"The Lawgiver can always repeal His own laws. We in the crowd, Cary, can only judge when they be repealed by hearing Him decree something contrary to them. And there are no precedents in that Court. `Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did He.' We can only wait and see. Until we do see it, we must follow our last orders." "My Father says," added Flora, "that this question was made harder than it need have been, by the throwing out of the Exclusion Bill. The House of Commons passed it, but the Bishops and Lord Halifax threw it out; if that had been passed, making it impossible for a Papist to be King, then King James would never have come to the throne at all, and all the troubles and persecutions of his reign would not have happened. That, my Father says, was where they went wrong." "Well," said I, "it does look like it. But how queer that the Bishops should be the people to go wrong!" Annas laughed. "You will find that nothing new, Cary, if you search," said she. "`They that lead thee cause thee to err' is as old a calamity as the Prophets. And where priests or would-be priests are the leaders, they very generally do go wrong." "I wish," said I, "there were a few more `Thou shalt nots' in the Bible." "Have you finished obeying all there are?" I considered that question with one sleeve off. "Well, no, I suppose not," I said at length, pulling off the other. Annas smiled gravely, and said no more. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Glorious news! The Prince is at Derby. I am sure there is no more need to fear for Angus. His Royal Highness will be here in a very few days now: and then let the Whigs look to themselves! Grandmamma has bought some more white cockades. She says Hatty has improved wonderfully; her cheeks are not so shockingly red, and she speaks better, and has more decent manners. She thinks the Crosslands have done her a great deal of good. I thought Hatty looking not at all well the last time she was here; and so grave for her--almost sad. And I am afraid the Crosslands, or somebody, have done her a great deal of bad. But somehow, Hatty is one of those people whom you cannot question unless she likes. Something inside me will not put the questions. I don't know what it is. I wish I knew everything! If I could only understand myself, I should get on better. And how am I going to understand other people? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Note 1. A clergyman always wore his cassock at this time. Whitefield was very severe on those worldly clergy who laid it aside, and went "disguised"--namely, in the ordinary coat--to entertainments of various kinds. CHAPTER TEN. SPIDERS' WEBS. "Why does he find so many tangled threads, So many dislocated purposes, So many failures in the race of life?" REV HORATIUS BONAR, D.D.