HUGH MILLER 107 



ment House in pursuit of official posts and spoil, of 

 which Miller justly thought they had enough. Besides, 

 the fall of a Government would mean the fall of that 

 Government paper, and thus its influence as the organ 

 of Free Churchmen would be damaged. Already the 

 paper had parted with one of its best men who had 

 been attracted to The Times, and in the whole scheme 

 Miller saw ' a censorship ; and the censor, assisted by 

 the nice taste and tact of the Parliament House editor, 

 is to be Dr. Candlish.' But, he asks, ' who was to 

 control Dr. Candlish ? J He could not see the paper 

 jockeyed for a Government, and he stood aloof from 

 ' Exhalations blown aslant, over the faces of even the 

 Evangelical Churches, from the bogs and fens of a 

 hollow Liberalism that professes to respect all religions, 

 and believes none.' He felt that he had the people 

 behind him, and ' possessing their confidence, I do not 

 now feel justified in retiring from my post : Dr. Cand- 

 lish and his Parliament House friends are not the 

 ministers and people of the Free Church of Scotland 

 " of wiles, more inexpert, I boast not," the differ- 

 ence must either close entirely, or the people of Scot- 

 land must be made fully acquainted with the grounds 

 on which it rests.' The unfortunate rupture closed by 

 the very pointed question by Chalmers, ' Which of you 

 could direct Hugh Miller ? ' 



Meanwhile, in the Highlands and Islands, things 

 were for a time going hard with the now disestablished 

 Church. In some cases they had to preach * where the 



