“the woful dubious Abjuration
   Which gave the clergy ground for speculation.”

But a Jacobite song struck the same note—­

“Let not the Abjuration
Impose upon the nation!”

and George was deaf to the muse of Mr Erskine.

In 1732, 1733, Mr Erskine, in sermons concerning patronage, offended the Assembly; would not apologise, appeared (to a lay reader) to claim direct inspiration, and with three other brethren constituted himself and them into a Presbytery.  Among their causes of separation (or rather of deciding that the Kirk had separated from them) was the salary of Emeritus Professor Simson.  The new Presbytery declared that the Covenants were still and were eternally binding on Scotland; in fact, these preachers were “platonically” for going back to the old ecclesiastical claims, with the old war of Church and State.  They naturally denounced the Act of 1736, which abolished the burning of witches.  After a period of long-suffering patience and conciliatory efforts, in 1740 the Assembly deposed the Seceders.

In 1747 a party among the Seceders excommunicated Mr Erskine and his brother; one of those who handed Mr Erskine over to Satan (if the old formula were retained) was his son-in-law.

The feuds of Burghers and Antiburghers (persons who were ready to take or refused to take the Burgess oath), New Lights and Old Lights, lasted very long and had evil consequences.  As the populace love the headiest doctrines, they preferred preachers in proportion as they leaned towards the Marrow, while lay patrons preferred candidates of the opposite views.  The Assembly must either keep the law and back the patrons, or break the law and cease to be a State Church.  The corruption of patronage was often notorious on one side; on the other the desirability of burning witches and the belief in the eternity of the Covenants were articles of faith; and such articles were not to the taste of the “Moderates,” educated clergymen of the new school.  Thus arose the war of “High Flyers” and “Moderates” within the Kirk,—­a war conducing to the great Disruption of 1843, in which gallant little Auchterarder was again in the foremost line.

CHAPTER XXXIII.  THE LAST JACOBITE RISING.

While the Kirk was vainly striving to assuage the tempers of Mr Erskine and his friends, the Jacobites were preparing to fish in troubled waters.  In 1739 Walpole was forced to declare war against Spain, and Walpole had previously sounded James as to his own chances of being trusted by that exiled prince.  James thought that Walpole was merely angling for information.  Meanwhile Jacobite affairs were managed by two rivals, Macgregor (calling himself Drummond) of Balhaldy and Murray of Broughton.  The sanguine Balhaldy induced France to suppose that the Jacobites in England and Scotland were much more united, powerful, and ready for action than they really