baffling their pursuers by running off in different directions. A well-mounted dragoon dashed after Rob, and struck him a blow on the head with his broadsword, which, but for the plate of iron which he had in his bonnet, would have killed him. As it was, Rob was stunned, and fell. At this moment, Rob's lieutenant or sergeant appeared with a gun in his hand. Oh, Macanaleister,' cried Rob from the ground,' 'is there naething in her?' (in the gun.) 'Your mother never wrought that nightcap,' cried the dragoon, and was coming down with a second stroke, when a ball whistled from Macanaleister's gun, and he fell, shot through the heart.' "As Rob Roy grew older, he would willingly have abandoned his course as a freebooter, and returned to his old trade of cattle-dealing, but the letters that he wrote to Field-marshal Wade on the subject appears to have been disregarded. Many who take to evil ways, find, like Rob Roy Macgregor, that they cannot, when they would, return to the path of rectitude. "When he was on his death-bed, one of his enemies, a Maclaren, came to see him. Before admitting him, the old man insisted on being lifted up, with his plaid put round him, and his broadsword, pistols, and dirk placed beside him; for, said he, No Maclaren shall ever see Rob Macgregor unarmed.' He received his foeman's inquiries coldly and civilly. As they were together the priest came in. Taking the opportunity afforded him by the meeting of the two hostile clansmen on so solemn an occasion, the priest exhorted Rob to forgive his enemies, and quoted the appropriate passage in the Lord's Prayer.Ay,' says Rob, 'ye hae gi'en me baith law and gospel for it. It's a hard law, but I ken it's gospel.' Then, turning to his son Robert, who was standing near, My sword and dirk lie there, Rob. I forgive my enemies; but see you to them, or may The priest checked the rest, and Rob grew calm. When Maclaren had left the house, the dying man-the Highland spirit burning brighter in him at this last moment than it had ever done before -said, after a little pause, 'Now it is all over; tell the piper to play "Ha til mi tulidh!" ("We return no more!") The piper obeyed. With the music of this Gaelic dirge in his ears, Rob Roy breathed his last. He was buried in the churchyard of Balquidder. His grave is covered with a simple tombstone, without an inscription, but with a broadsword rudely carved on it." Ben Lomond, with its ridges of rock one above another, and conical top, rises majestically on the sight. Its height is 3,190 feet above the sea, and it has a frightful precipice of 2,000 feet on its north side. The mountain is an immense mass of granite mingled with quartz, while on its sides strata of gneiss and micha schist are seen. The botanist who climbs and explores Ben Lomond will be richly rewarded by its vegetable stores. As I had already ascended Ben y Gloe and Ben Nevis, I gave up all thoughts of climbing Ben Lomond, notwithstanding the splendid view its summit commands. In rainy or misty weather, the top of a mountain is but a dreary position. The language of one who endured, or rather enjoyed a storm on Ben Lomond, is enough to excite a desire to witness so arresting and sublime a spectacle. “A park of artillery is nothing in comparison to the dreadful sound which I heard crashing and tearing as if it would split the mountain in pieces; while Ben Lomond vibrated with the concussion in the air, and the mighty mountain trembled under my feet. It struck me at the moment, that such would be the sound, when, according to the words of inspira tion, the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.' If Ben Lomond is a king of a mountain, Loch Lomond, or the Lake full of Islands, is a queen of a loch, no other Scottish lake being able to compete with her in loveliness. With a surface of thirty miles of extent, adorned with romantic islands, and surrounded by mountains of beauty and sublimity, with summits of the most singular forms, it possesses more attractive points than any other loch. Beautiful, however, as Ben Lomond is, most people would like it better were it less lengthy. Tourists, who wish to make the most of their time, after passing along Loch Lomond, land at Tarbet, cross over to Arrochar, at the head of Loch Long, and reach the Loch Long steamer, on its return to Glasgow; thus enjoying the magnificent scenery of both lochs on the same day. A few miles from Invernglas is a very pleasant village called Luss. A little to the north of this village a splendid prospect of Loch Lomond obtained: may be Islands, and wooded heights, and loch, and fall, And huge Ben Lomond rising over all. Glenfalloch is at the north end of the lake, and Glencroe, a gloomy and solitary valley, and Glenfruin, or Vale of Lamentation, to the west. Overhanging the entrance of Glenfruin stand the ruins of the Castle of Bannachra. "This castle was, in days of yore, the abode of the Colquhouns, between whom and the Macgregors a furious battle took place in Glenfruin in 1602; in the onset 200 of the Colquhouns were slain. After their success, the Macgregors cruelly murdered eighty youths of the Colquhouns, who had been led by curiosity to witness the flight; and, as a punishment for this barbarous butchery of innocent persons, the clan Macgregor or Alpin were proscribed by law, and ordered to renounce their name; but their legal rights were restored to them in 1755, after a century of shame and suffering. The chief of the Colquhouns was murdered in 1640, in the Castle of Bannachra, by one of the clan M'Farlane: 'Proudly our pibroch has thrill'd in Glenfruin, And Bannachra's groans to our slogan replied."" Many of the islands of Loch Lomond are interesting for their romantic appear ance, and others on account of the purposes to which they have been or are applied. Inch Calliach, or the Island of Women, was so called because a nunnery was once established there; and Inch Murrin, the largest island on the lake, with the ruins of a castle on it, is looked on with interest by every eye, for it is used as a deer-park by the duke of Montrose, and, being well wooded, it furnishes an excellent covert for the antlered herd. Dumbarton Castle arrests the attention the moment it breaks on the sight, by its striking and picturesque appearance. Dumbarton rock, on which it stands, is between 500 and 600 feet high, and rises abruptly out of the bed of the Clyde. This rock is cleft in twain, and has, therefore, two summits. The craggy twins are in form like two haycocks; but standing alone, as they do, they produce a remarkable effect. The rock and the castle blend, as it were, into one, much in the same manner as Stirling Castle does with the rock on which it stands, and this gives to the fortress an appearance of impregnable strength. Impregnable, however, as it may appear, it has been reduced by famine and taken by escalade : Led on by hate, or greed, or glory's lure, What will not man achieve? what will not man endure ? Dumbarton Castle was the last fortress that held out to sustain the falling fortunes of queen Mary. The exploit of taking the place by escalade in the year 1571, by captain Crawford, of Jordanhill, with a small body of soldiers, is regarded as one of the most daring and hazardous enterprises recorded in history. "Captain Crawford took advantage of a misty and moonless night to bring to the foot of the castle rock the scalingladders which he had provided, choosing for his terrible experiment the place where the rock was highest, and where, of course, less pains were taken to keep a regular guard. This choice was happy, for the ladder broke with the men who attempted to mount, and the noise of the fall must have betrayed them had there been any sentinel within hearing. Crawford, assisted by a soldier who had deserted from the castle, and who, doubtless, was moved by motives of interest, and was acting as his guide, renewed the attempt in person, and, having scrambled up to a projecting ledge of rock, where there was some footing, contrived to make fast the ladder, by tying it to the roots of a tree which grew about midway up the rock. Here they found a small flat surface, sufficient, however, to afford footing to the whole party, which was, of course, very few in number. In scaling the second precipice another accident took place. One of the party, subject to epileptic fits, was seized by one of these attacks, brought on, perhaps, by terror, while he was in the act of climbing up the ladder. His illness rendered it impossible either for him to ascend or descend. To have slain the man would have been a cruel expedient; besides that the fall of the ladder might have alarmed the garrison. Crawford caused him, therefore, to be tied to the ladder, and thus mounted with ease over the body of the epileptic person. When the party gained the summit, they slew the sentinel ere he had time to give the alarm, and easily surprised the slumbering garrison, who had trusted too much to the security of their castle to keep good watch. Certainly this exploit of Crawford's, as it has been said, may compare with anything we read of in history.' On our passage up the Clyde the steam-boat was crowded. A storm him we must be miserable. His love to came on, and fortunate were they who could get shelter from the blustering wind and drenching rain. At last we reached Glasgow. If tourists have much to enjoy, they have something to endure. Glad was I to exchange the wind and the storm, the crowded deck and the heat of the engine of the steamer, for the comforts of Comrie's hotel in George's-square, to which respectable establishment a cab conveyed me from the river's side. As I presented the appearance of a weatherbeaten tourist, and had no luggage but a small carpet-bag, I considered myself fortunate in passing the inspection of my host and hostess creditably, and in securing as much as I did of their attention and respect. "Here," thought I," will I take up my abode for a few days, and surely in that time my trunk will reach me. So hard had I toiled as a tourist, and so often had I been drenched to the skin, that temporary repose was very acceptable. THE DESIGN OF AFFLICTION. THE great design of affliction is to sanctify us. God chastens us "that we may be made partakers of his holiness:" he effects this by correcting us for our transgressions. In this way be restrains our impetuous passions, purges away our pollutions, and embitters to us the ways of sin. He wounds that he may heal: he prunes the branches of the true vine, that they may become more fruitful, John xv. 2. When his people break his laws, and keep not his commandments, he visits their iniquities with the rod, and their sins with chastisement, Psa. lxxxix. 30-32. When we are running from the fountain of living waters, and seeking cistern after cistern, he in mercy destroys these, one after another, to cure us of our folly. When any earthly object steals our heart from himself, he breaks our idol before us, and makes its vanity manifest. We then feel that this is indeed "a dry and a thirsty land —a land of death and of darkness. But he who caused the wreck of our earthly joys, did it that he might lead us to take our stand on the sure foundation of his word. He who broke our cisterns and withered our gourds, designed thus to lead us to fountains of living water, and to the refreshing shade of the paradise of God. Not that he stands in need of our services, but because that without us, and his desire that we may be happy, will not allow him to suffer us to be deceived and destroyed. He cannot think of leaving us to make the world our portion; but even at the expense of the most painful afflictions, will call us from that which is not, to substantial and permanent blessedness. Often do we seek rest in that which cannot yield it—often do we leave the only refuge from the storm, and betake ourselves to the sands; and so may expect to be visited with tempests and inundations. We need checks and disappointments to our pursuits and our hopes, that we may learn by experience that we have no true happiness but in God-no home but heaven. Even in these storms his love is made manifest. A voice is heard saying, "It is I; be not afraid." Thus the heart is at once humbled and tranquillized. Sharp afflictions refine the soul. Should our inordinate desires be gratified, our earthly hopes and imaginations fed, and our sinister ends secured, we should die of this indulgence. But He who loves us will not suffer this. He frames his dispensations according to our real wants, and not according to our foolish wishes. Were his love cold, or were it but foolish fondness, he would act otherwise; but in that case we should be ruined. Afflictions are designed to prevent, as well as to recover from sin. Should we in the day of trouble be unable to discover any particular transgression in which we have indulged, we ought not question the goodness of God; for he sees the future in the present. We may not have formed and worshipped any particular idol, but he saw that we were about to do it; he saw a train of circumstances commencing, which, owing to our habits, tempers, and dispositions, would be a snare to us; and he determined prevent the evil. Prevention, surely, is better than cure; and merciful indeed must it be to render the pursuit of sin bitter and difficult. Hezekiah was suffered to fall into pride; but Paul was prevented from doing so by "a thorn in the flesh," 2 Kings xx. 12-19; 2 Chron. xxxii. 25, 26, 31; 2 Cor. xii. 7-9. Which of these two cases, then, is the the most desirable, and which of them affords the highest demonstrations of love? The second, surely. If we are about to go astray, is it not well that God hedges up our way with thorns, and builds a wall, that he may make our wanderings from him perplexing, embarrassing, and painful? Hos. ii. 6, 7. In his providence he removes us from this or the other situation, where we might have been corrupted; he breaks ensnaring friendships, keeps from forming improper connexions, removes or embitters worldly comforts, and sends disappointments and trials, to keep us humble, holy, and watchful. He withdraws us from our purpose, because it would destroy us, Job xxxiii. 17. In reviewing the course of a gracious providence, we may see many salutary instances of this nature; and the retrospect ought to excite a spirit of confidence and of gratitude towards Him, who preserves us from what would at once have dishonoured his name and deeply injured ourselves. Afflictions are designed to be trials likewise they are so with a special view to the discovery of our disorders, in order to their cure; and the exercise of our holy principles, in order to their growth. Tribulation often calls forth the latent corruptions of the heart: the mind feels the workings of impatience; the heart frets, murmurs, and repines against the painful providence of Heaven; earthly attachments are found to be strong, and the spirit of rebellion seems to gain vigour. We startle, as if our trials had caused those evils; whereas they have only brought to light what had always been within, but in a state of concealment. Our faith and confidence are thus brought to the test, and we find, to our shame, how apt we are to distrust the God of our mercies. We are led, like Ezekiel, from one evil to another; and hear the voice which said to him, I will show thee yet more and greater abominations than these.-Dr. Russell. ALAN QUINTIN'S INQUIRIES. You have read, no doubt, many books; some have pleased, and some have profited you, while others may have done both; but have you ever read, with the attention they deserve, the five books of Moses? Have you ever pondered them in your heart? They contain all that we know of the creation of the world, of the origin of mankind, and of the holy law of God, as revealed in early times. Have they interested you, informed you, and impressed you? Have they called up in your heart a holy reverence for Jehovah? Have they convinced you of sin, and showed you that without blood there is no remission? Do you feel that, like God's people of old, you are wandering in a wilderness? and like them, are you journeying to a promised land? Whate'er betide, still keep thine eyes What think you of the books of Joshua, Judges, Ruth, and Samuel? Have you pondered them in your heart? Have they brought before you the manners and customs of olden times? Have the retribution of Adoni-bezek, the hardihood of Jael the wife of Heber, and the song of Deborah challenged your regard? Have the stratagem of Gideon, the rash vow of Jephtha, and the parable of Nathan by turns absorbed your attention? Have you admired the courage of Joshua in holy things? Have you marvelled at the strength of Samson, in his life and at his death? Have you been moved by the tender love and devoted attachment of Ruth for Naomi? and have you hewn in pieces your darling sin, as Samuel hewed Agag to pieces in Gilgal? When evil lurks thy path within, The books of Kings and Chronicles are a series of events setting forth the history of the monarchs of Israel and Judah. Have you read them carefully and thoughtfully? Have you pondered them in your heart? What striving after for a crown and sceptre does the history power! What grasping and grappling of kings set forth! What plots and conWhat battles of warriors "with confused federacies! What gathering of armies! noise and garments rolled in blood!" What driving out and taking possession! What slaughter, what spoil, and leading into captivity! From the building of the temple to the taking of Jerusalem, from the beginning of the reign of Solomon to of good and evil succeed each other; the Babylonian bondage, a mingled train peace and war, wisdom and folly, uprightness and wickedness, religion and idolatry. Kings, with all their glory, are not without care. Care climbs the palace walls, and flings The books of Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, and Job are important portions of Holy Scripture; have they appeared such to you? Have you spread their pages before you after closing your chamber-door? Have you really pondered them in your heart? Have you seen, as it were, Ezra before you as the scribe of the Lord? and Nehemiah as the servant of God, during the building of the wall of Jerusalem, when every workman with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon? Have you been ready to weep at the afflictions of Esther and Job, and rejoiced at their returning prosperity? And have you broke out in the fulness of your heart into the words of the shepherd king, "Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all?" Psa. xxxiv. 19: Though flood and flame enclose him round, The righteous shall in peace be found." Have the Psalms of David been as meat and drink to you? Have you found them suitable to all seasons and all necessities? Have you pondered them deeply in your heart? Have you seen in them the finger of God, the handwriting of the Eternal? Have you felt them, clung to them, and delighted in them? Have they been the means of making you love the Lord with all your heart and with all your mind, with all your soul and with all your strength? Have they brought you low when you have lifted up your heel against the Holy One, and thought more highly of yourself than you ought to think? And have they raised you when you have fallen, making your broken bones to rejoice? Have they supported you in adversity, and sobered you in prosperity, teaching you patiently to endure and gratefully to enjoy ? Have they filled your mouth with praise, and your heart with hallelujahs? Oh strike with joy the golden strings, I need not ask you if you have read the Proverbs of Solomon, for who can help reading them? but I will ask you if you have read them in the spirit in which a man digs for hidden treasures? Have you felt, when roaming over them at will, as though you had in your possession what rubies would not buy? Have you been all alive to their lessons of instruction to princes and people, masters and servants, parents and children? Have you, in very deed, pondered them in your heart, committed them freely to your memory, and repeated them to those around you? And have you, after reading them, with delight exclaimed, "Truly, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; but fools despise wisdom and instruction?" Prov. i. 7. True knowledge seeks the sacred word, The books of the Prophets have a claim on our regard that none of us can deny. They come with the voice of the Eternal, setting forth the things that were, that are, and that yet shall be. Have you listened to them with wonder, with reverence, and with sacred fear? Have you, with self-abasement, pondered them in your heart? Have you paused on the prophetic words of Ezekiel, and Daniel, and Joel, and Amos, and Jonah, and Habakkuk ? Have you shrunk within yourselves at the withering denunciations of Jeremiah, and hailed, with exultation, the glorious prediction of Isaiah: "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, the everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace?" Isa. ix. 6. O love Divine! O wondrous plan! And now I come to the Gospels and Epistles; and what shall I say of them? What can I say of them sufficiently to set forth my estimate of their worth? Have you sought their instructions, their reproofs, and their consolations? Have you deeply and devoutly pondered them in your heart? Have the clearness and brevity of Matthew and Mark, the learned eloquence of Luke, and the kind expressions and tender love of John sunk into your soul? Have you lingered on their language, imbibed their spirit, and believed unreservedly their testimony? Have the Gospels and Epistles been a means of doing you good, making you sick of sin, and humbling your heart? Have they, in a word, led you to the Saviour? so that you have cried out with the publican," God be merciful to me a sinner!" Luke xviii. 13; with Peter, 66 John xxi. 15; with Thomas, "My Lord and my God!" John xx. 28; with Simeon, "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation!" Luke ii. 29. 'Lord, thou knowest that I love thee!" O God! though countless cares increase, |