"Oh, I have heard Father toast `the King over the water,' and rail at the Elector; and I have heard Fanny chant that `Britons never shall be slaves' till I never wanted to hear the tune again; and I have heard Ambrose Catterall sing Whig songs to put Father in a pet, and heard lots of people talk about lots of things which are to be done when the King has his own again. That is about all I know. Of course I know how the Revolution came about, and all that: and I have heard of the war thirty years ago, and the dreadful executions after it--" "Executions! Massacres!" cried Angus, hotly. "Well, massacres if you like," said I. "I am sure they were shocking enough to be called any ugly name." Angus seemed altogether changed. He could not keep to one subject, nor stand still for one minute. I was not much surprised so long as it was only he; but I was astonished when I saw the change which came over my Uncle Drummond. I never supposed he could get so excited about anything which had to do with earth. And yet his first thought was to connect it with Heaven. [Note 1.] I shall never forget the ring of his prayer that night. An exile within sight of home, a prisoner to whom the gates had just been opened, might have spoken in the words and tones that he did. "Lord, Thou hast been gracious unto Thy land!" "Let them give thanks whom the Lord hath redeemed, and delivered from the hand of the enemy!" That was the key-note of every sentence. I found, before long, that I had caught the complaint myself. I went about singing, "The King shall ha'e his ain again," and got as hot and eager for fresh news as anybody. "Oh dear, I hope the Prince will conquer the Elector before I go to London," I said to Flora: "for I do not know whatever Grandmamma will say if I go to her in this mood. She always says there is nothing so vulgar as to get enthusiastic over anything. You ought to be calm, composed, collected, and everything else which is cold and begins with C." Flora laughed, but was grave again directly. "I expect, Cary, your journey to London is a long way off," said she. "How are you to travel, if all the country be up, and troops going to and fro everywhere?" "I am sure I don't care if it be," said I. "I would rather stay here, a great deal."