They turned to go--"Stay, Roland; I hae yer mither's hymn-book; I found it i' the auld kirk, an' I kenned that nae body wad luve it half sae weel." Roland took the precious relic, and bade farewell. "God bless ye, my bairns; an' bring ye hame to the blessed kingdom;" were the parting words of old Jennie. * * * * * * * Alone they stood around the grave of Lilian Gordon; and Madeline, amid the deep solitude of the solemn scenery with nought but the murmurs of the rustling winds, and the gurgling of mountain brooks to disturb the silence, could sympathize with the emotions so often described by Roland, on that sacred spot. "Here were kindled the first feelings of ancestral pride, Roland;" said the young wife. "Yes, Madeline, I can say with the poet Cowper, "'My boast is not that I deduce my birth From loins enthroned, and rulers of the earth; But higher far my proud pretensions rise-- The son of parents passed into the skies.'" "Here, too, was kindled your dislike of the Church of England." "That is true--and can you wonder? I was but a child, then, with all the strong feelings of a Scotch education--I knew nothing of the noble specimens of piety, learning, and the true catholic spirit which distinguish the Church of England in modern days; I doubt if you could find a persecuting Laud now." "It makes me so happy, my husband, to hear you express such sentiments; for I should be very sorry to find a gulf between us, on such a subject." "But, really, Madeline, in spite of all these old grievances, I do prefer, in many things, the church of your love--it suits my spirit; the solemn order of its ritual, the fervent tone of its devotion, baptized by the Spirit of God, breathed throughout these sacred offices, seem to me so much more worthy of the solemnity of public worship offered to the Deity, than the rude irreverent speech which shocks a devotional, humble spirit; the trouble is just here--people are tempted to rest in forms, and where there is not a spirit of heartfelt piety, these may degenerate into mere lip-service." "Yes, Roland, that is true--but do not all persons who lead public exercises have their own forms almost stereotyped? and our choice must, sometimes, not always be, between crude, irreverent, tedious prayers, and the wisdom, piety, and experience, of some of the purest spirits of the Reformation. I could close my eyes, sometimes, and say who was praying, if I did not know the voice, I am sure. What a blessing it is that we can both stand on such a broad platform, as to embrace all who love our Lord Jesus Christ, in sincerity and truth--my heart turns instinctively to all such with a warm throb, and wherever I see the lovely features of the Master, I am conscious of a love above all this earthly scaffolding."