XIV. THE LOST FOUND. "This money has a power above The stars and fates to manage Love; That never fail, are tipp'd with gold. And though Love's all the world's pretense The real substance of the shadow Which all address and courtship's made to." -Hudibras. "The conscience of a people is theirpower." -Dryden. HIS eventful Sabbath had other points of interest THIS besides those affecting the house of Rodney. It was to Angus Bruce also a turning point in life. For it was the last Sabbath he would ever officiate as a minister of the established Kirk of Scotland. The disruption so long anticipated had taken place, and Angus had been one of the four hundred ministers who had left kirk and manse on the question of the supreme authority of Christ in all spiritual matters. He had intended to speak to the people on the subject after the service, or rather to appoint a meeting to consider the peculiar condition of his congregation, and collect the suffrages and assistance of all who purposed to form themselves into a Free Kirk. But the subject had been put out of his mind by the unexpected circum stance of Archibald's restoration to his family, and his native land. However, when he returned to the manse he found a large company awaiting him. The books and pictures which had given to the room its only element of comfort were now packed for removal, and on the rough pine boxes this grave society were calmly sitting reviewing the opinions which had left them churchless in a land of churches. Bruce's entrance was a welcome interruption, for no one had heard the particulars of the great convention, and all were solemnly curious about it. "Glad to see you, Minister," said Elder Bogie. "We are nane o'us fit for the week's wark till we hear o' the great wark in Edinburgh. And we are proud indeed that you spoke for us all on that day; and now we want to stand by your side, in whate'er you think it right for us to do. 'Twould be a grand day, Minister?" "Such a day as none now living may ever see again. Such a night before the day, I may add. For none but little children or the most thoughtless of men and women slept an hour in it. Indeed, the streets of Edinburgh were crowded with earnest men, who could not rest for the thoughts within them. And the ministers were going from group to group, stirring up the people to stand for the rights of the Kirk of Scotland. Oh men! the beautiful city has seen many an anxious night in her long history, but not even when Prince Charlie entered it, and the gray old castle looked down on his gallant nobles and Highland host, did it see so noble a gathering! It was the host of the Lord, ready every man of them to give the last penny of his substance, and the last drop of his blood, for the honor of God's name and God's house. Day came, but nobody thought of their own affairs. Shops were shuttered and locked, men and masters alike, were waiting to see if the ministers would have grace and strength to stand by the Kirk, when their allegiance would make them homeless and penniless." "Honest men! They didna fail her, Minister?" "Not one of them, Deacon Lusk. I was in the Assembly Hall when the Marquis of Bute appeared for the Queen. Dr. Welsh, as the moderator, made the complaint for the Kirk-told all her wrongs and humiliations, specially the putting of the civil power above her, in her own spiritual functions; the contempt with which her petitions for redress had been received, such, and so on. Then advising all who were for a Free Kirk to withdraw, taking with them. the Confession of Faith, and the standards of the Kirk of Scotland, he bowed to Lord Bute, left his chair and turned to the door. Dr. Chalmers lifted his hat and followed him—then Campbell of Monzieand Dr. Gordon, and Dr. Macfarlane-and man after man-and row after row-till on the benches that had been so crowded, there was scarce a man left. In a few silent and solemn minutes, four hundred ministers and five hundred elders had withdrawn. rest of the great audience rose to their feet. were still as death, gazing breathless on the scene. Many were weeping. I have no doubt all were praying." The They On a theme so grand it was easy to talk the night away; and indeed it was in the first melancholy gleam of dawn that Bruce walked to the manse gate with his friends. For a few minutes he remained there, watching the men as they went to their sheepfolds and fishing boats-their large, plaided, bonneted forms look ing through the misty, fantastic shroud, as colossally unreal as men in a vision. Then he returned to his desolated, uncomfortable room, and fell suddenly to his lowest physical ebb. He could not think any more; feel any more; he could not even keep his eyes open. He let his personality escape, flutter away, evaporate. He was soon in that deep sleep which visits exhausted men. The packing-cases, the disorder, the meagerness of the furniture, gave an atmosphere of great unrest to the room. But in the midst of it, on the hard, black couch, the handsome form of the sleeping minister lay in perfect peace. Fleshly material men sink almost as low as pure matter when they sleep, but the eager soul of Angus Bruce still illumined its mask of beautiful clay. His eyelids were luminous; his mouth smiling; his long, white hands, though quite still, looked as if they remembered their skill and aptitudes. For though it cannot reflect, the body does rememberthe feet of the dancer, the fingers of the musician or writer, have a memory special to their powers. Alas! it is in youth, when we need it least, that such sleep is possible. Years exhaust the capacity for it, and the soul has fretted and worried the animal instincts away which brought the sweet restorative. While Bruce was renewing life in oblivion to all its demands, the Colonel was wasting it in restless movements and intense feeling. Though his son was fast asleep in the next room, though twice he had walked softly to the bedside and looked at him, he could not himself reach that blessed refreshment which he so much needed. It was not that he was tossed about with conflicting opinions, or any uncertainty of purpose. He had faced the subject of Blair Rodney from the first with a positive, unwavering decision. He knew precisely what he ought to do, and what he would do, in regard to what Blair had called his rights. In this respect. he was more fortunate than his wife. Mrs. Rodney did not dislike Blair as heartily as the Colonel did, and she felt very keenly for her daughter Bertha. She had almost angered her husband by what he called her partiality. For, happy as the mother was to receive back her son, she could not avoid an overwhelming pity for the girl whose prospects were so altered by the unforeseen circumstance. It was truly an overwhelming affliction to Bertha. She had passed, that afternoon, out of the sunshine, into a gloom every hour growing blacker. There had been for her just one step between joy and despair. For she did despair, even in the first few whispered words between Blair and herself on the event. It had made a change in him even then, sharp and sure as that made by a freezing wind passing over tropical flowers. Her hopes had met their death. She could not lift her heart above this conviction. About the middle of the night she tapped at her mother's door, and Mrs. Rodney was almost glad to escape the enthusiasms of her husband to share the pitiful forebodings of her daughter. She took the girl in her arms and encouraged her to tell all her fear and suffering. And it was characteristic that they spoke very low, and controlled themselves, lest the servants should divine their pain and misinterpret it. "Oh mother, mother! How can I bear it?" "I do not think the marriage will be put off, Bertha. Blair loves you." |