. In his childhood
he had himself often gone without shoes and stockings, yet the youth's
lack of them prejudiced him against him.

"It must be the fellow's own fault!" he said to himself. "He shan't
catch me with his chaff!"

Donal would rather have forded the river, and gone to inquire his way
at the nearest farm-house, but he thought it polite to walk a little
way with the clergyman.

"How far are you going?" asked the minister at length.

"As far as I can," replied Donal.

"Where do you mean to pass the night?"

"In some barn perhaps, or on some hill-side."

"I am sorry to hear you can do no better."

"You don't think, sir, what a decent bed costs; and a barn is
generally, a hill-side always clean. In fact the hill-side 's the
best. Many's the time I have slept on one. It's a strange notion some
people have, that it's more respectable to sleep under man's roof than
God's."

"To have no settled abode," said the clergyman, and paused.

"Like Abraham?" suggested Donal with a smile. "An abiding city seems
hardly necessary to pilgrims and strangers! I fell asleep once on the
top of Glashgar: when I woke the sun was looking over the edge of the
horizon. I rose and gazed about me as if I were but that moment
created. If God had called me, I should hardly have been astonished."

"Or frightened?" asked the minister.

"No, sir; why should a man fear the presence of his saviour?"

"You said God!" answered the minister.

"God is my saviour! Into his presence it is my desire to come."

"Under shelter of the atonement," supplemented the minister.

"Gien ye mean by that, sir," cried Donal, forgetting his English,
"onything to come 'atween my God an' me, I'll ha'e nane o' 't. I'll
hae naething hide me frae him wha made me! I wadna hide a thoucht frae
him. The waur it is, the mair need he see't."

"What book is that you are reading?" asked the minister sharply. "It's
not your bible, I'll be bound! You never got such notions from it!"

He was angry with the presumptuous youth--and no wonder; for the gospel
the minister preached was a gospel but to the slavish and unfilial.

"It's Shelley," answered Donal, recovering himself.

The minister had never read a word of Shelley, but had a very decided
opinion of him. He gave a loud rude whistle.

"So! that's where you go for your theology! I was puzzled to
understand you, but now all is plain! Young man, you are on the brink
of perdition. That book