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1822-24.
WHEN admitted by the
Presbytery minister of Resolis in 1822, I found the ecclesiastical
state of that parish in utter confusion. There was no kirk-session,
no ordained elder, and scarcely even an assessor, no roll of
communicants, no list of poor. So many ordained eiders therefore
were required as would constitute a session. Those selected to be
ordained by the Presbytery to this office were James Thomson, miller
at Kinbaikie, and Robert Murray, tenant at Cullicudden. At a meeting
of presbytery held at the manse in July, 1822, these were examined
as to their religious knowledge, prudence, piety, and Christian
conduct, a committee being appointed to publicly ordain them to the
sacred office. Tuesday of the ensuing week was the day appointed for
the ordination. Mr. John Kennedy of Killearnan, accompanied by
Messrs Smith of Cromarty, and Wood of Rosemarkie, preached in Gaelic
and performed the duty most appropriately.
The session thus
constituted added five to their number, namely, Donald Maclean,
tenant of Kirktown; David Murray, tenant at Cullicudden; James
Forbes, tenant at Tobarchourn, catechist of the parish ; Thomas
'Munro, tenant, St. Martins; and Barrington Ferguson, tenant at
Brae. The character and standing of all the elders were according to
godliness, each and all being men possessed of weight, and to whose
judgment the people readily submitted. Robert Murray, though not a
little opiniative, was notwithstanding a man of unfeigned piety, and
possessed a sound and solid judgment, and was, without exception,
the most judicious member of the session. his influence among the
people was great, not only as an elder, but from his skill in
certain bodily ailments, many of which he treated very successfully.
Robert Murray is dead some years ago, and his death was the first
breach in our session. I recall him to remembrance with feelings of
affection.
James Thomson was not
only an intelligent and deeply-exercised Christian, but a man of
considerable native talent, and the ablest speaker at our fellowship
meetings. He was touch looked up to by his fellow-Christians not
only in the parish, but also in the Black Isle and over Ross-shire.
Previous to his conversion by grace, which did not take place until
he was considerably advanced in years, he manifested his corrupt
nature in bold and overt acts of sin. He bad been possessed of more
than ordinary bodily strength. It was in the act of uttering a
tremendous oath to one of his horses that the "arrows of the
Almighty" pierced his conscience, and, after a fiery struggle
between hope and despair, he became another and a "new man." His
after life exhibited the most decided evidences of a saving change.
But being naturally a man of keen passions and of a proud and fiery
spirit, these offshoots of his nature but too often broke loose to
dim the lustre of his graces.
David Murray, the
elder brother of Robert, was remarkable for the simplicity of his
faith. In early life his conscience was awakened by the hearing of
the Word, so much so as to prostrate him entirely in soul-despair.
He then cast himself on the mercy of God in Christ, and appealed
from the tribunal of a "just God" to that of the same God as "a
Saviour." In answer to prayer, he received the assurance that his
appeal was affirmed, and that "the handwriting of ordinances which
but an hour ago was against him" had, through the atoning blood of
the Redeemer, been " blotted out" for ever. To this assurance his
faith so closely clung, that, during the whole course of a long
life, he never, for a single hour, allowed himself to call it in
question. He was, uniformly and habitually, a trustful and
Christ-loving Christian. At our fellowship meetings he heard,
patiently and devoutly what others might say, and, when he rose to
speak, he quoted, without note or comment, a number of Scripture
passages exquisitely appropriate to the point in discussion. He
could associate with the most thoughtless, and enter into
conversation with them on those subjects which they could
understand. But they were very soon made to feel that, even in
worldly affairs, he acted as in the sight of an ever-present
God,-and in view of eternity. He entered his rest many years ago.
James Forbes,
previous to his ordination to the eldership, had been appointed
catechist. He was a man of deep and fervent piety, somewhat fretful
in his natural disposition, but of great Christian meekness, and of
unwearied watchfulness. It is not indeed too much to say that,
though many of his contemporaries were his superiors in gifts, few,
if any of them, equalled him in the spotless purity of his life. As
a catechist he was conscientious and laborious, but his method was
not happy. Like many catechists of his own time, instead of
instructing the people in the questions of "the Shorter Catechism,"
his way was to lecture on these questions and answers at the
particular meeting, or "diet of catechising," which he held. His
expositions were obscure, and the obscurity was increased by the
rapidity of his utterance, and the low nasal tones of his voice. He
died after a short illness, and was, in his office, succeeded by
James Thomson.
Donald MacLean had
made money in London as a slater, and took a farm, first, in the
parish of Roskeen, and afterwards in the parish of Resolis. His
habits were penurious, and, while his piety was a reality, yet it
was not a little derived from his close intimacy with many of the
most eminent of the Ross-shire Christians who lived in his immediate
vicinity. After his lease of Kirktown had expired, he took the farm
of Alkaig in Ferintosh. He died of dropsy at Alkaigin 1846.
Barrington Ferguson
was his superior in spirituality. But his understanding was very
clouded, and in prayer or in speaking to the question lie was long
and tedious. lie had been, at one time, a substantial farmer at
Brae, but afterwards became reduced in his circumstances. His death
took place in 1850. Thomas Munro, St. Martins, was a man of very
venerable aspect, and highly consistent in his conduct.
Such were the members of the first duly constituted session ever
existing, perhaps, since the times of the venerable Hector MacPhail,
in the united parishes of Kirkmichael and Cullicudden. The first
case which came before us was the state of the Cullicudden
churchyard. As the old ash trees, with which it was surrounded,
were, by the directions of the late incumbent, Mr Robert Arthur, cut
down and sold for behoof of the poor, I, with the concurrence of the
session, employed James Elphiston, gardener, Braelangwell, to
re-plant it with young trees, consisting of ash and elm, the
expenses of which, amounting to £2, were defrayed by the session.
Previous to the
administration of the sacrament in 1823, for the first time since my
settlement in May of the preceding year, the session took steps to
make up the communicants' roll. This was a matter which I had been
enabled, in some measure, to ascertain for myself, as one result,
among others, of my course of visitation. But other measures became
necessary. I had marked in my visitation list all who affirmed they
were communicants. But I had no conversation with themselves on the
subject. It was further required therefore that these individuals
should be examined, not only on their knowledge of the gospel, but
on their experience of divine truth in their hearts, and with
reference also to the regularity of their admission to the Lord's
table. The state of the parish previous to my admission rendered
such preparatory steps necessary. My predecessor, indeed, annually
administered the sacrament, but very few of the parishioners
attended; and as Mr. Arthur had no session or communicants' roll, it
was not known who did, or who did not, communicate. I was informed
by the late catechist that, during a sacramental occasion at Resolis,
towards the close of :4fr. Arthur's life, the Gaelic service on each
day was in the church, and the English in his barn, a ricketty old
fabric thatched with straw. We accordingly gave public intimation to
the communicants to attend on certain days to be privately examined.
Some of them were found to be grossly ignorant, not only of the
nature and design of the sacred ordinance, but of the whole system
of gospel truth; others were less so, but knew nothing of the nature
and necessity of divine teaching. The majority, however, seemed to
me satisfactory as regards knowledge and attainments. I laid the
result before the session, and it was resolved that all be
faithfully warned of their danger in unworthily communicating; but
as nothing tangible could be laid to the charge of the greater
number of them, the session left the matter between God and their
own consciences, and therefore when they did apply at the ensuing
solemnity, tokens of admission were simply placed before them. The
roll of communicants for 1823 amounted to only 47; it received no
further additions until the year 1826, when eight more were
associated.
On looking over a
scroll of our session minutes, extending from 4th August, 1822, to
6th December, 1824, the annual, and also the half. yearly, business
which came before us was the distribution of the poor's money. At
that period, assessments for the poor were entirely unknown in the
rural districts of Scotland, particularly in the northern part of
the kingdom. The funds divided among the more necessitous
consisted—first, of collections raised every Sabbath at the church
doors, or, according to a practice in the Highlands, by wooden
"ladles" handed over the church by the elders; next, of suns
obtained during the year for the use of the mort-cloth, or pall, at
funerals; then of small donations given by soma of the resident
heritors, and donations handed to every kirk-session in the county
by the successful candidate at a Parliamentary election; and,
lastly, by fines imposed upon special delinquents on account of
immorality. All these sums put together did not in any year exceed
W. After deducting from this several disbursements for certain
necessary articles, such as coffins for the poor, communion tables
for the out-door congregation, etc., the balance to be divided on
every poor person on the roll, which amounted to 56, never exceeded
or even amounted to ED. These were divided into four classes
according to their circumstances, and the money was divided
accordingly.
The cases of church
discipline which came before the session were the usual social
offences. Other cases, however, were taken up, such as "defamation
of character," which, by the old laws of Scotland, were to be judged
by the Commissary Court of the county. The session at first took
cognizance of these cases with the view of preventing litigation,
and in the hope that parties applying to them for decision would
more readily acquiesce than in a legal court. I cannot help
thinking, however, that the session, in taking up such cases
indiscriminately, exceeded their powers; and that, with the best
intentions, they did not sufficiently consider whether their
decisions might not be productive of much greater strife than if
malignant talk were allowed to die out without notice. But the case
of communicants, whose characters were defamed, was another thing;
because, if the charges brought up against them were true, they
ought to be deprived of their privileges; but if false, their
character should be publicly vindicated. In course of time therefore
the session came to the resolution to take up, as in duty bound, the
case of communicants whose characters were defamed, but to refuse
the applications of those not in full communion.
But there was another
case, or rather class of cases, submitted to our decision as a
church judicatory, which was really not of our own choosing, nor
besides a strictly ecclesiastical one. It was simply this: two or
more individuals disputed about some civil matter, and carried their
dispute before the subordinate law courts. If the matter did not end
there, or if the losing party considered himself aggrieved and found
himself constrained to appeal to the Court of Session, but was
unable notwithstanding to defray the expenses on account of his
poverty, he was authorised by an Act of Sederunt to get himself put
upon the roll of pauper litigants. But one thing necessary for this
purpose was, that he should get a certificate from the kirk-session
of the parish in which he resided, distinctly testifying three
things—first, that he was poor and unable to defray law expenses;
next, that his moral character was irreproachable; and, lastly, that
he was not known to be a litigious person. Two cases of this kind
came before us, the one in the case of two private individuals, the
other a dispute between landlord and tenant. Our decisions were
unfavourable to the applicants.
The session felt it
to be their duty to furnish the people with the means of education,
both secular and religious. At the place of Drumcudden, in the
west-end of the parish of Resolis, a school had existed many years
previous to my settlement. The teacher was Donald Murray, an old
man, and the school, like himself, was for years verging into
decrepitude. The people, dissatisfied with his mode of teaching,
withdrew their children one after another from his school, until the
attendance was at last a nullity. The people of the district asked
.Murray to resign. This he refused to do without some show of
reason; for, whilst the people insisted that he should give up the
school-buildings, they made no proposals as to where the poor man
should go to shelter himself. After discussion, it was ultimately
resolved that the school-buildings should be left in Murray's
possession, and that new buildings should be erected for the
accommodation of a new teacher and the scholars. This arrangement
was unanimously agreed to at a meeting held for the purpose; a new
site was given and measured out, 200 feet in length and 70 in
breadth, sufficient in point of extent, not only for the site of the
buildings, but also for a small garden for the schoolmaster. The
session undertook to forward the buildings without delay, as well as
to collect funds to defray the expenses, all of which was done in
the course of three years afterwards. The expenses amounted in all
to £48 13s. 1½d., wholly cleared off.
The next and more
important part of the undertaking was to get a teacher. The
Inverness Education Society, in the year 1826, was just at its first
outset. Application had been made to the Directors of that Society
in favour of a young man named Andrew Mackenzie, residing at
Evantown. He afterwards became an eminent Christian, and one of our
elders, but he was neither a scholar nor a qualified teacher. Having
examined him, the Directors were under the necessity of rejecting
him, but his friends made strong and earnest intercession in his
behalf on the score of his character, and so effectually that,
recalling their former decision, they appointed him teacher of the
school. His piety and his diligence increased at once the respect of
the people and the number of his pupils.
During part of autumn
and the whole of the winter of 1825, Miss Robertson resided with me
at Resolis. Her mother spent that time at the manse of Latheron with
her other daughter, Maria Serena, who, in February, 1823, had been
married to Mr. Davidson, minister of Latheron. Mr. Davidson, who is
still living, is a man of strict principle and consistency of
character as a minister, but one of the most unpopular perhaps in
the Church. This may have arisen from a want of originality of mind,
and a certain amount of secularity of spirit, but chiefly from his
ignorance of the Gaelic language, which most of his parishioners
only understood. [Mr. George Davidson, A.M., was ordained to the
mission at Herriedale in 1819, and inducted to the parish of
Latheron 15th June, 1820. He was twice married, his second wife
having been bliss Angelica C. Murray, of Pitculzean, near Tain. He
became Free Church minister of Latheron in 1843 and died in
1873.—Ed.] On returning from the Assembly on one occasion, he came
by Ferintosh to pay a visit to Mr. MacDonald who, by his first
marriage, was the husband of Mr. Dvidson's maternal aunt. He had not
been long at the manse of Feriutosh when Mr. MacDonald rode down
with him to Resolis to renew old acquaintanceship with me, and to
introduce him to my family circle. Maria and he had no sooner met
than a mutual attachment was formed, and their marriage day was
appointed, Mr. MacDonald of Ferintosh to perform the ceremony.
Frances, even before we left Aberdeen, had come under a matrimonial
engagement with Mr. Alexander MacDonald, a native of the parish of
11alkirk, in Caithness. He was then a student of divinity in
Aberdeen, and for some years before, tutor in the family of Mr.
MacDonald of Ferintosh. He had under his charge Mr. MacDonald's two
sons, John and Simon. During his attendance at the Hall he became
acquainted with Mrs. Robertson, who then resided at Tanfield. When
we removed from Aberdeen to Resolis, Mr. A. MacDonald was a frequent
visitor to the manse, and the private engagement between him and
Miss Robertson was understood by us all. Mrs. Robertson came
afterwards to stay with us, having made a long visit to her daughter
at Latheron, and they both continued to reside with me until shortly
before my second marriage in 18d. In the meantime, Mr. A. MacDonald,
after being licensed by the Presbytery of Dingwall, was appointed,
in 1824, missionary at Strathconon, but his marriage was delayed.
[Mr. Alex. MacDonald was translated from Strathconon to Plockton
28th Sept., 1827. His marriage with Frances Juliana Robertson
occurred shortly thereafter. She died 17th May, 1831, aged 33 years.
In 1344 Mr. MacDonald was translated to the Free Church at Glen
Urquhart. He married a second time; died 15th August, 1801, in the
72nd year of his age and 40th of his ministry. He was a powerful,
faithful preacher, equally at home in Gaelic and English. It was his
custom, immediately after divine service, to greet many of his
people with cordial hand-shakings as they retired from Church.-Ed).]
During the sittings
in May, 1824, I was a member of Assembly for the first time. The
Assembly hall at the time, and perhaps for nearly two centuries
before then, was an ill-lighted, irregular, and awkward-looking
apartment under the roof of St. Giles' Cathedral. The throne was
placed at the east side of it, consisting of a carved, oaken,
old-fashioned chair of state, surmounted with a canopy on which sat
the Lord High Commissioner in his robes. On each side of him were
also seated persons of distinction, such as the Scottish State
officials. Behind him stood his pages in rich liveries, one or two
of them the youngest sons of some of the oldest families in
Scotland. Right below the throne was the moderator's chair, and
before it a table, railed in and seated all around, at which sat the
two CIerks of Assembly, the Procurator, and all the notables and
leading men of the Church, both lay and clerical, each of whom had a
liferent, from the respective Presbyteries or burghs by which they
were chosen, of their annual membership. The seats of the members
were placed lower down, occupying the floor of the hall on every
side. The bar stood at its western extremity, right opposite to the
throne and to the moderator's chair. Galleries for the spectators
and the public were placed close to the walls of the apartment, more
or less elevated to suit their convenience. The whole taken
together, however, was not only unsuitable for the purpose for which
it was intended, but became utterly useless in course of time. The
Assembly, therefore, came to hold its meetings in some one or other
of the city churches, the better to accommodate its members, until
the Cathedral of St. Giles should undergo a thorough repair. But
after that had been done, the new hall was found, from its great
height, to be more unfit for the purpose than ever, and the Assembly
was again compelled to hold its meetings in one of the city churches
as formerly. The opening of the high ecclesiastical judicatory, too,
was very imposing. The Lord High Commissioner, as the representative
of Royalty, held his court at Holyrood Palace. On the first day of
the Assembly, a sermon was preached by the retiring moderator, and
the Commissioner, in a close carriage, escorted by a troop of horse
and a train of high civil dignitaries, proceeded in state from the
palace, along the Canongate and High Street, to the High Church, and
then to the hall where, after the Assembly had been by the moderator
constituted by prayer, lie addressed its members under the
designation of "Right Reverend and Right Honourable." The moderator
replied in suitable terms to the Commissioner, and then addressed
the Assembly, after which the business of "the House," as it was
usually called, proceeded according to its customary forms. I
mention these things, not for the purpose of giving any information
about them, for they are familiar to every Scotchman who, even by
mere accident, has happened to be in the Scottish metropolis on
these occasions. But I notice them as proceedings of which, for the
first time in my life, I was myself an eye-witness, and which,
consequently, left vivid impressions on my mind.
The proceedings of
the Assembly of 1824 are distinctly present to my recollection.
There stood before me Dr. Inglis, a tall, hard-featured personage,
considerably in the decline of life, with a voice in every respect
the reverse of melodious. It not a little resembled in its tones the
harsh and creaking sounds of a huge prison door when turning on its
rusty, oilless hinges. With this harsh voice Dr. Inglis,
notwithstanding, never failed to give expression to the conceptions
of a vigorous mind. He was not eloquent, and his speeches,
therefore, were devoid of elegance, but they were closely and
shrewdly argumentative. On the side of his party, and indeed in
support of any line of argument which he thought fit to adopt, lie
took up his position doggedly, and so confronted his opponents.
Dr. Cook of
Laurencekirk almost equalled Dr. Inglis in ability, and greatly
exceeded him in the powers of eloquence. But his eloquence was sadly
marred by his delivery and the tone of his voice. He usually spoke
with a sardonic sneer on his countenance, and with a sort of whine
or howl peculiar to the natives of the south of Scotland.
Dr. Nicol was
Principal of the United Colleges of St. Salvator and St. Leonard's,
in the city of St. Andrews. His mental powers were most ordinary. A
plodding, well-fed, active farmer, whose intellect could never reach
a hair's-breadth beyond the management of the farm, could at any
time stand a, comparison with Dr. Francis Nicol. He was at the head
of a literary institution, it is true, but, for his elevation to the
Principalship, as well as to the high place of a leader in the
Church, his wealth, political influence, and landed property had
everything to say. He was not, however, without qualifications. He
had a readiness and fluency of speech, but he would not venture to
say half a word more than he conceived was in accordance with the
views of his party, or if, by accident, he said anything contrary to
them, no sooner did he discover his blunder than lie hastened to
back out of it as best he could.
Principal George
Husband Baird, in managing the Assembly's Education Scheme, was
distinguished for his activity, prudence, and attention. He was the
fittest man in Scotland for conducting this work with efficiency and
success. Whilst the Principal of St. Andrews, therefore, spent his
summers at county meetings and farming Associations, his brother
dignitary of Edinburgh travelled the whole of the north of Scotland
and the Orkneys in the cause of education daring that season of the
year. In the Church courts, Dr. Baird was more of the willing
follower than of the ambitious leader.
Dr. Andrew Thomson,
the famous champion of the Church's liberties and constitution—in
himself a host—was in the House, but, not being a member, took no
part in the discussion. He sat in one of the side galleries, taking
notes of their proceedings, which, together with his own comments on
such of them as were most notorious, he duly gave to the public in a
monthly periodical, called the "Christian Instructor," of which he
was the editor. He was the instinctive dread of the whole Moderate
party. Even when the boldest of them put forth their creedless and
Erastian dogmas, the corners of their eyes might be seen gliding
unconsciously to the seat which he occupied, as if to read in his
countenance their future castigation, their courage all the while
quailing before the keenness of his hawk's eye.
While this Assembly
was sitting, a printed document was handed to me privately, entitled
a "Conference of Ministers, Elders, and other .Members of the Church
of Scotland," the subject matter of which was summed up in the words
of Malachi iii., 16, "They that feared the Lord spake often one to
another, and the Lord hearkened." It was issued by the Evangelical
section of the Church, with whom I then and ever afterwards acted;
and I trust 1 ever will act with them in so far as they shall he
guided by Divine truth. Its object was to promote the interests of
Christ's kingdom by prayer and mutual counsel, with a view to
co-operation in the General Assembly. How far this proposal was
approved of, and acted upon, I am not able to say. Some of the means
to be employed, and the end to be kept in view, were good, but
others of those means savoured more of men than of God, while
perhaps through the whole of the document there was manifested too
much of the spirit of party in things so holy, and too little of the
expansive spirit of the gospel. This, indeed, was the fundamental
error of the Evangelical party in the Church, in all their
contendings against the aggressive power of Moderatism, from the
days of Dr. Robertson, its first founder, down to the Disruption in
1843. Had the professed ministers of Christ turned their attention
more than they did to the essentials and responsibilities of their
high and holy office individually, and not spent so much of their
precious time and strength in General Assembly debates and
wranglings with the opposite party, matters might have been ordered
otherwise, and the Evangelical party could have been placed on a
different footing altogether from what it is at present. Moderatism,
in all its generations and under all its phases, was evidently on
the side of the " Prince of this world " and " the spirit that now
worketh in the children of disobedience." None ever doubted this who
knew its adherents; they themselves virtually admitted it. But on
the other hand, the weapons which the Evangelical ministers wielded
against them, instead of being " spiritual and not carnal," were, it
is to be feared, more carnal than spiritual; and no battle, we
believe, was ever yet won against Satan by "fighting him with his
own weapons."
Among those with whom
I became personally acquainted in Edinburgh was my future, though
now, alas! my late, co-presbyter, Mr. Alexander Stewart. lie was the
eldest, and, by his first marriage, the only son of the late Dr.
Stewart, minister of Moulin, in Perthshire, translated from thence
to Dingwall, and, shortly before his death, to the Canongate Church
in Edinburgh. His son Alexander, after passing a few years of his
life in a counting-house in London, turned his views to the
Christian ministry, and, soon after being licensed, was elected by
the congregation of Rothesay Chapel as their pastor. The parish of
Cromarty becoming vacant by the death of Mr. Smith, the great body
of the parishioners set their affections on Mr. Stewart, whom they
had never seen, for the sake of the father, "whose praise was in all
the churches." The people then petitioned the Government in favour
of Air. Stewart. Sir Robert Peel attended to the request by
presenting Mr. Stewart to the parish. The intelligence reached this
county before I left for Edinburgh. It was when matters were in this
state that I met with him, for the first time, in the Assembly, and
congratulated both him and myself on the prospect of his becoming a
member of our Presbytery. Soon after my return home, I received a
letter from him, dated at Rothesay, 30th of June, which I
transcribe:
"MY DEAR
SIR,—Although our personal acquaintance be but slight as yet, I am
happy to think it may soon be much increased by our being near
neighbours, co-presbyters, and, I trust, fellow-labourers in the
service of the same Divine Master. The event to which this is owing
has been ordered, I do hope, by Him who does all things well, and
whose prerogative it is to appoint for us the bounds of our
habitation, and choose for us the lot of our inheritance. Very
limited as nay experience no doubt is, I am by no means so sanguine
as to imagine that trials and difficulties are now over. That they
are but beginning is far more probable. But whether the way be
rough, or thorny, or `about,' if it be the way which God approves
of, it is the right way, and the only sure one.
"Col. Ross has
written to me saying that he expected to have the presentation to
Cromarty in Cromarty last week, and asking me to forward to him a
letter of acceptance, and a certificate of having qualified to
Government. I have done so accordingly, so that it is probable the
whole documents may be laid upon the Presbytery table next meeting.
I understand from the Colonel likewise that it will be expected that
I preach in Cromarty previous to the moderation of the call. Is this
the custom ? I rather think that it is not required by law of
ordained men ; and, as it was on various accounts inconvenient, 1
once thought of asking the Presbytery not to require it of me. I am
quite aware, however, that there may be an impropriety in throwing
any obstacle in the way of the settlement that can possibly be
avoided. It may be as well then to comply at once if they ask me.
Our sacrament here is to be on Au"ust 1st. Until that is over I
cannot go, but after that day I hope I may be able to go at any
time. Do you not think this the best way of arranging the business;
maybe, that the Tresbytery let me know through yourself, say, what
their motions are, and then leave me,. as I am at such a distance,
to take any Jay on which I may be able to go? I wished to let you
know the circumstances in which I stand, so as to prevent any
awkward arrangement being made. I shall take it kind that you write
inc at your convenience, and any information respecting the
Presbytery or the parish which you may think may be of use to me I
shall be happy to receive. We shall also be glad to know of any
person whom you would recommend for Hothesay Chapel. I feel
interested in this also, and it would be a matter of great
satisfaction to one to see them in the way of being well provided. I
can scarcely expect to hear from you until after the meeting of your
Presbytery.
"I remain, with
esteem, yours sincerely,
"ALEX. STEWART."
At our meeting the
presentation and other documents were laid upon the table, and
sustained. Having communicated Mr. Stewart's proposal, the
Presbytery appointed him to preach at Cromarty on any day that best
suited his convenience. Mr. Wood and I were appointed a committee of
Presbytery to moderate in a call. A few weeks later we met in the
church of Cromarty, and the call being read, a considerable number
of the parishioners signed, while those who did not were either such
as were away at the time, or, if at home, considered it unnecessary,
having already given their cordial consent to the measure, all the
more so after they had heard him preach. His settlement took place a
few months afterwards. I presided on the occasion, and, associated
with the Presbytery, were many of the leading members of the Synod,
such as the late Dr. Angus Mackintosh of Pain, Mr. Forbes of Tarbat,
Mr. MacDonald of Urquhart, and others.
Although the people
of Cromarty, in the selection of a minister, did certainly at the
outset, make it in the dark, yet their choice after all was a truly
noble one. As a preacher, it is not too much to say, that Mr.
Stewart rivalled at least, if he did not excel, the most eminently
gifted ministers either in or out of the Establishment. His sermons
were truly expressions of the character of his mind, and were
powerfully intellectual. His comprehension of a subject never stopt
halfway, but reached over the whole of it; and any subject which he,
at the outset, felt difficult fully and clearly to understand he
declined to enter upon. The language therefore which he employed was
strictly appropriate. From the beginning to the close of his public
addresses it single superfluous word could not be detected. His
views of divine truth in general, but more especially of the deeper
mysteries of redemption, were not only sound and scriptural, but
vivid, striking, and impressive. He had also, in common with all
great orators in argument, the happy but rare art of concentrating
the whole force of his previous illustration of the subject into one
short, comprehensive sentence at the close. In the fundamental
doctrines of the gospel, or on any of its practical precepts, I
never heard a preacher so exquisitely simple and impressive. His
temper was hard and rugged, and his bearing supercilious and
haughty. In personal appearance he was short, his legs almost
unnaturally long, so that, when he stood upright, he appeared a
tall, stately looking man, considerably above the ordinary size; but
no sooner did he sit down than the sudden diminution of his stature
was most striking. The most marked, no less than the most
inexplicable, feature in Mr. Stewart's personal appearance was his
countenance. It has often been affirmed that the countenance is the
index of the mind. With Mr. Stewart [Mr. Alex. Stewart of Cromarty
died 5th Nov., 1347. in the 54th year of his age and 24th of his
ministry. (See Memoir, by Dr. Beith of Stirling, in "Tree of
Promise.") His father, Dr. Stewart, had only been a year in
Edinburgh when he died 17th May, 1421, aged 58 years. He is the
accomplished author of a Gaelic Grammar —a work of great merit and
original research. He also revised the Gaelic translation of the
Bible published by the S.P.C.K.—Ed.] the case was exactly the
reverse. While his mind was vigorous, active, and penetrating, his
eyes were small and lustreless, and his whole countenance betokened
obtuseness and lack of power.
When at the Assembly
I had a note from Mr. William Macao, a native of China, asking me
concerning Miss Urquhart who resided at Resolis. Mr. Macao left his
native country as the body servant of the family of Braelangwell in
the parish of Resolis, and had, under Christian training, been
reclaimed from heathenism to a saving knowledge of the truth as it
is in Jesus. He held a situation in the Excise Office in Edinburgh,
and in his note he expressed his desire to see me either at my
lodgings or at No. 1 Dundas Street. I called, and had a short but
very interesting conversation with him. In his becoming acquainted
with divine truth, he had been indebted to Miss Betty Urquhart, as
to one among others who had been instrumental in leading his mind to
right views on that all-important subject. He was married and had a
grown up son.
Miss Betty Urquhart
was the daughter of Mr. Urquhart of Braelangwell, and the sister of
the late Dr. Urquhart, his son and successor. Dr. Urquhart studied
for the medical profession, and went abroad, whether to China or
India I cannot say. On his return to his native country lie resided
on his paternal estate, and soon afterwards, on the decease of Mr
Lockhart who was married to the heiress of Newhall, by whom he had a
family of sons and daughters, Dr. Urquhart became the second husband
of Mrs. Lockhart, and had also a family by her. In the meantime,
Miss Betty, as she was called, lived at Inverness. But long after
her brother's death, and after the estates of Newhall and
Braelangwell had both been sold, she had an evident wish to end her
days in tier native parish. Her cottage was situated in a
beautifully romantic spot on the banks of the burn of Resolis, and
there she spent, in piety and peace, the few remaining years of her
earthly pilgrimage. She had, however, some time before my settlement
in 1822, been entirely confined to bed by age and infirmity. I
frequently visited her, as (lid also both my sisters-in-law, and we
certainly enjoyed the simplicity, humility, and heavenly-mindedness
with which she recounted, in a retrospect of the past, "all that the
Lord had done for her soul." It would also be about this time that
her niece, Miss Harriet Urquhart, paid her a visit. She lived
usually with her relative, Mrs. (Col.) Lewis Mackenzie of Scatwell,
in England, or at Rouen in France. When Miss Urquhart visited her
aunt at Burnside we had the pleasure of seeing her at the manse. She
was an amiable young woman, and seriously disposed. To Miss Betty's
comforts her niece was uniformly attentive. I have had several
communications from her, containing remittances of money to be given
to her aunt according as she stood in need.
Let me here record my
reminiscences of Mr. David Carment, minister of Rosskeen. Previous
to his settlement at Rosskeen he had been for many years minister of
the Gaelic chapel, Duke Street, Glasgow. To that charge he was
appointed at an early period of life, and he continued there till he
was settled in Rosskeen, 14th March, 1822. He was a sound,
scriptural preacher and a ready speaker. But he unhappily disturbed
the gravity of his hearers by indulging no ordinary powers of humour
and drollery in his public orations. His sermons and speeches teemed
with anecdotes and quaint and ludicrous expressions, and whether he
mounted the pulpit or stood on the platform, this was exactly what
his audience expected. A broad grin settled down on the face of
every one of them, plainly intimating that they had made up their
minds, so long as Garment was speaking, to have some fun. The first
outbreak between him and the more serious part of his congregation
was about a chapel at Invergordon. During the lifetime of Mr. Ross,
to whom he was assistant and successor, Mr. Carment agreed to take
his turn with other ministers, preaching there on week evenings. Mr.
MacDonald of F'erintosh was then at the very zenith of his
usefulness, and he was chiefly employed to preach there by the
unanimous desire of the people. On the death of Mr. John Ross,
matters assumed a new aspect. Mr. Carment, as minister of Rosskeen,
took the reigns into his own hands. Respecting the Invergordon
chapel arose the tug of war, Mr. Carment insisting that this place
of worship should be placed entirely at his disposal, and that no
member either of the Presbytery or Synod should preach there, but
such as he should invite. From that time, Mr. MacDonald, the
favourite preacher of the day, notwithstanding many and repeated
invitations from Mr. Carment, ceased to preach either at the chapel
or on communion occasions at the parish church. To make up for the
loss of Mr. MacDonald's monthly ministrations there, I asked him,
and he agreed, to preach once a month at Resolis, an agreement to
which be faithfully adhered until the Disruption, and from that
period to within a few years of his death. [Mr. David Carmeut was
born at Keiss, Caithness, where his parents resided; they originally
came from the south of Scotland. "He was the grandson of John
Garment, born in 1G'2, and baptised under cloud of night, in
covenanting times, among the hills of Irongray in Kirkcudbright, by
the well-known John Welsh." He died 26th May, 18:36, in his 84th
year and 47th of his ministry.—ED.] |
