THE SABBATH DAY. 157 



it was only with great difficulty, and in excit- 

 ing by my eloquence the pity of some women 

 who were present, and who thought I was an 

 ill-used stranger, that I recovered my pro- 

 perty. Another time I was walking on Ar- 

 thur's Seat, with some of the most distin- 

 guished professors of Edinburgh attached to 

 the geological opinions of the late Dr. Hut- 

 ton ; a discussion took place upon the pheno- 

 mena presented by the rocks under our feet, 

 and, to exemplify a principle, Professor Play- 

 fair broke some stones, in which I assisted the 

 venerable and amiable philosopher. We had 

 hardly examined the fragments, when a man 

 from a crowd, who had been assisting at a field 

 preaching, came up to us, and warned us off, 

 saying, " Ye think ye are only stane breakers ; 

 but I ken ye are Sabbath breakers, and ye 

 deserve to be staned with your ain stanes ! " 

 HAL. Zeal of every kind is .sometimes 

 troublesome, yet I generally suspect the per- 

 sons, who are very tolerant, of scepticism. 

 Those who firmly believe, that a particular 

 plan of conduct is essential to the eternal wel- 

 fare of man, may be pardoned if they show 



