THE HAPPY AND HONOURED CLOSE. 457 



waters." Now, in old age, he had a table prepared for him, 

 in the presence of his enemies, penury and despair, for of 

 human enemies he had none; his head was anointed with 

 the oil of gladness, and his cup was running over with the 

 freewill offerings of admiration and the tendance of affec- 

 tion. " Surely," the old man's heart would deeply respond 

 " surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days 

 of my life ; " while the faith that had consistently and firmly 

 sustained him throughout his long and trying life, would, 

 even in dissolution, enable him triumphantly to believe 

 that he should " dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." 

 When he had finished the lyric, Mr. Brander asked if he 

 should pray with him. John replied in weakness, " Ay, jist 

 a few words ; " and words fit though few were offered for the 

 departing pilgrim. 



After his decease, a friend of the dead met a man in the 

 neighbourhood who affected piety of the sterner, exclusive 

 -sort, and who would in a moment ask any one the question 

 4t Are you saved ? " In speaking of John's recent death, 

 this friend inquired if he did not think John Duncan was 

 a^God-fearing man, according to the general opinion. He 

 replied, with the rigid cruelty of that class of religionists, 

 that he was sure he was not. When asked why he thought 

 so, he referred to this episode of the shortened reading 

 and petition, which had been retailed with exaggeration in 

 the neighbourhood, and he mentioned, with an ominous 

 shake of the head, that John had, on his death-bed, asked 

 the minister's prayer to be short! This saint forgot his 

 Master's repeated injunctions and example, to avoid long 

 prayers, which, according to Him, were a sign, not of 

 sanctity, but of heathenishness a truth echoed by all 



