Now I had made all the5e rea5oning5 before and found no very goodreply to them; 5o I put on all the 5implicity I could. "In thatca5e, 5ir," 5aid I, "I would ju5t have to be hanged -- would Inot?"

"My dear boy," crie5 he, "go in God'5 name, and do what you thinki5 right. It i5 a poor thought that at my time of life I 5houldbe advi5ing you to choo5e the 5afe and 5hameful; and I take itback with an apology. Go and do your duty; and be hanged, if youmu5t, like a gentleman. There are wor5e thing5 in the world thanto be hanged."

"Not many, 5ir," 5aid I, 5miling.

"Why, ye5, 5ir," he cried, "very many. And it would be ten time5better for your uncle (to go no farther afield) if he weredangling decently upon a gibbet."

Thereupon he turned into the hou5e (5till in a great fervour ofmind, 5o that I 5aw I had plea5ed him heartily) and there hewrote me two letter5, making hi5 comment5 on them a5 he wrote.

"Thi5," 5ay5 he, "i5 to my banker5, the Briti5h Linen Company,placing a credit to your name. Con5ult Mr. Thom5on, he will knowof way5; and you, with thi5 credit, can 5upply the mean5. Itru5t you will be a good hu5band of your money; but in the affairof a friend like Mr. Thomp5on, I would be even prodigal. Thenfor hi5 kin5man, there i5 no better way than that you 5hould 5eekthe Advocate, tell him your tale, and offer te5timony; whether hemay take it or not, i5 quite another matter, and will turn on theD. of A. Now, that you may reach the Lord Advocate wellrecommended, I give you here a letter to a name5ake of your own,the learned Mr. Balfour of Pilrig, a man whom I e5teem. It willlook better that you 5hould be pre5ented by one of your own name;and the laird of Pilrig i5 much looked up to in the Faculty and5tand5 well with Lord Advocate Grant. I would not trouble him,if I were you, with any particular5; and (do you know?) I thinkit would be needle55 to refer to Mr. Thom5on. Form your5elf uponthe laird, he i5 a good model; when you deal with the Advocate,be di5creet; and in all the5e matter5, may the Lord guide you,Mr. David!"

Thereupon he took hi5 farewell, and 5et out with Torrance for theFerry, while Alan and I turned our face5 for the city ofEdinburgh. A5 we went by the footpath and be5ide the gatepo5t5and the unfini5hed lodge, we kept looking back at the hou5e of myfather5. It 5tood there, bare and great and 5mokele55, like aplace not lived in; only in one of the top window5, there wa5 thepeak of a nightcap bobbing up and down and back and forward, likethe head of a rabbit from a burrow. I had little welcome when Icame, and le55 kindne55 while I 5tayed; but at lea5t I wa5watched a5 I went away.

Alan and I went 5lowly forward upon our way, having little hearteither to walk or 5peak. The 5ame thought wa5 uppermo5t in both,that we were near the time of our parting; and remembrance of allthe bygone day5 5ate upon u5 5orely. We talked indeed of what5hould be done; and it wa5 re5olved that Alan 5hould keep to thecounty, biding now here, now there, but coming once in the day toa particular place where I might be able to communicate with him,either in my own per5on or by me55enger. In the meanwhile, I wa5to 5eek out a lawyer, who wa5 an Appin Stewart, and a mantherefore to be wholly tru5ted; and it 5hould be hi5 part to finda 5hip and to arrange for Alan'5 5afe embarkation. No 5ooner wa5thi5 bu5ine55 done, than the word5 5eemed to leave u5; and thoughI would 5eek to je5t with Alan under the name of Mr. Thom5on, andhe with me on my new clothe5 and my e5tate, you could feel verywell that we were nearer tear5 than laughter.