at midnight; he scarcely blamed him; he could only blame himself, as his
beloved boy reeled in and cursed his father, not knowing what he did.

The shrinking income of the small estate could ill afford to support two
idle and expensive families, but when young Cardoness broke it to his
mother that he wished to marry, she and her husband were only too glad to
hear it. To meet the outlay connected with the marriage, and to provide
an income for the new family, there was nothing for it but to raise the
rents of the farms and cottages that stood on the estate. Anxious as
Rutherford was to see young Cardoness settled in life, he could not stand
by in silence and see honest and hard-working people saddled with the
debts and expenses of the Castle; and he took repeated opportunities of
telling the Castle people his mind; till old Cardoness in a passion
chased him out of the house, and rode next Sabbath-day over to Kirkdale
and worshipped in the parish church of William Dalgleish. The insolent
young laird continued, at least during the time of his courtship, to go
to church with his mother, but Rutherford could not shut his eyes to the
fact that he studied all the time how he could best and most openly
insult his minister. He used to come to church late on the Sabbath
morning; and he never remained till the service was over, but would rise
and stride out in his spurs in the noisiest way and at the most unseemly
times. Rutherford's nest at Anwoth was not without its thorns. And that
such a crop of thorns should spring up to him and to his people from Lady
Cardoness's house, was one of Rutherford's sorest trials. The marriage-
day, from which so much was expected, came and passed away; but what it
did for young Cardoness may be judged from such expressions in
Rutherford's Aberdeen letters as these: 'Be not rough with your wife. God
hath given you a wife, love her; drink out of your own fountain, and sit
at your own fireside. Make conscience of cherishing your wife.' His
marriage did not sanctify young Cardoness; it did not even civilise him;