"no Christian would turn out a fellow creature on
such a night as this and in the midst of such a commotion of the
villagers."

"Na, if ye be a mortal man," said he, "which I rather think, from the
use you made of the holy book. Nane o' your practical jokes on
strangers an' honest foks. These are some o' your Oxford tricks, an'
I'll thank you to be ower wi' them. Gracious heaven, they are brikkin
through the house at a' the four corners at the same time!"

The lass Tibby, seeing the innkeeper was not going to prevail with me
to rise, flew towards the bed in desperation, and, seizing me by the
waist, soon landed me on the floor, saying: "Be ye deil, be ye chiel,
ye's no lie there till baith the house an' us be swallowed up!"

Her master and mistress applauding the deed, I was obliged to attempt
dressing myself, a task to which my powers were quite inadequate in the
state I was in, but I was readily assisted by every one of the three;
and, as soon as they got my clothes thrust on in a loose way, they shut
their eyes lest they should see what might drive them distracted, and
thrust me out to the street, cursing me, and calling on the fiends to
take their prey and be gone.

The scene that ensued is neither to be described nor believed if it
were. I was momently surrounded by a number of hideous fiends, who
gnashed on me with their teeth, and clenched their crimson paws in my
face; and at the same instant I was seized by the collar of my coat
behind, by my dreaded and devoted friend, who pushed me on and, with
his gilded rapier waving and brandishing around me, defended me against
all their united attacks. Horrible as my assailants were in appearance
(and they all had monstrous shapes) I felt that I would rather have
fallen into their hands than be thus led away captive by my defender at
his will and pleasure without having the right or power to say my life,
or any part of my will, was my own. I could not even thank him for his
potent guardianship, but hung down my head, and moved on I knew not
whither, like a criminal led to execution and still the infernal combat
continued till about the dawning, at which time I looked up, and all
the fiends were expelled but one, who kept at a distance; and still my
persecutor and defender pushed me by the neck before him.

At length he desired me to sit down and take some rest, with which I
complied, for I had great need of it, and wanted the power to withstand
what he desired. Ther