is is a true story, my man,' quo the auld wife, 'an', whenever
you are doubtfu' of a man, take auld Robin Ruthven's plan, an' look for
the cloven foot, for it's a thing that winna weel hide; an' it appears
whiles where ane wadna think o't. It will keek out frae aneath the
parson's gown, the lawyer's wig, and the Cameronian's blue bannet; but
still there is a gouden rule whereby to detect it, an' that never,
never fails.' The auld witch didna gie me the rule, an' though I hae
heard tell o't often an' often, shame fa' me an I ken what it is! But
ye will ken it well, an' it wad be nae the waur of a trial on some o'
your friends, maybe; for they say there's a certain gentleman seen
walking wi' you whiles, that, wherever he sets his foot, the grass
withers as gin it war scoudered wi' a het ern. His presence be about
us! What's the matter wi' you, master. Are ye gaun to take the calm o'
the stamock again?"

The truth is, that the clown's absurd story, with the still more
ridiculous application, made me sick at heart a second time. It was not
because I thought my illustrious friend was the Devil, or that I took a
fool's idle tale as a counterbalance to Divine revelation that had
assured me of my justification in the sight of God before the existence
of time. But, in short, it gave me a view of my own state, at which I
shuddered, as indeed I now always did when the image of my devoted
friend and ruler presented itself to my mind. I often communed, with my
heart on this, and wondered how a connection, that had the well-being
of mankind solely in view, could be productive of fruits so bitter. I
then went to try my works by the Saviour's golden rule, as my servant
had put it into my head to do; and, behold, not one of them could stand
the test. I had shed blood on a ground on which I could not admit that
any man had a right to shed mine; and I began to doubt the motives of
my adviser once more, not that they were intentionally bad, but that
his was some great mind led astray by enthusiasm or some overpowering
passion.

He seemed to comprehend every one of these motions of my heart, for his
manner towards me altered every day. It first became anything but
agreeable, then supercilious, and, finally, intolerable; so that I
resolved to shake him off, cost what it would, even though I should be
reduced to beg my bread in a foreign land. To do it at home was
impossible, as he held my life in his hands, to sell it whenever he had
a min