om his
letters reveal the character of the man, and surely furnish an
illustration of what was said in a former chapter about the educative
effect of religion on the Scottish working-man:--

"DUNGLASS, _Dec_, 23,1839.

"I would not have you think that I am overlooking the Divine agency in
what has befallen me. I desire to ascribe all to His glory and praise,
who can bring order out of confusion and light out of darkness; and I
desire to look away from human means to Him who is able to kill and to
make alive, knowing that He doth not grieve willingly nor afflict the
children of men."

"DUNGLASS, _Jan_. 5, 1840.

"As I have no great pain except what arises from coughing, I have
reason to bless the Lord, who is dealing so bountifully with me....
It would be unpardonable in me were I not endeavouring to make myself
familiar with death in the forms and aspects in which he presents
himself to the mind. Doubts and fears sometimes arise lest I should
be indulging in a false and presumptuous hope, and, as there is great
danger lest we should be deceived in this momentous concern, we cannot
be too anxious in ascertaining whether our hope be that of the Gospel,
as set forth in His Word of truth. Still, through the grace and mercy
of the Lord Jesus Christ, whom, I trust upon scriptural grounds, I
can call my Saviour, I am enabled to view death as a friend and as
deprived of its sting, and this is a source of great comfort to me and
cheers my drooping mind. I can say that my Beloved is mine and I am
His, and that He will make all things to work together for His own
glory and my eternal good. Dear son, I have thus opened my mind to
you, and I trust that your prayers will not be wanting that my faith
may be strengthened, and that all the graces of the Holy Spirit may
abound in me, to the glory of God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

During this and part of the next year Cairns remained in Mr.
Donaldson's family, and his relations with that family as a whole, as
well as his special work in the tuition of the young son and daughter
of the house, were of the most agreeable kind. He had by this time,
however, formed some intimate friendships in Edinburgh, and there were
several pleasant and interesting houses that were always open to him.
One of these deserves special mention. Among his most intimate College
friends was James McGibbon Russell, a distinguished student of Sir
William Hamilton, and one of the founders of the Meta