tion yourself, but you cannot save the young man's life; for Lauderdale is so enraged at your escape, that he swore with one of his tremendous oaths, that the youth shall die were he his own sister's son.' Clelland seemed for a moment to be revolving in his mind some scheme which apparently grated his feelings of human pride, but the red spot which for an instant flushed his cheek soon disappeared. He had evidently overcome the difficulty whatever it was; he took leave of his kind host, and delivering himself up to one of the city guard, desired to be conducted to the lodgings of the commander-in-chief, General Dalziel. The soldier was readily admitted with his prisoner. They found the General in a small parlor, busy writing letters: his long white beard gave a venerable appearance to his weather-beaten countenance, and the restlessness of an eye which age had not yet dimmed, gave no indication of the cold, unyielding cruelty which distinguished his character. His first glance at the prisoner was stern; his second expressed surprise, not unmingled with delight. My old school-fellow, Gilbert Hamilton.' 'Your Excellency must know me rather by my mother's name, Clelland,' replied the prisoner, bowing slightly. 6 Are you that rebel Clelland, that trumpeter of enthusiasm, whom I have so long wished to have in my power?' 'I am not very ambitious of the epithets which you have been pleased to tack to my name; I presume, however, I should in vain endeavor to convince General Dalziel that I am neither rebel nor enthusiast.' 'True, true,' interrupted Dalziel hastily; then giving money to the city officer, he said, 'Tom Nelson, you may retire, and hark ye, you are to forget that you ever heard this gentleman's name. Tom's father was a Covenanter, and hanged for the cause,' added the General, as he bolted the door after the worthy corporal had left the room; ' and the rascal has enough of the old leaven in him to keep your secret. And now Hamilton - for I cannot bring myself to call you by that other villanous name - I know you have come to ask me to procure your pardon.' 'Your Excellency greatly mistakes my errand;' on the contrary, I come to deliver myself up as your prisoner. I have a favor to ask, however, though not for myself,' and Clelland shortly related the story of Walter Gray, and requested the General's interference in his favor. Dalziel, instead of returning an immediate answer, gazed earnestly on the animated features of his ancient friend. At length he said, 'You are much altered since I knew you, Gilbert Hamilton. I little thought when we gathered strawberries at the Camp, and fished trout in the Avon, that my gay companion would ever become a canting preacher of rebellion against his lawful sovereign.' 'And I little thought,' replied Clelland,' when we went together a-nutting to Bothwell, now red with the blood of God's saints, that I should ever find Thomas Dalziel the betrayer of his country's liberties, and the bitter persecutor of her religion.' 'No more of this, sir,' exclaimed the General sternly. "The banks of the Borysthenes have banished from my memory those of the Clyde; but I never can forget the generous boy, who, when I was sinking amid the eddies of the swoln river, plunged in and saved my life at the hazard of his own; and you shall not find Tom Dalziel ungrateful. The young man shall be sent back unharmed to his friends. As for yourself, if Maitland and the council knew of your being here, I know not that all my influence could save you. You must therefore take this passport, which I shall fill with the name of Hamilton. In the evening my servant will accompany you to Leith, and secure your passage in a ship which sails this very night for Holland. Meanwhile you can rest here in safety, till I return from the council.' Mr. Clelland had no reason to object to this arrangement, and his protector having locked the chamber, and put the key in his pocket, hurried along the High street with excited feelings, and at a very unusual pace, for it was a new thing with General Dalziel to be engaged in a work of mercy. It was not till several hours had elapsed, that he returned and relieved the fears of his prisoner concerning Walter Gray. The General then gave his instructions to the servant who was to accompany Clelland to Leith, and at parting he made the latter an offer of his purse. 'It is the purse of a soldier,' he said, 'and therefore but indifferently furnished, but such as it is, you will find it useful in your exile.' 'I shall need but little,' replied Clelland, rejecting the gift; and for that little, if other honest means fail, I can still labor with my hands. Farewell Thomas Dalziel; you have still the feelings of an honorable gentleman; it shall be my daily prayer that you may yet receive the renewed heart of a Christian.' The last clause of this parting speech sounded somewhat harshly in the old cavalier's ear. He was angry with himself for the kindness which he could not help entertaining for the companion of his boyhood, and perhaps he had already secretly determined to take amends, by increasing severity against the Covenanters in general, for what he was beginning to think an unpardonable weakness towards an individual of their number. It Years rolled on, and brought with them a new succession of events. The sufferings of the persecuted Church of Scotland were at an end, and under the favorable influence of King William, Presbytery recovered its ascendency. was on a mild summer evening in the year 1689, that the approach of a venerable old man was observed by two little boys who were playing before the farm-house of Reuben Gray. The little fellows hastened to announce the news to their mother, and in a few minutes more, the voice of the Rev. Gilbert Clelland was heard praying for a blessing on the inmates of the humble dwelling. Reuben's eyes were now dim, but his ear instantly recognised the voice which once brought comfort to his soul, when it announced the recovery of his child. Walter and Alice joyfully welcomed THE COVENANTERS OF SCOTLAND. 215 their benefactor, and even the children were induced by the benevolent looks of the stranger, to venture near and pull the skirts of his cassock. The old man had been invited to become the pastor of the parish where we first introduced him to our reader as an intercommuned wanderer; and as the manse had been allowed to fall into disrepair during the late troubles, Gilbert Clelland spent the remainder of his days beneath the humble but happy roof of Reuben Gray. wwwwwww THE COVENANTERS OF SCOTLAND. LET us not mock the olden time: behold Were wrought, when blood-hounds tracked them through the earth. Let us not mock them; they, perhaps, might err |