And better it was--such was her proud thought--that she had seen him so die, than to have witnessed his departure from life in a smoky hovel on a bed of rotten straw like an over-worn hound, or a bullock which died of disease.

But the hour of her young, her brave Hamish, was yet far distant.

He must succeed--he must conquer--like his father.

And when he fell at length--for she anticipated for him no bloodless death--Elspat would ere then have lain long in the grave, and could neither see his death-struggle nor mourn over his grave-sod.
With such wild notions working in her brain, the spirit of Elspat rose to its usual pitch, or, rather, to one which seemed higher.

In the emphatic language of Scripture, which in that idiom does not greatly differ from her own, she arose, she washed and changed her apparel, and ate bread, and was refreshed.
She longed eagerly for the return of her son, but she now longed not with the bitter anxiety of doubt and apprehension.