nswering him; and the tane said to the tither:
"Where will the ravens find a prey the night?" "On the lean crazy souls
o' Auchtermuchty," quo the tither. "I fear they will be o'er weel
wrappit up in the warm flannens o' faith, an clouted wi' the dirty duds
o' repentance, for us to mak a meal o'," quo the first. "Whaten vile
sounds are these that I hear coming bumming up the hill?" "Oh, these
are the hymns and praises o' the auld wives and creeshy louns o'
Auchtermuchty, wha are gaun crooning their way to Heaven; an', gin it
warna for the shame o' being beat, we might let our great enemy tak
them. For sic a prize as he will hae! Heaven, forsooth! What shall we
think o' Heaven, if it is to be filled wi' vermin like thae, amang whom
there is mair poverty and pollution than I can name." "No matter for
that," said the first, "we cannot have our power set at defiance;
though we should put them on the thief's hole, we must catch them, and
catch them with their own bait, too. Come all to church to-morrow, and
I'll let you hear how I'll gull the saints of Auchtermuchty. In the
meantime, there is a feast on the Sidlaw hills tonight, below the hill
of Macbeth--Mount, Diabolus, and fly." Then, with loud croaking and
crowing, the bridal of corbies again scaled the dusky air, and left
Robin Ruthven in the middle of his cairn.

"'The next day the congregation met in the kirk of Auchtermuchty, but
the minister made not his appearance. The elder ran out and in making
inquiries; but they could learn nothing, save that the minister was
missing. They ordered the clerk to sing a part of the 119th Psalm,
until they saw if the minister would cast up. The clerk did as he was
ordered, and, by the time he reached the 77th verse, a strange divine
entered the church, by the western door, and advanced solemnly up to
the pulpit. The eyes of all the congregation were riveted on the
sublime stranger, who was clothed in a robe of black sackcloth, that
flowed all around him, and trailed far behind, and they weened him an
angel, come to exhort them, in disguise. He read out his text from the
Prophecies of Ezekiel, which consisted of these singular words: "I will
overturn, overturn, overturn it; and it shall be no more, until he
come, whose right it is, and I will give it him."

"'From these words he preached such a sermon as never was heard by
human ears, at least never by ears of Auchtermuchty. It was a true,
sterling, gospel sermon--it was striking, s