Parish life in the north of scotland
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| MY DEAR Sir,- Although our personal acquaintance be but slight as yet, I am happy to think it may soon be much increased by our being near neighbours, co-presbyters, and, I trust, fellow-labourers in the service of the same Divine Master. The event to which this is owing has been ordered, I do hope, by Him who does all things well, and whose prerogative it is to appoint for us the bounds of our habitation, and choose for us the lot of our inheritance. Very limited as my experience no doubt is, I am by no means so sanguine as to imagine that trials and difficulties are now over. That they are but beginning is far more probable. But whether the way be rough, or thorny, or `about,' if it be the way which God approves of, it is the right way, and the only sure one.
"Col. Ross has written to me saying that he expected to have the presentation to Cromarty in Cromarty last week, and asking me to forward to him a letter of acceptance, and a certificate of having qualified to Government. I have done so accordingly, so that it is probable the whole documents may be laid upon the Presbytery table next meeting. I understand from the Colonel likewise that it will be expected that I preach in Cromarty previous to the moderation of the call. Is this the custom? I rather think that it is not required by law of ordained men ; and, as it was on various accounts inconvenient, I once thought of asking the Presbytery not to require it of me. I am quite aware, however, that there may be an impropriety in throwing any obstacle in the way of the settlement that can possibly be avoided. It may be as well then to comply at once if they ask me. Our sacrament here is to be on August 1st. Until that is over I cannot go, but after that day I hope I may be able to go at any time. Do You not think this the best way of arranging the business ; maybe, that the Presbytery let me know through yourself, say, what their motions are, and then leave me, as I am at such a distance, to take any day on which I may be able to go? I wished to let you know the circumstances in which I stand, so as to prevent any awkward arrangement being made. I shall take it kind that you write me at your convenience, and any information respecting the Presbytery or the parish which you may think may be of use to me I shall be happy to receive. We shall also be glad to know of any person whom you would recommend for Rothesay Chapel. I feel interested in this also, and it would be a matter of great satisfaction to me to see them in the way of being well provided. I can scarcely expect to hear from you until after the meeting of your Presbytery. I remain, with esteem, yours sincerely, "ALEX. STEWART." At our meeting the presentation and other documents were laid upon the table, and sustained. Having communicated Mr. Stewart's proposal, the Presbytery appointed him to preach at Cromarty on any day that best suited his convenience. Mr. Wood and I were appointed a committee of Presbytery to moderate in a call. A few weeks later we met in the church of Cromarty, and the call being read, a considerable number of the parishioners signed, while those who did not were either such as were away at the time, or, if at home, considered it unnecessary, having already given their cordial consent reach. His to the measure, all the more so after they had heard him preach. His settlement took place a few months afterwards. I presided on the occasion, and, associated with the Presbytery, were many of the leading members of the Synod, such as the late Dr. Angus Mackintosh of Tain, Mr. Forbes of Tarbat, Mr. MacDonald of Urquhart, and others. Although the people of Cromarty, in the selection of a minister, did certainly at the outset, make it in the dark, yet their choice after all was a truly noble one. As a preacher, it is not too much to say, that Mr. Stewart rivalled at least, if he did not excel, the most eminently gifted ministers either in or out of the Establishment. His sermons were truly expressions of the character of his mind, and were powerfully intellectual. His comprehension of a subject never stopt halfway, but reached over the whole of it; and any subject which he, at the outset, felt difficult fully and clearly to understand he declined to enter upon. The language therefore which he employed was strictly appropriate. From the beginning to the close of his public addresses a single superfluous word could not be detected. His views of divine truth in general, but more especially of the deeper mysteries of redemption, were not only sound and scriptural, but vivid, striking, and impressive. He had also, in common with all great orators in argument, the happy but rare art of concentrating the whole force of his previous illustration of the subject into one short, comprehensive sentence at the close. In the fundamental doctrines of the gospel, or on any of its practical precepts, I never heard a preacher so exquisitely simple and impressive. His temper was hard and rugged, and his bearing supercilious and haughty. In personal appearance he was short, his legs almost unnaturally long, so that, when he stood upright, he appeared a tall, stately looking man, considerably above the ordinary size; but no sooner did he sit down than the sudden diminution of his stature was most striking. The most marked, no less than the most inexplicable, feature in Mr. Stewart's personal appearance was his countenance. It has often been affirmed that the countenance is the index of the mind. With Mr. Stewart the case was exactly the reverse. While his mind was vigorous, active, and penetrating, his eyes were small and lustreless, and his whole countenance betokened obtuseness and lack of power. 3: When at the Assembly I had a note from Mr. William Macao, a native of China, asking me concerning Miss Urquhart who resided at Resolis. Mr. Macao left his native country as the body servant of the family of Braelangwell in the parish of Resolis, and had, under Christian training, been reclaimed from heathenism to a saving knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus. He held a situation in the Excise Office in Edinburgh, and in his note he expressed his desire to see me either at my lodgings or at No. 1 Dundas Street. I called, and had a short but very interesting conversation with him. In his becoming acquainted with divine truth, he bad been indebted to Miss Betty Urquhart, as to one among others who had been instrumental in leading his mind to right views on that all-important subject. He was married and had a grown up son. Miss Betty Urquhart was the daughter of Mr. Urquhart of Braelangwell, and the sister of the late Dr. Urquhart, his son and successor. Dr. Urquhart studied for the medical profession, and went abroad, whether to China or India I cannot say. On his return to his native country he resided on his paternal estate, and soon afterwards, on the decease of Mr. Lockhart who was married to the heiress of Newhall, by whom he had a family of sons and daughters,. Dr. Urquhart became the second husband of Mrs. Lockhart, and had also a family by her. In the meantime, Miss Betty, as she was called, lived at Inverness. But long after her brother's death, and after the estates of Newhall and Braelangwell had both been sold, she had an evident wish to end her days in her native parish. Her cottage was situated in a beautifully romantic spot on the banks of the burn of Resolis, and there she spent, in piety and peace, the few remaining years of her earthly pilgrimage. She had, however, some time before my settlement in 1822, been entirely confined to bed by age and infirmity. I frequently visited her, as did also both my sisters-in-law, and we certainly enjoyed the simplicity, humility, and heavenly-mindedness with which she recounted, in a retrospect of the past, "all that the Lord had done for her soul." It would also be about this time that her niece, Miss Harriet Urquhart, paid her a visit. She lived usually with her relative, Mrs. (Col.) Lewis Mackenzie of Scatwell, in England, or at Rouen in France. When Miss Urquhart visited her aunt at Burnside we had the pleasure of seeing her at the manse. She was an amiable young woman, and seriously disposed. To Miss Betty's comforts her niece was uniformly attentive. I have had several communications from her, containing remittances of money to be given to her aunt according as she stood in need. Let me here record my reminiscences of Mr. David Carment, minister of Rosskeen. Previous to his settlement at Rosskeen he had been for many years minister of the Gaelic chapel, Duke Street, Glasgow. To that charge he was appointed at an early period of life, and he continued there till he was settled in Rosskeen, 14th March, 1822. He was a sound, scriptural preacher and a ready speaker. But he unhappily disturbed the gravity of his hearers by indulging no ordinary powers of humour and drollery in his public orations. His sermons and speeches teemed with anecdotes and quaint and ludicrous expressions, and whether he mounted the pulpit or stood on the platform, this was exactly what his audience expected. A broad grin settled down on the face of every one of them, plainly intimating that they had made up their minds, so long as Carment was speaking, to have some fun. The first outbreak between him and the more serious part of his congregation was about a chapel at Invergordon. During the lifetime of Mr. Ross, to whom he was assistant and successor, Mr. Carment agreed to take his turn with other ministers, preaching there on week evenings. Mr. MacDonald of Ferintosh was then at the very zenith of his usefulness, and he was chiefly employed to preach there by the unanimous desire of the people. On the death of Mr. John Ross, matters assumed a new aspect. Mr. Carment, as minister of Rosskeen, took the reigns into his own hands. Respecting the Invergordon chapel arose the tug of war, Mr. Carment insisting that this place of worship should be placed entirely at his disposal, and that no member either of the Presbytery or Synod should preach there, but such as he should invite. From that time, Mr. MacDonald, the favourite preacher of the day, notwithstanding many and repeated invitations from Mr. Carment, ceased to preach either at the chapel or on communion occasions at the parish church. To make up for the loss of Mr. MacDonald's monthly ministrations there, I asked him, and he agreed, to preach once a month at Resolis, an agreement to which he faithfully adhered until the Disruption, and from that period to within a few years of his death. 4: 1: Mr. George Davidson, A.M., was ordained to the mission at Berriedale in 1819, and inducted to the parish of Latheron 15th June, 1820. He was twice married, his second wife having been Miss Angelica C. Murray, of Pitculzean, near Tain. He became Free Church Minister of Latheron in 1843 and died in 1873. 2: Mr. Alex. MacDonald was translated from Strathconon to Plockton 28th Sept., 1827. His marriage with Frances Juliana Robertson occurred shortly thereafter. She died 17th May, 1831, aged 33 years. In 1844 Air. MacDonald was translated to the Free Church at Glen Urquhart. He married a second time; died 15th August, 1864, in the 72nd year of his age and 40th of his ministry. He was a powerful, faithful preacher, equally at home in Gaelic and English. It was his custom, immediately after divine service, to greet many of his people with cordial handshakings as they retired from Church. 3: Mr. Alex. Stewart of Cromarty died 5th Nov., 1847, in the 54th year of his age and 24th of his ministry. (See Memoir, by Dr. Beith of Stirling, in "Tree of Promise.") His father, Dr. Stewart, had only been a year in Edinburgh when he died 17th May, 1821, aged 58 years. He is the accomplished author of a Gaelic Grammar -a work of great merit and original research. He also revised the Gaelic translation of the Bible published by the S.P.C.K. 4: Mr. David Carment was born at Keiss, Caithness, where his parents resided ; they originally came from the south of Scotland. "He was the grandson of John Carment, born in 1672 and baptised under cloud of night, in covenanting times, among the hills of Irongray in Kirkcudbright, by the well-known John Welsh." He died 26th May, 1856, in his 84th year and 47th of his ministry. CHAPTER XXII. CO-PRESBYTERS AND FELLOW-LABOURERS. 1825-1827. THE members of the Presbytery of Chanonry in 1825 were Messrs. Roderick Mackenzie, James Smith, Alexander Wood, John Kennedy, Alexander Stewart, and myself. The "Father of the Presbytery" was Mr. Rod. Mackenzie, minister of Knockbain. Previous to his settlement in that parish, he had been minister of Contin, in the Presbytery of Dingwall. His immediate predecessor there was a weak, but well-meaning man - a Mr. MacLennan-and his successor was a Mr. Dallas, whom I recollect to have seen. Mr. Roderick succeeded, in the parish of Knockbain, a Mr. Robert Munro, noted for his loquacity and his pointed sarcasms. Some ludicrous anecdotes of him now rise to my recollection. On one occasion, for instance, he assisted in a neighbouring parish at the communion. One of his colleagues on the occasion was Mr. Joseph Munro, minister of Edderton, who loved to tease and play off his jokes on Mr. Robert. They slept in the same room, and Mr. Joseph, who, like Falstaff, delighted to take his "ease at his inn," and troubled himself little about the preparation of his sermons, got up early in the morning of the day on which he was to preach, and, laying hands on Mr. Robert's sermon which protruded out of his coat-pocket whilst he lay fast asleep, coolly took possession of it, and afterwards read it out to the congregation at the service in church, Mr. Robert, the real author and owner of the sermon, being seated in front of him as his hearer. The text Mr. Joseph duly read out; "That's my text," said Mr. Robert. The preacher proceeded to open the subject; "'That's my introduction," said Mr. Robert. The preacher went on to divide the subject into its various consecutive heads; "That's my arrangement," reiterated Mr. Robert. Mr. Joseph read the whole sermon through without missing a word. "Ah," said Mr. Robert, "that fellow has ploughed with my heifer right well, but I'll be avenged upon him." Composing another sermon on the character of " Joseph," he pointed out the various excellencies which distinguished that patriarch, and then, looking his namesake of Edderton full in the face, exclaimed, “Oh, I wish every Joseph was like him.” During Mr. Robert Munro's ministry, in 1762, the parish of Suddie and part of Killcarnan were united to Kilmuir Wester, now called Knockbain. He died in 1790, in the 44th year of his ministry. Before his death he was fully aware that Mr. Roderick Mackenzie was to be his successor, not only from report, but by the frequent visits made by the latter both to himself during his declining years and to his heritors. On such occasions he used to say-" Poor Rory is in a great hurry to grasp the stipend of Knockbain, but, " - snapping with his mid-finger and thumb-" so long as I can do that, be daren't touch a plack of it." After the most violent opposition on the part of the parishioners, Mr. Roderick Mackenzie was duly and legally settled minister of the parish. In regard to personal appearance, stature, and strength, few men in the five northern counties could compete with "Parson Rory," as he was usually called. He was upwards of six feet in height, with broad shoulders and massive, well-proportioned limbs. In his younger years he wore the Highland costume, and was universally allowed to have been one of the finest-looking Highlanders of his day. His features were bold and prominent, approaching to coarseness, and his eye had a twinkle in it strongly indicative of Highland cunning and sagacity. His character as a preacher and minister was much lowered by his leading spirit and habits as a man. The doctrines of the gospel he preached with Calvinistic purity, but in practice he coolly laid them all aside. As a faithful adherent to the Moderate party in the church, he hated the doctrines of divine influence, regeneration, and the exercise of spiritual life in the souls of believers. He seldom referred to these subjects, unless it were at communion seasons in order to make a sort of display before those who were considered "pious men." Owing to the universal influence of evangelical truth, and the high esteem in which faithful and evangelical ministers were held by both young and old in the north, neither Mr. Roderick nor any of his party had the courage openly to subvert the doctrines of the Confession of Faith which they had signed. But these doctrines were entirely blunted by the conduct and habits of their every-day life. In the courts of the church Mr. Roderick's aim was to foster the growth of Moderatism; he protected and patronised young candidates for the ministry whose characters were unsuitable or exceptionable; by shifts, evasions, and the most dishonourable modes of procedure, he defended ministers charged with gross delinquencies, and scrupled not to stop, if possible, all bona fide enquiries into the truth of the charges brought against them. The very worst measures too which the Moderate leaders in the General Assembly could devise, ever found in him an active and most unflinching advocate. Then- his mind was wholly secularised. He was a first-rate shot and deer-stalker, the boon companion and fellow-sportsman of all comers, English, Irish or Scotch. To do him justice, however, the only symptom of inebriety which he ever showed was to speak somewhat thick and to snivel through his nose. These were the days when drinking was more or less practised at every dinner-table. A notorious wine-bibber and glutton from England had on one occasion come on a shooting excursion to Belmaduthy House, the seat of Colin Mackenzie, Esquire. of Killjoy, one of Mr. Roderick's heritors. This fellow never ceased taunting Killjoy and the Scotch !for their very slender capacity and attainments in what he called the manly science of drinking. Kilcoy, who himself indulged freely in his after-dinner potations, was quite scandalised at this, but attempting to compete with this redoubtable wine-bibber, had more than once to succumb under the table. At last he told the Englishman that although he acknowledged his own defeat, he would introduce a gentleman to him next day at dinner for a trial of skill. Killjoy then drove down to the manse, and stated his grievances to Parson Rory. "Well," said the parson, "it would not do to make it public, but if you get us a good dinner I think I'll try him." This was done accordingly. Mr. Roderick presented his huge corporation at the festive board, sitting right opposite the sportsman. After dinner, wine glasses were placed before the sitters at the table. "Away with these trifles," said the Englishman, "and bring tumblers." The tumblers were brought. "Away with these silly tumblers," said the parson, "and place before this gentleman and me a cup and a bottle of port-wine for each of us." The order was obeyed. Parson Rory, decanting the bottle of port into the cup and raising it to his lips, said, " Sir, I pledge you," and then, at a single draught, emptied the contents into his stomach. The Englishman stared with astonishment, and declared himself fairly beaten. The parson felt none the worse for it. Soon after his forced settlement at Knockbain, the majority of the people left his ministry. He never resented their conduct, however, but publicly prayed for them with much seeming earnestness on the Sabbath. He was very benevolent, and particularly attentive to the poor and destitute. His character was accurately described by a shrewd old innkeeper at Contin, who lived during the successive incumbencies of Messrs. MacLennan, Mackenzie, and Dallas. On being asked by a stranger what sort of a minister they had at Contin, Boniface replied that he had both seen and heard three of them in succession; "The first we had, sir, was a minister, but he was not a man - a Mr. MacLennan ; the second, Mr. Rory, was a man, but no minister; but he whom we now have is neither a man nor a minister." Mr. Roderick's mental powers were above par. He had also a rich vein of sarcasm. At a dinner given after the funeral of Sir Hector Mackenzie of Gairloch, which was numerously attended by the gentry and clergy of Easter and Wester Ross, Mr. Roderick displayed no ordinary powers of sarcasm. General Mackenzie of Belville, brother of the deceased, proposed the health of the Ross-shire clergy, "a highly-respectable body of men," he said, " who bad ever been on the most friendly footing with the proprietors of Ross-shire." The late excellent Mr. Neil Kennedy, minister of Logic, was present, and sat opposite Mr. Hugh Rose of Glastullich, one of his heritors, who shortly before then had had a bitter quarrel with Mr. Kennedy for having appointed the communion to take place in autumn. Mr. Rose called out, "With some exceptions, looking Mr. Kennedy full in the face. Mr. Roderick, as the oldest minister proceeded to reply. " I beg," he said, " to return thanks in my own name, and that of my brethren, to General Mackenzie for the honourable mention he has made of the Ross-shire clergy. The clergy and the lairds of Ross-shire were ever on good terms, and my wish is that they will continue to be so. I was surprised to hear exceptions taken to the General's favourable testimony of them, and still more so at the gentleman here present who thought fit to make the exception. His father was a worthy minister of the Church. He was a very good man. But let his surviving sons beware that the old proverb be not fulfilled in their case, that `where the Deil na get the goose, he'll try an' get the goslins."' This sally was followed by roars of laughter, and Rose felt himself so fairly beaten hat he very soon afterwards rose and left. My father and Mr. Roderick had been school-fellows at Cromarty under the late eminent Mr. John Russel of Stirling, but they never met again until the day of my settlement at Resolis. Mr. Mackenzie was married to a sister of the late Mr. Charles Grant of Waternish, M.P., father of Lord Glenelg. The family consisted of several sons and daughters; the former all died abroad. One of his daughters married Mr. Edwards, a son of the first Sir George Munro's grieve, at Poyntzfield. He became Sheriff-Substitute of Inverness, and was afterwards promoted to a lucrative situation in one of the colonies. Mr. Mackenzie regularly attended our Presbytery meetings. I usually assisted him at his communions on Mondays in Gaelic. He died 4th July, 1835, in the 59th year of his ministry. Mr. James Smith was ordained minister of Avoch in 1787. He married Miss Houston, daughter of the Provost of Fortrose, two years after his settlement. He preached the gospel, but more as a theory, or subject of history, than as the message of salvation. He read his sermons, and in composing them was most anxious about the construction of his sentences and the accuracy of his style. As a pastor he was diligent and painstaking. He was low in stature, had a short neck, a large head, shaggy eyebrows, and a fearful squint. He was temperate in drinking, but his ravenous appetite for savoury meat was the means of shortening his life. Money-snaking was the ruling passion of his soul. He claimed a right to the churchyard, not only to the grass, which legally belonged to the clergy, but even to the rights of sepulture. All the parishioners, if they opened a new grave, must pay him ten shillings sterling. This, however, was put a stop to in the following manner. A poor man had come to reside in the parish, who lost one of his family by death. A place in the churchyard was assigned him, and he proceeded to open the grave. Mr. Smith sallied out, and demanded ten shillings. The man replied that such a charge was neither according to law nor equity, and that never until then did he hear of such a demand. "It is the law here, however," replied the minister, and you must submit to it before you open your grave. The poor fellow applied to the Fiscal, and stated all the particulars of the case, adding that the breach in his family had touched him sorely, but that such inhuman treatment was sorer than all. The Fiscal's indignation was roused. " Go," said he, " open your grave and bury your dead. If the parson attempts to prevent you, knock him down, and I will secure you against consequences." The man proceeded to obey ; but he had no sooner entered upon his task than Mr. Smith endeavoured to resist. "Weel, sir," said the man, " before I pay your demand we must try and settle the account with our fists, so that either you knock me down or I you." Mr. Smith walked off, nor did he ever make a similar demand again. In money-making he was not a little helped and urged on, even contrary to his own better judgment, by his wife. The death of their only son James bore very hard upon both of them. Download 1.26 Mb. Share with your friends:
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