They were very near the mill, and after disposing of the sacks, the
brothers led the horse on to a forge, about a furlong beyond. It was
not a place of which Stead was fond, as the smith was known to be
strong for the Covenant, and he could not help wishing that the shoe
had come off nearer to his good friend Smith Blane.
Original-Sin Hopkins, which was the name of the blacksmith, was in
great excitement, as he talked of the crowning mercy vouchsafed at
Worcester, and how the son of the late man, Charles Stewart, had been
utterly defeated, and his people scattered like sheep without a
shepherd. Three or four neighbours were standing about, listening to
the tidings he had heard from a messenger on the way to Bristol. One
was leaning on the unglazed window frame, and a couple of old men
basking, even in that September day, in the glow of the fire, while a
few women and children loitered around, thinking it rather fine to
hear Master Original-Sin declaim on the backsliding of the Scots in
upholding the son of the oppressor.
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