tier, an' prelate, accompanied wi' barefaced plunder and
murder--does _that_ no' justifiee oor claim to patience? To a' this the
Covenanters hae submitted for mony weary years withoot rebellion, except
maybe in the metter o' the Pentlands, when a wheen o' us were driven to
desperation. But I understand your feelin's, lad, for I'm a man o'
peace by natur', an' would gladly submit to injustice to keep things
quiet--_if possable_; but some things are _no'_ possable, an' the Bible
itsel' says we're to live peaceably wi' a' men only `as much as in us
lies.'"

The ex-trooper was silent. Although ignorant of the full extent of
maddening persecution to which not merely the Covenanters but the people
of Scotland generally had been subjected, his own limited experience
told him that there was much truth in what his companion said; still,
like all loyal-hearted men, he shrank from the position of antagonism to
Government.

"I agree with you," he said, after a few minutes' thought, "but I have
been born, I suppose, with a profound respect for law and legally
constituted authority."

"Div ye think, lad," returned Black, impressively, "that naebody's been
born wi' a high respec' for law but yersel'? I suppose ye admit that
the King is bound to respec' the law as weel as the people?"

"Of course I do. I am no advocate of despotism."

"Weel then," continued the farmer with energy, "in the year saxteen
forty-ane, an' at ither times, kings an' parliaments hae stamped the
Covenants o' Scotland as bein' pairt o' the law o' this land--whereby
freedom o' conscience an' Presbyterian worship are secured to us a'.
An' here comes Chairles the Second an' breks the law by sendin' that
scoondrel the Duke o' Lauderdale here wi' full poors to dae what he
likes--an' Middleton, a man wi' nae heart an' less conscience, that was
raised up frae naething to be a noble, nae less! My word, nobles are
easy made, but they're no' sae easy unmade! An' this Lauderdale maks a
cooncil wi' Airchbishop Sherp--a traiter and a turncoat--an' a wheen
mair like himsel', and they send sodgers oot ower the land to eat us up
an' cram Prelacy doon oor throats, an' curates into oor poo'pits whether
we wull or no'. An' that though Chairles himsel' signed the Covenant at
the time he was crooned! Ca' ye _that_ law or legally constituted
authority?"

Although deeply excited by this brief recital of his country's wrongs,
Black maintained the quiet expression of feat