200 THE JOURNEYMAN. 



obeyed them. I have observed his actions, and through 

 these actions have striven to discover his motives, and 

 what have I found? In good truth, the philosopher 

 who sees clearly that he who believes and he who does 

 not believe, only differ in that the one practises the grave 

 and the other the gay vices of humanity, may well laugh 

 at the pretensions of these divines, and tell them that 

 they either speak of they know not what, or wilfully 

 deceive because it is their interest to do so. 



' I remember one Sunday, after my companions had 

 gone to Church, and I remained behind as was my 

 custom, that to pass away the time I took a solitary walk 

 in the woods of Conon-side. The day was pleasant, but 

 from a kind of nervous melancholy, which hangs pretty 

 often on my spirits, and is as I believe constitutional, I 

 could not enjoy it. I felt quite unhappy, and after 

 having had recourse to every species of wonted amuse- 

 ment, sat down on a green knoll in despair of enjoying 

 solitude for that day. A train of the darkest thoughts 

 began to rise and pass through my mind. I looked 

 upon what I had done in the past ; I thought of the 

 unhappiness of the present; I formed surmises of the 

 future. There was a voice from within which incessantly 

 whispered in my ear " you are doing wrong ! you are 

 doing wrong ! and how then can you expect pleasure ? " 

 and so miserable did I feel from these cogitations and 

 these questionings, that I started from my seat, and 

 strove to dissipate them by strong bodily exertion. In 

 a few hours after, my spirits had regained their usual 

 tone, and I could look back upon what I had felt, and 

 say, " Have I experienced what men call an awakened 

 conscience ? What then is conscience ? The breast of 

 the murderer and the dishonourable mean man may well 

 be the haunts of remorse, but surely with one who 



