in an arbitrary manner per decretum Dominorum Concilii et Sessionis; or if need was, have me actually put to death*—that is, by trial and convic tion before the Justiciary - a mode of process to which in itself I have an especial abhorrence, and to the usual and common result of which I cannot give a thought without trembling, ever since I witnessed the miserable fate of the atrocious criminal Burke, to behold the last scene of whose life I was conveyed to the High Street in my tilbury, the reins whereof, for the time, were entrusted to the guidance of the worthy David, in his livery of subdued green and pink.

* Vide Introductory Epistle to "The Monastery."

And now, dear Public, having all these matters, and especially the fear of punishment, or, at all events, the equally-to-be-avoided danger of getting into the hands of the gentlemen of the long robe, before my eyes, you will not wonder, that in again appearing before you, I have proceeded with wondrous prudence and precaution. I saw myself involved in troubles and perplexities, out of which my own wisdom could by no means extricate me; and as the most apparent method of solving my dubiety, accordingly, I had recourse to the advice of counsel learned in the law; nay more, of one whom I firmly believe to be possessed of sterling honesty of character- an attribute scarce in real life, and rare indeed, I

say it with diffidence, in legal exist-
ence. By this eminent counsel I have
been assured, that the copartnery
having been dissolved by death, and
that I, Cuthbert Clutterbuck, being
and remaining the sole surviving part-
ner of the concern, possess the full
and undoubted right and privilege -
(there are many more words used in
the written opinion, in order to make
the matter clear and comprehensive,
but you, gentle Public, will understand
what is meant by those I have writ-
ten) — of using and subscribing the
social firm, for all purposes connected
with the winding up of the affairs of
the late concern. Here, then, dear
Public, you will doubtless think that
my perplexities and doubts might
have disappeared. By no means;—as

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generally happens in such cases, as I am informed, I was just left as much in the dark as ever. The difficulty lay in the allusion to the late concern; for I cannot just precisely aver that the adventure in which I now embark hath aught to do with "the winding of the affairs of the late concern." On the contrary, if the truth must be told, it is a new undertaking, arising out of those antiquarian researches, to which, methinks, I get the more attached as my years advance, and conducted by the aid and with the assistance of the Schoolmaster alone. Still, however, I am only in the situation of a surviving partner, who, desirous of continuing to carry on the same species of trade, assumes a new associate, but for obvious reasons

wishes to continue the old firm. But then, the stipulation in my former contract, like a grim ghost, stares me in the face, and again leaves me involved in perplexity, which has by no means been removed by the doubts expressed by my excellent and worthy friend the Dean of Faculty, in a short conversation I had with him upon the subject. But as his was what the members of the Parliament-house

humorously denominate a “ hunting opinion," by the whilk they mean an opinion perpetrated without a fee, and for which, consequently, they do not consider themselves to be in any way responsible, there is the less weight (I speak with great deference of one for whom I entertain the highest esteem) to be given to it in the pre