minds were fretted, soured, and driven to desperation, by the various
exactions and cruelties to which they had been subjected; and, although by no
means united among themselves, either concerning the purpose of this formidable
insurrection, or the means by which that purpose was to be obtained, most of
them considered it as a door opened by Providence to obtain the liberty of
conscience of which they had been long deprived, and to shake themselves free of
a tyranny, directed both against body and soul. Numbers of these men, therefore,
took up arms; and in the phrase of their time and party, prepared to cast in
their lot with the victors of Loudon Hill.
 

                               Chapter Twentieth

 Ananias. - I do not like the man! He is a heathen,
 And speaks the language of Canaan truly.
 Tribulation. - You must await his calling, and the coming
 Of the good spirit. You did ill to upbraid him.
                                                                  The Alchemist.
 
We return to Henry Morton, whom we left on the field of battle. He was eating,
by one of the watch-fires, his portion of the provisions which had been
distributed to the army, and musing deeply on the path which he was next to
pursue, when Burley suddenly came up to him, accompanied by the young minister
whose exhortation after the victory had produced such a powerful effect.
    »Henry Morton,« said Balfour, abruptly, »the council of the army of the
Covenant, confiding that the son of Silas Morton can never prove a lukewarm
Laodicean, or an indifferent Gallio, in this great day, have nominated you to be
a captain of their host, with the right of a vote in their council, and all
authority fitting for an officer who is to command Christian men.«
    »Mr. Balfour,« replied Morton, without hesitation, »I feel this mark of
confidence, and it is not surprising that a natural sense of the injuries of my
country, not to mention those I have sustained in my own person, should make me
sufficiently willing to draw my sword for liberty and freedom of conscience. But
I will own to you, that I must be better satisfied concerning the principles on
which you bottom your cause, ere I can agree to take a command amongst you.«
    »And can you doubt of our principles,« answered Burley, »since we have
stated them to be the reformation both of church and state, the rebuilding of
the decayed sanctuary, the gathering of the dispersed saints, and the
destruction of the man of sin?«
    »I will own frankly, Mr.