STUDIES AND FRIENDS AT AUCHLEVEN. 253 



" he micht gae to the oreeg'nal," he continued his study of 

 Greek and made considerable progress. Dr. Mackay says 

 that he was rather proud of his knowledge of that language, 

 and " could spell out the words and get some idea of the 

 meaning in Greek, in passages he wished to investigate." 



He continued as anti-papal and anti-prelatic in religious 

 sympathies as ever, and took out the ultra-protestant 

 journal, called the " Bulwark." Its highly coloured narra- 

 tives of popish errors and abuses he enjoyed and read to 

 others. He talked earnestly on these subjects to all the 

 young people he knew, in order to instil into them the 

 traditional antagonism to those elements of error and 

 religious slavery which he had so strongly imbibed with 

 his mother's milk and teaching ; which had been so deeply 

 impressed on his own youthful heart by the braes of 

 Dunnottar ; and which, in the light of her history, he viewed 

 as essential to Scotland's spiritual well-being. 



Though highly respected by all, and perhaps more 

 esteemed in Auchleven than anywhere else, he was very 

 imperfectly understood by the people in general. As Dr. 

 Mackay observes, "they were incapable of estimating his 

 true character at the time he lived among them, at least 

 for he was quite in advance of them in knowledge and 

 aspirations. They thought him clever, no doubt," he 

 continues, " but they could not understand or enter into 

 the man's thorough earnestness and enthusiasm in the 

 pursuit of knowledge." 



In spite .of their compelled appreciation of the man, 

 their ideas of him were in a kind of bewilderment, which 

 was increased by his great eccentricity. He was the only 

 specimen of the kind they had ever seen. Many looked 



