all genuine priests have a thorough contempt for
everything which tends to advance the interests of their church--this
literature is made up of pseudo-Jacobitism, Charlie o'er the waterism, or
nonsense about Charlie o'er the water. And the writer will now take the
liberty of saying a few words about it on his own account.

CHAPTER VI. ON SCOTCH GENTILITY NONSENSE--CHARLIE O'ER THE WATERISM.

Of the literature just alluded to Scott was the inventor. It is founded
on the fortunes and misfortunes of the Stuart family, of which Scott was
the zealous defender and apologist, doing all that in his power lay to
represent the members of it as noble, chivalrous, high-minded,
unfortunate princes; though, perhaps, of all the royal families that ever
existed upon earth, this family was the worst. It was unfortunate
enough, it is true; but it owed its misfortunes entirely to its crimes,
viciousness, bad faith, and cowardice. Nothing will be said of it here
until it made its appearance in England to occupy the English throne.

The first of the family which we have to do with, James, was a dirty,
cowardly miscreant, of whom the less said the better. His son, Charles
the First, was a tyrant--exceedingly cruel and revengeful, but weak and
dastardly; he caused a poor fellow to be hanged in London, who was not
his subject, because he had heard that the unfortunate creature had once
bit his own glove at Cadiz, in Spain, at the mention of his name; and he
permitted his own bull-dog, Strafford, to be executed by his own enemies,
though the only crime of Strafford was, that he had barked furiously at
those enemies, and had worried two or three of them, when Charles
shouted, "Fetch 'em." He was a bitter, but yet a despicable enemy, and
the coldest and most worthless of friends; for though he always hoped to
be able some time or other to hang his enemies, he was always ready to
curry favour with them, more especially if he could do so at the expense
of his friends. He was the haughtiest, yet meanest of mankind. He once
caned a young nobleman for appearing before him in the drawing-room not
dressed exactly according to the court etiquette; yet he condescended to
flatter and compliment him who, from principle, was his bitterest enemy,
namely, Harrison, when the republican colonel was conducting him as a
prisoner to London. His bad faith was notorious; it was from abhorrence
of the first public instance which he gave of his bad fait