he should have gone on in his errors, without ever
entertaining any serious thought of amendment. "Often," added the
contrite and chastened man, "have I made use of these words of Christ,
'Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not
as I will, but as thou wilt.'" But he had checked himself by the
reflection, that it was not for him who had been so great a sinner, to
address himself to God in the same language with his blessed Saviour,
who was perfectly innocent and holy.

In time, aided by the representations of his spiritual attendant, the
deepest remorse for a life not untainted by impurity of conduct, was
succeeded by religious peace. It was then that the prisoner turned to
that Bread of Life which Christ hath left for those who hunger and
thirst after righteousness. But the Minister who led him into the fold
of the Great Shepherd, would not consent to administer to him the Holy
Sacrament without a full confession made in the presence of the
gentleman gaoler, of his past offences, and of his contrition for them.
At that solemn moment, when the heart was laid open to human witnesses,
Lord Kilmarnock professed the deepest penitence for his concurrence in
the Rebellion, and for the irregularities of his private life: he
declared his conviction that the Holy Sacrament would be of no benefit
to him whatsoever, if his remorse and contrition were not sincere. This
assurance was, in other words, yet, in substance the same, emphatically
repeated. During the conversations held with Lord Kilmarnock, Mr. Foster
perceived that the confessions of the penitent were free and ingenuous;
that he examined his own heart with a searching and scrupulous care,
sternly challenging memory to the aid of conscience. At last, he
declared that he should rather prefer the speedy execution of his
sentence to a longer life, if he were sure that he should again be
entangled by the snares and temptations of the world. This was a few
days before his death.

Gradually, but effectually, the spirit that had so much in it of a
heavenly temper; the heart, so framed to be beloved, was purified and
elevated; so that, a beautiful and holy calm, a heavenly
disinterestedness, a patience worthy of him who bore the name of
Christian, were manifested in one whom it were henceforth wrong to call
unhappy. When Lord Cromartie's reprieve became known to Mr. Foster, he
dreaded, lest this subdued, yet fortified mind, should be disturbed by