hearkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him, for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of Hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels."

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CHAPTER VI.

A FIELD MEETING.

AMONG the ministers who, at this time, displayed the banner of truth, and who kept it flying on the mountains with the greatest boldness and success, were Messrs. Welsh and Semple, Peden and Blackader. They were, of all the outed ministers, the most obnoxious to Government, who had set a price of two thousand merks on each of their heads. Mr. Blackader was in the west, Mr. Semple in the south, and Mr. Welsh in the east.

Hearing that Mr. Welsh was to preach at Auchencruive, twelve miles to the south of Edinburgh, Quentin Rowallan and I resolved to be present. It was with some difficulty that Quentin obtained Mrs. Rowallan's consent.

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Remember," she said, "Quentin, that your mother is a widow, and that, should any thing befall you, there is no earthly one to whom Isobel, Beatrice, and myself, have to look. Consider the risk you run,-apprehension, imprisonment, death. In the bloom of health to-day, to-morrow, at this time, you may be carried home to me in your blood. How could I sustain the loss? How could I endure the sight?"

"Dear mother," said Quentin, " speak not thus. Beatrice, are you, too, in tears? Are not the hairs of our head all numbered? have not you taught us out of the Book of God, that a sparrow cannot

fall to the ground, without the knowledge and permission of our heavenly Father? Is not the Lord our sun and shield?' Will not He direct us in the way of duty? Will not He defend us from danger? Have you not taught us, that whoso loveth his life shall lose it, but that whoso loseth his life for Christ's sake, shall find it.' If even these apprehensions were realised, I go not to lose my life,' but to find it.'"

"Quentin," said Mrs. Rowallan, "you know not a mother's fears."

"No," said he, smiling, "but I know something of a mother's faith, which I have known stronger, however, than it is to-day." The contest was now ended.

"Go, then," said Mrs. Rowallan, "seeing you go in His name; for under His seal and shield we are indeed safe; our life is in his hand; we are immortal till our time come."

As the distance was considerable, and to avoid observation, we left the town on the Saturday evening, and lodged all night in a friend's house in the neighbourhood. Next morning we rose early. It was summer; though the sun had risen above the horizon, the morning star was yet lingering at the gate of heaven. In the sky not a cloud was visible; while, sprinkled with dew, the earth glittered as if, during the night, it had been sown with gems. Had it been the morning of an ordinary day, its radiant beauty would have had its influence on our hearts; for who has not felt that a day of unusual beauty brings with it the influence of a charm, making the darkest spirit less dark, and diffusing a portion, not only of its sunshine, but of its serenity, over the souls of even the troubled and tempest-driven. But it was more; it was the morning of the Sabbath-day;

and as we journeyed onwards, now conversing and now musing on all that it sealed and shadowed, it became to us a sabbath of the soul, a sabbath of eternity.

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What, Patrick," said Quentin, who was evidently thinking of his mother's forebodings, "what if we should be attacked by the king's troops; would it be our duty to resist?"

"As to the matter of resistance, Quentin," I replied, "we have in the first place no weapons, though I doubt not but others may. As to the duty of resistance, that is a different question, and one which I have heard Mr. Traill say, was not without its difficulties. Resistance, he said, was twofold, positive and passive, offensive and defensive, both kinds of which, in his opinion, were in certain circumstances justifiable; the difficulty being to decide what these circumstances were, and when they occurred."

"But," said Quentin, "is it not written in the Word of God, that kings ought to be honoured and obeyed? Do not our standards say that infidelity does not make void his authority, this authority standing not in grace, but in nature."

"But a king," said I, "is not a tyrant, and a tyrant is not a king. Tyrants are the enemies of kings, as well as of subjects, and it is for the safety of both that they be resisted, and if need be, slain. The king of this country is a constitutional king. He is above us, but he is not above the constitution. In other countries the king is the law, but in this the law is the king. So long as he rules according to law, he is king, but when he violates the law, as James VI. himself is said once to have acknowledged in parliament, he becomes a tyrant. What we seek is not his destruction, it is our own preservation: it is

not to invade his rights, it is to preserve our own."

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'But," said Quentin again, "are not the acts we complain of the Acts of Parliament? are not they the laws of the land?"

To this I replied, "They are laws, it is true, but they contradict previous laws; they contradict the constitution at once of kirk and kindgom; they are an invasion of the ancient laws of this protestant state, ratifying the liberty of the true presbyterian Kirk of Scotland, ratifying her doctrine and government, worship and discipline, and which remain to this day on the statute book, unrescinded, unrepealed.

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Besides, dear Quentin," I continued, "granting even that there were no such ancient laws of the realm, securing to us liberty to read and to hear the Word of God-what is that Word, and what says that Word itself? Is it a rule, the only supreme rule of faith and manners, to kings and parliaments, as well as to the people? You hold it is-well, then, if kings and parliaments disown this rule-if they make laws which contradict it, are we bound to obey them? No, we are not; not merely because they disobey God, and cease to be the ministers of God, but because in his Word we have a law, our obligation to obey which is supreme, immutable, and eternal." To this Quentin replied-but in a voice softer and gentler even than usual, hurt, perhaps, by my vehemence, for his was a heart so sensitive, that a harsh tone would cause it to shrink and bleed

"The path is indeed clear, but the consequences to which it may lead are dreadful; but for these, they who obstruct it are responsible, not we."

Having crossed Logan water, we came to the