Lady Victoria Campbell

THE HOUSEHOLD FRIENDS 15
The ailing and suffering among the nurslings
can recall the sleepless hours soothed by her vigil
and ministration. Bishop Ken's evening hymn her
lullaby, and the sound of her voice breaking the
feverish unrest of pain, her kindly arms the pro-
tection from the terrors of the night.
Failing eyesight obliged her to retire before the
birth of the last and twelfth member of the family ;
a bitter and lasting grief to herself and the children
who loved her with the love which was the only
compensation she ever cared for. The remainder of
her life was spent in a house as near Argyll Lodge
as was possible, and on a route where she was sure
of seeing some members of the family pass the window
in which she was always keeping watch. Her long
life ended in 1878, leaving the children of her love
a memory time has not dimmed, and one which is held
in grateful remembrance.
The interests of these retainers were so entirely one
with the interests of the family in which they lived
and loved, that service passed into the closest friend-
ship and community of intercourse.
The conditions of service were not those of to-day.
Wages had not reached the standard to which they
have now attained. Holidays and days out were
few and far between. Looking back, it is difficult to
recall a single instance of a prolonged holiday, unless
there was some urgent call of sickness or distress
in their own families. The unrest and love of change
of the present day, these unsettled conditions have
all altered the life of the homestead, but assuredly