at the writings of Scott have had any influence in
modifying their religious opinions?"

"Most certainly I do," said the man in black. "The writings of that man
have made them greater fools than they were before. All their
conversation now is about gallant knights, princesses, and cavaliers,
with which his pages are stuffed--all of whom were Papists, or very high
Church, which is nearly the same thing; and they are beginning to think
that the religion of such nice sweet-scented gentry must be something
very superfine. Why, I know at Birmingham the daughter of an ironmonger,
who screeches to the piano the Lady of the Lake's hymn to the Virgin
Mary, always weeps when Mary Queen of Scots is mentioned, and fasts on
the anniversary of the death of that very wise martyr, Charles the First.
Why, I would engage to convert such an idiot to popery in a week, were it
worth my trouble. _O Cavaliere Gualtiero avete fatto molto in favore
delle Santa Sede_!"

"If he has," said I, "he has done it unwittingly; I never heard before
that he was a favourer of the popish delusion."

"Only in theory," said the man in black. "Trust any of the clan
Mac-Sycophant for interfering openly and boldly in favour of any cause on
which the sun does not shine benignantly. Popery is at present, as you
say, suing for grace in these regions _in forma pauperis_; but let
royalty once take it up, let old gouty George once patronize it, and I
would consent to drink puddle-water, if the very next time the canny Scot
was admitted to the royal symposium he did not say, 'By my faith, yere
Majesty, I have always thought, at the bottom of my heart, that popery,
as ill scrapit tongues ca' it, was a very grand religion; I shall be
proud to follow your Majesty's example in adopting it.'"

"I doubt not," said I, "that both gouty George and his devoted servant
will be mouldering in their tombs long before Royalty in England thinks
about adopting popery."

"We can wait," said the man in black, "in these days of rampant
gentility, there will be no want of Kings nor of Scots about them."

"But not Walters," said I.

"Our work has been already tolerably well done by one," said the man in
black; "but if we wanted literature we should never lack in these regions
hosts of literary men of some kind or other to eulogize us, provided our
religion were in the fashion, and our popish nobles choose, and they
always do our bidding, to admit the canaille to their tables, t