tunity of proving to him that, though I had the lesser body, I had the
taller spirit of the two--and the spirit makes the man. Therefore I said to
him--"Why, Mr Barlowman, you surprise me to hear you talk; when our country
demands our arms in its defence, we should be ready to lay down our lives,
if necessary, by night or by day, on mountain or in glen, on moor or in
meadow--and I cannot respond your sentiments."

"Weel," said he, "that may be your opinion, and it may be a good opinion,
but, for my own part, I do confess that I have no ambition for the honours
of either heroism or martyrdom. Had a person been allowed a day to make a
sort of decent arrangement of their worldly affairs, it wadna have been sae
bad; but to be summoned out of your warm bed at midnight, and to take up an
instrument of death in the dark, and go forth to be shot at!--there is, in
my opinion, but a small share of either honour or glory in the transaction.
This, certainly, is permanent duty now, and peremptory duty also, with a
witness! But it is a duty the moral obligation of which I cannot perceive;
and I think that a man's first duty is to look after himself--and family."

He mentioned the word "family" with a peculiarity of emphasis which plainly
indicated that he wished it to work an effect upon me, and to bring me over
to his way of thinking. But, instead of its producing that effect, my
spirit waxed bolder and bolder as I remained an ear-witness of his
cowardice.

"Comrade Jonathan--I beg your pardon, Mr Barlowman I mean to say," said
I--"the first duty of every man, when his country is in danger, is to take
up arms in its defence, and to be ready to lay down his life, if his body
will form a barrier to the approach of an enemy."

"It may be sae," said he; "but I would just as soon think of my body being
eaten by cannibals, as applied to any such purpose. It will take a long
time to convince me that there is any bravery in a man volunteering to 'be
shot at for sixpence a-day;' and it will be as long before fighting the
French prepare my land for the spring seed. If I can get a substitute when
we reach Haddington, they may fight that likes for me."

As we marched along, his body became the victim of one calamity after
another. Now his shoes pinched his feet and crippled him, and in a while he
was seized with cramp pains in his breast, which bent him together twofold.
But, as it was generally suspected by the corps that Jonathan was, at be