and camstrarie youth you could hardly find in a week’s
journey, yet this was the kind of untutored spirit she
selected to take the care and control of. His moral
training had been totally neglected. The Ten Commandments were a sealed book to him; but even after
the Catechism was opened and explained with much
affectionate zeal, his moral vision had contracted
such a squint that he failed to observe matters straight,
and always looked round the corners of truth, if,
peradventure, he might see things different from other
folk—the result being that he generally ended in
heterodox and perverted conclusions. The bursar, I
fear, will be troublesome to us all, but I have observed
when a woman sets her affections on an object, however unworthy it may be, it is useless trying to convince
her she is wrong. Well, after all that has come and
gone in the course of the narrative which follows,
perhaps the reader will conclude that this is not the
least estimable trait in her character. In going over
the proof-sheets of the book, Dr. Threshie tells me
that at least I have no reason to complain of this
feature in her character, and as the Doctor is a wellconditioned, godly, and far-seeing man, I accept of
matters as they stand with resignation and thankfulness.
In conclusion, I would observe that the following chapters contain some admirable moral truths, and are animated by a spirit of self-abnegation worthy of being
