"Your friend, the Sergeant, as you are probably aware," remarked the minister, signing the paper and returning it to the Corporal, "has greatly surprised and annoyed me. He seems quite a changed man--changed, I fear, for the worse. Oh! yes, Mr. Dick," he continued in reply to a protesting wave of the Corporal’s hand, "he is indeed. He has become proud and obstinate--very." "Meek as a lamb, sir, in time of peace, but brave as a lion in time of war, I can assure you, Mr. Porteous," replied the Corporal. "I know better!" said the minister. "Not better than me, sir," replied Dick; "for tho’ ye have kent him as well as me, perhaps, in peace, yet ye didna ken him at all in war, and a truer, better, nobler sodger than Adam Mercer never raised his arms to fight or to pray, for he did baith--that I’ll say before the worl’, and defy contradiction!" "Remember, Corporal, you and I belong to different Churches, and we judge men differently. We must have discipline. All Churches are not equally pure." "There’s nane o’ them pure, wi’ your leave, neither yours nor mine!" exclaimed the Corporal. "I’m no’ pure mysel’, and accordingly when I joined my kirk it was pure nae langer; and, wi’ a’ respec’ to you, sir, I’m no’ sure if your ain kirk wasna fashed wi’ the same diffeeculty when _ye_ joined it." "Discipline, I say, must be maintained--_must_ be," said Mr. Porteous; "and Adam has come under it most deservedly. _First_ pure, _then_ peaceable, you know." "If ever a man kept discipline in a regiment, he did! My certes!" said Dick, "I wad like to see him that wad raggle the regiment when Adam was in’t!" "I am talking of _Church_ discipline, sir!" said the minister, rather irate. "_Church_ discipline, you observe; which--as I hold yours to be not a properly constituted Church, but a mere self-constituted sect--you cannot have." "We’re a kin’ o’ volunteers, I suppose?" interrupted Dick with a laugh; "the Haldanite volunteers, as ye wad ca’ us; but maybe after a’ we’ll fecht agin the enemy, an’ its three corps o’ the deevil, the worl’, and the flesh, as weel as yours." "You are not the regular army, anyhow," said the minister, "and I do not recognise your Church." "The mair’s the pity," replied the Corporal, "for I consider it a great blin’ness and misfortin’ when ae regiment dislikes anither. An army, minister, is no’ ae regiment, but mony. There’s cavalry and artillery, light troops and heavy troops, field guns and siege guns in an army, and ilka pairt does its ain wark sae lang as it obeys the commander-in-chief, and fechts for the kingdom. What’s the use, then, o’ fechtin’ agin each ither? In my opinion it’s real daft like!" The minister looked impatiently at his watch, but Dick went on to say--