246 EDITOR. 



Hugh Miller, were particularly noticed. One can fancy 

 how the fire would glitter in his moist eye, and the 

 enthusiasm glow on his face, as he listened to words like 

 these in the address of Chalmers : ' We read in the 

 Scriptures, and I believe it will be found true in the 

 history and experience of God's people, that there is a 

 certain light, and joyfulness, and elevation of spirit, 

 consequent upon a moral achievement such as this. 

 There is a certain felt triumph, like that of victory over 

 conflict, attending upon a practical vindication, which 

 conscience has made of her own supremacy, when she 

 has been plied by many and strong temptations to de- 

 grade or to dethrone her. Apart from Christianity 

 altogether, there has been realized a joyfulness of heart, 

 a proud swelling of conscious integrity, when a conquest 

 has been effected by the higher over the inferior powers 

 of our nature : and so, among Christians too, there is a 

 legitimate glorying, as when the disciples of old gloried 

 in the midst of their tribulations, when the spirit of 

 glory and of God rested on them, when they were made 

 partakers of the Divine nature and escaped the corrup- 

 tion that is in the world ; or as when the apostle Paul 

 rejoiced in the testimony of his conscience. But let us 

 not forget, in the midst of this rejoicing, the deep humility 

 that pervaded their songs of exultation ; the trembling 

 which these holy men mixed with their mirth : trembling 

 arising from a sense of their own weakness : and then 

 courage, inspired by the thought of that aid and strength 

 which were to be obtained out of His fulness who 

 formed all their boasting and all their defence.' 



It is worthy of mention that the name ' Free Church 

 of Scotland ' appears to owe its origin to Hugh Miller. 

 He had made use of it in articles in the Witness months 

 before the Disruption. Calmly foreseeing that event, he 



