A Highland tour

Presented to the

LIBRARY of the

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO

by

JOSEPH BUIST

'•£''$-*

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A HIGHLAND TOUE.

THREE WEEKS WITH DR. CANDL1SH.

A HIGHLAND TOUB

BY

PRESERVATION
SERVICES

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BY ALEX. BEITH, D}D. O

STIRLING

SECOND EDITION

EDINBUEGH

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ADAM AND CHARLES BLACK
1874

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Printed by R. & &. CLARK, Edinburgh.

NOTICE.

THE accompanying Portrait is taken from a draw
ing made about the year 1843, when Dr. Cand-
lish was in the full vigour of life. The original
is in the possession of the Publishers.

CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTORY.

Free Church Assembly at Inverness (1845)— Deputations
preparatory thereto — The Deputation whose history is
to be given— Members, Dr. M'KELLAR, Dr. CANDLISH,
Dr. Beith— Sketches

FIRST WEEK.

Jslay, Mr. CAMPBELL— Ecclesiastical condition— Kintyre—
Killean — Campbeltown — Inveraray — Services . 11

SECOND WEEK.

Lochgilphead, PETER M'KiCHAN— Crinan— Sail to Oban—
Kilbrandon— Oban— lona and Staffa—Montalembert—
Spanish Armada— Fort- William— Kilmally— Dr. Robert
Lee and Dr. Candlish— Interference on part of the for
mer : difficulties thereby created ; overcome — Inver-
gany— Eight journey— Snowstorm adventure narrated
— Shielhouse, amusing incident— Arrival at Glenelg—
On board steamer there— Arrival at Lochalsh— Balma-
cara— Dr. Candlish goes on to Portree . 19

THIRD WEEK.

Mr. LILLINGSTON of Lochalsh — His relationship to Wil-
berforce— His love for the Highlands— Devotedness
to its best interests— Yachting- The ELIZABETH— Pre-

1 viii CONTENTS.

PAGK

millennial Advent views — Aurora Borealis of 1837 —
Dream — Dr. Candlish's arrival at Lochalsh from Por-
tree— Sail to Knock in Skye— Mr. Colin Elder— Strath
aird — Out-door Services — View from Summit near
Cuchullin Hills — Night adventure — Arrival at Sli-
geachan Inn — Rev. RODERICK M'LEOD — " Bracadale
Case :" History ; Result— Committee of House of Com
mons on Sites, 1847 — Tour continued — Bracadale —
Dunvegan — Snizort — Dr. Samuel Johnson — BREAD-
ALBANE Yacht — Marquess of Breadalbane — Earl of
Dalhousie — Sound of Raasay — Broadford — Corry —
Lochalsh — Dr. Candlish preaching ... 70

CONCLUDING DAYS.

Departure by sea from Lochalsh and Balmacara — Becalmed
— Take to boat — Danger of shipwreck — Skate-fishing —
Arrival at Janetown — Journey to Dingwall — Highland
Presbytery of half a century ago— Achnasheen— Ding-
wall — Black Isle — Arrival at Inverness — Gathering to
the General Assembly there — Appearance of the Town
—Opening of the Assembly— Striking effects— Dr.
PATRICK MACFARLANE — Dr. JOHN M'DONALD — Free
Church English Congregation, Inverness — Rev. Mr.
STEWART, Cromarty : Sketch— Dr. Candlish at Stirling
in 1843, preaching on the slopes of the Ochil Hills-
Conclusion . 187

INTEODUCTOEY.

THE General Assembly of the Free Church of
Scotland resolved as follows, of date 2d June
1845 :—

"That in the present emergency of the High
lands and Islands, considering how much of the
time arid attention of the Assembly have been
occupied with the affairs of that district of the
country, as regards both the oppressive measures
adopted against the ministers and members of this
Church, and the destitution of the means of grace
which prevails ; and further considering that this
part of the business of the Assembly cannot be
disposed of satisfactorily during their present
sittings at Edinburgh, — the General Assembly
ought, at its rising in this place, to adjourn, to
meet at Inverness on Thursday, the 21st of
August ensuing, for the purpose of full consulta
tion on the existing state of the Highlands and
Islands, with a view to the adoption of such
measures as may tend to alleviate the evils under

B

2 INTRODUCTORY.

which the Gaelic-speaking population groan, and
to promote their spiritual welfare through an ade
quate supply of the means of grace."

Quite as strong a reason for the Inverness
Assembly of 1845 could be stated as for the
Assembly which had been held in Glasgow in the
autumn of 1843, which Assembly afforded the
precedent for the northern meeting. Two hundred
Gaelic-speaking congregations in the Highlands
adhered to the Free Church. Nothing like separa
tion from the Established Church had ever before
been known ; and neither had anything like the
bitterly hostile opposition which such separations
have always occasioned, ever before been experi
enced. The southern regions of Scotland had been
acquainted with ecclesiastical separations for more
than a century. The north had never known any.
That which had occurred there recently had proved
a great revolution ; and the results following
thereon, as indicated by the foregoing resolution of
the General Assembly, called for the paternal
consideration and interference of the Church at
4arge. In response to this impression, the Inver
ness Assembly was appointed.

The Free Church has never done things by
halves. The reports which from time to time
had reached the central authorities were of course

INTRODUCTORY. 3

credited, and hence the appointment of the Inver
ness Assembly referred to. But it was resolved,
preparatory to this " gathering," and with a view
to the. acquiring of well-authenticated and in
dependent evidence of the state of matters through
out the Highlands and Islands, to adopt definite
measures of an official character. Deputations,
consisting of members of Assembly and a few
others, both ministers and elders, were nomi
nated, whose duty it became to visit the respective
districts of the North, that, by personal observa
tion and special inquiries, they might become
well instructed in all matters requiring the inter
ference of the Church, and that when, at the
close of their respective tours, they appeared at
the grand rendezvous, they might be furnished
with information which could not be gainsaid,
and which might enable the Assembly to adju
dicate rightly in all questions claiming their
attention.

I was asked to prepare, and to submit to a
Committee in charge of the arrangements, a
scheme of the route which each deputation respec
tively, should have assigned to it, the places which
they should visit, and the steps which they should
adopt with a view to the contemplated object.

My scheme, with some modifications, was ap-

4 INTRODUCTORY.

proved of, and three deputations were named.
The details of the arrangements connected with
the progress of one of these only, I undertook.
Even this limited duty was onerous, for it involved
extensive correspondence previous to the departure
of the deputation, and not less so during its
journeyings. It required that those residing in
the localities intended to be visited should be
advertised of our approach ; that their acceptance
of our proposed visits should be ascertained ; that
day and hour, as well as place of meetings, should
be arranged ; that means of conveyance should be
provided for, to prevent delay and disappoint
ment ; and that necessary accommodation should,
not be to seek when the deputation arrived at the
various stages assigned to it. This done, it still
remained that all concerned should, statedly, after
our journeyings began, be reminded of what had
been arranged, lest forgetfulness or misunderstand
ing should, practically, frustrate our supposed well-
laid plans.

The deputation with which I was connected
was directed to the West Highlands and Islands,
and Dr. M'Kellar and Dr. Candlish were my col
leagues. The ground which we traversed, and the
work which we accomplished, will appear in the
sequel. Perhaps I may be permitted to sketch

INTRODUCTORY. 5

shortly each of my distinguished associates, as they
always, and especially on this interesting occasion,
impressed me.

Dr. M'Kellar was, like myself, an Argyleshire
Highlander. The accent peculiar to our county he
had, and to the last retained, in perfection. To
my ear it was always grateful, whatever it may
have been to others.

Dr. M'Kellar was a man of fine personal appear
ance ; not a large man, and not a little man ; "but
elegant in form and in manners. His bearing and
style, without being in the least affected, were
highly polished. His natural temper was of the
sweetest. His literary attainments were far above
the average. His eloquence, without being in the
least florid, was correct, tasteful, manly, expressive,
and effective. He was not a forward man, but he
never failed to take, in Church courts and on
public occasions, the place to which all held him
to be entitled. If not of the "first three," he
certainly was of the "thirty." His good sense
never failed him ; and few of our public men
more effectually guided the opinions of the younger
brethren than he.

I had always the deepest respect for this good
man. He was not brilliant, he was not profound :
but he was not in the least commonplace. On

6 INTRODUCTORY.

the contrary, lie never rose to speak, but you
might expect to hear from him views full of in
struction and wisdom. It was no wonder that
such a man was called to occupy the chair of the
Moderator of the General Assembly. Twice this
honour was conferred upon him ; first, a few years
before the Disruption, when the conflict was running
high, and the second time, after the Disruption,
when we had passed through our stormy sea, and
were floating happily on still waters. Of all
the Moderators I have seen in the chair, during
more than fifty years, there has been no one I
would compare to Dr. M'Kellar as he appeared in
that capacity in his pre-Dismption tenure of
office. He was a pattern in all respects. His
post-Disruption moderatorship was good too ; but
the times had changed, and afforded little oppor
tunity, comparatively, for the exercise of the graces
which distinguished him. Moreover, he was then
an older man than on the first occasion, and the
vigour necessary for carrying a man in high
effectiveness through such duties as he had to dis
charge, was then somewhat abated. The stateliness
of past times had greatly disappeared in the Church
disestablished, and, with that, one of the elements
in which Dr. M'Kellar excelled — nay, which, I
may say, he graced. On both occasions, however,

INTRODUCTORY. 7

he was a most popular Moderator. His com
posure and tact were the same. So was his per
fect impartiality ; his patience with senselessness
and bad manners ; his courteous bearing amidst the
brusque impetuosity which marked some of our
leading men both before and after the Disruption,
but more after than before — brushing aside, as it
did, the dignified orderliness of earlier times ; and,
finally, his uniformly encouraging kindness to the
younger members, who essayed to introduce them
selves to the " fathers and brethren," in delivering
their maiden speeches in the great Assembly.

I need scarcely say that Dr. M'Kellar had
always been attached to the Evangelical party in
the Establishment. My earliest recollections of
him, as a preacher, are connected with the seasons,
during my first years as a student at the Glasgow
University, when, on communion occasions, he
used to assist Dr. Balfour in the OUTER HIGH. It
must have been in the spring of 1814 that I heard
him preach there on John xiv. 1 — " Let not your
heart be troubled," etc. — a sermon, the pleasing
effect of which I remember even now, — so long a
time after hearing it.

In the private circle — in domestic life — he was
a pleasing example of urbanity and kindliness.
Blessed with a partner (one of the daughters of

8 INTRODUCTORY.

Keir) distinguished, no less than himself, by the
graces of cultivated and refined life, it was a privi
lege which I at all times highly valued to partake of
the hospitalities of his family, which I had often
the happiness to do. I look back to those occasions
with a lively recollection of the pleasure they afforded
me, and of the benefit which they conferred on me.

Such is my description of one of the friends with
whom I had the honour of being associated in this
journey. Am I to describe the other? Is he
describable ? Ought any man to undertake to set
Dr. Candlish before the mind's eye by any attempted
sketch ? If I do attempt it, I must do so from
the standpoint of thirty years ago, and chiefly for
those who have not had the happiness of seeing
or knowing this honoured man. If in such an
attempt contrast affords special advantage — that
is, the opportunity of setting your subject side
by side with his opposite in what may be de
scribable in both — then I enjoy that advantage,
having before me, on the one hand, my venerable
friend, and on the other the distinguished leader in
the great non-intrusion and Free Church history.

For elegance in form and manner in Dr.
M'Kellar, we had a diminutive person, though
every inch of it manly, in Dr. Candlish. For
readiness to give way to others in the one, we had

INTRODUCTORY.

promptitude and a most willing offering of himself
to show and to lead the way, on occasions of diffi
culty, in the other. For the steady pace of the
well-trained cob in the first, we had the impetuous
dash of the fiery Arab in the other. If Dr.
M'Kellar's natural temper was such that 'he never
needed to bridle himself, but, obeying his natural
tendencies, always acted decorously, Dr. Candlish's
natural temper was of a character requiring the
strong will, which in him was a power, so to keep
him within limits that he never failed to appear
what Dr. M'Kellar really was. If Dr. M'Kellar
was not brilliant, Dr. Candlish was eminently
so, especially in pre-Disruption times, when
he shone as a star of the first magnitude. If
Dr. M'Kellar stood high, comparatively, as to
social position, and perhaps piqued himself a
little on it, Dr. Candlish occupied no such
place, and, if he had, would not have cared
one jot for it. Finally, if Dr. M'Kellar was the
very pink of neatness in dress as well as person,
never appearing, either in public or private, but
as if he had come fresh from his clothier's,
Dr. Candlish, with exceptional occasions due to
circumstances, which came like angels' visits, ap
peared as if, in making his toilette, he had mis
taken the dress of another for his own ; or as if he

10 INTRODUCTORY.

had shot his person into his own dress, not caring nor
considering whether the articles which composed
it were put on straight or awry ; or whether, when
adorned after his fashion, his appearance should
excite either admiration or amusement. If Dr.
M'Kellar was of the " Thirty," beyond all doubt
Dr. Candlish was of the " First Three."

My two associates had, nevertheless, much in
common. They were both noble by nature, of cul
tivated mind, of good scholarship ; most unselfish,
generous, good ; the servants of the same Master ;
the honest advocates of the same great principles
of truth. They were warm friends. Dr. M'Kellar
loved Dr. Candlish with the affection of a father
for a son. He chose him as his minister when he
himself ceased to preach, and he became one of his
kirk-session in Free St. George's. Dr. Candlish, I
know, felt towards Dr. M'Kellar as a revered father ;
never altered in his regard for him ; soothed his
deathbed by affectionate attentions ; and, when the
venerable man was carried to the " long home," and
laid in the " narrow house appointed for all living/7
poured out from the pulpit a touching eulogy,
which could have had no other origin than honest
and earnest Christian love.

It was no small privilege to be associated, as I
was at this time, with two such men.

FIRST WEEK.

I MET Dr. Candlisli in Glasgow. From that point
we started on our mission. It was on the 29th day
of July. Dr. M'Kellar did not join us until we had
reached Oban. Our first stage was Islay, whither
we proceeded by steamboat from West Tarbert.
The weather was remarkably fine, and, though our
ship was a mere tub, going no more than six miles
an hour, the voyage, in crossing the channel from
the Kintyre coast, was very delightful. Our arrival
at Port Ellen was expected, and no small commo
tion was thereby excited among the Free Church
community, as well as among the party opposed to
them, who bore them but little good will.

Mr. Walter Campbell, nephew of the Duke of
Argyll, and long M.P. for Argyleshire, was, at the
time of our visit, proprietor of all Islay, with the
exception of one or two small portions of the
island, which were possessed by others. He was
at home. On our arrival his factor came on
board, dressed in full Highland costume, and deli
vered hospitable messages from his superior. This

12 FIRST WEEK.

was kindly meant. We fully appreciated the
compliment paid to us. But as our time was
limited and our business urgent, we could do no
more than call for the chieftain at the stately
mansion-house of his noble property. Alas, that
it should have so soon passed from him ! At the
time of our visit, as we learned afterwards, he was
close to a painful discovery which, it was said,
was to him as unexpected as it was unwelcome —
a discovery of his utter insolvency ! In politics he
was a Liberal, and, with all classes, he was a very
popular man.

Mr. Campbell's horses, with one of his equipages,
were placed at our disposal. The journeyings we
had to perform in fulfilling the purposes of our
mission made this very much a favour, and we
thankfully availed ourselves of it. Our drive
along the sands on the margin of Lochindal, and
into the district of the island which we visited,
was charming. In going the tide was at low ebb ;
in returning it was in full flood, so that the beauty
of the drive, under both conditions, was enjoyed
by us. We addressed meetings at the church of
Kilmeny, as well as at Port Ellen, where I preached.
Small matters which called for interference were
easily arranged. Our authority in dealing with
them was not called in question ; our adjudication

KILLEAN. 13

was thankfully accepted, and the good which we
effected proved permanent. We passed one night
only on the island, making our abode with Mr.
Eamsay, of Kildalton, and partaking of his generous
hospitality.

The condition of the Free Church in this quarter
we found to be very satisfactory. Both Proprietor,
and factor, Mr. Cheyne, favoured it, so setting an
example, worthy to be imitated, and affording a
practical protest against all oppressive site-refusers
and persecutors in various forms, in other parts of
the Highlands.

We left Islay, as we had come there, by aid of
steam. Our voyage, in returning, was not so pro
tracted as it had been in going. As our intention
was to proceed to Campbdtown, some thirty miles
off from the opening into Loch Tarbert, we landed
from the steamer at the nearest point to the high
road. There a conveyance, which my brother
John, Provost of the burgh, had sent for us,
awaited our arrival, and by it we proceeded com
fortably on our journey. Late in the evening we
reached the capital of Kintyre, and were most
kindly welcomed. We were my brother's guests.
Our day's journey had not been all our work. At
Killcan, some eighteen miles from Campbeltown,
a Tree Church congregation had, to the surprise

14 FIRST WEEK.

of many, been formed. We were expected to call
there. Dr. Candlish, in his usual generous man
ner, readily consented to do so, that we might
encourage the people, and that we might show
such respect as we could to the promising young
minister under whose charge the flock then was.
Mr. Clark did not long survive our visit. Early
death removed him from amongst us, and deprived
the church of a very estimable servant of the
Lord Jesus. The day became very tempestuous.
The place of meeting, in which the congregation
worshipped Sabbath after Sabbath, was perched
on the top of a hill, terribly exposed — looking
down on the surging sea of the wide Atlantic, the
sound of whose roaring waves the ecclesiastical
erection did not exclude on that day. The erec
tion consisted of a canvas tent upheld by poles,
and fastened to the soil by wooden pins, to which
its cords were attached. To this primitive taber
nacle, through the sweep of the tempest of wind
and rain, we made our way. Had it collapsed,
had it fallen down on us, no one could have been
surprised. Happily we had no such adventure ;
though the undulations of the cloth and the
creaking of the wood in the erection were by no
means assuring. Dr. Candlish addressed this inte
resting congregation, which had assembled not-

CAMPBELTOWN. 15

withstanding the inclemency of the weather, in
English. I preached to them in the Gaelic
tongue. Both minister and people expressed deep
gratitude, and we felt assured that they were com
forted. As for me, I was here in the land of my
fathers — in the country, and district of country,
in which they had been "known for generations,
and had been witnesses for truth in evil times.
Once before (in 1821), soon after I became a mini
ster, I had preached in Kttlean, then in the parish
church ; now I did so on the hill-side, in testimony
of adherence to principles which had ever been
precious in Scotland — adherence to which had
not now for the first time entailed sacrifice and
suffering.

At Campbdtown everything went well with us.
The community were gratified by the visit of Dr.
Candlish, of whom they had heard so much, and
whose great efforts in the cause of truth they were
so well able to appreciate. Here, nearly a century
previous to the time of our visit, conflicts of a very
arduous character for spiritual liberty had taken
place. Abuse of the law of patronage had occa
sioned it. All redress being, in the high-handed
manner of the times, refused with scorn, the
patriots of the occasion separated themselves from
the Establishment, and, after encountering and

16 FIRST WEEK.

overcoming such resistance and persecution at the
hands of lairds and civil authority as came to be
too well known in our Free Church times, suc
ceeded in erecting for themselves a place of wor
ship, where, as Seceders, they exercised the right,
as they had manfully fought for it, of worshipping
God according to the light of conscience, and in
the enjoyment of the liberty with which Christ had
made them free. At Campbeltown, therefore, the first
separation from the State Church in Argyleshire,
and indeed in all the Western Highlands, took place.
From the first this seceding congregation was a great
power, asserting the principle of spiritual liberty in a
land where such assertion implied an amount of
moral hardihood the value of which cannot, at the
present era, be understood or appreciated. The
Campbeltown Eelief congregation was a phenome
non of its kind. It was soon joined by a consort
in the neighbourhood, whose existence had the same
origin. But the Campbeltown congregation always
held the first place in the district, and, till this day,
is counted to be among the foremost of the congre
gations of the great United Presbyterian Church
of Scotland.

All honour, which circumstances permitted, was
done to Dr. Candlish in Campbeltown. One day
was all the time which we could afford for this my

CAMPBELTOWN. 17

native town. A public dinner was proposed,
with the view of testifying regard for the dis
tinguished visitor. The services which were re
quired from us in the evening forbade the accept
ing of such a testimony. But a public breakfast
was accepted. This was held in the Town
Hall, where a large assemblage convened. A
pleasant time was enjoyed. Dr. Candlish made
more than one speech, whilst in all the addresses
delivered by others on the occasion many compli
ments were paid to him, and he received the hearty
expression of earnest good will.

The services of the evening were on a large scale.
As introductory, I was required to preach. The
public meeting followed. At it Dr. Candlish was,
of course, the chief speaker. The great topic was
the deliverance accomplished by the Church from
the thraldom of the civil courts, which had so
ruinously interfered with spiritual action in the
obedience due to the Head in Heaven, first, in
the matter of the people's right to choose their
own ministers and office-bearers ; and second, with
regard to the Church's exclusive allegiance to Him
in the service of the gospel generally. Dr. Candlish's
statement was distinguished by all his usual clear
ness, force, and elegance. The impression produced
was great, and all the more for the practical use
c

18 FIRST WEEK.

which, with a view to the edification of his hearers,
he made of the principles which he had expounded,
and of the circumstances resulting in our relief
from State connection, and, consequently, State
control.

So much work awaited us that we were not
allowed to remain together during the Sabbath at
Campbeltown. One of us must needs preach at
Inveraray, at the other extremity of the county.
Dr. Candlish had been selected for this duty ; and,
accordingly, on Saturday (August 2) he took his
departure to fulfil the engagement. I remained to
preach at Campbdtown. With these services the
first week of our tour terminated. The weeks
which followed were marked by events more
numerous and more unusual ; but the results of
what we had, in the few days now past, accom
plished, were important to the cause which we
aimed at serving. Those whom we had visited
and addressed were pleased and gratified, whilst
much information had been obtained and recorded
for the purposes of the deputation.

SECOND WEEK.

ON Monday Dr. Candlish, after his Sabbath's work
at Inveraray, came to Tarlert, on Lochfine-side.
There I met him, having that morning come from
Campbeltown. Our destination that day, in prose
cuting our work, was Lochgilplicad, where we
had been announced for services in the evening.
The services, accordingly, were held. In the first
instance, I preached in Gaelic to a crowded audi
ence redolent of the flavour of fresh herrings. It
was impossible not to feel that we were amidst a
crowd of hardy and intelligent fishermen, ready to
receive, and qualified to appreciate, the things which
we had to say to them. Dr. Candlish was very
happy in his English address. What had impressed
me in Islay still more impressed me at Locligilp-
head — his wonderful skill in speaking with a sim
plicity of expression which made all that he said
intelligible, even when the knowledge of English
on the part of his hearers was very scanty. In all
our tour, on every occasion on which he addressed
Highlanders, if the least knowledge of English was

20 SECOND WEEK.

possessed by them, they declared themselves de
lighted, maintained that they understood him, and
that his English was different from that of their
own (Highland) ministers. Theirs they could not
follow : his they did. Everywhere therefore they
remained, when the Gaelic service was ended, to
listen to his English address. This was notably
the case at Lochgilpliead, where the adhesion to the
Tree Church had been very extensive, and where
enthusiasm in the cause was great.

Reflecting on this, I could not but recall the
memory of an early and beloved friend, who was
the first minister settled in this village. I refer to
PETER M'KiCHAN. Lochgilpliead was one of the
" Government charges," as they were denominated,
— not an original parish, and not a chapel-of-ease,
but a quoad sacra charge — erected, furnished with
church and manse, and endowed by the Govern
ment, who retained in their own hands the right of
patronage in the case of all livings of this class.
Mr. M'Kichan had, as a student of divinity, been,
along with his father's family, of my congregation
at Oban from 1821 until my removal to Hope Street
Chapel, Glasgow, in 1824. When consulted by the
local proprietor, Mr. M'Niel of Oakfield, who was
permitted by Government to name a minister for
the new charge, I had no difficulty in recommend-

PETER M'KICHAN. 21

ing for his selection my friend Mr. M'Kichan. . In
due time he was ordained over the flock, which,
though at its beginnings small, soon grew, under
his very acceptable ministerial efforts, to a large
and influential congregation.

Mr. M'Kichan was an attractive man, who, with
few pretensions, exercised extensive influence. Of
mild and gentle manners, endowed with a persua
sive eloquence, thoroughly instructed in the great
truths of evangelical doctrine, well read on all sub
jects, earnest, loving, energetic, he was as a minister
of the Lord Jesus beloved by all who knew him,
and, in his time, was greatly honoured as an in
strument of good in all the neighbourhood in
which we now were. I do not know that he took
an active part in the effort made to rouse the
country to a sense of the urgency of the crisis which
resulted in the separation of what is now the Free
Church from the State. It was then felt to be of
the first importance that the people of Scotland
should be made fully aware of the great change about
to take place in our relative position, as a Church, to
the Government of the country — a change forced
upon us by the oppressive measures of the State,
and which we were absolutely shut up to, unless,
indeed, we consented to abandon our liberty to
carry on the work of the ministry in obedience to

22 SECOND WEEK.

the law of the gospel, and as fulfilling the mind
of Christ. But whether Mr. M'Kichan took much
part in this work of agitation or not he entirely
approved of it. His influence was all employed on
the side of those who did. His own people were
thoroughly educated in the questions which were
discussed at this time, and, when the day of deci
sion came, no part of the Highlands afforded more
unequivocal evidence of intelligence as to the truths
which were maintained, or of resolution to stand
by them at all hazards. Mr. M'Kichan did not see
the Disruption. Though he avoided the more ex
citing efforts to which the ministry generally were
called, in view of the approaching catastrophe,
the subject had a deep hold of his mind — perhaps
all the deeper hold, that he was more a witness of
the great struggle than an actor in it. An attack
of brain fever ensued, under which he lingered for
a time, and then was taken away to the land where
such strife as that to which we on earth were con
strained is unknown ; for " there the wicked cease
from troubling," and the weary get rest.

The prosperous state of matters at Lochgilpliead
I trace, I believe on good grounds, to the influence
of my early friend. I may be permitted to add
that I trace the same also, very much, to the in
fluence of my honoured father, who, for fifty years

GRIN AN. 23

nearly, was, in this locality, a bold and uncom
promising advocate of evangelical truth in evil
times, and who, from his qualifications of mind, as
well as his social position, was trusted and followed
as a guide and as an example in those questions,
which led to the breaking up of the Church of
Scotland in 1843.

The morning which followed our evening
services at Lochgilphead saw Dr. Candlish and
myself at Ardrishaig, two miles to the south of
Lochgilphead, at the inlet to the Crinan Canal,
awaiting the swift steamer from Glasgow. By her
came Dr. Begg, member of another deputation
—one of those which had been commissioned on
similar work to ours, by the late Assembly, though
in a different region. His colleagues were Dr.
M'Kay, late of Harris, and Mr. Glass, late of
Musselburgh. Dr. M'Kay joined him at Oban,
Mr. Glass at a more advanced point in our tour.
Dr. Begg was the companion of Dr. Candlish and
myself for the day. The romantic pass from
Lochfine, on the east shore of the vast peninsula
of Kintyre, to Crinan on the west, never looked
more beautiful than on this day, and never was
looked on by more admiring eyes. My two
associates were in their happiest moods — Dr.
Candlish as joyous as a boy on vacation from

24 SECOND WEEK.

school — Dr. Begg overflowing with humour and
anecdote ; of the latter it seemed as if there
could be no end. As for myself, I was in
the district in which I had been brought up.
Every point in the landscape was familiar to me,
and I was able to communicate to my fellow-
travellers incidents of interest, bearing date for
fifty years previous to the time of our journey,
connected with this district. Every new turn in
our progress suggested reminiscences, some joyous,
some sad ; and as my friends seemed willing to
listen, I did not refrain my speech, but trespassed
perhaps on their good nature, or on their good
manners, more than I ought to have done.

How comes it that when, in advanced life, we
visit scenes which were familiar to us in child
hood — scenes which, in the interval, we may
frequently have visited — we recur, with deepest
feeling, to impressions which were produced at
the early period ? Eor my part, even till this day,
when I visit Lochgilpliead and the neighbourhood,
my mind recurs to the times when I believed that
the sky rested on the hills which surround the
village, and that if I were able to reach their summit
I should behold the limits of the earth — the
times when I had no convictions as to the exist
ence of a world beyond that on which my childish

KILBRANDON. 25

eyes then looked. How comes this ? and what
makes the illusion so pleasing when such im
pressions are reproduced ?

The early evening brought our party to OBAN,
the scene of the first days of my ministry. Twenty-
four years before the period of this visit I was the
youthful, and I may add, the hard-working minister
of OBAN. Already the bulk of those who had then
formed my flock were gone ; few remained of those
who once knew me — so rapidly does the flight of
time bring changes ; so soon does it come to pass
that the places which knew us, know us not. I
was not quite so much a stranger here as my
associates in our present service, yet I did feel
myself more a stranger than I cared to be.

We had passed, in our romantic sail from
Crinan through the slate isles, the parish of
Kibrandon, where, for about four years from 1826,
I had been minister. In the distance, to the east,
as we sped along towards the north, the old parish
church, on the shore of the Cuan, was visible. I
pointed it out to my friends. The rapidity of the
tide, as it rushes through this strait, narrowed by
the projecting shores of the island of Seil on the
one hand, and of Luing on the other, always
great, is sometimes quite terrific.

It was often a cheering sight to witness on the

26 SECOND WEEK.

Sabbath morning the vast fleet of large slate-
makers' boats, from the islands of Easdale and
Ellanabeach, crowded with men, women, and
children, coming to attend church, sweep through
this pass, floating on the raging tide, scarcely
needing the use of oars but to guide their course —
no return being possible until the ebbing waters
had become exhausted, and until, changing their
course, they came back in full flood, to carry home
again, with an equally small expense of toil, the
crowds which in the interval had worshipped in
the temple of God. Alternately the parishioners
of the eastern portions of my charge enjoyed this
advantage, when those from the other side then
required to travel by the road.

The services at Oban were conducted by Dr.
Candlish and Dr. Begg. We had no admission
to the church, although it had been erected, in
1821, very much by my own efforts. I had
collected money for the work in London, and
all over Scotland, in times when the virtue of
GIVING was but little practised — giving, I mean,
for such objects as church-building. Indeed, I
bestowed much labour on this Oban church, once
not a little famed for the controversy to which it
gave rise, conducted on the one side by Dr. Ward-
law of Glasgow, and on the other by Mr. Garment,

OB AN. 27

then of the same city ; but, though once having
absolute control over it, now I could have the use
of it neither for my friends nor for myself. So
do times change, and so do the former things pass
away.

The schoolroom had been preserved for the Free
Church in the wreck occasioned by the Disruption.
There we held our meeting; — an enthusiastic
meeting. Though no part of our purpose in
coming to this locality, yet it suggested itself to
us that the occasion might be employed for
originating a movement for the erection of a Free
Church. This was done ; and, at the close of our
present services, a considerable sum was sub
scribed by the friends who were present. What
was thus happily begun made comfortable progress.
The powerful aid of the late lamented Marquess of
Breadalbane came, in due time, to the furtherance
of the object. The result was the handsome
church, manse, and other accommodations, which
now occupy so conspicuous a place amidst the
romantic environs of this elegant town.

Next day was devoted to recreation. Dr.
M'Kellar and Dr. M'Kay had joined us, so that
the members of two deputations, with the ex
ception of Mr. Glass, had met. Our recreation for
the day was to be the circumnavigating of the

28 SECOND WEEK.

island of Mull by the steamer which statedly
pursued that route. Our course lay through the
Sound of Kerrara, the channel between the island
so named and Mull ; by the west of Mull to lona
and Staffa ; thence to Tobermory ; and back to our
starting-point, through the Sound of Mull, past the
southern extremity of the island of Lismore. "We
anticipated a day of enjoyment, — such a route —
such company — and amidst the finest weather !

Feeling a sort of responsibility for at least one
of the deputations represented in the present assem
blage, I was the first-arrived of the party at the
pierhead, where our steamer lay, sending forth
from funnel and steam valves, indescribable by me,
noises the harshest and most ear-rending — pant
ing for relief, as it appeared, relief that could come
only with permission given to go forth on her
course, to plough her way through the yielding
flood. I became impatient ; I knew, however, that
captain, hands, and all, were aware what one por
tion of their freight for the day was to be ; and I
felt sure that some egregious shortcoming must
occur on our side if any of our party were ulti- *
mately left behind.

My friends came — not being chargeable with
any culpable delay. First Dr. M'Kellar appeared,
slowly advancing, neatly dressed, showing snow-

IONA AND STAFFA. 29

white linens, carefully brushed hat and greatcoat,
and (conspicuous beyond all the rest) a rich,
blushing, beautiful bouquet in his hand — how
acquired, or where, was to me a mystery. Next
in order came Dr. Candlish, whose pace was not
so measured as that of our honoured senior mem
ber, and who, catching sight of the bouquet, made
many sportive efforts, on coming up to its posses
sor, to get it into his own hands. All life and
sprightliness, he formed a contrast to the other
constituents of our group ; but, at the same time,
inspired us all with a measure of his spirit, and
created by his cheerful demeanour a happy com
mencement of our day's excursion. There was a
great deal of talking on all hands as we approached
the ship, and, both on shore and on board, we
became, very much, the observed of all observers.

The route of the excursion of this day of plea
sure was not new to me. A quarter of a century
before I had visited the interesting seat of CULDEE
literature for which we were bound — of Culdee
faithful testimony and fervent devotedness to God
— as well as the marvellous natural pile of the
island of Staffa. Neither lona nor Staffa was,
therefore, now to me a sight so striking as they
both had been on my seeing them for the first time ;
for when you have once seen those islands, form-

30 SECOND WEEK.

ing such contrasts to each other in their natural
appearance, all subsequent visits are thereby made
comparatively less affecting, inasmuch as the
memory and imagination never lose first impres
sions of them, and never cease to recall those, mag
nifying them when they do.

The following account, by Montalembert, in his
" Monks of the West," of the line of coast along
which we this day sailed, cannot fail to be read
with interest, as it must ever supersede all other
descriptions : — " He who has not seen the islands
and gulfs of the western coast of Scotland, and who
has not been tossed upon the sombre sea of the
Hebrides, can scarcely form any image of it to
himself. Nothing can be less seductive at the
first glance than that austere and solemn nature,
which is picturesque without charm, and grand
without grace. The traveller passes sadly through
an archipelago of naked and desert islands, sowed
like so many extinct volcanoes upon the dull and
sullen waters, which are broken by rapid currents and
dangerous whirlpools. Except on rare days, when
the sun — that pale sun of the North — gives life to
these shores, the eye wanders over a vast surface
of gloomy sea, broken at intervals by the whiten
ing crest of waves, or by the foaming line of the
tide, which dashes here against long reefs of rock,

ION A AND STAFF A. 31

there against the immense cliffs, with a forlorn
roar which fills the air. Through the continual
fogs and rains of that rude climate may be seen
by times the summits of chains of mountains,
whose abrupt and naked sides slope to the sea,
and whose base is bathed by these cold waves
which are kept in constant agitation by the shock
of contrary currents, and the tempests of wind
which burst from the lakes and narrow ravines
farther inland. The melancholy of the landscape
is relieved only by that peculiar configuration of
the coast, which has been remarked by the ancient
authors, and especially by Tacitus — a configuration
which exists besides only in Greece and Scandi
navia. As in the fiords of Norway, the sea cuts
and hollows out the shores of the islands into a
host of bays and gulfs of strange depth, and as
narrow as profound. These gulfs take the most
varied forms, penetrating by a thousand tortuous
folds into the middle of the land, as if to identify
themselves with the long and winding lakes of
the Highland interior. Numberless peninsulas,
terminating in pointed headlands, or summits
covered with clouds ; isthmuses so narrow as to
leave the sea visible at both sides ; straits so
closely shut between two walls of rock, that the
eye hesitates to plunge into that gloom ; enormous

32 SECOND WEEK.

cliffs of basalt or of granite, their sides perforated
with rents ; caverns, as at Staffa, lofty as churches,
flanked through all their length by prismatic co
lumns, through which the waves of the ocean dash
with groans ; and here and there, in contrast with
that wild majesty, perhaps on an island, perhaps
upon the shore of the mainland, a sandy beach, a
little plain, covered with scanty, prickly grass, a
natural port capable of sheltering a few frail boats ;
everywhere, in short, a strangely varied combina
tion of land and sea, but where the sea carries the
day, penetrates and dominates everything. . . .
Such is the present aspect. Such must have been,
with the addition of the forests which have disap
peared, the aspect of these shores when Columba
sought them to continue and end his life there."

Our entire party landed at lona. Not so at
Staffa. By the time we arrived off that isle,
though the sun still shone with all brightness, the
sea had risen considerably. The captain of our
ship doubted whether he could, with perfect
safety, send his boat to the rocky shore. He cer
tainly could promise no comfort to those who
wished to land in doing so. As to rowing into
Fingal's Cave, it could not be attempted. Urged
somewhat, he launched his landing-boat. Dr.
Candlish was among the first to spring into it.

TOBERMORY. 33

The party with difficulty succeeded in setting foot
on shore, where they were able, not without peril,
however, to look into the cave, and so to judge of
its sublime magnitude. This was all. It required
the enthusiasm of their admiration to reconcile
them to the drenching by the sea spray which they
had encountered in their adventure.

We returned from lonaand Staffaw'a TOBERMORY,
that beautiful bay which has so often proved a
haven of safe shelter for the ocean-tossed ships of
the wild Atlantic, and whose waters no tempest,
however terrific, can at any time touch.

" Est in secessu longo locus : insula portuni
Efficit objectu laterum, quibus omnis ab alto
Frangitur inque sinus scindit sese unda reductos.
Hinc atque hinc vastae rupes geminique minantur
In coelurn scopuli, quorum sub vertice late
Aequora tuta silent : turn silvis scena coruscis
Desuper horrentique atrum nemus imminet umbra."

jflneid, Lib. i. 159-65.
" Within a long recess there lies a bay :
An island shades it from the rolling sea,
And forms a port secure for ships to ride ;
Broke by the jutting land, on either side,
In double streams the briny waters glide
Betwixt two rows of rocks : a sylvan scene
Appears above, and groves for ever green :
A grot is formed beneath, with mossy seats,
To rest the Nereids and exclude the heats."

Dryden's Translation.
D

34 SECOND WEEK.

Searching for this harbour, and not finding it,
many of the ships of the Spanish Armada were
wrecked at no great distance from its entrance.
Few of those embarked on board the ill-fated
transports escaped. Some did, and their descend
ants, both in Mull and on the adjacent coast to the
north, may yet be traced among the native popu
lation. The Mull riding-ponies are, or were, con
sidered the finest in Scotland. Their superior
quality was supposed to have been occasioned from
the breed of the native Highland horses being im
proved by the mixture of Spanish horse blood,
through the animals which escaped, and in
the frightful shipwreck on this iron-bound coast
more than three hundred years ago, found their
way to the shore. The only relic of the great
catastrophe I have seen anywhere in the West
Highlands, was a brass gun of no great size, which,
in my time, had found a resting-place on the sum
mit of the ruined wall of Dunstaffnage Castle.
Approaching, in point of dimensions, the Arm
strong gun, it could have none of the power of that
deadly weapon of war.

At Tobermory, Dr. M'Kellar and Dr. M'Kay
embarked on board the BREADALBANE yacht, a
part of our Free Church ecclesiastical machinery
for prosecuting evangelistic work in the Highlands

FORT- WILLIAM. 35

and Islands. Their destination was Loch Sunart,
Ardnamurchan, Ballachulish, and the surrounding
country. Dr. Begg, accompanied by the minister of
Tobermory and an elder from Oban, took his route
for Ardnamurchan proper and the adjoining dis
tricts. Dr. Candlish and I, again left by ourselves,
proceeded to Fort- William, passing through the
Sound of Midi, having Morven and the Kingairloch
mountains on our left, through a magnificently sun-
enlightened course, first towards the east to Oban,
and thence northwards to the place of our destina
tion. On the day following our arrival at Fort- Wil
liam, accompanied by the two ministers of this
district, we passed from Fort -William to Kilmally.
There I preached in the Gaelic tongue. After being
occupied for the day in arranging certain matters
connected with the district, and helping, by coun
sel, those who needed it, we retraced our steps to
Fort -William. There I again preached in Gaelic.
Dr. Candlish preached in English. We had large
congregations; and were occupied, after our pulpit
work, for some time with business of the same
description as we had transacted during the fore
noon on the opposite side of the plain. A second
night's repose at Fort -William was required to
prepare us for the adventures of the succeeding day.
It was a day, the remembrance of which has

36 SECOND WEEK.

often, since, awakened feelings both of an indignant,
and, though the contrast may seem inconsistent,
ludicrous character.

I have already noted that, before we started
from home on our excursion, as it became one to
whom the details of the arrangements were com
mitted, I had corresponded with all the persons
with whom it was necessary to communicate, with
a view to facilitate our progress, and to prevent
disappointment either to ourselves or to those who
expected our approach along the line by which we
were to pursue our journey in fulfilling our mission.
Assuring myself of our punctuality, if health per
mitted and Providence favoured us, our beds were
everywhere engaged, as well as our places in
coaches and by other modes of conveyance, in
dubitable evidence of which I took care to have in
my possession. Nothing was left to the efforts
which we might, or might not, successfully make
at the various points of arrival when we reached
them. All was arranged weeks before.

Among other pre-arrangements, I had corre
sponded with the coach-office at Fort -William, and
had secured two seats on the top of the coach
running to Inverness. I had secured them for the
morning of Friday, with the provision that we
should be set down at Invergarry, the first stage,

FORT-WILLIAM. 37

although a long one, on the way to Inverness ;
our purpose being to travel by Invergarry, To-
mandoun, Cluny, and Shielhouse, to G-lenelg, where
we were to meet the steamer from Glasgow and the
south, to carry us on to Lochalsh and Skye. I had
corresponded with mine host of Invergarry Inn
(an old friend), and I had engaged his only spring-
vehicle and good-going horse, to carry us thus on
our way to Glenelg. In short, I had prepared for
our being conveyed to my old parish church there,
under the walls of which we were, on the Saturday
morning, by a given hour, to take boat, that we
might embark on board the steamer.

When we arrived at Fort -William I imme
diately repaired to the coach-office, paid for our
tickets, received them from the clerk, and made all
sure, offering at the same time to pay for the seats
all the way through to Inverness, if crowding of
the coach were apprehended, or should make that
necessary. I requested that that should be noted,
which was done. I feared nothing, and believed
that I needed not to fear. Date and all was right.
No difficulty was made on any hand.

It was now the Friday of our second week.
Much depended on punctuality marking our course
for this day. Dr. Candlish never failed in that
virtue, and was never behind. This morning he

38 SECOND WEEK.

was up betimes. We had breakfast, and, being
.all ready, when the coach drew up we at once
took our places, he on the box seat beside the
driver, I on the one immediately behind, all snug,
with our traps safely stowed in the " boot."

The day was beautiful. We had every prospect
of a delightful journey. Eleven o'clock at latest
would see us at Invergarry Inn. The conveyance,
as promised, ready for us there, we should push
on, and, by my calculation, arrive at Glenelg in
the evening. The coach was soon occupied — in
side, outside, every side. Why did the coachman
not proceed ? We were impatient. Some one was
expected. But who could be expected, seeing the
coach was full to overflowing — every place occu
pied — more places than ought to have been occu
pied ? Who could be expected ? Our questioning
was soon answered. Dr. Eobert Lee of Edinburgh
approached, accompanied by a friend and the pro
prietor of the coach. We had not seen him pre
viously.

In the " Life and Remains of Robert Lee, D.D.,"
by Dr. Story, minister of Roseneath, the follow
ing account of the incident to which I am referring
occurs : —

" At Fort- William we booked by the coach for
Inverness, and, having breakfasted in a leisurely

DR. ROBERT LEE. 39

way, we strolled to take possession of the box
seats, which we had made a point of securing,
when, lo ! we found ourselves forestalled by no
less a personage than the redoubted Dr. Candlish,
and with him Dr. Beith of Stirling. Of course we
remonstrated against the intrusion, but at first to
no purpose, and it was only on appealing to the
civil powers (in the coach-office) that we were
restored to our status. ' Sorry to depose you/
said our friend to Dr. Candlish, as he unwillingly
dismounted. But I am happy to say that the
affair passed off good-humouredly, and with no
worse results to the two reverend Tree doctors
than their being relegated to the dignity of a post-
chaise to themselves."

So writes Mr. Smith of Fintry — flippantly
enough, as I may be pardoned for saying. Dr.
Lee did demand, for himself and his friend, the
seats which he had, as he said, the previous even
ing paid for. I answered that they had been paid
for by us at an earlier hour. We sat still. I
begged Dr. Candlish to be firm. The proprietor
mounted the coach, and addressed himself to me.
It was not to claim a right he did so, not to charge
us with intrusion, but to prefer a very humble
petition. The engagement of the seats by me,
which he admitted, had been of so long standing

40 SECOND WEEK.

that the clerk at the coach-office had overlooked
the fact of their having been given to me, and had,
by. mistake, let them last evening to Dr. Lee. I
said that mattered not : we could not yield to
Dr. Lee. In fulfilment of what I had pledged
myself to do, I now offered the full fare to Inver
ness, for we could not yield the seats ; our pre-
arrangements for the day's journey were such that
we could not. He begged, as a particular personal
favour, that we should give up the seats, and
engaged to put a chaise and pair at our disposal,
for ourselves, to carry us to Invergarry Inn, with
out a moment's delay. I saw my fellow-traveller
begin to waver. I begged of him not to give way,
for he could not foresee, as I foresaw, what must
be the consequence if he did. For a moment I
thought I had succeeded. But I was mistaken.
Dr. Lee addressed to us some gibing words, and
waited, in an attitude and with an air not pleasing
to me, for our coming down, as if we were bound to
do so admitted of no question. This made me all
the more determined. Dr. Candlish, however,
made an end of the discussion, first by throwing
down his plaid, and then, with his usual alacrity
and good humour, by generously following the
plaid and recovering it. What could I do but fol
low ? I did so, not, I confess, in very good temper,

LEFT BEHIND. 41

Judging between the Edinburgh doctors, whilst
not overpleased with either, I certainly admired
the one considerably, at the expense of the other.
A few words addressed to Dr. Lee, to explain the
difficulty which he created for us, seemed only to
amuse him. A moment sufficed for removing our
traps from the " boot." The coach was off. We
were left behind, looking, as I thought, not a little
foolish.

Certain disappointed-looking personages attracted
my notice, who appeared to be " hanging on," to
whom I suspected the chaise had been promised
as it had been to us. They were coarse-looking
country people of the drover class, and such as
drovers have for followers. My suspicion proved
to be well founded. The chaise drew up. I ob
served them approach it.

" Now" I said to Dr. Candlish, " do follow me,
and do as I do this time ; it is our only chance."

" I will," was the resolute answer.

I hastened to the door of the conveyance ; got
it into my hand, held it, beckoned to my friend to
hasten his steps, turned my back on the intruding
party, quietly resisted their attempt to possess them
selves of the carriage, and felt confident of success.
I had reckoned without my host. They rushed
to the opposite side, opened the door there, and

42 SECOND WEEK.

began to occupy the seats. I at once stepped in,
endeavoured to hold two seats, but endeavoured to
do so in vain. I took one, however, and succeeded
in getting my amazed travelling companion fairly
within the door. He had witnessed the scene
with great composure, and, as I imagined, in a
somewhat frolicsome humour. I could have
preferred to do the same ; but what was to happen
with regard to our appointments and engagements
for days to come ? Or how were we to keep
promise with the many, along the whole line of
our projected route, who expected us? The
conveyance was crammed with large, tobacco-whisky-
smelling, greasy, vulgar fellows. I expostulated
in "both languages," told them our position of
difficulty and our prospects. I pleaded the promise
of the coach proprietor that the chaise should be
entirely for us. The proprietor was nowhere. He
had disappeared conveniently for the intruders.
They took it all coolly. They were in possession.
That settled the question. I might spare my
pleading.

A one-horse vehicle made its appearance in the
distance, obviously to supplement the chaise. The
horse looked a done animal, not fit for almost any
work.

" Ye had better tak that," one of the inmates of

LOCHABER. 43

the chaise said to us ; " that maun be the ane for
you."

We declined to act upon this suggestion, and
chose to accept our unhappy position as we were.
So the matter ended. There were five of us within,
and one with the driver outside. Dr. Candlish
and I alternated sitting and standing during the
whole journey. In this he had the advantage of me,
because of his stature — that being less a good
deal than mine, and not requiring so much stooping
when he stood. We were in LOCHABER, and
among "the Cameron men !"

I had sent a message by the coachman of the
Inverness stage to the Invergarry innkeeper, to
inform him that we were on the road, and to
request that his conveyance should be kept for us.
I had not much confidence that this functionary
would prove more faithful than his employer.
If other parties, his passengers, desired to have the
Invergarry gig, he could, I was persuaded, easily
be induced to hold his tongue. So it proved.
When, two hours after time, we arrived at Inver
garry Inn, we found that, despairing of our
corning, the "machine" had been let to others who
had come by the coach, and was now away on an
excursion in the direction of Invermorrison.

I had made up my mind to this. I had ex-

44 SECOND WEEK.

pected it, and was not overmuch chagrined. But
what was to be done ? Mackay, the innkeeper,
was annoyed, and sincerely sympathised with us.
We could ascribe no blame to him. He was
willing to do everything to oblige us. He had a
CART. He could nail a plank across, and so make
a seat for us. His only horse, beside the one
which was away, was "in the hill." "It might
take some time to find him." I too well knew
what a wide word being " in the hill " was. An
hour might suffice to discover, and to apprehend,
the wanted quadruped, two might be required ; or a
whole day might be consumed in the enterprise.
But what could we do ? Scouts were dispatched
to scour the hill.

" Have you seen the horse lately ? "

"In the morning early he was seen, but not since."

" Can he be very far off ? "

" That we cannot tell."

Dr. Candlish seemed amused and interested.
Throughout our journey from Fort -William he
was gay, courteous, and became even fascinating,
as it seemed to me, to our unwashed fellow-
travellers. He saw that a crisis had occurred in our
circumstances at the Invergarry Inn. It seemed
rather to produce a pleasant excitement in his
mind, and he showed himself equal to the occasion.

A PRIMITIVE CONVEYANCE. 45

Early dinner was ordered. The cart was got
out and washed. The plank was provided, and
securely fastened on both sides, over the axletree.
There was no support for the back We all gave
our aid in preparing this improvised carriage, Dr.
Candlish being, certainly, not the least active of
us. It was to be our means of transport for a
journey of ten miles to Tomandoun — a good road,
though uphill. We might be compelled to use it
for nine miles more, to Cluny inn, to reach which we
should require to traverse one of the highest moun
tain roads in Scotland. Nay, perhaps we might
be compelled to use it as our conveyance for twelve
miles beyond Cluny, on to Shiellwuse. But what
could we do ? Dr. Candlish was gay as a lark. I
had recovered my equanimity. The weather was
fine. I foresaw that we were in for an adventure,
and this did not distress me.

The want of a night's rest occasioned neither
to my friend nor me, in prospect, much discom
posure. I anticipated with interest calling his
attention, at various points, to the beauty of the
scenery along the line by which we had to pass,
and the pleasure of listening to his observations
thereon.

We dined comfortably, and felt quite equal, as
we thought, to the labours which lay before us.

46 SECOND WEEK.

Two hours had sufficed for finding the horse. In
that space the " hill " had been successfully
searched. By the time he was yoked in our ex
temporised carriage, the sun had begun to decline
towards the west. Three o'clock, or a little more,
saw us in possession of seats, from which we had
no fear of being dislodged by any pretentious
doctor ; and, after a hearty farewell to our kind
host, we jogged on.

I shall not occupy time in describing the banks
of Lochgarry, or the charming moorland sweep
into which we advanced, after leaving behind the
weeping birches and the romantic accompaniments
of that sweet inland lake.

We made our first stage in wonderfully good
time. At Tomandoun, to our delight, we found
a shaky, four-wheeled, tumble-down vehicle, in
which we resolved to trust ourselves, at least for
one stage, it might be for two. Our new carriage
had springs — such as they were — decidedly the
worse for wear, but still we believed strong enough
for our weight. They once had been springs.
The sides and the floor of this worn-out thing were
very dilapidated, yet it offered, upon the whole, a
fair prospect of holding together for our time. We
were selfish enough not to care much for its future.
With a fresh, at least with a new, horse, we pro-

SNOWSTORM ADVENTURE. 47

ceeded to encounter the formidable ascent from
Tomandoun on to Cluny. The ascent, as every
one who has traversed it knows, is, on the side
from which we advanced, very long and very dreary.
The night was approaching ; our horse-power was
weak ; whilst our equipage was neither promising
nor imposing. Yet we went on. The lad who
drove us was respectful and attentive, willing to
save his horse by himself walking when he con
sidered it necessary, which he did more frequently
than we approved of. Night fell on us ere we
reached the summit. We began to feel heavy.
It had been a long day to us.

" I once had an adventure here," I said to my
companion. " If you like I will narrate it. The
story, though of no great interest, may occupy us
as we go on our way, now that scenery can no
longer engage us ; and it will show what risks
Highland ministers sometimes encounter when in
discharge of duty."

" Come away ; let us hear it. Be sure that it is
not a ghost story."

" Not that," I said ; " nothing having its seat in
the imagination, but a reality — a true story, and
no mistake."

" Go on, then."

" It was in the month of February 1835. I had

48 SECOND WEEK.

been in the south, and was on my return home to
Glenelg by the road which we are now travelling.
From some derangement of the steamboats — a
matter of common occurrence in those days —
whereas I ought to have been landed at the Inver-
garry Locks on the afternoon of the Friday in time
to reach the inn at Invergarry that evening, I was
not landed there until the Saturday forenoon. My
dogcart had come on Friday evening, my purpose
having been to proceed early on Saturday morning,
that I might get to my manse that day in good
time for being in my place for the Sabbath's work
on the morrow. As it was, the afternoon instead
of the morning saw us on our way. My outfit was
different from that with which we are now con
tenting ourselves. It was a light vehicle. The
animal yoked in it was a fine mare reared on my
glebe, young and sprightly. My servant was a
boy of courage, though not of much experience.
When we reached Tomandoun — the halting-place
which we have just left behind — we had still
some little daylight. Our pace, in travelling from
Invergarry, had been more rapid than it has been
to-day. At Tomandoun a sprinkling of snow lay
on the ground — not more than an inch in depth.
We could see, as you may judge, but a short way
before us along the road by which we were to

SNOWSTORM ADVENTURE. 49

travel. The people had told me that I might
expect to find the snow deeper as I proceeded to
wards the summit, and that there it might prove
to be of a formidable depth. They advised that I
should not attempt to cross the mountain. As it
was a matter of much importance that I should
get home in view of the Sabbath, notwithstanding
the suspicion thus expressed, I resolved to proceed.
The warning which I had received proved to be
too true. For a mile or two there was no depth
of snow to hinder us, more than to forbid rapidity
in our progress. The distant ridges, as they open
ed to our view, did look very white — too white to
be accounted for by a partial fall. Besides this,
we seemed to be getting into a region where the
storm was in progress, as, we came to the conclu
sion, it had been all day. We persisted, however,
though matters looked worse every step of our
advance. Once it came into my mind that I
should retrace my steps to our last resting-place ;
but we had come so far that I banished the suo-

o

gestion and pressed on. Before we got to the
summit, which you will see by-and-by, the snow
was, at least, two feet deep on every part of the
road. It had not yet begun to drift. That I
looked upon as a mercy. There were no wreaths,
which, had they existed, would have effectually
E

50 SECOND WEEK.

forbidden advance. The smooth, unwrinkled,
undisturbed, snowy winding-sheet enwrapped the
entire landscape. The outline of the road soon
ceased to be discernible ; and we knew that we
were, every moment, in danger of deviating from
the path ; going over some one of the many low
bridges which, as you may see, cross the mountain
streams everywhere on this road, often at sharp
angles ; or of getting into some bog, where our
case might become desperate enough. When we
arrived at the summit, after much toil and much
time, the wind rose and drove the snow directly
in our faces. This added immensely to our diffi
culties. When we were about a third of the way
to the summit, the boy and I had got out of the
carriage and walked, divesting ourselves of as
much of our outer clothing as we safely could.
With all this the walk was exhausting in the ex
treme. Having fastened the reins so that they
should not drag, we betook ourselves to the rear,
leaving poor Rosa (the mare's name) to find her
way through the drift. In this way we had the
advantage of some slight shelter from the pelting
blast. We had the advantage, too, of planting our
steps in the footprints of the noble animal — the
boy coming in my wake, Rosa being allowed to
lead. She sank very deep ; but, I was thankful

SNOWSTORM ADVENTURE. 51

to observe, the wheels of our carriage did not sink;
so that horse and carriage came to hold a some
what awkward relation to each other. I hoped
that, if we could get to the opposite side of the
mountain, the decline being so great, we should
advance more rapidly and more at our ease. I
was satisfied that to go forward was as hopeful a
course, now at any rate, as to attempt to return.
I confess I did begin to feel that our position was
not pleasant. We were wet up to the waist. I
felt as if my face were being skinned under the
ceaseless sweep of the pitiless storm. We began
to be benumbed — my companion especially. He
seemed desirous we should stop, to sit down and
rest. This symptom alarmed me. XVe could
make no more of headway than about sixty paces,
when Eosa from time to time halted, and really
required to halt, to draw breath. Thus our pro
gress was disheartening, as well as slow. The
stage, as you are aware, was but nine miles long ;
it was not yet half accomplished ; and we had
been contending with road and elements now for
two hours. I at length formed the resolution of
abandoning the conveyance, unharnessing the
horse, taking up the boy behind, and riding on
to Cluny, the next stage, which you will reach by-
and-by. This, I began to fear, was necessary, if

52 SECOND WEEK.

we were to escape with life. We attempted to
carry the project into effect ; but the harness was
swollen with the wet ; our fingers were powerless ;
we could not undo a single buckle ; and when we
had recourse to our knives to cut the harness, we
could not make even a notch in any part of it.
We were, therefore, shut up to proceed as we had
been doing. Proceed we did* — toiling on in the
fashion I have described. Perseverance, arid the
good hand of God upon us, carried us through. As
I had hoped, when at last we began to go down
hill our toil greatly abated. Moreover, the snow
became less deep on the road, and, ere we had
descended on Cluny, it had almost disappeared.
On looking back, we could see the top of the
mountain still enveloped in the cloud through
which we had passed, and the snow accumulating
there as it had been doing for a day or two. At
Cluny everything was most wretched — no fire —
no food — no refreshment of any kind. A few
oats were procured, though with difficulty, for
Eosa. Though I had all but made up my mind
that we should be compelled to remain here, I
saw, though the night had fallen on us, that we
must needs press forward. Our road was all
down hill. We had got, as we hoped, out of the
region of deep snow ; so forward we went. My

SNOWSTORM ADVENTURE. 53

hope was realised. Little snow lay on this portion
of the road, and through the Cimmerian pass which
lies before us ere we reach this day's journey's end
— Scour Our an towering above — we arrived at
Shielkouse, our present expected haven, late at
night. Next morning (Sabbath) I was on the
road by five o'clock. Snow had fallen during the
night ; and MAAM EATAGAN — of which we shall
have sonre experience, as I hope, to-morrow —
looked as if it were as highly favoured with this
commodity as the mountain which had been our
previous day's acquaintance. The experience then
acquired gave me confidence. I calculated on
giving five hours to the journey to Glenelg — one
of only nine miles. I was going home. The Sab
bath day's service awaited me, for I had no substi
tute ; and I looked forward with comfort to the rest
I should enjoy when my labour for the day was
completed. It increased our confidence, that a
few travellers — labourers returning from the south
— pedestrians, who were waiting for some one ad
venturous enough ' to take the hill,' joined us. It
was something that we were not to be so solitary
as we had been on the previous day ; and it was
something, besides, that we had the beginning, and
not the close of the day, for our work. I occu
pied my conveyance, with the boy, only for about

54 SECOND WEEK.

a mile and a half. Immediately above the farm
house of Eatagan — which you will see to-morrow
morning — the snow became so deep that we were
compelled to alight and adopt the practice of the
preceding day. The depth of the snow became
greater as we advanced ; it was deeper than that
which we had encountered on the other mountain.
I found, however, that mare and vehicle sank only
a certain depth, and that the snow was in such a
condition that the former found footing sufficient
to enable her to scramble onwards. All on foot
kept in the rear, in regular line, not being able to
give each other much help. You will see, when
you come on the road, that at some points it is
so steep that, without any obstruction to cause
additional labour, it must be very hard work for
any conveyance to make progress. Eest at fre
quently-occurring intervals is required even then
of the man who is ' merciful to his beast.' In the
state of matters with us this morning, you may
judge what it must have been. In some places
every advance of twelve paces required a halt, and
then four or five minutes' space for recovering
breath. At this rate we were compelled to pro
ceed. Having so much time to bestow on the
effort, we looked confidently forward to a happy
close of the toil. At the summit of the MAAM

CLUNY. * 55

the snow was deepest, but the road there being
comparatively level, our exertion to advance did
not require to be so great. When we got fairly
beyond the summit, and particularly when we
came to face direct to the south and west, the
snow rapidly grew shallow. As we descended the
beautiful slope of the mountain, into the glen, it
disappeared altogether. An hour from the summit
brought me to my home. Having breakfasted and
changed my dress, I repaired, with all my house
hold, to church — a mile and a half from the manse
— preached twice, and got back after all was past,
a very wearied, but a very thankful, and to be a
much-made-of and much-cared-for man."

Dark night had overtaken us by the time my
story was finished. Some of the dangerous points
to which I had referred were visible, scarcely
visible, through the haze. Dr. Candlish satisfied
me that he was interested in my narrative by the
questions for additional information which he put
to me in passing these as we went along.

When we arrived at Cluny it was bed-time.
Some of the inmates of the so-called hostelry had
retired to rest ; and gladly should we have done
so too had circumstances permitted. Two things
forbade this indulgence. We learned, at once,

56 SECOND WEEK.

that there was no " entertainment " either " for
man or horse ;" and, had there been, we could not,
thanks to Dr. Lee, have taken advantage of it.
Another stage, and that a long one, required to be
travelled, that we might keep time, and meet our
pre-arranged engagements.

With scarcely any delay, and scarcely any
refreshment for man or beast, we proceeded on our
way. The road was downhill, a circumstance on
which we congratulated ourselves. Moreover,
though the night was dark, the weather overhead
was fair. No stars appeared, and though they had,
the horizon was too limited for our seeing many
of them. Those who have travelled in the dark
the road along which we were now advancing,
know how deep the darkness is made by the
shadow of the stupendous mountains which enclose
it ; SCOUR OURAN, the mighty monarch of the
vast wild, crowning them all. The defile, as may
be conceived, is narrow ; and, though the path is
guarded by low parapet- walls, we were often close
enough to precipices, at various points, to create
for us one of the elements of the sublime, so that
we " held our breath for a time," and " held our
peace," as our general experience.

It was long past midnight when we arrived at
SHIELHOUSE Inn, in the district of Kintail, and

SHIELHOUSE. 57

not far from the head of Loch Duicli. Very thank
ful I was when we drew, or rather crept, up to
the poor-looking hostelry. The silence which
reigned in and around it attracted our attention,
and somewhat startled us. Not a sound of any
kind could we hear, unless it was, amidst the
deep silence, the occasional feeble, responsive
bleatings of sheep and lambs on the far off hill
sides. Not a dog even barked or moved his
tongue. What could it mean? We expected
that the sound of our approach would have caused
some movement. There was none. Our driver
rapped at the door. There was no response. He
rapped again, with the same result. No sound
was heard. I got down, and betook me to the
door ; knocked ; shook it ; tried to force it open ;
yet there was no sound, and no prospect of our
getting admission. The house seemed to be under
the power of enchantment, such as the Arabian
Nights describe. What could it mean ? Had the
house been vacated ? Had the inmates deserted
it ? We repeated our efforts to get admission, but
no one answered. It was tantalising, — in our cir
cumstances it was provoking. Something, however,
must needs be done.

I knew the house well. I knew where the
kitchen window was to be found. If matters

58 SECOND WEEK.

were as they were wont to be, I was sure the
window was not fastened. I could enter by it
and undo the bolts of the main door, admit my
fellow-traveller, and, if there were living beings
within to awaken, we could together rouse them.
I communicated my purpose to Dr. Candlish. I
cannot say he approved ; his opposition to my
proposal was not, however, so strong as to forbid
my putting it into execution. I found the
window at the back, as I expected, unguarded ;
and, having opened it, I easily introduced myself
into the large kitchen room, which was not un
familiar to me. A minute sufficed to unbolt the
main door in front, and to admit into the interior
the minister of St. George's.

I must describe his appearance at this juncture,
only premising that, though the time of our deten
tion had been long, even yet, up till this moment,
no responsive sound had been heard throughout
the dwelling invaded by us, if I except a single
deep anxious sigh which came from the "box-
bed," sunk in the wall, directly opposite to the
fireplace — at the distance of some twelve feet — a
sigh which died away almost immediately, and
passed into heavy breathing — the breathing of
soundest sleep. Well, Dr. Candlish was dressed
in a thick short overcoat, buttoned up to his chin.

SHIELHOUSE. 59

On his head he wore a fur cap, a brown shaggy
fur cap, with laps which came down over his ears,
and left little more than the front of his face in
view, save the spectacles which covered his eyes,
the nose on which they rested, and the lips under
neath, which were not motionless. My first step
had been to look to the fire. I found in the place
where I knew the fire usually stood on the floor
(for there was no grate), a few peat embers. I
gathered them together on the hearth, and, feeling
for some fresh fuel, succeeded in getting hold of a
few more peats in the neighbourhood of the hearth.
A pair of bellows, too, not remarkable for their power
as it proved, rewarded my search, and I entered on
the attempt to revive the fire. This duty was ab
ruptly taken out of my hands. " Give me that," Dr.
Candlish said, seizing the instrument which I was
using with the best of my skill. He drew under
him a low stool which the partial light I had created
revealed, sat down close to the ingle, and began to
employ the asthmatic bellows with considerable
vigour. The peats soon gave forth a stronger, though
still a faint glimmer of light, which fell full on the
face of the active operator ; especially on the spec
tacles, which fitfully flashed it back again. I stood in
the shadow, and, to an eye outside, I must have
looked a formidable object as the gleams from the

60 SECOND WEEK.

hearth now and again illuminated my person. I
do not describe my appearance at the time. The
scene presented itself to me as extremely ludicrous.
Had the grandees of St. George's, or had the
listening throngs of admiring hearers, anywhere,
of the hero of my story, set their eyes upon him
at that moment ! I could not resist a loud hearty
laugh, which made the apartment ring again.

" What do you mean ? "

My answer was a second laugh. But this
was not all. A rustling in the bed in the
wall, at this moment, drew my attention to
that quarter. I still stood in the shadow, and
the only visible object in the kitchen was the
bellows-blower, sedulously occupied, with the most
earnest expression, in producing light and heat,
under the circumstances I have described.
Opposite to him in the distance, the face of a
young woman presented itself at the half open
sliding door of the "box-bed." I observed her
direct a glance at the fireplace. Her look (I saw
it but for an instant) betokened the extreme of
consternation. What her conclusion was I know
not. But the exclamation which she uttered in
Gaelic, as she hurriedly drew back and buried
herself, head and all, under the bed-clothes, con
vinced me that she thought of my friend what she

SHIELHOUSE. 61

had no right to think. My laughter was renewed,
and became quite uproarious. When I had
explained, Dr. Candlish joined heartily in it.
What the inmates of the "box-bed" (for there
were three of them) thought and felt at that
moment I cannot tell. Not to keep them in
suspense, I went to the bed-side, spoke in Gaelic,
gave my name, with the name of my fellow-
traveller, and made them, as courteously as I could,
to understand the predicament in which we were.
They were satisfied, and, after a very short interval,
the girl who had first shown herself, and one of
her companions, having, within their dormitory,
out of sight of us, dressed themselves sufficiently
for the nonce, stood on the floor, prepared to
serve us.

The secret of the unaccountable silence which
prevailed on our arrival was easily told. They
had had a "gathering" for "speaning the lambs."*
For two nights in succession, they all — men,
women, and dogs — had been out of bed, watching
the lambs. This was the third night. The lambs
had settled at last, and the watchers had got to bed.
They were in their first sleep when we arrived ;
and no wonder that it was difficult to awake
them. We had found it next to impossible.

* Separating them from their dams.

62 SECOND WEEK.

Glad, however, were we, now that success had so
far crowned our efforts — efforts made in the
fashion here set forth.

A wonderfully short time sufficed for preparing
(we had not come altogether unexpected) a slight
repast, and for " making down " the beds in the
nice room upstairs, to which we were shown, and
which was to serve for parlour, sleeping-apartment,
and all. The beds stood one on each side of the
entrance-door, directly opposite to each other.
The window of the apartment stood directly op
posite the door. Two o'clock — after our much-
needed repast was done, and after we had given
hearty thanks for the mercies of the day — saw us
at rest. It was the first time, but not the last,
during our tour, that we had slept in the same
bedroom.

Arrangements were made for starting again at
five. It was absolutely necessary we should do
so. A fresh horse and conveyance were to be
ready for us then. I feared we might oversleep
ourselves, but our attendant servant-girl assured
us that, as the "lads" had to be up with the first
dawn of day to see after the lambs, and as then
we should have noise enough of men and of dogs,
there was little risk of our being left to untimeous
slumber. She engaged, besides, to call us half-an-

MA AM RATAGAN. 63

hour before five. We should thus have two hours
and a half for repose. We hastened to bed. In
stantly that Dr. Candlish laid his head on the
pillow, I heard, on the opposite side of the room,
the free breathing that betokened healthy, refresh
ing slumber. I followed suit, saying —

" So he giveth his beloved sleep."

Punctual to our engagement, we were on the
road again a little after five, a beautiful autumn
morning. It is something to ascend MAAM KATA-
GAN, under any circumstances, for the first time. It
was truly enchanting this morning. The moun
tains, as we looked back, and as we looked to the
north and south, were clear, sunlit, from their
summits downwards ; fleecy clouds rested on their
deep bosoms ; lights and shadows were never
so strikingly contrasted. Locli Duich lay, far
below, like a vast sheet of plate-glass, dark,
motionless. All was stillness and apparent peace,
SCOUR OURAN still the presiding monarch of the
scene. Could human nature be as corrupt, des
perately wicked, death-bearing, amidst such seclu
sion, such remoteness from the great world, as it
proves itself to be amidst the seething masses and
the haunts of gross vice in our great cities ? Alas !
I knew it could.

64 SECOND WEEK.

We went on gaily — now confident of arriving
at Glenelg in good time to intercept the steam
boat on her northern voyage, the object at which
we had aimed. At the cost of much extra, and,
but for the untoward event at Fort-William,
unnecessary labour, we had overcome the diffi
culties which had seemed to forbid the accomplish
ment of the thing desired. What is pain when
it is past? What is disappointment when we
have survived it ? We made good our object ;
and with that we resolved to be satisfied, forgetting
the past. Down the long descent, by the delight
ful road from MAAM EATAGAN, past my old manse,
beautiful for situation beyond all manses, we ad
vanced to the Kirkton of Glenelg, which saw us
enter its, to me, well-known single street, before
eight o'clock. To the inquiry, "Is the BOAT in
sight ? " we had the answer, " No ; she has not yet
reached Isle Oronsay" This was enough. In an
hour, not sooner, we might expect her arrival in
the bay. Breakfast was prepared for us, and with
excellent appetite and keen relish we partook of it.

As we passed into the open air a crowd of my
old parishioners were assembled to see me, and to
welcome my return to the glen. It was only my
second visit since I had been removed from them
in the autumn of 1839. The greeting was very

GLENELG. 65

cordial. The expressions of welcome and affection
ate regard, on the part of the female portion of
the assembled friends, were lively, and touched
me not a little. The term of our ecclesiastical
relations had had many things to make it memor
able, and to awaken in their hearts and in mine
recollections both pleasant 'and painful ; but,
whether pleasant or painful, grateful to our feel
ings — recollections which we loved to recall and
to dwell upon.

All were filled with joy to see my companion
on this occasion. The name of CANDLISH was as
familiar to them as a household word. He was a
great man, they knew ; the leader of the Free
Church ; the orator who swayed all minds in dis
cussion and debate. They viewed him with intense
interest ; but I saw a shade of disappointment (as I
thought) on their countenances. |The Highlanders
of Glendg and the neighbouring districts are not
of the Celtic tribes — not of the same race as the
Highlanders of Islay and Argyle. \ Of Scandinavian
origin, their type of person is greatly superior to
the other. They are tall, stalwart, ponderous men,
with high features and a lofty bearing. Their
women, in proportion, are the same. They are
of the class of Highlanders who never think of
a great man but as a man of gigantic stature ; who
F

66 SECOND WEEK.

do not care to realise the fact that a great soul can
inhabit a body which is not in some due pro
portion to its greatness. They would have had
my friend's " bodily presence " something different
from what stood before them.

"'N-e so an duine mor ?" they said to me repeatedly
in a sort of lowered tone. Had he exhibited the
colossal proportions, specimens of which could
easily have been furnished, for their gratification,
from our Free Church ministers and elders,
admiration would have been secured at first sight
in its highest measure. If that was not the case
at present, it did not interfere with the manifesta
tion of their native politeness, or the expression of
their respect and kindliness. When Dr. Candlish,
in his affable, frank, joyous manner, spoke to them,
they were greatly delighted. They speedily
became impressed with his superiority, and gave
me to know it by various exclamations in their
own tongue, the meaning and force of which can be
conveyed by no translation. His influence over
them grew every moment, to my very sincere joy
and satisfaction.

Our experience was the same all the way we
travelled on our tour through Skye, Ross-shire, and
Inverness-shire, to Inverness. In their admiration
of my fellow-traveller, some of the Highlanders

GLENELG. 67

declared, and maintained, that they understood his
English preaching, as well as the Gaelic preaching
of their own ministers. I did not dispute with
them this point, although I was willing to believe
that the enthusiasm of the occasion might be
excused if it produced some exaggeration.

By the time I had • paid a visit to the church
yard, to the resting-place of my lamented children
— four removed, within six short weeks, amidst
circumstances elsewhere narrated by me,* the
signal of the approach of the steamer was given.

The walk from the Claclian to the boat-house,
from which point we were to embark, reminded
me that the road along which we moved, as well
as the boat-house, was the result of the people's
industry in 1837, the year of famine. A consider
able share of the provisions sent on that occasion
in aid to the Highlands, fell to our parish. On
iny suggesting to the people that they might fairly
earn their meal by doing work for it — work of a
public kind — work which might be useful to them
selves afterwards, instead of accepting the gratuity
as a dole to paupers, they immediately consented,
and the work then constructed remains till this
day, a memorial of an independent and a manly
feeling, which, at the time, greatly rejoiced me.

" Narrative of successive Bereavements in a Minister's Family. "

68 SECOND WEEK.

Many have since had the benefit of their industry ;
but the story is old, and there are few who re
member, and few who know, aught about it.

We got comfortably on board our ship, our
rowers in conveying us thither being not a little
proud of their task. There we met, and were wel
comed by, Dr. Begg, and with him Mr. Glass of
Musselburgh, members of another deputation on
the same errand with ourselves. I own I felt
happy, my mind relieved, our object having been
happily accomplished, when I stood on the deck
at the appointed hour, with Dr. Candlish, all safe
and sound — Dr. Lee notwithstanding.

Our destination, in the first instance, was Loch-
alsh; and there a temporary separation was to
take place. As Dr. Candlish wras advertised to
preach next day (10th August) at Portree, he pro
ceeded thither, not landing at Lochalsh. The other
brethren landed and travelled to Applecross, where
they had duty of a similar kind to discharge. As
my work for next day was to recross the long ferry,
through Kylerea to Glenelg, and to preach there, I
remained at Lochalsh, the guest of the hospitable
family at Balmacara, Mr. Lillingston and his
amiable wife. It was my second visit, as I have
said, since I had left the parish in 1839, then to
become the minister of Stirling. By obtaining a

LOCHALSH. 69

grant from our building fund, and doubling the
amount so secured by private subscription — a site
having been kindly granted by the proprietor, Mr.
Baillie — we had recently succeeded in erecting a
Free Church in Glenelg. At the time of my pre
sent visit, though the fabric was by no means
completed, it was sufficiently advanced to be occu
pied for a day. I accordingly preached there, in
both Gaelic and English, to a crowded congrega
tion, and so had the happiness to open the GLENELG
Free Church. In the evening I returned to Sal-
macara, where further duty awaited me. In dis
charging it I was forcibly reminded of past times
— times of much spiritual privilege and of deep
interest to many. Thus ended our second week.

THIED WEEK.
I.

BEFORE I enter on the narrative of this week's
progress, whilst I wait to be rejoined by Dr. Cand-
lish, which will be early on the Monday, let me
here record something of the remarkable man
under whose roof we were to pass a little time,
now and afterwards, before our present wander
ings came to a close — a man whose memory will
not soon be lost in the district of country in which,
for many years, he was so prominent a character,
and so highly and deservedly esteemed for his
many virtues.

ISAAC WILLIAM LILLINGSTON, Esquire, of Loch-
alsh, Ross-shire, was an Englishman by birth. His
father, Abraham Spooner Lillingston, whom, as
eldest son, he succeeded, was proprietor of Elendon
Hall, Warwick — a valuable domain in that county.
His mother was the sister of the celebrated WILLIAM
WILBERFORCE, the friend of the African, the enemy
of slavery, and the eloquent advocate of evangelical
truth and every good cause. The proprietor of
Lochalsfy was thus cousin-german of the late Bishop

LILLINGSTON OF LOCHALSH. l

of Win Chester, a man who, if he possessed his father's
genius and eloquence, did not become of great
name by walking in the same paths, or advancing
the interests of religion on the same principles.

Mr. Lillingston was a Cambridge man. He had
enjoyed all the educational advantages of the youth
of the English aristocracy — advantages which prove
so strong an attraction, perhaps so great a snare, to
the youth of our Scottish gentry. That he had
profited by the privileges which he had enjoyed, I
think every one who knew him intimately would
be ready to admit. That he set any high value
on what scholarship had done for him, or that he
sought to employ this for any high ends, according
to the world's estimation, few would be ready to
maintain. He was conscious of his power, and, at
the same time, careless to use it, neither ambition
nor vain-glory being the moving power within him.

He was an accomplished gentleman — graceful
in his figure, tall, fair-haired, black-eyed, slightly
made, of sweetest voice, but energetic, though
cairn and dignified in all his movements. It was
said that he was unrivalled when he deigned to
indulge in field sports. No one could come near
him as a shot. The " wondering rustics " used to
tell that they had seen him throw a shilling into
the air, and, ere it reached the ground, shiver it

72 THIRD WEEK.

with a bullet from his rifle. I never saw him
perform that feat ; but on one occasion I had an
illustration of the confidence he had in the accu
racy of his aim. We were proceeding together to
take boat from the shore near Balmacara on a
fishing excursion, his rifle over his arm. He had
forgotten something, and ran back for it. I pro
ceeded on my way. In a minute or two after, I
heard his step hastening to rejoin me. At the
same instant the report of his rifle startled me, it
was so close, so sharp. My conclusion was that
the piece had gone off by accident, and that some
catastrophe, I could not for the moment tell whe
ther to him or to me, had occurred. On looking
to one side I saw, within two feet of me, a dog —
shot dead. "Ah !" he said, "that dog has been of
late worrying the sheep on the farm, and the shep
herds have been urging me to have him killed.
He was close to you when I observed him running
along. I knew I could hit him without injuring
you, except startling you. I hope I have not
frightened you !"

Like many other Cambridge men, Mr. Lilling-
ston was in the habit of coining to the Highlands
for the vacation reading. Whether it was that he
did his reading work easily, or that, having no
professional end in prospect, he cared little about

LILLIXGSTON OF LOCHALSH. 73

his tutor's authority and admonitions, at all events
his excursions through the Highlands were
many, and had speedily the effect of creating in
him an inextinguishable admiration of the country,
of its scenery, and of its population, in their
manners, habits, pursuits, and peculiarities ; and,
strange to say, their language, which ultimately
he acquired. He seems, from his earliest intro
duction to the country, to have taken a lively in
terest in the moral and spiritual condition of the
people ; and I have heard him say that, from the
first, he felt impressed with the conviction that
God's intention for him was that he should devote
himself for life to the important purpose of serving
the cause of religion in this wide and interesting
field. That he did so, and that his efforts to do
good and to communicate were greatly honoured
of his Master — the Master whom he so faithfully
served — all who knew his career can testify.

In one of his many wanderings through the
Highlands, Mr. Lillingstori became the guest,
for a short visit, of Sir Hugh Innes, Bart., of
Lochalsh, for many years M.P. for Eoss-shire.
There he met Miss Lindsay, the niece of Sir
Hugh, and the heiress of his extensive estate.
It was generally understood that Miss Lindsay's
large fortune was invested in this landed security ;

74 THIRD WEEK.

and that, both for that reason, as well as her
relationship to Sir Hugh (who had no family,
never having been married), LocJialsh would
certainly, one day, claim her as its possessor.
That Miss Lindsay, though still very young,
should have many to aspire to her hand, cannot
be matter of surprise. One Highland Chieftain,
especially, she might have had as her liege lord,
to endow her with his wide-spread lands, and to
dignify her lot with his famous title. She pre
ferred the English wanderer, and, in due time,
Miss Lindsay became Mrs. Lillingston. Thus
she could then say, as she can still say, " I dwell
among my own people."

Mr. Lillingston was an earnest student of the
Bible. His library was very rich in theological
literature. On his father's death, the English
property was disposed of, and LocJialsh was made
his family inheritance. Hither, his library, with
other effects, was conveyed. The library was rich,
particularly in the department of prophetical
literature. Everything worth reading that had
ever been published on the subject of prophecy
was to be found on his shelves. Mr. Lillingston
espoused, and very earnestly advocated and upheld,
pre-millennial personal advent views. Perhaps,
were he now among us, it might be alleged that

LILLINGSTON OF LOCIIALSII. 75

he inclined also somewhat to the views of the
Plymouth Brethren. However this may have
been, his peculiarity of sentiment in either parti
cular never interfered with his large-hearted
catholicity, his spirit of most loving brotherhood for
every man in whom he perceived love for Christ,
a*nd an honest desire to serve the spiritual
interests of his fellow-men, seeking their eternal
good. His entire time was devoted to the cause
of human amelioration ; and, believing that by the
gospel, and by the gospel only — the gospel accepted
and obeyed — such amelioration was to.be accom
plished, he himself laboured, and secured others
to labour, in the work of propagating its glorious
truths to all whom he could reach.

He was passionately fond of yachting, and
seemed to delight in daring marine exploits —
much more so than many of his friends cared for
— their alarms often affording him vast amuse
ment. The ELIZABETH was famed on all the coast,
from Cape Wrath to the Mull of Galloway. Her
crew were select ; and, when their master held the
helm, every man required to be at his post, and to
look out for squalls. In fine weather, any one
might have the helm for him; not so when the
sky darkened, and the white waves rolled.

The ELIZABETH was literally a missionary ship.

76 THIRD WEEK.

She was, by day and by night, at the service of
ministers going to preach the gospel, and requiring
the means of transit. No difficult questions were
asked. If men professed to be on the "King's
business," and if the cause was urgent on that
account, the ELIZABETH'S anchor was soon up, and
her sails soon spread to the breeze. When the
winds were denied, there was the huge sixteen-
oared long-boat, which our friend always main
tained could stand any sea that could rise, even in
the Atlantic. I have had experience of this unique
marine conveyance in bad enough weather.

Not merely as a passage boat, thus occupied,
was the ELIZABETH famous all along the coast, but,
above all, she was celebrated as a Tract-distributor.
Balmacara looks directly to the entrance of the
Strait of Kylerea. Vessels of all dimensions,
from ironclads to the diminutive fishing smack,
pass through this strait, especially in unsettled
weather, to and from the Baltic and ports of
the North, thereby avoiding the passage, always
dangerous, on the outside of the Isle of Skye.
In this Mr. Lillingston saw a wonderful oppor
tunity of usefulness. He had religious tracts,
the most worthy, in every language of Europe,
provided in bales. Parcels of these were neatly
made up, and so loaded, that, by the use of a

LILLINGSTOX OF LOCHALSH. 77

little dexterity, they could be projected to a consi
derable distance. The men of the ELIZABETH were
exercised thoroughly in the practice of throwing
these projectiles. Their commission was to run their
Yacht up alongside every passing ship and craft
of whatever size, inquire politely, and in a kindly
tone, "Of what country?" and, having been
answered, immediately to cast aboard the parcel
which the case, whatever it might be, demanded,
and then to " bear away," to look out for some
other object of interest of the same kind. Year
after year this practice was pursued, not without
very gratifying results, as was well known. The
work was done in faith. Some might sneer.
Many looked on and said nothing. The good
man who had, in the warmth of his heart, origin
ated this method of doing his Master's work, per
severed in it, knowing whom he served, and what
he honestly desired to accomplish.
His benevolence was unbounded.

" Is any sick ? the man of Ross relieves,
Prescribes, attends, and med'cine makes and gives.
Is there a variance ? enter but his door,
Balked are the courts, and contest is no more :
Despairing quacks with curses fled the place,
And vile attorneys, now a useless race. —
Behold what blessings wealth to life can lend !
And see what comfort it affords our end ! "

The Man of Ross.

78 THIRD WEEK.

At one time Balmacara House was literally
converted into an hospital. The sick and the
diseased, from every part of the country, without
distinction, were received there. Dining-room,
drawing-room, bedrooms — all were converted into
wards for patients. The host and his lady con
fined themselves to one small parlour and one
bedroom. The lawn in front of the house was
covered with chairs and benches for the invalids,
and the entire establishment of servants, house
hold servants, and others, was made available for
the business of nursing them and ministering to
their infirmities. The presiding genius was Mr.
Lillingston himself, who had a passion for ad
ministering medicine, his two great remedies
being mercury and Epsom salts, these being aided
by a vast variety of pills, either original or
adopted. The thing lasted for a while. At
length it began to be believed (at least suspicions
became strong) that the hospital was not quite a
safe one. Nobody, it was remarked, got better.
Persons who had not much to complain of when
they entered there got worse. Customers fell off.
In the end there were to be found about Bal
macara, as patients, only the knowing ones, who
managed to persuade the good man (not a difficult
task) that they were in poor health, and so sue-

LILL1NGSTON OF LOCHALSH. 79

ceeded in getting food, clothing, and money — ac
cepted his medicines, at the same time, but took
care not to swallow them — so sorning on him till
even they became ashamed of doing so any longer.
The eccentricities of Balmacara life disappeared
when a young family began to bless the house.
What was truly good never disappeared. Devoted
earnestness in all that was holy continued. The
friends of Jesus were ever received as if they pos
sessed an indefeasible right to the hospitalities
which were provided for them in the name of the
Master. The voice of melody never ceased to be
heard in the happy mansion. It cannot be de
nied that many who were not worthy took
advantage of facilities which might have been
better guarded by a wiser discrimination. But,
in thousands of instances, the Lord Jesus was
entertained in the persons of those who were
worthy — who were his disciples indeed.

Mr. Lillingston believed with all his heart, as
I have said, in the doctrine of the pre-millennial
personal advent. His library was richly furnished
with books, modern and ancient, dealing with this
most interesting subject. To me he granted liberally
the use of such books, dealing with the question,
as I desired from him, by which generous conduct
on his part I became considerably versed in the

80 THIRD WEEK.

knowledge of what is advanced by the pre-mil-
lennialists, and with the arguments by which they
sustain their views. In the very interesting study
of prophecy (I speak of the study of prophecy
generally), there are conclusions which seem to
be well founded, and which may be true, that
require, on the part of those who arrive at them,
much faith and long-enduring patience, as well as
willingness to suffer disappointment — at least for
the time. This was eminently so in the experi
ence of the proprietor of Lochalsh.

By his calculations he had made out, as other
commentators of great name had done, that the
year 1837 was to be distinguished by the fulfil
ment of prophecy in some great event. He did
not conceal that Tie expected in that year 'the per
sonal appearing of our Lord. He began to watch
for it, especially during the night season, often
depriving himself and depriving his household of
natural rest. A remarkable natural phenomenon,
which occurred towards the close of harvest in
this year, greatly increased the excitement .at Bal-
macara, and in all the region round about where
the influence of Balmacara extended. An aurora
of very unusual, perhaps of unprecedented, splen
dour occurred. Night after night, for nearly a
week, when the atmosphere was free of clouds,

LILLINGSTON OF LOCHALSH. 81

this wonder came into view. Never before had I
seen aught of the kind, so well defined, or so brilliant
and beautiful ; and never since have I witnessed
anything to be compared with it. In the zenith —
right over head — there appeared a corona, a circular
open space, through which the clear sky was
visible, and there, far away, a single diminutive
star sparkled within the circle. From this centre,
itself of deep blue, there radiated in every direc
tion, embracing the whole visible heavens, columns
of light, exhibiting every colour (as it seemed to
us), from deep purple to the palest yellow, includ
ing green, orange, and red. The wavy motion of
those alcoved columns produced a sublime effect.
It was impossible not to be awed by the sight. It
seemed so likely, too, that the circular open space
above us, was made there designed for some special
manifestation. That the visible horizon is limited
in a district so remarkable for high ^mountains as
Lochalsh, may account for the whole heavens being
occupied with those gorgeous streamers. In a
wider horizon their extent might have been cur
tailed to the eye. To our apprehension, it seemed
as if within the range of the corona and its append
ages was to be inaugurated, in the view of all
mankind, the great event which the friends at
Balmacara so earnestly looked for. But we were

G »

82 THIRD WEEK.

mistaken. We waited in vain for some manifesta
tion. None came. After a short period of expect
ancy on the part of those who were more or less
affected by the phenomenon, the streamers disap
peared. Human life in Loclialsh returned to its
wonted course. Good Mr. Lillingston retained
his convictions notwithstanding ; pursued his re
searches ; repeated his calculations to test their ac
curacy ; and reverted to the assurance, which he had
held so firmly, that, ere long, his conclusions would
be seen to be according to truth. What had occurred
did not by any means shake his faith in these.

" I was told of a poor peasant on the Welsh
mountains, who, month after month, year after
year, through a long period of declining life, was
used every morning, as soon as he awoke, to open
his casement window towards the east, and look
out to see if Jesus was coming. He was no cal
culator, or he need not have looked so long ; he
was no student of prophecy, or he need not have
looked at all ; he was ready, or he would not have
been in such haste ; he was willing, or he would
rather have looked another way ; he loved, or it
would not have been the first thought of the morn
ing. His Master did not come, but a messenger
did, to fetch the ready one home. The same pre
paration sufficed for both ; the longing soul was
satisfied with either." — Fry.

LILLINGSTON OF LOCHALSH. 83

This was, as near as possible, the case with the
proprietor of Lochalsli. The Lord called him home
at a comparatively early age — when he was some
thing above forty.

It will easily be credited that this amiable man
was superstitious. His mind was eminently of
that cast. He delighted in the marvellous, in
superstitious religious anecdotes. Stored with
these, somehow he was ever acquiring fresh
accessions to his stock. Many of these stories,
dealing as they did with the preternatural, were
very exciting, though they were all intended, and
perhaps, in some cases, were calculated, to lead the
thoughts to the one Eock of confidence, and the
one place of refuge in all dangers. Impressions
were often made, which, painful and not quite
profitable, one desired to shake off, but found
abiding with him notwithstanding ; the attempt
to send them away by no means succeeding
amidst the surrounding circumstances. In lis
tening for a long winter's evening, amidst the
dingy light of a large apartment, to such recitals,
one felt as if breathing an infected atmosphere,
and in spite of himself became enervated and un
manned, a prey to foolish imaginations and
groundless fears.

I was on a visit, of a day or two, on one

84 THIRD WEEK.

occasion at Bcdmacara House. I had asked the
use of some medical books from my kind friend,
who was so ready, at all times, to furnish me
with other books. His library was rich in litera
ture bearing on the treatment of disease in every
form. My children were, at the time, suffering
under measles, and I desired to .study, for their
benefit, what related to that disease, especially to
learn what means should be employed for its
removal. I was informed, in reply to my appli
cation, that, whilst all other books might be
borrowed from his library, medical books, by a
stringent rule, could not be. But, if I came to
the house, I might, if I could, read all that his
library contained. I accepted the invitation.
At home we were not within reach of professional
advice and attendance ; I set myself, accordingly,
to get possession of all the information I could
from Mr. Lillingston's books, taking copious notes.
At the close of this work, a long evening fol
lowed, which was passed in the way I have de
scribed above.

I retired to my bedroom before midnight. It
was a large attic room at the east end of the
house — an attic so large, that four beds were
placed in it, one at each of the four corners. The
door was directly opposite to the fireplace, which

LILLINGSTON OF LOCHALSH. 85

stood in the centre of the gable wall. The bed
prepared for me, on the night in question, was
to the left of the fireplace, the foot of the bed being
towards the fire, which was shaded off, and out of
sight, by the thick bed-curtain. The door was in
full view of my bed, to the left. None of the
other beds was occupied. No one slept that
night in the main body of the house (the servants'
apartments were in the two wings) except Mr.
and Mrs. Lillingston, and myself. Their bedroom
was situated on the ground-floor. The drawing-
room floor intervened between it and the attic
which I occupied.

I had gone to bed. After a little, I fell
asleep, and I slept I know not how long. Sud
denly I was awakened by what I imagined was a
loud knock at my door. I opened my eyes : the
fire was still burning, but was about to expire. I
called " Come in." No sooner had I done so than
I saw the door slowly open. A man of gigantic
stature, of huge proportions, red-haired, half-
dressed, his brawny arms bare high above the
elbows, presented himself to my view. I saw
him distinctly advance, not towards me, but
direct to the fireplace, the glimmering light from
the grate falling on his massive frame. He
carried a large black chest, which appeared to me

86 THIRD WEEK.

to be studded with brass nails, and to be so heavy
as to tax to the utmost his strength, stalwart
figure as he was. I saw him pass the foot of my
bed, as if turning to the side of the fire next the
bed towards the opposite angle of the room, on the
same line. The black chest seemed to grow into a
coffin of dread dimensions. In that form I saw
it but for a moment. My bed-curtain almost
instantly concealed from my eyes the bearer and
his burden. He set it down with a crash which
startled me, as I thought, and which seemed to
shake the house, and, as I believed, fairly aroused
me. I tried to look round to the fireplace, but
I saw nothing. Everything was as I had left it
on going into bed. The vision had passed. In
whatever condition I had been previously, I felt
confident I was, by that time, thoroughly awake.
Reflecting on the incident, I soon set the whole
affair down to a fit of nightmare, brought on,
perhaps, by the conversation in which I had been
so deeply interested before retiring to rest, and
which had somewhat excited my nervous system.
In a short time I had got over my agitation, and
was composing myself to sleep, when I again
suddenly heard a knock at my door. I raised
myself on my elbow, with a resolution to be at the
bottom of it, and said firmly, perhaps fiercely,

LILLINGSTON OF LOCHALSH. 87

" Come in." The door opened, — when Mr. Lilling-
ston appeared, in his dressing-gown, a light in his
hand. As he was in figure tall, though not robust,
and of a reddish complexion, his appearance
slightly resembled what I had previously seen.

"Have you been ill?"

" No ; I am quite well."

" Have you been out of bed ?"

" No ; I certainly have not, since I lay down."

" Mrs. Lillingston and I have been disturbed by
hearing heavy steps in your room, as we thought,
and by the sound of the falling of some weighty
article on the floor."

" There must have been some mistake."

He bade me good-night, withdrew, and left me to
my reflections. Sleep came towards morning. At
breakfast, when we all met there, the noise which
had been heard became the subject of conversation.
I made no mention of the vision ; that I kept to
myself. I suggested that something might have
fallen directly overhead in the drawing-room.
We went and examined it, but nothing could be
seen ; all the furniture stood, every part of it, in
its wonted place. Had we been able to explain
the noise there would have been nothing in the
occurrence that might be accounted uncommon.
Even with that unexplained (the giving, or yielding,

88 THIRD WEEK.

of some joint in a piece of furniture might have
done it), there was nothing very unusual in what
had occurred. I would have forgotten it altogether,
but the succession of deaths in our family just a
year after — four children, as already noted, being
taken from us within a few weeks — brought up the
remembrance of what I had seen, and I felt a
strange — an unreasonable inclination I am willing
to admit — to connect the two things, and to con
clude that what I had witnessed, or imagined I
had witnessed, in the Balmacara attic, was a kindly
presentiment or pre-intimation of sorrow to come.
It had some effect in making my heart, and another
heart too, tender, in anticipating trial which might
overtake us, for which we felt it became us to
stand prepared — trial of a kind that we had not, at
that time, ever tasted.

I only add that my affection for Mr. Lillingston
was strong. With eccentricity, to a certain extent,
the existence of which his warmest admirers would
not gainsay, he was a holy man, devoted to doing
good, never off his Master's work. In all the
region in which his property lay he exerted a
mighty influence of a most beneficial character.
His liberality and generosity to the poor became
proverbial. In one department it was eminently
so : I mean that of assisting promising young

LILLINGSTON OF LOCHALSH. 89

men with pecuniary aid for pursuing their studies
with a view to the ministry. There were friends
who thought that in this, as well as in his charities
generally, greater discrimination and a more
diligent examination of the cases which claimed
his patronage, would have been an advantage.
He cared not to have such views presented to him.
It could be no excuse, he would say, to withhold
one's bounty, that the objects to whom it was
extended were unworthy and ungrateful ; for God
makes His sun to shine on the evil and the good,
and His rain to fall on the just and the unjust : all
are the objects of His bounty. Such was ISAAC WIL
LIAM LILLINGSTON. To him, that which the Christian
poet wrote of another, might justly be applied : —

" Laurels may flourish round the conqueror's tomb,
But happiest they who win the world to come ;
Believers have a silent field to fight,
And their exploits are veiled from human sight.
They in some nook, where little known they dwell,
Kneel, pray in faith, and rout the hosts of hell ;
Eternal triumphs crown their toils divine,

And all those triumphs, , now are thine."

Cowper.

II.

On the morning of Monday, llth August, Dr.
Candlish was expected to arrive at Balmacara

90 THIRD WEEK.

House, by steamer from Portree. Several friends,
clerical and others, had come in the happy
expectation of meeting him. The party was con
siderable. "We had had breakfast ; but the table
was spread afresh for the expected guest, whose
appearance was longed for. It was a favourable
opportunity for our hospitable entertainer to
agitate his great question, the pre-millennial advent.
An amicable, but animated discussion took place,
in which we all joined — some taking the side of
our host, and others opposing. His exegesis of a
particular passage was questioned. The true
meaning, frowever, it was admitted on all hands,
must be decided by the power which belonged to
a Greek particle occurring in the passage. As on
this point we could not come to an understanding,
it was resolved that the decision should be left to
Dr. Candlish, and that we should all stand by his
award, whatever it might be.

By-and-by the whistling sound of escaping
steam is heard. The "BOAT " has arrived in the bay
from Portree. Some of our party hasten to the
shore to receive the passenger for whose arrival
we have been longing. The Balmacara barge has
gone off to receive him, and all are on the tip
toe of expectation. Mr. Lillingston has, meanwhile,
retired to his study. Dr. Candlish enters, looking

LILLINGSTON OF LOCHALSH. 91

somewhat cold, and undoubtedly feeling hungry.
He is welcomed very cordially by our warm-hearted
hostess, and by all friends present. Breakfast ar
rangements are pressed on by footmen and servants
running hither and thither. In midst of all Mr.
Lillingston enters on the scene. He appears with
his Bible under his arm — a notable Bible — a large
octavo substantially bound — nothing ornamental
—but its outer margin, in front and at both ends,
written over in a most original way with the
names of the respective books of the sacred record,
a device by which the possessor of the Bible is able,
with wonderful facility as well as 'wonderful
rapidity, to turn to any of the books, and to find,
without almost any delay, the particular chapter
which he desires to quote from. I had prepared
Dr. Candlish for some things which he might ex
pect on coming to Balmacara. A hearty welcome
is accorded by the head of the house to our dis
tinguished friend — a welcome at least as hearty
as any he had hitherto met with. But this is
barely done, and he has certainly no more than taken
his place at the table, and begun a breakfast which
strongly solicits his appetite, than the question
which had been in debate, is laid before him in a
somewhat learned disquisition, and his view ear
nestly requested. There is an expression in his

92 THIRD WEEK.

eye indicative of his being amused ; more, perhaps,
of his being annoyed at the interference between
him and the "good things" spread before him ; most
of all, of suspicion that some joke is being per
petrated. This is suggested to me by a glance
which he casts towards me as I sit quietly at a
little distance observing the scene. He is not to
be done. This he makes palpable ; for, paying
little heed, in the first instance, to the statement
with which the subject has been introduced, he
sets himself to satisfy the cravings of his hunger,
evidently with much relish, and leaves to those
of us who choose, to maintain the discussion. He
indicates, at the same time, sufficiently for
the satisfaction of parties, that he is not in
attentive to what has been going on. When
the right time comes he gives us the benefit of
his convictions. His decision is in favour of the
views of our host. I am thankful it is so, as we
all are, for it makes -an end of controversy for the
day. The victory is accepted in good taste and
with kindly feeling. There is no exultation ; and
we pass a happy and profitable day.

We have to close the day with what has always
been the practice here when a minister, or
ministers, form part of the company in the house
— religious service — not for the domestics only,

KNOCK, SKYE. 93

but for as many besides, from the whole neighbour
hood, as may choose to attend. On the present
occasion the congregation is very large ; drawing-
room, dining-room, hall, stairs and staircase, to the
top, being packed full of hearers. The speaker is
stationed at a point in the hall, near the entrance-
door of the house, whence his voice may extend to
the entire audience, though his person can be seen
only by a portion of it. Dr. Candlish is the chief
speaker, though I take part of the service — " in
the other language." We all feel that we have
enjoyed a time of privilege, and none more than
our esteemed friend Mr. Lillingston. He has never
before heard the minister of St. George's. He is,
however, to hear him again before our tour has
come to a close.

in.

Next morning, Tuesday, 12th August, we took
ship for Skye. The point at which we were to
land was KNOCK, in the parish of Sleat, then the
residence of a much-valued friend, known to me,
as all his father's family were, for many years.
I mean Mr. Colin Elder.

It was a bright morning, with a fresh breeze
from the north. The wind being off the land, the
breeze to us on the Lochalsh shore seemed light.

94 THIRD WEEK.

I knew it would prove otherwise once we
approached the entrance into Kylerea strait.
Through that strait lay our course, past the bay
of Glenelg, keeping to the right, and past Isle-
Oronsay, into the Sound of Skat. The ELIZABETH,
with her skipper and crew, all tried men, was
placed at our disposal for the run. Immediately
on going on board, and on our fastenings being
thrown loose, Dr. Candlish took the helm. The
skipper exchanged looks with me. I had never
seen my friend " at the helm," in the present sense,
before ; but I had full confidence that he would not
have undertaken it unless he knew his competency.
This much I managed to communicate to the man
properly in command. The result proved the
correctness of my conviction. The sail through
the Kyle, with an ebb tide and fair wind, was
exciting, for its rapidity. The tide must have been
running at the rate of eight miles an hour ; but
though so much, the ELIZABETH outran the current
sufficiently to keep good steering way. I thought
the occasion was a novel one to the helmsman,
especially when we got into the vortices caused at
some points by the sweep of the sea ; but he was
quite equal to the duty then required at his hand.
The skipper kept near ; the men were each of
them at his post. All went well.

KNOCK, SKYE. 95

" Merrily, merrily goes the bark,

On a breeze from the northward free ;

So shoots through the morning sky the lark,

Or the swan through the summer sea."

Lord of the Isles.

We flew along the coast of Skyey leaving my old
parish church at a distance to the left — on and on,
past Isle-Oronsay, close on the right, until, about
eight o'clock A.M., when our steersman put up helm,
we ran into Knock Bay. There was no need to
cast anchor. The ELIZABETH, now entirely in the
hands of her commissioned master, "lay to"
gracefully. The boat was lowered from the davits
with great celerity, and we were comfortably
landed on the shore. Our things were conveyed
fo the house by two of the yachtsmen, who soon
rejoined their ship. Not long thereafter, we had
the pleasure of seeing the ELIZABETH lying over to
the coast of KNOYDART, on a long tack, by which
she caught the "first of flood" sweeping back
towards and through Kylerea, and was borne to
her morning moorings, as we afterwards learned,
almost as rapidly as she had conveyed us from
them to our present haven.

The inmates of KNOCK House were scarcely out
of bed. Our arrival, however, soon produced an
altered state of things ; and we found ourselves

96 THIRD WEEK.

made cordially welcome to all that hospitality
which, in the Highlands, and very specially in
Skye, friends to whom we commit ourselves know
so well how to employ.

We had work on hand, for our visit was not
one of ceremony or polite formality. Weeks
before it had been arranged that we should, on
this day, preach here. Our place of worship was
a larn or kiln, supplied by our present host. By
noon the people of the district, to a considerable
number, had assembled, when we both preached,
of course in different tongues ; but in such manner,
in both cases, as to elicit the warmest expressions
of gratitude. As in all the localities which we
visited, there were here matters connected with our
Church which had to be definitely arranged, and
which were absolutely referred to our decision,
more particularly to that of Dr. Candlish. I never,
until this time, realised so vividly of what un
speakable benefit to the churches of primitive
times the visitations of the apostles must have
been. If stated regular calls, of a kind resembling
this of ours, by our leading men, not superseding
but aiding our presbyteries, were made to the out
lying fields of the Church, the good accomplished
might be very great.

We were Mr. Elder's guests for the day. We

KNOCK, SKYE. 97

made his hospitable mansion our resting-place for
the night too, and not a little enjoyed the intel
ligent converse of a man who, although living
a most retired life, unknown to the world, was
a thorough classical scholar, an alumnus of
Marischal College, Aberdeen, and well read in all
modern literature. One of his sons is the present
minister of Woolwich, of the English Presbyterian
Church. From Mr. Elder, Dr. Candlish received
much valuable information as to the state of eccle
siastical matters in all the region where we at
present were — information of which, as it may be
well believed, he made good use when the time for
doing so came.

Next day we were kindly conveyed across the
country to ORDE, on the borders of Loch Slapin.
The family at ORDE were not of our Church, but
being old acquaintances of mine, I asked Dr.
Candlish to accompany me to the house for a very
short call, which he kindly did. The visit was
counted an honour, and I received hearty thanks
for having prompted it. From here we crossed
the sea by boat to the Strathaird coast. We were
in the close neighbourhood of the Spar Cave and
Coruisk, but the work which we had on hand for
the day forbade our availing ourselves of the
H

98 THIRD WEEK.

opportunity of visiting these wonderful natural
phenomena.

A Free Church was about to be built on the
moor, between the sea we had passed and Strath
aird House, which stood farther on, and higher up
on the face of the mountain. It was then pos
sessed by Dr. McAllister — he and his wife (who
was from the neighbourhood of Stirling) being
earnest and intelligent friends of our Church. Part
of the preparations for proceeding with the erec
tion of the place of worship referred to had been
made, and we were expected, on the day of our
visit, to hold some service in connection with the
ceremony of laying the foundation-stone. The
weather was cold, drizzly, uncomfortable ; the
place was bleak and without shelter. Yet it was
an August day, and all the forecastings were in
favour of the hope that " it would clear up." To
wards afternoon it did, but not until our work was
completed.

Following the usual order which we had agreed
to adopt in our peregrinations, I began the services
of the day in the language of the country, preach
ing in Gaelic. A large congregation had assem
bled. I had more than once in my experience been
made to know the great disadvantage of preceding
Dr. Candlish in any public meeting. Even in the

STRATHAIRD. 99

Highlands I was made to feel this, arising from the
naturally restless desire on the part of the assem
bled multitudes to hear my friend. That I spoke
in the language which they best knew, and most
loved, put me more on a par with my friend than
if we had both spoken in the same tongue. Still,
I felt at a disadvantage, and disliked to appear to
be standing in the way of the gratification for
which I could not but see the people were longing.
Dr. Candlish laid the foundation-stone — masonic
honours being omitted — and afterwards delivered
an address which charmed the Highlanders, and
which they declared they quite comprehended. I
never listened to anything more gratifying, for its
clearness, and simplicity of expression. It was not
a sermon, but an address on our great Church
question. The Highlanders of that generation
('tis all but thirty years since) well understood
why, and on what grounds, they had ceased to be
of the Established Church, which they counted,
and justly counted, to be no longer the " Church
of their fathers." No art or sophistry could then
have made them believe that the cause of the
Disruption was anything else whatever, than the
oppression to which the Church had been sub
jected, by the unconstitutional interference of the
civil power with the inalienable spiritual liberties

100 THIRD WEEK.

which she holds from Christ himself. That this
interference touched the matter of the appoint
ment of ministers, and other office-bearers, made
the evil all the more manifest, all the more easily
apprehended, and all the more sternly resented.
In the times to which I am referring, there was
nothing else to set forth as the great truth, the
maintenance of which had led to our separate
condition. No one dreamed of introducing any
other topic in explanation of, or as accounting for,
the change, or as that which equally had demanded
our advocacy. Certainly Dr. Candlish believed
that he was speaking to the whole question of our
great Disruption testimony, when he expounded
the principle of the spiritual liberty of the Chris
tian people, and when he demonstrated by his
torical references, and from historical details, that
deprivation of this liberty — under such compulsion
as made it clear that, if we did not abandon our
connection with the State, we must necessarily be
guilty of great sin against our Lord and King —
was the cause of our separation. That the address
was chiefly historical, and that it spoke of events
with which his hearers were more or less acquainted,
made it all the more easily comprehended, and all
the more gratifying. For my part I felt both
refreshed and instructed, and volunteered, at the

STRATHAIRD. 101

close of the English, to make a short statement in
the Gaelic tongue, in supplement, to announce my
concurrence in all that had been said, and to trans
late some things which I believed some of them
had difficulty in exactly taking up. In this capa
city of interpreter, I provided an index to Dr.
Candlish's speech, for which I received most cor
dial acknowledgments. Our meeting was a great
success.

The open-air work being ended, we adjourned
to Dr. McAllister's house, where a comfortable
repast, most cheerfully bestowed, reinvigorated us
after our morning's exertions. We were all pleased,
and a strong feeling prevailed that the proceedings
would produce good and profitable results through
out the district. But our programme for this day
(13th) was not yet exhausted. The two travellers
had still something on hand to accomplish. More
over, their time was running done, and, though
the season was still, according to usual phrase,
summer, we knew that moonless nights in August,
are often among the darkest nights in any of the
seasons of the year. We were not unwilling to
enjoy a little rest ; but,

" Nae man can tether time or tide ;
The hour has come when we maun ride."

We had engaged, by our arrangements made

102 THIRD WEEK.

weeks before, to meet Mr. Eoderick M'Leod, minister
at Snizort, at Sligcachan Inn, on the evening of this
day. His part was to journey from Snizort, and to
await us there. The following day had appointed
for it, as its moiety of work, the visitation of
Bracadale and Dunvegan. To arrive at Sligeachan,
and so to fulfil our engagement, we required to
traverse a trackless moor, upon which we were to
enter a little to the left of Dr. M'Allister's house.
The length of our prospective journey was some
eight or ten miles. To walk such a distance over
such ground as lay before us was out of the
question. Dr. M'Allister knew this. He was too
well acquainted with the necessities of travellers,
who found out his hospitable abode in this region,
not to be provided for such an exigency as ours
was on the present occasion. He kindly furnished
us with two small Highland shelties and a guide.
Our traps were very light, for we had left our
heavier impedimenta at Balmacara, and we felt no
compunction in consigning them to the charge of
our guide, who was to walk the distance we had
to traverse on horseback, it being in his day's
work to return with our cavalry to their accus
tomed pasturage.

The day had cleared up beautifully, and when,
after a very grateful adieu to our kind friends at

CUCHULLIN HILLS. 103

Strathaird, we took horse, the sun shone with
tempting warmth and brightness. We had, for
the time, overlooked the fact that night falls much
earlier in August, now nearly half done, than in
June or the beginning of July. It never entered
into our minds that we were to be benighted on
the desolate moor which stretched out before us.
The ride in ascending to the summit of the ridge
was most interesting — every step of our progress
revealing fresh beauties in the scenery. The
Cuclmllin hills rose gradually on our view as we
advanced, until, when we stood on the highest
peak of the range over which we were passing,
those magnificent mountains stood before us in
all their magnitude, Coruisk lying below imbedded
in their bosom, and the widespread sea of the
great Atlantic stretching away in all its vastness
behind and beyond them. The prospect was
grand beyond description —

" A scene so rude, so wild as this,
Yet so sublime in barrenness,
Ne'er did my wandering footsteps press,

Where'er I happ'd to roam.
The wildest glen, but this, can show
Some touch of Nature's genial glow ;
On high Benmore green mosses grow,
And heath-bells bud in deep Glencroe,
And copse on Cruachan-Ben ;

104 THIRD WEEK.

But here, — above, around, below,

On mountain or in glen,
Nor tree, nor shrub, nor plant, nor flower,
Nor aught of vegetative power,

The weary eye may ken." — Lord of the Isles,

It was impossible not to stand still and admire
the glorious sun ; the gorgeous reflection of his
rays from the gently undulating great deep ; the
islands and islets which spotted the ocean here
and there along the coast as far as our eye could
reach ; the dark, almost black, Cuchullins, on the
left ; the clear mountains opposite to the right,
on which the orb of day was still shedding his
light, as if favouring them, to despite their gloomy
neighbours, all was entrancing. My companion
was in ecstasies. The scene was worth under
going toil to see. It was such a noble picture as
Count Montalembert .labours to delineate. We
stood, and stood, taking no note of time, until at
length we bethought us that we might be prepar
ing a difficulty for ourselves, for the sun was all
but gone to rest under the western wave. On
looking round, we saw that our guide had gone
forward. "We shall surely overtake him," we
thought. The ponies — we still holding in our hands
the bridles — were contentedly cropping the grass,
which seemed to them very sweet on the elevation

A NIGHT ADVENTURE. 105

where we stood. We mounted, and put them in
motion. The rest had refreshed them ; it was a
longer rest than we had intended, or than was
wise in the circumstances, and they were not
unwilling to proceed.

The descent was by no means easy. It was
very precipitous ; the path was shingly — all loose
rolling stones — and our ponies were shoeless ; their
hoofs had never known the luxury of iron defences.
One of the present riders, who had never before
seen animals so dealt with, felt not altogether com
fortable. The other, having had more experience
in such matters, was, comparatively, at his ease on
the subject. Without a slip or stumble, or any
thing approaching either, we got down to what
certainly was more level ground ; but it was so
low relatively to the mountains on each hand, as
well as to those before and also behind us, that
the nightfall, which had by this time come, brought,
what appeared to us, impenetrable darkness. The
sea, moreover, was no longer visible. The reflection
from that vast mirror, had it been available, even
though shadows rested on it, might have helped
to alleviate the deep gloom which sank down on
our path — our supposed path — for, verily, there
was none to discern, even had circumstances
permitted it to be discernible. No stars and no

106 THIRD WEEK.

sky were visible overhead. All that we could
distinguish was an uncertain clearness in the
heavens ; in the direction which we believed to be
the west, towards which we were tending, nothing
else was discernible. To be enclosed in such
a mountain pass, the visible horizon being the
smallest possible, must be something like being
at the bottom of a coal-pit. To us it seemed to be
so. We of course never got sight of our guide.
He did not wait for our coming up to him, for
probably he foresaw difficulties if he did. The
ponies never stopped, never hesitated in their
advance. I assured Dr. Candlish that they knew
the way ; that, if we could just ride them, carry
ing their heads with the bridles, not guiding and
not attempting to guide them, only leaving them
to take their course without interference, they
would carry us, in their own time, to our place of
destination. The path (if it existed) had evidently
become too narrow for their travelling abreast.
Assured that they knew which should be leader, I
advised that we should leave the question of pre
cedency to themselves. When we did so, I was
gratified that the creature I bestrode led the way,
so that, if we should encounter mishap, I should
be the first to be involved in it. We resolved to
take care that we should keep as close to each other

A NIGHT ADVENTURE. 107

as we possibly could. We were able to inter
change thoughts, and to keep up converse— which,
however, was neither theological nor metaphysical.
I was not sure that my friend had such confidence
in the poor brutes which carried us as I had ; I did
my best to beget the confidence which I was sure
was merited.

The way began to appear very long. In such
circumstances we could not very well take count
of time. So far from being able to examine our
watches, we were happy when we caught view of
each other. We were evidently in for a Highland
adventure.

After a long while we came, suddenly, to a dead
stand. On examining into the cause, we found
ourselves abreast of a dyke — a dry stone dyke —
more substantial, however, than a mere rickle, or
tumble-down gathering of loose stones.

"What say you to your much-praised ponies
now ?"

"I have lost no confidence in their sagacity
yet ; but let us do them justice. There may be
some opening, some wicket, through which we
may pass — let us see/'

We rode along the wall to the right, and found
no such opening. We turned the ponies' heads
back by the way we had advanced, taking care that

108 THIRD WEEK.

we kept close to the wall. When we had groped
our way back, the creatures stopped again, in as
far as we could perceive, where they had stopped
at first. We then urged them on, along the wall,
to the left. The result was the same. On turning
their heads again to the right, they advanced
until they again came to a stand at the point, as
we thought, where they had at first stood still.

"What are we to do?"

" It is not a case of much difficulty," I answered ;
" we must make a gate for ourselves."

" How F

" Make an opening in the wall by throwing
down a portion of it."

" I protest against that ; it would be a breach
of the law ; it would be actionable ; destroying
fences, injuring property," — and much more to
the same effect.

" To break a slap in a stone dyke for a tempo
rary purpose," I answered, " building it up again
when we have served our purpose, will never, in
the Highlands, be brought against any man as an
actionable offence. Eemember SHIELHOUSE. If I
had yielded to you there, we should have been liter
ally out in the cold till morning. If I yield now
we shall fare worse than we could have done then."

He laughed, and said, "Have your own way, then."

A NIGHT ADVENTURE. 109

" Hold my bridle ; let us keep the ponies care
fully in hand amidst this darkness. If they go
three feet from us we may not recover them/'

It cost only a few minutes to make an opening
in the wall at the point where we had been brought
to a stand. There was no need to level the wall
to the foundation, or even near to it. Moreover,
it was no feat after all. The stones were evidently
used to be treated as I was now treating them, so
loosely did they rest on each other.

" Give me the bridle of my pony, and hold your
own fast till I have completed my experiment,
please."

The animal knew well what he was expected to
do. Almost with the agility of a dog he leapt
through the stile. His companion followed the
example, both having perfect understanding of
their duty. The minister of St. George's followed.
At my request he held both bridles until I had
built up the slap, and made the wall at least as
good a fence against black cattle (for that was all
it was intended for) as we had found it. We were
once more in our saddles, leaving the healed
breach behind us, en route for SLIGEACHAN Inn,
the darkness, with every step in advance, grow
ing, if possible, deeper.

Sometimes it seemed as if our ponies moved

110 THIRD WEEK.

along some beaten path, such was the sound their
bare hoofs produced ; more frequently as if they
trod the greensward besprinkled with heather.
We went quietly on, sometimes holding our
breath, endeavouring to catch any sounds which
might speak of speedy escape from darkness and
toil. More than once, but once particularly, we
perceived, from the sound of rushing water far
below us, that we were travelling along the margin
of some ravine, within which a stream, great or
small, pursued its course to the ocean. We inferred
that we were descending, however slowly, towards
the sea. Afterwards, we learned that the case was
so, and that we owed much to the sure-footed-
ness of the animals which carried us. It seemed
a very long night. No doubt we were miscalcu
lating, and unnecessarily magnifying, its length.
At last a light broke on our view directly in front.
Could this be Sligeachan ? Whatever it might be,
our ponies kept plodding on in a direct line, as
we thought, towards it. Greatly did the light
distress us. It shone straight into our eyes, be
wildered us, deprived us of the very partial power
of vision we had enjoyed, and made the darkness
all the more dark in our unhappy consciousness.
At length we came abreast of it, shining high up
on the sloping hill-side. Were our ponies to turn

A NIGHT ADVENTURE. Ill

towards it, or were they to leave it behind ? The
latter was their selection. They wheeled to the
left, and, in a very short time, a shoulder of the
mountain, or some rising ground that intervened,
hid the light entirely from our view. It was a
relief, of its kind, that we had passed it. We
had thought that such a consummation was never
to come, so protracted was its presence. That it
did come proved progress on our part. We were
advancing ; there could be no doubt of it, though
for so long a time the state of matters seemed to
make that very questionable. It was possible we
might be travelling in a circle.

We did not interfere with our steeds in their
choice of our course, for more than one pruden
tial reason, especially for the reason that we could
distinctly hear, to the right, the brisk run of the
stream along the margin of which we had been
moving, and which lay between us and the house
on the mountain's crest, from which the light had
been shooting its rays at us. It would not have
been comfortable to have had to ford a river,
amidst the many uncertainties connected with
such a feat in circumstances such as ours. From
that I would have shrunk more than from break
ing a slap in a dyke. — A quarter of an hour more
of dark journeying.

112 THIRD WEEK.

" Don't you smell the sea ? "

"I do ; and 1 hear its welcome ripple on the
shore, too."

Then, to our great joy, we saw light — not one,
nor two, nor three, but a whole house ablaze with
lights at many windows, directly in front of us,
and evidently a stir of some kind existing, from
the unceasing motions of the lights.

" There is Sligeachan at last ! Well done,
ponies!"

"And thanks," we both exclaimed, "to the
good providence of our gracious God." We were
truly grateful and happy.

Considerable anxiety for our safety prevailed,
we learned, at the inn. The guide had arrived
early in the evening. He could not account for
our non-arrival. Mr. EODERICK had arrived, ex
pecting to see us before nightfall at our resting-
place. With all his natural stolid equanimity, he
had had certain uneasy apprehensions about us.
We might be left in the open hills till return of
day, and what would come of that? He had
caused all the windows in the house in sight of
the moor to be filled with lighted candles. This
kind precaution had availed us for a mile — no
more ; but he had done in that all he could do,
and all that could be done, even although an acci-

SLIGEACHAN. 113

dent had occurred, until the day returned. The
guide, on being remonstrated with by us, coolly
replied that the " beests kenned the way as weell
as himsel — there was nae fear o' us if we let them
alane." We gave instructions as to the " beests"
being cared for, as well as their groom, and we
saw no more of them ; for, long before we appeared,
after the repose of the night, they had departed on
f heir return to the hills of Strathaird.

We found our Snizort friend (Mr. Eoderick
M'Leod) in the room "upstairs," in which there
blazed a noble fire. Eight glad was the good man
to see us — to see us in Skye, and to welcome us to
his diocese. The table was spread with the tea
apparatus, as well as with other articles than what
the making of tea required, suggesting the not un
welcome thought that something more substantial
than the beverage which cheers, but does not in
ebriate, was in preparation for us. There had been
a great " take" of herrings in the loch. That morn
ing the fishermen had brought to shore herrings, in
quantity and quality, such as they had not seen
for years. The quality was soon put to the test
by the party presently surrounding the table of the
upstairs apartment of Sligeaclian Hotel. Such
beauties, and such a number of them, with all the
appliances of the finest sweet butter, delicious
i

114 THIKD WEEK.

cream, and other luxuries ! How rapidly the
herrings disappeared from the table, and in what
numbers, it need not be told ; neither need it be
recounted who were chiefly distinguished in help
ing the disappearance. After some little discus
sion — renewed occasionally for a day or two — it
was ultimately agreed to make this an open ques
tion, each of us holding his own view. Mr. Eory
(a name by which Dr. Candlish delighted to call
our friend, when he came to know that it was no
nickname, but a contraction of the Gaelic RuaridJi),
declined to be a judge in the matter. The
assembling of the household for worship — for
praise, prayer, and thanksgiving — brought the day
to a close, and refreshing repose rewarded the toil
and anxieties through which we had passed. The
morrow had its labours in store for us — the same
in kind as in the days past. The scene of these
was to be along the coast from Sligeaclian by Bra-
cadale to Dunvegan. This I will make the next
stage in our three weeks' tour ; but ere we enter
on it, and whilst we refresh ourselves in prospect
of what we have yet to accomplish, a few pages
must be devoted to the remarkable man who has
met us at Sligeachan, and who is to be our com
panion for the remaining portion of our journey to
INVERNESS, and to the meeting of the General
Assembly there.

THE KEV. RODERICK M'LEOD. 115

IV.

The story of Mr. EODERICK M'LEOD is not one
simply of private interest. It is one rather of
public notoriety. So, at least, it was in years
which are gone, and to a generation which has all
but passed away.

I introduce it here, not merely because Mr.
Eory has joined us at Sligeachan, nor because the
story affords an illustration of the state of matters
in the Established Church in the North- Western
Highlands at that period, but because I was in
some respects connected with it officially, and
can therefore speak to the facts from personal
knowledge ; and chiefly, because the happy settle
ment of the question in which Mr. Eory was in
volved, and which, for many years, was the occasion
of much anxiety to the friends of Evangelical
religion, was mainly due to Dr. Candlish, who, above
all men, has been singularly honoured in bringing
to a happy issue many difficult and perplexing
questions, threatening evil in our beloved Zion.

Mr. M'LEOD was cousin-german to the first Dr.
Norman M'Leod, father of Dr. Norman M'Leod,
Queen Victoria's favourite. Both were the sons
of ministers of the Established Church, in the

116 THIRD WEEK.

Highlands. Mr. Rory's mother was the sister of
Dr. Norman's father. Our friend inherited the
natural talent — the genius — of the family, and,
though he walked through life in a sphere more
sequestered than that in which his more dis
tinguished relatives moved, to those who knew him
well he was in no respect inferior to either in
intellectual endowments, whilst he was vastly
superior to both in the higher qualities of the
Christian life. It was his lot, notwithstanding, to
be suspended by his Presbytery, from the office
and work of the ministry, for a year or more ; and
like the oppressed Nonconformists in England, in
the evil times of Charles II., he was compelled to
withhold himself, except by stealth, from all
work among his attached flock ; ultimately, he
was even subjected to a prosecution in the Church
Courts, which contemplated deposition ! This was
the culminating point in a long series of proceed
ings which had their origin in motives, the nature
and character of which I will now describe.

The allegation against him was, that he refused
to dispense the sealing ordinances of our holy
religion, Baptism and the Lord's Supper, in his
parish of Bracadale ; that he had caused a disre
gard of those ordinances to become widely spread
in Skye and elsewhere ; and that, through his

THE BRAG AD ALE CASE. 117

influence, that island and other districts of the
adjacent country had fallen into a condition of
great disorder and demoralisation. On the ground
of this alleged condition of things — all laid at the
door of Mr. Eory — his Presbytery felt themselves,
as they professed, called on, in the interests of the
Church, to proceed to the extreme measures to
which I have referred.

The BRACADALE CASE had been frequently before
the General Assembly, and had undergone much
discussion there, chiefly on the technicalities, but
also sometimes on the merits. Through glimpses
thus obtained by the friends of religion, and the
leading ministers of the Evangelical party, a partial
knowledge of the real state of matters came to be
apprehended. The very solemn step contemplated
by the Presbytery of Skye in the case, arrested
attention, and brought our first men to the front,
to interfere in behalf of truth and charity. In Dr.
Hanna's " Life of Dr. Chalmers " a very interesting
account is given of the concern which this case
gave to that eminent friend of every good cause ;
of his communings with the first Sir Henry Mon-
creiff, and other leaders of the Evangelical party, on
the subject ; of his efforts (to his joy crowned with
success for the time) in behalf of the minister of
BRACADALE; and of the arrest which, mainly

118 TRIED WEEK.

through Dr. Chalmers' interference, was placed on
the threatened deposition. This was in 1827. Dr.
Chalmers was in London when the Assembly met,
and (as earnestly solicited by several friends) he
came down to Edinburgh, expressly to use every
means and all his influence for the preservation to
the church of a man so worthy, notwithstanding
his aberrations on the subject in question. After
many earnest communings with him, Mr. M'Leod
agreed to make the following declaration : — " With
reference to the impression that the discussions
concerning my conduct have produced as to my
holding views and principles inconsistent with the
laws and constitution of the Church of Scotland, I
now declare my conviction that the same are
agreeable to the will of God, and my entire will
ingness to obey them, and my decided resolution
to adhere to them, without any mental reservation
or qualification whatever ; and that, as I took no
appeal, I acted wrong in disobeying the injunctions
of the inferior court." On this declaration being
laid before it, the General Assembly unanimously
agreed "that the whole process relating to Mr.
M'Leod is now at an end, and that there is no
room for any further proceedings."

To show the sentiments which our best and
ablest men entertained of the case, I give the

DR. CHALMERS' SPEECH. 119

following extract from the speech — a most suc
cessful one — which Dr. Chalmers delivered in the
discussion before the Assembly, as one of the judges
therein : — " In the history of this distressing case,"
he said, " I do feel there is one ground of comfort,
when I observe the Presbytery of Skye charging
Mr. M'Leod with contumacy rather than with con
scientious scruples. Now, in as far as that part of
the charge is concerned, he is certainly on higher
vantage ground than at the time when the libel of
the Presbytery was drawn up. He has submitted
to the views of the Presbytery on the matter of
his suspension ; he has given up his own will to
that of his immediate superiors ; he defers — and
I am not sure that he is right in doing so — to the
interpretation which his colleagues have given of
the Assembly's sentence, as if it were still in force
against him. But I enter no further into this,
than to notice the subsequent conduct of Mr.
M'Leod, as being the indication of the very reverse
of contumacy. At a heavy expense to his own
feelings, he has abstained from the duties of the
pastoral office, and now stands before the Assembly
in an attitude, to say the least of it, more fitted
to conciliate his judges, than he did before the
Presbytery at the time when the charges of the
libel were constructed against him.

120 THIRD WEEK.

" Having said this much of the alleged contu
macy, I feel less difficulty in characterising the
difficulties of Mr. M'Leod on the subject of baptism,
as partaking, to a certain degree, of the nature of
scruples or scrupulosities ; the difficulties, I am
persuaded, of a thoroughly honest, but somewhat
withal of an unenlightened conscience — of a con
science tender and sensitive and fearful, yet requir
ing the guidance of minds that have more of
Christian experience, without, at the same time,
having less of Christian principle and devotedness
than his own.

"I can in no way go in with the barbarities
which have been uttered against the gentleman
whose case is at your bar. He is not the oppressor
of his flock ; he is their conscientious overseer.
It is not in a domineering spirit that he withholds
from any one of them the privilege of the Christian
ordinances ; it is in the spirit of a right and
religious tenderness — right, I mean, as to the feel
ing and general principle of it, whether right or
wrong in its special application. Even though
wrong, this does not preclude him from the affec
tion due to a brother, and from the veneration due
to a man of his sensitive and spiritual delicacies.
I might differ from him in judgment, and yet
could not find in my heart to have aught of the

THE BRACADALE CASE. 121

spirit of an adversary towards him; and I do
think that scruples and sensibilities such as his
ought to be dealt with in the spirit, and spoken
to in the accents, of gentleness. This is not a case
for tyranny or for terror ; it is a case for deepest
sympathy. This is not an occasion on which to
raise the tomahawk that strength or power has
put into our hands, and brandish it aloft in brutal
and barbaric triumph over the trembling victim
who is beneath us. There is nought more revolt
ing in cruelty than the skill and subtlety of its
ingenious refinements ; and never is the exhibition
of it more purely Satanic than when it rides over
the sensibilities of an afflicted conscience, and,
selecting the part of greatest tenderness, can feast
its eyes over the agonies of the spiritual, even as
councils and inquisitors of old did over the agonies
of the sentient nature."

In Dr. Chalmers' diary, of this date, the follow
ing entry occurs, referring to the arrangement which
had been come to : — " Had pretty tough work for
a time both with M'Leod and with one another,
and at length brought him to a declaration by
which he compromised no principle whatever, and
only acknowledged himself to be wrong in a
matter merely legal and formal, which he cer
tainly was. This declaration carried him most

122 THIED WEEK.

triumphantly through the Assembly. The Mode
rates rejoiced over him as a stray sheep, and we
were all very happy and harmonious on the
occasion."

The respite in this case afforded much relief to
the friends of the gospel all over the land ; it
rejoiced the personal friends of Mr. M'Leod. At
the same time, those who knew him best, and who
could forecast the course likely to be adopted
towards him by his late antagonists, had not much
hope of a permanent state of peace. No prospect
whatever existed that Mr. M'Leod would change
his principle of action, or his practice in the
matter of the ordinances. In case he did not, it
was anticipated that fresh occasion would be found
against him ; and as the animosity of his colleagues,
though for a time allayed, was not annihilated, a
recurrence of trouble was foreboded.

So accordingly it came to pass. " The clouds
returned after the rain." New complaints were
heard that the ordinances were neglected and dis
regarded. The evil was exclaimed against, and
was all traced to the obstinacy or peculiar views
of our friend. No one, at a distance at least,
supposed that any explanation of the anomalous
state of things in Skye could be given, or even
existed, save what centred in the person of Mr.

THE BRACADALE CASE. 123

Rory. It was all his doing. The Assembly of
1834, as the practical result of this, had laid on its
table a petition from Skye, embodying a formal
complaint to the above effect, and it then began to
be once more a general feeling that interference on
the part of the Church was called for. No action,
however, was taken on the petition. It was re
fused, as the petitioners had not submitted it, in
the first instance, to the Presbytery. Mr. GRAHAM
SPEIRS made the leading speech on the occasion,
moving the rejection of the application.

The Assembly of 1835 appointed a Commission
to visit the Highlands, to inquire generally into
the religious condition of the people, and to report.
Though Skye was not specially mentioned, it was
included in the field to be surveyed ; and there
were many of us who believed that the real or
chief object in view in the appointment of the
Commission was to reach the delinquent of Braca-
dale, and to make an end in some way of this
troubler of Israel. This Commission was headed
by Sir REGINALD M'DONALD SETON of Staffa, a
most honourable man, in whom we had much con
fidence, and with whom were associated Rev. Dr.
Simpson of Kirknewton, Dr. Dewar of Aberdeen,
and others.

Their report came up to the Assembly of 1836.

124 THIRD WEEK.

There it ought to have been read and considered
in whole. This, for some reason unknown to the
general body of the Assembly, was not found to
be convenient. In those days reports were not
printed, as at present, for the use of members in
Session, so the contents of the entire Eeport of the
Highland Commission were not known, and we
could only guess at the reasons for the course
which was actually adopted. No other idea had
been previously entertained than that the unfor
tunate minister of Bracadale would be discovered
by the Commission to have made his parish the
very centre of a widespread departure from even
the decencies of Christianity, and that to him
would be traced the whole defection from ordi
nances (meaning thereby Baptism and the Lord's
Supper) which distinguished a large portion of the
population of Skye. The surmise was, that this
expectation had been disappointed, and that the
leaders of the day thought it better not to allow
the fact to go abroad. The strange procedure
accordingly was adopted of deferring the considera
tion of the Eeport of the Highland Commission on
all the districts which had been visited by them,
except one — and that one was not the Isle of Skye
itself, but the parish of Bracadale only !

Mr. M'Leod and his friends in the Assembly felt

THE BRACADALE CASE. 125

this to be unfair. They felt it to be such a course
as would prevent the ends of justice. The case of
Bracadale, they held, as to the question at issue,
could not be impartially judged of save in view of
the general condition of almost all the parishes in
Skye. This they urged as strongly as they could.
Very considerable ardour was shown by us. But
we were overruled, and it was resolved that the
report should be taken up only in the portion of
it which referred to Bracadale.

Being a member of Assembly, I felt roused
by this unfairness, and was moved to attempt
some defence in behalf of a brother, although at
that time I knew him but slightly. I also sought
to defend the interests of evangelical religion
in the district with which he was connected,
and in which he had been so eminently useful.
Ten years dim recollections, and what had oc
curred through the influence of Dr. Chalmers in
1827 was but partially present to the minds of the
members of Assembly of 1836. I went to friends
then in Edinburgh, and represented to them that
Mr. M'Leod had scarcely ever been dealt with in
the way which was most likely to prevail with
him, and to serve the cause of truth and righteous
ness. I urged that he had almost always been
treated as a man who was so unmistakably wrong,

126 THIRD WEEK.

that he must be hunted down ; that he had always
been compelled to stand upon his defence, and to
fight for very existence ; but that, if he were
dealt with in a friendly spirit, he might yield
to friendly communing that which he would never
yield to hostile debate and unjustifiable judicia^
decisions.

A large committee of the Assembly was named
to prepare, and to lay before the house, that part of
the Eeport on the Highlands which referred to Skye
and to Mr. M'Leod. I was put upon this commit
tee, and did my best at our sittings to inoculate
with my views all its members. They seemed to
concur — especially when I had spoken to them
separately — and to be brought the length of being
willing to try the experiment of an exclusively
friendly Commission, to deal with the whole case
of Bracadale. I endeavoured to impress them
with the view, that if even one member of the
Commission to be appointed should be hostile to
Mr. M'Leod — known, or by him suspected to be
so, or to be under the influence of his pristine
pursuers — the object proposed could hardly be ex
pected to be gained. He would still, in that case,
preserve the attitude of defence, or even of defi
ance, and would not permit us to approach him
for the purpose of conciliation.

THE BRAG AD ALE CASE. 127

It seemed to me, and to the friends who con
curred with me in this view, that we had succeeded
in our canvass. The Moderate party were not now
so omnipotent as they once were. Moreover, a sen
timent had begun to establish itself in their minds
that it might be well, by some expedient which
might be feasible, to put an end to the war which
had raged, almost without intermission, in the
Presbytery of Skye, and which seemed to justify
Mr. Cockburn's assertion, when pleading Mr.
M'Leod's cause at the bar of the Assembly, that his
Presbytery seemed to keep Mr. Eory as a lagged
fox, which they let loose when they wished to have
a run. In view of this, the proposal which had
been submitted to the committee did not, upon the
whole, seem unreasonable.

It was now considered necessary that Mr.
M'Leod should be persuaded to accept the pro
posed arrangement — the object being conciliation
as well as upright action. That he might be
prevailed on to accede, and that he might have
no suspicion of doubtful or double dealing, I
consulted him privately as to the constitution of
the intended Commission, who were, in some sense,
to judge of his cause, and determine therein for
him. The end contemplated was to gain our
brother ; and, by conciliatory means, to induce

128 THIKD WEEK.

Mm for the future to act in the matter of dis
pensing sealing ordinances in accordance with the
usual practice of the Church. After full confer
ence, he expressed himself satisfied, and accepted
the overture thus made to him, so that everything
seemed to promise success and ultimate peace.
The list of the names for the proposed Commission
thus prepared was read in our Assembly's com
mittee, and seemed to be approved of as having
been selected in accordance with the plan of
procedure, which we had all supposed had been
acceded to — no doubt as a matter of much favour
to our brother of Bracadale.

When the time came, Dr. Simpson read the
Eeport of this Committee in the Assembly. It
was all that we had resolved on, until he came to
read the names of those who were to constitute the
Commission. To my dismay, these were wholly
changed, so changed, as to entirely subvert the
method of action on which we had calculated, and
from which we had expected so much, and to de
stroy the happy prospects I and others had begun
to cherish. The change had been made, not in the
committee, but out of it. No notice of any change
had been given to myself and those acting with me.
So far as I could ever learn, no one, but those who
were in the secret, had received any intimation of

THE BRACADALE CASE. 129

what had been done, until the report was read to
be approved of by the Assembly ; and then, just
as if, compared with the report itself, the names
of the Commission were of no importance, they
were announced with the most perfect sangfroid,
as if they had been agreed to, and were understood
to be so by all the committee ! It was a dexterous
piece of management ; but I did not think it very
creditable, and certainly it was not in the interests
of peace. I attempted to remonstrate : I told Dr.
Simpson they were not the names agreed to in
committee ; and not the names which had received
the expression of Mr. M'Leod's satisfaction ; not
the names for which we had, virtually, pledged
ourselves to him ; and not the names of persons
in whom either he or his friends could have confi
dence that they would work bona fide in the
direction contemplated — viz. that of conciliatory
dealing with a brother who had been, or conceived
himself to have been, badgered by the Church
Courts for more than twenty years ; but with
whom we had, at last, as I and others understood,
agreed to make the experiment of a new manner
of treatment. In reply, I was coolly told that no
names had been finally agreed to in committee ;
and, at the same time, I was asked whether I
thought an accused party should be allowed to
K

130 THIRD WEEK.

choose his own judges? My rejoinder was, that
the names read in committee, and believed to be
agreed to, were not names chosen by Mr. M'Leod.

In this transaction I had a specimen of Moderate
tactics- -a transaction in which an understanding
which had been clearly come to, for reasons that
approved themselves to all before whom they
were laid, was set aside, and all remonstrance
disregarded.

But who had made the change in the list of
names ? Of this we never received certain infor
mation. But we were told that the original list
had been submitted to the Moderator! The
Moderator, for the time, was the first Dr. Norman
M'Leod, the cousin of our friend. All the world
knows that, with some men, attachment is party
is a stronger principle than love of kin; and,
aware of the Moderator's proclivities, we never
had much difficulty in satisfying ourselves as to
who made the change.

Mr. M'Leod at once declared that faith had not
been kept with him ; and refused to view the
Commission but as composed of, at least, as many
prejudiced and hostile members, as there were
unprejudiced and friendly. He had good reason,
as I too well knew, for holding this conviction.
It was wonderful, under the circumstances, that

THE BRA CAD ALE CASE. 131

my name was retained. Considering the efforts I
had been making, perhaps it would have been
too much to exclude it. That might have created
unpleasant remarks. Whatever the explanation,
my name stood among the others as a member of
the Commission. Dr. Dewar of Aberdeen was
made Convener.

Our powers were ample. We were required to
meet at Bracadale once in the quarter. We were
empowered to dispense the ordinances at our dis
cretion. It was part of our duty to give the
minister the opportunity of doing so under our
direction, and, if he declined, to see that they were
dispensed by ourselves, or by others. Our first
meeting was to be held at an early day.

When the time approached (just on the eve
of the day of meeting) I received a letter, at Glen-
elg, from Dr. Dewar, our convener, informing me
that he could not be present. He at the sam«
time formally nominated me to act as convener
for him. There was no public provision in those
days for outlay incurred in fulfilling the in
junctions of our Superior Courts. It was well, in
these circumstances, that there was no penalty
exacted for coming short in such fulfilment.

Hitherto my acquaintance with Mr. M'Leod had
been limited. I had had but few opportunities

132 THIRD WEEK.

of meeting with him ; had never been at Braca-
dale ; and had never heard him preach. The out
cry against him, among one class, in Skye and
elsewhere, I had heard, as every one had. Much
of that I had ascribed to the hostility among this
class against evangelical religion, and to prejudices
which had been originated and fostered by that
cause. Whilst believing him to be a truly faithful
minister, and whilst knowing that he had been
made extensively useful in his native island, where
he was the centre and soul of all the godly people,
I could not divest myself of the feeling that he
was to be blamed, perhaps much blamed, for the
condition of things prevailing in Skye. The actual
state of the case I knew not at this time ; and
from all I had heard — all that had been spoken
in public and all that had been printed — I ex
pected to meet with the expression of much strong
feeling, and with a really public demonstration
against him, from the determination to make an
end of evils which had elicited so much clamour,
and occasioned so much trouble for so long a time
within our Church.

The Commission met at Bracadale on 13th July
1836. Three members only appeared — a bare
quorum ; the question of expense having had, natu
rally enough, its effect. The distances requiring to

THE BRAG AD ALE CASE. 133

be travelled were great. I preached to a full
congregation, and gave all the intimations required,
with a view to our proceeding on our great work
in regular order, as became a body representing
the august Supreme Court of the Established
Church of Scotland. It was intended that we
should make the occasion imposing ; how far we
succeeded it may be difficult to determine.

Presuming on Mr. M'Leod's hospitality, and
really having no other resource, I had, on the
evening which preceded our meeting, made my
way, by my own conveyance, up the steep hill
ascending from the public road close to the sea
shore, to the manse of Bracadale. I found, much
to my comfort, that I had been expected. My
reception was polite and kind. The minister him
self was reserved. He was evidently on his guard,
as a man who expected to be, on the morrow, at
the bar, and who was bound, therefore, to be on
honour with one who had to act as judge in a
cause in which he was a party. So I explained to
myself his severe reticence on the whole question
that was filling my mind — a matter which, from
my heart, I desired to conduct, by God's blessing,
to a happy close.

Mrs. M'Leod, appeared to me to present an ex
ample of Christian courtesy, propriety, and affection.

134 THIRD WEEK.

Never did I see realised in the manner and conduct
of any one the description by the Wise Man, as I
did in this lady. " She openeth her mouth with
wisdom ; and in her tongue is the law of kindness."
As to her husband "praising her," anything to
which he gave expression, either by utterance or
gesture during the evening, was in that direction.
But the children of the manse chiefly gained
my heart, and made me feel " at home " — as
much so as if I had been in the house of a near
relative. They were many, and they were all
young — stout, handsome creatures, mostly girls,
from about eight years and under ; rosy and
robust, active, as if they had been the cubs of a
lion. Whether it was that kind things had been
spoken to them of me or not, I cannot tell, but
their " attentions " were most marked. They sur
rounded me en masse, got up on my knees, threw
their arms round my neck, kissed me, used every
art of prattle, and every art expressive of delight,
to impress me favourably, and to gain my admira-
i.ion. They succeeded. I gave them my heart.
How could I do otherwise ? In after days, when
they were grown up, I was wont to remind them
of the scene, as I had sincere pleasure in recalling
it. None of us felt ashamed, or looked back to
what I have described with any feeling but

THE BRAG AD ALE CASE. 135

that of lionest satisfaction. I was pleased to have
this outlet for my feelings, amidst the reserve, just
and proper in itself, on the part of the head of the
house. The evening did not seem long. The crown
ing event came with worship.

" It is time to get the books, mamma, before the
children get sleepy."

" Yes, love ; the servants have finished their work
in the byre, and the children are all ready."

There was no more frolic. All the youngsters,
to the youngest, were furnished with books. It
mattered not that the majority had not yet learned
to read. They had their looks; most demurely
did they look into them ; and most devoutly,
judging by their looks, did they set themselves to
use them. As to their knowledge of music I
speak not. As to their conscientious conviction
that it was their solemn duty to sing, I became
fully assured. Papa gave out the psalm. They
all opened their books — some with the right end
uppermost, some with the wrong, — it mattered
not. They opened their books. Papa " raised the
tune," — in fair enough style in its way. The
choristers seemed to give little heed to his well-
meant exercise as leading them. Each chose the
air which was thought most appropriate, and was
most admired by the performer. All sang at the

136 THIRD WEEK.

very height of their voices. It was literally a
" storm of music " that I was privileged to enjoy.
Occasionally I was able, amidst the din, to catch
the strains of our astute precentor. He seemed to
perceive nothing whatever incongruous in the pro
ceeding. On the contrary, satisfaction beamed in
all his features — as it did also in the countenance
of his amiable partner. As for the servants, of
whom there was a host, to them all was as usual ;
and I could not help being made to feel that I was
the only one present who had had any other im
pression than that of profound pleasure.

I was on the watch to discover the state of
mind at the manse in prospect of the work of the
succeeding day — whether there was anxiety, alarm,
or any purpose of either standing resolutely against
the array of accusers I expected to meet, or any
inclination to yield, in any degree whatever, to the
dreadful outcry with which I expected our Com
mission would have to deal. I cannot say that I
could discover anything on the one side or the other.
I was asked to pray when the singing and the
reading of Scripture were past. I did so ; and I
endeavoured to make allusion, as wisely as I
could, to the onerous and delicate work in pro
spect, which lay heavily on my mind, and in which
I most earnestly desired guidance. This elicited

THE BRACADALE CASE. 137

no remark, and I was by-and-by shown gracefully
to my bedroom by my host, who looked kindly
after rny comforts there, but never opened his
mouth on his own matters, more than if there had
not been in existence anything so portentous, or
at least so momentous, as the " Skye Commission !,"

Next morning things were precisely in the same
state ; and the Commission met, entering on its
business in the old parish church, amidst the
solemnities I have already referred to.

I have said that our powers were ample. We
were to receive all complaints which might be
brought forward as to the conduct of the minister ;
we were to examine into them, and to judge of
their merits ; we were to ask Mr. M'Leod to ad
minister the ordinance of baptism in the case of
such persons as, though refused by him, we were
satisfied were entitled to receive it for their child
ren (and I had anticipated that we should have
very much to do in this direction, such had been
the amount of accusation against him) ; in case he
refused, we were enjoined to do it ourselves. Fur
ther, in concert with the office-bearers, we were
instructed to give the necessary intimations ; hold
all the customary diets of public worship ; and
dispense the sacrament of the Lord's Supper to
parishioners offering themselves.

138 THIRD WEEK.

What was my amazement (shall I say my
secret satisfaction ?), after all the outcry, and all this
parade, to find that there was but one to complain !
A retired military officer, who had been believed
by some to be much concerned in either raising or
fomenting the outcry against Mr. Kory, he only
made some show of hostility in the form of com
plaint. But, whatever effects his word had pro
duced at a distance from Bracadale, nothing could
be more evident than that it had no effect there.
Not a soul appeared to prefer a charge against the
minister, or to claim " privileges." Two days were
occupied by us in the attempt to fulfil our appoint
ment. We made no progress. To whatever it might
be ascribed — whatever might be the explana
tion — the fact was that no accusers, if they existed,
would show face. We demanded that everything
should be above board — " with open doors ; " and
such was the result. The minister sat in his pew
awaiting the progress of the case. He was en
titled to do so, for virtually he was at the bar.
He did not open his lips to utter one word ; and
his demeanour on the occasion forcibly reminded
me of the word applied to him by Dr. Chalmers
when he described him as dour, meaning thereby
a self-possessed, self-reliant, and self-willed man.
It speedily became, to me at least, very evi-

THE BRACADALE CASE. 139

dent that if we proceeded to dispense the com
munion, it would be dumb show, or a burlesque.
I gave no countenance to the suggestion that we
should ; for I felt that, though there was no pro
spect of impropriety in the circumstances, an un
kind ness and an injustice would be done to Mr.
M'Leod, as, in so far as the Commission had disco
vered, no ground really existed to justify such
interference with him in his own parish ; — or with
his people, by whom he was manifestly greatly
beloved.

The course ultimately adopted by the Commis
sion was, to grant, in the case of any who really
desired to share in the privileges of the Church,
certificates, expressive of our conviction that they
were ecclesiastically entitled thereto, thus autho
rising any of the neighbouring ministers, to whom
they might apply, to admit them, without interfer
ence or risk of censure. Not more than two or three
of such certificates were solicited from us, and only
one baptism was celebrated by the Commission.

Another meeting of the Commission was held,
before the meeting of the General Assembly, to
mature matters for the Supreme Court, and to
resolve on the nature of the report which should
be given in. Similar facilities, to those afforded to
the parishioners of Bracadale on the first occasion

140 THIRD WEEK.

on which we visited them, were again presented,
and with the same results. No complaints were
tabled against the minister, and no action of a
hostile nature to him was demanded from us.
Nothing had been done, and the Commission had
only to report to the Venerable Assembly that so
it was.

When this announcement was made, the dis
appointment of those who hoped for a confirma
tion of the charges which, for years, had been
brought against the character and conduct of this
good man was great ; for not only were these
charges not confirmed, but, on the contrary, so far
as Bracadale, Mr. M'Leod's parish, was concerned,
the minister was declared to be free from all such
charges.

The Commission was reappointed by the Assem
bly to which they reported (1837), with the same
powers as they previously possessed ; some addi
tional members were named, and I was appointed
convener.

v.

Although the ecclesiastical proceedings of the
Commission of 1836 were virtually abortive, not
providing any materials in the Bracadale Case for
the Assembly of 1837 to pronounce sentence upon,

THE BRACADALE CASE. 141

they were, by no means, without important re
sults. A flood of light was thrown on the state of
matters in Skye, to me and to others. Much of
this came from the conversations and discussions
which, in prosecution of our duty, we had held
with the parishioners of Bracadale. To me still
more came from inquiries which, on my own
account, I made among the intelligent friends
of truth in the district. Many of these were old
men, and distinguished for their position as reli
gious men. With them I made it my business to
hold communication, and from them I derived in
formation which I had not previously had, and
which I knew the Church at large did not possess.
The report presented to the Assembly had been
meagre ; it could not be anything else. But in
course of this season, and previous to the meeting
of 1838, I embodied in a tract, which was pub
lished in Glasgow, the substance of the information
which I had acquired. Copies of this I took care
to have put into the hands of our leading men,
and among the rest Dr. Candlish. Their eyes were
opened, as mine had been ; and, whether rightly
or not, to this I ascribed, as one chief cause, the
general change of sentiment which took place with
regard to the long-pursued and much-harassed
minister whose story I am narrating.

142 THIRD WEEK.

Another event occurred in course of 1837 which
tended in the same direction — the direction of
bringing this greatly-protracted trouble to a close.
The parish of SNIZORT — the native parish of Mr.
Eory, the parish in which his father had for many
years been minister — became vacant by the re
moval of Mr. M'Lauchlan, now of Cawdor, to his
present parish. The people of Snizort set their
hearts on the son of their old minister. Such
efforts as they could make to procure his appoint
ment as successor to Mr. McLauchlan they made
earnestly. Mr. M'Leod set his heart on becoming
their minister. There was a mutual attraction,
and in this no doubt God's hand was to be seen.
Lord Glenelg (the Eight Hon. Charles Grant), my
patron, was at this time a member of the Govern
ment. Snizort was a Crown presentation. To
him I made a representation of the case, touching
the interests which would be affected by Mr.
M'Leod's being appointed to Snizort. The tem
poral advantages would be nothing ; but the advan
tages to the peace and comfort of this estimable
man, as well as to his ministerial usefulness, would
be unspeakable. Lord Glenelg — wise, prudent,
and the ardent friend of evangelical religion in the
Highlands — apprehended the merits of the case
without difficulty. In due time, as the fruit of

THE BKACADALE CASE. 143

this and other interest employed, the presentation
of Mr. M'Leod to Snizort was issued. The result
was virtually to make an end of the Bracadale
case, so far as Mr. M'Leod was concerned. Still,
while his settlement in Snizort had not taken
place, and while our Commission existed, we re
quired to deal with it, and we did so, in terms of
the instructions under which we were acting.

" The spirit of slumber which pervaded Scotland
in the latter portion of the last century exerted its
influence most powerfully over the whole of the
North-west Highlands. Indeed, the Eeformation
in those districts was nothing more than a change
from the profession of one creed to that of another,
according to the views of the proprietors of the soil.
It was purely political, and partook of none of the
intelligence and preference of truth to papal igno
rance and superstition which distinguished that era
in the southern and north-eastern counties. Had
a pious clergy succeeded their ghostly predecessors,
the knowledge of the ' letter ' of the truth would,
no doubt, have been imparted to the population of
the interesting districts in question ; and although
they might, notwithstanding, have been left with
out any remarkable revivals of religion, the ' gross
darkness,' which for so long a time prevailed,

144 THIRD WEEK.

would, in part at least, have been done away.
This, however, was not the case."

Thus I wrote in 1837, as the introduction to the
tract which, in that year, was issued by a society
in Glasgow as No. X. in a series on Revivals, and
to which I have referred above.

The first disturbance of the " spirit of slumber "
in Skye occurred early in this century. It was
part of the fruit of the great movement originated
by the HALDANES, and maintained for several
years by them, their associates and successors — a
movement which may truly be said to have been
to our beloved land as "life from the dead," for
God was signally with its promoters.

The chief result of the labours of their agent,
sent to this island, was the saving conversion of
DONALD MUNRO. But how great was the result
ultimately accomplished by that conversion, look
ing to what followed !

Donald, in childhood, had been the victim of
smallpox, by which he lost his sight. To gain a
livelihood, he had learned to play the violin ; and,
being naturally of a pleasant disposition, his
musical qualifications made him a general fa
vourite. Sympathy for him prevailed among all
classes — the clergy as well as others. It came to
be thought that the office of Catechist in his parish
(Portree), to which a small salary was attached,

THE BRACADALE CASE. 145

might, with advantage to his worldly circum
stances, be superadded to his professional avoca
tions. The inconsistency, if observed, was over
looked ; and the benevolence implied in making
provision for Donald, concealed the incongruity of
a blind fiddler filling the spiritual office of parochial
catechist. The minister favoured him ; the people
were pleased with the arrangement; a good
memory enabled him to possess himself of all the
Shorter Catechism, with several chapters of the
New Testament ; — so that his qualifications for
the discharge of the duties of the office to which
he had been promoted were held to be all that
were required.

His official character led Donald to hear the
itinerant missionary. It was the turning point
in his history. " To me that man was a messenger
from God," he afterwards declared. " I got new
views of Scripture truths, new views of myself,
and of the practices of the inhabitants of the
island. And the light which I received I dared
not put under a bushel."

The catechist of Portree was no longer a plu
ralist. To the work of his office he now gave
himself exclusively, as one who felt commissioned
by an authority higher than that of man, and his
ministry was wonderfully blessed of God. He
L

146 THIRD WEEK.

was made the means of the conversion of many.
This was the beginning of the revival in Skye —
a revival genuine, extensive, and followed by
abounding fruits of Divine grace ; a revival,
moreover, which, though to be traced very much
to the agency of those who were not officially
in the ministry, embraced, notwithstanding, the
effective co-operation of two of the parochial
clergy, who were greatly honoured, if not as the
originators of the awakening, certainly as its friends,
— as cherishing, promoting, and advancing it.

For about two years the awakening was general.
It began in the parish of Kilmuir, extended to
Snizort, to Bracadale, to Duirnisli — all contiguous
parishes. Wherever DONALD MUNRO proceeded,
power was made to follow his ministrations.
Many who by him came to know the truth
returned to their homes in every part of the
island, carrying with them the knowledge of the
" unsearchable riches of Christ " as great store, and
spreading abroad the intelligence of the things
which they had seen and heard.

The usual effects in such cases followed : First t
many were brought to the obedience of the truth
as it is in Jesus. Secondly, there was an extensive
suppression of the openly sinful practices common
in the country. Thirdly, a large body was formed,

THE BRACADALE CASE. 147

whose religion, instead of being a reflection of the
image of Christ, was no more than a reflection of
that of his people — the work in whom was not of
God, hut of man ; shortcomings in whom gave a
handle in a few instances to enemies, who were
but too ready, as has always occurred in such
cases, to use it to decry the genuine work which
had been produced in so many. They were the
tares which the enemy had sown. Fourthly, there
followed, from this vital moment, that abandonment
of ordinances as administered by the parochial
clergy, which attracted the attention of the Church,
so long disturbed it, and which led to the pre
sent Commission. All the professors of religion
—real converts, and others — remained devotedly
attached to the National Establishment, and re
sisted efforts made to turn them aside. But the evi
dent divine acknowledgment of DONALD MUNRO'S
meetings, and others of the same character,
attracted the people to them, and secured their
reverence for the services there conducted. The
churches were, in consequence, very much for
saken. The clergy began to refuse sealing ordi
nances to those who did not attend their ministry
— a thing not to be wondered at ; and, on the
other hand, the " professors " lifted up their protest
against the clergy, by refiising to accept ordinances

148 THIRD WEEK.

as by them administered. Hence, in course of
time, it ceased to be matter of reproach to live in
non-enjoyment of the ordinances. More than
this, it came to be counted an evidence of seri
ousness not to apply to the clergy, and a mark of
carelessness or of want of religion on the part of
those who made such application, or who received
the administration of the ordinances at their hands.
So it came to pass that, in the bosom of the
Church, we had the anomalous state of things of a
large body of professing Christians, distinguished
for the fervency of their piety, the purity of their
lives, and the warmth of their attachment to her
constitution, still maintaining their connection
with her, under the deprivation of ordinances for
which they earnestly longed ; receiving them,
when permitted to do so, if administered by those
of whom they approved, and with whom, they con
ceived, they could hold Christian communion ;
justifying separation, not from the Church, but
from her ordinances, on the ground of their alleged
prostitution by those who ought to have been the
guardians of their purity.

The question with which our Commission had
to deal, when seen in the light thus presented,
was no easy one — a truth which my researches
into the history of this case made me to feel most

THE BRACADALE CASE. 149

acutely, and, for a time, which almost paralysed
my action in the matter.

Mr. Eoderick M'Leod's conversion to the Lord
was one of the effects of the Skye revival. As the
minister of a mission-station, on the Eoyal Bounty,
in the neighbourhood of Kilmuir, he had for a few
years filled the office, without possessing the spirit,
or doing the work, of an evangelist. But, when it
pleased God "to call him by his grace, and to
reveal his Son in him," — so preparing and quali
fying him for his future course of great usefulness
in the Church — it was no longer so with him.
Then to the service of the Gospel he gave him
self, " soul, body, and spirit." With his change of
views and practice as a minister of the New
Testament, he adopted the sentiments prevalent
among the religious people of the country on the
question regarding the ordinances, those who were
entitled to administer them, and those who ought
to be admitted to share in them. His unflinching
(I do not say intelligent) adherence to those views,
and, consequently, his unusual strictness in the
rule of admission, soon involved him in the trouble
which, in church courts and otherwise, he for so
long a time suffered — trouble, the enduring of which
greatly endeared him to all those in the country
who had turned from their idols to serve the living

150 THIRD WEEK.

God. If anything could have succeeded in separat
ing for ever from our Church this valuable body
of devoted adherents, it would have been the de
position of this estimable man. In the good
providence of God this was averted — a result,
under Him, to be ascribed to the work of the Skye
Commission, for the part I was enabled to take
in which I praise and thank His name.

Mr. M'Leod was not the cause of the disorders
which prevailed in Skye. Cruelly was he charged
with being so, and long was he the object of
persecution on that account by enemies, as well
as the object of suspicion by those who were his
friends, and the friends of truth. These, so far as
I know, never justified him in adopting the views
which he did, and in acting so determinedly on
them. But when they came to understand his
position, they extended to him their sympathy,
their forbearance, and friendliness, in every compe
tent form. He was the victim of the erroneous
views which had found so strong a place in his
country, and not the cause ; and practically he
really was less guilty than many ministers in his
neighbourhood (if I may speak of guilt in such a
connection), as to the administration of ordinances
in his parish. The Commission found that not in
his, but in the parishes of others, the greatest

THE BRACADALE CASE. 151

amount of the unbaptized were to be found, as
well as of those who were not fully in member
ship with the Church.

How much it had become a general opinion
tint Mr. M'Leod was to blame for the evils exist
ing in Skye, appears, among other things, by the
fac/ that the Committee of the House of Commons
on Sites, in 1847, had been instructed to make this
question a subject of examination, as part of their
labours ; by whom so instructed, however, I know
not. My examination before that Committee was
in part directed to it. I was examined thereon, my
coniection with the Commission being no doubt
the oause. Other witnesses were so examined
also. The member for the county of Inverness at
the t'.me, Mr. Baillie, one of the Committee — a man
of different sentiments from the members for the
county in my time — took me to task : —

" Mr. Baillie. — You state that the people in Skye
refused the ordinances in consequence of a revival
of religion, in 1812 ? — It began at that time.

" Is the committee to understand that, in your
opinion, the refusal to receive the sacrament is a
poof of a revival of religion? — Certainly not;
I do not mean to say that.

"Would you not suppose that, if a man was
aaxious to receive the sacrament, he was a

152 THIRD WEEK.

religious man ? — I believe that many men who
are not religious are anxious to receive the
sacrament.

" You would not consider a man a religious man,
if he was anxious to receive the sacrament? — I
would not consider his anxiety to receive :he
sacrament a proof of his being a religious man.

" You stated that when you went to examine the
parish of Bracadale you did not find that the
refusal of the ordinances was so great in Brtca-
dale parish as in several others ? — We found :hat
the number of children regularly baptized in the
parish of Bracadale was greater than in som3 of
the neighbouring parishes.

" Are you aware that there were no more ohan
five or ten in the parish of Bracadale, out of a
population of 2000, admitted to the ordinances ? —
I am not aware of that.

" Are you aware that the gentry in the parisli,
and all their families, were refused the ordinances ?
— I am not aware of that ; it may be true, but I
did not know it ; I knew that such allegations
were made.

"Were these allegations investigated by th3
deputation of which you formed a part? — I d_~>
not think that we made any distinction between
the gentry and others.

THE BRAG AD ALE CASE. 153

" But did you investigate the accusations gene
rally? — The accusations generally were as to
refusal of ordinances ; and we inquired into the
extent to which it went, and the reason for which
the ordinances were refused.

" And you do not remember whether there were
only five or ten communicants in the parish of
Bracadale ? — No, I do not.

"Are you aware that Mr. M'Leod did not ad
minister baptism to the children of any to whom
he refused the ordinances ? — I know that. Perhaps
it may be proper to observe that there are two
views held in the Church of Scotland with regard
to that matter. Some ministers hold distinctly
that the children of no person should be admitted
to receive baptism from the ministers of the
Church unless he be a communicant or partaker
of the Lord's Supper ; others are of opinion that
baptism may be administered to children of parents
who are not communicants. Mr. Eoderick M'Leod
holds decidedly the view that parents being com
municants alone ought to have their children
baptized, and he is strict in admitting to the
Lord's table ; consequently, as he baptizes only the
children of those who are partakers at the Lord's
table, the number of children baptized by him is
small.

154 THIRD WEEK.

" If there were only five or ten communicants in
the parish of Bracadale, would you say that any
other parish in Skye could be in a worse state than
that ? — I cannot speak as to that ; I do not know
whether ten or five was the number of communi
cants there. Perhaps I might be allowed to say
that if all indiscriminately were admitted to the
Lord's Supper, that would be a much worse state
of things than the other, though both may be bad."

VI.

When our report of the second year's proceed
ings was presented to the Assembly of 1 838, 1 was
not there. The heavy affliction which, in the
spring and early summer of that year, fell on my
family, which I have recorded elsewhere, pre
vented my attending. "What I could do I did —
instructing our presbytery elder, Mr. Murray
Dunlop, and others, to put the Assembly in pos
session of the whole case, that they might judge of
it. Some discussion ensued, ending in the re-
appointment of the Commission, with Dr. Grant of
Saint Mary's as convener.

Dr. Grant called a meeting somewhat late in
the season, but he did not himself attend. When
the Commission met I was chosen clerk, and all

THE BRACADALE CASE. 155

the papers in the case remained in my charge.
It was, however, no longer a Commission to deal
with the case of Bracadale. We had by this time
got into a wider field. Our convener, in a letter
somewhat pretentious, instructed us that our duty,
under the remit of the General Assembly — a remit
which he did not think embraced all that it ought
to have done — was to consider the state of matters
in the country generally, and, if possible, to devise
and suggest the remedy which should be adopted.
I kept him regularly informed of all our proceed
ings. He had extracts from the minutes of our
meetings sufficient for fully informing him of all
the Commission did, as well as of the order of our
proceedings. His report to the Assembly of 1839
showed that he had received, and had, adopted,
information resting on other authority, and on
evidence other than that of the Commission of
Assembly, and that he had given effect to it in a
form by which I felt aggrieved. I was not pre
sent, however, and the matter was allowed to pass.
Dr. Grant received the thanks of the Assembly.
One man labours, and another enters into his
labours !

Dr. Grant's convenership lasted for one year
only. Dr. Gordon was named his successor. But
he never called the Commission together. To the

156 THIRD WEEK.

Assembly of 1840 he, however, read a report
which contained some able discussion, bearing,
of course, on Mr. M'Leod's views indirectly, but
ending in no conclusions requiring further action
on the part of the Church.

So terminated this long-continued controversy.
No more was heard of the dreadful condition of
things in Stye. Mr. Eory was at peace " among
his own people " in Snizort, prosecuting an active
and a successful ministry. In a very few short
years our great Disruption came. No man of us
met it with so light a heart as our long-tried
friend. "This," he said to me on the occasion,
" is what my mind was made familiar with for
many a year. My chief terror then was that I
should be alone in the separation ; but now I am
where I then looked to be, and with nearly 500 of
my brethren by my side 3 " The gigantic efforts
which at the Disruption he was called to make in
his native island all the Church at the time knew,
as they admired them. Alone in Stye for a time,
for he was the only one of his presbytery who
" came out," his services of ministry were bestowed
everywhere. Mordecai was exalted. In all the
years from that period, till his death, he lived
honoured, beloved, almost revered. It was a
thing beseeming his position in the Church, his

THE BRAG AD ALE CASE. 157

apostolic character, his eminent gifts as a herald of
the everlasting Gospel, and the divine favour which
he had for a long life enjoyed, that he should be
raised to the Moderator's chair of the Free Church.
This was done, to the delight of thousands, in
1863 ; and the talent which his appearances in
that capacity showed surprised not a few, although
none certainly of those who were his intimates.
When he died in 1867 there was a great mourning,
such as Skye, perhaps, never witnessed before.
An affecting circumstance it was, that his loving
parishioners would permit the use of no hearse,
nor other conveyance, in bearing his mortal
remains to their long home. On their own
shoulders, one relay after another, they carried
him, as if in charge of a precious treasure, and
laid him in the "narrow house" amidst a grief
most affecting because it was real — every one as if
under the power of the spirit of the prophet when
he exclaimed, " My Father ! my Father ! the
chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof." I
loved him for his genuine worth. He was a real
man — justum et tenacem propositi virum — " Stead
fast, unmovable, ever abounding in the work of
the Lord."

Of his large family four only remain — two sons,
in India ; two daughters, not in robust health,

158 THIRD WEEK.

sojourning on the Continent. Two of his daughters
— attractive creatures they were — who died at
Bridye of Allan, sleep in my family burying-ground
at Stirling. A son, a youth of uncommon promise,
died at Pau, in the south of France. From his
grave, in the cemetery there, I plucked a beautiful
little rosebud in the early summer of 1863, and
sent it by post to his father. He received the
letter in which it was enclosed, in the Moderator's
chair, when presiding over the deliberations of the
Assembly ; and more beautiful, he told me, it was
in his eyes than all the gorgeous bouquets which,
day by day, through the kindness of admirers,
graced his table.

Mr. M'Leod in stature was not above the
ordinary height. His habit of body tended to
corpulency. He was singularly abstinent and
temperate. In speech he was slow and deliberate,
never almost being known to utter a rash or un
advised word. His voice was sweet and mellow.
In the pulpit he was calm in a degree that seemed
to forbid effect. Yet, such was the elegance of his
diction, especially in the use of the Gaelic
language ; such the graceful selection and original
application of Scriptural quotations, and the un
affected and quiet pathos which breathed in all he
said; such the love for souls and desire for the glory

SLIGEACHAX HOTEL. 159

of his Master that beamed in his eyes and in all
his features, that seldom has there been a preacher
who so entirely took possession of his hearers,
carrying mind, and heart, and all, with him. His
name must ever be mentioned among the first of
the worthies of the Highlands in recent times.

I cannot omit to say that of those who sympa
thised with me, stood by me, and aided me by their
countenance and support, one esteemed friend
remains till this day. I refer to Mr. Colin
M'Kenzie, then minister at Shicldag, presbytery
of Lochcarron ; lately Free Church minister at
Arrochar, Dumbartonshire ; and now a respected
and venerable member of my congregation at
Stirling. His consistency and upright course
through a long life devoted to the service of the
Master in heaven is now his " good report."

Here ends the story of Mr. Eory and the
BRAG AD ALE CASE.

VII.

It is time that I should return to the narrative
of our Highland Tour. We are still at SLIGEACHAN
HOTEL. The wanderers on the moor have enjoyed
a satisfactory night's rest. Early morning of the
14th August has come. The fishermen have had
a successful night's work; and when our party

160 THIRD WEEK.

assemble at the breakfast table they are regaled
with herrings, both boiled herrings and fried, of the
first quality — not of the draught, selections from
which, the evening preceding, had been so accept
able, but herrings which, a few hours back, had
been disporting themselves "all alive" in the wide
sea. The accompaniments on the occasion are
worthy of the principal dish. We have a journey
and work in prospect for the day, a fact, the antici
pation of which leads to a generous, if not too gene
rous, use of the Highland luxuries provided for us.
We were soon on the road. Our first halt was
to be made at Bracadale, where we were expected,
as we had weeks before been announced. Two
conveyances were provided. It was arranged that
one should be occupied by the ministers of St.
George's, Edinburgh, and of Onizort. The other
was assigned to me and a travelling companion,
who was to accompany us for the day. Mr. Eory
was celebrated for his knowledge of horses, and
for his taste in all sorU of vehicles. He drove the
best ponies, finely harnessed to the most tasteful
carriages, *in Skye. Thus, as to the means of
transit, we were all most comfortably accommo
dated. The sun shone brilliantly. All the dark
shadow of clouds which had made our journey
from Strathaird to Sligeachan so dismal, had dis-

BRACADALE. 161

appeared ; the road was smooth as a garden walk ;
in short, we were buoyant and pleased with every
thing for the time.

O

At Bracadale we had our usual services. Dr.
'Candlish and I both preached — he, of course, in
English, and I "in the otfier language." Mr.
M'Leod would not take any part of the work.
There were several things to arrange here, as in
every place we visited. In this department of
of our duty Mr. M'Leod was of much service. His
approval of our appointments seemed to satisfy all
concerned.

I had not been at Bracadale since the famous
days of the Skye Commission. The present visit
brought back to my mind the painful conflict of
ten years before — a conflict for the right ; but a
conflict which entaiied on me, for the time, much
unpopularity. Its happy result was my reward.
This day, as I witnessed the new order of things
in full operation — though we no more ascended the
hill to the old hospitable uianse — filled my heart
with joy. We must wait for God, as well as wait
on Him, if we are to see his faithfulness to his
word. " Said I not unto thee, that if thou would-
est believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?"

From Bracadale we proceeded to Dunvegan. Our
road lay along the sea-coast — an jenchanting drive
M

162 THIRD WEEK.

— affording glimpses, in the clear sunshine, of the
far distant islands and the nearer islets of this
margin of the great Atlantic. We had on the pre
ceding evening seen them under one aspect, from
the heights to the west above Strathaird ; we saw
them now under another aspect. On both occa
sions we were enraptured with the scenery of sea
and land alike.

Our services at Dunvegan were the same as they
had been at Bracadale and the other places we had
visited. We preached, and made such arrange
ments as were required, and as we were expected
to make during this tour, for the comfortable
ordering of matters in the prosecution of local
ministerial and evangelistic work.

The journey which we had accomplished since
morning (of about twenty-four miles), besides our
labour of speech, with the fatigue of our previous
night's adventure not yet entirely subsided, made
us very ready for our night's repose.

Our arrival and work at Dunvegan were made
very enjoyable, as Dr. M'Kellar rejoined our party
at this place. He had come to Skye by a different
route from ours, and had taken his share of depu
tation labours in localities which we had not been
able to visit.

The romantic castle of Dunvegan, with its en-

DUNVEGAN. 163

virons, marked with the traces of antiquity, ar
rests every traveller's eye. Could Scott have had
it before him when he described the ruin of
Ellangowan ? " Situated upon a promontory or pro
jection of rock which formed one side of a small
and placid bay on the sea-shore, the ground be
hind descending to the sea by a small swelling
j^reen bank, divided into levels by natural terraces,
on which grew some old trees, and terminating
upon the white sand. The other side of the bay,
opposite to the old castle, was a sloping and varied
promontory, covered chiefly with copsewood, which
on that favoured coast grows almost within water
mark. The grey old towers of the castle, partly
entire, partly broken, here bearing the rusty
weather-stains of ages, and there partially mantled
with ivy, stretched along the verge of the dark
rock which rose on the right hand. In front was
the quiet bay, whose little waves, crisping and
sparkling to the moonbeams, rolled successively
along its surface, and dashed with a soft and mur
muring ripple against the silvery beach."

Dr. Samuel Johnson's description, written in
1*773, occurring in the account of his Journey to
the Western Highlands, may be placed side by side
with this. He says —

" Dunvegan is a rocky prominence, that juts out

164 THIRD WEEK.

into a bay on the west side of Skye. The house,
which is the principal seat of the Macleods, is
partly old and partly modern ; it is built upon the
rock, and looks upon the water. It forms two
sides of a small square ; on the third side is a
skeleton of a castle of unknown antiquity, sup
posed to have been a Norwegian fabric, when the
Danes were masters of the islands. It is so nearly;
entire, that it might have easily been made habit
able, were there not an ominous tradition in the
family that the owner should not long outlive the
reparation. The grandfather of the present laird,
in defiance of the prediction, began the work, but
desisted in a little time, and applied his money to

worse uses."

At Dunvegan we rested for the night. Next
morning, early, saw us on our way to Snizort,
travelling much in the order of the previous day,
— only that I had now as my travelling companion
my esteemed friend who had joined us at our
last halting-place. The journey to the residence
of Mr. M'Leod was one of about eighteen miles ;
and our object, this morning, was to arrive there
for breakfast, intending thereafter to occupy
all our time till evening in the business of
his parish and congregation. The Free Church
Manse of Snizort was not yet built. Our friend

SNIZORT. 165

lived (having of course quitted the manse, the
house in which he had been born, at the Disrup
tion) in a dwelling of small dimensions, on the hill
side stretching up from Loch Snizort, and in full
view of that beautiful sheet of sea. It was a
thoroughly occupied house — densely peopled. Our
friend's family had then known no break — a
family numerous, healthy, contented, and rejoicing.
I had described to Dr. Caudlish, in some of our
conversations by the way, the singing which I
anticipated at worship, when we came to Snizort.
I had narrated my experience in that point at
Bracadale. He was amused, but accused me of
exaggeration. After the arrival of our party, and
after a comfortable breakfast was partaken of,
furnished by true Highland hospitality, the BOOKS
made their appearance. The children and the
servants came streaming in — until the apartment
was more than filled. The psalm was given out.
The head of the family "raised the tune," as I
had heard him do before. There was little heed
given, as I had formerly witnessed, to his selection,
or to his leading. The burst of accompaniment,
with every variety of selection and intonation, was
perfect. I looked towards Dr. M'Kellar : most
grave, with downcast eyes — but a shade of humour
playing on his features — was his countenance. A

166 THIRD WEEK.

hurried glance which Dr. Candlish cast satisfied
me that he would not again accuse me of exaggera
tion. No one but ourselves seemed in the least to
notice what affected us. Dr. M'Kellar led, with
great feeling, in prayer.

Before entering on our work for the day, the
visitors strolled along the slopes of the hill on which
the house stood. The singing, for a moment, be
came the subject of conversation.

" You did right to forewarn me/' said Dr. Cand
lish ; "but was it not fine ?"

" Well, well ; Non damans sed amans," remarked
Dr. M'Kellar.

" Et amans et damans" was the reply ; and
then, after a short pause, the supplement —

" Sonat in aure Dei"

Often in subsequent years would Dr. Candlish
refer to the scene, with the remark, " Oh, do you
remember the singing at Mr. Kory's?"

Our excursion on the hill-side over, we repaired
to the huge fabric of a church which had
been built for the accommodation of our friend's
congregation. The multitude assembled was very
great. Mr. M'Leod was not now merely the
minister of Snizort. Past boundaries were thrown
down ; former restrictions no longer had force.
He was, at this date, virtually the Bishop of Stye.

SNIZORT. 167

Snizort was a grand centre. Hither the friends
of the good cause gathered themselves — on Sabbath
days for worship, at other times for counsel and
direction. Thus the end of all the conflicts our
friend had endured, was his exaltation to a position
of eminence and unchallenged influence in the
ecclesiastical world of this whole region. Who
could deny that he was worthy of it ? His genuine
piety, his zeal, his uprightness, his earnest devoted-
ness of heart and life, his great natural talent and
sagacity, coupled with singular prudence, made
him so. Not that those who loved him for his
virtues were blind to his faults ; not that they
justified him, or felt they could defend him, as to
his views concerning the sealing ordinances of the
Church — views on which he doggedly persisted to
act, though, we had reason to believe, in a modi
fied degree, in his later years ; but, taking him all
in all, making due allowances for his infirmities
and idiosyncrasies, he must be held to have been
worthy of the place which, by almost universal
consent, was awarded him throughout Skye, and in
the Highlands generally.

The public services in the church, on this day,
were conducted in the same order we had followed
in other places. We had preaching in Gaelic and
in English, as in other cases — the former falling

168 THIRD WEEK.

to me, the latter to Dr. Candlish, for Dr. M'Kellar
thought it advisable not to supersede Dr. Candlish ;
and his Gaelic had departed from him, so that he
could not take my place.

The services past, there were many references,
touching matters affecting various congregations,
either settled or that looked for speedy settlement,
with which we had to deal. Every one of them
received due consideration, as all similar references,
at the various stations we had visited on our way,
had done. Much good was, in this way, accom
plished by our visits, and much satisfaction and
contentment were made to prevail ; whilst our
minds were stored with information of great
importance, in view of future legislation and action
as to this section of the Highlands.

At the close of a laborious but happy day, Dr.
M'Kellar, Dr. Candlish, and I, proceeded, by Mr.
Eory's conveyance, to Portree. Late in the even
ing we embarked on board the Breadalbane Free
Church yacht, which had been ordered to meet us
there — part of the long past pre-arrangements — •
and which awaited our arrival. In her we slept,
and slept comfortably, for the night.

I may be permitted a sentence or two about the
YACHT. The idea of having such an appendage

THE BREADALBANE YACHT. 169

to our Free Church accommodation received much
favour from Dr. M'Kellar, if it did not originate
with him. He and other friends were of the
opinion that, besides affording facilities for visit
ing the Highlands in all directions, the prestige
of such an institution would tell greatly in our
favour in the Highland mind generally. Others
were not of the same opinion ; but believed that,
being a sailing vessel, not a steam ship, depending
on winds and weather, whilst time required to
be kept with assembled expectant congregations,
the Yacht would often create disappointments, and
might seriously interfere with successful action in
our work. Moreover, though the original cost had
been defrayed by private subscription, the expense
of maintaining her in commission all the year
round was very considerable. After a time,
accordingly, the Breadalbane was disposed of,
though to the regret of many.

She was a small vessel — of about thirty tons
register — schooner rigged, of great sailing virtue,
and safe as any sailing vessel could be. Employed,
on one occasion, to convey some one of our
deputations up the Mediterranean, she crossed
the Bay of Biscay in a gale, and with a sea running
in which large war-ships were rolling to and fro,
dipping their yards in the huge waves as every

170 THIRD WEEK.

sea came on them, each making a clean breach
over their hulls, whilst the BREADALBANE floated
like a duck on the top of the waves, and sped on
her way, not shipping a drop of water ! Such was
the report which those who sailed in her gave of
her merits as a sects-boat, on their return.

Her name was given to her in honour of the
noble friend of our Church, the late Marquess of
Breadalbane. How much this nobleman lived in
the hearts of all true Free Churchmen, his con
temporaries know ; and how worthy he was that
it should do so — not for his rank only, but for the
intelligent apprehension of the great questions
which had agitated our Church, the principles for
the integrity of which we had contended, and for
the conservation of which we had, for the time,
suffered — his intelligent apprehension, and his
bold and manly advocacy of these, in face of the
great opposition offered to them by his peers in
the House of Lords ; ultimately his coming out,
as the ministers and as other elders did ; and
then bestowing his bounteous gifts, affording
facilities for rendering our Tree Church, over his
wide and extensive property, a permanent institu
tion. His distinguished coadjutor in all such
testimony and effort, the Hon. Fox Maule, now
the Earl of Dalhousie, was to the Free Church, in

THE MAKQUESS OF BREAD ALBANE. 171

the Lower House, what the Marquess was in the
Upper House of Parliament. Mr. Fox Maule was
even more to us than what the Marquess was,
because of the arena in which he then had his
place, and also because of his high-styled eloquence.
DALHOUSIE still remains with us (may God long
spare him !), and shares in our debates in the General
Assembly, affording a very gratifying illustration
—in which he seems to delight — of Presbyterian
parity ; assuming no influence among us but
what his skill and talent in apprehending the
questions which come before us, his clearness of
statement when he speaks, and his masterly power
of debate, entitle him to.

With the Marquess of Breadalbane, I had the
honour of being acquainted from his college days
at the Glasgow University, where, as students, we
were contemporaries. In 1826, when I was mini
ster of Hope Street Chapel, Glasgow, he presented
me to the parish of Kilbrandon, Argyleshire (he
did so, virtually, though his father was then alive) ;
and, during life, he was my friend, showing me
much kindness. I last met him at Oban in 1862,
shortly before his untimely death. One little in
cident I record to show the kindliness of his dispo
sition. On the day after my arrival, I chanced to
see him on the street, surrounded by a group of

172 THIRD WEEK.

county gentlemen. I went up and spoke to him.
He received me kindly. After a little he sepa
rated from the gentlemen with whom he had been
engaged, took my arm, and led me along the street.

" Do you know our minister here ?" He meant
the Free Church minister.

" I know him very well. You mean Mr. Came
ron, my lord?"

" Yes. I wish to call for him at his manse, if
you would kindly accompany me."

Of course I did. The visit was a great occasion
there. Everything was nice and tidy. The chil
dren greatly attracted the distinguished visitor :
he fondled them, and they, not knowing the dis
tinction between the great man and the others
present, were frank with him, receiving his atten
tions with evident satisfaction, and warmly return
ing them in their own way. After inquiries as to
the manse and church accommodation (both being
on his lordship's property), and inviting the mini
ster, if he wished for anything additional, to let
him know, we took our leave.

On the Sabbath he asked my wife and myself
to accompany him to his pew in the Free Church,
which we did. He placed her at the upper part
of the seat, where he sat beside her, giving me my
place on his other hand. It was intended as a

PORTREE. 173

mark of attention to us — putting honour on us
before the people — in the place of my wife's birth
and upbringing, and where I had laboured, as he
knew, for the first four years of my ministry. By
such acts of condescending kindness, how much
do persons of rank, holding eminent positions in
society, procure respect for themselves and good
will for their social distinctions !

The night's repose on board the Breadalbane
greatly refreshed us ; and so, especially, did our
sail thereafter. The anchor was early up, and we
were under weigh with the dawn of morning. Our
destination, in the first instance, was Broadford.
There, at one o'clock, we were expected to con
duct such services as had been conducted at the
various places of halt, during our entire progress.
For such services we had been announced at
Broadford, as pre-arranged. The weather was
fine, bright and bracing as an autumn day ; the
tide was favourable ; the scenery delightsome ;
and, though we felt the disadvantages of a sailing
as compared with a steam propelled vessel, in
respect of rapidity of motion and prospective pre
cision in time-keeping, we nevertheless, under
present circumstances, cherished every hope that
we should make good our object.

174 THIRD WEEK.

Part of our voyage lay through the sound of
Eaasay — the island of Eaasay being on our left,
and the coast of Skye on the right. The herring-
fishing was at its best, and the liveliness which
boats, nets, men, women, and children, along both
shores, gave to the scene, as the proceeds of the
night's toil were landed and rejoiced over by the
expectant throng, was very cheering. It was im
possible to skirt along the coast of this island,
and not have the great moralist and his " Journey"
of nearly sixty years before, brought to mind,
especially his visit to Raasay. We talked of the
record of it which he has left to the world. We
could remember some portions, though not all, of
what he had written. Often as the celebrated
passage about lona has been quoted, I know not
that its beauty exceeds that of the sentences which
he penned about Raasay : —

" Our reception exceeded our expectations.
We found nothing but civility, elegance, and
plenty. After the usual refreshments, and the
usual conversation, the evening came upon us.
The carpet was then rolled off the floor, the musi
cian was called, and the whole company was in
vited to dance, nor did ever fairies trip with
greater alacrity. The general air of festivity which
predominated in this place, so far remote from all

RAASAY. 175

those regions which the mind has been used to
contemplate as the mansions of pleasure, struck
the imagination with a delightful surprise, ana
logous to that which is felt at an unexpected
emersion from darkness to light. Eaasay has
little that can detain a traveller, except the
laird and his family ; but their power wants
no auxiliaries. Such a seat of hospitality, amidst
the winds and waters, fills the imagination with
a delightful contrariety of images. Without is
the rough ocean and the rocky land, the beating
billows and the howling storm ; within is plenty
and elegance, beauty and gaiety, the song and
the dance. In Raasay, if I could have found an
Ulysses, I had fancied a PJiceocia"

In my Glenelg days — I was able to tell my
friends — I occasionally called at the house of
Ardintoul, on the coast immediately opposite to
Lochalsh. Bad weather often forced me to take
the circuitous route by the ferry of Totaig, that I
might land on the Glenelg side. Ardintoul was
the residence of Mrs. M'Eae, mother of one of
Wellington's celebrated officers, knighted for his
gallantry, and in my time known as Sir John
M'Kae. Mrs. M'Kae was a daughter of M'Leod of
Eaasay — the M'Leod whose hospitality Dr. John
son celebrates. The old lady was, at the time of

176 THIRD WEEK.

the great man's visit, a young maiden, one of those
whom he saw dance, and whom he admired. She
delighted to speak of him, and was always anxious
to dispel the prejudices which so many Highlanders
have entertained towards Johnson for his work on
the Highlands. Even in old age she appeared
beautiful — tall, and elegant in her manners.

We were landed comfortably on the shore at
Broadford in due time. The multitude was
assembled to meet and to welcome us. No delay
required to be made. I preached first in the
mountain tongue, and whilst so engaged my com
panions strolled along the sea rocks, which in
this locality are of much interest to those who
know anything of geology and its discoveries, so
occupying the leisure hour which my engagement
afforded them. The other part of our prescribed
duty, in English, was conducted, as usual, by Dr.
Candlish. Business matters connected with the
affairs of our Church in this district followed, and
we were soon ready to pursue our voyage, our
destination for the night being Balmacara, and
the hospitable mansion of our good friend, Mr.
Lillingston.

At Broadford we were on the property of a site-
refusing landlord, Lord M 'Donald. Mr. M'Kinnon,
Corry, was his factor. He had been an acquaint-

BROADFORD. 177

ance of mine in my Glenelg days, and my impres
sion of his character was that he knew better than
to pursue ex animo the course which he now did.
Accompanied by Dr. Candlish, I called on him.
He was pleased, and seemed flattered even, with our
visit. Had he been free from the prejudices
which his position and office, I may say, compelled
him to cherish and obey, he might have been
turned to some measure of friendliness. I never
learned, however, that our visit, though intended
for good, produced any marked effect.

He was one of the witnesses who, in 1847, were
examined by the Committee of the House of
Commons on Sites. His evidence furnishes for
contemplation a melancholy example of the coil-
duct of too many of the Scottish landed proprietors
at the period of the Disruption. One or two
extracts will show this : —

" Mr. F. Maule. — Do the adherents of the Free
Church, who are tenants of Lord M 'Donald, pay
their rents as regularly and as punctually as other
parties who are not members of the Free Church ? —
They do.

"There are not more arrears on the part of those
who belong to the Free Church than there are on
the part of others ? — No.

"Have you found that since the Disruption of the

N

178 THIRD WEEK.

Church in Skye you have had greater facility or
more difficulty in collecting the arrears due upon
the estate? — I have found no difference; the
people all hold from year to year, and of course
they make a point of paying their rents, because
their continuance in possession very much depends
on their doing so.

"Has it been usual on Lord M'Donald's estate to
dispossess tenants for other reasons than non
payment of rents ? — Not without some particular
bad conduct or fault.

"Suppose it were necessary to dispossess tenants
in order to make improved arrangements with
reference to farms, is it usual in Skye to provide
for the families who are removed for those purposes,
in any way ? — Sometimes it is impracticable ; but,
generally speaking, they are provided for, and
very often they emigrate.

"When unprovided for, and unable to provide
for themselves, what becomes of those people ? —
A good many of them emigrate ; but there is not
much of the system of dispossessing tenants
followed in Skye.

" Since the Disruption in the Church have any
ejectments of tenants been made, or have any
notices of ejectment been served, for other reasons
than non-payment of rents, or non-improvement
in the condition of the farms ? — Yes.

BROADFORD. 179

" I will read you a list of individuals. In the
parish of Kilmuir do you know the following
persons : — [Here follows a list of sixteen names,
one of the number being a catechist, another a
Gaelic school-teacher]. In the parish of Snizort
[eight names]. In the parish of Portree [four
names]. In the parish of Sleat [five names]. Do
you know these individuals? — Of course I know
them all when I see them ; but I do not know
them by hearing their names read in that way ; at
least not the whole of them.

" Have individuals of the names which I have
read to you received notices to quit ? — They have,
I believe.

" Are you aware whether all those are or are not
members of the Free Church ? — I am not aware
whether all are ; some of them are not, I should think.

" Will you look at the list, and mention any who
are not members of the Free Church ? — I cannot
tell you who is not a member. Here is a man,
Donald M'Donald, the catechist, he must be a
member of the Free Church, because he is not a
catechist in the Establishment ; but I cannot tell,
with respect to many of the others, which are and
which are not members of the Free Church.

" Is Lord M'Donald cognisant of these notices of
ejectment upon his property ? — It was he himself

180 THIRD WEEK.

gave me the list of such as he wished to be served
with notices on account of their being collectors
[for the Sustentation Fund].

" Whose advice did he act upon in that matter ?
— I cannot say.

" He did not act upon your advice ? — No ; and I
do not say that he has made up his mind about
removing them, for I have not spoken to him on
the subject since I have been here ; but the day
he was leaving the country he gave me a list, and
said — ' Here is a list of fellows that must have
notice to quit.'

"Do you know Ewen Cameron, an innkeeper in
Uig ?_ Yes.

" Was it for arrears or any misconduct that he
was ejected at Whitsunday 1846 ? — No ; there
were complaints made to Lord M'Donald that he
was a strong partisan for the Free Church, and
being, as we considered, a public servant, we
thought it better to remove him.

" Who are ' We ? ' — Lord M'Donald and myself.

" Did you suppose that, as an innkeeper, he was
likely to refuse accommodation to those who were
not of the same Church views as himself? — I do
not know that he would refuse accommodation to
them, but he would give the preference to his own
side/' etc. etc. etc.

BALMACARA. 181

I met Mr. M'Kinnon in the corridor as he came
out from the committee-room. He looked flushed
and agitated. " Ah," he said to me, " you have it
all your own way here ; but wait till we get a hold
of you in the country." " Here," I answered, " we
get justice, no favour, and we ask no more." The
examinations by the site-committee, when they
came to be known in the Highlands, did much to
encourage and strengthen both ministers and
people of the Free Church.

Our sail from Broadford to Loclialsh and Balma-
cara was pleasant, but without adventure or inci
dent of special interest. Our reception was cordial
and sincere. Since we parted with our friends,
though the time was not long, we had seen much,
and had, as I have already noted, laid up stores of
valuable information, whilst we had received im
pressions of men and of things which we could not
have had without personal observation and per
sonal intercourse.

It was now Saturday. The next day was
Sabbath, 17th August, when we had onerous duty
in prospect ; rest and refreshment were needed.
Our considerate friends saw this. We were left,
accordingly, much to ourselves for the evening.
I had feared that ministerial work might have been
required, but this was not the case. The repose

182 THIRD WEEK.

was really due to us, and due to the work to
which we looked forward.

On the morrow, when it came, we had double
service — service at two different places, at a con
siderable distance from each other — at least ten
miles. First we drove to PlocTcton, accompanied by
our friends of Balmacara House. Next, coming
back, and passing Balmacara, we proceeded to
Ardelve, a station on a branch of Loch Duich, called
Lochlong, on the banks of which stands the village
of Dornie. The public road passes near to Ardelve,
where there is a ferry station, the arm of sea
stretching between the LocJialsh and Kintail coasts
— Dornie being in the district of Kintail.

Both at Plockton and at Ardelve we had very
large audiences ; especially at the latter place.
Here, at the era of the Disruption, Mr. Lillingston
had reared an immense fabric, in its construction
suited to what, he believed, the exigencies and cir
cumstances of the times required. He intended
that the building should be at the service of the
gospel, not of any special Church, not of the Free
Church exclusively, but of any who really declared
the truth for the salvation of men. The question
of how the character of those professing to proclaim
the truth on this principle was to be ascertained
he left undecided. The structure was a very un-

ARDELVE. 183

gainly one. Built at a spot where violent torna
does occasionally came sweeping down from the
neighbouring mountains, he conceived that to give
it a roof elevated in the least would be to expose
it to risk. So the roof was made entirely flat,
except that the smallest possible incline to one
side was provided for, that the rain should run off,
and not lodge anywhere on the vast flat. It was
covered with FELT, which was periodically pitched
with boiled tar. In summer the rays of the sun
produced their proper effect, which was by 110
means pleasant to many of the worshippers. The
great bulk being fishermen, and accustomed to
such flavour as abounded there, were not dis
turbed by it. Dr. Chalmers said of the first Free
Church erected — that which Dr. Candlish's con
gregation occupied when the Disruption occurred,
and which had been erected in prospect of that
event as temporary accommodation — that it re
minded him (the roof being covered with felt) of a
boy with a scabbed head. Had he seen the Archive
church, he probably would have said that it re
sembled a decapitated giant, of course with no
head at all. All that could be said for it was, that
it afforded an illustration of Mr. Lillingston's notions
of the cheapness, the architectural elegance and
comfort, which it behoved the Free Church to study.

184 THIRD WEEK.

I never on any occasion heard Dr. Candlish
preach so admirably, or with such effect. His
subject, as I knew, was a favourite one with him :
John xxi. 15-17 — "So when they had dined,
Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas,
lovest thou me more than these?" etc. etc. etc.
He used no MS. ; spoke without a single note
of any kind to aid his memory ; threw himself
freely into his statement of truth ; evidently aimed
to use language the simplest, clearest, most
direct, for making his meaning, in every par
ticular, palpable and unquestionable. Never was
he, on any occasion in all his ministry, more
successful in arresting and retaining the atten
tion, or in delighting and edifying an audience.
The poor people, though their knowledge of
English was scanty, nevertheless, to my appre
hension, comprehended it all. Having begun the
services of the day by preaching in the vernacular,
it was my part, in concluding the services, to give,
in the said vernacular, a resumtf of the English
discourse. This I found a very easy task, as well
as a very delightful one, under the circumstances.

" Hark, my soul ! it is the Lord,
"Pis thy Saviour, hear his word ;
Jesus speaks, and speaks to thee ;
Say, poor sinner, lov'st thou Me ?

AKDELVE. 185

" Lord ! it is my chief complaint,
That my love is weak and faint ;
Yet I love Thee and adore !
0 for grace to love Thee more ! " — Cowper.

All were charmed. This may have arisen in part,
as often happens, from the audience having been
prepared — shall I say resolved ? — to be pleased ;
but it could not be altogether due to this. The
congregation was an immense one, the largest we
had hitherto addressed, larger even than that which
we had had at Snizort ; and the sentiment of
satisfaction was universal. As for Mr. Lillingston,
who had never before heard our great pulpit
orator, he was affected to his inmost soul. I saw
the tears stream down his face. His handsome
countenance shone as with a heavenly lustre.
He told me afterwards that he had never listened
to preaching like it ; I believed him ; I was sure
he had not.

I said something to Dr. Candlish, afterwards,
when we were alone, of the liberty he had evi
dently had in preaching. He admitted that he
had felt very comfortable. He had, during the
morning, he said, when roaming on the shore-beach,
whilst I was preaching, gone over the subject
thoroughly in his mind, and he knew that he was
quite master of all the ideas.

" And why not adopt the same course always ?

186 THIRD WEEK.

Why be at any time fettered by papers ? 0 si sic
semper ! "

" Bah ! you don't understand. They would not
have it."

" So much the greater loss for them," I said ; " I
wish some of the objectors had heard you to-day."

I have no doubt the effect of this visit to LocJialsh
was good — very good. Mr. Lillingston's mind was
made better disposed towards us in our various
efforts as a Church, and in all our progress. He
was made to feel, more than he had previously
done, in spite of his prelatic proclivities, that the
Free Church was a great power in the land, and
that the movement was eminently of God. He
had always been friendly, but it was on the general
principle of favouring the gospel in us, without
regard to our distinctive position. I think that,
subsequent to this visit, there was more than this
which animated him in the favour which he
extended to our work.

With this day's services the THIRD WEEK of our
tour was brought to a close ; and here, con
sequently, the record of the THREE WEEKS ter
minates. But we have still to reach the end of
our journey. Concluding days, therefore, fall to
be added to what has already been written ; and to
the story of these days another chapter must be
devoted — perhaps a long one.

BALMACARA. 187

CONCLUDING DAYS.

i.

ON Monday morning (18th August) Mr. M'Leod
joined us at Balmacara. There he had always
been, and till the end continued to be, a very
special favourite. Mr. Lillingston had succeeded
in producing in him a very decided conviction of
the truth of his own pre-millennial personal advent
beliefs. To Mr. M'Leod these beliefs became, as
I knew, the occasion of much joy and comfort.

In course of the afternoon our party embarked
once more on board the Breadalbane. Our desti
nation was Janetoivn, near the head of Lochcarron,
and our course lay from LocTialsli, through Kyle
Akin, and northward for about twenty miles. At
Janetown a conveyance was to meet us, by which
we were to proceed on the following day to Ding-
wall, and thence to Inverness, whither the General
Assembly of the Free Church was gathering from
all quarters.

The day on which we entered on this, our last
voyage for this time, was bright and promising ;

188 CONCLUDING DAYS.

the wind was strong enough, and sufficiently fair,
to warrant the hope of comfortable progress.

We calculated much on the strong tide which
was setting in the direction of our advance. Two
or three hours, we felt assured, would see us
arrived at our resting-place for the night.

We were disappointed. The breeze failed us.
Towards sundown, not a breath stirred the surface,
whilst the flood-tide ceased, and the ebb set in.
We could expect to make no more progress for
six hours to come, as the Breadalbane was not a
steamship.

" Down dropped the breeze, the sails dropped down,

'Twas sad as sad could be ;
And we did speak only to break
The silence of the sea !

" Hour after hour, hour after hour,

We stuck, nor breath nor motion ;
As idle as a painted ship

Upon a painted ocean." — Ancient Mariner.

It was essential, however, that we should move
on. We must needs reach Janetown some time
that night, to be prepared for the journey before
us for next day. There was but one alternative.
We had the yacht's boat, not very commodious, but
she was all that we could avail ourselves of in the
circumstances. It was an arduous undertaking

VOYAGE TO JANETOWN. 189

thus to pursue our journey. The distance to be
accomplished was great ; our motive power was
weak ; the cargo on board was heavy ; and there
were risks, of which I was more aware than any
one in our small craft. To avoid the strength of
the tide as much as possible, we pulled close in
shore. This exposed us to a risk, of which I endea
voured to give due intimation both to the rowers
and to our steersman, who was Dr. Candlish. I
had been here before, on an occasion which I
was quite willing to describe to my fellow
voyagers. I had seen the bed of sunken rocks,
which, I believed, we were approaching, which,
if there were no run of tide, would be harmless to
a rowing boat, but which, with such a run as we
were now experiencing, I feared might prove
dangerous. If we encountered the rocky bed, and
had not depth enough above it to float us fairly
over, in case the boat came broadside to, our con
dition might be perilous. The general opinion of
those on board was that we were not so close in
shore as to bring us into contact with the rocks,
and that, if we were, we should have depth
enough of water to float us comfortably over them.
I did feel anxiety — more, for a few minutes,
on this occasion, than at any time during all our
Highland tour. The boat carried Ctesar ; she had

190 CONCLUDING DAYS.

a precious cargo ; and it did not prevent or allay
my trouble, that no one seemed to care for the
thing. I contented myself by urging on the oars
men that, in case we did touch the rocks, they
should not cease to pull, but rather pull the harder,
to keep the boat's head in the stream, and by all
means to prevent her turning round broadside to
the current. The steersman was made to under
stand his duty likewise, and seemed a little
amused at my carefulness.

We had not gone far, after this conversation on
the probable, or possible, risk, till we felt our boat
graze on the rock. The shadows of the evening
were now gathering round us, and the first inti
mation of our presence on the rocky ground could
only be in the form in which it thus unpleasantly
came on us. We could see nothing. We pulled
on ; again the boat's keel rubbed the bottom ; I
cast a glance at Mr. Eory's face ; he was calm and
undisturbed. Anything like panic might have
proved disastrous ; there was none of that. A
third time we came into contact with the rock,
the tide rushing on ; this time, however, the
collision was slight, showing that, in God's good
providence, we were past the danger. We had
got beyond the ledge over which we had held our
course, and which existed, as I knew, only at this

SKATE-FISHING. 191

point. I felt very thankful then, as I always feel
thankful now, when this incident occurs to my
mind.

" How did you come to know so well about this
rocky bed ?" Dr Candlish asked. " Come, let us
hear." Dr. M'Kellar expressed a similar request ;
and, although I declared it was not worth
narrating, I told my story.

" I had come across from Glenelg, on one occasion,
to pass a day with my kind friend at Balmacara.
The weather was calm and enticing. We had had
a long conversation on religious subjects. Un
expectedly he said to me, ' Have you ever seen
skate-fishing ? ' ' Never,' I answered. The bell
was rung. 'Send Allister here.' Allister, his
faithful and much-esteemed servant, forthwith ap
peared. ' Allister, would not this be a fine after
noon for the skate at the bay, where we were
lately?' 'There could not be better. The tide
is flowing ; we could get to the ground by half-
flood ; there is not a cloud in the sky, and the
calm is perfect.'

" ' Let the men get the boat ready ; have out the
spears with their tackle ; and come yourself with
us. I want to show the minister how to take
skate.' I fancied there was a touch of humour in
the way he referred to me ; and I was sure he had

192 CONCLUDING DAYS.

something in store which he believed would either
amuse or surprise me.

" We were soon on board the boat. The pull was
a long one ; but with a strong tide, and able oars
men, we made rapid progress, and soon came to
the fishing-ground. It was a small bay, inshore,
which, but for the darkness, we might now descry
— at least the entrance to it. The ledge of sea
ward rocks over which we have passed lies out
side the bay, and somewhat to the north-east of
it. We were close on, if we did not pass over it,
as we approached the fishing-ground. Mr. Lilling-
ston spoke of the dangerous character of the
ledge, and narrated several accidents to which it
had given occasion. This impressed itself on my
mind, and accounts for my anxiety this evening.

" The bay was shallow, with a sandy bottom of
pure white. The sea was like glass, and the
water was pellucid, clear as crystal. When our
boat approached the bay, orders were given that
the oars should be shipped, and that the boat
should be allowed to float on the flood-tide, which
would be sufficient to carry her quietly forward to
the point we wished to reach. We were soon
midway between the two sides of the tiny inlet,
and perhaps a gunshot or more from the beautiful
white beach in front. We floated on the surface,

SKATE-FISHING. 193

in perfect stillness, at the height, as we believed,
judging by appearances, of from sixteen to thirty
feet. The bottom, which was composed of white
sand, looked very near, and was minutely visible.
In entering the bay we suddenly glided upon this
bright basin from a dark underground, occasioned,
as I discovered on looking back through the
water, by marine vegetation in its richest form,
and on a scale such as I had never before witnessed.
The appearance which it assumed was that of a
lofty bank, adown which were visible shady groves,
furnished to excess with the foliage peculiar to the
sea, floating and waving gracefully, as the mass
yielded to the varied influences of the moving
tide. ' What a gorgeous retreat/ I exclaimed, ' is
provided here for the protection and enjoyment
of its many and varied occupants ! How great is
the goodness of the faithful Creator, and how
perfect is his wisdom ! '

" ' 0 Lord, how wonderful are thy works ! in
wisdom hast thou made them all : the earth is full
of thy riches ; so is this great and wide sea.' *

" Turning from the contemplation of this sub
marine grove, and casting my eyes to the other
portion of the picture spread out for our admira
tion, what an aquarium did I behold ! Near the

* Psalm civ. 24, 25.
0

194 CONCLUDING DAYS.

surface a vast shoal of the smaller tribes of fish
disported themselves, apparently in the enjoyment
of perfect animal happiness ; lower down were
seen fish of a larger size, of many descriptions ;
lowest of all were the flat fish, including flounders,
urbot, and our gam e, the skate — those inter
mingled with specimens of the lobster and crab
tribes of every class, which floated or swam
or crept along the smooth sandy bottom. It
was most interesting to watch the creatures
issuing from what appeared to be their hiding
or dwelling places in the darksome groves, which
seemed to my eyes to form so romantic a
seclusion for them. Especially was it so to watch
the huge, broad-backed, bright-eyed forms for
which we were on the look-out. There was great
rapidity and stealthiness in their movements.
One object with them, very decidedly, was not to be
perceived. As they appeared through the medium
of the water, their colour differed but little from
that of the sandy bottom, so that it required much
quickness of eye to follow their rapid motion
as they skimmed along. Especially difficult was
it to detect them when concealed in the soft
powdery deposit which, with great adroitness and
the least possible disturbance, they covered them
selves with, and quietly nestled in. But for the

SKATE-FISHING. 195

bright eyes, which could, not with safety be
covered or concealed, no power of human vision
could have perceived them. The eyes once per
ceived, it was not difficult, aided by the imagina
tion and the slight quivering of the fins in the
moving waters, to trace the outline of the body.

"As our boat floated on the surface, in deep
silence, we beheld a large specimen come and
settle itself so close to us, that there could be no
doubt it would soon be within reach of our in
struments of death. Another and another, as if
following the lead of the first, gathered under, or
near to, the shadow created by our boat. All on
board showed some excitement, and as there was
one spear provided for each, every man seized his
weapon. It was a trident, with formidable prongs,
well barbed. The prongs were about eight inches
long, and the barbs were such as to make the
escape of the prey, if once pierced, impossible.
The shaft was long, generally about twenty feet,
and was furnished with a hard strong cord, fastened
carefully to its upper extremity.

" ' You had better see me do it first/ Mr. Lilling-
ston whispered to me, as he noticed me, like the
others, preparing for action. ' It is not quite an
easy thing to send the spear through the water
direct to the prey. The effect of the refraction- is

196 CONCLUDING DAYS.

such as greatly to deceive the inexperienced sports
man.'

" I was happy to be instructed by such a master
in what could not certainly, in the present in
stance, be described as the gentle art. The boat
men awaited his instructions as it became them.

" He handled the long-shafted spear very gently
and very quietly, scarcely creating a ripple on the
surface as it passed through the water. Down
and down it slowly went — now no longer a straight
pole, but the portion under the surface appearing
at an angle so great to the portion still in the air,
that I could not believe it possible the prongs
could be guided straight to the fish. To my ap
prehension the weapon was not, by a foot or two,
approaching the spot where I was able easily to
trace the outline of the poor victim, so soon to ex
perience that its fate was but too surely settled.
The sharp points proceeded slowly but steadily
towards the bottom. It was impossible to tell by
the eye how near or how far from it they were.
My eyes followed the instrument with a strange
sort of interest. In a moment, the sportsman
raised his right hand to the upper extremity of
the shaft, directing it with his left, and grasping
it firmly in perfect quietness. Then there was
a sudden thrust given with all the vigour of an

SKATE-FISHING. 197

athlete. This done, he sat back with great cool
ness, holding in his hand the cord, several feet of
which had followed the spear when plunged into
the deep. A cloud of powdery sand obscured our
vision of the bottom, and presently the spear-
shaft was seen to ascend slowly in a slanting
direction to the surface. It rose gradually with a
strange tremulousness, moving a little, sometimes
to the one hand, sometimes to the other. An un
seen power was affecting it. As the agitated sand
began to subside, and the medium of vision be
came clear, the cause was made palpable. A skate
of large dimensions, transfixed through the very
centre of its body, was seen, in spite of its
struggles and the flapping of its huge fins, to be
raised by the buoyant power of the spear-shaft
closer and closer to the surface. The cord was
employed to draw the shaft towards our boat, and
the fishing process was soon completed by this late
inhabitant of the umbrageous marine grottoes, over
which he had but a little ago passed, being made
the spoil of the lords of creation, to whom power
has been given, from the source of all authority,
' over the fish of the sea/ as well as over the
other creatures made ' to be taken and destroyed/
" The work of destruction went on rapidly. The
boatmen declared they had never seen such a shoal

198 CONCLUDING DAYS.

of skate before. It was suggested that the num
ber might have been quite as great on other occa
sions, although the opportunity of seeing them
might not have been so good. This was admitted.
The slaughter now was appalling ; but all my
efforts to kill my fish failed. I could not calcu
late correctly the necessary allowance for the
apparent angle created by the refraction of the
water. But I really congratulated myself after
wards on my want of success, when I beheld the
staring bloodshot eyes of the butchered throng, as
they lay in the boat — such a multitude in their
blood — in death, or in their dying moments,
seeming as if they cast looks of reproach or vin-
dictiveness at their unfeeling and too successful
pursuers. Our cargo was soon complete ; it could
not be said that we returned ' clean.' Catching
the first of ebb, the pull to Balmacara was soon
over. On reaching the shore, orders were given
for the disposal of our booty, all the poor who
were to have a share being distinctly named by
the leader of our expedition.

"On more than on one occasion, it appeared strange
to me that a man of such gentleness and such
tenderness of disposition as Mr. Lillingston, should
seem to care so little for inflicting death on the
inferior creation. I accounted for it by remem-

PROGRESS TOWARDS JANETOWN. 199

bering that, from early life, he must have been
acquainted with the field sports to which the
English aristocracy devote themselves. In the
Highlands he was no enthusiast in such sports.
Though his property abounded in red deer, I never
heard of his going a deer-stalking, or of his joining
any of his aristocratic compatriots in Eoss-shire
in such pursuits, or almost in any matters in
which they were fond of distinguishing themselves.
Yet there can be no doubt that he was an expert
in every exercise which required agility, strength,
and skill. He might have gained the highest
reputation, had he sought it, in that way. He
had been taught, however, to delight himself with
higher things — a truth not inconsistent with his
enjoying occasionally such a 'battue as we had this
day indulged in. On the way home, with scarcely
an observation upon it, he shot down — it might be
only to discharge his double-barrel — some of the
hungry sea-fowl which the sight or the savour
of our cargo attracted towards and around us."

II.

This story, though here given continuously, was
often interrupted by my companions asking many
questions, and making many demands for explana
tion and additional information — all of which I
rejoiced to give.

200 CONCLUDING DAYS.

Our progress was slow ; but still we made pro
gress. The night was on us ; but it was not dark ;
and we ran no risk of collisions. After we had
passed the ferry which divides the Lochcarron
region from Lochalsli, we advanced at better speed ;
but it was long past midnight ere, with aching
bones and benumbed frames, we set foot on the
slippery, seaweed-covered, low-water shore, skirt
ing the small village of Janetown. We had passed
a day of some adventure, and we felt thankful
that our journey was done. The lights in the inn
showed that we were expected. The inmates there
knew too well the uncertainties connected with sea
travelling, and could calculate too well the effects
of adverse tides, to be surprised that we had not
put in appearance at a somewhat earlier hour. A
good fire blazed in the grate of the " big room ; "
the table was covered, ready for our refreshment ;
the sight of which, with the change from the cold
sea air to the comfortable temperature within,
made us both thankful and cheerful.

My first anxiety, after our safe arrival, was to
ascertain whether the conveyance which was, next
day, to carry us to Dingwall, had arrived. I soon
learned that a two-horse chaise, of good capacity,
had arrived in course of the evening, and would be
ready for us at any hour we chose next morning.

JAXETOWN. 201

It was enough ; there was to be no disappoint
ment in this respect ; and there was to be no Dr.
Lee to appear to displace or to supersede us.

A comfortable sleep, and a hearty breakfast at
an early hour, prepared us for the journey of next
day. It must needs be arduous, for the way was
long. The road from Janetown to Dingwall runs
through more than one of the most magnificent
straths in the Highlands — a road far from moun
tainous ; indeed, all but level throughout, the
exception being a portion towards the Dingwall
termination. In modern times a railway has traced
its course. In 1845 no imagination had con
ceived the possibility of such a phenomenon.

The carriage was well filled, when Dr. M'Kellar,
Mr. M'Leod, Dr. Candlish, and I, took possession.
The day was favourable ; the roads were smooth ;
the horses fresh. Moreover, we were about to
complete our tour. Another day, and we expected
to arrive at the grand rendezvous, towards which
hundreds of the friends of our Church were wend
ing their way, from every point of the compass.

As we got into the carriage, looking down the
loch, over whose surface we had been conveyed
on the previous night, we saw the white sails of
the BREADALBANE, far down, brightly reflecting
the morning sun. She had no wind, and appeared

202 CONCLUDING DAYS.

to be as motionless as she was when we abandoned
her. The tide had, during the night, floated her
on, through the ferry, up the loch, into her present
position ; where, no doubt, she would remain, until
the returning tide and a favouring wind carried
her again into the open sea. She was soon lost to
our view. As we proceeded on our journey, we
saw her no more ; but we ever cherished happy
recollections of our pleasant voyage in her, and of
the urbanity, kindness, and sailor manliness of
her commander, Captain M'Ewen.

Whilst partaking of breakfast in the " big room "
at Janetown, I chanced to say, "Well, I have
seen some scenes here which were of interest to
me at the time ; especially on the first occasion
on which I looked on these walls with their
grotesque furnishings."

" Ah, you must let us hear about that when we
get upon the road ; I have heard that you had a
battle to fight to make good your footing in
Glenelg," Dr. Candlish said.

" I am afraid I weary you with my recitals," I
replied; "but when one comes upon localities
which remind him of the past, he cannot avoid
speaking of events which they recall — at least so it
is with me — my infirmity perhaps, but happy when I
have listeners good-natured enough to bear with me."

ON THE WAY TO DINGWALL. 203

III.

"Early in the summer of 1830, 1 was presented
by Lord Glenelg (the Eight Hon. Charles Grant)
to the parish of Glenelg, in the estate from which
he took his title. I was at the time in the ninth
year of my ministry, and settled in the parish of
Kilbrandon. His lordship being desirous of secur
ing a minister for Glenelg holding views on
religious questions in harmony with his own, he
was directed to me by friends in Edinburgh,
whom he consulted. It was somewhat of a sur
prise to receive from this good man a letter
narrating what he had done, describing the im
portance of the parish in his gift as patron, his
desire to have it supplied satisfactorily, and pre
senting for my consideration several inducements
for accepting the presentation which he was
prepared to issue in my favour, on my agreeing to
accept. I had difficulties ; the chief being the
succession to Killrandon. This leading difficulty
having been removed by the probability, almost
certainty — God favouring — of my cousin, Mr., now
Dr. Elder of Eothesay, being appointed to Kil-
brandon, I agreed to accept the presentation to
Glenelg. My cousin did become my successor in
the derelict parish — a comfort to me, and, as it
proved, a blessing to many.

204 CONCLUDING DAYS.

" The presentation to Glenelg was lodged with
the Moderator of the Presbytery of Lochcarron in
good, that is within the statutory, time, though
somewhat late. On this ground it could not be
objected to, although some expectation was enter
tained that it might. Dr. Koss, of Lochbroom — a
man well known in his time — was Moderator on
this occasion. The relative papers were duly
lodged, along with the presentation. That there
might be no mistake, a legal official carried all
the documents in proprid persona from Inverness
to the manse of Lochbroom, and before witnesses
deposited them in the hands of the dignified head,
pro tempore, of the Presbytery.

" The rejection of my presentation, however, was
a foregone conclusion. Dr. Eoss discovered a
defect that, to him, appeared irremediable. Of the
six months within which the patron might pre
sent, there remained, when the presentation was
placed in his hands, but a few hours. A new
presentation and new relative documents could not,
by any stratagem or any effort, be in that time pro
vided ; the case was a clear one. Jure devoluto,
the Presbytery, and as representing that body, he,
for this vice, was to be patron of the lucrative, and
most desirable parish of Glenelg !

" A meeting of Presbytery was summoned to be

ON THE WAY TO DING WALL. 205

held at Janetown on a given day. It was a full
meeting — a meeting big with thoughts of the
important transaction that was then to be con
summated. The presentation in my favour, and
the other papers connected with it, were laid on
the table. All my documents were full and cor
rect ; so was the patron's, with one exception. He
had not qualified to Government — the presentee
had ; the certificate of his having done so, with his
letter of acceptance, was all right, but the patron
had not qualified to Government ; no evidence
was before the court to show that he had ! It was
unanimously found that the presentation could not
be sustained — it must be set aside. Moreover, the
Presbytery, looking to the circumstances of the
parish, and the importance of having it without
delay supplied with a minister, resolved to proceed
to exercise their privilege, in the circumstances, of
appointing a minister. They did so. A son of the
late minister was named as a suitable successor.
He was a young probationer of amiable character,
and it looked a generous and kind thing to the
family of which he was a member, that he should
be selected. The appointment was made and regu
larly recorded ; the usual procedure with a view
to the settlement being at the same time arranged.
Intimation of what had thus been done was ordered

206 CONCLUDING DAYS.

to be made officially by the clerk to both the Patron
and his Presentee. The transaction was complete ;
there were congratulations on all hands ; the new
presentee was called in, and he declared his accept
ance.

" On a day not long after this I received by post,
at Kilbrandon, the communication which the clerk
had been instructed to make to me.

"I, too, like my rival presentee, had been receiving
congratulations ; and, in our manse, we had been
forecasting the future — resolving in our minds on
arrangements which would be required, and which
might be warranted by the change in our circum
stances, as well as in our new place of abode. We
felt it to be an untoward event ; it gave us an
unpleasant shock, but we felt we could survive it.
The rumour that I was to leave Kilbrandon had
created no small excitement there, and had called
forth such an amount of affectionate feeling, as well
as of effort in the direction of taking steps to pre
vent my removal, that we had relentings of heart
in looking forward to that event.

" The matter had not taken end, however. Not
many days after receipt of the letter from the clerk
of the Presbytery of Lochcarron, a large packet,
addressed to me, was delivered at the manse. On
opening it, my eye caught the title of a printed

ON THE WAY TO DINGWALL. 207

document folded in lawyer-like form, very ominous
of evil to look at. It was the copy of a summons of
interdict, concluding for damages, directed against
the Moderator and other members of the Presbytery
of Lochcarron, and, in most energetic terms,
describing their ' outrageous' conduct in inter
fering with the legal rights of the Patron of the
parish of Glenelg, Inverness-shire, contrary to law,
etc. etc. The document had been drawn by Lord
Glenelg's Edinburgh agent, the late Mr. Hugh
M'Queen, a man considered, in his day, to be one of
the ablest agents ever entitled to append W. S. to his
name. He had drawn the presentation, and had
arranged the details of all the relative papers.
The Inverness agent, the late Sheriff-substitute
Edwards, had advised that Lord Glenelg's qualifi
cation to Government should form one of these
papers ; but Mr. M'Queen,\vho had carefully studied
the terms of the statute with a view to the case,
declared that this was not required.

" The bill presented by him to the Court of Session
embodied a most masterly argument for the patron,
and a withering exposure of the Presbytery's con
duct. He proved that, under the circumstances,
the certificate of Lord Glenelg's qualification was
not essential, he being a member of the Govern
ment, and having often qualified ; but particularly,

208 CONCLUDING DAYS.

he proved, by the terms of the statute, that, even
should the want of the certificate in question be
found to be an objection fatal to the validity of the
presentation, and should that document be set
aside, and my nomination be cancelled thereby, the
right to present did not fall to the Presbytery but
to the Crown. That the Court perceived the force
of the argument, was evident by a Bill of interdict
and suspension being at once passed.

" A private letter to me, inclosed in the packet,
announced that the case would speedily be called
in Court ; and instructed me to disregard overtures
which might be made by the Presbytery — on all
the members of which the interdict had been served
— or by any other party. A letter from Sheriff
Edwards, a day or two later, informed me that the
serving of the interdict had created great dismay
throughout the bounds of the Presbytery of Loch-
carron, some of the members of which had called
on him ; that a meeting of the body -was forthwith
to be summoned, of which he would give me
notice in case I did not otherwise hear of it ; and,
as it might be proper, if not necessary, that I should
attend on the occasion, I should hold myself ready
to undertake the journey to Janetown, the seat of
Presbytery, when the day of meeting came to be
known.

ON THE WAY TO DINGWALL. 209

" I made up my mind, after much consideration,
to be guided by my patron's agents, and I prepared,
accordingly, for a journey to the north — a region
which I had never previously visited.

" No long time elapsed until a fresh communica
tion from Inverness informed me that a meeting
of the peccant Presbytery had been summoned, to
be held, at their usual seat, on the 14th of July, in
the matter of the presentation to Glenelg, and ad
vised that I should by all means appear there. I
was at the same time invited to come to Inverness
on my way, where I should be furnished with such
instructions as I might require, or as might be use
ful in guiding my course.

" The journey was long, and one which I should
not have undertaken except for the special circum
stances which seemed to demand it, as well as the
awkward position in which my patron was placed
by the hostility of the Presbytery.

" My travels included Oban, Fort- William, the
Caledonian Canal, Inverness, Dingwall, and thence
through Strathconon to Janetown. I tarried a few
hours at Inverness to receive instructions there. A
fixed determination, I found, prevailed to resist the
Presbytery. At the same time, there was a strong
desire expressed to me, that, if I possibly could
effect it, the Presbytery should be got to rescind

p

210 CONCLUDING DAYS.

their past proceedings, to sustain my presentation,
and proceed with my settlement. I was author
ised, in case I saw them inclined so to act, or in
case I could prevail with them to that effect, to
hold out the prospect that no further proceedings
would be taken against them in the courts of law.
I was empowered, besides, to take with me from
Dingwall a law-agent, to whom I had, from Mr.
Edwards, a letter of instructions to assist, in case
any difficulties of a legal kind might arise.

" It was Friday when I arrived at Inverness. Late
that night I proceeded by mail to Inveryordon and
Rosskcen, there' to visit my much-esteemed and
early friend, Mr. Garment. On the Sabbath I
preached in his huge church to a most interesting
congregation. On my way, I likewise visited Mr.
Donald Eraser, then minister of Kirkhill, the
eminent predecessor and father of the present
much respected Eree Church minister there. I
should rejoice to have an opportunity of recording
all I know of Mr. Donald Eraser, as well as of Mr.
Garment. At the manse of the former I met with
a member of the Presbytery, whose meeting I was
on my way to attend. He was a relation of the
minister of Kirkhill, and held himself to be innocent
of the mischief which his brethren had committed
in the case of my presentation. Indeed, he affected

ON THE WAY TO DINGWALL. ,211

greatly to deplore it, and expressed himself most
ready to do what he could to remedy it. The
interdict had been served on him, and had pro
duced a most salutary effect. This was so far
encouraging to me, in view of the object of my
journey. Mr. Eraser entered frankly into the whole
question, and gave me sound counsel as to the
mode in which I should deal with the Presbytery.
He anticipated, however, very determined resist
ance, and, notwithstanding the terrors of the law
courts, a sure case for the Assembly.

" I travelled by a one-horse two-wheeled open
conveyance, which I had hired at Inverness. For
the first two stages my way lay through a rich and
most charming country ; thereafter through a
series of enchanting glens and straths. The
weather, to crown all, was superb, and the country
was quite new to me.

" Previous to this visit to the north, I had had
the impression that the further one proceeded in
that direction from the central counties, the
more into the wilderness and the " Highlands "
proper. But, so far from this, I found in the
country around Inverness and Dingwall a highly
cultivated and a magnificently rich-wooded land,
abounding with country residences, not surpassed in
magnitude and beauty by any even in the neighbour-

212 CONCLUDING DAYS.

hood of Edinburgh, or belonging to our first
nobility. On leaving that district behind, as I ad
vanced in my journey into the western portions of
Eoss-shire, where the county again marches with
Inverness-shire, I passed over roads level and
smooth, running through valleys, the tops of the
mountains on each side seeming to pierce the
clouds — a country, however, almost without in
habitants, and occupied only by the simple sheep
and the timid deer.

" Late in the evening I arrived at Achnasheen
(the stage to which we are now advancing),
having performed a journey of nearly fifty miles,
and having still some twenty miles to travel ere
I should reach Janetown. Next day at twelve it
behoved the reverend court to meet, so that I had
abundant time to reach the scene of action by the
hour of call.

" There had been a sheep-shearing (' clipping') at
Achnasheen. Scores of shepherd-dogs lay about
the doors and outhouses of the small thatched inn
at which we alighted, and where we were to make
our abode for the night. The shepherds were not
quite so numerous as their dogs, but they were
numerous, being congregated from all parts of the
district, for mutual aid, as is usual on such occa
sions ; — tall, strong, active-looking men, dressed in

ON THE WAY TO DING WALL. 213

the short blue plaiding jacket of the country, and
the kilt in every variety of colour. The labour
of the day was past ; they were all, — men and
dogs — retiring to rest ; every corner of the inn
was in their possession, except the double-bedded
room, which was to serve my companions and my
self as dining-room, drawing-room, and sleeping
apartment. The former were the patron's lawyer
— a grim-looking man, to whose locomotion a large
crutch, which he used with great dexterity, was
necessary — and his clerk ; both had joined me at
Dingwall. As they travelled in a separate con
veyance, we looked formidable, and were all the
more so that our legal friend was a sort of factor
or land-agent on the property on which our inn
for the night was situated.

" In due time we went to bed, but not to sleep.
The possession and sure custody of his dog, on the
eve of a ' gathering/ is to a shepherd a very im
portant consideration. Without him he is then
helpless. On the present occasion, the whole tribe
of shepherds assembled was to have day second of
their sheep-shearing, and the men required, ac
cordingly, to be off by early dawn to the moun
tains, for a fresh relay of the woolly denizens, for
subjection to an operation which to them in hot
weather must surely be enjoyable. Every man had

214 CONCLUDING DAYS.

his brace, or more, of dogs, either sharing his
bed, such as it might be, or reposing near his
person, — the object being to prevent wandering
against the time of need. The apartment above
ours was densely occupied. It had no carpet, of
course, neither had it any ' deafening ; ' the bare
thin boards of the floor were all that separated it
from us. We were in the closest possible prox
imity with its inhabitants of both kinds, short of
being actually within the same enclosure. The
snoring of the men soon began, and was very
startling ; but what shall I say of their canine bed
fellows ? They did not snore, but there was an oc
casional sound of snarling, with evident challenges
to battle. This was not the worst. When such
tumult ceased, and it never went very far, we were
every two or three minutes roused by EAPPING
overhead of the most nervous and energetic cha
racter. One after the other of the poor dogs, and
sometimes several together, exerted themselves
to get quit of the sheep-vermin that had fastened
in their skin, or of some other annoyance ; and,
scratching themselves vehemently with this view,
they beat rapidly with their elbows the wooden
flooring, causing hideous noise. So far as sleep
was concerned, our case was hopeless.

" At length, about three o'clock in the morning,

ON TUP] WAY TO DING WALL. 215

day broke, when, in less than ten minutes, as it
appeared to me, from the moment of the first
shout, commanding departure to the 'Hill/ all
our tormentors were gone. For a little I heard
the confused noise — loud whistling to the dogs,
their names hallooed, responsive barking on their
part, and the respective routes of men and dogs
energetically announced, as they took their leave
of the inn ; after which a most grateful stillness
supervened, when I fell into a profound slumber —
a slumber from which I awoke only to be in time
for the journey to Janetoivn, to keep tryst with the
Presbytery of Lochcarron. Of this incident I
have a very vivid recollection.

" We made it our study to present ourselves at
the Presbytery seat in good time. Some ten minutes
after twelve o'clock we arrived at the inn where
the meetings were always held, expecting to find
the brethren in full session. The room was vacant,
although manifestly prepared for the expected
clerical assemblage. There was not the slightest
indication of the arrival of any of the members of
the Court. They were looked for, we ascertained,
but when they might make appearance no con
jecture could be formed. No one with whom
we came in contact seemed to be surprised at
this. I was ; and not surprised only, but annoyed

216 CONCLUDING DAYS.

also, seeing I was set on having my business
concluded, and getting back to the dormitory of
the preceding night, on my way home, comfortless
though that dormitory had been. But patience
required to be exercised, considering that I was in
the wilds of Ross-shire, and within the bounds of
a very primitive Presbytery.

" About two o'clock, as I was seated in the large
apartment, where we this morning breakfasted,
waiting for the meeting, there walked in two very
unique figures — ministers, unquestionably — but of
a cast new to me, and, unhappily, suggesting
something of the ludicrous. The one was, I had
no doubt, the acknowledged primus of the other.

" He was a man of medium height, and of
slight figure, in age approaching, if he had not
attained, sixty years. His manner was frank and
brusque. His eyes* — one of them protruding more
than the other — were dark — of the African hue,
the ball, as well as the iris — the entire eye of a
disagreeable yellow colour. He was the minister
of the parish, and the successor of the celebrated
Mr. Lachlan M'Kenzie of Lochcarron. He was
a M'Kenzie as well, though of a different type,
and well known over all the Northern Highlands
by the sobriquet of " Potato John." The clan
was so numerous that individuals of the same

ON THE WAY TO DING WALL. 217

name had to be distinguished by some distinctive
sobriquet. The present worthy received his dis
tinctive appellation from the following incident,
which, as it was at the time made public in
the Church courts, there can be no impropriety in
narrating.

" In his youth, and during all his life, he was
noted for his practical jokes. Travelling home on
one occasion from the University of Aberdeen, at
the close of the session, on foot, with some other
Eoss-shire students of divinity, the party stopped
at an inn by the way for dinner. The most
advanced of them was the late Mr. M'Gillivray of
Lairg, Sutherlandshire ; a man even in youth dis
tinguished for his piety. As on the occasion of
other halts by the way, Mr. M'Gillivray presided,
and proceeded to 'ask the blessing/ Whilst so
engaged, his eyes firmly closed, his manner earnest,
the palm of his hand held open, moving gently
to and fro, whilst his elbow rested on the table,
M'Kenzie, hungry for his dinner, thinking the
grace by much too long, and eager to get at the
potatoes, which were steaming hot, as they had
just come from the pot to the table, resolved to
bring the service to an abrupt close. In pursuance
of this object, he lifted a potato from among the
hottest in the dish, placed it rapidly in the open

218 CONCLUDING DAYS.

palm of the chaplain, and with all his strength,
using both his hands, shut Mr. M'Gillivray's fingers
close down upon the potato, so as to burn him
severely. Summary punishment was about to be
inflicted on the culprit, but, by his superior agility,
he escaped. I had often heard the story, but I
had never before seen the hero of it.

" The other figure who accompanied him looked
to me very much like what we call a HALFLING.
He was considerably older than M'Kenzie — dis
tinguished by a large head and massive features,
the hair of his head being cropped close to the
skull, for a reason of which I was not allowed to
be for any time ignorant. He was a M'KAE, and
rejoicing in the Christian name of Eory. He was
a schoolmaster, and had always been so ; having
at intervals, however, attended college at Aber
deen, he ultimately obtained license as a preacher.
In that capacity he continued for many years
doing duty as a missionary on the Eoyal Bounty
Scheme, in addition to his teaching. When the
Parliamentary Churches were erected in the High
lands, he became, by the influence of the proprietor
of Applecross, minister of the new charge of Shiel-
daig. Subsequently, on the death of Mr. M'Queen,
the much -esteemed minister of the parish of
Applecross, he was, through the same influence,

ON THE WAY TO DIXGWALL. 219

promoted to the incumbency of that charge. The
voice of the people — their views and desires — had
in those days no place in the settlement of their
pastors, so that the appointment was not reclaimed
against.

" The vainglory of this poor specimen of the
clerical order was ridiculous. His friend, who
introduced him to me, never failed to make a "butt
of him. He had persuaded him that he was quite
the equal of Cicero in his knowledge of the Latin
tongue, and in the beauty of his Latin composition.
He proved it by comparing the shape of his head,
and the contour of his countenance, with a stucco
bust of the great Eoman orator, which poor M'Rae
had somewhere picked up, and which he highly
prized. Believing this nonsense, the poor man
had his hair regularly polled, that he might be
held in admiration of all for his resemblance to
the distinguished Eoman.

" Neither of these men would be worthy of the
notice I have taken of them, but for one circum
stance. On the day of our great Disruption, when
Dr. Welsh had finished the reading of the famous
Protest, thrown it down on the table, taken up his
hat, and moved away from the Moderator's chair
in St. Andrew's church, followed by Dr. Chalmers,
Dr. Cunningham, Dr. Candlish, and our other

220 COXCLUDIXG DAYS.

magnates, and when the Lord Commissioner, Lord
Bute, appalled at what he saw taking place, tried
to hide his head under the table before which he
sat — the Lord Advocate (late Lord Colonsay), pale
with emotion, advising him to retire, that he might
not longer witness what was in progress (which he
did), every man at the time holding his breath,
affected by the solemnity of the scene, — then it was
that two ministers, known apparently to no one,
with the most perfect nonchalance, and expressing
in their sneering countenances contempt for what
was going on, were seen to pass over from the
Moderate side of the house, and, in view of the
assembled and overawed multitude, to plant them
selves in the seats which had just been vacated by
the great men I have named. These two ministers
were the men whom I have just described. Few
who at the time read the notice recorded by Hugh
Miller in the Witness newspaper of this event,
will forget his graphic description, or his severe
animadversions — animadversions, however, which
could not have had the slightest effect on the men
against whom they were directed.

" After some general conversation, I said, ' I
expected to meet the Presbytery here to-day at the
hour usual on such occasions.'

" ' You must know that the distances here for

ON THE WAY TO DINGWALL. 221

members to travel are very great/ was the reply.
Mr. JOHN has to come all the way from the head
of Loch Duich. He usually sails, as he has a
small yacht. It is a long sail. He will likely
embark Mr. HECTOR at Lochalsh as he passes ;
that will detain him. Besides, the wind has not
been good to-day, and I think the tide has not
been favourable.' (Mr. JAMES was with us.)

" ' When do you expect him and his friend to
arrive V

" Oh, some time in course of the evening. He
might make the journey by land, round the head
of Loch Duich, but that route would be very
fatiguing. Then Dr. Koss requires two days to
make the journey from his manse at Lochbroom to
the seat of Presbytery ; last night he must have
been at Garve — no farther. He cannot be here
before nightfall.'

" ' You will surely constitute and do your busi
ness, at any rate, before the day is done ? '

" ' We usually arrange to constitute on the day
appointed for our meeting — we seldom do more ;
the business follows on the succeeding day ; and,
for the most part, but not always, we conclude on
the second day ; but just as frequently not till
the third day.'

" Here, to be sure, was a pretty prospect for me,

222 CONCLUDING DAYS.

runniDg over, as I was, with impatience. I
secretly persuaded myself, however, that, if I
lived to become a member of the Court, I would
try to produce a reform in this particular. Mean
while, I felt my part was to submit and be content.

" ' We always dine before we enter on business,
and to-day, as many of us as may appear will dine
at four o'clock. You and your friends w7ill of
course join us V To this we assented.

" Our dinner was all but concluded, when the two
members who had been expected to come by sea
entered the room. I scanned their appearance
with interest and some anxiety. The one was a
tall vigorous-looking man — about my own age as
I reckoned — then very little over thirty, of high
well-developed forehead, expressive of intellect,
blue eyes, and of quiet demeanour. The other
was a man older considerably, of less than the
middle size, by no means imposing in his aspect,
and by no means of air or bearing indicative of
superiority of any kind — carelessly dressed, and
of awkward gait, evidently arising from some
infirmity in one of his limbs. Both seemed to be
ambitious, judging by various indications, of being
counted boatmen or yachtsmen, as if eminence in
that department was in their estimation eminence
wrorth possessing, or ought to be considered so by

ON THE WAY TO DING WALL. 223

all men. The former was ' Mr. JOHN/ the latter
' Mr. HECTOR.' My first impressions of both
were favourable. I conceived that they were men
who could understand what was reasonable, and
who would be more apt to act under the influence of
a calm understanding than of unreasoning passion
in any form. My subsequent experience confirmed
the accuracy of my first impressions. I always
respected ' Mr. John ' as a practical, strong-headed,
though not always judicious, brother. I came to
entertain genuine esteem and regard for 'Mr.
Hector.' He was a man of honesty and upright
ness according to his light — less a party man than
any Moderate minister I ever knew — always kind,
and even affectionate, not being accessible to
offence on any point, unless it was in the matter
of the antiquity of all that was Highland, the
superior excellence of the Gaelic tongue as com
pared with all other languages, and the equality of
Ossianic poetry to Homeric. Pinged, lie always
maintained, was quite on a par with the Iliad.
He never fairly forgave me for producing on one
occasion, as the result of a challenge on his part,
a description of his own person and character, in
inflated Ossianic Gaelic, all the terms of which
were borrowed — he not knowing it — from the so-
called Celtic epic, which had been, in the name of

224 CONCLUDING DAYS.

Ossian, published under the auspices of the HIGH
LAND SOCIETY of Scotland. I need scarcely add
that neither of these clergymen was ever popular
as a preacher, though they were both held in much
esteem for their general respectability and bene
volence.

" Our conversation, after dinner, turned on the
matter which had brought me at this time among
them. A letter which had come from Dr. Eoss
before I left home, had raised in my mind a suspi
cion that he really was the author of all the mis
chief connected with the rejection of my presenta
tion. This came out clearly now, and all the more
that Dr. Boss put in no appearance at this meet
ing. It was not the first time, they were ready to
tell me, he had led them on the ice and left them
there. We soon came to an understanding. They
were prepared to cancel all their proceedings in
the case, to sustain my presentation, and to proceed
with my settlement. They desired, naturally, to
have some guarantee for their being released from
the terrors of the law courts. In that matter I
went as far as I was warranted to do by the in
structions which had been given me at Inverness.
I could do no more. They were satisfied. Practi
cally the whole affair was settled before we retired
to rest. The Presbytery was constituted, my ap-

ON THE WAY TO DING WALL. 225

pearance there was minuted, as well as the object
I had in view in making appearance as a party, —
after which the Court adjourned. Next day they
resumed, when the formalities were regularly gone
through, — all arrangements being appointed for my
settlement in Glenelg in the month of September,
an event which accordingly took place. The lawyer
was not required. It was of much importance
for my future usefulness in this region, that there
should be an amicable termination of the awk
ward mistake into which they had been led. Lord
Glenelg was much impressed with this, and desired,
at whatever cost, to accomplish it.

" I may say that, for the nine years during which
I was connected with this Presbytery, my com
munications with all its members — if I may ex
cept Dr. Eoss — were pleasant. I did what I
could to help in the business of the Court.
They all came to have confidence in me, and I
laboured not to abuse that confidence. I preached
in their parishes as I had opportunity, and I be
lieve that, throughout the entire, wide-spread dis
trict to which I thus had access, evangelical truth
came to be highly valued and to be earnestly
sought after. Within two years of my becoming a
member of Presbytery, the representative elder to
the Assembly, one of the highest of the Moderate

226 CONCLUDING DAYS.

laymen there, a W.S. of considerable name, was
unseated. In his place we chose, in the first in
stance, Dr. Welsh ; and, when he was compelled
to resign on account of his necessary absence from
Scotland, we elected as his successor Mr. Alex
ander Dunlop, who continued to be our represen
tative in the Free, as he had been in the Estab
lished Church Assembly, with what advantage to
our church and country we all know.*

" Our business completed at Janetown, I returned
with all speed to Inverness, were I had the happiness
of being introduced to my patron, Lord Glenelg,
to whom I narrated the success which had attended
my journey to the west, much to his joy and satis
faction. Thereafter I soon found my way home to
Kilbrandon."

This narrative, as in other cases, was by no
means allowed to be continuous. Various remarks
were made on the circumstances as I stated them.

* It does not always happen that a name can be held as
security for the practice of virtues which it is intended or under
stood to represent. Melancholy instances of the contrary some
times occur. I have lived to see a Presbytery of Lochcarron
(FREE (?) ) supersede (stupidly, not to use a harsher term) Mr.
Murray Dunlop and Mr. Brown Douglas, as their Assembly repre
sentatives, for others whom, to spare them, I shall not name. I
cannot say, taking them all in all, that I could prefer to the
Presbytery of 1830, ESTABLISHED, the Presbytery of 1870,
FREE.

ON THE WAY TO DINGWALL. 227

One thing we all expressed, and that was thank
fulness for our deliverance as a Church from
patronage. At the time I was speaking of, every
thing depended upon the action of the patron. His
sense of what was right and proper was supreme,
no interference of any kind being permitted to over
rule his decision. Even when the patron was a
man such as Lord Glenelg, who in many respects
was better qualified than the people to choose their
pastor, and who discharged this duty with the most
conscientious regard for their spiritual well-being,
we felt that the relation in which he stood to them
was unnatural, unscriptural, and dangerous.

" I say, Beith, did I not once advise you to write
down your recollections of men and events in your
early experience ?" Dr. Candlish said to me.

" You did," I answered ; "and you encouraged me
by saying that the time would come when what I
wrote might be valuable as illustrating the condi
tion of the church and of society in my days."

"And have you been doing what I then re
commended ?"

"I have. Your advice was that I should so
employ, faithfully, one hour in the week, permitting
nothing to interfere with it ; and you said if I did
I would be surprised how matter would accumulate
on my hands. Before you suggested this, I had

228 CONCLUDING DAYS.

done something in the direction which you had
kindly indicated. I did more, afterwards, and it
is my purpose to continue the practice. If I had
not had a record of the things with which I have
been either entertaining or plaguing you now, I
could. not have so easily narrated them. One evil,
if I may so call it, arises from this — namely, that,
when I come on the scenes, and when I meet with
persons who have formed the subjects of my
notes, I cannot, as I have already told you, help
talking of them, if those who are with me are
good-natured enough to listen patiently to my
talk." I was encouraged on all hands.

We had had a long day's journey when we
arrived at Ding wall. We had visited Achnasheen
by the way, where I pointed out my dormitory of
fifteen years before. There were changes, but the
parlour, with its deal floor overhead, was still
there, and much as it was. Sportsmen from
England had given Achnasheen a celebrity which
in 1830 did not attach to it. One advantage we
experienced from this change was our having
grouse and other game, in every variety of cook
ing, served up to us for dinner, on this our journey
eastward.

At Dingwall we rested for the night. Next day
was to be the last of the concluding days of our

ARRIVAL AT DING WALL. 229

tour. Although happy that the toil of travel was
drawing to a close, I looked forward with much
regret to the prospect of parting with my very
agreeable fellow-travellers, and particularly with
Dr. Candlish, who had been my close companion
for more than THREE WEEKS.

IV.

In the preceding account of our TOUR, I have
scarcely referred at all to the religious services of
various kinds, which engaged us during the time
it lasted. I think I may say truly that our hearts
were set on doing good as our Master might bless
us. I can testify for Dr. Candlish, that I never
witnessed, on his part, greater earnestness and
solemnity in all that he engaged in. -Sometimes
deep impressions seemed to be produced in the
minds of his hearers by his most effective services.
We could but hope, as we prayed, and as we
believed, that fruit might in due time appear.
For myself, I can only say that I experienced
special delight in returning for a season to my
old work of preaching and speaking in the
vernacular of the country. During nineteen
years previous to my settlement at Stirling, I had
preached chiefly in the Gaelic tongue. It was im
possible, consequently, that I could ever lose the
use of it entirely. A man who can preach in

230 CONCLUDING DAYS.

Gaelic with ease will never prefer the other. If
the choice be left to him, he will certainly betake
himself to the mountain tongue. I do not say the
matter was left to my choice on the occasion of
this excursion. We were all under orders. But
that the choice had been so made for me, added
much to my enjoyment.

I find that I preached in all about twenty times in
course of our journey, besides taking part in other
services, and sharing in the consultations touching
matters which claimed our attention at every step :
the correspondence was also wholly in my hands.

Dr. Candlish, though he did not preach quite so
frequently as I did, gave addresses of various
kinds, and, upon the whole, carried a heavier
burden of work and effort than I did. No man
could do it more gracefully. I often thought with
myself what a noble missionary he would make,
— so sincere, so warm-hearted, so unselfish, so
self-denying, so patient of labour, so uniformly
cheerful, so wise and considerate, so self-possessed,
so set upon exalting Christ and doing good to the
souls of men ! I believe this tour did much to
strengthen in his mind his previous interest in the
Highlands, the good effects of which are still felt
in all the existing arrangements connected with
this interesting region of our country.

APPROACHING INVERNESS. 231
V.

It was now the 20th day of August, and we
were on our way to Inverness, where, on the
following day, the General Assembly of the Free
Church was to meet. This same General Assembly,
when it closed its sittings in Edinburgh on June
3d, had adjourned to meet at Inverness (as set
forth in the copy minute prefixed to this narrative),
on August 21st, with the object of dealing specially
with business affecting the Highlands. It was a
great occasion for all the northern counties.
Nothing of the kind had ever before been known
in this region. The whole people were profoundly
affected in prospect of what was to occur. An
extensive migration commenced among them with
the beginning of this week, and the tide of
travellers flowed from every quarter towards the
capital of the north.

We could conceive them, as they advanced,
singing, each apart in their own tongue, in the spirit
of the many thousands of Israel, when they
gathered to their great annual festivals —

" I joy'd when to the house of God,

Go up, they said to me.
Jerusalem, within thy gates

Our feet shall standing be.
Jerusalem, as a city, is
Compactly built together :

232 CONCLUDING DAYS.

Unto that place the tribes go up,
The tribes of God go thither :

" To Israel's testimony, there

To God's name thanks to pay.
For thrones of judgment, ev'n the thrones
Of David's house, there stay."

PSALM cxxii.

We travelled through the Black Isle and by
KESSOCK Ferry. On our way we called at the
Free manse of Ferintosh, hoping to see the worthy
minister. He had gone to Inverness. So likewise
had every person of note for whom we asked on
our way, and we began to feel something of the
impatience naturally caused by a fear, however
groundless, that we might be too late.

When we arrived at Inverness, in the afternoon,
we found the town in a state of great excitement.
It was thronged with strangers, who had come
from all quarters — men, women, and children. The
prospect of the meeting of the General Assembly
at Inverness had produced the strongest feeling of
interest and delight all over the north. The north
ern counties, in every hamlet and in every cottage,
were of the Free Church. None of the population
who were Highlanders, had remained in the Estab
lished Church. The Disruption was felt to be a
triumph of religious principle, and it was gloried

ARRIVAL AT INVERNESS. 233

in as being such. The MEN, as they are termed in
this region, came flocking from the remotest dis
tricts, that they might be present at the meeting
of the General Assembly — looking upon it and
expecting it to be a great religious festival. The
congregated multitudes were accustomed, both men
and women, to vast gatherings at communion
seasons — in such parishes particularly as that of
Ferintosh ; but this Assembly was to be something
beyond common gatherings, — a monster gathering ;
and, with anticipations so great, the attraction was
very strong. The multitudes who had crowded to
Inverness were immense. The hospitality extended
to them was unbounded; so that, for the days
during which our Supreme Court held its sittings,
the stir was really oppressive.

The first friend whom I found out, or who rather
searched for and found me, was Mr. Stewart of
Cromarty. There was a special reason why we
should take an interest of our own in the present
condition of things at Inverness. Had there been
nothing else than an early and long-continued
friendship between us, this reason would have
been enough to draw us together, and to make us
inseparable for the days we were now to spend
together here. After cordially greeting one another,
and a few words about my tour in the west, he

234 CONCLUDING DAYS.

took my arm, and drew me to him, according to his
old fashion, leading me along the street. It was
crowded with persons dressed in the costumes usu
ally worn, respectively, by the advanced in life of
both sexes, moving slowly and demurely about,
evidently big with expectation.

"Do you see these good creatures?" he said;
"their notion of the Assembly meeting is, that it is to
be a big sacrament, — such a sacrament as was never
before in the north. If they don't get good preach
ing, and plenty of it, there will be disappointment."

It was delightful to mark the healthy, happy,
nay, joyous countenances of ministers, elders, and
others, convened on this occasion. The Highland
ministers were decidedly in the majority, and
masters of the situation, evidently anticipating a
surprise to their southern brethren, many of whom,
now in Inverness, had never before been to the
north of the Grampians, and were very ignorant of
the characteristics of the country and its inhabit
ants. The appearance of not a few of them pre
sented a striking contrast to that of their northern
friends. Many of them had performed the journey
by sea, sailing from Leith on board the DUKE OF
EICHMOND, a large steam-ship, which shortly after
wards was wrecked and went to pieces close to the
pier of Aberdeen. On the journey they encountered

ARRIVAL AT INVERNESS. 235

dreadful weather, and were more than once in
imminent peril. Their woe-begone aspect, on the
evening which preceded the meeting of Assembly,
too truly testified to the sufferings which they had
endured, and the dangers to which they had been
exposed.

The meeting-place of the Assembly was the
Academy Park. There a huge wooden structure
had been reared, and was fitted up, capable, as was
estimated, of accommodating some 4000 persons, or
even more. It was built in the style, and much
after the plan, of the Canonmills Hall, and was fitted
up internally much in the same way. The position
of the Moderator's chair, the platform, the clerks'
table, the bar, etc., was precisely the same. Mr.
John JafFrey (an official well known in the early
days of the Free Church), who looked decidedly as
if the voyage had done him no good, had brought
with him the Canonmills chair, and one or two
articles of furniture besides, which, in his opinion,
were essential to the orderly procedure of the
Supreme Court. Mr. Jaffrey was unrivalled in his
appreciation of the outward proprieties requisite for
an occasion so important as this great gathering in
the ancient metropolis of the North Highlands,
and his good efforts were duly valued. When the
hour for the commencement of the services intro-

236 CONCLUDING DAYS.

ductory to the opening of the Assembly arrived,
the hall was filled to overflowing. Approaching
the clerk's table on every side, the space was
occupied by ministers, elders, and other office
bearers, the most distinguished of whom were
seated on the platform. It was deeply interesting
to notice the Highlanders in their home-manu
factured and home-made costumes — the men in
their hodden grey coats and cloaks ; the women,
some wearing the snow-white mutch, some the hair
tastefully braided, as young women of the northern
counties always braid it. The solemn, staid look of
every one was so characteristic ! It was such as I
had often witnessed and admired at the monster
communion meetings held on the hill-side, on the
bright sacrament Sabbath days of bygone years.
All were full of high expectation. They expected
a " feast of fat things ; " and on the first day,
particularly, I think they had it.

Dr. Patrick Macfarlane of Greenock preached in
English from EPHESIANS ii. 20-22 — " Ye are built
on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone ;
in whom all the building, fitly framed together,
groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord ; in whom
ye also are builded together for an habitation of
God through the Spirit." He conducted the whole

INVERNESS GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 237

service in this language, which was judiciously
short, with his usual good taste and tact. The
Highlanders, although he spoke in what was to
many of them an unknown tongue, and although
his voice did not nearly reach over the vast area
which they occupied, sat quietly and decorously
until their turn. That came.

Dr. John M'Donald (the Apostle of the North),
Moderator of this Assembly, preached and con
ducted all the services of the occasion in Gaelic.
His text was Acts xvii. 6 — " And when they found
them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto
the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned
the world upside down are come hither also."

Nothing could have been more politic nor better
advised than this arrangement, and the effect was
everything that could be desired. Never was the
veteran " Apostle " in better heart for such work
as that to which he was called on this occasion,
and never were his ministrations more appropriate
and acceptable.

The scene was striking. When he stood up in
the pulpit (Dr. Macfarlane sitting beside him) to
read the psalm in Gaelic, with the first notes of his
voice the mighty mass, to its utmost verge — up to
this time comparatively inanimate — at once seemed
to become instinct with life. There was a moment's

238 CONCLUDING DAYS.

rustling as they all adjusted themselves in their
seats, and then the sparkling of intelligent eyes,
the unaffected deep emotion, the obvious secret
prayer (without invitation) for the blessing to come
down ! Every line of the sweet song of praise, as
it was read by lips which never spoke the gospel
message but to delight his Highland hearers, seemed
to thrill their hearts ; every word in every line
seemed to convey some happy, stirring idea to
their expectant minds. Never have I seen the
power of sympathy more strikingly illustrated or
produce more hopeful effects. They all expected
great things to be done in the midst of them.

Let us for a moment direct our attention to this
remarkable man, the history of whose laborious
and successful ministry has yet to be written, if it
be ever done. He is before us in full vigour —
his massive, robust, firmly-knit person, which has
weathered the blasts of nearly seventy winters ;
his visage glowing and bronzed by the suns of as
many summers — surmounted by the dark scanty
wig, enclosing a head of finest mould ; his clear
black eye ; his voice of sweetest melody — sweet
and powerful, notwithstanding a life-long habit
of enormous snuff-taking. Such was Dr. John
M'Donald, the great Apostle of the North. Compare
him with the amiable servant of God, Dr. Macfar-

INVERNESS GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 239

lane, now by his side. No more striking contrast
could be presented. In him we see the student of
the cloister, with his ample brow and pale thin
countenance ; in the other the student of the high
ways and byeways, who has been in journey ings
often, and in perils often — bearing the marks of
it ; the one nourished and enriched by stores of
learning, on which he has luxuriated ; the other
made what he has become to the Church, not by
culture, nor by any stores of knowledge other than
the Scriptures, pure and simple, yield, and such as
nature's child gathers from everything with which
he becomes associated.

In whose hands the arrangements had been I
know not ; but they were admirably made to meet
the tastes and religious feelings of my countrymen.
The best Gaelic precentor of the north had been
selected to lead the psalmody. He was a quiet-
looking young man, about thirty years of age, of
grave, but not of austere or pretentious aspect —
dressed in the ordinary dress, the Sunday dress,
of a farm servant — his hair brushed down on his
brow — his ungloved hands, coarse and red with
rustic toil — his demeanour modest, though quite
self-possessed. He had faced assemblages as large
before, although he had never sang in the presence
of learned doctors or of fine gentlemen.

240 CONCLUDING DAYS.

The first line of the psalm to be sung was read
by the minister. The precentor chose one of the
most plaintive and one of the sweetest of the old
long tunes. Some voices joined in the music
almost at the outset, as soon as they perceived
what the tune selected was. When the precentor
himself read the second line, in the grand style in
which such precentors do read it, the burst of
swelling melody which arose was magnificent
and overwhelming. His voice extended every
where, without any apparent effort. All heard,
and all seemed to be fully qualified to join. Join
they did ; and, as one wave after another of vast
harmonious sound rolled upon the ears of those
who listened, but could not join, to judge from the
expression of their countenances the effect was
such as music had never produced on them
before, — so touching, so sweet, so passing sweet.
Friends from the south who had not before heard
the old church tunes, , with their beautiful pro
longed variations, looked at each other for an
instant, as if to say that now, for the first time,
they were listening to the sound of praise as it
ought always to be heard. Their looks were those
of surprise — soon changed to looks expressive of
the deepest emotion. Tears filled many eyes.
Not a few, unable or unwilling to resist the

INVERNESS GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 241

tumult of their feelings, bent their heads forward
on the book-boards, and wept, some audibly. The
prayer, and the sermon which followed, were such
as went to the hearts of all who understood the
language. And when the great congregation dis
persed, it was very evident that the impression
made had been great, edifying, and full of comfort.
During all the days of the Assembly the interest
was maintained, especially among the portion of the
population who understood English. But I could
gather that the MEN, and those who were led by
their opinion, were not satisfied that so much
time was devoted to discussion and deliberation,
and that so little, comparatively, was given to
holy services. They did not understand that such
discussion and deliberation were necessary, and
that the Assembly had been convened chiefly for
this purpose. The idea of the "big sacrament"
was predominant in their minds ; and that
this should be interfered with, or even partially
ignored, disappointed them. Dr. Chalmers, who
had come in great financial power, to demonstrate
the importance and excellence of the Sustentation
Fund, and to urge its claims, though he made a
most masterly statement, and addressed to them a
very powerful appeal on his favourite topic, par
ticularly disappointed them. Indeed, our great
R

242 CONCLUDING DAYS.

Leader never was, on such points, palatable to the
Highlanders. Perhaps there is some truth in the
allegation, though I am slow to admit it, that, do
as you like, we Highlanders believe that we have
a hereditary right to lay our burden on the South
erns, even when not unable to bear it ourselves.

I find among my notes written at this time, the
following : — " The attendance in the immense
pavilion provided was very great — by the lowest
computation 4000 every day. The intermixture of
Gaelic and English services, which was occasionally
resorted to, had a happy effect. The superior
politeness of Highlanders to Lowlanders appeared
in this, that the former sat and listened as they
best could, to what they did not understand, while
the latter did not even make the attempt to follow
their example. The Monday evening services were
very brilliant. Dr. Buchanan of Glasgow, Mr. Begg,
and Dr. Candlish, made three of the best continuous
speeches I ever heard spoken in any Assembly."

Dr. Candlish's speech, on the refusal of sites for
churches and manses by some of the Highland
proprietors, has often been described as one of the
most eloquent and effective he ever delivered. He
was in fine health and in exuberant spirits. His
heart's desire, I know, was to make the visit to
INVERNESS productive of good to all the com-

INVERNESS GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 243

munity of the northern counties. Aided by the
noble band of men, who then surrounded and
supported him, all of one heart and one mind,
all, without one exception, aiming at the true pros
perity and progress of our Zion, I believe he was,
by God's blessing bestowed, made instrumental in
effecting great good. All present seemed to breathe
in a revival atmosphere.

Several ministers were present on this occasion
who were not members of the Assembly, and who
had no place in the discussions or deliberations of
the time. But although this was so, such were not
allowed to be out of sight, so far as it was regular
to recognise them, and to make them available in
the general cause. The favour was done me, for
example, of inviting me to offer up one of the
prayers, which were called for from time to time
in the Assembly, besides being appointed to preach
in one of the churches of the town. This duty I
cheerfully undertook, and, I have reason to know,
not without acceptance on the part of those to
whom I preached — the explanation being simple.

At certain important points throughout the
country, the ministers did not separate from the
Establishment at the era of the Disruption, but
continued to adhere to it. That was the case, to
some extent, at Inverness. All the quoad sacra

244 CONCLUDING DAYS.

ministers joined the Free Church with their
congregations, but the two ministers of the paro
chial charges did not. They hoth remained as they
had been. They were the ministers of what was
known as the ENGLISH congregation — a congregation
intelligent, influential, and wealthy. Though the
pastors had adopted this course, and though they
were countenanced in it by the great bulk of their
flock who abode with them, some were dissatisfied,
and separated themselves, — making, as was custom
ary in all such cases, application to the Supreme
Court, or the committee appointed by the Supreme
Court of the Free Church to deal with such cases,
for aid in the shape of ministerial services. A
very important part of the duty which devolved
on our leading men, after the Assembly of 1843,
was making arrangements and appointments to
meet the necessities of such cases.

In this department of service all acknowledged
there was no one to compare with Dr. Candlish.
He seemed to have, almost intuitively, the most
accurate conception of the condition of each
locality from which the applications came. With
this, he possessed, on the other hand, a wonderful
acquaintance with the diversified gifts of almost
all the ministers of our Church, so as to be able,
as with the eye of a prophet, to single out the men

INVERNESS ENGLISH CONGREGATION. 245

suited to the service which required to be accom
plished. It was such skill as gave to a leader,
in such a crisis as that which led to the Disrup
tion, a value of the kind which attaches to an
accomplished commander of armies — it was a gift
God provided, when the necessity for it arose.

The case of the English congregation in Inverness
received ample consideration. The number who
had separated, and who had made application for
supply of ministerial service, was very small — a
mere handful ; and, at the outset, but little
coherence existed among them, and not much
enthusiasm ; for never had separation from the
Established Church been popular in the north.
The order for Inverness in these circumstances was
three months' continuous preaching and effort, by
three ministers — not officiating at the same time,
but succeeding each other — a fresh man being thus
provided for each succeeding month for the allotted
term. It was hoped that, by the end of that time,
the congregation might be prepared to choose a
pastor. The ministers named for this duty were
Mr. Beith of Stirling, Mr. Steivart of Cromarty, and
Mr. Munro of Kutherglen. The first month (July
1843) was mine ; the second (August) was Mr.
Stewart's ; and the third (September) was Mr.
Munro's. We were, of course, placed in communi-

246 CONCLUDING DAYS.

cation with the local ecclesiastical authorities, with
whom we were to consult and to co-operate.

Materials for a chapter, which might prove
interesting, descriptive of the efforts which were
made by the three deputies during these months,
exist ; but it is beside my purpose, in these pages,
to go into details. Suffice it to say that these
efforts — as the early records of the congrega
tion will show — were signally successful ; that,
at the close of our term of service, the English
Free Church congregation was organised, office
bearers were chosen and ordained, and all pre
liminary arrangements made for proceeding to call
a minister ; that soon thereafter a minister was
accordingly called ; and that, at this day, from
beginnings so small, this congregation forms one
of the most influential of the congregations of the
Free Church — having enjoyed the benefit of the
ministerial services of more than one of the most
distinguished and honoured of her ministers.

Whilst I do not record the details of our three
months' labours, I cannot refrain from inserting
here, as I have before done elsewhere, some special
notice of that singular man, one of the three
deputies — now gone to his reward — who proved
of such value at the time to which I refer — I
mean Mr. STEWART of Cromarty.

MR. STEWART OF CROMARTY. 24?

VI.

A very intimate friendship was early (1817)
established between Mr. Stewart and myself —
a friendship which lasted without interruption
through many years, until it pleased the good
Lord to take him to himself. I never ceased to
entertain for him the affection of a brother — a
brother beloved.

The maturity of his mind, at this early period,
was perhaps the most striking feature in his
character. Though but a youth of little more
than twenty, he seemed to possess the strong
judgment and experience of a man of many years
and of much reflection. I have been present in
company with him when Dr. Love, and others of
no ordinary powers, were of the party, and have
heard him take part in conversation with them on
difficult and deeply-interesting subjects, in such
a manner as seemed at once greatly to surprise and
gratify them. All felt, when he spoke, not merely
from the modest demeanour which he manifested,
but from the value and appropriateness of his
observations, that he did not presume, and that he
was entitled to take the place which he did. We
were fellow-members of the Mnephilus (Preaching)
Society, at that time including some very distin
guished students. Discourses which he delivered

248 CONCLUDING DAYS.

in his turn to that Society, at our Saturday meetings
in the College Church, Glasgow (the members scat
tering themselves over the whole extent of that old
gaunt structure, getting into every remote corner,
that the preacher for the day should be compelled
to exert his voice, and make himself audible every
where) — the same discourses which he delivered on
these occasions, I have heard him deliver in after
years, when he had become an ordained parish
minister, to admiring and deeply-affected audiences
in Edinburgh.

I had reason to know that on some occasions he
used to try the acumen of Dr. Chalmers, whose
warm friendship he enjoyed, with questions both
in philosophy and theology, and that more than
once he was put off with the half-sportive, half-
evasive response, " Think of it, my dear sir."

It was well known at the time that, on Mr.
Stewart's being licensed, Dr. Chalmers, after hear
ing him, was so impressed with his powers as a
preacher, that he used every influence with him to
gain his consent to be appointed his successor in
the great church and parish of St. John's, from
which he was about to be removed to St. Andrews.
In this he was unquestionably right, considering
Mr. Stewart's high talents, had his bodily consti
tution been equal to a burden so onerous. It was

MR. STEWART OF CROMARTY. 249

not so. His natural diffidence and self-distrust
made him shrink from contemplating the proposal,
or allowing it to become with him a matter of
serious consideration at all ; and I believe that
the friends who knew him best, while they re
gretted the cause, entirely approved of the course
which he adopted in the matter.

Distinguished though he always was, and emi
nent though he became at this early period of his
life, no unworthy elation of mind was ever shown
by him — no symptom whatever of undue self-
esteem, of vanity, or of pride. The feeling pre
dominant with him, I know, was hearty satisfac
tion, hearty self-gratulation at getting away from
the public attention which he had drawn upon
himself in Glasgow, and at being forgotten in rela
tion to all the parochial arrangements which then
excited in that city so much interest. Mr. Stewart
was really a humble man, through the grace of
God, of which he was the subject. For some part
of this virtue in him, his natural good sense might
account ; for the whole, the indwelling of the
Spirit could alone be a sufficient explanation.

I owe him much — very much. I have never
ceased to reckon my association with him during
my divinity course, and in the after years of my
life, especially the earlier years of my ministry, as

250 CONCLUDING DAYS.

one of God's most gracious benefits bestowed on
me. He was to me a wise and considerate guide
in study — a guide whose counsel I thankfully
received. He set before me clear, consistent, rich,
and harmonious views of the great gospel doctrines,
and thus greatly supplemented good Dr. M'Gill's
prelections. He impressed my conscience (oh,
how greatly was his own impressed !) with a deep
sense of the awful responsibility of appearing as a
public teacher to speak in the name of Christ — the
responsibility not merely, and not chiefly, to the
hearers to whom I might address myself, but the
responsibility to Christ himself! What if He
should say, "Who hath required this at your
hand ?"

In the light of such a consideration, he often
spoke, in our long Saturday walks, many solemn
words of the heavy moral obligation resting on us,
in prospect of the ministry, to labour to be fur
nished for such a work, first by obtaining, through
grace, the unction of the Holy Ghost, and then by
possessing all the outward preparation which scrip
tural knowledge and theological acquirements gene
rally implied— a preparation for the work of the
ministry which could be secured only through
earnest, patient, unremitting study, and much
prayer. After I became a minister he greatly

MR. STEWART OF CROMARTY. 251

encouraged me. The following extract from a
letter, written to me then, when he was still a
student in the Hall, affords an illustration of this.
He had just finished his " Popular Discourse" for
Dr. M'Gill, to which he refers : — " Partly from the
stiff, rusty state of my mind, and partly from rea
sons unknown, I could not get a comfortable grasp
of my subject, and I had to turn it I don't know
how many ways before I could get on at all. I
am satisfied, however, that I have learned some
thing by the discipline, although it does not ap
pear in the sermon. When the burden pinched
my own back, I was led to think of you, and
to commit both to Him who is able to help. In
this view some passages of Scripture forcibly
occurred to my mind ; and I shall be happy if
they afford you the same, or greater relief, accord
ing to your need, which they did to me — ' Under
take for me, 0 Lord/ ' The Lord will provide/ He
has provided an atoning sacrifice for us, He has
provided a table in the wilderness richly furnished,
He has provided a future rest — these things He
has done ; but now, in respect of present and
future difficulties, He will provide, and, inter alia,
for the pulpit and the Sunday. A minister's pre
paration may be so poor as to be fitly compared to
a few loaves and fishes ; but Christ's blessing can

252 CONCLUDING DAYS.

multiply it, not indeed into a luxurious feast, but
a plain and plentiful meal. The loaves and the
fishes were not miraculously created (Matt. xiv.
17), but were the property of the disciples. It
was Christ's blessing on what they had that gave
the increase. Jesus also gave first to the apostles,
and they to the multitude. A minister then
should not distress himself because he is deprived
of the advantages of hearing the gospel, and be
cause, like the priests, the Sabbath, instead of
being a day of rest and enjoyment, is to him a day
of anxiety and labour. Christ is His shepherd
directly ; he will receive his supply from Him piece
meal and in private ; and what he thus receives,
it will be his duty to distribute to his flock."

To the same effect is the following, written
about the same time : —

"27th June 1821.

"You will ere now have commenced your
labours. I shall be happy to know how you
come on. I hope and earnestly pray that you
may enjoy much of the Lord's blessing and coun
tenance. The work is, no doubt, arduous, and
obstacles and trials will be both numerous and
severe. But this is just what we should expect,
and lay our account with. Let us then fight, and
labour, and suffer, as good soldiers. Our Almighty

MR. STEWART OF CROMARTY. 253

Captain and King will not forsake us. New trials
will entitle us to plead new promises, and will, I
trust, afford us new proofs of His faithfulness. Who
but the widow, the fatherless, the tempted, the
oppressed, have a right to the promises made to
persons in their peculiar circumstances? Being
placed then, in a new situation, gives us a title to
a new page in the Bible ; we thus fall heirs to a
new inheritance."

Mr. Stewart may have been to others all that,
through God's blessing, I trust he was to me. I
speak of my own experience only ; and having an
opportunity to bear a humble testimony to one
whom I so well knew, I should feel that I had
failed in duty did I not note these things of his
youthful years, when as yet he had not become so
fully known to the church, as in the subsequent
years of his life.

His method of study afforded an example to be imi
tated. He had his fixed hours allotted to the various
branches with which he was occupied. Nothing
could induce him to break through this order.
Nothing could induce him to relinquish his work
until he had fulfilled his time, or completed his
self-prescribed task. With a manly resolution, he
on all occasions resisted any attempt which might

254 CONCLUDING DAYS.

be made, under whatever pretext, to cause him to
swerve from his purpose. And thus he was able
to have abundant time for necessary relaxation, as
well as for required duty. His punctuality, as a
result of this, was very exemplary. Never did he
break an engagement, and never did he render a
promise nugatory by delaying or by misplacing
the performance of it.

With his deep and earnest piety Mr. Stewart
had no austerity of character — no forbidding,
affected, gloomy, morose seriousness of aspect and
demeanour. In his case it was the very opposite ;
this playfulness even of his usual manner, and its
joyous hilarity on occasions, constituting to most
persons an attractive feature in the form of his
religious profession.

In stating these things of my early friend, I do
not mean to assert that he was a favourite with
all. There were those with whom he was no
favourite. These were persons, however, who did
not know him — persons to whom he gave no
opportunity of knowing him — whom he rather
delighted to keep in ignorance, though they might
much desire to know him — and who therefore,
naturally enough, betook themselves, perhaps in
unconscious retaliation, to a dislike of him, which
gave him no concern.

MR. STEWART OF CROMARTY. 255

To speak the truth, he was not always amiable ;
even to those who loved him and whom he loved.
But they could easily bear with this ; indeed, after
all, there was little to bear with. He soon, by his
kind, conciliatory, and humble manner, obliterated
every trace of unpleasant feeling, when such feel
ing had for a moment got footing in any loved
one's mind.

Nothing more annoyed him than to be lionised.
Even when a student, and particularly after he
became a preacher, he was exposed to this. He
could not away with it. An elderly lady whom
he greatly respected, and who highly appreciated
his excellences, whom he often edified, as well as
delighted, by his conversation, lamenting that his
"sweetness" should be "wasted" on her solitary
self, resolved that she should make the attempt to
share it with others. She engaged Mr. Stewart to
take tea with her of an evening. Aware of his
recluse habits, her party was to consist of only
" one or two friends" whom he knew well. On
his arrival at her house, however, he found a large
assemblage of ladies, evidently on the tiptoe of
anticipation. He was the only gentleman. The
tea-drinking proceeded, and so did the universal
talk usual on such occasions. Our friend spoke
when addressed, and he told me, behaved, as he

256 CONCLUDING DAYS.

thought, to admiration. The tea things were re
moved in due time. Then various efforts were
made by the kind hostess to exhibit her victim.
They all failed. He was pleasant, and even jocose,
but he was not what she desired. After some half-
hour had thus passed, the whole party were
shocked, when, as if rousing from a reverie, he
suddenly stretched himself in his chair, and, with
a half-wearied expression of voice and manner
exclaimed, " I must away now and try to do some
good," without further ceremony springing up,
and, with his usual long heavy strides escaping
out of the room. I was present next day when
he received his rebuke from his well-meaning
entertainer. As she went on to narrate the story
to a greatly amused circle of friends, he got into
fits of laughter. Every one present became in
fected. The offended lady could not herself resist
his comical comments on the whole affair — com
ments which seemed even to justify his unpolite
conduct. A free pardon, of course, followed, with
a strong assurance from the kind lady that he
would never again have from her the privilege of
such an opportunity for doing good as he had so
recklessly cast away.

It is somewhat strange to learn in this age of
likeness-taking, when " likenesses," photographic

MR. STEWART OF CROMAIITY. 257

and others, are almost as numerous as the popula
tion, that no likeness, no portrait of any sort, of Mr.
Stewart, exists ; nothing to remind of his personal
appearance those who knew him, or to inform
those who knew him not. Being in Cromarty a
short time after his death, I made inquiry, and
ascertained the case to be so. I was indeed shown
a thing cut out of black paper (it must have been
done without Mr. Stewart's knowledge), which was
called a likeness of him — but it bore no resemblance
whatever to him. Had his picture ever been taken,
it ought to have been as he appeared when occupied
in the work of the sanctuary, "before the Lord,"
" and in the presence of all the people." May I
add another to the sketches I have attempted in
these pages ? —

I see him enter the pulpit with a solemnity of
aspect which is the fruit of real feeling. He is a
tall, clumsily-made man, five feet eleven inches at
least. The outline of his figure is more that of the
female than the male. His limbs are full and
round. There is a little tendency to stoop ; a little
tendency, too, to corpulence, but very little. His
chest is well thrown out, his shoulders somewhat
raised, and his neck short. The head is a curiosity.
It is nearly round, with a sort of wrench to one
side. It rises high, being well developed in a cir-
s

258 CONCLUDING DAYS.

cular arch above his ears, which are small and
beautifully formed. It is covered with thick-set
hair of a lightish sandy colour, which invades the
brow, covers the temples, and reaches to within an
inch and a half of the eyebrows on all sides. Instead
of being brushed down in the direction of its
natural set, it is brushed up, to clear it off the
short brow, and so stands, like a peak, at nearly
right angles with the brow. The noble dimen
sions of that portion of the head are wholly con
cealed ; and the effect on the beholder, at first
sight, is to make him think that he is looking on
one who must be a half-idiot. The eyebrows are
not large nor expanded, but they rise a little at the
extremities towards the temples. The nose is beau
tifully formed ; large (but not too large), aquiline,
and symmetrical, as if cut with the chisel. The
eyes are small, grey, rather deep-set, sparkling,
and expressive. The mouth is large ; the line of
the lips, which are thin, being beautifully curved.
The lips shut easily, and look as if they had a
superabundance of longitude. The chin is rather
long, and is in a slight degree peaked, but is neither
retiring nor protruding. The skin is as smooth as
a lady's, and as destitute of all trace of beard,
even of the down of early youth. The cheeks are
not large. It is, taking it all in all, a handsome,

MR. STEWART OF CROMARTY. 259

though most uncommon head and face. I have
never seen anything to compare with it.

Well, he enters the pulpit, and, after a moment's
pause, rises to read the psalm. It is not a female
voice, and yet it is not the rough voice of a man
of his size and form. It is deep, clear, solemn,
sweet, flexible, and of great compass. Every word
is spoken as if the speaker felt himself standing
in the presence of God, and in sight of the throne.
The emphasis is so laid, in reading the psalm, as
to bring out a meaning I had never discovered.
His prayer is simplicity itself, a child can compre
hend every word ; yet his thoughts are of the
richest ; whilst Scripture phraseology, employed
and applied as I never heard it in another, clothes
them all. I have, by the time the prayer has ended;
been instructed and edified. I have received views
of truth I had not before, and have had feelings
awakened which have set me on edge for the
sermon, and which I desire to cherish for ever.
The sermon comes. It seems to be a most deeply
interesting and animated conversation on a common
topic. " We ought to think like great men, and
speak like the common people," appears to be the
maxim which regulates the style. The manner is
that of one who converses with a friend, and who
has chosen a subject by the discussion of which

260 CONCLUDING DAYS.

he desires, from his inmost soul, to do him good.
Illustration follows illustration in rapid succession,
shedding light on and confirming his doctrine.
Sometimes they seem puerile, scarcely dignified
enough for the pulpit ; but that impression lasts
only for a moment. Some Scripture allusion or
Scripture quotation reveals the source from which
they have been drawn, and I am filled with admi
ration of the genius which has discovered what I
never discovered, and has made a use of it, which
I think I and every man should naturally have
made, but which I never did. Scarcely any gesture
is employed. One hand rests usually on the open
Bible ; the other is sometimes gently raised, and
then its impressive short motion gives emphasis
to the earnest words which are being spoken. The
earnestness seems under severe control. It looks
as if the speaker desired to conceal the emotion of
his heart in speaking for Christ to sinners — as if he
thought noise and gesticulation unbecoming. The
eyelids get red, the tears apparently struggle to
escape, but no tear comes. A pink spot, almost a
hectic flush — but it is not so — appears like the re
flection of an evening sunbeam on the cheek.
Some burning words clothe some fine thought,
which seems to have come fresh from heaven ; and
the speaker, half ashamed, as I think, of the emotion

MR. STEWART OF CROMARTY. 261

which he has manifested, and which he has sensibly
communicated to his hearers, returns to the calm
manner from which he had for an instant departed,
only, however, to be enticed from it again and
again, yielding, as if by compulsion, to the inspira
tion which ever revisits him. So he proceeds, until,
to your deep regret, he closes his wonderful sermon,
which has extended long beyond the hour.

Mr. Stewart's local influence was great. Speeches
by him in the Presbytery and Synod, were described
by those who heard them as something unlike what
any other man had ever spoken. On no occa
sion during his ministry did he open his mouth
in the General Assembly. He did not feel it to be
required. He did not think it would have been
useful. All that he could say he heard spoken by
others, and, as he thought, better spoken than it
could have been by him, and therefore he did not
speak. I by no means justify him in this. Could
he have overcome his native timidity and want of
self-possession, could he have roused himself to this
effort, or had conscience impelled him to put him
self forward as a public speaker, I believe he would
not have stood second to any in the ranks of those
wonderful men whom God raised up for his work
in Scotland in his time. He believed that he
could be useful in the provinces — that he was

262 CONCLUDING DAYS.

required to take a part in the discussions there —
that the great cause might suffer if he declined to
do so ; and therefore, on wisely-selected occasions
he delivered speeches that were admitted to be of
the very highest order of oratory — for wisdom,
beauty, and power.

When, in 1848, Dr. Candlish was, by appoint
ment of the Church, to become one of the professors
in the New College, Edinburgh, Mr. Stewart was the
man to whom all eyes turned to succeed him in
St. George's. He shrank from it ; the proposal
filled him with dismay. Friends urged him, and
after a long struggle, though believing at the same
time that he was about to offer himself to an early
death, he consented to accept the call.

Dr. Buchanan, of Glasgow, was one of the com
missioners connected with the prosecution of the
call When the business of the Presbytery had
ended, as they walked along the street, perceiving
the depressed appearance of his companion, he
expressed regret, saying, "You look as if you were
carrying a house upon your back." "No, Dr.
Buchanan," was the reply ; " I am not carrying a
house, but I am carrying my gravestone on my back!"

I had been asked by friends in Edinburgh to use
my influence with him, and aid them in obtaining
his consent to the translation. I did write him,

MR. STEWART OF CROMARTY. 263

though with many misgivings. I knew his bodily
constitution, and feared the result of so great a
change for him as a change from Cromarty to the
metropolis. He wrote me, among other things,
" I feel as if destitute of the faculties for dealing
with men. I ought to have been a monk in a
cloister, dealing with books and systems ; among
living people I feel myself powerless as a child."

Soon after it was resolved to translate him he
was taken with fever, brought on, it is much to be
feared, by the excitement, and, to him, real affliction
of the occasion. The fever soon ran its fatal course.
He had little physical strength to resist it. The
" inexorable minister of justice" — treading softly,
however, and suppressing all triumph — speedily
executed his commission, and the covenant-keeping
Jehovah took away his faithful servant, in whom
his grace had been so manifest, to the promised
glory, and to his everlasting rest. " He got faith,"
said a valued friend who was much with him in
the closing hours of life, " he got faith to lay his
Isaac, bound, upon the altar ; his hand, in humble
submission, took the knife ; he was prepared to
do his Lord's will ; he did it ; and the Lord then
relieved him for ever from all his cares, all his
anxieties, and all his pains."

264 CONCLUDING DAYS.

"Blessed saint! I shall think the more fre
quently of heaven that thou art there. I shall
look more steadily toward the multitude of spirits
of the righteous made perfect, because thou art one
of them. And when, by the blood and righteous
ness of the Son of God, and by that mercy which
is above the heavens, and which delivers from the
lowest hell, the hour shall arrive of entrance into
the high and holy place, amidst the astonishing
solemnities and delights of that new situation, I
shall soon look round to recognise thee, and to
meet the sweetness of thy triumphant embrace."*
— Dr. Love's Sermon on the Death of Dr. Balfour
of Glasgow.

* Such as are acquainted with the volume entitled THE TREE
OF PROMISE, published in 1864, consisting of posthumous dis
courses by Mr. Stewart, will perceive that I have, in the fore
going sketch, made large use of what I have written there as a
contribution to the biographical notice of my friend, prefixed to
the volume. Although the \vork in question gives no adequate
idea of the author's power as a preacher, having been compiled
from meagre outlines used only in the pulpit, extended some
times very imperfectly, yet I venture to say that the study of
what may there be read will richly reward any one who resolves
to occupy himself therewith. The student will find the dis
courses rich in original thought on Old Testament typology, and
very precious as illustrating the fulness of evangelical truth
taught in that typology. I should rejoice if anything I can say
should have the effect of calling attention to THE TREE or
PROMISE — a work which, in my opinion, has never received the
consideration to which it is entitled for its great merits.

DR. CANDLISH AT STIRLING. 265

VII.

When I undertook the work to be done at
Inverness, my chief difficulty was the state of
things at home, the yet chaotic condition of my
own flock, and consequently the risks connected
with my leaving them, so soon after the great
change at the Disruption, for a whole month. As
in duty bound, I stated this difficulty at the con
ference in Edinburgh, when all the arrangements
for the Church at large, as I have already intimated,
were made.

" If I could be assured of satisfactory supply for
my pulpit during my absence," I said, " I should
feel little difficulty in agreeing to the proposal that
I shall take the first month at Inverness."

Various suggestions were made, and supply by
one or two esteemed clerical friends was offered.

" I'll give you a day," said Dr. Candlish, after a
little. "Will that satisfy you?"— "It will," I
answered ; " and if you make your day towards
the close of the month, the expectation of your visit
will keep all pleasant till you come."

This was agreed to ; other appointments were
made and noted, and I felt my way made plain.

The FREE NORTH CHURCH congregation, Stir
ling, worshipped for the first year in the CORN

266 CONCLUDING DAYS.

EXCHANGE there — a long, narrow, but withal com
modious building, high roofed, ornamented with
various devices in the ceiling, comfortably floored,
well lighted, and, from the multiplicity of doors,
well ventilated. To my unspeakable surprise,
when I came from Edinburgh on the Saturday
evening before the second Sabbath after the Dis
ruption, as it was arranged all the Free Church
ministers should do, to preach at home to those
who followed them, I found the CORN EXCHANGE
fitted up as a place of worship for my flock. Benches
were placed on the floor, nearly to its utmost
extremity, and a well-constructed pulpit was just
being decorated with green velvet, the gift of one
of the ladies of the flock, as I was conducted
into the building to see the preparations made
for the morrow. There I preached next day to
a " full house," a very large gathering, such as I
had by no means expected. There I continued
to preach until the month of April 1844 ; and
there, I may be forgiven for adding, I realised the
ideal of a really free congregation — free sittings,
full liberty for all, of every name, to come and go ;
no allocation of sittings, no rents for sittings ; the
expense of all service, rent, etc., borne by collections
made at the doors, and no unnecessary formalities
of any kind. I confess that, when we passed

DR. CANDLISH AT STIRLING. 267

into the subsequent order of things, there was a
difference. Paul "for two whole years," in "his
own hired house," at Home, "received all that
came in unto him, preaching to them." We for one
year had our worship and services of a similar kind
in our " hired " house. Could there not be some
system of arrangement by which in hired places
the good work might be carried on ? What vexing
questions as to Church property, and other legal
entanglements, might not in this way be prevented !

In the CORN EXCHANGE, when he came, Dr.
Candlish preached. During our great controversy,
and before our liberty was achieved, he often spoke
of the relief which he expected to experience when
the conflict should be all past, whatever the cost
might be, and when he should be free to give him
self to the preaching of the glorious gospel, going
everywhere to do so without let or hindrance. Such
as had the happiness to hear him preach when
the time of liberty came, know how much this was
realised in his unwearied efforts, his burning zeal,
and his most powerful appeals to the hearts and
consciences of men.

The CORN EXCHANGE was filled to overflowing
to hear him — a congregation formed without respect
to denomination or locality. Of every name, and
from all the neighbourhood, the people were

268 CONCLUDING DAYS.

gathered to hear him. Twice, forenoon and after
noon, he preached with great animation.

He had spoken to my wife of his desire to preach
somewhere in the country, in the open air, in the
evening. Thinking that it might overtask his
strength, and believing that he required repose, she
tried to dissuade him. But no ; he should like it
so much ; and, of all places, " somewhere on the
slopes of theOcmLS ;" — on the east of the GRAMPIAN
range, some five miles to the north of Stirling.
Accordingly he gave notice, at the close of both
services in the Corn Exchange, of his intention,
making request that, if possible, intimation might
be sent to the locality. The intimation soon took
wing. There were earnest spirits among my flock,
who charged themselves with the duty of making
known in all the villages at " the foot of the hills,"
that Dr. Candlish was to preach on the OCHILS,
as well as the expected whereabouts of his proposed
service.

At dinner he was in great spirits — happy in
review of the work already done, and happy in
anticipation of what was in prospect.

"You'll go with me?" he said to my wife;
" I will drive you myself. We shall have an open
conveyance/' The day was one of the broiling days
under which I was suffering at Inverness.

DR. CANDLISH PREACHING ON THE OCHILS. 20 9

" Yes, indeed I will go with you/' was the
answer.

In due time the conveyance, a gig, came to the
door.

" Had you not "better allow the boy" (who had
brought the conveyance) " to drive ? He will be
acquainted with the horse ? "

" Oh, I can drive quite well myself. Come away,
and you will judge of my skill and ability," he
said, with his usual happy laugh.

He was cautious in descending our steep streets.
We then lived near the Castle. Once on level
ground he seemed to think caution not so necessary
a virtue. Away they went. My wife told me after
wards that she looked for an upset, or something
untoward. Nothing of the kind occurred. Over
the hill at AIRTHREY they went at a lively pace,
other vehicles following, down into the beautiful
valley below. The assembled multitude at length
came in sight. The hour of service had arrived.
There were ready hands to care for the horse. But
slight accommodation was made for the preacher —
a table and a chair. The audience, which was very
great, were seated on the mountain-side, in front
and on each side of him. It was truly an out-of-
door mountain evangelical service. The people,
many of them, were greatly affected. In after

270 CONCLUDING DAYS.

years the circumstance was often talked of, and
oftentimes have I had the details given to me by
sundry hearers on the occasion.

The service concluded, Dr. Candlish resumed
the office of driver ; and in perfect safety, and to
the perfect satisfaction of all interested, arrived at
his resting-place for the night. Next day, as soon
as he had breakfasted, he was off and away, to
undertake other duty in some other place in behalf
of some other brother in the same cause.

I have had several tours with Dr. Candlish — all
of them very interesting to me. But if the notes
I have recorded of them shall ever see the light,
it must be under other editorship than mine, for
friends, who still survive, were associated with us.
Of them I could not be free to speak as I should
like to do now. And I am not to suppose, to
expect, or to desire, that any future shall afford
me the opportunity as to them which I possess
with regard to him who is no longer with us —
who has gone " to the mountain of myrrh, and to
the hill of frankincense," there to abide "until
the day break, and the shadows flee away."

" And what's a life ? a weary pilgrimage,
Whose glory in one day doth fill thy stage
With childhood, manhood, and decrepit age.

CONCLUSION. 271

" And what's a life ? the flourishing array
Of the proud summer meadow, which to-day
Wears her green plush, and is to-morrow hay."

Francis Quarks.

THE EXD.

Printed by R. & R. CLARK, Edinburgh.