Free Confessions of a Justified Sinner by James Hogg

to inflame both judges and populace against the young Cavaliers, especially against the young Laird of Dalcastle, whom he represented as an incendiary, set on by an unnatural parent to slander his mother, and make away with a hapless and only brother; and, in truth, that declaimer against all human merit had that sort of powerful, homely, and bitter eloquence which seldom missed affecting his hearers: the consequence at that time was that he made the unfortunate affair between the two brothers appear in extremely bad colours, and the populace retired to their homes impressed with no very favourable opinion of either the Laird of Dalcastle or his son George, neither of whom were there present to speak for themselves.
    As for Wringhim himself, he went home to his lodgings, filled with gall and with spite against the young laird, whom he was made to believe the aggressor, and that intentionally. But most of all he was filled with indignation against the father, whom he held in abhorrence at all times, and blamed solely for this unmannerly attack made on his favourite ward, namesake, and adopted son; and for the public imputation of a crime to his own reverence in calling the lad
his
son, and thus charging him with a sin against which he was well known to have levelled all the arrows of church censure with unsparing might.
    But, filled as his heart was with some portion of these bad feelings, to which all flesh is subject, he kept, nevertheless, the fear of the Lord always before his eyes so far as never to omit any of the external duties of religion, and farther than that man hath no power to pry. He lodged with the family of a Mr. Miller, whose lady was originally from Glasgow, and had been a hearer and, of course, a great admirer of Mr. Wringhim. In that family he made public worship every evening; and that night, in his petitions at a throne of grace, he prayed for so many vials of wrath to be poured on the head of some particular sinner that the hearers trembled, and stopped their ears. But that he might notproceed with so violent a measure, amounting to excommunication, without due scripture warrant, he began the exercise of the evening by singing the following verses, which it is a pity should ever have been admitted into a Christian psalmody, being so adverse to all its mild and benevolent principles:
    Set thou the wicked over him,
       
And upon his right hand
    Give thou his greatest enemy
,
       
Even Satan, leave to stand.
    And, when by thee he shall be judged,
       Let him remembered be;
    And let his prayer be turned to sin
       When he shall call on thee.
    Few be his days; and in his room
       His charge another take;
    His children let be fatherless;
       His wife a widow make:
    Let God his father’s wickedness
       Still to remembrance call;
    And never let his mother’s sin
       Be blotted out at all.
    As he in cursing pleasure took
       So let it to him fall;
    As he delighted not to bless,
       So bless him not at all.
    As cursing he like clothes put on,
       Into his bowels so,
    Like water, and into his bones
       Like oil, down let it go.
    Young Wringhim only knew the full purport of this spiritual song; and went to his bed better satisfied than ever that his father and brother were castaways, reprobates, aliens from the Church and the true faith, and cursed in time and eternity.
    The next day George and his companions met as usual — all who were not seriously wounded of them. But, as they strolledabout the city, the rancorous eye and the finger of scorn was pointed against them. None of them was at first aware of the reason; but it threw a damp over their spirits and enjoyments, which they could not master. They went to take a forenoon game at their old play of tennis, not on a match, but by way of improving themselves; but they had not well taken their places till young Wringhim appeared in his old station, at his brother’s right hand, with looks more demure and determined than