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SCOTTISH CHUECH. 



BTTHX 

REV. HENRY CASWALL, M.A., 

▼ICAB OF VIOHBLDSAK, WILTS, 

AUTHOK OF " AMXmCA AKD THE AMEBICAK CHU&CH," &C.» &C^ 

AND A P&OCTOa IN CONVOCATION FOB THB DIOCB8B 

OF 8ALI8BUBT. 



OXFOED, 
JOHN HENRY PARKER; 

AJSB 377, STKAND, LONDON. 
MDCCCLUI. 




X/v, 



'■ '/ 6 



PEEFACE. 



Many causes have recently combined to direct 
attention to those branches of the Anglican body 
which are unconnected with the State. More than 
half of the Bishops of our communion are now found 
in the ^'unestablished" ranks, while the deepest prin- 
ciples of ecclesiastical truth are involved in the ex- 
istence and operation of the Scottish, American, 
and Colonial Churches. To those in England who 
have formed a habit of viewing ecclesiastical afbirs 
mainly in connexion with political institutions, it is 
obviously important to shew that conscience is the 
only safe and enduring basis upon which an attach- 
ment to the Church can be founded. 

The Scottifih Episcopal Church affords many valu- 
able lessons and encouragements. Its very exist- 
ence is a source of confidence and consolation. In 
the face of long-continued opposition it has main- 
tained its ground to the present day, amidst bitter 
poverty and galling reproach. Thus it has shewn 
that the continuance of religious institutions is not 



IV PBEFACE. 

always ' dependent upon their popularity, and that 
the true mission of the Church is, at all costs, to 
maintain and propagate that Truth which to the 
multitude is commonly unpalatable. 

Of those in England who are acquainted with the 
history of Scottish Episcopacy, it may be safely as- 
serted that the depth of their own Church principles 
is ugually proportionate to the regard which they 
bear to the depressed Church in the North. Yet, to 
a great extent, the grossest ignorance and misap- 
prehension on this subject are unhappily prevalent. 
There are, indeed, members of the Church of Eng- 
land who regard Scottish Episcopacy as a schism, set 
up in imrighteous opposition to the Kirk, and who 
sympathize altogether with the party, which, owing 
to accidental circumstances, has obtained the advan- 
tages of a legal establishment. 

It appeared to the writer, from such considera- 
tions as the above, that some utility might be found 
in a book which, though small and portable, should 
yet serve to clear up popular mistakes and miscon- 
ceptions, and to unravel the apparently entangled 
web of Scottish Church History. It was thought 
also that such a work, while giving due credit to the 
EstabKshment and its offshoots, might plainly set 
forth the real grounds of Episcopacy, might shew 
the instruction to be derived from the misfortunes of 
other communities, and might point out the benefits 
and the dangers connected with free synodical action. 



PRBPACB. V 

The writer has attempted such a work in the fol- 
lowing pages, which contain a variety of information 
derived chiefly from conversation and from books 
during two summer excursions in Scotland. Whe- 
ther he has, in any degree, succeeded in his design, 
must be left to the judgment of the reader, 

VlCAHAGE, FiGHELDEAN, 

July 20, 1853. 



CONTENTS. 



Pag* 
Preface ...... iii 

CHAPTEE I. 

THE SUBJECT INTRODUCED. 

YoYAOE to Scotland. — A Scottish Bishop on board. — 
Couversation with an English Erastian. — The Scottish 
fiishop enters upon the early History of Christianity in 
Scotland ....... 1 



CHAPTER n. 

EARLY HISTORY OF THE SCOTTISH CHURCH. 

First Missionaries of Christianity in Scotland. — Ni- 
nian. — Palladius. — Patrick. — Kentigern. — Columba. — 
Account of the " Culdees" and of their tenets. — Contro- 
versy respecting Easter and the Tonsure. — Growing cor- 
ruption of the Church . . . . .11 



CHAPTEE III. 

THE author's first TOUR COMPLETED. 

Monastery of St Hilda. — Fame Islands, and Cuthbert 
as a Recluse. — Lindisfame, and Cuthbert as a Bishop. — 



Vm CONTENTS. 

Page 
Modem Missionary Bishops. — ^Arrivar in Edinburgh. — 
Perth Cathedral. — Trinity College, Olenalmond. — Ro- 
manists in Scotland. — Return home . . .24 



CHAPTER IV. 

CHURCH HISTORY OF SCOTLAND CONCLUDED. 

Causes of the Reformation. — Scottish Reformation dif- 
ferent in principle from that of England. — John Knox 
and his measures. — The "Tulchan" Bishops. — Andrew 
Melville. — Presbyterianism established. — Episcopacy set 
up under James I. — Second establishment of Presbyteri- 
anism. — Second establishment of a valid Episcopate. — 
Third establishment of Presbyterianism. — The Church 
continues to exist under its ejected Bishops. — Penal Acts 
and their final repeal. — Bishop Seabury consecrated. — The 
Church increases. — Jubilee in Westminster Abbey . 38 



CHAPTER V. 

TRINITY COLLEGE. 

Value of Christian Education. — Second tour in Scot- 
land. — ^Trinity College described. — Letters from former 
Students. — ^The Warden's Sermon at the re- opening of the 
College 60 



CHAPTER VI. 

SKETCH OF THE PRESBYTERIAN ESTABLISHMENT. 

Visit to a Highland Manse. — Synodal action in the 
Kirk. — Constitution of the General Assembly. — History 
of the Disruption of the Kirk . . .75 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED. 

Page 

The General Assembly compared with the Convocation 
of the Province of Canterbury. — The Disruption in Scot- 
land no argument against Synodal action in England. — 
The Parochial system in Scotland. — Schools and School- 
masters. — Mode of worship in the Establishment — Dis- 
cipline. — Dunkeld Cathedral. — Druidical circle. — Pano- 
ramic view . . . . . .94 



CHAPTER YIII. 

ARGYLL AND THE ISLES. 

Visit to the Cumbrae Isles. — The College. — Panoramic 
view from the centre of Great Cumbrae. — Emigration to 
Australia. — Dunoon. — Voyage to Ardrishaig. — Residence 
of the fiishop of Argyll. — Divine service at Loch-Gilphead 
and Kilmartin ...... 105 



CHAPTEE IX. 

PILGRIMAGE TO lONA. 

Crinan Canal. — Voyage to Oban. — Sunset in the High- 
lands,— Free Kirk.— Sound of Mull.— Treshnish Isles. — 
Staffa. — Entrance into Fingal's Cave. — ^Approach to the 
Holy Isle of lona. — Ruins in lona. — Sepulchres. — Crosses. 
— Cathedral. — Meditations in the ruined Chancel . 124 



X CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER X. 

CONCLUSION. 

Pago 
General reflections on the subject of Scottish Chris- 
tianity. — ^Which is the true Church of Scotland ?— Dif- 
ficulties and encouragements of the Church. — Future 
prospects of Christianity in Scotland . . .143 

Appendix ...... 155 




CHAPTEB I. 



For not like kingdome of the world 

The holy Church of God 
Though earthquake-shocks be rocking it. 

And tempest is abroad ; 
Unshaken as eternal hills, 

Unmoyeable it stands 
A mountain that shall fill the earth, 

A fane unbuilt by hands. — Coxtfa BaUadt, 



THE SUBJECT INTRODUCED. 

Voyage to Scotland. — A Scottish Bishop. — Conversation 
with an English Erastian. — The Scottish Bishop enters 
upon the early history of Christianity in Scotland. 

On a bright Sunday morning in the summer of 
1851, I foimd myself passing over the cahn surface 
of the German ocean on a voyage to Scotland. 
During the previous night our steamer had de- 
scended the Thames, slowly and cautiously wind- 
ing her way among the numerous vessels which 
crowded the river. But now all danger of a col- 
lision was past, and, with the united power of wind 
and steam, we were rapidly advancing towards our 
destination. 

Upon coming on deck I perceived a clergyman, 
whom I recognised as one of the bishops of the 

B 



2 THE SUBJECT INTBODIJCED. 

Scottish Church. After a little preliminary con- 
versation between this truly reverend gentleman 
and myseU^ an arrangement was made for divine 
service on board the vessel. Accordingly, about the 
middle of the day, the bell was rung by the cap- 
tain's order, and a respectable congregation was 
collected in the spacious cabin ; prayers were read 
by myself, and a sermon was preached by the 
bishop, the passengers joining in the service to 
the best of their ability. 

Divine worship having terminated, I came again 
on deck, and was gazing on the flat and monotonous 
coast of Essex, when an English gentleman ap- 
proached and requested me to tell him the name 
of the clergyman who had delivered the sermon. 
"That clei^yman," I replied, "is the bishop of 
A " (mentioning a well-known locality in Scot- 
land.) " The titular bishop of A ," said my new 

acquaintance, desiring to correct me. " The real 
bishop of A — -,'* was my reply. " Impossible," re- 
joined the passenger, " there are no real bishops in 
Scotland. Presbyterianism is the established reli- 
gion of Scotland, and, of course, any bishops in that 
country must be merely titular." " The bishop of 

A ," I replied, " is as truly the bishop of Christ's 

Church m that diocese as Dr. Sumner is archbishop 
of Canterbury." Upon this a discussion ensued 
which continued during several hours. My fellow- 
passenger (who avowed himself a member of the 
Church of England) maintained that the presence 
or absence of bishops in a Christian Church was a 



THE SUBJECT IKTBODUCED. 3 

matter to be left to tlie discretion of the civil 
authorities. In Scotland, loyal and respectable 
people ought to uphold the Presbyterian doctrine 
and discipline ; while in England, on similar prin* 
ciples, it was proper to uphold Episcopacy. As for 
the United States of America, he was unprepared 
with any theory upon the subject, and did not 
think it necessary to adopt one. But, in his opi- 
nion, the civil authority ought always to discourage 
all attempts to ascribe any thing like a Divine 
origin to bishops. The bishop of Exeter, for ex- 
ample, ought at once to be cashiered and put 
down. It would be easy to find a substitute for 
him, who would thankfuUy acknowledge the Crown 
to be the source of all authority, ecclesiastical and 
spiritual as weU as civil. " In fact," he proceeded, 
" the Church of England ought to be placed on the 
same definite footing as the army and navy. Bishops, 
and all other i^nctionaries of the Establishment, 
ought to hold their office only during the Queen's 
pleasure, and controversies about doctrine ought to 
be settled at once and for ever by the Privy Coun- 
cil. As for the intrusion of persons calling them- 
selves bishops into Scotland, I view it as an insult 
and an aggression which ought to be immediately 
checked by the strong hand of power." 

It was of course by no means difficult to contro- 
vert these various false positions. " The institution 
of bishops," I said, '* is of far greater antiquity than 
the Privy Council or the British Monarchy, and is 
derived from a source altogether independent of any 



4 THE SUBJECT INTRODUCED. 

earthly kingdom. Kings and queens, councils and 
parliaments, may rise and fall, may appear and dis- 
appear ; but the spiritual oversight of all the nations 
of the world, including England and Scotland, has 
been placed by Divine authority in the hands of the 
Christian Episcopate. In those hands it has con- 
tinued more than eighteen himdred years, and in 
those hands it will remain till the day of judgment. 
You are no doubt aware of the fact that shortly 
before our Saviour departed from this world He took 
eleven persons separately by themselves, and com- 
manded them to baptize all nations, and to disci- 
pline them, by authority and by teaching, to do all 
things which He had commanded. You recollect 
that He promised those eleven persons, to whom 
St. Paul was afterwards added, that He would be 
with them always, even to the end of the world. 
The teaching and administering of the Christian 
system in every portion of the globe, so long as the 
globe shall last, was therefore placed in the charge 
of twelve particular individuals. But those indi- 
viduals were neither omnipresent nor immortal. 
Hence the very terms of their commission implied 
the necessity of their admitting others to a share of 
their responsibility, who in their turn should trans- 
mit the charge to others, until people of all nations 
should be brought under the yoke of Christ, and 
until the good and evil should finally be separated 
at the last day. 

" An authority then emanated from our Lord to 
twelve men, and through them to certain assistants 



THE SUBJECT INTRODUCED. 6 

and successors. Thus we find Matthias ' numbered 
with the eleven/ Timothy appointed in Ephesus and 
Titus in Crete. As this authority was designed to 
continue * always,' it must exist at the present time. 
If in existence, it must exist, as at first, indepen- 
dently of any necessary connexion with merely tem- 
poral jurisdiction. That authority actually exists in 
the class of persons whom the Christian Church, 
from an early period, has denominated ' bishops.' 
History, and the known law and practice of Chris- 
tian commimities, plainly prove that the present 
bishops are connected with the earliest Apostles of 
Christianity by the laying on of hands, continued in 
the rite of consecration through more than eighteen 
centuries. 

" As the commission of Christ was originally con- 
ferred upon the twelve alone, so the office of the 
Christian ministry can attach (in its proper sense) 
to none but those who derive their appointment 
from the original twelve. As it is impossible for 
any secular authority to constitute and make a 
Christian Church, so it is impossible for any prince, 
potentate, or parliament, to constitute any person 
'an ambassador of Christ' and a 'steward of the 
mysteries of God.' The secular authority may, if so 
inclined, appoint men to teach religion, or any other 
subject of human knowledge ; but this appointment 
cannot make those teachers ministers of Christ's 
Church. So it may confer upon men the title of 
bishops, it may load those men with rank and 
emoluments, and require its subjects to pay them 



6 THE SUBJECT INTRODUCED. 

deference and homage ; but after all, unless conse- 
crated by the hands of bishops in the apostolic line, 
they will remain mere officers of the State, and 
simply 'titular' bishops. So, on the other hand, 
a person once admitted to the episcopate by true 
bishops becomes and continues a prelate of Christ's 
holy Church, whatever may be the disposition of 
the civil government to which he belongs. He is 
a bishop, not 'titular' only, but real, though sta- 
tioned where he must endure persecutions and 
perhaps martyrdom, though his diocese may be in 
China, where Christianity is proscribed by law ; in 
America, where the government is indiflferent ; or in 
Scotland, where Presbyterianism is the legal estab- 
lishment. The present incumbent of the see of 
Canterbury, though he holds his civil rank and po- 
sition under authority of the State, is a bishop of 
Christ's Church for the simple reason that he has 
been consecrated by the laying on of the hands of 
true bishops, conformably with immemorial usage. 
The prelates of the Reformed Churches in America 
and Scotland derive their spiritual authority from 
the same source, and though unendowed by the 
State, occupy their rank in the same venerable line 
of the apostolic succession. 

" "While therefore I am thankfiil when the State, 
as in England, accepts Christianity at the hands 
of the true Church, I see great absurdity in any 
attempt to rest the fundamental institutions of our 
holy religion upon so imcertain and changeable a 
basis as the secular law of any nation upon earth. 



THE SUBJECT INTRODUCED. 7 

Christianity must often contend witli human laws, 
and its officers are not nnfrequently under the obli- 
gation of resisting the spirit of the age, and of re- 
buking the sins and errors of persons in high places. 
If you could succeed in placing the Church on the 
same footing as the army and navy, you would 
make it the servant of the popular wiU, instead of 
the guide and teacher of the nation. Its very 
nature as a Church of Christ would thus be de- 
stroyed. It might become powerftd for evil ; but 
would remain incapable of accomplishing the pur- 
poses of the Eedeemer ; and, though perhaps out- 
wardly prosperous, would, like all human institu- 
tions, eventually perish." 

I fear that my argument produced but little effect 
on the mind of my fellow-traveller. Too many 
members of our English Establishment habitually 
regard the CTiurch only as a function of the State, 
and win not entertain the idea that the conscience 
and judgment of tudividuals require the guidance 
of divinely authorized institutions. Though mul- 
titudes may be ready to invoke the hand of au- 
thority against those whose religious principles 
they happen to dislike, the decisions of a Privy 
Coimcil would be as ill-received as those of a Synod 
or a Convocation if they should happen to conflict 
with popular notions and prejudices. 

In the mean time we had passed up the coast of 
Norfolk, and were now to the north of Yarmouth 
Eoads, a locality celebrated in that wonderful ro- 
mance which has contributed so large a share in the 



8 THE SUBJECT INTRODUCED. 

formation of the enterprising Anglo-Saxon charac- 
ter. A thousand years hence, perhaps, the tourist 
from New Zealand or Australia will visit Yarmouth 
in some swift vessel impelled by magnetism, caloric, 
or gas, to behold the spot where Eobinson Crusoe 
was cast ashore, shipwrecked, penitent, and for- 
lorn. 

The shores of Norfolk soon receded from our view, 
and we steered for the coast of Yorkshire. After 
the land had disappeared from sight, I engaged in 
conversation with the bishop respecting the history 
of the Church in Scotland. The following chapter 
will supply some usefiil information upon this curi- 
ous and interesting subject. 





CHAPTEE II. 

And where are kings and empires now. 

Since then, that went and came ? 
But holy Church is prajing yet, 

A thousand years the same ! 
And these that sing shall pass away : 

New choirs their room shall fill ; 
Be sure thy children's children here. 

Shall hear those anthems still. 



EAELT HISTORr OP THE SCOTTISH CHURCH. 

First Missionaries of Christianity in Scotland. — Ninian, — 
Falladius. — Patrick. — Kentigem. — Columba. — A ccount 
of the " Culdeei^ and of their tenets. — Controversy re- 
sjpecting Easter and the Tonsure. — Growing corruption 
of the Church. 

The early history of Christianity in Scotland is 
extremely obscure through the want of ancient do- 
cuments. Historians, such as England possessed in 
the venerable Bede, have been few in number, and' 
manuscripts which might have supplied valuable 
information have been lost in the calamities which 
have so frequently afficted the northern portion of 
our island. Yet it seems probable that Scotland 
was not altogether destitute of Christians even at 
the beginning of the third century of our era, and 
that portions of the country inaccessible to the 
Romans were yet subject to the Redeemer. 



10 EABLY HISTOET OF THE SCOTTISH CHUKCH. 

During the early part of the fifth century, St. 
Ninian, St. Palladius, and St. Patrick, were the 
great apostles of the kindred tribes of Scotland 
and Ireland. 

Ninian* was born either in Cumberland or Gallo- 
way about the year 360. He enjoyed the blessing 
of a religious training from his infancy, and very 
early in life devoted himself to the sacred ministry. 
When little more than twenty he journeyed to 
Eome, where he spent fifteen years in the study of 
theology and in the culture of Christian virtues. It 
is possible that he may have even conversed with 
St. Jerome, who was at that time residing in the 
imperial city, and was the intimate friend of his 
patron the illustrious pontiff Damasus. About the 
end of the fourth century Ninian was consecrated 
at Home and sent forth as bishop to the inhabitants 
of his native coimtry. 

Having visited on his journey St. Martin, the 
holy bishop of Tours, he at length trod once more 
upon his native soil and entered upon his apostolic 
duties. He began by fixing his see at the chief 
town of the Novantes, then called Leucopibia, and 
since Whitehom, in Galloway. Here he built the 
famous Candida Oasa, the first British church of 
stone, constituting at the same time a little monastic 
commimity to take part with himself in public wor- 

■ For a considerable portion of the information contained in thig chap- 
ter the author is indebted to some able articles in the " Scottish Ecclesi- 
astical Journal," to a work on lona published by the " Religions Tract 
Society/' and to the " History of the Scottish Church/' by the late bishop 
of Glasgow. 



EABLT HISTOBT OF THE SCOTTISH CHT7BCH. 11 

ship and in the instruction of the people. We are 
informed that his success was truly wonderful, that 
temples fell and churches rose before him as if by 
magic, and that, throughout aU the country of the 
Picts, he ordained presbyters, consecrated bishops, 
and organized parishes. About the year 430 he 
slept in peace, and was buried in Candida Casa. 
Although his bishopric lay dormant for nearly three 
centuries after his death, his memory was held in the 
utmost yeneration, and his grave was regarded as 
holy ground by the native Christians. 

St. PaUadius, by birth a Eoman, was sent in the 
year 431 by Pope Celestine as '* Primus Episcopus"^ 
(or first bishop) " to the Scots believing in Christ." 
St. Ninian having preceded Palladius as a bishop, 
it appears that Palladius was not first in order 
of time ; and it is considered by many writers that 
this expression indicates a certain primacy of rank 
and jurisdiction.. It is stated that the bishop of 
St. Andrew's was distinguished by the identical 
title of "Primus" imtil the end of the fifteenth 
century. Of the labours of Palladius we have no 
very definite aecount. 

St. Patrick is supposed to have been bom of 
British parents in the year 373, at the spot now 
called Kirkpatriek near Dumbarton. He received 
the first rudiments of his education at the place of 
his nativity, and was early conspicuous for an in- 
genuous and amiable disposition, and for superi* 
ority of mental powers. Having been taken prisoner 
by pirates in, his boyhood, and sold into slavery ia 



12 EARLY HISTORY OP THE SCOTTISH CHURCH. 

Ireland, he acquired the Irish language, and after 
his escape conceived the desire of converting the 
Hibernians to Christianity. Passing over to the con- 
tinent he studied the Scriptures for thirty-five years^ 
first under St. Martin, who ordained him deacon, 
and next under the no less celebrated St. Germanus, 
bishop of Aries, who advanced him to priest's orders. 
By St. Germanus he was recommended to the con- 
sideration of Celestine, bishop of Rome, who con- 
secrated him to the episcopate, and sent him forth 
about the year 432 on his long-desired mission to 
the Irish. 

After the most indefatigable efforts he brought 
nearly the whole nation to receive the Christian 
faith. He founded the archbishopric of Armagh 
about the year 472, and finished his long and well- 
spent life in 493, in the 120th year of his age. 
Christianity had gained a firm and lasting hold 
upon the Irish mind, and in the course of another 
century Ireland sent forth a glorious band of mis- 
sionaries to complete the conversion of the northern 
inhabitants of Britain. 

About the early part of the sixth century, St. 
Kentigem began to figure in Scottish ecclesiastical 
affairs. He had been trained in the paths of piety 
and virtue by St. Serf, the apostle of the Orkneys, 
and a reputed disciple of St. PaUadius. Receiving 
consecration fi*om an Irish bishop, (the custom, it is 
said, of those times,) he fixed his see at Glasgow, 
where in the course of centuries arose that noble 
cathedral which became the nucleus of the second 



EABLT HISTOKY OP THE SCOTTISH CHUKCH. 13 

city of Scotland. So marvellous is the influence of 
Christianity on the development of civilization. 

DuriB^ a short exile, Kentigem visited Wales, 
and became the head of a new religious brother- 
hood, which he left, on his return to Scotland, 
under the care of his favourite disciple, St. Asaph. 
His labours as a missionary bishop continued after 
this time for about half a century. Strathclyde 
found in him a zealous apostle, and Glasgow was the 
Candida Casa of the north. After a long life, dis- 
tinguished by self-denial, meekness, and devotion, 
he died about the year 601 at an extreme old age. 

Ninian had been dead more than a century, and 
Kentigem was past his prime, when the glorious 
Columba appeared in Scotland. He was bom in 
Ireland about the year 521, and though of royal de- 
scent, and the inheritor of large possessions, he had 
renounced his wealth, received holy orders as a priest, 
and devoted himself to religious undertakings. After 
founding a number of monasteries in Ireland, he 
embarked for Scotland in the year 563 with the 
design of converting the northern Picts. His ves- 
sel was a wicker boat covered with hides, resem- 
bling in the mode of its construction the coracles 
still used on the coast of Wales. Twelve chosen 
monks accompanied him in this voyage, as the 
twelve Apostles attended upon the great Author 
of the Christian faith. These missionary heroes 
landed upon a little island in the Hebrides hallowed 
by the ancient religion of the Druids, and denomi- 
nated lona, from Gaelic words signifying the Holy 



14 JBASLT HISTORY OF THE SCOTTISH CHUACH. 

Isle. They met with some opposition from the 
Druidical priests and the superstitions natives, but 
ultimately succeeded in effecting a peaceful settle- 
ment. The island was granted to Columba by the 
Pictish king, and a Christian college supplanted the 
heathen establishment 

Columba now laboured, with the assistance of 
his faithM disciples, in disseminating true religion 
among the Highlands and islands of Scotland. 
Many of the chiefs and princes sought his advice 
and aided him in his evangelical labours. He re- 
tained some ecclesiastical connexion with Ireland, 
where, in the year 674, he attended a great council 
for the purpose of settling the succession to the 
Scottish throne. Such was the reverence paid to 
him, that though he never became a bishop, but 
continued to the last a simple priest and monk, the 
entire province with its bishops was subject to him 
and his successors^. 

His abilities were evidently very considerable. 
He was firm, persevering, prudent, and sagacious. 
He was powerful as a preacher, and his learning 
was considerable for the times in which he lived. 
His monastery at lona became a distinguished se- 
minary, to which students from all parts were en- 
couraged to repair. 

His moral and religious character presented a re- 
markable combination of excellences. Though severe 
in matters of discipline, he was distinguished by the 
suavity of his manners, the cheerMness of his coun- 

^Be4e,Ub. iii.c. 4. 



XABXT HI8T0ET 07 THE SCOTTISH CHUBCH. 15 

tenance, and the generosity of his conduct. Though 
he scrupulously conformed to the '^ hard and labori- 
ous requirements of his monastic rule," we are told 
that ''from the grace of his person, the neatness 
of his dress, and the ruddiness of his cheeks, he 
looked like a man nourished amid delicacies. 

True excellence of character originates in a right 
state of the heart towards God. It is therefore with 
no marvel that we read of the frequent and earn- 
est devotions of Columba and his disciples. They 
assembled three times every night and as often 
during the day. " In every office of the day they 
were to use prayers, and sing three psalms. In 
the offices of the night, from October to February, 
they were to sing thirty-six psalms and twelve an- 
thems at three several times ; through the rest of the 
year, twenty-one psalms and eight anthems ; but on 
Saturday and Sunday nights, twenty-Eve psalms 
and as many anthems." 

Superficial and self-indulgent Christians will, of 
course, doubt the utility of such a perpetual round 
of^chaunting and of prayer, which they will naturally 
regard as a mere form or as an empty task. But its 
utility was proved by the success which, through 
the blessing of God, attended the labours of men 
thus trained to a heavenly life. Though lona was 
a spot apparently as impromising as Bethlehem or 
!N'azareth, it became a centre of religious influences 
extending over a vast extent of country. Holy men, 
denominated by the natives Culdees, from Gaelic 
terms expressive of devotional character, went forth 



16 EAELY HISTORY OP THE SCOTTISH CHURCH. 

** as doves from the nest of Coliimba," and extended 
the knowledge of Christ throughout Scotland, the 
north of England, and even in portions of the con- 
tinent. Their communities, denominated colleges 
or monasteries, and consisting usually of a superior 
and twelve brethren, were subject to the parent 
establishment at lona, and followed in all things 
the rule of their saintly founder. 

Columba entered into his rest in the year 596, at 
the age of 77, having seen an abundant spiritual 
harvest as the result of his labours. The great work 
went on after his departure ; a long line of abbots 
sat in his chair, and the missionaries from lona 
proved more successful even in England than St. 
Austin and the Roman monks of Canterbury. Oswald, 
king of Northumbria, having been driven into exile 
among the Picts and Scots, embraced Christianity 
himself, and, on' his restoration to the throne in 635, 
applied to the abbot of lona for missionaries to con- 
vert his subjects. St. Aidan was accordingly in- 
vested with the sacred character of bishop, and after 
his arrival in Northumbria was appointed to an 
episcopal see in the island of Lindisfame. The 
king humbly and willingly co-operated with the 
prelate, and often acted as his interpreter in preach- 
ing to the people of England. Many of the Scottish 
clergy came into his dominions and diflftised the 
knowledge of the Word among the inhabitants. 
Under Aidan and his successors Lindisfame became 
a second lona. Culdee colleges were also established 
at St. Andrew's, Abemethy, Dimkeld, Dimblane, 



EAILLT HISTO&T Of THE SCOTTISH CHUKCH. 17 

Melrose, Culross, Kirkcaldy, Monymusk, and other 
places in Scotland. Each of these colleges became 
a new centre from which preachers of the Gospel 
went forth among the surroimding population. Thus 
the true foith was established among the tribes of 
Northumberland, Yorkshire, Lothian, and Caledonia. 
A controversy has arisen respecting the ecclesi- 
astical tenets of Columba and the Culdees. Cer- 
tain writers, chiefly of the presbyterian persua- 
sion, imagine them to have perpetuated their ordi- 
nation solely by the hands of the priesthood, and 
independently of the ancient apostoHc episcopate. 
This mistake seems to have originated in the fact 
that the Culdees partook of a collegiate rather than 
of an ecclesiastical character. Hence, although the 
abbots of their numerous establishments were, like 
Columba himself, simple presbyters, (or priests,) they 
possessed a kind of jurisdiction over those members 
of the fraternity to whom, in their capacity of 
bishops, the work of ordination was exclusively 
committed^. Bede informs us, in his life of Cuth- 
bert, that " the abbot of Lindisfeme was chosen by 
the bishops with the counsel of the brethren, and that 
the presbyters, deacons, chanters, and readers, with 
aU the other ecclesiastical orders, and with the bishop 
himself, observed the rules of the monastery^." Thus, 
in the monastery, the bishop took no more authority 
than an ordinary monk, the abbot exercising su- 
preme jurisdiction. But when the bishop went forth 

« Bede, Hist. Eccl, lib. iii. c. 4. ^ Bede, Vita S. Cudbercti, c. xvi. 
C 



18 EABLY HISTOKY OP THE SCOTTISH CHXJKCH. 

on his official duties he assumed his own character, 
to which no priest or abbot ever pretended. So, 
at the present day, in a college, the master or 
provost is superior in academical aflSdrs to the 
highest prelate in the land, while a missionary- 
bishop sometimes labours in connection with a 
society of which a person in priest's orders is the 
virtual director. 

It is not indeed probable that after the complete 
establishment of Christian bishops in Ireland by St 
Patrick, Columba, himself an Irishman, would have 
set up a presbyterian system in North Britain. We 
have also seen that bishops, like Palladius, Ninian, 
and Kentigem, had ruled over Scottish dioceses a 
century before the birth of Columba. Aidan and 
his successors at Lindisfeune, Finan, and Colman, 
were unquestionably diocesan bishops in the full 
and proper sense of the term®. Aidan was in com- 
mimion with the bishops who, in his day, came 
from Rome, and Finan is recorded to have con- 
secrated Cedd' and another as bishops in charge of 
dioceses. Bede gives a letter written by Lawrence, 
archbishop of Canterbury, in the year 609, twelve 
years after Columba's death, to the bishops and 
abbots throughout all Scotland s. He also speaks of 
another document, addressed by John, bishop of 
Home, in 640, to five Scottish bishops and six 
presbyters, one of whom was at that time abbot of 
Hyi or lona^. Adamnanus, abbot of lona in 679, 

• Bede, Higt. EccL iU. 6. 26. ' Ibid., lib. iii. c. 22. 26. 

e Ibid., Ub. 11. a ^. >> Ibid., Ub. ii c. 19. 



EABLT HISTORY OP THE SCOTTISH CHUKCH. 10 

tells US that Colmnba himself once mistook a bishop 
for a priest, and called him to assist in the latter 
capacity in consecrating the Eucharist. But on dis- 
covering his mistake he desired the bishop to use 
the privilege of his order in breaking the bread 
alone, reproaching him for endeavouring to conceal 
himself under the hope of escaping the veneration 
due to his office. 

An apparent subordination of bishops to abbots, 
in certain cases, was not at that period uncommon 
in other parts of European and African Christen- 
dom. Ordinations in monastic institutions were per- 
formed by bishops either belonging to the establish- 
ments themselves, or else chosen by the heads of 
convents for that express purpose. Even at the 
present day, in Roman Catholic countries, an abbot 
is privileged to confer the four minor orders and 
the tonsure, because those orders are reckoned not 
of divine but of merely ecclesiastical institution. 
But no instance can be produced of an abbot and 
his monks assimiing to ordain a presbyter, much less 
to consecrate a bishop, on their own independent 
authority and without the imposition of episcopal 
hands. 

Far from bemg regarded as enemies of episcopacy, 
the Culdees composed the chapters by which diocesan 
bishops were elected, and the bishops, on their part, 
founded new convents of Culdees. Sometimes in- 
deed, at a later period, these monks quarrelled with 
their bishops, but it does not appear that any pre- 
dilections in favour of presbyterianism were the 



20 EABLT HISTOBT OF THE SCOTTISH CHUBCH. 

ground of contention. The difficulties in question 
arose chiefly in reference to the right of election, 
the claim to church lands and tithes, and the suc- 
cession of the children of the Culdees to ecclesias- 
tical appointments. 

The mention of the children of the Culdees re- 
minds us that, although frequently denominated 
monks, these religionists were not bound to celi- 
bacy and poverty, but only to obedience. Marriage 
was permitted to them, although their wives were 
not allowed to reside within their colleges. Duncan, 
the king of Scotland killed by Macbeth, was the son 
of a princess married to the Culdee abbot who pre- 
sided at Dunkeld after the devastation of lona by 
the Danes. 

But there were certain other remarkable points 
of difference from the usual practices of their own 
period, which appear to have given occasion to 
St. Bernard to speak of the Scottish Christians as 
a " stubborn, stiff-necked, ungovernable generation." 
In the first place they kept Easter neither accord- 
ing to the judaizing rule adopted in Asia, nor ac- 
cording to that which prevailed at RomeK Follow- 
ing what had been the ancient custom of the Latin 
Church, they observed the anniversary of our Lord's 
Resurrection on a Sunday varying from the 14th to 
the 20th day of the moon inclusive, according to a 
cycle of 84 years. About the middle of the fifth 
century, this cycle had been abolished at Rome, and 
a more accurate mode of computation established in 

i Bede,Ub. iU. c. 8. 17. 



EABLT HISTO&T 0¥ THE SCOTTISH CHTTRCH. 21 

its Stead. The Scots, however, clung tenaciously 
to the custom which they had received at the time 
of their first conversion to Christianity, and the 
consequence was that their Easter was sometimes 
held a month earlier or later than in other parts 
of Christendom. The natural results were ex- 
tremely painful to persons of strict devotion and 
piety. While the Scottish Christian, for example, 
was spending Lent in fasting and extraordinary acts 
of prayer, his neighbour of the Latin persuasion 
might be rejoicing in the festal rites appropriated 
to the commemoration of the Resurrection. The 
same day was kept as a feast by the Caledonian 
which the Roman or Anglo-Saxon considered him- 
self bound by his religion to regard as a day of 
penitential abstinence. 

Again, the Culdees differed from others in keep- 
ing up an old form of tonsure, which was performed 
by them on the fore part of the head and from ear 
to ear, like a crescent, instead of the more recent 
Roman fashion of shaving a circle upon the crown. 
These practices may seem alike indifferent to men 
of the nineteenth century ; but in the days of Co- 
lumba and Aidan they were associated with modes 
of thinking on spiritual subjects which were far 
from indifferent to earnest and holy men. 

It may be true, as some assert, that the Culdees 
valued their old cycle and their curious mode of 
tonsure as badges of their independence of Rome, 
and as proofs that while the rest of Christendom had 
changed, Scotland had remained immoveable. But, 



22 SARLY HI3T0EY OP THE SCOTTISH CHURCH. 

from whatever cause, it is certain that the Scottish 
Christians were extremely tenacious of these peculiar 
observances inherited from their ancestors. Hence 
when Wilfrid, a Latin ecclesiastic, had persuaded 
the king of Northumbria to adopt the Roman cycle, 
Colman, the third Culdee bishop of Lindisfame, gave 
up his bishopric rather than submit, and returned 
to Scotland with his attendant clergy. Adamnanus, 
the abbot of lona, during a visit to Aldfrid king of 
the Angles, was indeed converted to the new lunar 
calendar and the new fashion of tonsure. But a 
large portion of the Culdees continued firm, and the 
ancient observances were retained in Scotland long 
after they had been elsewhere abolished. 

It appears, therefore, that as these early Chris- 
tians of Scotland were unwilling to Romanize, so 
also they were far from being Presbyterians. We 
have seen that they had bishops, and that they 
were strict in the observance of Lent and Easter. 
It is also known that they fasted on Wednesdays and 
Fridays, that they shewed respect to the sign of 
the Cross, that they paid regard to ecclesiastical 
traditions, and that they employed liturgical forms 
in their devotions. In aU these, and in other re- 
spects, their successors are to be sought among epis- 
copalians, and by no means among the advocates of 
ministerial parity. 
• Of their faith and zeal and generally Scriptural 
doctrine there can be no reasonable doubt. They 
were among the most honoured instruments of the 
Almighty in rescuing our island from the multife- 



EABLT HISTO&T 0¥ THE SCOTTISH CHURCH. 23 

nous abominations of paganism. But, in process 
of time, the Culdees became careless and worldly- 
minded, and finally met with the fete of other cor- 
rupt monastic fraternities. They were supplanted 
by the canons regular^ whom the Pope instituted 
with the view of correcting the depravity of the 
ancient orders, but who eventually became corrupt 
like their predecessors. With, the extinction of 
the Culdees in the twelfth or thirteenth century, 
the early ecclesiastical history of Scotland seems 
properly to terminate. The age of saints and mis- 
sionary heroes was past, and an age of spiritual 
despotism had commenced. Centuries were to roll 
away before Scotland would again hear the pure 
truth of God, and receive the ministrations and or- 
dinances of His Church, as in the days of Ninian 
and Colmnba. 





CHAPTEK III. 

From Berwick to the Orkneys 

How each old kirk shall gleam 
In beauty and in brightness, 

With thy returning beam ! 
One heart in Gael and Saxon 

In cotter and in thane ; 
One creed — one Church in Scotland 

From Caithness to Dunblane. 



THE FIRST TOUE COMPLETED. 

Monastery of St. HUda, — Fame idands, and Cuthbert as a 
Redme. — Lindisfame, and Cuthbert as a Bishop. — Modem 
Missionary Bishops. — Arrival in Edinburgh. — Perth Ca- 
thedral. — Trinity Cdlege. — Bjomanists in Scotland. — 
Return to London. 

The subjects of the preceding chapter afforded 
matter of conversation between the bishop and my- 
self until a late hour on Sunday night. The follow- 
ing morning we were in view of the Yorkshire 
coast, formerly a part of the dominions of the holy 
St. Edwin, a model of a wise and magnificent 
Christian ruler, though now almost utterly forgot- 
ten. There Paulinus, the Mend and companion of 
Augustine, preached the gospel with great power 
imtil driven forth, after the death of Edwin, by 
the pagan king Panda*. There also Oswald, the 

«Bede,lib.ii.c.20,ftc 



THE FIB8T TOUB COMPLETED. 25 

nephew of Edwin, restored order and revived Chris- 
tianity with the help of St. Aidan and the clergy of 
lona. 

But what are the ruins which we now behold on 
the edge of that projecting cliff? Those are the 
sad remains of the monastery of St. Hilda, a Chris- 
tian institution established at Streaneshalch, now 
Whitby, in the seventh century of our era. Upon 
that site was held the celebrated synod in which 
the great controversy respecting the Scottish and 
Roman modes of celebrating Easter and of making 
the tonsure was' decided in the year 664. There it 
was that Colman defended the Scottish usages, while 
Wilfrid, with determined zeal and ability, upheld 
the practices of Rome. Oswy, the monarch of Nor- 
thumbria, inclined to the Scottish view of the ques- 
tion, but his son Aldfrid, a pupil of Wilfrid, espoused 
the Roman party. Oswy himself, a powerful but 
not a saintly ruler, presided in the synod, and as 
earthly head of the Northumbrian Church, finally 
decided that himself and his people would conform 
to the Roman customs ^. It was this decision which, 
as I have before remarked, obliged Colman to resign 
the bishopric of Lindisfame, and to return, with 
many others, to Scotland. 

But our steamer speeds onward over the un- 
ruffled bosom of the sea, and about noon we pass 
close to the massive ruins of Dunstanborough castle 
in Northumberland. Before us rise the tall and 
majestic fortifications of Bamborough, formerly the 

b Bede, Ub. iU. e. 26, fte. 



26 THE PIKST TOUR COMPLETED. 

abode of kings. In the back ground, on the. left, 
the Cheviot hills lift their towering heads amid 
clouds and mists, while on the right the Fame Is- 
lands and the holy isle of Lindisfame open upon 
the view. We are now in the midst of places asso- 
ciated with sacred recollections. These small and 
barren islands have afforded a welcome retreat to 
many real and devoted saints of the living God. 
True it is that their ways were not as our ways, nor 
did they set the same value with ourselves on the 
joys and courtesies of social and domestic life. But, 
as a late writer truly remarks <^, " all their lives long 
they kept the other world before their view, shrunk 
from no hardship, fled from no suffering, sacrificed 
every tie, to do what they believed was God's will, 
and to increase what they thought was His glory 
and honour. It is not for us to judge or to condemn 
them. Pioneers of civilization in the rudest wilder- 
ness, depositaries of what little learning and refine- 
ment existed in those fierce times, they are fairly 
entitled to the respectful curiosity of an age whose 
manners are softer, and whose intellect is far more 
cultivated. Considered with regard to their advan- 
tages, their achievements were wonderftil." 

We now pass between Bamborough and the island 
of Fame. On that little island, in the year of our 
Lord 687, St. Cuthbert began to lead the life of a 
hermit at the age of thirty-seven. According to 
Bede, Cuthbert was called to a holy life when only 
eight years old. While a mere shepherd-boy he 

e Christian Bemembrancer, vol. xxiii. p. 26. 



THE PIB8T TOmt COMPLETED. 27 

spent whole nights in prayer on the tops of solitary 
mountains in his native Roxburghshire, endeavouring 
to follow closely in the footsteps of his Redeemer. 
He connected himself with the Culdee monastery 
of Mailros, from whence he went forth as an evan- 
gelist, baptizing in the valleys, preaching to the 
poor inhabitants among the rocks and hills, and 
sharing in all the hardships of his numerous con- 
verts. From Maikos he removed to Ripon, and 
thence to Lindisfame. But for the sake of yet 
higher sanctity he exchanged the life of a monk 
for that of a hermit. It was upon this rugged 
rock, this storm-beaten island of Fame, that, in the 
depth of his lowly cell, he enjoyed communion with 
heaven in almost uninterrupted prayer and praise. 

But the time arrived when Cuthbert was to come 
forth from his retreat, and to apply to the benefit of 
mankind the unearthly virtues which he had culti- 
vated in silence and in solitude. During the absence 
of Wilfrid, a synod was held at Twyford in Nor- 
thumbria, at which the king and the archbishop were 
present. In this synod Cuthbert was elected to a 
bishopric. 

The lonely hermit at first reftised to quit his 
beloved solitude. He did not desire to be called 
forth from his cell and forced to mingle in the 
religious controversies of the age. But King Ecgfrid 
himself, accompanied by a train of ecclesiastics, 
came over to his island-hermitage, knelt and wept 
before him, and finally induced him to give a reluc- 
tant assent. He was consecrated by the great St. 



28 THE FIRST TOUR COMPLETED. 

Theodore, a holy man who had been brought from 
Tarsus in Cilicia to fill the archiepiscopal throne of 
Canterbury. Seven other bishops assisted at his 
conseci:ation, and he was duly appointed to the 
diocese of Lindisfame. 

Here he shewed himself (in the words of the 
writer already quoted) " a great and glorious bishop, 
great in his humility, glorious in the reality of his 
fiaith and the ardour of his charity. Constantly 
moving through his diocese, no district was too 
wild] or secluded to escape his visits. To all men 
he did his duty, and all men honoured him in re- 
turn. The poor loved him for his sweet discourses 
and his tender care. The king honoured him be- 
cause he protested solemnly against his cruelties, 
and never shrunk from telling him the truth." 

To such a bishop as this what possible attrac- 
tions could reside in wealth and titles, in secular 
grandeur or in bodily comfort? In such a bishop 
the apostolic succession appeared not only as the 
great foundation of ecclesiastical order, but in asso- 
ciation with the heavenly features of the apostolic 
character. 

A few years of labour and anxiety destroyed a 
constitution already perhaps too much weakened 
by protracted vigils, fasting, and exposure. Having 
urged the brethren of Lindisfame to cultivate peace 
and charity, and to adhere firmly to ancient catho- 
lic principles, Cuthbert returned to his old cell on 
the barren rock of Pame, and prepared ^himself 
to die. Bede tells us that at the hour of evening 



THE FIB8T TOUR COMPLETED. 29 

prayer, when he had strengthened himself for his 
departure by the Communion of the Lord's Body 
and Blood, lifting up his eyes to heaven and spread- 
ing out his hands on high, he breathed out his soul, 
intent upon God's glories, to be partaker of the 
everlasting felicity of the kingdom of heaven. His 
body was wrapped in a shroud given him by the 
abbess Yerca, carried from his hermitage to the 
holy isle of Lindisfame, and interred in his own 
cathedral. 

Our steamer hastens onward, and we coast along 
Lindisfame itself, in fuR view of the cathedral 
erected in the place of the humbler edifice of St. 
Guthbert. Broken indeed, and worn by rains and 
storms, are those venerable remains. A high semi- 
circular arch appears, though the tower which once 
surmounted it has mouldered into dust. The holy 
isle is no longer distinguished by any remarkable 
sanctity, and its inhabitants are not at present 
supposed to exceed the ordinary level of the Eng- 
lish character. Yet though Aidan, and Colman, 
and Cuthbert, have passed into eternity, we rejoice 
to believe that the manifold gifts of the Holy Spirit 
have not departed from the churches of British ori- 
gin. Missionary prelates, ftdl of faith and holy 
zeal, have not been unknown even in the nineteenth 
century ; and a Chase, a Stewart, and a Kemper in 
the West, and a Broughton, a Tyrrell, and a Selwyn 
at the Antipodes, have, in a manner suited to our 
age, revived the days of LindisfjBime and of lona. 
Early in the afternoon we passed round St. Abb's 



30 THE FIBST TOUE COMPLETED. 

Head and entered the Frith of Forth, having on 
our left the massive ruins of Tantallon castle, and 
on the right the rock of "enormous Bass" rising 
perpendicularly (we were told) to the height of 
eight himdred feet. Not long afterwards the Castle 
of Edinburgh and Arthur's Seat were visible in the 
west, and at seven o'clock we landed at Granton 
Pier. The persons connected with the railway 
behaved with much incivility, and the good bishop 
of A , while endeavouring, single-handed, to 
secure his lu^age, was parted from his family and 
left behind at the station. We beheld, with much 
regret, his last anxious look as the train moved 
on, and in the course of a few minutes we were 
in Edinburgh. 

The capital of Scotland contains at present no 
less than nine churches of the episcopal commu- 
nion, and these are reported to be generally well 
attended. In eight of them the service is per- 
formed as in England, the Communion being cele- 
brated on all the great festivals, as well as on the 
first Sunday in every month. But in the ninth, the 
church of St.Columba, there is daily choral service, 
besides a Commimion (according to the Scottish 
rite) on every Sunday and festival, and on the 
Thursday in Holy Week. On the greater festivals 
the Holy Communion is celebrated twice in the 
day, viz. at half past eight and at eleven. The 
Bight Rev. C. H. Terrott is the bishop, and the 
Very Rev. E. B. Ramsay, minister of St John's 
church, is the dean of the diocese. The episcopa- 



THE PIB8T TOUB COMPLETED. 31 

lian population in Edinburgh may perhaps amount 
to eight or ten thousand. 

The Presbyterian places of worship, including 
those of the Established Eirk, the Old Secession, 
and the Free Eirk, are very numerous ; and on Sun- 
days the streets are crowded with persons on their 
way to, or from, their respective places of worship. 
In America the Presbyterians usually admit organs 
into their meeting-houses, but eschew the use of 
gown and bands, and of the sign of the Cross. In 
Edinburgh, on the contrary, their new churches 
are not only built in an ecclesiastical style, but are 
surmounted with stone crosses, while the ministers 
officiate in black gowns similar to our own. The 
organ, however, is still regarded with prejudice in 
Scotland, conformably with the long-cherished tra- 
ditions of the mass of the population. In fact, the 
same tenacity of purpose which in ancient times 
held fast to the old form of tonsure, continues to 
characterize the Scottish mind at the present day. 
An illustration of this peculiarity at an intermediate 
period may be seen among the curiosities of the. 
Antiquarian Museum in Edinburgh, where I was 
shewn the identical joint-stool hurled at the head 
of the prelatical minister in St. Giles's when an 
• attempt was made, imder Charles I., to introduce 
the Anglican liturgy. 

It is not my present object to describe Edin- 
burgh and its neighbourhood, which are already 
sufficientiy known. I need not mention, how, with 
my wife and daughters, I visited the Castie, Holy- 



32 THE PIBST Tons COMPLETED. 

rood Palace, Craigmiller, Rosslyn Chapel, and other 
remarkable places in the city and in its immediate 
neighbourhood. Suffice it to say that, in the course 
of a somewhat varied life, I have met with no lo- 
cality more interesting and beautiful, on the whole, 
than the metropolis of Scotland. 

On the 11th day of June I left Edinburgh on an 
excursion to Perth. Proceeding to Granton Pier by 
the railway, I crossed the Forth in a smaU steamer, 
and landing at Burntisland was conveyed in a rapid 
train forty miles to the northward. On arriving in 
Perth my attention was at once arrested by the new 
cathedral of St. Ninian, erected by some zealous 
churchmen during the last few years at an expense 
of about five thousand pounds. 

This institution originated in a mission formed 
in Perth by the late bishop Torry, of St. Andrew's, 
in the year 1846, in connexion with which a con- 
gregation, chiefly of poor persons, was soon collected 
imder the care of the Rev. Mr. Chambers. In the 
meanwhile the bishop was solicited by Lord Forbes 
to -give his countenance to a scheme for erecting a 
cathedral in Perth for the united dioceses of St. An- 
drew's, Dunkeld, and Dunblane. The venerable pre- 
late joyfully assented, and nominated a committee to 
receive subscriptions towards the undertaking. On 
the 16th of September 1849, the day of St. Ninian, 
(the apostle of this part of Scotland,) a stone of 
the foundation was solemnly laid by the bishop 
of Brechin. On the 11th of December 1850, the 
choir, transepts, and one bay of the nave having 



THE FIRST TOTJB COMPLETED. 83 

been completed, the structure was consecrated by 
the same prelate in behalf of the aged and infirm 
bishop of the diocese. At this time Mr. Chambers 
and two other English clergymen were associated 
as canons, and their first capitular act was to elect 
the Rev. Mr. Fortescue their dean. These gentle- 
men were willing to minister in the cathedral with- 
out stipend, and a body of choristers had already 
been prepared in an institution connected with the 
cathedral and known as St. Ninian's College. The 
cathedral service accordingly went into full opera- 
tion, and has been regularly celebrated three times 
in every day, and five times on Sundays and on 
festivals. 

On entering the cathedral I was much struck by 
the admirable effect produced by the skill of the 
distinguished architect, Mr. Butterfield. Though 
the building was as yet but small, its height con- 
veyed an impression of considerable magnitude. The 
length of the entire building did not then exceed 
ninety feet and the breadth was little more than 
eighty. Yet an elevation of seventy feet fi:om the 
floor removed the roof into that distant obscurity 
which the idea of a cathedral seems almost to re- 
quire. All the proper appendages of divine worship, 
including a powerful organ, were here found in their 
completeness ; so that, according to the precept of 
the Apostle, all things might be done "decently 
and in order." I was informed that the cathedral 
had encountered much ridicule and opposition in 
the first instance ; but that it was now taking its 



34 THE TIBST TOUB COMPLETED. 

place among the recognised institutions of the town 
of Perth. Besides the cathedral there is in Perth 
a handsome episcopal church frequented by many 
of the neighbouring nobility and gentry. This con- 
gregation formerly considered itself a portion of the 
Church of England, and independent of the Scottish 
episcopate. But it has recently departed from this 
anomalous position, and has become subject to the 
jurisdiction of the bishop of the diocese. The in- 
habitants of Perth are, however, as might be ex- 
pected, generally divided between the presbyterian 
establishment and the Free Eark. 

Hiring a vehicle, I rode ten miles westward, over 
an excellent road, to the new College at Glenahnond, 
the main object of my expedition from Edinburgh. 
I was taken entirely by surprise, when, on emerging 
from a plantation, I first beheld the massive walls 
and towers of this admirable establishment I had 
seen engravings of the College ; but the reality 
seemed to exceed the representation. The situation 
strongly reminded me of that of Kenyon College in 
Ohio, being an eminence surrounded by beautiful 
hills and woods, with a rapid stream winding 
around its base and dashing among numerous rocks. 
The College itself with its noble chapel and broad 
quadi'angle would do honour even to Oxford or 
Cambridge. I was already aware that the Warden, 
the Sub- warden, and the various masters were men 
of high character and attainments, and I had reason 
to believe that the course of study, combined with 
strict Christian discipline, was well calculated to ad- 



THE VIS8T TOUR OOMPIETBD. 35 

vance the students both morally and intellectually. 
Haying an only son, now of an age to profit by such 
tuition, I concluded that, notwithstanding the re- 
moteness of the locality, the probable advantages 
would be of a nature to warrant my entering him at 
this " College of the Holy Trinity" at Glenabnond. 
I returned the same evening to Edinburgh, where 
a few more days were spent both agreeably and 
profitably. I met with an accomplished Roman 
Catholic clergyman, from whom, in connexion with 
a member of his congregation, I received many 
civilities, and derived some interesting information. 
It is perhaps unnecessary to state in this place 
that the ancient Romish establishment was utterly 
demolished at the Reformation. Roman Catho- 
lics, however, have continued to exist in Scot- 
land, and in some places in considerable numbers. 
Their bishops do not, at present, openly claim 
territorial jurisdiction, but preside over three dis- 
trictSy the Northern, Eastern, and Western, into 
which they have divided Scotland. In the first of 
these they have 29 clergy and 32 chapels; in the 
second 36 clergy and 29 chapels, and in the third 60 
clergy and 44 chapels. It would appear from this 
enimieration that their clergy and congregations 
are not greatly inferior in numbers to those of 
our own Church in Scotland, which reckoned in 
1852 seven bishops and dioceses, 127 churches 
and congregations, and about 130 clergymen. The 
established presbyterian ministers are about 1300 
in number, and the ministers of the Free Kirk 



36 THE PIKST TOXJR COMPLETED. 

not less than 800. Besides these, there are numer- 
ous preachers attached to the various dissenting 
bodies of Scotland, but generally agreeing in point 
of doctrine with the establishment of the country. 

My Roman Catholic acquaintance considered the 
intemperate use of ardent spirits to be the besetting 
sin of the nation, and believed that no sect or de- 
nomination of Scotchmen was in any tolerable de- 
gree exempt from it. His own " parish,'* if such 
he might venture to call it, extended from Edin- 
burgh almost to Berwick upon Tweed, and was prin- 
cipally composed of poor and hard-working persons. 
Among these a large proportion of the deaths in 
every year resulted from deliriiim tremens. 

The chapel in which this gentleman usually offi- 
ciated was a plain building with square windows, 
and having, altogether, the appearance of a common 
meeting-house. Within it was a small but very 
sweet toned organ, formerly the property of a dis- 
tinguished nobleman. The altar was decorated with 
a quantity of lace presented by a noble lady who 
had recently attached herself to the Romanist com- 
munion. The gallery and seats were precisely those 
of a Baptist or Methodist conventicle. There were, 
however, some splendid ecclesiastical vestments of 
considerable antiquity, which the worthy priest re- 
garded with special interest, as constituting a kind 
of link between the ancient and the modem Romish 
Church in Scotland. 

From Edinburgh we returned to London by sea, 
imd passed up the Thames during a terrific thunder- 



THE MKST TOTJK COMPLETED. 37 

storm, in the course of which Rochester Cathedral 
was struck by lightning, and a parish church in 
Essex was set on fire and seriously damaged. Land- 
ing near the Tower we proceeded to the railway sta- 
tion and safely arrived at home in the course of 
the following night. 





CHAPTEE lY. 



Ah me, — St. Andrew's crosier! 

'Tis broken and laid low : 
God help thee Church of Scotland, 

It seemeth thy death-blow ! 
They've robbed thee of thine altars 

They 've ta'en thine ancient name, 
But thou 'rt the Church of Scotland 

Till Scotland melts in flame. 



CHUECH HISTOEY OF SCOTLAND CONCLUDED. 

Causes of the Reformation, — Scottish Reforrnation differ- 
ent in principle from that of England, — John Knox 
and his measures, — Hie " TvlcharC' Bishops. — Andrew 
Melville. — Preshyterianism established. — Episcopacy set 
up under James I. — First re-estahlishment of Preshy- 
terianism, — Second estahlishment of a valid Episcopate. 
— Second re-estahlishment of Preshyterianism. — The 
Church contintoes to exist under its ejected Bishops. — 
Penal acts and their final repeal. — Bishop Seahury 
consecrated. — The Church increases, — Jubilee in West- 
minster Ahhey, 

Before conducting the reader again to Scottish 
ground, it appears proper to conclude our brief 
survey of the ecclesiastical history of that country. 
At the close of our second chapter we traced the 
decline of the early institutions of the Culdees. 
We are now to behold the events which prepared 



GHUSCH mSTOET Of SCOTLAKB COHGLUDED. 39 

the way for ilie Refonnation as well as those which 
succeeded that memorable epoch. 

The efforts of the early missionaries had met 
with all the success which could have been ex- 
pected, and the inhabitants of North Britain had 
been brought into the fold of the Church. The 
diocesan and parochial systems were regularly es- 
tablished, and for a considerable period the reli- 
gious houses occupied only a proportionate share 
in public estimation. But, in process of time, the 
monastic system gained in popularity and influence 
at the cost of the parochial and the diocesan. The 
great abbeys absorbed the revenues which should 
have supported an efficient ministry in the various 
parishes. From this and other causes, the Church 
of Scotland, now under thoroughly Romish influ- 
ence, departed in many respects from the ways of 
truth and righteousness, and the worst abuses were 
tolerated. The Church had grown immensely in 
point of wealth, and its dignities had become objects 
of worldly covetousness. The bishops, henceforth, 
were generally of noble origin, being in many cases 
the younger sons of powerful families. The cha- 
racter of these ecclesiastics was therefore derived 
less from the ancient saints than from the fighting 
earls and barons of their own period and country. 
They became guilty of every enormity, and when 
religious diflbrences began to arise, these lineal 
successors of the Apostles were forward in the 
work of persecuting and destroying their theolo- 
gical opponents. Thus the Church lost its hold 



40 CHURCH HISTORY OF 

upon the public mind, and the way was prepared 
for the tremendous catastrophe which ensued. 

For some time prior to the Reformation, a Convo- 
cation had existed in Scotland, not dissimilar in its- 
constitution to that of the English province of York. 
Bishops, abbots, priors and proctors, all sat in one 
House ; though, on account of the predominance of 
the monastic establishments, the number of abbots* 
was threefold that of the bishops. This convocation 
possessed, like those of England, the power of taxing 
the clergy, and while English synods granted their 
subsidies to enable our monarchs to invade the 
Scots, the Scottish convocation was perhaps equally 
patriotic in contributing the means of defence. 
But the Reformation came with a force which de- 
stroyed alike both root and branch; and institu* 
tions which have survived in England were totaUy 
swept away and demolished in the northern portion 
of our island. The idea of the national Church 
reforming itself, as in England, and shaking off its 
bondage to Rome, seems never to have occurred 
to. any Scottish prelate or statesman. Protestant- 
ism having been declared to be the religion of 
the country by the Scottish parliament of 1560, 
not only were the abuses of Romanism removed, 
but convocation, liturgy, sacramentals, episcopacy, 
and with it the apostoHc succession, were all given 
to the winds and borne away by popular fury, like 
chaff before the hurricane. 

A General Assembly now commenced in the room 
of the ancient Church-synods; the Crown seized 



SCOTLAND CONCLUDED. 41 

upon the property of the abbeys and priories ; and 
" superintendents" were appointed in the place of the 
bishops. These superintendents did not even pretend 
to a real episcopal character ; their office being re- 
garded as a merely temporary arrangement for esta- 
blishing the reformed worship. John Knox, formerly 
a Koman Catholic priest, and subsequently one of the 
" six preachers" of Canterbury imder Edward VI., 
was a leading and fearless spirit in these new proceed- 
ings. He was by no means a decided advocate of pres- 
byterian ordination as such ; but rather leaned to the 
theory which places the designation of pastors in the 
hands of individual congregations. He was favourable 
to the principle of a liturgy ; and a form of prayer, 
bearing his name, was, by his influence, brought 
into general use. The "Liturgy of John Knox" 
was framed according to the mode of worship used 
by the English Protestants who had taken refuge in 
Geneva from the Marian persecution. The Com- 
munion Office resembled, in some respects, that of 
the English Book of Common Prayer, and in many 
other particulars the work was constructed on prin- 
ciples differing greatly from those which, at the 
present time, are generally popular in Scotland. 

Thus a religious establishment of some sort was 
again set up, as a jury-mast is set up on a vessel 
despoiled of its rigging by a tempest. This new 
establishment succeeded to the ancient catholic 
name of " The Kirk," and its ministers received the 
teinds or tithes formerly paid to the clergy. But, 
in 1572, a convention was held at Leith, which 



42 CHUBCH HISTORY Of 

asserted the principle that spiritual peers were 
necessary to the legaUty of the acts of the Scottish, 
parliament. The importance of this consideration 
may be miderstood from the £Eict that many of the 
nobility were in possession of episcopal and conven- 
tual estates of great value. The idea of spiritual 
peers was extremely obnoxious to the mass of the 
people, who vividly recollected the wickedness and 
tyranny of their former bishops. But it was, never- 
theless, determined that not only bishops but abbots 
should be again appointed with power to sit and 
vote in the Scottish parliament. At the same time 
it was understood that these functionaries would not 
exercise regular spiritual jurisdiction, their main 
office being to dispose of the benefices and patrimony 
of the Church in their capacity of civil dignitaries. 
Thus robbery was legalized imder the forms of jus- 
tice, and property originally devoted to pious uses 
was conveyed to titled plunderers. The people now 
beheld a set of officers bearing the name of prelates 
under a reformed government, yet worse in charac- 
ter and more corrupt in morals than their unreformed 
and popish predecessors. They saw, in fact, the 
very thing which some English Erastians desire to 
see, namely, an episcopate originating solely in aet»of 
the temporal legislature. The situation of Scotland, 
in an ecclesiastical point of view, was at this time 
strange indeed. The old religion was subverted,, 
the abbeys were in ruins, and the nation was living 
under a presbyterian discipline assimilated to that 
of Switzerland. Presbyteries, Synods, and Eirk^ 



SOOTL&in) CONCLUDSB. 43 

sessions were in active operation, and over all were 
the nominal bishops disposing of the benefices, 
though without spiritual connexion with the people. 
The shrewd Scots, aptly thoi^h contemptuously, 
affixed to these ecclesiastical superiors the name of 
" Tulchan" bishops. A tulchan, in the vulgar tongue, 
is a calf-skin stuffed with straw, a contrivance 
sometimes used to induce a cow to suffer herself to 
be milked. To carry out the homely metaphor, the 
old cow of Scotland now yielded her milk abundantly. 
During the minority of James VI. the " bishops" of 
St. Andrew's and Dunkeld, and many others, dilapi- 
dated their benefices in a few years by conveying 
their lands to the nobles from whom they had de- 
rived their promotion. 

Under these circumstances, another distinguished 
Scottish reformer, Andrew Melville, returned from 
a long sojourn on the continent* This divine had 
imbibed his ideas of Church government, not 
from the more moderate Calvin but from the un- 
compromising Beza. In consequence of this early 
association he taught the positive unlawfrilness of 
episcopacy, and, in the face of Scripture and of 
antiquity, asserted the divine right of presbyters as 
the chief rulers of the Christian people. Having 
been made principal of the college at Glasgow, he 
became a member of the General Assembly, where 
he put forward one Durie to question the lawfulness 
of prelacy under any circumstances and in every 
shape. Melville and Durie being persons of good 
£eunilies and respectable character, possessed infi- 



44 CHURCH HISTOET OF 

nitely more influence with the nation than such 
wretched tools as the Tulchan bishops. Their argu- 
ments prevailed with the populace, and finally in 
1592 the Scottish parliament abolished its nominal 
episcopacy and established a purely presbyterian 
constitution. This was no real change, ecclesiasti- 
cally speaking, and no sound Churchman can con- 
sistently disapprove of the utter subversion of a 
miserable " prelacy" which rested on the mere will 
of the State. 

Presbyterianism continued for some years domi- 
nant in Scotland, and in most respects \mder the 
form which it bears at the present day. It is, how- 
ever, to be noticed that forms of prayer had not yet 
become objects of aversion to the people, and that 
the Liturgy of John Knox was commonly employed 
in public worship. But after the accession of 
James VI. to the throne of England, under the 
title of James I., another change was effected. 
That monarch conceived the design of establishing 
a uniform system of Church-government in both of 
his kingdoms. In England he had found the ancient 
episcopacy of the island, reformed indeed, but con- 
nected by regular consecration, through the laying 
on of hands, with the earliest missionaries of the 
Christian faith. The idea of perpetuating the Tul- 
chan bishops was too absurd to be entertained, and 
a Scottish episcopacy, resting upon an apostolic 
foundation, was the object of the king's desires. 
Accordingly, three presbyterian ministers, Spottis- 
woode, Hamilton, and Lamb, were brought from 



SCOTLAND CONCLUDED. 45 

Scotland in 1 610, and consecrated by English bishops 
in London, to the sees of St. Andrew's, GaUoway, 
and Brechin. The more regular method imdoubtedly 
would have been, first, their ordination as deacons, 
secondly, their ordination as priests, and lastly, their 
consecration as bishops. But it was considered that 
the greater office included the less, and it was 
deemed inexpedient to agitate the Scottish people 
by what would have been regarded as an insulting 
denial of any validity in presbyterian orders. And 
now commenced another strange condition of eccle- 
siastical affairs. The arrangement of Presbyteries, 
Synods, Kirk-sessions, and General Assemblies, con- 
tinued as before, together with the Liturgy of John 
Knox. Ordinations, however, were restricted to 
the bishops, who ruled the Kirk in a manner more 
accommodated to the presbyterian institutions of 
Scotland than to the English ideas of diocesan 
government. The prelates now introduced, though 
possessed of a valid apostolical commission, were 
generally inferior persons as to character and talent. 
Consequently they were unable to rescue episcopacy 
from the contempt and hatred brought upon it by 
their Popish and Tulchan predecessors. The fol- 
lowers of Andrew Melville, who refused to submit 
to prelacy, were dispossessed of their benefices, 
and King James at length succeeded in obtaining 
a general, though somewhat unwilling, compliance 
with his ecclesiastical arrangements. 

Tn the reign of his successor, Charles T., the Scot- 
tish bishops prepared for their Church a Liturgy and 



46 CHUKCH HISTOKT Of 

Canons, being unwilling to adopt those of England 
from a regard to Scottish feelings of independence. 
This compilation, however, did not greatly vary 
from the English model, and was afterwards re- 
yised by Archbishop Laud and Bishops Juxon and 
Wren. The king, unacquainted as he was with 
the character of the Scottish people, attempted to 
.force these formularies upon an unwilling nation, 
and at the same time to effect a resumption of the 
ecclesiastical property. Scotland was at once in a 
flame, and the famous General Assembly of 1638 
formally excommunicated the bishops, after ac- 
cusing them of high crimes and misdemeanors. 
The royal commissioner in vain attempted to pre- 
yent the discussion, in this Assembly, of topics 
not previously allowed by the sovereign. Majesty 
itself was forced to yield, a real and lawM episco- 
pacy was overthrown, and the presbyterian govern- 
ment and discipline were re-established with new 
v^our and increased popularity. 

After the defeat and murder of the king, which 
shortly ensued, the Kirk fell into the hands of the 
English puritans, by whom it was engaged in the 
Westminster Assembly and its Confession. The 
Scottish presbyterians now abolished their old 
standards of Mth, suppressed the liturgy of John 
Knox, and adopted in their stead the fsiith and 
worship of the English people of the Common- 
wealth. This new axrangement they still consider 
themselves bound to maintain. 

The Restoration in 1661 brought back a true 



SCOTLANB OONCLTIBSD. 47 

episcopacy and the Liturgy into England, but pres* 
byterian principles continued to retain their hold 
upon a great proportion of the people of Scotland. 
Episcopacy, however, was again established in that 
country under somewhat peculiar circumstances. The 
only bishop in the regular succession now remaining 
in Scotland was Sydeserf, bishop of Galloway. But 
three bishops at least are required to carry for- 
ward the succession conformably with the ancient 
canons. Accordingly, four presbyterian ministers, 
Leighton, Hamilton, Fairfoul, and Sharpe, were 
nominated to the episcopate and were brought to 
London, in 1661, for consecration. The prevail- 
ing views on Church matters were at this time 
more strict than in the days of James I., and the 
candidates, after being ordained deacons and priests 
by the bishop of London, were regularly invested 
with the episcopal dignity in Westminster abbey 
on the 15th of December. Leighton, the holy 
latitudinarian, became bishop of Dunblane. Sharpe, 
greatly his inferior, was made archbishop of Glas- 
gow, and finally died by the hands of murderous 
fanatics. These prelates, with Hamilton and Fair- 
foul, conveyed the succession to others, and the 
sees of Scotland were once more replenished. 

This second establishment of a real episcopacy 
was supported by the authorities of the State 
with a rigour as impolitic as it was unjustifiable. 
Yet there was no attempt to introduce the Liturgy 
against the express wishes of the nation. From 



48 CHUKCH HISTORY OF 

the Restoration to the Revolution there was scarcely 
an outward distinction between the episcopalians 
and the presbyterians in faith, worship, or doctrine. 
In some districts the system of episcopacy proved 
highly acceptable, especially in the north of Scot- 
land and in the neighbourhood of Aberdeen. There 
were also many places in which the English Liturgy 
was used, with the entire approbation of the people. 
But, as a general rule, the only practices in which 
the episcopalians ostensibly differed from the pres- 
byterians were the use of the Lord's Prayer and the 
Doxology, and the public reading of the Holy Scrip- 
tures. Strange to say, these practices were regarded 
by a great portion of the people as rags of the 
Babylonish garment. In other respects the exter- 
nals of the established worship varied exceedingly 
from those of the Church in England. The cathe- 
drals had been destroyed, there were no organs, no 
altars, no surplices, no sign of the Cross, no re- 
sponses. The Thirty-nine Articles were seldom 
mentioned, and the Westminster Confession was 
loosely considered as a doctrinal standard common 
to both parties. The dioceses were divided into 
presbyteries, every parish had its Kirk-session, 
and the elders were fully as numerous as they 
are at present. A large number of the Scottish 
ministers conformed to this modification of the 
system, but three hundred of them, refusing to 
do so, were dispossessed of their benefices and 
ejected. 

It may well be supposed that the incomes of 



SCOTLAND CONCLUDED. 49 

the bishops, after repeated dilapidations, were now 
extremely scanty. Accordingly we find that the 
bishopric of Edinburgh, not fer from this period, 
produced but ninety-three pounds per annum, Bre- 
chin seventy- six, and Dunblane forty-three. The 
bulk of the revenues had gone to enrich the nobility 
and other laymen who had shared in the plunder of 
the Reformation. But although poor, the Scottish 
bishops from 1661 to 1690 were, on the whole, 
upright and respectable persons, and were gradu- 
ally redeeming episcopacy from the ignominy into 
which it had fallen, through unfortunate appoint- 
ments and still more unfortunate protection. Dur- 
ing the 28 years just mentioned, Scotland was 
divided into the two archiepiscopal provinces of 
St. Andrew's and Glasgow. Jn the former were 
comprised the bishoprics of Edinburgh, Aberdeen, 
Brechin, Caithness, Dunkeld, Dunblane, Moray, 
Orkney, and Ross. In the latter were those of 
Galloway, Argyll, and the Isles. The clergy in 
all these dioceses together amounted to about nine 
hundred. 

Yet though the framework was thus set up, the 
building itself was in a great degree unsubstantial. 
The ultimate strength of the Church is in men's 
hearts, not in acts of parliament and regiments of 
dragoons. This great truth was brought home 
forcibly to the minds of episcopalians, when, by a 
change of politics, such as often comes upon the 
kingdoms of this world, the whole weight of the 
civil power, which had previously supported them, 



50 CHUKCH HISTORY OP 

was suddenly employed to their injury and almost 
to their destruction. 

The Revolution of 1688 took place, and a Dutch 
presbyterian was called to the thrones of England 
and Scotland. It was expected in Scotland that 
the English bishops, as a body, would remain firm 
in their allegiance to James II., and the Scottish 
prelates magnanimously determined to adopt this 
decided and perilous course. Their sincerity was 
soon put to a practical test. James, for his own 
defence, withdrew the royal troops from Scotland, 
and the episcopal clergy, being left unprotected, 
were attacked by mobs, and, in many cases, bar- 
barously treated. Still, however, a great body of 
the nobility and gentry supported the cause of the 
Stuarts, and with it the cause of episcopacy. It 
was also well known that many of those who ap- 
peared most active in the Revolution did not con- 
template the final and utter exclusion of the royal 
family. 

But William III. having been declared king, only 
seven or eight of the English bishops fidfilled the 
expectations entertained of them in Scotland. The 
great body of the right reverend occupants of the 
bench took part with the Revolution, and their 
brethren in the north felt themselves deserted. The 
new king promised them his patronage, if they 
would give him their support ; but they preferred 
adhering to their old allegiance and refused to ac- 
knowledge one whom they deemed an usurper. In 
consequence of this determination, the Scottish Par- 



SCOTLAND CONCLUDED. 51 

liament passed an Act for abolishing prelacy, on the 
19th of July 1689 ; and in the year 1691 the " Act 
of Settlement " restored presbyterianism, ** as being 
most agreeable to the inclinations of the people." 
All incumbents who were willing to serve under the 
new regimen were allowed to retain their benefices, 
and, as no liturgy was in use, their private opinions 
as to episcopacy were probably little noticed. Yet 
several hundreds of parish ministers, refusing to take 
the new oath of allegiance, and to pray publicly for 
William and Mary, were dispossessed of their livings. 
The ejected bishops patiently retired, like their bre- 
thren the non-juring prelates of England, and during 
the remainder of their lives were held in much re- 
spect and veneration. Some of them, although their 
revenues had been confiscated, continued to officiate 
in their respective dioceses, a course adopted also 
by the holy and conscientious Ken, the deprived 
bishop of Bath and Wells. Although presbyterianism 
was now the system patronized by law, considerable 
numbers of the people adhered to episcopacy. In the 
sight of God, the ecclesiastical authority of the bishops 
was the same as when supported by the State ; and 
their spiritual commission, derived as it had been 
from true bishops in England, was altogether unim- 
paired. The Church was indeed stripped of her 
worldly glory, and externally reduced to the level of 
a dissenting sect. Yet in her depressed and perse- 
cuted condition, she was gradually learning to take 
her ground on deeper principles than the uncertain 
favour of parliaments and kings. 



52 CHURCH HISTORY OF 

The accession of the " good Queen Anne" brought 
no relief to the suffering Church in Scotland. A new 
Act was passed by the Scottish Parliament embody- 
ing new declarations against prelacy. Immediately 
after the legislative union of England and Scotland 
in 1706, the Scottish bishops and clergy adopted 
the English liturgy, and appeared to be gaining in 
prosperity and influence. But political circumstances 
soon cast a shade over their brightening prospects. 
Together with their laity they espoused the cause 
of the " Pretender," and even consulted him in the 
election of new bishops. Many of them avowed 
thoroughly Erastian principles, and alleged that the 
consent of a king was necessary to the appointment 
of a territorial bishop. Charles II., after a long exile, 
had been restored to his throne ; and in like man- 
ner the existing representative of the banished 
Stuarts might regain the dominion of his ancestors, 
and appear as the supreme earthly head of the 
Scottish Church. Acting too openly upon these 
convictions, the episcopalians of Scotland fell under 
the suspicion of the government, and in May 1716 
George I. ordered their chou'ches to be closed. 
This order, however, was not strictly enforced, and 
the ministrations of religion were generally allowed 
to proceed without interruption. The apostolic 
succession was carried on by regular consecration, 
sometimes with the assistance of the deprived non- 
juring bishops of the English Church, but without 
the slightest break in the transmission of a valid 
episcopate. The bishops did not think it expedient 



SCOTLAND CONCLUDED. 63 

to retain the original titles of the Scottish sees : but 
acted as an episcopal college, mainly with the view 
of preserving until better times the sacred deposit 
entrusted to their charge. 

In 1712 the presbyterian General Assembly had 
set forth an Act directed against the use of the 
liturgy in episcopalian places of worship. This 
Act*, which breathed the worst spirit of the Vatican, 
impressed the British Parliament with a conviction 
that the law, as expounded by the Assembly, would 
lead to the most oppressive intolerance and persecu- 
tion. In the same year, therefore, an Act was passed 
by the Imperial .Legislature "to prevent the dis- 
turbing of those of the episcopal communion in 
Scotland in the exercise of their religious wor- 
ship, and in the use of the liturgy of the Church 
of England." At this time seven bishops remained 
in Scotland; but in 1718 this number had been 
reduced by death to three^ the lowest nimiber capa- 
ble of continuing the succession conformably with 
the canons. These were Bishops Rose, FuUarton, 
and Falconer, who in the same year consecrated 
two others, Millar and Irvine. 

After the death of the venerable Bishop Eose 
in 1720, the poor and afflicted Church was torn 
by internal controversies respecting diocesan juris- 
diction and various "usages" in divine service 
favoured by the non-jurors in England. These 
usages were such as the mixing of water with 
wine in the Eucharist, prayers for the faithfiil de- 

• See Palin's Historj of the Church of England. 



64 CHURCH HISTORY OP 

parted, and the invocation and oblation in the 
Communion OflGice. Peace was restored by a con- 
cordat between the parties in 1732, after which 
dioceses were re-established under the name of 
districts, and a primus was chosen for convoking 
and presiding over the assemblies of the Church. 
It is worthy of notice that while the episcopalians 
were thus consolidating their forces, the Presby- 
terian Establishment was rent by divisions and 
weakened by a large secession. 

Prosperity had again dawned upon the dis-esta- 
blished Church, when the events of 1745 nearly pros- 
trated it in the dust. The Pretender, having landed 
in Scotland, was joined by many of the episcopalian 
clergy and laity, who now imagined that their long- 
cherished hopes were about to be accomplished. 
But the battle of Culloden annihilated their ex- 
pectations and reduced them almost to despair. 
The most summary laws were now enacted against 
them, with a view to their utter extermination. 
Their places of worship were closed, and all means 
were adopted to prevent their assembling in any 
considerable number. Severe disabilities were in- 
flicted on all who should attend "episcopalian meet- 
ing-houses," and the members of the Church were 
placed at the mercy of common informers. A few 
congregations were tolerated upon their placing 
themselves under the care of English or Irish 
clergymen who were willing to ignore the juris- 
diction of the Scottish bishops, and to pray publicly 
for the House of Hanover. The English prelates 



SCOTLAND. CONCLUDED. 65 

too often suffered their political views to override 
their ecclesiastical principles, and encouraged these 
irregular congregations by performing Confirmation 
and Ordination in behalf of their members and 
ministers. While the well-endowed hierarchy of 
Great Britain were thus acting an imkind and 
schismatical part towards their brethren, the Scot- 
tish episcopal clergy who adhered to their convic- 
tions were vigilantly watched and reduced to the 
most cruel straits. Divine Service and the Holy 
Sacraments were celebrated in the open air, in 
solitary places amid rocks, mountains, and forests. 
Yet there was a compensation even in these cir- 
cumstances of extremity, for it is recorded that the 
delight and edification of the people who crowded 
together on such occasions were absolutely incre- 
dible. 

At the end of the reign of George II. the severity 
of the government was greatly relaxed, and the law 
was boldly evaded by the episcopal clergy and by 
their congregations. After the accession of George 
III. an auspicious era commenced, and in November 
1784, Dr. Seabury, the first American bishop, was 
consecrated at Aberdeen by the bishops of Aberdeen, 
Ross, and Moray. Wherever the flourishing American 
Church shall hereafter extend herself throughout 
the globe, this act of the depressed and poverty- 
stricken Church in Scotland will be mentioned to 
her honour. 

In a few years after this great event, viz. in the 
year 1788, the last Pretender to the British throne 



56 CHURCH HISTORY OP 

died at Rome. A century had elapsed since the 
Revolution, and all political diflferences being now 
removed, the bishops and clergy offered their allegi- 
ance to George III. as their lawful sovereign, and 
publicly prayed for the welfare of the king and 
royal family. The congregations had, at this time, 
been reduced to less than fifty in number; but a 
gradual increase now commenced under which that 
amount has been nearly trebled. In 1792 the 
penal statutes against this long-suffering Church 
were repealed; but at the same time it was un- 
happily provided that ordination by a Scottish bishop 
should not empower any clergyman to minister to 
the cure of souls in England. None of the penal 
acts, from 1688 downwards, had affected the relation 
between the Scottish episcopal Church, and the 
Church in the South. But this Act of 1792, though 
passed with the object of giving relief, disturbed 
that relation, and practically tended to dissever two 
branches of the Church originally identical. 

Early in the present century the Scottish bishops 
re-assumed, as far as the law would permit, those 
diocesan titles which had been merged in the CoUege 
of bishops. The synodical constitution of the Church 
came also into revived operation under new and 
promising circumstances. Synods of the seven bi- 
shops are now held annually, under the presidency 
of their Primus, at present the bishop of Aberdeen. 
The several dioceses also hold their annual sjmods, 
in which the clergy assemble under their respective 
prelates, those only who have been "instituted" 



8COTLA17D COKCLUDED. 57 

possessing a right to TOte. Their Convocation, pro- 
perly speaking, is the " General Synod " convoked 
occasionally by the bishops, and possessing powers 
to alter, amend, and abrc^te the Canons, or to 
enact new ones in conformity with the constitution 
of the Church. This synod consists of the bishops, 
the deaiis of dioceses, and one clerical delegate 
elected by each diocesan synod. 

In 1815, and subsequently, most of the (so-called) 
English congregations in Scotland placed them- 
selves under the jurisdiction of the Scottish bishops, 
and, at the present time, only five or six remain in 
an isolated condition. The English bishops very 
properly refuse any connexion with the latter, as 
schismatical bodies, and desire them to attach them- 
selves to their respective territorial diocesans. In 
1838 a *' Church Society" was formed, with the ob- 
ject of supplying the wants of the poorer clergy, and 
of forming new congregations wherever openings 
might appear. The income of this society as yet 
scarcely exceeds £300Q, a sum altogether inadequate 
to the increasing demand. 

In 1840 an Act of Parliament was passed with 
the laudable view of restoring the visible connexion 
between the Church of England and the episcopal 
Church in Scotland. By its provisions the clergy 
of the latter are placed on the same footing in 
England and Ireland as those of the United States 
of America, being allowed to officiate for two Sun- 
days successively, by special license from a bishop. 
Yet owing to the awkward wording of this Act, 



58 CHURCH HISTORY OP 

some extraordinaiy restrictions have come into un- 
expected operation. The Irish Church, which for- 
merly was open to the Scottish episcopal clei^, is 
now practically shut against them. At the same 
time, clergymen ordained in the United States, 
though admitted to officiate in England and Ireland 
by special license, are wholly cut off from Scot- 
land, from the Colonies, and from all other parts of 
the British dominions by the new infliction of a 
penalty of fifty pounds. Such was parliamentary 
legislation for the Church at so recent a date as 
1840. 

In 1841 the noble foundation of Trinity College at 
Glenalmond was projected. That institution is now 
proceeding under favourable circumstances, although, 
like every other institution of Scottish episcopacy, 
depending entirely upon the voluntary support of 
Churchmen. 

In the year 1852, on the occasion of the third 
Jubilee of the Society for Propagating the Gospel, a 
spectacle was seen in Westminster Abbey which 
could not have been easily anticipated by the down- 
trodden Scottish episcopate of the last century. 
Scottish, American, Colonial, and English bishops 
entered that glorious building in a long procession, 
distinguished in no respect but by the order of their 
several consecrations. In the eloquent sermon de- 
livered by the Bishop of Oxford an earnest wish 
was expressed for the removal of those legal and 
external hindrances which obstruct the effectual 
unity of the different branches of our Reformed 



SCOTLAHD CX>irCI.UDZD. 



59 



Church. In the delightful and refreshing act of 
communion which followed, there was an earnest of 
the time when the Scottish Church, the Church of 
England, and the Churches of America and the 
Colonies, shall, in one united phalanx, fight the 
great battles of Messiah against every form of ini> 
quity and irreligion. 





CHAPTER V. 



Then faint not Church of Scotland ! 

Thy beauty and thy worth 
Shall make a new uprising. 

In fair and sightly Perth ; 
When shines in wild Olenalmond, 

The dew of thy new day. 
Again thy noon of glory 

Shall glitter o'er the Tay. 



TRINITY COLLEGE. 



Valite of Christian Education. — Second Tour in Scot- 
land. — Trinity College described. — Letters from former 
Students. — The WardevCs Sermon at the re-opening of 
the College. 

Christian Education is unquestionably one of 
the most important subjects which can engage the 
attention of individuals or of States. There is a 
divine law, already quoted in these pages in a dif- 
ferent connexion, which explicitly commands that 
all nations shall be instructed to " observe and do 
all things whatsoever" Christ has commanded. The 
execution of this law has been committed to Apo- 
stles, and through them to persons acting under 
their commission. The Christian education, alike 
of old and young, is therefore to be sought in the 
Catholic and Apostolic Church. 

But as the things which Christ commanded are 



TBINITT COLLEGE. 61 

precisely those things which most intimately con- 
cern the welfiire of man, it is evident that they 
must constitute the very basis of a sound education. 
All other subjects of instruction will necessarily be 
placed in due subordination to these principles, and 
win be viewed chiefly in reference to their tendency 
to develope and strengthen the Christian character. 
As Baptism was associated with discipleship by the 
Author of our Faith, the proper understanding of 
the baptismal covenant will be a primary object in 
the instruction of the young disciple. He will be 
taught to view the Sacrament of his Regeneration, 
not as a matter of merely formal definitions, but as 
involving a relation to his God and Redeemer which 
he is boimd by the highest possible considerations 
to realize. He will be taught, not only that he 
should in general "renounce the world, the flesh, 
and the devil;*' but that there are certain special 
dangers, connected with the spirit of this present 
age, against which he must constantly be on his 
guard. Confirmation will be made to appear to 
him, not only as an act by which the ambassador of 
Christ admits him to a more intimate relation with 
the Church, but as the expression, on his own part, 
of a distinct intention, after counting the cost, of 
fulfilling his duty as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 
If the young Christian's ecclesiastical superiors 
should regard him as being "called" to the holy 
ministry, and should give him their sanction to un- 
dertake peculiarly clerical studies, a similar system 
will be consistently carried forward. He will be 



62 TRINITY COLLEGE. 

taught that the priesthood involves a willingness to 
endure hardship and suffering, and that competency 
and comfort are to be considered merely as possible 
accidents of that holy state of life. He wiU be made 
to feel the wisdom of keeping himself as independent 
as possible of earthly ties or self-indulgent habits, 
so that at any time he may be ready, as an angel, 
to execute his Lord's will, and to proceed on any 
mission to which he may be delegated. He will 
learn that the welfare of Christ's Church and the 
subjugation of the world to Christ's yoke, are, next 
to the salvation of his own soul, the most important 
objects which can engage his attention. Hence he 
will regard the Apostolic Succession not as a matter 
of mere controversy between opposite parties, but 
as a living principle involving the fulfilment of 
apostolic engagements and the performance of apo- 
stolic duties. To whatever grade of the Christian 
ministry he may be admitted, he will feel himself 
bound by the most sacred obligations to carry for- 
ward in the present century the work which, in past 
ages, has engaged the entire faculties of such men 
as St. Paul, St. Cuthbert, and St. Columba. 

Most of our schools profess to teach Christianity, 
but in too many instances such professions are 
hollow and illusive. Some disappoint the expec- 
tations of those who rely upon them, simply because 
the teachers themselves need to be taught the first 
rudiments of Catholic Truth. Others again, in the 
course of ages, have allowed the growth of worldly 
traditions and unholy habits, which in a great mea* 



TRINITY COLLEGE. 63 

sure have stifled the good principles of their original 
constitution. But if a school or college can be found 
in which the system of the true Church is, on the 
whole, honestly and faithfully carried into operation, 
it appears to be the plain duty of parents to place 
their children in such institutions, even though con- 
tinents or oceans should, for a time, intervene be- 
tween themselves and their cherished offspring. 

Such, at least, was my own idea, when, in the 
summer of 1852, I left the south of England with 
my son, and proceeded towards the distant county 
of Perth. Less than seventeen hours of travelling, 
and the expenditure of a very few pounds, conveyed 
us over the four hundred and fifty-two miles of rail- 
way between London and our destination, and on 
the second day of September I committed my youthM 
charge to the care of the Reverend Charles Words- 
worth, Warden of Trinity College, GlenaLnond, and 
now Bishop of the Diocese. 

We arrived late in the afternoon of the first day 
of the term, and a large proportion of the youths 
connected with the institution had preceded us by a 
few hours. The bell was ringing for evening prayers, 
and we at once proceeded to the Chapel, a noble 
edifice, erected at the cost of £8000, the munificent 
donation of Mr. Wordsworth himself. The length of 
it is 136 feet, the breadth 52, and the height of the 
roof 70. The side windows (20 feet by 8) are filled 
with stamped and painted glass by Powell. The 
two fine windows at the eastern and western ends 
are 33 feet in height by 19 in width, and the former, 



64 TRINIir COLLEGE. 

since my visit, has been supplied with stained glass, 
which is doubtless a great improvement in point of 
general eflTect The style of architecture is the De- 
corated, or Middle Pointed, and most of the leading 
features of the building are similar to those of the 
chapel of Merton college, Oxford. The roof is open 
and stained to a dark oak colour, excepting the por- 
tion immediately over the sacrartum, which is painted 
deep blue with gold stars. A screen 12 feet high, 
carved in pannel-work, separates the ante-chapel 
from the chapel proper. Another screen of open 
oak, 15 feet eastward of the first, encloses the seats 
appropriated to the family of the Warden, to visi- 
tors, and to the servants of the College. The re- 
cess for the organ opens into this space, and stands 
nearly under the tower, over which a spire, 175 feet 
high, is to be raised hereafter. Eoimd the choir 
nm plain and massive stalls, returning along the 
screen as in English Cathedrals, the Warden and 
Sub- Warden occupying the usual positions of the 
Dean and Sub-Dean. Three rows of seats with 
carved ends run below the stalls on each side for 
the boys, the arrangement being that of English 
collegiate chapels. The sacrartum is raised four 
steps above the rest of the chapel ; the altar rises 
one step above this, and a credence-table stands on 
the north side. In the central aisle are the font, 
the faldstool for saying the litany, and the lectern. 
The pulpit is a low one of carved oak, and is placed 
on the north side of the step of the sacrartum. 
The boys entered in their gowns, and took their 



TRINITY college; C5 

places. The Warden, the Sub-Warden, and the seve- 
ral masters proceeded to their respective posts, and 
the Warden commenced the evening service. All 
was conducted as in the best English Cathedrals, the 
sweet voices of the boys joining in the choral parts 
with admirable effect. Although this was the first 
office celebrated after the long summer vacation, all 
seemed to return to their share in divine worship 
with readiness and alacrity. I saw clearly the vast 
advantage of choral service in interesting the minds 
of the young. Without the slightest semblance of 
irreverence, the appearance of the youthful congre- 
gation was alike earnest and unconstrained. 

I was engaged during the two following days in 
inspecting the College. The building itself is of 
stone, and thoroughly ecclesiastical in its appear- 
ance and general arrangements. It encloses a quad- 
rangle 190 feet square, surrounded on two sides by 
a cloister, and entered by a gateway under a battle- 
mented tower at the west. The Warden's residence 
is on the right of the gateway, at the south-western 
angle of the College, while the Sub- Warden occupies 
the north-western angle on the left. The northern 
side of the College overlooks the Glen, at the bottom 
of which the Almond is seen and heard as it dashes 
on towards the Tay. In this part of the building 
are the smaller school-rooms, the dining-hall, the 
kitchen, and a range of apartments for the boys and 
for several of the masters. The divinity students 
are placed in the western side near the great tower. 
The library occupies a room in the tower on the 
r 



66 TRINITY COLLEGE. 

same side. The eastern part of the quadrangle 
is as yet incomplete ; but the plan will be filled up 
as soon as the state of the endowment will justify 
the expenditure. Here it is intended to erect the 
great school-room, eighty feet in length and thirty- 
six in breadth, with an upper story for servants. 
The chapel is placed outside the south-eastern angle. 
The south side, when complete, will consist prin- 
cipally of a cloister connecting the chapel with the 
residence of the Warden. 

The internal fittings and arrangements of the 
College are upon a most liberal and complete scale. 
No expense has been spared to render it such a 
habitation as parents in the nineteenth century 
would desire for their children. Each of the di- 
vinity students has an apartment to himself. Many 
of the boys have separate sleeping rooms, and the 
remainder sleep in a dormitory, but in separate 
" stalls." These are divided fi-om each other by a 
high wooden partition, and are so constructed as to 
be brought in an instant imder the eye of the mas- 
ter in charge. Every boy is provided with a look- 
ing-glass, framed in carved oak, and an ample chest 
of drawers, garnished with bronze plates and han- 
dles. In the school-room each boy has a " study" 
to himself, divided firom the others by a high parti- 
tion as in the sleeping " stalls," while the open side 
places eveiy boy imder the master's eye. Hot air 
is conveyed to every part of the building in winter, 
and there are special contrivances for ample and 
firee ventilation. The danger of fire is met by pro- 



TRINITY COLLEGE. 67 

visions for flooding in an instant every floor of the 
building with water. I was by no means surprised 
to learn that forty-two thousand pounds had been 
already absorbed in carrying out the ideas of the 
projectors of the College. Of this sum £36,000 
were raised by subscriptions, and the remainder was 
advanced on loan. The architect, Mr. Henderson, 
is greatly to be commended for the singular beauty 
of the design. 

The teachers, and indeed nearly all persons in 
the employ of the institution, have been brought 
from England, with the view of guarding against 
local peculiarities of dialect. This obviates a diffi- 
culty which, in many cases, has induced persons 
living in Scotland to send their children to English 
schools. Glenalmond will now supply advantages 
similar to those of Eton, Winchester, or Harrow, at 
a much less expense and with the additional recom- 
mendation of standing in the very centre of Scot- 
land. The delightftd scenery of the place and of its 
vicinity, together with its pure and bracing climate, 
are valuable constituents of the education here im- 
parted. These considerations evidentlypossessweight 
with many who reside at a distance, since more than 
one third of the present number of pupils are natives 
of England, Ireland, and the Colonies. 

Among other documents in the library, I was 
shewn the valuable papers connected with the con- 
secration of Bishop Seabury and the concordat be- 
tween the Churches of Scotland and America. I 
cannot but predict that many a pilgrim from the 



68 TRINITY COLLEGE. 

remote "West will hereafter visit Glenalmond with 
the object of beholding with his own eyes these 
precious memorials of the " day of small things." 

The College is governed by a council of twenty 
persons, including the seven Scottish bishops, the 
dean of Edinburgh, the duke of Buccleuch, the 
Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, and other distinguished 
lay and clerical members of the Scottish episcopal 
Church. Including the Warden, the number of 
teachers in 1852 was eight; the senior or theologi- 
cal department was fuU, containing thirteen students, 
and the number of boys was about sixty-three. The 
divinity students are maintained at the small charge 
•of £30 per annum, and are assisted by bursaries, 
varying in value from £10 to £25. The members 
of the junior department paid £70 a year each, with 
the exception of a few, principally clergymen's sons, 
who had received exhibitions to the amount of £30 
per annum. There were also at the same time four 
servitors, who were instructed in return for their 
actual services. 

After collecting the above information and at- 
tending evening service in the chapel, I proceeded 
at nine p.m. to the hall, where the Warden read 
prayers with the servants of the institution, about 
twenty in number. On the following day I enjoyed 
the pleasure of a walk with the Warden, through 
shady and winding paths and along steep and rocky 
eminences bordering on the Glen. Seats and sum- 
mer-houses had been erected in points commanding 
romantic views of the College, of the Almond, and 



TRINITY COLLEGE. 69 

of the neighbouring branch of the Grampian hills. 
In the distance I saw from an elevation the situations 
of Bimam Wood, and Dimsinane, commemorated 
in the sublime tragedy of Macbeth. At a lower 
point in our walk, far below the level of the College, 
a spring of clear cold water was gushing from the 
rock. A drinking cup was at hand, fastened by 
a chain, and affording the means of a refreshing 
draught during the hot weather from which even 
the county of Perth is not exempt. From hence, 
in one direction, a rude but picturesque suspension- 
bridge crossed the rushing Almond, while to the 
south a serpentine pathway ascended the steep hill 
by an easy slope in the direction of the College. 

It is to be regretted that the landed property of 
the institution is but small, comprising no more 
than twenty acres. I recollected the noble domains 
of Kenyon college in Ohio, which in the early days 
of the presidency of Bishop Chase comprehended not 
less than 8000 acres of the most productive soil. 
I remembered also the endowment of 3000 acres so 
wisely attached by the same fieu'-seeing prelate to 
his more recent foundation at Jubilee. I could not 
but wish that some of the powerful dukes of Scot- 
land might be led to consider the interests of Glen- 
almond, and to bestow a portion of their ample 
domains upon an establishment so well calculated 
to reflect honour upon Scotland and upon the 
Church. 

Returning to the College, the Warden introduced 
me to his well-furnished study, and was kind 



70 TRINITT COLLEGE. 

enough to shew me some letters received by him 
from former students at Glenahnond now actively 
engaged in the work of the ministry. One spoke 
of "that short but blessed time when [he] was 
privileged to be a student." "Though separated 
in body (he proceeded) yet in spirit I am with the 
College, and realize its holy system day after day." 
Another said, " I hope, with God's blessing, that 
Trinity College principles, humbly but earnestly 
carried out by a Trinity College man (however im- 
worthy) may make this place worthy of you and 
worthy of the Church. Excuse my making this 
letter so long ; but there is something so very at- 
tractive in writing to the College, which contains 
all that I love best, and to which I owe all my best 
knowledge, that my pen has carried me impercep- 
tibly onwards." 

On Simday I attended morning prayers at nine 
o'clock. The boys now appeared in their clean 
white siirplices, and as they entered two and two 
the sight was truly beautiful and affecting. One of 
the masters acted as organist, and the chanting was 
far superior to what is usually heard under that 
designation. 

At the middle of the day all again assembled for 
the Litany and Communion Office. The Warden 
also preached a sermon appropriate to the occasion 
of the re-assembling of the pupils. The text was 
from the seventy-third Psalm, 24th and 25th verses, 
" Whom have I in heaven but Thee ? and there is 
none upon earth that I desire beside Thee. My 



TKINITT COLLEGE. 71 

flesh and my heart faileth ; but God is the strength 
of my heart, and my portion for ever." 

The preacher began by alluding to the temptation 
to doubt God's providence, a temptation often felt 
by the faithful under the Jewish, as well as the 
Christian covenant. But notwithstanding all ap- 
pearances to the contrary, God is loving to Israel. 
He may seem loving to the ungodly, but He is not 
really so. The true believer, on the other hand, 
may confidently say, "Thou shalt guide me with 
Thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory." 
"My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the 
strength of my heart, and my portion for ever." 

"The temptation which I have described," the 
Warden proceeded, " is not imlike that which you 
my yoimg friends are called to undergo. In re- 
turning here, or in coming to this place for the 
first time, you become subject not only to discipline 
as school boys, but to a course of living as Christians 
more careful and exact than is commonly observed 
elsewhere. Perhaps you have friends at other 
schools, who seem gay and happy, ftdl of enjoyment, 
and fer from being subject to such restraints. You 
are perhaps tempted to envy them their greater 
freedom, to covet their exposure to temptations from 
which you, in a measure, are exempt. But, at all 
events, you are beginning to perceive that a great 
contrast is presented to your view, that the many 
who are living in the world joyously are at no such 
pains to approve their ways to God. The bell, which, 



72 TBINITT COLLEGE. 

morning and evening, summons us to prayer and 
praise, sounds not for them. 

"Yes, what you have observed is too true. A 
great struggle is going on between God's people 
and Satan, between the world and the Church. And 
you, by God's mercy, are placed here upon the 
Church's side. For the present, the self-denial seems 
to be with us, the enjoyments with the enemy. 
These things seem to be so. But let not this dis- 
turb you. Think not that you are cleansing your 
hearts in vain, when you are kept from the ways 
of the imgodly. * O remember. Truly God is loving 
unto Israel, even unto them that are of a clean 
heart.' Come here into God's sanctuary and learn 
how suddenly they who love not God ' consume, 
perish, and come to a fearful end.' Think not that 
the disciple should be above his master. And think 
how well you may hope *Thou shalt guide me 
with Thy coimsel, and after that receive me with 
glory.' 

" But there is another trial besides. In coming 
here you leave your own homes, you no longer see 
the fond familiar feces of relatives; the eye, the 
voice, the hand of a parent is no longer present to 
cheer, to guide, and to help you. But there is still 
one relation, one father, one friend that sticketh 
closer than a brother. Whatever may be your dif- 
ficulties, if you will but refer them to Him, you will 
find Him all-sufficient to succour you. This again 
is the remedy of the Psalmist. ' My flesh and my 



TEINITr COLLEGE. 73 

heart feileth ; but God is the strength of my heart, 
and my portion for ever.' 

*' It has sometimes been objected that institutions 
like this weaken domestic ties, and make the child 
a stranger in his father's house. But we may also 
regard a school education, separating the yoimg as 
it does for long periods from home, as a divine pro- 
vision by which they learn betimes what the fowls 
of the air do learn when severed from their parent's 
nest. And if the sparrow hath found her an house, 
and the swallow a nest, even Thy altars, O Lord of 
Hosts, will not you endeavour to do the same ? "Will 
not you have a desire and longing to enter into the 
courts of the Lord, to enter where, when your flesh 
and your heart faileth, you may rejoice in the living 
God, who shall be the strength of your heart and 
your portion for ever ? 

" No. Here you will not forget your parents, but 
will be taught of God, I trust, to remember and to 
love them more. You will find another and a better 
home without losing what you had before. Here 
you may learn the problem of your own end, to be 
received into glory — ^the end of those who love not 
God, namely to consume and perish. Let it increase 
your gratitude to your parents, that they are content 
to forego for a season the pleasure of your presence, 
for your own good. Let it make you more diligent 
to do their will, to anticipate their desires, to re- 
member them in your prayers, to write to them 
constantly, freely and ajSectionately. Let not this 



74 



TRINITT COLLEGE. 



occasion of increasing your faith be unimproved. 
Throw yourselves unreservedly on Him, who, though 
your father and mother forsake you, is ever ready 
to take you up. You will feel that it is good to 
' hold fast by Otod, to put your trust in the Lord 
God, and to speak of all His works in the gates of 
the daughter of Zion.* " 





CHAPTEE VI. 

" rail not at our brethren of the North.'* 
SKETCH OP THE PRESBYTEBIAN ESTABLISHMENT. 

Visit to a Highland Manae. — SyiMdcH action in the Kirh. 
— Constitution of the General Assembly.— History of the 
disruption of the Establishment, 

Leaving Glenalmond on a Monday morning, 
Sept. 6th, I proceeded ten miles to Perth, and 
arrived in time for service at the Cathedral. After 
the conclusion of morning prayer, I walked with 
one of the clergy to the top of the hill of KinnouU, 
and enjoyed for some time the pleasure of surveying 
a truly magnificent prospect. The beautiful Tay 
was winding beneath, opposite was the hill of Mon- 
crieflF, on the right the Vale of Earn (now traversed 
by the railway) extended far into the distance, 
while low on the left, adjacent to the river, were 
the highly cultivated lands of the Carse of Gowrie. 

Early in the afternoon I took the railway for the 
north, and in the course of a short time I was a par- 



76 SKETCH OP THE 

taker of the welcome hospitality of a presbyterian 
manse in a parish of the Highlands. My host was 
a minister of the Scottish Kirk, with whom I had 
been intimately acquainted in a far distant land, 
and for whose character and nmnerous accomplish- 
ments I entertained the highest respect. After 
passing through a great variety of adventures by 
land and sea, we had both returned about the same 
time to our native Britain, and had now, during 
several years, occupied the post of incimibents in 
our respective Establishments. I rejoiced in my 
present opportunity of seeing the actual working of 
a presbyterian parish, and of comparing and con- 
trasting it with the system usually prevalent in 
England. I knew also that I might now expect to 
obtain valuable information respecting the present 
constitution of the religious system recognised by 
law, and of the causes which have recently produced 
the great secession of the party denominated the 
Free Kirk. 

In using the terms " Kirk" and " Church** I am 
aware that I lay myself open to criticism from 
various and opposite quarters. The expressions, I 
need hardly state, are perfectly synonymous, the 
word " Kirk" having been the ancient title of the 
Church of Scotland both while under papal govern- 
ment and afterwards under the Tulchan bishops and 
their regularly appointed successors. It is merely 
to avoid confusion, and without wishing thereby to 
affirm or to concede any ecclesiastical principle, 
that, in the course of this little work, I speak of the 



PRESBYTBMA2J ESTABLISHMENT. 77 

two leading presbyterian bodies under the name of 
" Kirks," and of those of our own communion in 
Scotland as constituting the " Church." 
. GPhe first day of my visit at the manse proved 
rainy, and I sat with my friend in his library receiv- 
ing the information which 1 desired, and which he 
was most able and willing to bestow. After touch- 
ing upon various points of earlier Scottish eccle- 
siastical history, already introduced in the second 
and fourth chapters, my excellent host proceeded 
nearly as follows. 

To understand the recent history of the Scottish 
Establishment, it is necessary in the first place to 
consider the constitution of that Establishment^. 
This constitution the Queen is bound to support by 
an oath taken before her coronation, and indeed im- 
mediately after her accession. 

In the old episcopal times, subsequent to the Ee- 
formation, the synodal action of the Kirk was carried 
on in three difierent bodies, the General Assembly, 
the Provincial Synod, and the Presbytery. To these 
must be added the Kirk-session in every parish, con- 
sisting of about six " elders," nominated in effect by 
the minister, though chosen by the vote of the session. 
The main sphere of the bishop was anciently in the 
provincial synod, in which every parochial clergyman 
and professor of divinity had a seat ex officio. At 
present, a provincial synod is composed of three or 
more presbyteries, according to circumstances, and 

■ A few particulars in this chapter hare been supplied from an article 
in '< Synodalia" for March 1862. 



78 SKETCH OP THB 

meets generally twice a year. Every incimibeiit of a 
parish within the bounds of the synod is a mem- 
ber of that court ; and the same lay elder who last 
represented the Bark-session in the presbytery is its 
representative in the synod. The synod hears 
appeals from the lower courts and receives over- 
tures, that is, proposals for new laws to be enacted 
in the General Assembly. The sanction of at least 
forty-two presbyteries is necessary to the enactment 
of an ecclesiastical law. 

In discharging his functions as overseer of the 
flock, the bishop performed his ecclesiastical work 
through the medium of the presbytery, which after 
the legal abolition of prelacy succeeded to the com- 
bined powers of the bishop and of the archdeacon. 
The presbytery consists of the ministers of all 
parishes within the bounds of a certain district, 
(averaging about twelve in number,) of the professors 
of divinity in any University within these bounds, 
and of one representative lay-elder from every Kirk- 
session in the district. The presbytery is in fact 
the ecclesiastical imit, and is the only court before 
which a complaint can be lodged against the doctrine 
or character of a minister. The presbyteries possess 
extensive civil powers as well as ecclesiastical. Be- 
sides exercising the old episcopal function of or- 
daining, they admit or institute ministers to benefices 
and depose immoral or heretical incumbents. They 
examine and induct parochial schoolmasters, whose 
salaries are fixed by act of parliament and paid as a 
rate by the heritors, or landed proprietors, of the 



PBESBTTEEIAN ESTABLISHMENT. 79 

parish. The heritors are now the lay-impropriators 
of the rectories, and the presbytery can compel 
them to repair the parish church and manse, and 
even to build them anew whenever it appears re- 
quisite. 

There are now in Scotland eighty-three presby- 
teries connected with the Establishment. Each of 
these as a general rule sends to the General Assembly 
two ministers and one layman, as its deputies. But 
if the presbytery contain more than twelve ministers 
and not above eighteen, it sends three ministers and 
one layman, and so on, by a progressive scale. In a 
presbytery consisting of from thirty-six to forty-two 
ministers, the representation amounts to seven minis- 
ters and three laymen. Each of the five Scottish 
Universities deputes one member, usually a professor, 
who must be either a minister or a lay-elder. The 
sixty-six royal boroughs send one lay-representa- 
tive each, with the exception of Edinburgh, which 
sends two. 

There are about a thousand parishes in Scotland, 
and thirteen hundred ordained ministers. The presby- 
teries are represented in the Assembly by two hundred 
and fourteen clerical members, and ninety- two lay- 
elders. Add to these the sixty-seven laymen repre- 
senting the royal boroughs, and the five assigned to 
the Universities, and the members will amount to 
378, a numerical force more than twice as great as 
that of the convocation of Canterbury, and seven- 
fold greater than that of York. Yet the parishes of 
England and Wales are twelve times more numerous 



80 SKETCH OP THB 

than those of Scotland. We are not, however, to 
imagine that the Kirk is necessarily a gainer by the 
abundance of its representatives. On the contrary, 
the debates often become tedious and wordy, and 
frequent displays of eloquence hinder the progress 
of actual business. 

The ministers and la3nnen delegated to the Gene- 
ral Assembly perform their journeys and attend the 
sessions at their own expense. Formerly the cen- 
tesima, or the hundredth part of each minister's in- 
come, was applied, in many presbyteries, as the 
viaticum of their representatives in the chief eccle- 
siastical council. 

In the meetings of the Assembly, (which take 
place every year in the month of May.) the Com- 
missioner of the Queen represents Majesty, and sits 
upon the throne. He must be a peer of Scotland, 
though not necessarily a presbyterian. The late 
Royal Commissioner, Lord Mansfield, is a member 
of the Episcopal Church. It is, however, important 
to notice that the Queen occupies by no means 
the same position in the Scottish as in the English 
Establishment. She is neither the head, nor even 
a ftinctionary of the Kirk. There is no appeal from 
the General Assembly to the Privy Council, nor 
indeed to any other court. The Queen appears in 
the Assembly only in her capacity of supreme ma- 
gistrate to protect the Church in its rights and 
functions. She is here in fact as an emblem of 
the recognition and protection of Christianity by 
the nation. The Royal Commissioner has no part 



PKESBYTEBIAN ESTABLISHMENT. 81 

in the deliberations, nor any veto upon the acts of 
the Assembly, which, when dissolved, is dissolved 
by the Moderator " in the name of the Lord Jesus 
Christ, the King and Head of His Church." The 
Moderator also appoints the time and place of the 
next Assembly, and the Royal Commissioner makes an 
appointment concurring with that of the Moderator. 
Special General Assemblies may also be siunmoned 
by the last-mentioned officer on the requisition of a 
certain nimiber of members, although in practice 
such Assemblies are never convoked. 

On the evening before the meeting of the Assem- 
bly, the certificates of the election of each member 
are lodged with the clerk, who prepares from them 
a roll of the Assembly. On the day of meeting, 
(which is always a Thursday,) the Lord High Com- 
missioner goes in state to the " High Church" of 
Edinburgh; and after service proceeds to the As- 
sembly House, which is near the High Church and 
in which the throne is prepared. The meeting 
is then opened by prayer, the clerks read the roll, 
and one of the ministers upon that roll is chosen 
Moderator. The commission appointing the Lord 
High Commissioner is then received and read, and 
also a letter from the Queen to the General Assembly. 
A speech is addressed by the Moderator to the As- 
sembly and a reply is returned by the Commissioner. 
Committees are appointed to answer the Queen's 
letter and to examine the certificates and " commis- 
sions" of the members. The Assembly also, on the 
same day, divides itself into two great committees. 



OZ SKETCH OP TH£ 

on " bills" and on " overtures.*' No business comes 
before the house but through these committees. 
To the committee on bills are given all papers re- 
lating to causes which come from the inferior 
courts. To the other committee are given the 
overtures respecting laws or any regulations which 
appear requisite. Counsel are heard at the bar 
of the Assembly when it is judging private causes, 
but not when it is discussing overtures, which 
are matters of general regulation. The ftmctions 
of the Assembly are legislative, executive, and ju- 
dicial. 

It may be observed in this connexion that the 
Scottish General Assembly resembles in some im- 
portant features the Lower House of the Greneral Con- 
vention of the American Episcopal Church. Thus 
its delegates consist of laymen as well as ministers 
in nearly an equal proportion ; its debates are freely 
conducted without interference on the part of the 
civil authority, and its dissolution is proclaimed by 
its own Moderator after the business of the session 
is concluded. It has been asserted that the ad- 
mission of laymen into an English Convocation, to- 
gether with freedom of debate and of adjournment, 
would be tantamount to a separation of Church and 
State. Yet in Scotland we find a close union of 
Kirk and State and a really efficient establishment, 
existing not only under the conditions just speci- 
fied but in the absence of any recognition of the 
Royal Supremacy in ecclesiastical a£&irs. Well 
might Dr. Johnson ask the question — "Shall the 



PfiESBYTEBIAN ESTABLISHMENT. 83 

Kirk of Scotland possess its General Assembly, and 
shall the Church of England be denied its Con- 
vocation ?" 

During the eighteenth century, the Church of 
Scotland, like that of England at the same period, 
had become somewhat lax in doctrine and in prac- 
tice. Patronage was occasionally abused, discipline 
was neglected, and religious worship was Conducted 
in a cold and perfimctory manner. In consequence 
of this state of things, and particularly of the al- 
leged high-handed exercise of patronage, movements 
in favour of separation from the Establishment com- 
menced within half a century after the deprivation 
of the bishops. In 1734 a small secession took 
place, which subsequently gained groimd and con- 
tinues to the present day. This was followed by 
fiirther separations, which led to the singular po- 
sition of an Establishment surroimded by dissenting 
bodies agreeing with it in matters of faith and differ- 
ing chiefly on points arising out of the union of. 
Kirk and State. About the year 1830, when the 
Church of England was greatly agitated, and the 
Reform Bill was exciting the hopes of political de- 
magogues, the Scottish dissenters fully expected to 
prevail and to destroy the very principle upon which 
the Presbyterian Establishment was grounded. A 
democratic movement commenced, and a fierce onset 
was made upon the Kirk, with the object of intro- 
ducing a system of pure voluntaryism. At the same 
time a counter-movement originated in the Kirk it- 
self, corresponding with the contemporaneous High 



84 SKETCH OP THE 

Church movement in England. While the Oxford 
Tracts were in various ways exciting public notice 
in the south, great eflforts were making, north of the 
Tweed, to revive and extend the Establishment by 
the erection and endowment of additional places ot 
worship. On the other hand the party favourable to 
the voluntary system opposed these efforts with their 
united strength, and the popularity of their cause 
enabled them to render their opposition effectual. 
It now appeared a wise measure to popularize the 
Establishment, if possible; and the representatives of 
the Kirk introduced several plans which they trusted 
would thus increase its efficiency. This movement 
party began by carrying an Act in the General As- 
sembly giving seats in presbyteries and other courts 
of the Kirk to the ministers of chapels^ denominated 
qiioad sacra ministers. These persons were im- 
beneficed, like those English clergymen who offi- 
ciate in " chapels of ease." I have before men- 
tioned some of the civil functions connected with 
the proceedings of the presbyteries and other courts. 
The effect of the new Act of Assembly was that these 
civil proceedings were vitiated by the admission of 
persons not legally incumbents. But the new mem- 
bers of the ecclesiastical bodies were generally young 
and ardent men, who swelled the numbers and added 
to the force of the movement party. The troubles of 
the Kirk therefore immediately began, and termi- 
nated after years of agitation in one of the most re- 
markable secessions of modem times. 
To give an idea of the progress of events, some 



PB£SBYT£BIAN ESTABLISHMENT. 85 

cases may be stated as instances in point. A pres- 
bytery, for example, met and condemned a place of 
worship as unfit for the purpose of public service. 
They required the heritors, or landed proprietors, to 
contribute towards the repairs or the entire re- 
building of the edifice. The heritors refused to 
obey on the ground that the vote of the presbytery 
was illegal, having been carried by means of the 
" chapel ministers." 

Again, an immoral or heretical minister was de- 
posed by a presbytery. He resisted ejection on the 
ground that the vote of chapel ministers rendered 
his deposition null and void. He brought an ac- 
tion for his teinds or tithes and retained his po- 
sition and emoluments by the sentence of the civil 
courts. 

It is evident also that in the suspension of parish 
schoolmasters, and in other similar cases, the like 
difficulties would necessarily arise. Thus discipline 
was rendered wholly impossible so far as any civil 
efiect was concerned. The enemies of the Kirk took 
advantage of its disagreeable position to injure it in 
public estimation. Throughout England and Ame- 
rica the report was industriously circulated that the 
Scottish Establishment maintained drunkards and 
liars as its ministers and schoolmasters. The General 
Assembly was thus incurring a reproach like that 
which had formerly rested upon popery and pre- 
lacy, and immense confusion was the natural conse- 
quence. 

But the movement party was now in a majority 



86 SKETCH OP THE 

in the Assembly, and had no idea of giving np the 
advantages of its position. They complained that 
notwithstanding the wishes of the Assembly, the 
civil courts maintained immoral and irreligious men 
in the status, and in the functions of parochial pastors 
and teachers. The older clergy and the civil autho- 
rities protested strongly against this representation 
of the case, but all their protests were in vain. It 
remains to be seen to what purposes the majority in 
the General Assembly was applied. 

Before, however, proceeding further, it is neces- 
sary to describe the mode by which persons are ad- 
mitted to the ministry of the Establishment. 

The law requires that none shall be admitted 
to benefices but licentiates, viz. those who, having 
studied seven years at a university, (including three 
years of divinity,) have subscribed the Westminster 
Confession, and have afterwards received from a 
presbytery a license to preach. Presentation to a 
benefice confers on the licentiate, by act of parlia- 
ment, a right to be ordained and to be admitted to 
his living, if found qualified by the presbytery. The 
qualifications included, first, a sufficiency of learn- 
ing ; secondly, the production of the license and tes- 
timonials of character ; and thirdly, an opportimity 
allowed to the parishioners of judging of the licen- 
tiate's capacity by hearing him preach. The " call" 
to the parish (in English the advocation or ad- 
vowson) must be signed by some of the parish- 
ioners. This had become little more than a form ; 
but on the whole, considering that the Kirk was 



PRESBYTEKIAN ESTABLISHMENT. 87 

a national establishment, the security for a proper 
selection of incumbents was perhaps as good as any 
system of appointment would allow. 

It was in this point that the dissenters from the 
Kirk had always claimed to themselves a great ad- 
vantage. They had declared that while the Esta- 
blishment was greatly hampered in the appointment 
of its incumbents, they enjoyed the benefit of a free 
and imrestricted choice in the election of their 
ministers. True, their congregations had often 
quarrelled and divided among themselves in the 
very act of election, yet occasional disturbances were 
not considered by them as afiecting the general ex- 
cellence of the principle. The movement party 
in the General Assembly now appeared to have 
adopted the somewhat democratic views of the 
dissenters. And one of the first evidences of this 
change in their old policy was the introduction 
into their Assembly of the law denominated the 

VETO. 

It is necessary to remark that from 1690 to 1712, 
the old law favourable to patronage had been sus- 
pended in consequence of the abuse of it in the 
times of "popery and prelacy." During those 
twenty-two years it was agreed that while the 
power of the bishops should devolve on the presby- 
teries, their patronage should be exercised by the 
heritors, elders, or Kirk-session in the respective 
parishes. This had been the state of things during 
the Commonwealth, while General Assemblies were 
disallowed by Oliver Cromwell. But this restora- 



88 SKETCH OF THE 

tion of elections liad produced *' heats and divisions," 
so that in 1712, notwithstanding the opposition of 
a portion of the people, an Act of Queen Anne had 
restored the system of patronage. 

Under the law of 1690, as we have seen, when a 
licentiate was presented to a benefice, the presby- 
tery was directed to take trial of his qualifications, 
and, if found qualified, to admit him. But imder 
the veto law now enacted by the movement party, 
the General Assembly required a presbytery to 
cause the candidate to preach two days in the parish 
church, and to announce that a meeting of the 
parishioners would be held with a view of hearing 
their objections. At that meeting the presbytery 
were to ask the parishioners whether any objections 
to the candidate existed, and if a majority of them 
(without assigning reasons) should object, the pres- 
bytery were to proceed no further, but to give notice 
to the patron that he might present another person. 

The efiect of this veto law was to throw all the 
power out of the hands of the presbytery and into 
those of the parishioners. The people employed 
the new law as a child makes use of a new plaything, 
and in the course of one year after its enactment 
exercised it in no less than thirteen cases, putting 
their veto on some of the best men in the Esta- 
blishment. 

The defeated presentees appealed to the Assembly, 
which felt itself compelled to order the presbyteries 
to set aside, in many cases, its own law, and to pro- 
ceed as before the enactment of the veto. A case 



PKESBYTEBIAN ESTABLISHMENT. 89 

of a different nature, however, soon occurred. A 
Mr. Young had been presented to the benefice of 
Auchterarder by Lord Kinnoull. The people thought 
fit to object to this gentleman, and when the case 
was brought by the presentee before the Assembly, 
that body ordered the presbytery to proceed accord- 
ing to the veto law. Lord Kinnoull and Mr. Young 
then appealed to the civil courts, before which 
Young proved that he was kept out of his living by 
a presbytery which had never tried his qualifica- 
tions, but had sent him to be tried by the people. 
That presbytery, however, being composed chiefly 
of the movement party, continued to refuse ordina- 
tion to Toung, and plainly told Lord Kinnoull that 
he might keep his benefice to himself. The consti- 
tutional party in the Assembly insisted that the 
presbytery should take Young on trial and ordain 
him if found qualified. But as they continued to 
defer his examination. Young brought an action 
against the presbytery of Auchterarder, corporately 
and severally. They were found liable in damages 
to the full amount of the benefice, with interest from 
the time at which induction ought to have taken 
place, and with the addition of heavy costs. The 
entire amount charged upon these country ministers 
was several thousand pounds, but the minority of 
the presbytery, who had taken the side of the law, 
were exempted. The presbytery appealed to the 
House of Lords, which sustained the civil courts ; 
and finally Mr. Young was inducted, and proved to 
be an efficient and successful incumbent. 



90 SKETCH OF THE 

In the case of a Mr. Edwards, the presbytery of 
Strathbogie acted on the principle that the Assembly 
had exceeded its powers in passing the veto law. They 
proceeded to examine the presentee, though dis- 
approved of by the people ; and, having found him 
qualified, appointed a day for his ordination and in- 
duction. Meantime the Commission of the Assembly 
(which is a standing committee meeting during the 
recess) suspended the majority of the presbytery for 
ignoring the veto. There were some firm and deter- 
mined men in this presbytery, and with damages to 
the amount of thousands hanging over their heads, 
they nevertheless ordained and inducted Edwards, on 
the principle that the veto act was imconstitutional, 
and that the Commission had no power to suspend 
them. In the following year the General Assembly 
was highly indignant at this assumption of the pres- 
bytery, and the movement party persuaded Dr. 
Chalmers to propose that the majority of that body 
should be deposed. This was the great crisis of 
the Establishment. Dr. Chalmers' proposal was ac- 
cepted by the House, and the accused parties were 
deposed for having acted while \mder suspension. 
The constitutional party in the Assembly protested 
against this deposition and refused to acknowledge 
it, or to recognise the suspension, on several distinct 
grounds. They asserted that the fulmina ecclesuB 
had been illegally used against men who were merely 
discharging their duty — that Church censures had 
been applied to party purposes — ^and that even if the 
accused had deserved deposition, there was a vitium 



FB£SBTTXBIAir ESTABLISHMENT. 91 

mlylus in the whole proceeding, on account of the 
admission of the qtwad sacra or chapel ministers. 
The civil courts agreed in this view of the case, and 
maintained the deposed ministers in their stations 
against the sentence of the Assembly. Mr. Edwards 
succeeded in bringing back to the Establishment the 
greater portion of his parishioners, and died recently 
much respected. 

Another remarkable case occurred to test the prin- 
ciples of the Assembly. A Mr. Clarke was presented 
by the Crown to the benefice of Lethendy on the 
petition of the parishioners. Before he could be 
taken on trial the veto law had come into play, 
and the people changed their minds, objecting to 
Clarke when he was sent to preach to them. The 
presentee brought an action against the presbytery 
to oblige them to proceed with his trial, with a 
view to his induction. The majority of the pres- 
bytery kept him out on the ground of the veto; 
but the minority desired the parishioners to proceed 
against him by a charge against his moral character. 
The former party then petitioned the Crown to issue 
a new presentation, which was immediately done, 
through the influence of the Hon. Fox Maule, now 
Lord Panmure. The Crown appointed a Mr. Kessen 
to the benefice, in direct violation of the law of the 
land. Clarke now prosecuted the presbytery for 
damages, and procured an interdict from the Court 
of Session (corresponding with our Court of Queen's 
Bench) against the institution of Kessen. 

The presbytery, encouraged by the General As- 



92 SKETCH OF THE 

sembly, set the interdict at defiance, and proceeded 
to induct Ke8sen. The Court of Session summoned 
the presbytery and reprimanded them for breaking 
the law. Kessen, though nominated by the Crown, 
and recognised by the General Assembly, was never 
able to collect any portion of the teinds. Clarke 
took possession of the manse, and recovered £2,400 
damages from the majority of the presbytery for the 
time during which he had been kept out of the 
benefice. 

After a few more decisions of this kind the con- 
stitutional party refused to sit with the quoad sacra 
or chapel ministers, on the groimd that their pro- 
ceedings were null and void in law. Hence double 
presbyteries assembled, and, the movement party 
acting by themselves, double returns from nineteen 
presbyteries were sent to the General Assembly of 
1843. Of the great nimibers who attended that 
Assembly many had been returned without any 
legal claim to a seat. After the House had come 
together, the Moderator of the last Assembly, being 
in the chair by custom, instead of proposing the 
election of a new Moderator, laid on the table a 
protest, and walked out, followed by the whole move- 
ment party. In consequence of this act, one third of 
the presbyterian population was separated from the 
Establishment, and the Free Kirk came into exist- 
ence. The Assembly of the Establishment now re- 
enacted as soon as possible the old regulations, and 
put an end to the Veto. On the other hand the 
seceding party proceeded with the most vigorous 



FSESBTTERIAN ESTABLISHMENT. 93 

and spirited measures to give stability to the Free 
Kirk. 

In the three northern counties of Scotland the 
national Establishment is now greatly weakened, 
and the Highlanders in general are attached to 
the principles of the Free Kirk. Among this un- 
sophisticated race there had long existed a class of 
persons pre-eminently distinguished as " The Men." 
These were (there is too much reason to believe) 
Antinomians in doctrine, though they were the 
chief leaders and exhorters in prayer-meetings, and 
the acknowledged judges of the doctrine and piety 
of the ministers. These persons gave sentence in 
favour of the Free Kirk, and led after them a 
considerable amount of the population. The Free 
Kirk is also strong in the towns and cities. 

It appears, however, that in the south of Scotland, 
and generally in the agricultural districts, the Es- 
tablishment retains its predominance, and that in 
many places it is gradually regaining its hold upon 
the seceders. The first impulse of separation has 
in a measure died away, and as the expenses of " sus- 
tentation" are more felt as a burden, it is not im- 
possible that in the course of time the superior 
advantages of the established system may again be 
generally acknowledged. 




CHAPTEE VII. 

O rail not at our brethren of the North.— JTeble. 
THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED. 

The General Assembly compared with the Convocation of the 
Province of Canterbury. — The Secession in Scotland no 
argument against Synodal action in England. — The Paro- 
chial system in Scotland. — Schools and Schoolmasters. — 
Mode of worship in the Establishment. — Discipline. — 
Dunkeld Cathedral. — Bruidical circle. — Panoramic view. 

Haying communicated the history contained in 
the last chapter, my friend proceeded to derive from 
it such practical inferences as he judged likely to 
be useful to myself and to other Mends of synodal 
action in England. 

"The Church of England," he said, "occupies 
a most noble position, and enjoys opportunities of 
usefulness greater than those of any other Church 
in Christendom. It is, no doubt, easy to discover 
many defects in her discipline and administration, 
and many inconsistencies arising from the peculiar 
terms of her union with the State ; but, upon the 



THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED. 95 

whole, the fiibric is venerable and magnificent ; and 
ought to be touched only with careful and reveren- 
tial hands. May God enable you to take warning 
from our misfortunes, and to abstain from precipita- 
ting the downfall of an institution which, once over- 
thrown, can never be re-established. The Free Kirk 
movement among ourselves was essentially High- 
Church in its origin, and shews the danger, imder 
any form of government, and even for good objects, 
of pushing such principles to an extreme. It proved 
finally a one-sided movement, and resulted in great 
confusion and imcharitableness. 

" The movement now going forward in England 
with reference to the revival of Convocation, may 
prove extremely serviceable if kept within safe and 
proper limits. I consider that an ecclesiastical 
legislature for England, combining (as among our- 
selves) the laity with the clergy, would in ordi- 
nary circumstances prove a great blessing to the 
Church. But I fear that many of you who are most 
urgent for Convocation are too much imder the 
influence of the same spirit which produced our 
great secession here in the north." 

" I grant," I replied, " that there may be rash, un- 
wise, and one-sided men among those in England 
who are endeavouring to effect the revival of Convo- 
cation. But so long as their endeavours are directed 
to this particular end, I own I cannot see the danger 
against which you would caution us. For suppos- 
ing our object accomplished, and Convocation restored 
to its full powers, it must be recollected that our 



96 THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED. 

ecclesiastical legislature is constituted on different 
principles from those of the General Assembly. 

" I will not now speak of our Episcopate as a 
divine institution, firmly as I believe it to be, in 
virtue of that character, a strong safeguard against 
disruption. I will view it for the present on its 
lower ground, as a recognised department of our 
legal establishment. 

" In the first place, then, the Convocation of Can- 
terbury deliberates in two separate Houses, and I 
need not say that by this arrangement a check is 
placed on the adoption of rash or hasty measures. 
Secondly, our Upper House consists wholly of Bi- 
shops, whose age and position secure them from the 
juvenile heat, which, you tell me, characterized the 
proceedings of your movement party. Thirdly, our 
Lower House contains so large a proportion of Deans 
and Archdeacons, members by office, that less than 
one half of its body is elective. It is therefore, in a 
great measure, secure from the sudden impulse of 
feelings or principles which may chance to obtain a 
temporary ascendancy among the laity and parochial 
clergy. And besides all these circumstances, so 
evidently tending to excessive soberness and caution, 
the whole of the Upper House and the twenty-three 
Deans in the Lower, are nominated by the Crown, 
which also has power, at any time, to interfere with 
our Synod by a summary ' exoneration.* 

" The troubles of your Kirk proceeded from the 
position taken by the Assembly with reference to 
the law of patronage. You passed an Act which 



THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED. 97 

proved to be unconstitutional and which produced a 
series of painM contradictions and entanglements. 
Your misfortunes originated in that comparative 
independence of the State which you justly and 
naturally prize as an important privilege. How 
different is the position of the Established Church of 
England ! The Acts of Convocation, though agreed 
upon by both Houses, cannot bind even the clergy 
without the royal assent, and are of no force with 
respect to the laity imless ftirther sanctioned by Par- 
liament. It is imreasonable, therefore, to suppose 
that a Convocation, so thoroughly guarded on all 
sides, could enter upon a course of conduct parallel 
to that of your General Assembly. When proctors, 
archdeacons, deans, bishops, commons, lords, prime- 
minister, and Queen, are hurried away by some 
common impulse of theological enthusiasm, then 
only can the danger arise against which you have 
given your kindly-intended warning. 

" I can, indeed, imagine danger to arise from Eras- 
tian tendencies in Convocation. I can also imagine 
danger in such a reform of Convocation from without 
as would disturb the due relations of the clergy with 
the laity, or of the Church with the State. But the 
greatest danger of all, it appears to me, would be 
found in rudely checking the present demand for 
synodal action, in abolishing the constitutional ftmc- 
tions of Convocation, and in placing the Church 
wholly imder the feet of the State. Then, indeed, a 
disruption must ensue perhaps more painful and de- 
plorable than any which you have seen in Scotland." 

H 



98 THE SAKE SUBJECT C0NTINI7ED. 

In such conversation we spent the second morning 
of my visit at the manse. In the afternoon the rain 
ceased, the warm sun shone forth, and I accompanied 
my kind friend on an excursion among the romantic 
hills which rose immediately behind his residence. 
From various points in this walk the views were ex- 
tremely beautiM, but ecclesiastical matters princi- 
pally engaged our attention. 

The population of my friend's parish amounted to 
about two thousand, consisting of four himdred and 
fifty families. Fourteen himdred persons belonged 
to the Establishment, four hundred and fifty to the 
Free Bark, a hundred to the Old Secession, and the 
remaining fifty to five minor denominations. The 
number of communicants on the roll was more than 
seven hundred, the Communion being administered 
twice a year, when, on an average, about four him- 
dred and eighty persons participated. It may here 
be remarked that, in Scotland generally, all adult 
persons of any tolerable character are communicants, 
and that this rule applies to the Episcopal Church 
equally with the Establishment. 

In the parish of which I am now writing, although 
the wages of the poor in 1852 did not exceed 8«. or 
10s, per week, abundant time was allowed to the 
children for the purpose of education. In the 
parish school there were about a himdred pupils, 
most of whom would continue to attend school more 
or less until about fourteen years of age. Aft;er at- 
taining their eleventh or twelfth year their attend- 
ance would be limited to the winter months, since 



THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED. 99 

during siumner they would readily attain employ- 
ment in tending cattle. The sons of the &rmers and 
of the labourers were educated by the same teacher, 
and those who were willing to pay a few shillings 
extra were instructed in Latin, French, and Mathe- 
matics . Six or seven were then availing themselves of 
this privilege, while the rest of the scholars were 
learning English, writing, arithmetic, grammar, and 
geography. The parochial schoolmaster received a 
stipend of £34 per annum, a house and garden, and 
2s, 6d. a quarter from each of the ordinary scholars. 
He was also (conformably to custom) the clerk of 
the Bark-session, for which he received a salary of 
£3, a fee of 1*. for registering every baptism, 5s. for 
banns of marriage published by him in the parish 
church, 6^. for a certificate of banns, and 6^. for a 
certificate to each communicant leaving the parish. 
Under the new poor-law (which was stated to be fast 
demoralizing the people) the schoolmaster was paid 
a stipend as treasurer to the parochial board. Alto- 
gether this important official received about £100 
per annum with a good house and garden. 

Besides the parochial school, there were three 
other schools in difierent parts of the parish, sub- 
ject, like the former, to the inspection of the minis- 
ter. In one of these the master received £30 per 
annum and a house, and had seventy-five scholars. 
Another with fifty children had £10 a year and 
fees. The third with sixty-five received £8 and 
fees, together with a house and garden. 

When a vacancy occurs in a parochial school, the 



100 THE SAME BT7B/ECT COHTINITED. 

minister summons all heritors in tlie parish, whose 
rental is valued at £100 and upwards, to assemble 
with him in a parochial meeting. At this meeting 
they appoint a new master, usually on the recom- 
mendation of the minister, and agree what branches 
of education shall be taught, among which the Scrip- 
tures and the " Shorter Catechism" of the Bark must 
of necessity be included. The Presbytery afterwards 
examines the candidate as to his competency, and 
requires him to produce a certificate shewing that 
he has taken the oath of allegiance, and to sign a 
formula indicating his adherence to the Presbyterian 
establishment. He is then declaxed to be the School- 
master of the parish in question, and receives a title 
to aU the emoluments of his office. He cannot be 
removed but by a legal process, and is almost as 
secure in his post as the incimibent himself. 

The incumbent of a Scottish parish is usually 
well supported, receiving as large a compensation 
as the average of Hectors and Vicars in England. 
Some of the ministers have all the rectorial tithes, 
and in most instances the stipend is fixed according 
to the average price of com during the year imme- 
diately preceding. The tithes, however held, are 
liable to a perpetual and indefinite burden in favour 
of the parochial ministers, and the lay impropriators 
may be required at any time to give up a portion of 
their property to augment his income. Even the 
whole may be taken away from the " titular" owner ; 
nd he has nothing left but the option of surrender- 

T the amount of his valued " teinds," if he objects 



THE SAME SUBJECT CONTnOJED. 101 

to paying the sum charged upon them for the sup- 
port of the incumbent. A regular " Court of Teinds* ' 
has existed ever since the Union for the purpose of 
carrying this principle into effect. Thus Scotland 
has escaped the melancholy spectacle often seen in 
England, of a poor Vicar in charge of an extensive 
and neglected parish, while a wealthy landowner 
possesses the very property originally devoted to 
the spiritual benefit of the now vicious and ignorant 
population. The Court, however, cannot decree a 
stipend to more than one minister in each parish, 
whatever may be the population. 

The labours of a Scottish incumbent are sometimes 
very considerable ; the parish usually having a much 
greater geographical extent than in England. Be- 
sides his ordinary ministrations, he attends meetings 
of the Synod and of the Presbytery, and, if elected to 
the General Assembly, is required to be at his post 
in Edinburgh at the appointed time. He examines 
his parish schools, performs baptisms, marriages, 
and funerals, and visits the sick and afflicted. Ex- 
aminations are also held at various times and in dif- 
ferent parts of the parish, at which all young un- 
married persons who have left school are assembled 
and catechized. The preparation of young persons 
for their first Communion is equivalent to our English 
preparation for Confirmation. Six weeks previous 
notice is given, and separate days are appointed for 
the attendance of males and females. 

My friend, describing his own ministerial work, 
proceeded nearly in the following words. " At the 



102 THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED. 

baptism of infants, parents are admitted with ns to 
stand in a relation similar to that of Sponsors in the 
Church of England. The Apostles' Creed is often 
repeated on such occasions ; questions are addressed 
to the father in regard to his faith, and the parents 
engage to give the child a Christian education. 
The Ten Commandments and certain select passages 
of Scripture are generally read before the adminis- 
tration of the Communion, and the Lord's Prayer 
forms a part of the ordinary devotions on Sunday. 

"Divine worship usually commences with sing- 
ing and prayer, after which follow a chapter of the 
Bible, a hymn, a short prayer, and the sermon. 
Then succeeds the principal prayer, which is in fact 
a kind of Litany, though nominally extempore, A 
blessing is implored on the word preached, and sup- 
plications are offered for the whole Church of Christ, 
for the Church of Scotland, and sometimes for the 
Church of England. We proceed to pray for the 
United Kingdom and its dependencies, for the Queen 
and Royal Family, for all persons invested with 
power, for Parliament (when in session) for the 
parish and congregation, for all classes of men and 
women, for the sick and afflicted, for the iBEitherless 
and widows, for the rising generation and for teachers 
of youth. After this, thanks are offered for benefits 
received, and we pray God to enable us to sing His 
praise with the melody of the heart as well as of the 
lips, and to dismiss us with His blessing, so that we 
may be conducted home in safety and spend the rest 
of the day in a manner worthy of the holy Sabbath.*' 



TEE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED. 103 

It appeared from my friend's conversation that, 
with the help of the Kirk-session, the ministers of 
the Establishment are enabled to maintain a con- 
siderable amount of usefrd discipline. The Kirk- 
session is convened at the discretion of the minister, 
either by notice fit)m the pulpit, or by a personal 
citation. It can exercise no judicial authority, un- 
less the minister has constituted the meeting by 
prayer, and has presided during its deliberations. 
It possesses the right of inspection over the lay- 
members of the Eork within the parish, and exercises, 
through the minister as its moderator, the powers of 
rebuking, suspending, excluding, and absolving. The 
censures of the Kirk-session are found to possess 
considerable weight, and the fear of a public pen- 
ance acts as a powerful check upon the grosser kinds 
of immorality. 

On the 8th of September I accompanied my friend 
to Dunkeld and examined the venerable Cathedral. 
The ruins, in some respects, resemble those of the 
Cathedral of Llandaff, though the style of archi- 
tecture in the two bidldings is far from identical. 
In both cases the great body of the nave is open to 
the elements, while the choir is employed for the 
purpose of divine service. The Duke of Athol oc- 
cupies an enormous pew covered by a very con- 
spicuous canopy. A little basin supplies the place 
of a font, and is attached to the lofty pulpit in which 
the minister officiates. In the Lady-Chapel are the 
tomb and e£Bgy of Alexander Stuart, commonly 
called " the Wolf of Badenach," notorious as having 



104 THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINTTED. 

burned the Cathedral of Elgin. Adjoining the ruins 
is a private residence of the Duke, and in his Grace's 
grounds are some enormous larch trees, said to be 
the first introduced into Scotland. 

From Dimkeld we proceeded northward, and 
passed a romantic little lake, known as the Loch of 
the Lowes. A few miles further we ascended a 
lofty eminence upon which are the remains of a 
Druidical circle of large stones. From this point 
the panoramic view was glorious, and the clear 
brightness of the day rendered the most distant 
features of the scene distinctly visible. Far in the 
horizon were the Sidlaw hills with Dunsinane, to 
the South were the hills of Fife, while in another 
direction the Grampians stood out boldly against 
the sky. The fair city of Perth was just in sight, 
and the little Cathedral rising above the surrounding 
roofs reminded me that Episcopacy was by no means 
dead, even in Presbyterian Scotland. 

From this exalted situation I returned with my 
friend to the Manse, and on the following day was 
taken by him to the nearest railway-station on my 
way towards the west. A train soon came in sight, 
I bade farewell to my kind host, and, for the present 
at least, my intercourse with the Scottish Establish- 
ment was terminated. 





CHAPTEK VIII. 



Here rises, with the rising mom, 

Ttieir incense unto Thee, 
Their bold confession Catholic 

And high doxology : 
Soul-melting Litany is here 

And here, each holy feast. 
Up to the Altar duly spread. 

Ascends the stoled priest. 



ARGYLL AND THE ISLES. 



Visit to Cumhrae. — The College. — Panoramic view from 
the summit of the Idcmd. — Emigration to Australia. — 
Dunoon. — Voyage to Ardrishaig. — Residence of the 
Bishop of Argyll. — The Bishop's Charge. — Divine Ser- 
vice at Loch-Gilphead. 

On the afternoon of September the 9th I arrived 
at Glasgow, the ancient city of St. Kentigem, and 
now the great emporium of Scottish enterprise. 
Having been recommended to visit the Church 
institutions in the Isle of Cumbrae, I proceeded at 
once to the Broomielaw, and took passage in one of 
the steamers then awaiting their hour of departure. 
At two o'clock we were in motion, and passed 
rapidly down the narrow Clyde. I well recollected 
the time when the people of the north regarded the 
single steamer then running on this river as a won- 



106 ASGTLL AJTD THE ISLES. 

derM curiosity indeed, but as something almost too 
dangerous to be approached. Now I beheld nu- 
merous vessels of this description darting by in 
rapid succession, and crowded with fearless pas- 
sengers. Some were propelled by paddle-wheels 
and some by screws ; some were engaged on excur- 
sions of pleasure, while others were employed in the 
serious task of dragging to sea huge vessels bound 
for distant ports. As we approached Dumbarton, 
the scenery became interesting and picturesque, and 
the distant mountains on the right indicated the 
situation of the romantic region of Loch Lomond. 
The Frith of Clyde now expanded to the dimensions 
of an American river of the first class. On both 
sides of the water appeared towns and villages con- 
sisting in a great measure of neat villas, the resi- 
dences of men of business whose commercial esta- 
blishments are enwrapped in the smoke of Gla^ow. 
We passed Greenock, Gourock, Dunoon and Largs, 
from whence we beheld the isle of Cumbrae, the 
distant mountains of Arran, and the western ocean. 
Within another half-hour I was set ashore at the 
little pier belonging to Millport; the only village in 
Cumbrae. At the further extremity of this village, 
and on a moderate elevation, were some handsome 
buildings of white stone, together with the lofty 
spire of a church. I recognised in these the College 
of Cumbrae, the noble foundation of the Hon. G. F. 
Boyle. 

It was now six o'clock, and, thinking it probable 
that I might be in time for Evensong, I made my 



ASOTLL AND THE ISLES. 107 

way through the village, ascended the long flights 
of steps leading to the church, and entered shortly- 
after the commencement of the service. Divine 
worship was proceeding after the manner of English 
collegiate chapels, three or four clergymen offi- 
ciating within the screen, assisted by a company of 
choristers in surplices. The congregation amounted 
to about fifty persons, whose appearance and manner 
indicated reverence and devotion. The building, 
another work of Butterfield's, was very lofty in pro- 
portion to its breadth, and the painted windows and 
open seats were in keeping with the other arrange- 
ments. The choir was elevated several steps above 
the nave, from which it was also separated by a 
handsome screen surmounted by a massive cross of 
stone. Two candlesticks stood on the Altar, with a 
plain cross between, and above was the inscription, 
(in allusion to the dedication of the Church,) 
" Spiritus Sancte Deus miserere nohts,^^ 
After the conclusion of the service I gladly ac- 
cepted a courteous invitation to remain a day or 
two at this interesting institution. 

The object of the CoUege was thus expressed by 
its original constitution in the words of its devout 
and earnest-minded founder. " I, Q-eorge Frederick 
Boyle, considering how blessed a work it is to rear 
a temple unto the Most High Q-od, wherein His 
praises may be duly celebrated. His Sacraments 
administered, and His Holy Word preached; and 
considering also the spiritual necessities of this 
Church and country, and how needftd it is that 



108 ABGTLL AUD THE ISLES. 

Priests and Deacons and other Ministers of the 
Church should be maintained and educated, who 
may constantly offer unto Him the sacrifice of praise, 
and make known unto men the unsearchable riches 
of Christ, Do therefore" &c. 

In accordance with this design Mr. Boyle de- 
voted about £15,000 to the Institution, and intends 
to endow it with a further sum of £8000. In the 
hope that Cumbrae might become a second lona, 
it was determined that the College should be a place 
partly for education and partly for almost continual 
prayer and praise. A number of boys, educated 
here, filled the office of choristers, and a few yoimg 
men studied theology under the care of the four 
resident clergy •• Divine worship was performed 
seven times in every day, partly in the church 
already described, and partly in a small chapel 
designed solely for the inmates of the institution. 

The weather continued clear and brilliant, and on 
the morning after my arrival at Cumbrae I accom- 
panied another clerical visitor to the summit of a 
hill occupying the centre of the island. From this 
elevation the panoramic view was magnificent, while 
the warmth of the sun and the calmness of the at- 
mosphere produced a joyfully exhilarating effect 
upon the mind and feelings. To the south appeared 
the entrance of the Frith of Clyde, and the remote 
horizon was dotted by many a passing sail. At the 
right of the main channel, and at the distance of a 

• S«e Appendix. It ma,j be well to notice in this place that the ex- 
ertions lately made hj Mr. Boyle for the Perth Cathedral, have necessitated 
the suBpension of the office of dforistera ai Cambrae. 



ARGYLL AKD THE ISLES. 109 

mile and a half, was »tlie island of Little Cumbrae, 
containing a ruined tower in wliicli the remains of 
Scottish, Irish, and Norwegian kings are said to 
have rested while on their way to the sacred sepul- 
chres in lona. Immediately beneath was the col- 
legiate Church and College, its white buildings and 
spire shining in the sun, and contrasting strongly 
with the squalid habitations in the adjacent village. 
Beyond Little Cimibrae, still turning towards the 
right, I saw, at the distance of 15 miles, the lofty 
and majestic mountains of Arran, with, here and 
there, a small cloud slowly passing across their well- 
defined outlines. Further to the right was the 
island of Bute, flat and low in comparison with 
Arran, though evidently rich and populous, and 
distant about nine miles from Cumbrae. The wide 
intervening sound was generally undisturbed by 
passing vessels, though in one direction I discerned 
a steamer with its train of black smoke, while, 
nearer at hand, an elegant yacht was conveying a 
party on an excursion of pleasure. At the northern 
part of Bute appeared the town of Rothsay and fiir- 
ther onwards were the high hills of Argyll, the 
town of Dunoon glistening in the sun-beams, and 
beyond it the entrance of the river Clyde itself. 
A little to the east of north the cloud-capped sum- 
mit of Ben- Lomond rose far above the surrounding 
mountains, and nearly in the same direction, though 
farther east, lay the town of Largs, at the distance of 
three or four miles, on the main-land. Eastward 
was a long extent of the coasj of Ayr, and the eye 



110 ABBYLL ADD TH2 ISLES. 

moved southward until it wa^ once more rested on 
the pinnacle of the collegiate church. 

But the bell now rang for the Litany, and I de- 
scended the hiU and entered the church, where the 
same goodly congregation was collected as on the 
previous evening. After service I had the pleasure 
of meeting the amiable founder himself, and of con- 
versing with him for a short time on the missionary 
undertaMngs of the Church in America. 

Early in the afternoon I went up to Greenock by 
a steamer, and arrived in time to see the departure 
of a large ship, just starting for Australia, with nearly 
400 emigrants from the Highlands. Even in the 
time of Dr. Johnson the same spirit of emigration 
prevailed, and the learned lexicographer seems to 
have feared that America would swallow up the en- 
tire population of the western districts of Caledonia. 
But the apprehended danger passed over, and the 
population, after sustaining a temporary diminution, 
again seemed to be steadily increasing. During the 
last few years, however, the potatoe disease has pro- 
duced much distress, while the discovery of gold at 
the Antipodes has supplied a strong temptation to 
the spirit of adventure. Still the command goes 
forth, " Replenish the earth and subdue it," and the 
Highlander, mindful of the call, fulfils, like others, 
the inscrutable designs of Providence. How difficult 
it is for him to break his ancient ties none but a 
mountaineer can fiilly understand, yet he knows that 
if he remains he must perish**. Lochaber will see 

^ See a ''Sennon on Emigration" by the present Bishop of Argyll. 



ABGTLL AND THE ISLES. Ill 

his face no more, the echoes will no longer resound 
to the H^hland pipe, the stranger will miss the 
Highland welcome. Yet the emigrant will soon 
cease to think of home with bitter emotion. He 
will find Australia suited to his pastoral and inde- 
pendent habits, and, as he sees his family growing 
up in comfort and abundance, he will think with 
gratitude on the day when he bade a tearful adieu 
to Scotland. 

Fron Greenock I crossed over to Dunoon, the 
neat little town which had been visible in the morn- 
ing from the summit of Cumbrae. Here, besides 
the places of worship belonging to the Establishment 
and the Free Kirk, there is a small episcopal church, 
of which the Rev. Mr. Pirie is at present the in- 
cumbent. There is also in Dunoon one of those 
schismatical congregations which profess to belong 
to the Church of England, though disowned by the 
English bishops and voluntarily separate from the 
bishops of Scotland. 

Having spent the night at a comfortable inn, I 
embarked at nine o'clock the next morning on 
board the steamer "Mary Jane" for Ardrishaig, on 
my way to lona. An excursion-party from one of 
the Glasgow manufieictories crowded every part of 
the deck, and the "operatives" were abundantly 
supplied with such music as could be extorted from 
bagpipes, fiddles, drums, a bass-viol, and a complete 
brass band. These instruments were playing at 
the same time a considerable variety of tunes, and 
the excursionists danced while the whisky bottle 



112 ARGYLL AND THE ISLES. 

was freely circulating. Women with infants in 
their arms joined in the reels, although the density 
of the crowd rendered the usual evolutions almost 
impracticable. Excited by the discordant music, 
the whisky and the dance, the poor creatures pre- 
sented an appearance at once ludicrous and painM, 
and it was some relief when about two-thirds of the 
party disembarked at Rothsay. 

Hence we proceeded by the Kyles of Bute through 
a romantic though circuitous passage into Loch- 
Fyne. A portion of the steam-engine now began to 
give way, and every stroke was accompanied by a 
symptom of approaching dislocation. A council was 
accordingly called, and four or five sturdy High- 
landers, in charge of the boat, expressed their respec- 
tive opinions with considerable vociferation. In 
conclusion, an order was given to stop the engine, 
and our remaining excursionists were not a little 
annoyed when they discovered that their voyage 
was at an end. Just at this moment a superior 
steamer, the "Mountaineer," came alongside, and 
leaping on board in considerable haste, I was carried 
forward rapidly to my desired haven. 

Having landed at Ardrishaig, near the entrance 
of the Crinan canal, I walked a couple of miles to 
the village of Loch-Gilphead, where I had engaged 
to officiate on the following day for the bishop of 
the diocese. 

The episcopal residence stands at a short distance 
from the village, and together with the contiguous 
church is of very recent erection. Over the entrance 



AS.OTLL AND THE ISLES. 113 

of the mansion, the word '* Salve" has been inscribed 
in gold letters upon a blue ground, suggesting the 
idea that, whatever may be the temporal condition 
of the present episcopate, St. Paul's precept respect- 
ing " hospitality*' " has not been forgotten. The Bi- 
shop's residence, the church, and the schools, have 
been erected chiefly by the contributions of an earn- 
est and liberal layman, Mr. Malcolm of Poltalloch, 
augmented by the donations of Miss Orde of Loch- 
Gilphead, and certain members of the Bishop's own 
family. The Bishop, having the assistance of a 
curate, takes the immediate charge of a congregation 
which has been gradually increased by the steady 
influx of new and respectable residents. The school 
connected with this congregation already contains 
seventy or eighty children of the poorer class, of 
whom about one-half are in the habit of attending 
the episcopal worship. 

The bishopric of Argyll was originally a portion 
of the ancient and extensive diocese of Dimkeld. 
From this it was separated in the reign of William 
the Lion, in the twelfth century, and the cathedral 
was consequently established in the island of Lis- 
more, near the entrance of the present Caledonian 
canal. The bishopric of the Isles was fixed in the 
holy isle of Zona, about the close of the thirteenth 
century, the episcopal jurisdiction of that district 
being no longer connected, as before, with the Isle 
of Man and with the Church of Norway. The last 
bishop of the Isles was Archibald Grraham, who, with 

« 1 Tim. lii. 2. 

I 



114 A&6YLL AND THE ISLES. 

the other prelates, was deprived of his dignities after 
the revolution of 1688. The depressed state of epis 
copacy finally occasioned the union of several dioceses 
previously distinct, and, as late as the year 1845, 
Moray and Ross, Argyll and the Isles, were all un- 
der the care of the venerable Bishop Low. But in 
the year just mentioned, that excellent prelate was 
induced by his increasing infirmities to resign the 
charge of so extensive a district. A new division 
was consequently made by the ecclesiastical autho- 
rities, and at present Moray and Ross are under the 
care of Bishop Eden, while Bishop Ewing presides 
over Argyll and the Isles. The latter diocese con- 
tains Argyll and Bute, most of Inverness, and all of 
the Hebrides. Including the numerous and scat- 
tered islands, its extent is greater than that of some 
of the American dioceses. From the isle of Lewis 
in the north to the southern point of Cantire the 
distance is no less than 230 miles, while from Lo- 
chaber in the east to the island of Tyree in the 
west the breadth of land and ocean amounts to 120 
miles. The few inhabitants of this wide expanse are 
generally a loyal race, retaining many patriarchal 
habits, and to a considerable extent attached by tra- 
dition to the cause of episcopacy. But, imfortunately, 
since the establishment of Fresbyterianism in 1689, 
it has been difficult to supply these scattered sheep 
with pastors, and their ancient prepossessions have 
often been efOsiced by Romanism or by the system 
patronised by the State. The Free Kirk also has 
taken a considerable share of the population, and, 



ABGTLL AKD THE ISLES. 115 

at present, episcopacy cannot claim many more than 
two thousand adherents. The Bishop is however 
exerting himself to fulfil as far as practicable, the 
great objects of his mission, and to revive, according 
to his means, a good and holy cause. He has in- 
stituted an " Episcopal Fimd," the objects of which 
are the erection of churches and schools, the educa- 
tion and maintenance of clei^ymen able to speak 
the Gaelic tongue, and such other measures as may 
advance the spiritual welfare of the people. The 
Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge has come 
to his aid with Prayer-books and Bibles translated 
into the language of the people, and individuals of 
zeal and of ability occasionally shew themselves 
ready to assist with their personal exertions or with 
their pecuniary contributions. 

The first Synod of the revived and united Dioceses 
of Argyll and the Isles was held at Oban, on the 
8th of August, 1848. In the course of the charge 
delivered on that occasion, the Bishop spoke as 
follows : — 

" There is, perhaps, no desire nearer to our hearts, 
my brethren, than the elevation and increase of that 
branch of the Church to which we belong. We 
have it in our power to contribute much towards 
this object. Our most effectual means will be the 
exaltation of our Lord and Master, and personal 
righteousness. For it is to the Church, as making 
prominent the confession, ' Thou art the Christ, the 
Son of the living G-od,' that triumph and exalta- 
tion are promised over opposition, and if this be not 



116 ABGTLL AND TU£ ISLES. 

our distinguishing mark, we shall not be exalted 
long. 

" The very erection of churches is but a secondary 
part of the ministerial office. For we are set to 
communicate that which giveth spiritual life, and 
that which giveth spiritual life must always be of 
the nature of spirit. We are to deal in causes, not 
effects ; we are to implant motives, rather than to 
provide results. Now a material fabric is always a 
result. 

" Exalt the Head, ray brethren, and in every way 
the body will be exalted. Even on so low a ground 
as making provision for the ministry, this is the 
most successful course. He who evidently foi^ets 
his own in the thii^ of Jesus Christ, will always 
have lai^er provision than he who does the reverse. 
There are, however, trials on this head peculiar to 
the ministry of our [Scottish] communion. I allude 
to the riches of our people, and the fact that they 
are but little employed for the furtherance of the 
ministry. Much of this trial we owe to our own 
supineness, much to the uncertain position of our 
Church, but most of all to the fact that the rich are 
far from the kingdom of God." 

After alluding to the position of his clergy as the 
ministers of " large, ignorant and scattered flocks," 
the Bishop proceeded in the following words: — "Owr 
great temptation is to discharge our common and 
primary duties in a negligent, slovenly, or per- 
functory manner. Be on your guard, brethren, 
against this temptation. Bemember that the lists 



AS.GYLL AND THE ISLES. 117 

of figures you annually present to me, as representing 
the amounts of your various congregations, represent 
an amount of immortal souls, and of souls under 
your care, souls for whicli one day you must give an 
account, souls of which, you have the cure, souls 
which if not cured are lost. Content not yourselves 
with reading or preaching over your people; deal 
with them privately and individually, as well as 
collectively and in public. While conversing with 
them on worldly topics, do not forget the heavenly, 
and remember that your business with them respects 
the- things of eternity, not of time. 

" It is impossible you can be too careful or scru- 
pulous, in your attention to the public services of 
the Church, whether as to rubrical strictness, cor- 
rectness and manner of delivery, or as to punctuality 
in attention to the fixed times appointed for divine 
service. Observe in your places of worship the 
services for the fasts and festivals of the Church, 
wherever it is possible, (and there are few cases 
wherein it is impossible). Frequently administer 
the Holy Communion ; not less frequently than six 
times in the year, and oftener if in your power. 
Baptize, as a rule, in public. Endeavour to raise 
the standards of singing and chanting in your 
churches. Set the example of teaching in your 
Sunday Schools, and frequently visit your daily 
Schools. 

" There is a snare, my brethren, against which I 
would warn you, the snare and danger of party spirit, 
a temptation to which we are all more or less ex- 



118 AB&TLL AND THE ISLES. 

posed, from the discussions of the day. I woiild 
have every clerg3aQan who differs with another in 
the diocese, always to remember that his adversary 
is probably as sincere and conscientious in his opinion 
as he is himself. It is love for good, yea good for 
the brethren, which makes men have bitterness 
against each other, wherever such bitterness exists 
from differences on religious questions. Eemember 
this, and forgive your brother his bitterness against 
you. Love him for his very bitterness, when you 
consider its cause. 

" There is assuredly in our [Scottish] communion 
an abundant and inviting field. The theory of our 
Church is all but perfect. Without praising uncon- 
ditionally the faith and labours of the Presbyterian 
bodies, (which regard for my own views of truth 
would prevent); and without condemning them 
(which respect for them, and dread to sin against 
the Holy Ghost, would forbid), I may say that a 
Church which presents, as does ours, the means for 
teaching with authority such as Presbyterian bodies 
do not possess, and which enforces morality with 
greater earnestness than perhaps Calvinistic doc- 
trine either enjoins or permits, has a very wide and . 
encouraging scene presented to its labours. And if, 
in addition, such a communion should provide, as 
ours might easily provide, a sanctuary where the 
soul could shelter from party quarrels and causeless 
strife, in holy doctrine and devout repose, it is not 
too much to say, that, in the present religious state 
of Scotland, such a communion would draw within 



ABGTUi AND THE ISLES. 119 

its pale the great bulk of the educated in the 
kingdom." 

On Sunday morning, Sept. 12, 1 officiated in the 
Bishop's church, which, owing to its small dimen- 
sions, was tolerably well filled by a congregation 
not much exceeding a hundred persons. The ap- 
pearance of the edifice was neat and unpretend- 
ing; but of a distinctly ecclesiastical character. 
The school-mistress presided at the organ, and 
the chanting and singing were very satisfactory. 
Haying been engaged to advocate the '' Church 
Society" with a view to a collection at the Offertory, 
I chose as a text the words of St. Paul, " He which 
soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully^." 
An extract from the discourse is here introduced 
on account of its direct connexion with the main 
object of this little work. 

'* St. Paul himself and his contemporary Apostles 
nobly illustrated the principle of our text, and 
proved, in the sight of men and angels, that 'he 
which soweth bountifully shall reap also bounti- 
fully.* They went forth in the spirit of their 
Master, the Great Sower of the Word, who had 
charged them to * preach the Gospel to every crea- 
ture.' They * sowed in tears,' counting not their 
lives dear, but encountering hardship, persecution, 
danger and death, in their severest forms. But 
they ' reaped in joy,' they beheld how ' the Lord 
added daily to the Church such as should be 
saved,' they finished their course, they entered into 

* 8 Cor. ix. 



120 ARGYLL AJTD THE ISLES. 

rest, and (like the Great Shepherd) they 'saw of 
the travail of their souls and were satisfied.' We 
may believe that now, from the blessed mansions 
which they inhabit, they contemplate the constant 
growth of the mighty tree which sprang from the 
grain of mustard, and rejoice that, notwithstanding 
lamentable offences and corruptions, the faith, once 
' every where spoken against,' is professed by nearly 
three hundred millions of the children of Adam. 

" Not only the primitive Apostles, but the more 
recent ministers and missionaries of the Word of 
life, have reaped a similar reward. When the 
missionary Augustine landed, in fear and trembling, 
upon the coast of Kent, he found that God had pre- 
pared a whole nation for the reception of the Gospel. 
He sowed bountifully, and, through divine mercy, 
he reaped also bountifully, and saw with his bodily 
eyes the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons. Such too 
was the experience of the great and holy Colimiba, 
notwithstanding the obstacles and dangers which 
beset him when first he landed upon the shores of 
Scotland. The power of heathenism melted away 
before the bright beams of Christian truth, nor did 
the saint enter into his rest until he had exhibited 
another splendid illustration of the maxim that 
'He which soweth bountifully shall reap also 
bountifully.' 

" We may, however, take an example from almost 
our own times. It is not yet seventy years since a 
highly distinguished labourer went forth to sow the 
good seed, and that too under a commission proceed- 



AB6YLL A1?D THE ISLES. 121 

ing from the very Church to which you belong. I 
need hardly remind you that, for a century and a 
half before the American Revolution, various motives 
of woridly policy had prohibited the appointment of 
Bishops for the vast territory now known as the 
' United States.' A successful rebellion, though 
generally deprecated by the Church, was yet made 
the means of setting the Church at liberty. The 
churchmen residing in the State of Connecticut 
elected a faithM and fearless man as their first 
prelate, and sent him over to England to receive 
that imposition of apostolic hands without which 
a mere election would have been wholly insufficient. 
Legal impediments, however, stood in the way of 
this pioneer of episcopacy, and it was reserved for 
the persecuted Scottish Church to communicate to 
America the great gift of a valid ecclesiastical suc- 
cession. From Aberdeen the devout Seabury went 
forth like another Augustine, or Columba, and re- 
turned to Connecticut in all the fulness of the 
episcopal office. Severe and laborious undertakings 
lay before him, involving much physical exertion as 
well as mental anxiety. In addition to all this he 
was placed in immediate conflict with prejudices of 
the bitterest description, the dominant party of the 
Puritans possessing the power as well as the inclina- 
tion to thwart his efforts and to check the rising 
energies of his Church. But he sowed the good 
seed bountifully in that day of trouble and reproach, 
and the result has been seen in a plentiful and still 
increasing harvest. At the time of Seabury's con- 



122 ABGTLL AlTD THE ISLES. 

secration, Connecticut possessed little more than a 
dozen clergymen, and those too were thinly scattered 
in the midst of a non-episcopalian community. But 
at the present time you may look in vain for the 
hostile dominancy of New-England Puritanism while 
the single diocese of good old Seabury contains more 
than a hundred ministers, ten thousand communi- 
cants, and at least fifty thousand worshippers pro- 
fessing the same doctrines with ourselves. Colleges, 
schools, academies, and charitable institutions flour- 
ish there under episcopal supervision, while the 
towers and spires of perhaps six score costly churches 
testify to the permanence and reality of a movement 
which originated in duty and conviction. 

" To you, my brethren of the Scottish Church, the 
considerations derived from such a history apply 
with peculiar force. You have been a feeble body, 
you have suffered from political as well as theo- 
logical prejudices, you are still far from powerful 
or numerous, and viewing the difficulties of your 
position you may often have asked yourselves the 
question, 'By whom shall Jacob arise, for he is 
small.' The answer to such a question may be 
found in the precept of our text, ' sow bountifully 
and reap bountifully.' Cherish and sustain, in pre- 
ference to all others, the institutions and the 
charities of your own Church. Support them 
with liberality, with consistency and with un- 
doubting confidence. Your Church has been pre- 
served through formidable difficulties, with a view, 
we may trust, to the future accomplishment of 



AB6YLL AJTD THE ISLES. 123 

great providential purposes. The principles of your 
Chureli are firm and solid like the mountains of 
your native land, or like the hills which stand 
round about Jerusalem, which may not be moved, 
but stand fast for evermore. Let these deeply- 
rooted principles be brought forth in connexion 
with corresponding practice. Let these grand 
truths be made to shine before men, and no longer, 
through negligence or timidity, be hidden beneath 
a bushel. Let sinners be converted, let separated 
brethren be reclaimed, and built up in the imity of 
the catholic and apostolic body. So may your 
venerable Church become a refuge for the weary 
and heavy laden, a home for the perplexed and 
the troubled, a crown of glory in the hand of the 
Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of her God." 





CHAPTEE IX. 

The abbeys and the arches * 

The old cathedral piles. 
Oh, weep to see the ivy 

And the grass in all their aisles; 
The vaulted roof is ffdlen 

And the bat and owl repose. 
Where once the people knelt them. 

And the high Tb Dbum rose. 

A PILGEIMAGE TO lONA. 

Kilmartin — Crinan Carud. — Voyage to Oban, — Sunset 
in the Highlands. — Free Kirk, — Sound of Mull. — 
Treshnisk Ides. — Staffa. — Entrance into FingdTs Cave. 
— Approach to the holy Ide of lona. — Ruins in lona. 
— Crosses. — Sepulchres. — Cathedral. — Meditations in 
the ruined Chancd. 

After the close of morning service at Loch- 
gilphead I accompanied the Bishop's curate to 
Kilmartin, a distance of about twelve miles to 
the northward. We passed, on our way, the re- 
mains of no less than three Druidical circles, which 
seemed to indicate that ideas of peculiar sanctity 
were associated with this region in the times of 
remote antiquity. The mountain scenery was oc- 
casionally picturesque, but the habitations of the 
Highlanders, which we passed at long intervals, 
externally appeared little superior to the wretched 
cabins of the Irish. As we approached Poltalloch 



A PILGRIMAGE TO lOVA. 135 

we saw tlie magnificent mansion of Mr. Malcolm, 
now approaching to completion, and I was shewn 
the situation of the beautiful episcopal church which 
that gentleman is erecting at a cost of five thousand 
pounds. The greater part of the neighbouring popu- 
lation are supplied with ample employment and good 
wages by this liberal and spirited Churchman. 

The church being incomplete, the congregation 
at Kilmartin assembled in a neat and comfortable 
school-room. The Church Society was brought be- 
fore their notice and a collection was made, as at 
Loch-gilphead in the morning. 

Having returned to the episcopal residence for 
the night, I embarked on the following morning in 
a packet-boat on the Crinan canal. The vessel was 
drawn by three horses driven by a postilion, and 
proceeded at the rate of five or six miles in the 
course of an hour. The tints of autumn had now 
settled on the vegetation, and imparted additional 
richness to the fine prospects which successively 
came in view from the windows of our commodious 
cabin. In the fore-ground was a valley bounded by 
lofty hills, which were again divided by smaller 
valleys traversed by little streams, the rapid motion 
of which was clearly visible. Here and there the 
high road was seen winding along the foot of the 
hills and crossing the rivulets by means of low 
arches roughly constructed of stone. Far in the 
distance high blue mountains overtopped the hills, 
and lifted their heads above the region of vapours. 
Sometimes a passing shower slightly obscured the 



126 A PILGRIMAGE TO ION A. 

distant prospect, and sometimes the sliadows of the 
clouds as they slowly glided along, imparted new 
beauties to the pleasing scenery. In the course of 
a few hours Duntro6n castle was in sight, and, 
having traversed the canal, I accompanied the other 
passengers on board the steamer which was await- 
ing our arrival. 

We proceeded along the coast of the wild and 
barren district of Lorn, while the bold forms of 
mountains and of islands successively presented 
themselves on our left and in front. Late in the 
evening DunoUy castle came in view, and soon 
afterwards we landed at the neat and thriving 
town of Oban. 

I now set out on a little excursion, and was 
delighted by a striking piece of scenery as the 
sun set over Ben-More on the adjacent island of 
Mull. The crimson light of the receding luminary, 
the glowing clouds, the well-defined outline of the 
dark blue moimtain, and the reflection of all on the 
calm surface of the sea, made up a picture which 
wiU long retain its hold upon my memory. 

I found a handsome Free Kirk in Oban, erected 
upon the side of a steep precipice overhung by 
trees and other verdure. I called at the minister's 
house, but was not so fortunate as to find him at 
home. I obtained, however, an opportunity of 
conversing with some of the members of his con- 
gregation, who spoke very energetically in refer- 
ence to the prospects of their community. They 
seemed perfectly certain of the righteousness of 



A niiGBIHAGE TO lONA. 127 

their cause, and confided firmly in the final triumph 
of their principles. It was rather amusing to find 
that the Bishop of Exeter was a special favourite 
with these successors of the Covenanters. They 
took particular care to explain that although they 
differed fi:om the Bishop on certain doctrinal points, 
they regarded with intense admiration his manly 
defence of the great principle of ecclesiastical in- 
dependence in matters strictly spiritual They de- 
clared that as the movement party constituted a 
majority in the General Assembly on the occasion 
of the disruption, the Free Kirk possessed a rightful 
claim to the title of the Church of Scotland. They 
did not oppose the principle of an Established 
Church ; but on the contrary asserted that the State 
was in duty bound to ascertain the truth and to sup- 
port it by civil sanctions. They regarded their 
present position as somewhat exceptional, and con- 
sidered themselves as having been of necessity 
forced into this position by the abuse of the law 
of patronage. At present, the Free Kirk numbers 
about 840 congregations and a proportionate body 
of preachers. Although their members are not, 
generally speaking, wealthy, they have applied, 
since 1843, no less than three millions of pounds 
to the promotion of their religious system. Six 
hundred and twenty three of their ministers are 
maintained by the " sustentation fund," which is 
contributed chiefly by about a hundred and sixty of 
the wealthier congregations. During the last ten 
years they have built 690 places of worship, a college. 



128 A PILGRIMAGE TO ION A. 

four hundred schools, and nearly five hundred par- 
sonage houses. 

On the morning of the fourteenth, I embarked 
in a steamer at 7 o'clock a.m., and proceeded on 
my voyage to lona. The day was rather misty, 
but, as the fog cleared off, the majestic forms 
of the surrounding mountains gradually disclosed 
themselves. On our left was the vast Ben-More, 
on our right, beyond DunstaflQiage castle and 
Loch Etive, appeared the towering summit of Ben- 
Cruachan, and immediately before us was the isle 
of Lismore, the ancient site of the Cathedral of 
Argyll. Our course now inclined to the north-west, 
and we entered the sound of Mull by Duart castle, 
formerly the residence of the chief of the warlike 
clan of the Macleans. Passing onwards, the castles 
of Artomish and Aros became visible on the opposite 
shores, situated close to the water with a view to 
facility of communication. As we turned to the 
northward the district of Morven appeared on our 
right, while the mountains of Mull were conspi- 
cuous objects on the left. The huge and pic- 
turesque range of the Ardnamurchan hills ap- 
peared in the north, with Mingarry Castle near 
their base. Tobermory was now passed, associated 
in history with the destruction of the Florida, a 
vessel belonging to the Spanish Armada, which here 
took refuge from the storm only to perish by fire. 
The rocks on the left exhibited a decidedly basaltic 
formation, and reminded us of our approach to Staffa. 
Turning to the westward we now came in sight of 



k PIL6BIHAGE TO lOVA. 129 

the Atlantic Ocean, the old friend on whose bosom 
I had so many times been eonyeyed safely and 
pleasantly between opposite hemispheres. The 
island of Coll was ahead of us, and to the right 
appeared the mountains in the Isle of Rum, with 
the low rocks of Muck and Eig in the fore-ground. 
After another half-hour, we steered to the south- 
ward, and fully realized the words of Scott : — 

Merrily, merrily, goea the bark, 
On a breeze from the northward free, 

So shoots through the morning sky the lark 
Or the swan through the scinimer sea. 

The shores of Mull on the eastward lay, 

And Ulva dark and Colonsay, 

And all the group of islets gay 
That guard famed Staffa round. 

The Treshnish Isles were in view, and appeared to 
be composed entirely of trap rock, presenting an 
assemblage of singular and grotesque forms. The 
mountains of Mull on the left were of a duU red 
colour, rocky, barren, and almost entirely destitute 
of vegetation. An American General, who happened 
to be among our passengers, now entered into con- 
versation with me, and remarked that these moun- 
tains closely resembled the hiUs of Judaea, among 
which he had been lately travelling. He had been 
induced to visit the Holy Land by the urgent solici- 
tations of his wife, who declared that she could 
never rest satisfied until she had seen Jerusalem. 
These pilgrims had accordingly proceeded from the 
United States to Palestine, where their anticipations 



130 A PILGRIMAGE TO ION A. 

had been surpassed by the reality. They were now 
visiting pome of the more interesting localities in 
Great Britain, and being earnest Church people, the 
attractions of lona had tempted them into the west 
of Scotland. 

But we were now alongside Staffa, and gazing 
at its perpendicular rocks, its broken hexagonal 
columns, and the various colours by which its pro- 
jecting superincumbent cliffs were brilliantly tinted. 
The steamer now stopped, and a couple of large 
boats came alongside, into which the passengers de- 
scended. "We were conveyed partly round the island 
and saw the entrances to several caves, each of which 
possesses its name and its peculiar features of interest. 
The sea being calm, with very little swell, we were 
enabled to enter Fiugal's Cave, and most of our 
party were penetrated with a feeling of awe as we 
slowly advanced into its interior recesses. The dash- 
ing of the water, the voices of the spectators, and 
the strokes of the oars, were reverberated from the 
roof, which gave forth confused and hollow sounds 
amid the increasing gloom. At length we arrived 
at the extremity, two hundred and twenty-seven 
feet from the entrance. Looking upwards, the roof 
with its pointed arch appeared to us like that of 
a Gothic cathedral. I was informed that its actual 
height was about twenty-two yards, an elevation 
nearly the same with that of the new cathedral at 
Perth. The straight hexagonal columns, though 
built by no himian hand, strengthened these eccle- 
siastical associations, and the sound of the waters 




FTNOAL'S CA^VW, IN THE ISLATSID 0I<^ STAtf'FA. 



A FIIGBIMAOE TO lONA. 131 

excited impressions in the mind, not wholly dis- 
similar to those produced by music. 

In this solemn place the Bishop of Tennessee, 
with a large party, made his visit in 1851 an occa- 
sion of glorifying God. A spectator wrote as fol- 
lows to his friends in America: "The Bishop of 
Tennessee called on all of us to sing the hundredth 
Psalm, and I assure you we made that glorious 
cavern ring with our responses. Clinging to the 
sides of the cave, the ocean at our feet, and that 
natural arch of rock above our heads, with the 
Atlantic at the door of our Cathedral, and lona 
descried in the distance, we worshipped and mag- 
nified the Lord." 

Upon the present occasion, unhappily, the idea of 
sacred music, although suggested, did not appear to 
commend itself to our party. Some of them, how- 
ever, stepped out of the boat and ascended the sides 
of the cavern, where they sang "God save the 
Queen" to our satisfaction, most of the performers 
possessing good voices, and the situation adding, of 
course, greatly to the effect. 

As we came forth through the entrance, lona was 
visible before us at the distance of seven miles, 
and its ruined Cathedral appeared on the left side of 
the island. The lines of Scott came to mind : — 

Nor doth its entrance front in vain 
To old lona's holy fane, 
That nature's voice might seem to say 
•* Well hast thou done, frail child of clay I 
Thy humble powers that stately shrine 
TasVd high and hard, but witness mine!" 



132 A FILGBIMAGE TO lONA. 

Landing on the island outside the cave, I walked 
over it with the American General. Near the water- 
side the rocks consist almost entirely of broken 
columns, generally hexagonal, but sometimes with 
seven sides, five, four, or even three. We were in- 
formed that they were undoubtedly of volcanic 
origin, and that when exposed to a sufficient heat 
they melt as readily as cast iron. A number of 
them were bent into segments of circles, and one 
huge mass in pexticular bore a curious resemblance 
to a sea-shell from the regular curvature of the 
cohering colunms. 

Returning on board the steamer we were soon in 
motion again, and the venerable form of the Cathe- 
dral of lona gradually became more and more dis- 
tinct. We spoke of Columba, of Aidan, Finan, 
Colman, and Adamnan, and how the Kving Word of 
God went forth from lona with the power of the 
Holy Ghost during the seventh century of our era. 
The controversies respecting Easter and the Tonsure 
were mentioned, the success of the Romanizing party 
in the year 718, the desolation inflicted upon lona 
by the Northmen in 802, the slaughter of the clergy 
in 806, and the removal of St. Columba's body to 
Ireland in 829. We remembered that, in the suc- 
ceeding ages, thousands of pilgrims continually re- 
sorted to lona as to holy ground, that the bones of 
monarchs and of churchmen were sent here as to a 
blessed place of sepulture, and that the ashes of 
Christian prelates, Norwegian and Danish rovers, 
and Scottish and Irish monarchs, await in lona the 
resurrection of the dead. We read of the build- 



A PIL6&IMAGE TO lONA. 133 

ing of the Cathedral in the twelfth century, when 
lona became the see of the Bishopric of the Isles, 
and felt a just indignation at the Act of the Scot- 
tish Parliament of 1560, under which this sacred 
building was reduced to its present state of dila- 
pidation. 

I took occasion to remind my companions that, 
after the lapse of ages, the Cathedral had been em- 
ployed at a very recent period for the purposes of 
divine worship imder circumstances of peculiar in- 
terest. The Bishop of Argyll, after concluding his 
Synod at Oban on the 8th of August 1848, pro- 
ceeded to lona with a large party of clergy and laity 
in a vessel belonging to Mr. Boyle, the noble-minded 
founder of the College at Cumbrae. The Church 
service was performed within the roofless Cathedral 
with due solemnity, and the communion-plate, after- 
wards used in the College of Cumbrae, was con- 
secrated by the Bishop to its holy purpose. The 
Bishop also preached a striking sermon from the 
text " Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away 
the sins of the world,** (John i. 29), in the con- 
clusion of which he spoke as follows : — 

" Coming, as we do to-day, on a pilgrimage to the 
graves of our spiritual fathers, we cannot but regi*et 
the silence and solitude of their tombs. A Bishop of 
the ancient Church, yea, Bishop of this Diocese, 
grasping the staff and using the seal of Columba of 
the Isles, a Dean, Clergy and Laity, we have come 
to reverence here, at the fountain of Christianity in 
the West, the glory of God in His saints. We 



134 A FILGRIKAGS TO lONA. 

have come to honour God by visiting this Jerusalem 
which His own right hand planted, and the Vine 
which He made so strong for Himself. The benefit 
which we shall derive from our visit will, in great 
measure, depend upon the knowledge we possess of 
the scenes whereby we are surrounded. We are 
now in what was the cradle and nursing-mother of 
Christianity in the West. Here the service of the 
Church went on, and the word of God was heard, 
when the decline of the Koman Empire had all but 
buried both amid the ruins of civilization. Here 
the flickering light of Christianity was kept alive, 
and feintly seen throughout the darkest ages ; hence, 
as from a beacon flame, the hills around were illu- 
minated, and from hence, the blaze being carried 
wide, and the mainland of Europe becoming bright, 
Christianity itself, as it were, was rekindled from 
lona. Her light is gone, and lona, like her mother 
Jerusalem, is in bondage with her children. 

" Behold lona, my brethren, consider the causes 
which exalted her, and those which laid her low. 
She was exalted by exalting the Truth, she was 
brought low by depressing it. She was raised from 
insignificance by holding forth the Lamb slain, she 
was reduced to her natural condition by ceasing to 
do so, by holding forth indeed somewhat else. Let 
us copy the cause of her exaltation, and avoid that 
of her fall. 

"Secular as the words may be, world-wide as 
they are celebrated, we cannot conclude without 
repeating the famous apostrophe of one who was a 



A PILGBIMAGE TO lONA. 135 

giant in bis generation*, and like ourselves a pilgrim 
to lona. 'We are now treading,' said he, 'that 
illustrious island which was once the luminary of 
the Caledonian regions, whence savage clans and 
roving barbarians derived the benefits of knowledge 
and the blessings of religion. To abstract the mind 
from all local emotion would be impossible if it 
were endeavoured, and would be foolish if it were 
possible. Whatever withdraws us from the power 
of our senses, whatever makes the past, the distant, 
or the future, predominate over the present, ad- 
vances us in the dignity of thinking beings. Far 
from me and my friends be such frigid philosophy 
as may conduct us indifferent and unmoved over any 
groimd which has been dignified by wisdom, bravery, 
or virtue. That man is little to be envied whose 
patriotism would not gain force upon the plain of 
Marathon, or whose piety would not grow warmer 
among the ruins of lona.' " 

As we drew near to the landing-place, a band of 
music on board our steamer indulged us with a 
sacred air, altogether in keeping with the associations 
of the locality. The Cathedral was now close on 
our right, and appeared far more complete than I 
had anticipated. It seemed that, with the addi- 
tion of a roof, and with the same amount of re- 
storation which is often bestowed on our parish 
churches in England, it might be rendered thoroughly 
available for public worship. The first Charles did 
indeed take measures for its complete repair in 1635, 

• Dr. Johnson. 



136 ▲ PILGfilMAGE TO lONA. 

and ordered £400 per annum to be paid annually 
for this purpose. The troubles of the times, however, 
unhappily prevented the completion of a design 
which may possibly be reserved for the ecclesi- 
astical energy of the nineteenth or twentieth cen- 
tury. 

We cast anchor, and the passengers were carried 
in the boats to a rude jetty projecting into the sea. 
Here we were met by a troop of wretched looking 
children, who endeavoured to persuade us to buy 
some pieces of stone, pebbles, shells, and other me- 
moriab of the island. They followed us throughout 
our excursion, and obtruded themselves upon us like 
a swarm of musquitoes, notwithstanding all our exer- 
tions to satisfy them and to keep them at a distance. 
We were reminded of the lines of Wordsworth, who 
thus exclaims in reference to this serious annoy- 
ance, — 

How sad a welcome 1 to each voyager 
Some ragged child holds up for sale a store 
Of wave-worn pebbles, pleading on the shore 
Where once came monk and nun, with gentle stir, 
Blessings to give, news ask, or suit prefer. 

We walked up the bank, and found ourselves among 
the wretched hovels which constitute the village of 
Shuld, and in which most of the five hundred inha- 
bitants of the island have taken up their comfortless 
abode. Here, however, was a decent Presbyterian 
place of worship, a handsome school-house, and a 
well built manse for the incumbent. It appeared 
also that disruption had found its way even into this 





ST. MAKIIN'S CROSS 



MAC LEAN'S OROSd 



lOxN'A 



A PIL6BIHA6E TO lOKA. 137 

remote situation, for the Free-Kirk had its meeting- 
house and its manse as well as the Establishment. 

We now began to survey the ancient buildings, 
all of which are of a much later date than the period 
of Columba. The juvenile beggars tormented us at 
every step, but sometimes we were protected from 
them by our guide, and sometimes by iron railings, 
apparently erected as a fortification against their 
intrusions. One of the first ruins we entered was 
that of the Nunnery, the chapel of which is about 
60 feet long by 20 in width, and in a tolerable state 
of preservation. As no women were permitted to 
inhabit the island in the time of the Culdees, it is 
probable that this Nunnery is not more ancient than 
the commencement of the thirteenth century. The 
canonesses who inhabited it followed the rule of 
St. Augustine, and their costume appears to have 
been a white gown with a linen rochet. A number 
of tombs were visible on the floor of the chapel, 
though little care seemed to have been bestowed in 
order to their preservation. On several of them we 
could distinguish the effigies of a comb, a mirror, or 
a pair of scissors, emblems no doubt of the sex of 
the person occupying the grave beneath. The tomb 
of the last prioress, Anna Macdonald, was tolerably 
complete, the effigy representing the deceased in the 
vestments of her order, with her hands joined in 
prayer and with the legend " Sancta Maria ora pro 

Having left the Nunnery we came to one of the 
few Crosses remaining out of three hundred which 



138 A PILGRIMAGE TO IONA« 

formerly decorated the island. It consists of a 
single stone, about eleven feet in height, and is 
little impaired by time, though traditionally assigned 
to the era of Columba. Hence we proceeded to the 
Chapel of Orain, a building 60 feet in length by 22 
in breadth, and, excepting the roof, almost in a per- 
fect state, being constructed of hard red granite 
brought from the neighbouring island of MuU. 
Orain was one of the followers of Columba, and the 
first, it is said, who was interred in lona. The 
chapel is rude in its architecture, and is referred to 
the twelfth century. It is lighted by two small 
lancet windows, and contains a handsome triple arch, 
which foims a canopy over a tomb of comparatively 
recent date. 

Around the chapel is the Reilig Orairiy the sacred 
burying place in which repose the remains of many 
who in their day were celebrated for their sanctity, 
their power, or their bravery in war. The tombs, 
although worthy of Westminster Abbey, are exposed 
to the inclemency of the weather without the slightest 
protection. Here lie forty-eight Scottish kings, (the 
last of whom was the renowned Macbeth,) four 
Irish monarchs, the ancient Lords of the Isles, eight 
Norwegian princes, and a king of France. The 
material of the tombs is admirable, and the sculp- 
ture is generally of a most superior description. 
Some figures of ships are skilfuUy executed, and 
afford an excellent idea of ancient modes of navi- 
gation. The tomb of the four Priors, who died in 
the year 1500, presents a most graceful and elaborate 




^l^-^ll 



< 

O 



02 



A PILGKIMAGE TO lONA. 139 

specimen of florid carving, though considerably in- 
jured by exposure to the elements. On the tomb of 
Maclean of Coll a knight in armour is represented 
in the act of drawing his sword, while angels appear 
protecting his head from danger. In passing through 
this consecrated place I gathered up a hand&l of 
dust as a relic, little thinking that the great warrior 
of modem times was then breathing his last, that 
the Duk^ of Wellington was at that moment passing 
into eternity. 

From the Reilig Oram we advanced to the Cathe- 
dral, which is supposed to occupy the site of the 
original place of Culdee worship. On entering the 
sacred precincts our attention was arrested by an- 
other beautiful cross fourteen feet high, consisting 
of a solid piece of the hardest stone, 'and fixed in a 
pedestal of red granite. Passing a third cross, which 
has been violently broken and cast down, we were 
directed through the western entrance and found 
ourselves within the church. The building is com- 
posed chiefly of the hard red granite of Mull, and is 
in the form of a cross. It is altogether 160 feet 
long and 24 broad, with a transept of 70 feet. The 
tower is 60 feet in height, being divided into three 
stories and resting on four massive cylindrical 
Norman pillars. On the whole, the Cathedral of 
lona is not unlike a good-sized parish Church in 
England. The windows of the tower are still com- 
plete, consisting of two square slabs of stone, one of 
which is perforated by quatrefoils and the other 
by a Catherine wheel. The pillars throughout the 



140 A riLGBIKAGE TO lONA. 

church resemble those which support the tower, 
and their capitals are in some instances sculptured 
with curious and grotesque figures. One of these 
represents an angel weighing the good deeds of a 
man against his evil ones, while the devil is depress- 
ing one scale with his frightful daw. 

The choir is about 60 feet in length, and as late 
as 1688 the ancient altar was standing, and consisted 
of a fine piece of white marble, six feet long and 
four broad, curiously veined and polished. Un- 
happily, however, this altar acquired in Protestant 
times such a reputation for miraculous qualities that 
a fragment of it was regarded as a security against 
various misfortunes. It was consequently demo- 
lished piece by piece, and not a trace of it now 
remains upon its ancient site. On the south side of 
the choir is the tomb of John Mackinnon, an abbot 
of lona, who died in the year 1500. It represents 
the effigy of the abbot, with the crozier in his left 
hand, and his right hand raised as in the act of be- 
nediction. It was, doubtless, an admirable piece of 
sculpture when entire, though now grievously de- 
faced. At the north side of the choir stands the 
chapter-house, over which, it is said, was formerly 
the apartment assigned to the library. The vaulted 
roof still remains, though overgrown by grass and 



The main body of the visitors moved on with the 
guide, and I was left standing alone at the north 
of the site of the Altar, a proper situation for a priest 
of the Catholic Church of Christ. Innumerable ideas 



▲ FILGBDCAGE TO lONA. 141 

crowded upon my mind, and the past, the present, 
and the future, seemed for the moment to be blended 
into one. I thought of the original Druids, the pious 
Culdees, the encroaching Church of Rome, the Re- 
formed Church, the Established Presbyterian body 
and the Free Kirk. I reflected on the Holy Church 
throughout the world, still battling and struggling 
with difficulties of every sort, still working its way 
onwards in spite of diyisions, of apathy, of outward 
enmity and of inward weakness and corruption. I 
remembered the blessed men of old who have fought 
their good fight and done their appointed work, and 
the missionary bishops and clergy, the Broughtons, 
the Selwyns, the Chases, the Kempers, who in this 
nineteenth century are engaged in the same righteous 
cause, and passing through their brief hour of labour 
and tribulation. I thought of the outward means 
possessed by the Church, its Colleges, its associa- 
tions, its systems voluntary and established by law, 
the Scottish Synods, the General Convention in 
America, and the approachii^ and anxiously ex- 
pected Convocation of the Church of England. Nor 
did I forget Nashotah in the fSstr West, St. John's in 
New Zealand, St. Augustine's in Canterbury, Cum- 
brae and its bell ringing for the Litany, Perth and 
its little Cathedral, Glenalmond and its white-robed 
choristers. Though trials and offences abound, the 
good work, I thought, stiU proceeds; though we 
often hear the loud grating of the wheels, the chariot 
stiU advances. Men of future times may regard 
those of the nineteenth century as we now regard 



142 A FILGBIKAGE TO lONA. 

those of the seventh or the eighth. Nashotah or 
Glenalmond may become what lona was, and in 
the course of ages may appear as lona appears 
now. The British Isles themselves, having like 
lona finished the work assigned to them, may like 
lona become a desolation. The Minster of York, 
the Abbey of Westminster, and the Cathedral of 
St. Paul, may hUL to ruin Hke this mouldering sanc- 
tuary in the isle of Columba, while dioceses extend 
themselves, and new Cathedrals appear in America, 
Australia, AMca, China, India, and the isles of the 
Pacific. The principles once held in lona are the 
eternal principles of truth, which never shall pass 
away, and the Church of which Columba was a 
glorious missionary shall yet receive the heathen 
for its inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the 
earth for its possession. 

Reflections of this nature were suspended by the 
signal for our departure, and we were soon collected 
together again on the deck of the steamer. The 
anchor was raised, and in a short time the ancient 
sanctuary of lona disappeared from our view. We 
arrived at Oban about sunset, and on the following 
day I returned to Glasgow by the Crinan Canal and 
the Frith of Clyde. The night mail-train conveyed 
me to London and my pleasant excursion was at 
an end. 




CHAPTEE 



And tbou, trae Church of Scotland, 
Cast down, shalt not despair ; 

When dower'd wives are barren 
The desolate shall bear. 



CONCLUSION. 



General reflections on the svhject of Scottish Christianity, 
— Which is the trrie Church of Scotland ? — DifficvUies 
and encouragemerUs of the Church.^Prospects of Epi- 
scopacy in Scotland* 

The facts recorded in the preceding chapters 
are snflScient to shew how in Scotland, as in other 
parts of Christendom, the great work of the Gospel, 
by various means, has constantly been carried for- 
ward from the primitive times. We perceive how 
zeal and superstition, kindness and violence, reason 
and bigotry, have acted their respective parts in 
keeping up some knowledge of the great system 
established upon earth by the Son of God. Never, 
perhaps, has the prevailing form of religion realized 
the ideal of a perfect Church ; great difficulties have 



144 CONCLUSION. ' ' 

always appeared in the way, and great incon- 
sistencies have manifested themselves in the con- 
duct of professed Christians; yet, on the whole, 
it may be assumed that real godliness has never 
entirely lost its power, and that more or less of the 
good seed has always been sown upon a soil more 
or less productive. 

As, in Christendom at large, it is easy to per- 
plex oneself with questions concerning the Greek, 
or Boman, or Anglican, or Lutheran communities ; 
so, in the minor field of Scotland, a lifetime might 
be wasted in discussing the various claims of Epis- 
copacy, of the Papacy, of the Free Kirk, and of the 
Establishment. It is only by going to first prin- 
ciples, and by tracing the various threads of history 
to their origin, that we can place ourselves in a 
position favourable to the formation of an enlightened 
judgment. 

The Scottish Establishment deserves to be men- 
tioned respectfully, and is seldom mentioned other- 
wise by sober and well-informed Episcopalians. It 
has done much good; it possesses many excellent 
ministers and members ; it holds up the Scriptures 
to public view, and with them it maintains a certain 
respect for Apostolic authority, along with reverence 
for the sacred Word of Christ. It administers Bap- 
tism to myriads in the Name of the Father, and of 
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; it distributes 
bread and wine to numerous communicants, in 
memory of the Saviour's death. To how many 
has it imparted consolation; to how many has it 



CONCLUSION. 145 

sjipplied exalted motives to good ! How many 
have lived in it with advantage to themselves and 
others, and died within its pale in the comforts of 
Christian hope! Eeadily we admit its superiority 
to some other Establishments, and we are not slow 
to believe that its existence may have been a greater 
blessing to Scotland than the absence of any Esta- 
blishment whatever. In some points it even pos- 
sesses an unquestionable advantage over the Esta- 
blishment of England. Sole administrator of its 
own affairs, it is alike free from the sale or barter of 
preferment, and from that miserable worldly influ- 
ence which would treat the rights of a patron as 
the principal consideration in the management of a 
Christian Church. It is not, like the southern Esta- 
blishment, subject to the arbitrary adjournment of 
its most solemn assemblies, and while its discipline 
is carried into effect, it enjoys the protection of the 
State without feeling itself imnecessarily restricted. 
We do not deny that the ministers of the Esta- 
blishment possess also a considerable amount of 
actual authority. They have all the spiritual cha- 
racter which the Presbyterian system can confer, 
and whatever may be the real value of that cha- 
racter, the strictest Episcopalian will hardly pro- 
nounce it altogether, and in every sense, a nullity. 
They exercise all the jurisdiction which the laws of 
the country can bestow upon religious teachers, and, 
till recently, they enjoyed the additional advantage 
arising from the affection and willing support of the 
great mass of the Scottish people. K the spiritual 

L 



146 CONCLU8I05. 

character derived firom Presbyterian institutioiis, 
backed by the civil authority and ^irther sustained 
for a long period by the popular traditions of North 
Britain, can constitute a Christian Church, then it 
must be admitted that, in right as well as in law, 
the Established Eiik is the Church of Scotland. 

We think it evident, however, that this Establish- 
ment is destitute of any outward ecclesiastical bond 
connecting it as a visible body with the Apostolic 
Church. We believe that its ministers cannot be 
identified as Bishops, as Priests, or as Deacons; 
that its Communion is something diJSerent from 
the primitive Eucharist ; and that, although many 
arguments may be pleaded in excuse for its anoma- 
lous position, the truth stiU remains that the Scot- 
tish Kirk is diverse from that One CathoHc and 
Apostolic Church of the Nicene Creed, in which 
the Church of England believes. 

As for the Eree Kirk, and other minor dissenting 
commimities, however we may disapprove of the 
fanaticism too frequently visible among them, we 
cannot but admire the energy of their exertions, 
the liberality of their contributions, and the sound- 
ness of some of their principles. But if the body 
from which they sprung was deficient in authority, 
it is impossible that adequate authority can attach 
to the o£ihoots. The Free Kirk, for instance, is 
but an association of well-meaning persons, not built 
upon the primitive rock, but casually grouped toge- 
ther for ends which, at present, serve to imite them 
and to make them a prosperous and energetic sect. 



CONCLUSION. 147 

We do not forget that there is another claimant 
to the position of the Church of Scotland, namely, 
the Church of Rome. K indeed it can be shewn 
that the Papacy is the only true foundation of the 
Church of the Redeemer, then truly all parties must 
yield ; and not only the Scottish Establishment, the 
Free Kirk, and the Episcopal Church, but Greece, 
Russia, Germany, America, and England, must be 
content humbly to acknowledge the supremacy of 
the seven-hilled city. The case, however, is ma- 
terially altered if history shews that the early 
Christians of Scotland knew of no such essential 
supremacy in Rome, that the high claims of the 
Papacy are comparatively of recent date ; and that 
Rome has, in fact, departed alike from her own 
teaching and from the doctrine of the Apostolic age. 
The present Church of Rome in Scotland, like the 
Establishment itself, is unable to identify itself with 
the ancient Church of the nation. It is a Church 
against which we doubt not that Columba and his 
followers would have earnestly protested, not merely 
on such points as those of Easter and the Tonsure, 
but on the graver questions of transubstantiation 
and purgatory, the denial of the cup to the laity, 
and the absolute supremacy of the Roman pontiff. 

What shall we say then of the " Scottish Epis- 
copal Church ?" We must admit that it is a weak 
body, and that it possesses no claim upon the people 
of Scotland by reason of any present nimierical 
superiority. Its ministry is not directly connected 
with that of the ancient northern Church, having 



148 CONCLUSION. 

been twice supplied from the south, to which more 
than once in the Culdee period, Scotland had im- 
parted the gift of a true episcopate. It cannot claim, 
like the Church of England, an unbroken succession 
of prelates in its respective sees. It also labours 
under many practical difficulties, and, at the present 
moment, may even be imdergoing the just punish- 
ment of former negligences. 

Yet it walks in fellowship with the Apostles, and 
in this respect finds itself irreconcilably separated 
from all the Presbyterian sects. Though its sees 
have not been always occupied, the unbroken suc- 
cession of its episcopate has been maintained, as 
has been shewn in a former chapter, with the occa- 
sional help both of the established and of the non- 
juring prelates of the Anglican Church. It holds 
also the doctrine of the Apostolic age, and protects 
that precious deposit against sectarian innovations 
and Romish developments, by the constant use, not 
only of the Scriptures, but of the prayers, the h3anns, 
and the creeds of the primitive Christians. Like 
the Established Kirk it possesses its free synods, 
it is the sole guardian of its spiritual interests, it 
exercises needful discipline, it suffers from no abuse 
of patronage, it enjoys the benefit of legal pro- 
tection for such property as it may have acquired. 
It has, besides, many advantages of which the Kirk 
is wholly destitute. It has, for example, a Liturgy 
identical with that of England, and admired even 
by the adversaries of Episcopacy. It possesses the 
Catholic Sacraments and Sacramentals in their in- 



CONCLUSIOK. 149 

tegrity, a real Eucharist, and the ancient and duly- 
transmitted orders of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons. 
Among minor points, its solemn Burial Service is 
nobly distinguished from the extemporaneous effu- 
sions which alone are sanctioned by the popular 
religion. We cannot therefore wonder that, not- 
withstanding traditionary prejudices and dislikes, 
an increasing number of persons should arrive at 
the conviction that in connexion with Reformed 
Episcopacy alone is to be found that true Church 
of Scotland, to which the people of the north are 
bound, in conscience, to belong. 

The main difficulties of the Scottish (Episcopal) 
Church, may now be briefly summed up and ex- 
plained. 

Adherence to the Church, as we have seen, was 
at one time little more, with many, than a political 
badge, instead of an ecclesiastical principle. The 
political feeling has ceased, and the ecclesiastical 
principle has not yet acquired its proper ascendancy. 
Hence the strange phenomenon is often seen of pro- 
fessed Episcopalians voluntarily maintaining pres- 
byterian institutions, and even attending the esta- 
blished worship, under the impression that, in so 
doing, they are setting a good example to the lower 
classes. With only an hereditary attachment to the 
liturgy, and with no regard to the Church as based 
upon apostolical authority, such persons too often 
bring Episcopacy into contempt as thejeasy religion 
of a fashionable aristocracy. The slightest stretch 
of ecclesiastical power, the most simple exercise of 



150 CONOXiTJSION. 

needful discipline, would be sufficient to disgust 
persons of this class, and to sever them from their 
nominal allegiance. In this half-hearted Church- 
manship they are encouraged by the example of 
people from England, who change their religion 
with their latitude, and who are alternately pres- 
byterians and episcopalians according as they are 
north or south of the Tweed. 

The operation of the voluntary system tends to 
place "the power of the purse" too much in the 
hands of the laity, who thus, perhaps imconsciously, 
impart something of their peculiar tone to the 
dependent clergy. The clergy, on the other hand, 
being ill supported, are necessarily sometimes im- 
perfectly educated, and are consequently deficient 
in that amgunt of influence which is due to their 
sacred character. Receiving stipends little, if at all, 
exceeding the wages of domestic servants, and find- 
ing modem usages unfavourable to the ascetic habits 
of the age of Columba, their position has been too 
often painfully humiliating. Many of the congre- 
gations are indeed in a state of poverty themselves, 
and although the nobility and gentry are very 
generally Churchmen, and are believed to be in- 
creasing in liberality to the clergy, it is plain that 
Episcopacy has but little of the wealth of Scotland 
imder its immediate influence. 

The disabilities attached by English law to Scot- 
tish Episcopal ordination are another vexatious im- 
pediment to the progress of the Church. It is true 
that, under these laws, the validity of that ordina- 



CONOLTJSIOK. 161 

tdon is recognised, and that the clergy are allowed 
to officiate in England on the same terms with 
their foreign brethren of the American Republic. 
But since they are virtually prevented from taking 
a parochial cure in Ireknd and the Colonies no 
less than in England, they manifestly occupy a very 
disadvantageous position, in these days of progress 
and expansion. Catholic intercourse is impeded, 
local distinctions are imnecessarily maintained, mis- 
sionary exertions are cheeked, and a stigma is 
attached to Scottish Episcopacy in public esti- 
mation. To this it may be added that persons of 
high position and of liberal education are dis- 
couraged from becoming candidates for a ministry 
which will practically bind them for life to Scot- 
land, unless they are inclined to connect them- 
selves with some fraternizing diocese in republican 
America. Whatever danger may have arisen from 
the ancient Jacobite propensities of the Scottish 
clergy, and however reasonable the imposition of 
these restrictions may have appeared, even so late 
as 1 792, it is now full time that the barrier should 
be removed, and that rights should be restored 
which even the penal acts never invaded. 

To the above difficulties we must add the ob- 
stacle of a Presbyterian Establishment, and the 
operation of a popular historic tradition prejudi- 
cial to Episcopacy. In the absence of these im- 
pediments, the American Church enjoys an ad- 
vantage over her Scottish sister, which must be 
felt in order to be properly appreciated. 



152 C0HCLU8I0V. 

The penal acts have also left their mark, and 
it is not difficult to see that the iron has entered 
deeply into the souL It is not^ therefore, surpris- 
ing tiiat some of the clergy tod laity should be 
inclined to succumb to surrounding hostile influences, 
and should feel willing to accommodate themselves to 
the atmosphere by which they are enveloped. To 
this source we may trace many glaring practical 
inconsistencies, and the too prevalent idea of a 
Church, episcopal and apostolic yet neither aggres- 
sive nor self-propagating, a Church, therefore, des- 
titute of one of the primary elements of vitality. 

On the whole, however, the prospects of the 
Church in Scotland appear to be decidedly en- 
couraging. The terror of the penal acts is now 
a thing of past generations, and the effects of that 
terror are rapidly disappearing. Systematic efforts 
are directed towards the more liberal support of the 
Bishops and Clergy, the improvement of the fabrics 
and furniture of the churches, and the instruction 
of the children of the poor. As the Church Society 
gathers up enlarged means, the clergy will be ren- 
dered more independent of individuals, and will find 
their proper influence materially advanced. Clerical 
education will improve, and Trinity College will 
send forth a higher order of Priests and Deacons, a 
class of ministers, in short, fitted to command atten- 
tion and to secure respect. The legal disabilities 
attached to Scottish ordination will probably be 
removed, and the unity 'of the Reformed Church 
throughout the world will be rendered more dis- 



CONCLX}SION. 153 

tinctly visible. Missionary exertions, at home and 
abroad, will diflftise life and energy throughout the 
ecclesiastical system. The lower classes of the po- 
pulation, too often drunken and depraved, will be 
sought out and reclaimed. Faithfulness to the cause 
of truth will lead to efforts among the more intelli- 
gent with the view of making known the Apostolic 
Succession as an essential principle of the Church. 
The Bishops will exhibit in their lives and teaching 
a tone of character the reverse of that which too 
often brought prelacy into disrepute in former cen- 
turies. The laity will become more attached to the 
Church for its own sake, and will shew an increasing 
disposition to sustain its institutions with liberality. 
"We desire no harm to the members of the present 
Establishment, but, judging from analogy, we are 
led to expect that the original defect inherent in 
the presbyterian theory will lead to further divi- 
sions, and probably to an ultimate prevalence of 
rationalistic principles. Then, when freedom has 
degenerated into licentiousness, and when schism 
has developed into obvious heresy, it will be found 
that the Church is a rallying-point to the scattered 
sheep and a refrige to the wandering. Educated 
men will come within her welcome sanctuary to- 
gether with the poor and the unenlightened : and 
at some future period. Episcopacy, purified by its 
trials, may again be generally recognised as a con- 
trolling and essential element in Hie religious or- 
ganization of Scotland. 



APPENDIX I. 

[a fapeb submitted to the late stnod op arqtll and 
the isles, and unanimously appbov^d op by them.] 

CDoUegiate Q^tnxct^ anl) CDollege, 

ISLAND OF CUMBRAE. 
I. Objects of the Foundation. 

The chief ends and objects for which the Church and College 
are founded are these :— 

I. The worship and service of Almighty God by daily 
Prayer, and the frequent Celebration of the Holy 
Communion. 
II. To seek to promote the welfare of the Diocese by 
placing at the disposal of the Bishop a certain num- 
ber of Clergy, who under his direction shall minister 
to such members of the Church as cannot afford a 
resident Pastor and would otherwise be precluded 
from many Spiritual priyileges ; and further to afford 
assistance to the Clergy of the Diocese when from 
time to time it may be needed. 
III. To afford a retreat to a limited number of aged or 
infirm Clergymen who incapable of active pastoral 
labour, seek to spend the close of their life in the 
worship and service of Almighty God, and in pre- 
paring to render an account of their stewardship. 
rV. To afford education and maintenance to Two or Three 
Students preparing for the service of the Church, 
more especially in the Gaelic districts. 
It is further intended to afford assistance in their studies 
to a certain number of Young Men before and during their 
University Course, and to such as desire to read in the 
College in preparation for Holy Orders. (Ordinarily after 
having taken a University degree.) 



166 APPEiroix. 

II. Or THE Clekgt. 

It is intended that a Provost and from Four to Six Clergy 
shall be attached to the Church and College. 

Certain of them will be - - (A.) - Resident. 

- - ( B. ) - Missionary. 
(A.) The Clergy in Residence will consist of, 
The Provost 

Two of the Clergy, (one of whom shall be Vice- 
Provost,) engaged 

I. in serving the Collegiate Ch«rch. 

II. in the education of Students, before and 

after their University course. 

Two or Three aged or infirm Clergymen incapable 

of active pastoral labour, yet desiring to spend the 

remainder of their lives, or a portion of their time 

in the daily worship and service of Almighty God, 

serving the Collegiate Church. 

(B.) Two of the Clergy, (at the least,) will eventually be 

placed at the disposal of the Bishop, and ready to 

act as supernumerary Clergy in the Diocese, and 

undertake such Missions as he may direct, as soon 

as a sufficient income has been provided for those 

in Residence. 

It is intended that lodging in the College or in houses within 

its precincts shall be provided for the aged or infirm Clergy, 

but until such time as an Endowment is raised they will be 

expected to maintain themselves. 
It is purposed that the Church and College shall eventually 
become the Cathedral seat of the Isles within the United 
Dioceses. The Founder has bequeathed the sum of j^SOOO for 
their Endowment 

ALEXANDER EWING, 

Bishop of Argyll and the Isles. 
GEORGE FREDERICK BOYLE. 



APPENDIX II. 

€1^1 #tnttislr €psup[ (Cliitrtl. 



a SenotM that there is a Fanonage attached to the Znoombenoy, btk Sohod. 
Sight Beverend WILLIAM SKINirEB, D.D., Primiu. 

ELECTED 1841 ; RESIDENCE, ABERDEEN. 



Bishops, 7 

Presbyters, 189 i Churches, 132 

Parsonages, 89 I Schools, 55 



I. 
DIOCESE OF ABEBDEEN. 

Eight Reverend William Skinner, D.D., Bishop. Ordained 1802 ; Con- 
secrated 1816 ; Residence, Aberdeen. 
Very Reverend David Wilson, M.A,, Dean. 
Reverend Arthur Ranken, Old Deer, Diocesan Clerk and Registrar, 





OFFICIATING CLEROT. 


CRD. 


POST-TOWNS. 


Abbedeen— 










1. St. Andrew' 


ib .. 


John Gabriel Ryde, M.A. 
H. St. John Howard, S.C.L. 


1847 
1848 


Aberdeen 


2. St. John's 6. 




Patrick Cheyne, M.A. . . 


1816 


" 


Arradoul and Buckie a .. 


William Christie, M.A. . . 


1839 


Buckie 


Banchory-Teman 


St. Teman's 


William Thoe. Greive . . 


1860 


Banc.-Teman 


Banff . . 


. St. Andrew's 


Alexander Bruce, M.A. . . 


1810 


Banff 


Cruden a b 


. St. James' . . 


John Burnett Pratt, M.A 


1821 


Cruden 


Cuminestown a . 


. St. Luke's . . 


William Temple, M.A. .. 


1860 


Turriff 


Wlon a . . 




Nathaniel Grieve, M.A. 


1803 


Ellon 


Forgue a .. 


. 


James Smith, M.A. 


1838 


Huntly 


Fraserburgh a . 


. St. Peter's . . 


Charles Pressley, M.A. . . 


1819 


Fraserburgh 


Inverurjaft 


. St. Mary's . . 


Alexander Harper. M.A. 


1841 


KeithhaU 


Longside . . 


. St. John's . . 


Alexander Low, M.A. . . 


1841 


Mintlaw 


Lonmay a 




George Hagar 
Harcourt BusfeUd, M.A. 


1822 
1836 


Cortes 


MeiklefoUa a . 


. St. George's 


Alexander Leslie, M A. 


1847 


Fyvie 
Monymusk 


Monymusk c 


. 


William Walker, M A. .. 


1842 


New Pitsligo a . 
Strichen 


. St. John's . . ■) 


William Webster, M.A. 


1834 


Mintlaw 


Old Deer a 


. St. Drostan's 


Arthur Ranken, M.A. . . 


1828 


Mintlaw 


Old Meldrum a . 


. St. Matthew's 


Thomas Wildman 


1846 


Old Meldmm 


Peterhead b 


. St. Petef s . . 


Gilbert Rorison . . 


1843 


Peterhead 


PortBoy a 


St. John's .. 


Alexander Cooper, M.A. 


1831 


Portsoy 


Tillymorgan, 


St. Thomas' 


Robert Walker, .. 


1849 


Old Rain 


Turriff . . 


Trinity 


James Christie, M.A. . . 


1836 


Turriff 


VVoodhead a . 


All Saints .. 


David Wilson, M.A., Dban 


1826 Fyvie 


I 


letired Clergyman— 


Chas. Gbakt, M.A., ordaine 


d 1812-Iate of Meiklefolla-Re 


sidence Inverary. 




Snpemumei 


ary Clergyman for the Diocese- 


- 


Alkxandbk Tbovp, 


M.A., Deacon, 1851; Residence 


, Turriff. 



II. 

DIOCESE OF EDIirBUBOH. 

Bight Beverend Chaklks Hvohbs Terbot, D.D., Bishop. Ordained 1814 ; 

Consecrated 1841 ; Besidence, Edinburgh. 

Very Beverend Edwakd Bannebman Bamsay, M.A., Dean. 

The Beverend John Wiujsok Febouson, Edinbmigh, SyTtod Clerk, 



OVFICIATIWO CtBROT. 



ORD. FOST-TOWlfS. 



Ediitbubgh— 

1. St. Paul's, York Place . . { 

2. St. John the EvangeliBt & -[ 

' 3. St. Columba's, Castlehill b 
4. St. George's, York place 
6. St. James', Broughton Place b 

6. St. Paul's, Carrubber's Cloaeb 

7. St. Peter's, Roxburgh Place 

8. Trinity, Dean Bridge b . . •[ 

Alloa . . . . St. John's . . 
Dalkeith 6 .. St. Mary's .. 

Dalmahoy b . . St. Mary's . . 
Dunmore ab . . St Andrew's 

Dunse 

Haddington a . . Trinity 

Leith b . . . . St. James' . . 

Musselburgh 

Portobello . . St. Mark's . . 

Stirling 6 

Greenlaw Military Chapel 



Thx Bishop 
Frederick Tufnell, M.A. 
Ed. B. Bamsay, M.A., Dbah 
Berkeley Addison, M.A. 
John Alexander . . 
Thomas G. Suther, D.C.L. 
John W. Ferguson, M.A. 
Charles S. Absolom, M.A. 
George Coventry, B.D. . 
Robert Payne Smith, M.A. 
Valentine G. FaithfuU, M.A. 
Henry Hervey Franklin, B.A. 
William B. Bushby, B.A. 
Henry G. W. Aubrey, M.A. 
Charles Hinxman, B.A. . . 
Augustus E. Crowder . . 
Francis R. Traill, M.A. 
John Alexander White . . 
Thomas Langhome 
John Boyle, L.L.B. 
Robert Henderson, M.A. 
Frederick Shum Batcheler 



1814 
1846 
1818 
1839 
1842 
1837 
1833 
1832 
1815 
1843 
1845 
1828 
1835 
1850 
1845 
1850 
1849 
1845 
1821 
1829 
1822 
1843 



Edinburgh 



Alloa 

Dalkeith 

Ratho 

Falkirk 

Dunse 

Haddington 

Leith 

Musselburgh 

Portobello 

Stirling 

Pennicuick 



Bey. Edward B. Field, B.C.L., ordained 1841, Domestic Chaplain to the Right 
Honourable Earl of Rosebery. 

John Drummokd MacGachen, B. A., ordained 1848, Chaplain to the Right Rev. the 
Bishop— and to St. Andrew's Hall. 



ni. 

DIOCESE OF AEGYLL AND THE ISLES. 

Bight Beverend Alexander Ewing, D.D., D.C.L., Bishop. Ordained 1838 ; 

Consecrated 1847 ; Besidence, Bishopstown, Loch-Gilphead. 

Very Beverend Samuel Hood^ Dean. 
The Beverend John D. Ikin, Loch-Gilphead, Synod Clerk, 





OFFICIATIKO CLEEOT. 


ORD. 


POST-TO WK 8. 


BallacheUshato St John's .. 


Dun. M'Kenzie, sen., M.A. 


1 
1839 Appin 


Campbelton 


Edward James Jonas . . 


1850 Campbelton 


Cumbrae Isles b 


H. F. Beckett . . 


Milporii 


Dunoon . . . . Trinity 


Henry George Pirie 


1846 Dunoon 


Fort-William a . . Rosse Church 


Alexander MacLennan .. 


1821 Fort-WUUam 


IsleofSkye 




1 Broadford 


Loch-Gilphead a 66 


John D. Ikin .. 


! Loch-Gilphead 


Obana 


Robert C. Greer, B.A. . . 


1846 Oban 


Portnacroish . . St. John's . . -j 
Duror 6 . . St. Adamnan's J- 
Glencreran ) 






Dun. M'Kenzie, jun., M.A. 


1842 Appin 






Rothsay . . . . St. Paul's . . 


Samuel Hood, Dean 


1826 Rothsay 


Stomoway» Lewis 




1850,Stornoway 



IV. 



DIOCESE OF BRECHIN. 



Bight Beverend Alexander Penbose Forbes^ D.C.L., Bishop. Ordained 1844 ; 

Consecrated 1847 ; Besidenoe^ Dundee. 

Very Beverend John Moib, Dean. 

The Beverend AiiBEBT Whjjam Lodiswobth, Broughty Ferry, Synod Clerk. 



OFl-ICIATINO CLEROT. 



ORI>. P08T-TOWN8. 



DUNDBB b 


. St. Paul's { 




Mission 6 


Arbroath a 


. St. Mary's 


Brechin b 


. St. Andrew's 


Broughty-Feny . 


. St. Mary's 


Caterllne a b 


. St. Philip's 


Drummhiea6& 


. St. John's 


Fasque a 


. St. Andrew's 


Laurencekirk a . 


. Holy Trinity 


Lochlee a b 




Montrose b 


. St. Mary's | 


MnchaUa a b 


Stonehaven 6 6 . 


. St. James'. 



Tbb Bishop 

Thos. G. T. Anderson, M.A. 
David Greig. M.A. 
William Henderson, M.A. 
John Moir, M.A., Dean 
Albert W. Loinsworth, B.A. 
James Stevenson, M.A. 
Robert Kilgonr Thom . . 
Alexander Somerville, M.A. 
Joseph HaskoU, M.A. . . 
Alexander Simpson, M.A. 
Patrick Cushnie, M.A. . . 
Thomas C. Sonthey, M.A. 
John Fergason, M.A. . . 
James Smith 
Charles Thos. Srskine, M.A. 



1844 
1827 
1848 
1827 
1886 
1848 
1841 
1841 
1849 
1848 
1888 
1800 
1847 
1850 
1827 
1846 



Dundee 



Arbroath 

Brechin 

Bronghty-Ferry 

Stonehaven 

Stonehayen 

Fettercaim 

Laurencekirk 

Brechin 

Montrose 



Stonehaven 
Stonehaven 



John Dakers, ordai^ed 1852, Missionary and Chaplain to the Bishop ; Residence, Dundee. 



V. 



DIOCESE OF GLASGOW AND GALLOWAT. 

Right Reverend Walter John Trower, D.D., Bishop. Ordained 1829 ; 
Consecrated 1848. 

Very Reverend Wiloam Soot Wilson, M.A., Dean. 
The Reverend Alexander Henderson, Hamilton, Syjuxi Clerk. 



OFFICIATING CLER&T. 



POST-TOWKS. 



Glasgow— 
1. St. Mary's, Benfield Street b 



2. St. Andrew's, Green b . . 

3. Christ Church, Calton 6.. 

4. St. John's, Anderston . . 

St. John's 
Trinity .. 
St. John's 



Annan . . 
Ayr 6 . . 
Balllieston b 
Coatbridge 6 b 
Dolpbinton 
Dumbarton 
Dumfries a 
Girvan . . 

Maybole 
Greenock 6 6 
Hamilton 
Hawick a b 
Helensburgh b 
Jedburgh a b 
Kelso 

Kilmarnock 
Lanark . . 
Largs 

Linton, West 
Melrose a 

Galashiels 
Paisley 6 
Peebles . . 
Selkirk .. 



. . St. John's 

. '. St. Patrick's 
. . St. Mary's 



St. John's 
St. Mary's 

Trinity . . 
St. John's 
St. Andrew's 



Thb Bishop 

Richard S. Oldham, M.A. 
J. T. Boyle, Deacwi 
James F. S. Gordon, M.A. 
Thomas P. Fenner, M.A. 
W. C. Ridley, M.A. 
Alexander J. D. D'Orsey 
Henry B. Cooke, L.L.B. 
Wm. S. Wilson, M.A., Dean 
James W. Reid . . 
Leigh Leyland 

Henry Kennedy, B.A. . . 
Archibald M'Ewen, M.A. 

Thomas Applegate 

Charles Cole, B.D. 
Alex. Henderson, M.A. 
Robert Campbell, M.A. 

John Bell, B.A 

Arthur Chas. Tarbutt, M.A, 
William Kell, B.D. 
John Thomas Brien, B.A. 



1846 
1861 
1843 
1839 
1815 
1846 
1820 
1827 
1849 
1848 

1828 
1840 

1849 



Glasgow 



Annan 

Ayr 

Balllieston 

Coatbridge 

Dolpbinton 

Dumbarton 

Dumfries 

Girvan 



St. Colnmba's William H. King, M.A. 
St. Mungo's William Miniken, B.A. 
Trinity . . Herbert Randolph, M.A. 

Thomas A. Purdy 

James Stewart 

Thomas R. Wyet, M.A. 

William Rothery 

Richard Charles Dickerson, M.A., Domestic Chaplain to his Grace the Duke of 
Buccleuch, at Drumlanrig Castle, Dumfriesshire. 



Trinity . . 
St. Peter's 



1819 1 Greenock 
1838 Hamilton 

1846 j Hawick 
1844 1 Helensburgh 
1832 Jedburgh 
1808! Kelso 

1847 KUmamock 
Jianark 

1827 1 Largs 
1842 West Linton 
1832 Melrose 
1851 Galashiels 
1842 , Paisley 
1847, Peebles 
1848 1 Selkirk 



VI, 



UNITED DIOCESE OF HOEAT AND EOSS. 

Right Reverend Robert Eden, D.D. Bishop . Ordained 1828 ; Ck>nsecrated 1851 ; 
Residence^ Elgin. 

Very Reverend Hugh Willoughby Jermyn, Dean. 
The Reverend James Smith, Aberchirder, Synod Clerk. 





OVFICIATIHG CLERGY. 


ORD. 


P08T-TOWM8. 


Elgin a 


Trinity 


Thb Bishop 

Henry Denne Hilton, M.A. 

Donald W. Cameron, M.A. 


1828 
1845 


Elgin 


Duffus . . 




1850 


Duffus 


Aberchirder . 




James Smith, M.A. 


1838 


Forgue 


Arpafeeliea& . 
Fortrose 


St. John's " ") 


James Paterson, M.A. . . 


1819 


fortrose 


DingwaU 


St. James* V. 


William H. Hutchins, B.A. 


1847 


Dingwall 


Fochabers 




T. Ferguson Creeiy, B.A. 


1845 


Fochabers 


Forres 


St. John's 


Hugh W. Jermyn, M. A., Dban 


1847 


Forres 


Highfield b . 




Francis H. Mackenrie . . 


1848 


Beauly 


Huntly 


Christ's Church 




1847 


Huntly 


Inverness 


St. John's 


James Mackay, M.A. . . 
Hugh B.Moffat .. 


1845 


Invemess 


Keith .. 


Trinity 


1844 


Keith 


Strathnaim 6 . 


St. Paul's . . 


Duncan Mackenzie, M.A. 


1817 


Inverness 



VII. 



UKITEB DIOCESE 07 ST. AHBBEWB, DUNXELD, AHB DUNBLANE. 

Right Beverend Bishop. Ordained ; Consecrated ; 

Residence, . ' 

Very Reverend John Torry, M.A., Dean. j 

The Reverend Gkoroe Gorix>n Milnb, M.A., Cupar-Fife, Synod Clerk. 



Aberdour 

Blair- Atholl 

Blairgowrie h 

Burntisland b 

Coapar-Angus . . St. Aun'^s ^ 

Alytha V 

Meigle J 

Cnpar-Pife . . St. James' 
Dunblane ah . . St. Mary's 
Dunfermline b . . Trinity 
Dunkeld * \ 

Strathtay j 

Forfar . . . . St. John's . . 
Kirkaldy . . St. Petei's 

Kirriemuir a 6 . . St. Mary's 
Mutbill .. .. St. James' \ 

Crieff b . . St. Michael's / 

Perth b .. . . St. Ninian'8 



Perth 
Pitteuweem 



. St. John's 
St. Andrew's . . St. Andrew's 
Trinity College, Gleualmond a a • 



OFFICIATIHO CLX&GT. 



Thomas Walker, H. A. .. 
John Burton 
George Hay Forbes 

John Torry, M.A., Dean 

George Gordon Milne, M.A. 
Henry Malcolm, B.A. 
William Bruce . . 

John Maomlllan, M.A. . . 

William Farqnhar, M.A. 
Norman Johnston, B.A. 
James J. Douglas 

Alexander Lendrum, M.A. 

Ed. B. K. Fortescue, M.A. 
John C Chambers, M.A. 
Henry Humble, M.A. . . 
George Wood, M.A. 
David Low, D.D., Bishop 
William Blatch .. 
Charles J. Lyon, M.A. . . 
C. Wordsworth, M.A., Warden 

A. Barry, B.A., Sub-Warden 

B. H. Witherby, B A. .. 
William Bright, M.A. . . 
James A. Sellar, M.A. . . 



POST-TOWNS. 



Aberdour 
18S8 Blair- AthoU 
1848 Blairgowrie 
1848 BumUsland 



1821 



Coupar-Angus 



1821 Cupar-Fife 
1837 Dunblafie 
1844 Dunfermline 



1826 

1885 
1834 
1844 

1832 

1889 
1642 
1842 
182r 
1787 
1849 
1812 
1884 
1850 
1849 
1848 
1851 



Dunkeld 

Forfar 
Dysart 

Kirriemuir 

Crieff 
Perth 



Pittenweem 



St. Andrew's 
Perth 



/i^ 



r