to Mr. Fraser’s boys, he embarked at Glasgow; and he was much disappointed to find that for the first part of his journey there was little to satisfy his love of the picturesque. The day was gloomy; there were but few passengers on board the _Chancellor_. For a long way the narrow stream flowed between dull level fields. When it became broader there appeared a long dyke adorned with red posts surmounted by barrels, built in the channel to mark the passage. This did not add to the beauty of the scene. Now and then the steamer met one of her own class on its homeward journey; sometimes she overtook a queer, melancholy-looking, floating dredger, or a vessel outward-bound, towed by a small and abominably dirty tug-boat. But about twenty miles below Glasgow the scene changed. A wide expanse of water stretched away to the horizon. On the left lay a large town over which hung a dense cloud of smoke, but away to the west, beyond the blue water, could be seen the bold bases of steep hills rising from the sea itself, their summits being hidden in the clouds. At Greenock all was life and bustle. Several steamers plying to different points of the coast lay at the pier, and a crowd of passengers who had come by train from Glasgow streamed down from the railway-station to meet them.