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When he had placed the basket at the knees of Michael , he retired to a corner of the room , and stood in the shadow , with his face turned towards the wall , saying , `` I 'm concer n't that it 's no in my power to leave you to yoursels till Mungo Robeson come back , for he has lockit me in , but I 'll no hearken to what ye may say ; '' and there was a modesty of manner in the way that he said this , which made me think it not possible he could be of so base a vocation as the public executioner , and I whispered my opinion of him to Sarah Lochrig . It was , however , the case ; and verily in the life and conduct of that simple and pious man there was a manifestation of the truth , that to him whom the Lord favours it signifieth not whatsoever his earthly condition may be . After I had partaken with my wife and son of some refreshment which they had brought with them , and tasted of the wine that Provost Reid 's lady had sent , we heard the bolts of the door drawn , and the clanking of keys , at which Willie Sutherland came forward from the corner where he had stood during the whole time , and lifting the lamp from the floor , and wetting his fore-finger with spittle as he did so , he trimmed the wick , and said , `` The time 's come when a ' persons not prisoners must depart forth the tolbooth for the night ; but , Master Gilhaize , be none discomforted thereat , your wife and your little one will come back in the morning , and your lot is a lot of pleasure ; for is it not written in the book of Ecclesiastes , fourth and eighth , ` There is one alone , and there is not a second ; yea , he hath neither child nor brother ? ' and such an one am I. '' The inner door was thrown open , and Mungo Robeson , looking in , said , `` I wae to molest you , but ye 'll hae to come out , Mrs Gilhaize . '' So that night we were separated ; and when Sarah Lochrig was gone , I could not but offer thanksgiving that my lines had fallen in so pleasant a place , compared with the fate of my poor brother , suffering among strangers in the doleful prison of Glasgow , under the ravenous eyes of the prelate of that city , then scarcely less hungry for the bodies of the faithful and the true , than even the apostate James Sharp himself . The deep sleep into which I had fallen when Sarah Lochrig and my son were admitted to see me , and during the season of which they had sat in silence beside me till revived nature again unsealed my eyes , was so refreshing , that after they were gone away I was enabled to consider my condition with a composed mind , and free from the heats of passion and anxiety wherewith I had previously been so greatly tossed . And calling to mind all that had taken place , and the ruthless revenge with which the cruel prelates were actuated , I saw , as it were written in a book , that for my part and conduct I was doomed to die .