Your servant, master bishop,

Your salutation’s good:

Your knowledge is in your library,

While other’s is in their hood.

Now, after a sumptuous dinner, the bishop took George into his library, showing him a great quantity of books; which George praised very much, and among the rest, was an old Hebrew Bible, which George taking up, asked the bishop what book it was? the bishop looking at it very sincerely, said he could not tell. Why then do you keep a book, you don’t know the name of? It may be the book of black art. No, I don’t think that, said the bishop, but can you tell what it is? Yes, says George, it is the Bible, the best book for a bishop I know, if he had eyes to see the inside of it. So he desired George to read a piece of it: but when he did, he could not understand it; therefore, he desired him to explain it: which sentence he did as follows, Isaiah ix. 19, “For the leaders of this people cause them to err: and they that are led of them, are destroyed.” To which George added, This is the blind leading the blind. So, taking his leave of the bishop, he parted with him, saying these words:

Good night, hail master bishop,

Of books you have great store;

Yet cannot read the half of them;

Then what use are they for?

Many of the clergymen in England desired greatly to be in company of George, because of his comical and witty expressions; so George happened one night to be called into a company, where there were two bishops, as also a priest who wanted to be licensed by them. One of the bishops asked George, why the people in Scotland did not love bishops? Because, says George, they are like old beggars, advanced to be rulers over barrow-men, still instructing them in things they know not themselves, ordering them to carry stones to the builders, which they will not receive, and which they themselves had never power to move; the Scots having knowledge of this, hate to see bishops have great lordships for their ignorance, and the poor labourer have little or nothing for their toil. One of the bishops looking at George, with an angry countenance, answered, saying, You Scot must be made a bishop yourself, and we bishops made priests, and that will serve well for your turn. No, no, said George, that will not do; for if I be made a bishop, I’ll have no broken bishops to serve as priests under me, for they are such bad masters they’ll become the worst of all servants. At this the two bishops left the room in a great passion, leaving George and the young priest only by themselves. Now, now, says George, this proves the bishops to be but hirelings, and not true shepherds, pointing to the young priest, you see they are fled for their own safety and they have left you a lamb, before the mouth of me a fox, and who knows but I may worry you! Run, run, too, master sheep, says George, and if you have eyes guide them two blind shepherds down stairs, and over ditches, but I am afraid you’ll tumble all in a ditch together. This raised such an indignation in the bishops’ breasts, that they desired no more of George’s company or conversation.