"

"He says I must not return evil for evil, a blow for a blow. I don't
mind what people say about it: he would not have me disgrace myself!
He never even threatened those that struck him."

"But he wasn't a man, you know!"

"Not a man! What was he then?"

"He was God, you know."

"And isn't God a man--and ever so much more than a man?"

The boy made no answer, and Donal went on.

"Do you think God would have his child do anything disgraceful? Why,
Davie, you don't know your own Father! What God wants of us is to be
down-right honest, and do what he tells us without fear."

Davie was silent. His conscience reproved him, as the conscience of a
true-hearted boy will reprove him at the very mention of the name of
God, until he sets himself consciously to do his will. Donal said no
more, and they went for their walk.

CHAPTER XVI.

COLLOQUIES.

In the evening Donal went to see Andrew Comin.

"Weel, hoo are ye gettin' on wi' the yerl?" asked the cobbler.

"You set me a good example of saying nothing about him," answered
Donal; "and I will follow it--at least till I know more: I have scarce
seen him yet."

"That's right!" returned the cobbler with satisfaction. "I'm thinkin'
ye'll be ane o' the feow 'at can rule their ane hoose--that is, haud
their ain tongues till the hoor for speech be come. Stick ye to that,
my dear sir, an' mair i'll be weel nor in general is weel."

"I'm come to ye for a bit o' help though; I want licht upon a queston
'at 's lang triblet me.--What think ye?--hoo far does the comman' laid
upo' 's, as to warfare 'atween man an' man, reach? Are we never ta
raise the han' to human bein', think ye?"

"Weel, I hae thoucht a heap aboot it, an' I daurna say 'at I'm jist
absolute clear upo' the maitter. But there may be pairt clear whaur a'
's no clear; an' by what we un'erstan' we come the nearer to what we
dinna un'erstan'. There's ae thing unco plain--'at we're on no accoont
to return evil for evil: onybody 'at ca's himsel' a Christian maun
un'erstan' that muckle. We're to gie no place to revenge, inside or
oot. Therefore we're no to gie blow for blow. Gien a man hit ye, ye're
to take it i' God's name. But whether things mayna come to a p'int
whaurat ye're bu'n', still i' God's name, to defen' the life God has
gien ye, I canna say--I haena the licht to justifee me in denyin' 't.
There maun surely, I hae said to mysel', be a time whan a man may hae
to du what God dis sae a