I doubt not that, so doing, she cherished a hope of recommending herself above, and making deposits in view of a coming balance-sheet.

The result for this life so far was, that, by these claims to respectability, she had gathered a clientele of douce, well-disposed drunkards, who rarely gave her any trouble so long as they were in the house though sometimes she had reason to be anxious about the fate of individuals of them after they left it.
Another peculiarity in her government was that she would rarely give drink to a woman.

"Na, na," she would say, "what has a wuman to dee wi' strong drink! Lat the men dee as they like, we canna help them." She made exception in behalf of her personal friends; and, for herself, was in the way of sipping--only sipping, privately, on account of her "trouble," she said--by which she meant some complaint, speaking of it as if it were generally known, although of the nature of it nobody had an idea.

The truth was that, like her customers, she also was going down the hill, justifying to herself every step of her descent.

Until lately, she had been in the way of going regularly to church, and she did go occasionally yet, and always took the yearly sacrament; but the only result seemed to be that she abounded the more in finding justifications, or, where they were not to be had, excuses, for all she did.