IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

1.0

-. IIIM

I.I

> m

■ MO

2.0

1.8

1.25

U IIIIII.6

-m

<f}.

0% ^s

///.

Photographic

Sciences
Corporation

^<u

^9)

,-\

S^ , ^

23 WEST iwAIN STREET

WEBSTER, NY 14580

(716) 872-4503

€^ \% "%

r^>^

CIHM/ICMH

Microfiche

Series.

CIHM/ICMH
Collection de
microfiches.

Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques

1980

Technical find Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques

The Institute has attempted to obtain the best
original copy available for filming. Features of this
copy which may be bibliographically unique,
which may alter any of the images in the
reproduction, or which may significantly change
the usual method of filming, are checked below.

L'Institut a microfilmd le meiileur exemplaire
qu'il lui a 6t6 possible de se procurer. Les details
de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-dtre uniques du
point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier
une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une
modification dans la mdthode normale de filmage
sont indiqu6s ci-dessous.

D
D
D
D

Coloured covers/
Couverture de couleur

Covers damaged/
Couverture endommagde

Covers restored and/or laminated/
Couverture restaurde et/ou pelliculde

Cover title missing/

Le titre de couverture manque

I — I Coloured maps/

Cartes g^ographiques en couleur

Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/
Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire)

□ Coloured plates and/or illustrations/
Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur

□ Bound with other material/
Re\\6 avec d'autres documents

Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion
along interior margin/

La relrue serr^e peut causer de I'ombre ou de la
distortion !d long de la marge int^rieure

Blank leaves added during restoration may
appear within the vext. Whenever possible, these
have been omitted from filming/
II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajoutdes
lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte,
mais, lorsque cela 6tait possible, ces pages n'ont
pas 6t6 film^es.

□ Coloured pages/
Pages de couleur

Pages damaged/

I I Pagef. <indommag6es

n Pages restored and/or laminated/
Pages restaur^es et/ou pellicul^es

□ Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/
Pages ddcolordes, tachetdes ou piqu6es

I I Pages detached/

Pages d6tach6es

Showthrough/
Transparence

□ Quality of srint varies/
Qualit^ indjale de {'impression

I I Includes supplementary material/

D
D

Comprend du matdriel supplementaire

Only edition available/
Seule Edition disponible

Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata
slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to
ensure the best possible image/
Lee pages totalement ou partiellement
obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure,
etc.. ont dt6 film6es d nouveau de fapon d
obtenir la meilleure image possible.

Additional comments:/
Commentaires suppl6mentaires;

This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/

Ce document est filmd au taux de rdduction indiqu6 ci-dessous.

10X

14X

18X

22X

26X

30X

^^"^^

19X

16X

20X

24X

28X

32X

ails

idifier

une

nage

The copy filmed here has been reproduced thanks
to the generosity of:

Library of the Public
Archives of Canada

The images appearing here are the best quality
possible considering the condition and legibility
of the original copy and in keeping with the
filming contract specifications.

L'exemplaire filmd fut reproduit grSce d la
96n6rosit6 de:

La bibliothdque des Archives
publiques du Canada

Les images suivantes ont 6t6 reproduites avec le
plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et
de la nettetd de l'exemplaire filmd, et en
conformity avec les conditions du contrat de
filmage.

Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed
beginning with the front cover and ending on
the last page with a printed or illustrated impres-
sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All
other original copies are filmed beginning on the
first page with a printed or illustrated impres-
sion, and ending on the last page with a printed
or illustrated impression.

Les exempleires originaux dont la couverture en
papier est imprim^e sont filmds en commenpant
par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la
dernidre page qui comporte une empreinte
d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second
plat, selon le cas. Tous les autres exempleires
originaux sont filmds en commengant par la
premidre page qui comporte une empreinte
d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par
la dernidre page qui comporte une telle
empreinte.

The last recorded frame on each microfiche
shall contain the symbol --»' (meaning "CON-
TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END ").
whichever applies.

Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la
dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le
cas: le symbole —^- signifie "A SUIVRE", le
symbole V signifie '"FIN"".

Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at
different reduction ratios. Those too large to be
entirely included in one exposure are filmed
beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to
right and top to bottom, as many frames as
required. The following diagrams illustrate the
method:

Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre
film^s d des taux de reduction diffdrents.
Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre
reproduit en un Sdul clich6, il est filmd d partir
de Tangle 3up6rieur gauche, de gauche d droite,
et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre
d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants
illustrent la mdthode.

»rrata
to

pelure,
in d

32X

1^ "^

^Pj^frv.

}

■*

.UnUi!lH I I, i J| i f'.'

■*

LIFE

OF THU

Rev. Alex. Mathieson, D.D.

MINISTER OF ST. ANDREW'S CHURCH, MONTREAL;

WITH A

ittwcrttl ^Cl?l«0«y

By the Rev John Jenkins, D.D.,

MINISTER OK ST. PAUL'S ClfPSCU, MONTREAL;

AND

Three (biscmirseSy

rilEACllKD BY DU. 3IATUIKS0X, AT DIFFEKKXr PERIODS ()l<' UlS

MINISTRY.

C'Juait uot«i iJf^fcci.

MONTREAL :

JDAWSON B110TII1]1IS, feT. JAMKS STllEET.

1870.

^fi-

-1>5^^

mx\$ mox%

UNDERTAKEN AT THE INSTANCE OF

ALEXANDER BUNTIN, ESQ.,

OF MONTUKAF,

IS R E S r E C T F U I, L V

SftHcatcrt

THE MEMBERS OF

ST. ANDREW'S CHURCH AND CONGREGATIOxV,

Mmmns &XI,

7/ ^7^"

*■

INTRODUCTION.

These Memoirs of the late :\rinister of St. Andrew's Churcli,
Montreal, arc almost entirely composed of domestic annals,
intended rather for the perusal of his nmnerous personal
friends than for general circulation. Had Dr. INIathieson
thought it necessary to leave any instructions to his bio-
grapher, these would, in all probability, have been, substan-
tially, in terras of the stern command of Oliver Cromwell to
an artist Avhen taking his likeness. — ''Paint me, scars, warts,
ivrinldes and all!" In our own opinion, the weaker points
in the character of our deceased Friend and Father but
served to bring out in bolder relief the many noble qualities
of the man : therefore, we have not endeavoured to-conceal
them. If we have failed to produce that which — on the
whole — will be recognized as a faithful portraiture, we can
only take shelter nnder the motto that is placed on the title
page. In addition to the materials supplied by Dr. Mathieson
himself, the author has received much valuable assistance
from friends who neither wish nor expect a more particular
acknowledgment.

rgiii Till

CONTENTS.

CIIArTEU I.

I'arentage and early Kducation

CHAPTEll II.

College Career and Tutorship

CHAPTER III.

Recollections of Dr. Chalmers and Edward Irving

CIIAl'TEU IV.
Apiiointuicmt to St. Androiv's Cliureli. tlis ordination and departure for Cansida. 47

ClIArTER V.

Viiit to Scotland and the Continent. Disappointment and visionary plans.

9
132

His marriage. Death of liis cliild

CHAPTER VI.

Parinh work. Revi.sits Scotland. Dcatli of Mrs. Mathieson. Life at IJeech-

ridge. Death of Janet Ewing Matliie.son gO

CHAPTER VII.

Reminiscences. Mr. Uethune. Risliop Stniclian. Messrs. Spark, Harkness,

Connell. History of St. Andrew's Church 100

*•

^/^

'PM

CONTENTS.

CIIAI'TEK VIII. ^A«»

Dr. Slnthioson as a M(>ml)(ir of Synod ,__ lift

CIIAPTF.K IX.
Last illness and doatli. Funoral services. Extracts from Dr. Barclay's sermon
and otlier sources 166

FUNERAL SERMON.

186

gart II.

SERMONS
By Kkv. Alkxandku Matiiikson, D.D.

SERMON I.
" Brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may bavo free course, and
be glorilled."— II Thossalonians, iii, 1 207

SERMON IL
" God created man in liis own imago, In the imago of God created ho liim ; male
and female created he them. And God blessed tliein, and God t^aid unto
them. Be fruitful and nuiltii)ly, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and
have dominion over the tish of the sea, and over tho fowl of the air, and
over every living tliiug that movetb upon the earth."— Genesis i. 2V, 28 225

" And it was winter.'

SERMON III.
-Jvhnx, 22

.245

*■

Friend after friend departs ;

Who bath not lost a friend ?
There is no union here of hearts

That finds not here an end !
Were this frail world our final rest,
liiving or dying, none were bless'd.

Beyond tlic flight of time, —
Beyond the reign of death, —

There surely is some blessed clime,
Where life is not a breath ;

Nor life's aff.'ctions transient fire,

Whose sparks fly ui>wara and expire.

There is a world above.

Where parting is unknown ;

A long eternity of love.
Formed for the good r.lonc ;

And Faith beholds the dying here

Translated to that glorious sphere !

MONTOOMBRY.

CIIAPTEll FIRST.

PARENTAGE AND EARLY EDUCATION.

SoJiE years ago it occurred to tlic writer to sug,2;cst to Dr.
Mathiesou that a leisure hour, now and again, might be spent,
pleasantly to himself, aikd usefully to tlie future historian, in com-
mitting to paper sorac of those early reminiscences of men and
things which had often served to beguile hours of social pastime.
It seemed right that whatever was in them of historic interest should
be rescued from oblivion, and desirable that even trivial occur-
rences bearing on the history of the Church should be preserved,
not necessarily for publication, but as mcmornhUia which miglit
hereafter be used or set aside as should be judged expedient. It
was even hinted to him that, without exposing himself to the
charge of egotism, he might write an autobiography ; for, it was
very certain that the time would come when the members of the
Church of which lie had so long been a minister would naturally
seek for all the information that could be had concerning one who,
during his later years, was familiarly known to them as the fatlier
of the Church of Scotland in Canada. The flrst "part of the pro-
posal was not foreign to the Doctor's habit and bent of mind. lie
was fund of writing and literally revrllod amid the recollections of

.^.

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.D.

■^

early dnys. Indeed, for some years previous to his death lio may
be said to have been living in the past. Not only had he no sym-
pathy with those changes in ecclesiastic thought which characterize
the present time, he could not away with them ; he denounced
.them as " vagaries and innovations " that should not be tolerated,
presaging the decay of morals, the downfall of true and undcliled
reli<don. and the rttcr ruin of — what ho maintained to be the only
scriptural form of Christianity — Prcsbyterianism. With regard
to his personal history, the idea suggested was one from which his
mind intuitively 'recoiled. He was one of the itost n)odest and
unassuming of men, who never in his lifetime coveted the applause
of his fellows, nor wished for posthumous praise. Moreover, he was
a man of strong mind and yet stronger will, and it can be supposed
that in a matter of this kind especially he was not easily influenced ;
but, as the sequel will shew, he yielded to entreaty, rather,
doubtless, because of our imp:irtuiiity tlian from the Conviction
that compliance were either a virtue or a duty. And thou<^h the
information eventually arrived' at regarding himself is pcrhr.ps
less full and explicit than >ve could have wished, it will be seen
IVom the tenor of his own scnuirks that in this matter, at all events,
he was the reverse of " textual." The slightest pretext seemed
to him to be sufficient excuse for quite losing sight of himself, and
diverging into a lengthened disquisition upon the Paraphrases,
the Psalms of David. Dr. Chalmers, Edward Irving, " Ilarkness,"
)ho Union ((uestion, or the Organ question : anything, in short,
except the particular stibjrct Avliich ho had been re((nested to
" stick to." The following extracts from a letter written in 1801,
lieitiides corroborating what has been said, are interesting as afford-

^■

>!-

PARENTAGE AND EARLY EDUCATION.

itig an in^'igllt into the musings of a mind that, to use .his own
ex^prcssion, was at times affoctud with '' the doldrums;"
" My dear Friend, —

" My last letter was written in such haste and in such an elip-
tical style that I fear you will require the help of (Eclipus to get
at its meaning. Mark its deficiencies and send enquiries for the
information I have failed to give you. An early friend when he
wanted a letter from me — for it would then seem I was sometimes
as remiss as I am now — would send rae a long string of questions,
and tell uie to answer them all. You must do the same thing.
My memory of by-gone events is not so quick as it once was, and,
perhaps, v;ith the dreamings of age I think that everybody should
be as familiar with the subjects on which I write as I am myself,
and I may fail to give that sequence to tlie narrative that will
make it intelligible. Though I delight to muse on the days of
lavcf Kijve and contrast their pleasing gleams with the darker shades
cast o'er the days of closing life — then, active — full of decision
and energy — now, languid — inditlerent to what is going on in tlie
world, and vexed with trifles. There has been a deplorable change
in both the ministers and people within the last for*^y years. The
early inhabitants were more thinly scattered, but they seemed to
cling with strong attichmcnt to each other. Ministers were few,
but their ministrations were better appreciated than they arc now.
If their services were inadequately recompensed then, it was from
inability, not front indilference to their necessities, as is too much
the case now. There was a genial spirit of kindness as well as a
warm feeling of natiotiality in their intercourse with the people,
and much more of veneration and respect for their p'^rsons — for

^^■

■^

LIFE OF ALEXANDER, MATHIESON, D.D.

their office sake — than is paid now, that cheered their toils and
animated them in tlie discharge of their duties, and there was a
kindlier spirit of brotherhood umong themselves. Then, personal
intercourse was seldom, from the immense distances which separated
them, but common interests sometimes brought them together
for mutual counsel, and whenever the affairs of the Church and
the welfare of their respective flocks had been considered, and
a course fixed on, there was the relaxation of boyhood — the
fun and frolic of youths escaped from the rigour and discipline
and the drudgery of hard tasks — enjoyed by men of weightier
avocations and graver years ; wisdom and wit, humour and folly,
happily blended in these intellectual symposiums.

" When I saw you last I promised that you would soon hear
from me, but since that time I made a short excursion to Chatham,
and now that I am in my private cell I can do no work. In such
intolerably hot weather it is a heavy task to wield a gooses quill,
far more a steel pen, so that you may expect little of the light and
feathery, and much less of the keen and pointed in this epistle.
You directed me to a serious perusal of the last page of your last
letter — where you speak of a yet untold life — why lite ! Man,
there are not incidents enough to give variety to the annals of an
oyster I for I think it was our great Dramatist who has said or
hinted that an oyster may be crossed in love. So I will take cooler
weather to dip into its fiery mysteries. However, you have set mo
agoing on a subject which I have long contemplated, namely, to
gather together such scraps of interest relating to our Churoh in
Canada as might be useful to some future chronicler of our times.

" I have been in the liabit of keeping copies of many of my most

^^-

'>M

*■

PARENTAGE AND EARLY EDUCATION.

important and public letters, and I meant, when I had time, to collect
and arrange them, so that if any one some day hence would be at the
trouble of reading them they might find something interesting
about the aifairs of our church. The letters, too, of my clerical cor-
respondents I have kept ; but it would take a world of labour to
read them and select the useful from such as are on trifling sub-
jects. I regret that I did not tg^ke note of passing events ; much
that would be interesting has passed from my memory, or only
recurs now and then as fragmentary dreams, and I may give you a
few of the old reminiscences as they come back upon me. You
luivc given texts for a few, and the letters written about the time of
Chalmers, Irving, Mary Campbell, and the 'Leetlc Verry ' on the
Rhine, who carried off with her more than a leetle vcrri/ of my
heart, may suggest something more. But, an autobiography ! 0,
no, no ; there is neither incident nor public life to make it in the
least interesting ; nothing to elevate a biography above insignifi-
cant gossip. However, as the garrulity of old ago when once
excited flows on without interruption, I may deluge you yet with a
flood of old memories; but, though pleasing to myself, and perhaps
to the few remaining who shared the joys of my school-boy days,
they can liave no interest to another."

To the reader who was not personally acquainted with Dr. IMathie-
son this may seem rather a dull setting to his ideal picture of a
noble, frank, generous and happy nature. But some consideration
must be given to the tliought that these are the words of
one whose years were verging on three-score and ten — whose life had
been one of unusual activity — of one. who, tenacious in the la.s*-. degree
of all the rights and privileges, and the respect, appertaining to his

•i-

>!«

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MATHIESON, D.D.

status as a min'nter, was loatli to conccJc that tho inflrniities of
age luul in any degree incapacitated him for active duties, and
whose ardent temperament fretted under such petty vexations and
annoyances as are common to humanity and inseparable from old
age. During twelve years previous to the date of the above letter
lie had been aided in the discharge of his pulpit duties by different
assistants, and, as time wore on, hp gradually became in some mea-
sure reconciled to altered relationships which necessity rather than
choice had led him in the first place to sanction, but he was ill at
case in the prospect of a more permanent arrangement that was now
for the first time proposed, that of the appointment of an assistant
and successor. He could not brook the idea of any one waiting, as
it were, for him to " shuffle off this mortal coil" that he might stand
in his vacated slfocs. But, do away with any misconception, it is
right to mention hci'c that the disquietude of the Doctor's mind at
this time was due almost entirely to his own easily excited imagi-
nation and the exceeding sensitiveness of his nature, and that
the subsequent appointment of an assistant and successor proved
on the whole highly saiisfiictory, not only to the congregation,
but to the Doctor himself. We will not further pursue this
digression, however, but at once proceed to narrate in his own
words the story of his parentage and education, and of the peaceful,
happy dnys that intervened from the time of his leaving college until
lie received the call and appointment to become the minister of St.
Andrew's Church, Montreal.

It may be as well to premise that what follows is made up of
extracts fro!n a number of letters, the last of which is dated the
tlic 23rd April, 18G0.

■^^

*■

■^

PARENTAGE AN1> EARLY EDUCATION.

" 111 asking a sketch of my early days you have touched a string
that ahuost spontaneously responds to the slightest excitation. It
has been beautifully said, ' there arc no remeuibrances like those
of our youth,' and often, within the last few months especially,
docs my memory revert to my early days. Thouj h they passed
away like a delightful dream, and arc devoid of inc'dcnt, to mc they
are very interesting, and the most trifling occurrences assume the
magnitude of the most important events.

" My father was a Highlander, the son of a farmer in Sutherland-
shire. His mother died, when he was two or three years old, in
giving birth to a daughter. His father married a second time, and,
as he alleged, his stepmother was very severe and unkind to him.
t have lieard him say that often he was sent to the hill to gather
in the sheep or feed the cattle amidst the driftini^ snows, without
shoes or stockings on his feet. He longed to see the world beyond
the little circle of his native hills. His i'atlicr became alarmed,
and, like Nerval's, his anxious care was ' to keep his only sou
himself at home.' He had learned to read, but his ambition was
' to write and cipher too.' These aspirations increased the old
man's terrors, lest he should lose his only ?on, for every one, he
alleged, who could read and write, sought to display their
acquirements in ' the low country.' One autumn evening, after
feeding the cattle, he requested his ftither to send him to school,
when he received something like the following answer to his
request : ' I am just as good a man as you are likely ever to be.
You have received as much education as I have. It has served
all my purpose — it may do yours. I mean to bring you up in the
same prol'cjjsiou in which 1 have lived honestly and respectably

■^

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.D.

Tliose who Icara to ivrite and count get discontented and leave
the country, &c.' Wliether tlicse resolutions were warmly enforced
by his stepmother I do not know, but there was some disagreement
which offended him mightily. When all had gone to bed he started

for , some flftecni or twenty miles off, where a recruiting

party wore stationed. He accepted the ' Queen's shilling' — and
was back by the dawn of the day to the discharge of his domestic
duties, without informing any one what he had done, till lie was
summoned to appear and confirm the deed by being * attested,
sworn and a'. He loft amidst the profound grief of his father
and only sister, and about three weeks afterwards joined his Regi-
ment — either the 72nd or 7Sth, I forget which — and in about
nine months went with it to the East Indies, lie was then about
seventeen or eighteen years of age. Under whom he served I do
not know. One war had terminated and another was commencing.
He remained about seven years without seeing much fighting, when,
his health having given way, he was invalided, sent home, and
stationed in Dumbarton Castle for garrison duty. Though 'an
old fogey,' he was yet a young man, and soon tiring of the indo-
lence and inactivity of garrison duty he became anxious to obtain
a discharge and learn some business. His grand-uncle, H. McKay,
was barrack-master. He, with sergeant Drysdale, of the artillery,
and one or two old men, under the command of Capt. Kobertson,
constituted the garrison in the renowned fortress. My father's
thirst for knowledge was unquenchable. He had learned by this time
to write, and now went to a ' night-school,' and became a proficient
in arithmetic. He was a prodigious favourite with his commanding
officer, and to him he imparted his hiijh aspirations of actuiiring a

ding

PARKNTAGE AND EAUTA' EDUCATION. li

scientific knowledjic of gardcninjr. Cnpt. Robertson, however, gave
him a letter of introduction to tlie superintendent of tlie bleaching
establishment at Dalffuhurn, and, having visited the print fields of
Cordale and Dalquhnrn — then, T believe, the most extensive works
of the kind in Scptland — after hesitating; for a sliort time between
becoming an engraver, and a copperplate printer, lie selected the
latter, and was apprenticed to the trade. Ilis commanding officer
became his surety and extended to him the privilege of absence
from the Castle, excepting 'high days and holidays,' when he
appeared in all the pomp and pageantry of military life in the
Castle. Upon the breaking out of the French Revolution, in
17!.)2, he had to sleep in the Castle, having to travel every even-
ing after six and to return to Trenton before six o'clock next morn-
ing — the distance was six or seven miles. Finding it not good to
be alone, somewhere about the beginning of the last decade of the
eighteenth century he ' courted' my mother, and obtained her
consent. But, as the course of ' true love never did run smooth,'
Granny put a veto on their union. She said ' lie was a weel-far'd
lad, and a' body said he was an unci guid chUl, but I dow
na bide the ill-far'd name o' a soger.' Her scruples, however,
were soon overcome — the aristocratic blood of the Uodgcrs of
Cloddach, in matrimonial alliance with the Ewings of Keppoch,
submitted to the claims of ardent love, and, to the delight of
themselves, and the perfect satisfaction of all parties concerned^
G^iorgc Mathicson and Janet Ewing were united in ' the holy
bands of marriage' — forgive me the half Popish phrase — by the llcv.
James Oliphant (for whose gifts and graces, sec Burns' Holy Fair.)
Grandfather was a younger son, or the son of a younger son, of

■*

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MaTUIESON, D.D.

Ewing of Keppocli, who possessed that estate for about six hundred
years, as I have been told, previous to 1816 or 1817, wlien it
passed into the Dunlop family. My niother was born atRoscncath,
whence the family removed to tlie Kirkton of Cardross, that is, tlic
point of land between the Levcn and the Clyde. The Kirkton I
What myriads of pleasing memories rush on my mind at the very
mention of the name. The cottage, with its antique furniture, its
beds with wooden .shutters for hangings, its bouft-t and four-legged
stools, grandfather's arm-chair in the corner, where sat the vener-
able man, making ' tow guns' and boats for his nunierous * O's*
that constantly frequented his fireside, delighted with his task,
and entering with a youthful heart into all their frolics, fun and
glee, except when one or two theatrical knights, with chivalric airs,
would dare to utter in his hearing, 'My name is Norval;' or,
'Draw and defend thy life,' when they would have to draw oif
to a respectful distance if they were within reach of his long
crutch. But I am diverging from my straight path. My father
resided in Kenton till about 1803 or 1804. The garrison at Dum-
barton was disbanded, and he received a pension of about one
shilling and two-pence per day. His family had increased — four ,
sons and four daughters. The three eldest died in childhood. I
was the fourth, born on the 1st of October, 1795. All my sisters
are still alive (1804). He removed from llenton to Balfron in
1804, and to Carapsie, where he lived the remainder of his days,
in 1807, where he followed his business as a copperplate printer.
Wherever he was he conciliated the affections of his employers. He
became an Elder in the parish church of Campsie, and in the
discharge of his duties as sufh frequently associated with the

*■

PAllENTAan AND EARLY EDUCATION.

'^M

resident Heritors of the parish, and secured the regard of all of
thctn, who honoured his memory by following his remains to tho
grave — a respect shown by them to few beneath their own rank.
Tho parish minister, the Rev, Mr. Lapslie, accounted him his
right-hand man. Dr. Mc^jood, his successor, afterwards of St.
Columba Church, Glasgow, contracted a friendship with him that
continued unabated till tho last days of his life, and the recollection
of which caused the family to press mo to pay a tribute of respect to
the memory of the worthy Doctor, by preaching his funeral sermon. (•)
Dr. Robert Lee, afterwards the minister of Greyfriar's Church,
Edinburgh, and the distinguished professor of Biblical criticism in
the University of that city, was also a short time in tho parish
before my father died. Ilim he respected as his minister, but I
do not think that he cherished, or could cherish, for him the Siimo
affectionate esteem as he did for his predecessor, Dr. iMcLcod. He
died in March, if I remember aright, 1845, at the age of eighty-
two. My mother survived him ten or twilvo years, and died about
the age of 93 or 94. When young, she was good-looking, of a
remarkably cheerful disposition, and charmed her friends with tho

(•) The Dr. McLeod referred to was father of the distinguished minister
of tlie Barony Church, Glasgow, Dr. Norman McLeod. In a snrmoa
preached by him shortly after the sorrowful event we find the following
allusion to ihe occasion here referred to. — " The end came at last : It cnme
without any warning. In the mi Idle of the night tlie cry w.is heard — low
and soft, " Behold the Bridegroom coraeth 1 " It was met bj' him in Peace.
Ilis funeral sermon in Oaelic was preached by his old and valurd friend
Dr. MacFarlan of Arrochar; and in English by another highly valued
friend, the son of his most attached Elder in Canijisie, iho Rev. Dr.
Malhieson of Montreal. "

*■

!»•(•

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.D.

urbanity of her miinnors ami tlic stories of hor early days, which
she deliglitcd to repeat. They have passed away. There were fow
in their station who connnanded such universal esteem, or whoso
uieniory is more affectionately cherished by nun'icr. us surviving
friends. ' Uncle Georu;e and aunt Jenny,' were household words.

" I was sent to school at Kenton, and learned the alphabet under
IMr. McKinlay, who afterwards became the rector of the academy
at Perth. I believe I learned to read, at least I got credit fur
being a ' capital speller,' and, being one of four, I think, who
were called up at an examination before the Jlinlslevs, to exhibit
our gifts, I beat thorn all. At leni,'th Mr. Slight, the minister of
Bonhill, gave me some Jcitfle words to si^ell, which I managed
to do, all but one. On my defeat I burst into tears. He consoled
me by patting my head and giving me u sixpence, when I imagined
I was prodigiously rich. This was the cause of a battle ; for one
of the competitors told me tauntingly, when I left the school, I
had gotten the sixpence for crying, or, because I could not spell
tlic word. Bloody noses and scratched faces were the result, but
victory again smiled on mc. I commenced Latin with Mr. Hally,
of Balfron, but made little progress. I was about a year at a school
in Lennoxtown, and afterwards went to the parish school of
Ciimiisic, taught by Mr. McFuilane, or ' Liffy' as we called him.
iiometimcs he was cross and sometimeshe was kind, which humours
we learned to take advantage of. lie had two special favourites,
who received a proportionate share of hatred from the others in the
school, lie was a good man, and we loved and respected him. I
think he sent a class of nine to College on tl!e 10th of October,
ISUU. Some of the,>.e failed. Three of them still survive I

*■

'^^

rAllENTAGE i\ND EAULY EDUCATION.

believe, though of one of them I have not hoard for sonic years
— Tom Oorilon, into whose insafiable ears I liavo poured a descrip-
tion of Walhice's sword a tiiousand tiints. Happy school-diiys I
light were our cares, transient our sorrows, intense our joys. "What
dangers wo encountered I What toils wo endured I Harrying
hawks' nests— ginmieling trouts — fighting the boys of other schools.
1 wish I could enjoy them again, even with their broken heads
and bloody noses. But In these penalties I shiired little, for,
according to the testimony of old Janet Graham, I was "a wcel set
laddie." I could give you many anecdotes of thes-e school-diiys,
which, however uninteresting to another, have a charm for myself,
and no doubt tended to form, in a great measure, the future
characters of the actors. But I am not going to philosophize at
the end of a chapter. As usual, I have to crave your indulgence
for haste and blunders.

Yours, &c.,

A. M.

iirr

*■

•*

CHAPTER SECOND.

COLLEGE CAREER AND TUTORSHIP.

We have now come to that interesting period in the Doctor's his-
tory when, we must suppose, he made up Ins mind to qualify him-
self for a learned profession, for few in hjs station of life aspired to
a College curriculum without having tliat in view. But whether
he had at this time in prospect, as the ultimate result of his studies,
" to wag his head in a poopit" does not appear, although it is
likely that such was the case from the great interest whicli his
father took in church matters and his intimacy with the clergy, by
which Alexander would also be brought into frequent contact with
thcra. However that may have been, along with others of Mr.
McFarlane's pupils, to Glasgow College he went on the 10th of
October, 1809. Like many other Scottish students, the subject of
our sketch entered college at an early age. He was then only four-
teen, and very small in stature, and, indeed, remained so til! about
the ago that most young men have attained their full height, when,
all at once, he shot up to the size of a grenadier, " That was an
eventful day" — to resume his own narrative — "when I assumed

*■

■*

by
ith

COLLEGE CAllEER AND TUTORSHIP.

the somewliat delapidatcd and stained topa of my cousin Peter*
who had bequeathed to me his mantle on his entering tlie Divinity
Hall — my pride being made tu humble my vanity by being assured it
was more honourable to sport a frieze displaying somewhat of 'skyey
influences' than flaming scarlet. Our Dominie was a proud man
that day when at the head of eight or ten sheepish boys they marched
into the courts of the old College, gazing with wonder at the Lion
nnd the Unicorn that silently guarded the large broad steps that
seemed the inviting but difficult ascent to the halls of knowledsre.
That we might the more easily and gracefully make our bows he
had recon)mcnded us to go to the ' dnucing scliooV — which pro-
cursive polish I contemned — having been denied that privilege a
short time before when I was in the humour to go. Notwithstand-
ing all his maxims of polite and courtly bearing, we huddled toge.
ther into a corner and stood, ill at ease, on the defensive. At col-
lege we wrought hard till the Blackstone Examination f was over :
after that much of our time was spent idly. The second year
little or nothing was done — the far famed battles with the 71st occu-

•The late Rev. Peter Napier, of the College Church Glasgow, and
formerly of St. Qeorge's-ia-the-Fielda.

+ So called from an old oak chair having a seat of black marble, which
the student under cxaminal'on occupied. The examination is rather an
initiatory form than a rigid test, and is required of all siudcnt3 before
entering each and all of tiie gown classes. To the first year's student it
is nevertheless sufficiently forniidiible. The usual first question of the
Professor is, "Air." so and so — naming jiim in Latin, "What do you
profess ?" The general reply being " Doctissime Prefessor, Evangelium
secundum Joanuein ProfUeor," when the candidate takes his seat on
the Blackstone and construes a verse or two.

2-i

LIFE OP ALEXANDER MATHIESON, D.D.

pyinp: the greater part of the winter, and in which the ' Campsies'
liehl a distinguished position. ' Plunking tlie class,' too, was so
fioquent as to cause numerous i-oics in 'Janiniy's'* class — the
absentees on their return being taken for strangers, and the' strong
man ' called in to turn the strangers out.

" 3Iy father had removed to Woodside on the banks of the Kel-
vin and there I entered on my labours, at sixteen, as a sclioolmas-
ter to the workers at Ilould worth's Cotton Mills. My salary was
ten shillings per week from the Company, and threepence from each
pupil, by which I earned about seven shillings and sixpence per
week. It was an evening school. During the day I attcnJed th^
classes at college, but studied little. In the summer I kept the
books and accounts of a cooper who had entered into the herring
trade, and received for this my board and 2s. Od. per week. My
pockets were always empty and my coat seedy — but, no help for it
but drudge on. Thus passed over about eigliteen months during
which very little mental progress was made, for which there may
be an excuse in the want of time for study, but, what was worse, I
lost all habits of application. My good old aunty — a most inde.
pendent, energetic woman — procured me a tutorship for the ensue-
ing six summer months at Gairlochead, in the family of Captain
Campbell, with a salary of five pounds. A few extra pupils brought
me about seven pounds more, and on my twelve pounds, with a suit
of clothes from my father, and shirts from my mother, I campaigned
the winter, or rather two winters. My pupils made considerable
progress, notwithstanding a great deal of broken time — every

1<T

llllo

very

COLLEGE CAREER AND TUTORSHIP.

•f*-

< shcop-gathcring' and * peat-casting' all hands being required —
and in these exercises my health which began to fail nie was quite
restored. Idly I spent much of my time, but very pleasantly. The
afterwards celebrated jMary and Isabella Campbell were my pupils.
Isabella was a good creature — amiable and pious. Mary, quick,
pretentious, and conceited ; she was spoilci by her father, who.
proud of her (jualifications, exhibited her scholarship on all occa-
sions, and excited in her inordinate vanity and presumption— the
foundation of tlie contemptible fanaticism which afterwards misled
Story, Campbell, and Irving. In a word, Mary became a design-
ing hy[)0crite, or, an arrant fool, which the little education she had,
and the natural force of her mental faculties, forbid me to receive.
Her cunning and deceit wore irrepressible when she was a child,
and though my intercourse with licr in after life was little, I did
not wonder when it culminated in the workin-i of miracles, and in
gibbering in ' an unknown tongue.' Tlie extravagances into which
her fanaticism led were notorious, and, better that they are buried
in oblivion than awaken the pity and disgust of the sober thinking.
" Mary's elocution was good. For a child, she read remarkably
well, and her father took every opportunity of exhibiting her gifts.
Mr. Robert Campbell of Iloseneatli had been in this quarter, on
business I suppose, and called at Fernicarry. Mary, ae was cus-
tomary, was brought on the stage and dismissed with applause.
This led to some expressions of regret from the Captain that I was
about to leave theai for college, and ended by his recommending me
as a tutor to his brother's boys. In the interview which followed
I stated my intention not to abandon my Ci)lloge e.uiise, but engaged

to return as early in spring as possible. This I did, and tiic

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.D.

next eleven years of my life wore spent in Mr. Robert Campbell's

family, at the Clacban, in as much happiness as it were befitting

mortal to enjoy. It was by flir the most eventful period of my

existence, if the successes and disappointments of a sensitive and

proud spirit could form a marked epoch in niental history. But I

must be off to other matters, and I dare say you have got enough
usque ad nauseam of this for the present."

In these references tc his College career there is hardly so much
as ;in allusion to the struggles and privations of student life, but
we are not on that account to suppose that Smuli/ Mathieson, as he
was called at school, had discovered a royal road to learning. With
twelve pounds in his pocket to defray the expenses of a session at
college the student, if he uuts clothed in purple, could not hope to
*' fare sumptuously every day." He would have to be content
with a lodgement in the fifth or sixth story of a g.oomy " land" of
tenements known by such unclassical names as " the Candleriggs,"
•* the Rotten Row," or, " the Cowcaddcns." His coat could not
be otherwise than " seedy ; " and, if there was any virtue in hard
beds, he would reap all the benefits thereto belonging. What the
Doctor says about the " plu.-.king " * proclivities of his schoolmates
and of his own " idle-set" must be taken cum grano, for when he
left college those who were in a position to pronounce on his acquire-
ments g;ive unequivocal testimony that he was a young man of exten-
sive learning and of earnest piety.

No student ever better enjoyed a lark than did our friend at
college. The following may be taken as an illustration of the pranks

* rtunliing, a scotiicism for playing the truant.

•*

COLLECTE CAREER AND TUTORSHIP.

practised by the •' Colly ilougs " — the soubriquet by which the
gowned students were known to the " Keelics. " * It will be
recoi^nized as a true pieturc by every who has an experimental
knowledge of college lifi : — *' In our anxiety to see Koan the elder,
in Macbeth, we wore ^tirced by necessity to tempt a douce elder of
the Kirk to enter that den of iniquity — a play-house — pretending
that we were taking him into a grand Episcopalian Church to hear
^ great gun from London. His free remarks on * Episcopawlian
corruptions ' — his amazement and horror when at length he
discovered that he was in the Decv'd's house — his subsequent
resignation to his fate, when out of the pit he could not get — his
undoubting conviction of the reality of every thing that passed
before his eyes — especially the witch scene — and his ultimate gra-
tification with the whole play, would form an admirable chapter in
a novel. If it does not already supply the ground work of one of
the best scenes in Mansie Waugh, which I am half inclined to
believe from the intimacy afterwards contracted between one of our
theatrical heroes and Moir, the author of Mansie."

It may be mentioned that the curricuhnn of study at the Uni-
versity, required of a candidate for the ministry, consisted of four
years in the " gown classes " — i. e. in the Arts, or classical litera-
ture department, and four years in the study of Theology, in all its
branches, in the Divinity Hall. That was eight years in all ; but,
by an arrangement at that time permissible — a very bad arrange-
ment — it was allowable for the student to take ^^ar^taZ sessions in his

• Tlie term " Keelies " was applied to the lower order of Glasgow street
Arabs, between whom and the students there has always been waged aa
intermiuable warfare.

*■

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.D.

Divinity course and to cxtcntl Ins studies over an indefinite time.
And of this, the Doctor, like many others who with himself were
pressed for the ncedfnl to prosecute an uninterrupted course, availed
himself. How long his theological teacliing was thus extended
we Ciinnot now tell; it is altogether likely,, however, that he applied
for and obtained license to preach the Gospel as soon as tlie pre-
scribed term had been fulfilled, and having been licensed to preach
in the year 182.^— at which time he would be 28 years of age —
the presumption may be entertained that it was not until about tliat
time that lie had completed the course. /Vt all events, from the
time that he began the study of Theology until its consummation
a period of full ten years had elapsed, during the whole of which he
was living as tutor in the family of Mr. Robert Campbell, of RoSe,
neath, excepting the intervals of his attendance at college.

His first " trial discourse " in the Divinity Hall was to him a
great trial. For a long time before its delivery he felt no smalj
uneasiness in regard to it. This feeling did not arise from anything
like inability to write a sermon, or fear of the professor's criticism,
but from the fact that it was then, as it still is, the invariable
practice for each theological student to preface the rcadim'' of his
discourse by the oiforing up of a brief prayer. Having no faith in
his powers of speaking or of pr .ying extempore, and having as
little faith in his poor memory, he carefully wrote out a prayer on
the back of his manuscript, and for several weeks might have been
daily seen perambulating the college green, diligently committing
it to memory, till at last he had it at his tongue's end, of which he
satisfied himself by repeatedly saying it aloud in the hearing of a
congregation of " venerable rooks," whose progenitors had from

rjmMffi

9glr

COLLEGE CAREER AND TUTORSHIP.

of a
from

time immemorial found a home amonji; the brandies of a few old
trees that stood in a corner of the green, and who were never
molested, an old law of the University being yearly read in Latin,
prohibiting tlic students from troubling then).

At last the day of trial conies. The students assemble. Dr.
McGill, a distinguished man in his day, takes the chair, and the
subject of our sketch tremblingly enters the desk. After a verse or
two had been sung, he begins his prayer, fortified by the thought
that should memory prove treacherous, and things come to the
worst, he could take a quiet peep at his manuscript. After repeating
a little of it the thought struck him " What if 1 should stick?''
the result being utter confusion, or, rather, the mind becoming a
perfect blank. In vain he cast his eyes to his paper. Not a word
or letter could he distinguish from another, but he managed to
stammer a few sentences, which he used afterwards to say must
have been " sheer nonsense," and an Amen. Though terribly
crest-fallen he managed to deliver his discourse, and was even com-
plimented by the professor on his first attempt at sermonizing. He
was asked to remain at the end of the hour, and accordingly went
up to the professor's desk after the class had left, fully expecting a
reprimand, but no, the good professor, addressing him, said, " I
observcil, Sir, that you failed somewhat in prayer this morning,
but don't be cast down about that, the very best men in the Church
have done tlie same thing." But for these timely and wise words
it is doubtful if he would have further prosecuted his studies for
the Holy Ministry, so sensitive was liis nature.

Not long after receiving license Mr. Mathieson found himself in
" a pulpit " — that acme of ambition for her son of many a good

' I

'<; I

h !

► j^-

LIFE OP ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.D.

Scottish dame. It was in the parish Cliuvch of Luss, on tho banks of
Lochlomond, sufficiently removed from lloseneath, as lie believed, to
obviate the inconvenience of his trying his " prentice hand " at
preaching in the presence of friends ; but the gardener at the
Clachan, who had a great respect for " Maistcr Alexander," and
who, like many others of his class, deemed himself a good judge
of sermons, set out in the morning to hear him, and on being inter-
rogated after his return as to how Mr. Mathieson got on, replied,
" ou verra weel, Sir — verra weel." " And where was the text ? "
continued the questioner; "a dinna mind that, Sir, but tht : was
a deal ahoiit therefore in it.^' The text being Romans xii, 1.
" I beseech you, therefore, brethren by the mercies of God, &c.''

In the refined and cultivated society of the inmates of the
Clachan and of tho neighbouring " gentry " the respect with which
the young tulor was at first treated ripened gradually into closest
friendship, which neither lapse of time nor distance ever diminished
and that were only dissolved by death. Mr. Campbell was the
Duke's factor, and Mr. Story informs us that the trait which marked
the Clachan family distinctively was their devotion to the house of
Argyle, and as an illustration of a highlander's veneration for the
head of his clan relates the following amusing instance: — A man
came to Mr. Campbell with a long complaint of contumelious usage
received at the hands of some adversary or other ; " and mair nor
that," said he, coming, after a detail of his grievances, to the crisis
of his charge, '' he had the impiddence to strike me in the pre-
sence o' Ilis Grace^s Ilurse ! "

Mr. Drummond was the Minister of Roseneath at the time Mr.
Mathieson went to reside in the parish ; a man of considerable

*■

the

man

;age

nor
brisis

pve-

Mr.

able

COLLEGE CAREER AND TUTORSHIP.

ability in his day, but at this time quite incapacitcd from old ago
for the discharge of public duties,

lie was succeeded by the Rev. Robert Story who was an amiable
and pious man, and, being young Mathieson'a senior by only five
years, they came to regard each other with a brotherly affection
that never was interrupted until Mr. Story's death in 1859. The
Manse was but a short distance from the Clachan, the approach to
which was thrcugh an avenue over-arched by magnificent yew trees,
whose sombre foliage imparted a solemnity — almost a sacredness
— to the vicinity, very much in harmony with the poetic tendencies
of the tutor's mind. The peninsula and parish of Roseneath lie
between the Gairloch and Loch Long, in the estuary of the Clyde,
one of the most picturesque spots in all Scotland. " The weariest
Pilgrim of the Beautiful could wish to gaze on no lovelier scene."
The broad expanse of rippling waters, sea ward ; the sinuous, silent
Lochs; the wooded, winding shores ; the sparkling roofs and towers
of castle and villas rising amongst the trees and gardens, and,
towering above all, that majestic chain of rugged rock which from
time immemorial has by strange caprice been styled " The Duke
of Argyle's Bowling Green." It was amid such scenery that Dr.
Mathieson became imbued with that inextinguishable and romantic
love for the hills and glens of his native land that so conspi-
cuously characterized him.

*■

■*

OIlAPTEll TinilD.

RECOLLKCTIONS OP DR. C[IALME118 AND EDWARD IRVINQ.

TiiE'iE were associations of anotlior kind connected witli Mr.
Mathioson's sojourn at lloSeneath that lingered in his nuniory as
long as he lived. These arose out of the intercourse he tlicn had
with two of the most reniaikablc divines of modern times; the
one, in the zenith of his glory; the other, just emerging from
comparative obscurity — destined to win his way to unparalleled
celebrity. We refer to Dr. Chalmers, and his assistant, the eccen-
tric, but highly gifted Edward Irving — men, both endowed with
brilliant and powerful talents, sharing a common inheritance in
the domain of genius, yet differing greatly in th3 tone and charac-
ter of their eloquence. His recollections of the latter formed the
subject of a long and interesting letter, written in 18G-1, of which
the following is the substance : —

" My DEAR Friexd, — I have been long in acknowledging your
last kind letter, and what excuse have I for my negligence ?
None 1 I have had little to do for the last six weeks, and there-
fore, 1 suppose, from that natural tendency to do nothing, which

RECOLLECTIONS OF DR. CHALMERS AND IRVING.

lour
lioh

some one has declared to be the snmrnum honiim of happiness, I
determined to be happy. But it would not do. jMental indolence
was wretchedness. So, ascending one de-^ree higher in the soalo
of 'action, I seized a parcel of old papers and letters which were
rotting in a box, and amidst scenes and friends of my early days,
I have been holding revelry. Your phantom would occasionally
intrude and scowl on me for not fulfilling my promise of giving
you some personal reniinisconcQ,s of Edward Irving.

" Irving was a noble-minded fellow, kind, generous, and of a
lively genius. But there was one point in his character that I
cannot reconcile with true greatness of mind, that is, his excessive
vanity. Though he made no pretentious deujands on the applauses
of others, it was clear that he considered them due to his talents,
and when he received them he rolled them as a sweet morsel
under his tongue.

" I first met with him at the Manse of Fin try. I think it must

have been a very short time before he became assistant to Dr.

Chalmers — at that time the minister of St. John's Ciiurch,

Glasgow. I don't remember what led me to pay a visit of a few

days to my old friend Colth:ird. I was then not licensed to

preach, and could give him no relief on Sabbath. So, not to

interrupt his preparations, with my fishing rod I repaired to the

oft-frequented pool of the Endrirk to practice ''the gentle craft."

It was a Saturday. On returning to the Manse T found that Mr.

Irving had arrived, and had already engaged to take the morrow's

pulpit duties. He was, from some cause, terribly in the doldrunis.

He had not succeeded in his expectations, and I tliink hud no

enii)loynientof any kind, and the future, to his ardent and sensitive

l^TT

11!

>^i'

LIFE OF ALEXAND13II MATIIIESON, D.D.

njind, presented a picture of unrelieved darkness. In fact, he
was not only dcspondini^, he was niisinthropical. His finely
chiselled face, his dark flowing hair, and the outward s(|uint of
his eyes — which somebody has called * a portentous obli((uityof
Yij^ion ' — when his countenance was li;4hted up with indignation
at the want of the world's discrimination, and mado gloomy with
disappointment, presented him to the imagination us one of thoso
northern demigods whoso ire is more to be feared thun their love
to be courted. I do not remember the character of his preaching
on that occasion — there was something peculiar about it — yet it
failed to impress me. lie ibrmcd a thousand projects of future action

was determined to leave his native land and seek for a tield of

usefulness abroad. Though his purposes were unsettled, and altering
every few minutes, he seemed most inclined to proceed on his own

liook as the Yankees sa^ — us a Christian missionary to Soutli

America. Mr. Colthard tried hard to sooth his mind and give it
a more hopeful bent. I remember that I wondered at him, and
picied him — for there was something that, in spite of his eccen-
tricities, commanded resf^pect. On Monday morning he set out
to walk across the moor to Glasgow — I do not tliink there was a
public conveyance at that time from Fintry, if there was one from
Campsie, which was about half way. But he was strong and
resolute, and I am persuaded he would not have availed himself
of it. Mr. Colthard and I accompanied him to the top of the
hill by ' the Craw Road,' which led iicross the moor. When wo
parted fron; him he threw forward his brawny arms and exclaimed
'farewell! I go— I go — I go. God my guide, the world my
tield ! ' and rushed forward on his way. 1 met with him freciuently

RECOLLECTIONS OP DR. CHALMERS AND IRVING.

afterwards, and learned to love him, which 1 confess I did not do
at first. Once, at liis earnest '•vitation, I breakfasted at l)i8
lodgings, if I renicinbor well, in Uowgate or Cliarlotte-strcet.
lie was engaged on some nietapliysi ' question which absorbed
his mind, and though he earnestly tried to be social and conversa-
tional, every now and then the subject higgcd, and our interview
was neither very intellectual nor ag ecable. On his ' marriage-
trip' became by Iloseneath from the Highlands. I had gone
with Mr. Story to visit one of his parishioners who resided in a
cottage by the lake side. Looking out from the window \ve
beheld a singular sort of procession — two gentlemen, each bearing
on his shoulder a well stufFod carpet-bag, and between the two, a
travelling trunk of no ordinary size : following them was a lady,
a carpet b ig slung over her shoulders and in her hand a large
leathern reticule. We speculated with many jokes who these
foreigners were who had invaded from the north our peaceful
parish. On getting home to the Manse the mystery was solved,
for we found Mr. Irving, his wife, and Dr. Martin of Kircaldy,
bis father in-law. They had come from Invcrary, and had crossed
Loch Long at Caulport, where they attempted to hire a cart to
cirry their luggage across the moor. I am sorry to confess the
fact, the f/ood folks of Rosencath proved as avaricious as their
neighbours, and denrinded an cxhorbitant charge for the service.
Indignant at their dishonesty, Irving and his father-in-law deter-
mined to shoulder their trunks and proceed a-foot. 'J'he evening
was spent very pleasantly and they remained over Sabbath, when
Dr. Martin preached for Mr. Story. The second evening, imme-
diately after tea, Irving asked me to accompany him on a walk.

*■

■*i>

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MATHIESON, D.D.

The moon was on the Loch, the evening still and beautiful, and
we sauntered along the beach and througli the castle woods till it
was long past ten o'clock. After a few words of conversation I
had no need further to speak. Irving launched forth in a torrent
of eloquence, instructing me how I should prosecute my studies,
and suit my intercourse with the world. Often afterwards have
I regretted that I could not retain in memory his admirable and
affectionate instructions, which 6c«med to flow from the double
inspiration of love for his pupil and a deep interest in the cause
which prompted his exhortations. 1 never listened with more
interest or delight to so long a lecture — nearly four hours — the
sea rolling lazily in upon the beach and the moon in resplendent
beauty shining over us."

In another letter, rather long for insertion, we have a graphic
description of an excursion to the top of Tamnaharra, the Inghest
point in the parish, in eoinpany with Dr. Chalmers, Irving, and
a party of ladies. It narrates how Irving carried the ladies in liis
capacious aruis over the sludgy beach to the boat ; how he stripped
off his coat and vest and rowed the boat alone, a distance of nearly
six miles ; how, after lauding, Ir- ing manifested his tailoring powers
under the shadow of a great rock, and how, having been suddenly
interrupted by his mischievous companions, he fled to the heather,
*' a souple lad he was and Strang" — amidst the roars of laughter
which followed him till he was far out of sight ; and how, upon an-
other occasion, one of the party assumed the fiddle and Mr. Edv/ard
Irving danced a Highland reel on the green, while Dr. Chalmers
looked on, rubbing his elbows and clapping his bauds in perfect
glee.

■*

RECOLLECTIONS OF DR. CHALMERS AND IRVING.

The Mary and Isabella Camiibell above referred to will be read-
ily recognized as chief actors along with Irving and Mr. Campbell,
the Minister of How, in what subsequently came to be known as
the Row Heresy. Irving went to London, and no man in tha
Metropolis was, for a short time, more popular. '' But his head
got dizzy from the topling lieight to which he had ascended. He
began to put wild meanings on prophecy, to predict the personal
advent of Christ, and to speak in unknown tongues." '^

Poor Irving was sunnnoned before the Church courts, and
deposed, came down to Glasgow, and died there. In the crypt of
Glaygow Cathedral was he buried, says Mr. Cunningham, and
when the mourners retired they left still standing at his grave a
number of young women clothed in white, who confidently
expected that he was immediately to rise again. Mr. Campbell
was also deposed, and the How Heresy dwindled away, though the
followers of Edward Irving continued for some time to be known
as " Irvingitcs." Subsequently they came to be known as the
Catholic Apostolical Churcli. If our information is correct there
are two congregations belonging to this sect in Canada, one in
Kingston, and another in Toronto.

We are sorry that the first sheet of the following letter referring to
Dr. Chalmers has been mislaid, and we do not recollect its contents
further than that allusion was made in it to his first disappoint-
ment, no doubt the greatest that he ever experienced. The Parish
of Methvcn, in the Presbytery of Perth,becanic vacant in November
1823. by the death of Mr. John Dowe, formerly of Canonbic, who

• Cunningham's Church Ilislory of Scotland.

^M'

'>tk

lliliiil

I': i

i '

*•

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.D.

had for the long space of forty years dischargocl the pastoral duties
of that parish and taken au active and influential part in tlie
business of the Church courts. It was situated in a beautiful part
of the country and was in every respect a most desirable charge.
It was one of the old original parishes whose session records went
back as far as the Reformation. In 1574, when Mr. James Hering,
or Heron, was minister, the following entry appears in the Register
of Ministers, out of which it would puzzle a Philadelphia lawyer to
construct a hypothesis of the incumbent's stipend : " Mr. James
Hering, minister, and now piovydit Provoste and Parsons, ^er se,
has stipend the twa paiit of his awin Provostrie of Methven,
payand the Reidars at Methven and Auldbar, extending to G
chald., 2 B., 2 pts bier ; 13 chald., 5 il. 3 pts. miel ; and £78.8.5
money, lleadar at j\Icthven, with a stipend of £16 and Kirklands."
Methven is mentioned in history as early as the year 970, when
Cole n us, king of the Scots, is said to have been killed in that
iiei"'hbourhood, audit was in the neighbourhood of Methven castle
that the English Army, under the Earl of Pembroke, defeated
Robert the Bruce in 130G. This was the parish upon which Mr.
Mathieson had set his heart and to aid him in obtaining which he
had solicited letters of recommendation from his former preceptor,
Dr. McGill, from Principal Macfarhm and his friend Dr. Chal-
mers, " then toiling in the parish of St. John's ; charming the
city of the west by his exuberant eloquence : beautifying every' topic
which he touched; building churches; founding schools; visiting
soup kitchens; and taking the whole paujicr population of the
parish under his care." * " When at Glasgow," Dr. Mathieson

Cunningliam's Oburcb History, Vol. II , pp. 613.

■*

RECOLLECTIONS OF DR. CHALMERS AND IRVING.

writes, " I tliought it iny duty to apprise Dr. McGill and the
Principal what I liad done. The Doctor said he was not likely to
be referred to, hut if he was, he would be most happy to testify to
my conduct and character while in his class. The Principal
laughingly said, what do you expect me to say in your favour ?
Am I to testify that you are an idle fellow— like ' McFarlane's
geese ' — more fond of your play than your work ? Well, well,
Col. Smythe is not likely to apply to me ; but if he docs, if I say
nothing good of you, T will say nothing ill.' I had written from
Roseneath to Dr. Chalmers, detailing the facts and requesting
him as a flivour, if he was applied to, to state what he personally
knew of me, and that I Avas aware he had not heard mo preach, so
that as to ministerial gifts I wished him to say nothing. I had
caught a cold. I was in bed fancying myself sick, at least sicker
than I was. It wash Saturday afternoon— my boys were out, when
the servant brought me the Doctor's reply which ran as follows : —

" 'January 2nd, 1824.

" ' Dear Sir : — lean assure you it is not without pain that I
decline your request. 1 feel every disposition to befriend you, but
I have made it an invariable rule for a long time to grant no
recommendations whatever but on my own independent knowledge.
And I do exceedingly regret that I am really not in possession of
the r:n!.isite data for being the object of a reference upon an
occasion in which your interests arc »o much involved. I fully hope
that upon these considerations I shall have the indulgence both of
yourself and Mr. Campbell, whose kind hospitality I have the
warmest remeuibrance of. I rc<{uost my complinicnls to him,

*■

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MATHIESON, D.D.

and to Mrs. and Misses Campbell, also to my dear friend, Mr.
Story.

1 am, Dear Sir,

Yours truly,
(Signed,) THOMAS CHALMERS.

"Indignant at the tenor of the letter I immediately penned the
following reply : —

Glasgow, January, 1824.

'Rev. Sir : — I have received your letter of the 2Qd inst.
declining to be made an object of reference, except on your own
independent knowledge, in a matter in which my interests are
involved.

' Had you read my letter carefully, you might have perceived that
1 asked nothing, if you were referred to, but what you could state
from your personal knowledge. In making my request I con-
ceived I was demanding a privilege, rather than asking a favour,
though I couched my solicitation in the more obsequious form. The
<; youno- scions " of the Church naturally, and in my opinion,
rightfully, look to their superiors for advice and guidance, and f )r
the many kind co\mscls I have received from you I sincerely thank
you ; but I think also they have a rigjit to look for such encour-
agement and support from their superiors in office as the extension
of their patronage might bestow, at least in so far as moral character
and literary attainments might warrant.

* But you say you do not know me. It is now some two or three

years since that on a Saturday afternoon you walked across the jrcors

frouiGlenliiinart to the Manse of Roseneath. Mr. Story was from

e, but, should any stranger arrive at any time iu his absence,

'>M

RECOLLECTIONS OF DR. CHALMERS AND IRVINGt

■>i«

*■

he liad rcquosted me to attend to their comfort ; accordinglj I

made myself known to you and invited you to the Clachan, where

I assured you, you would meet a kind recept'on. I introduced

you to Mr. Uampbell and his fuuily, and you were induced to remain

with them till Monday. During our intercourse these two days,

independently of the testimony of the family, I think you might

have personally known something of me. Next summer, I tliink it

was, you cam.* on a visit to Mr. Smith of Jordan hill. At his

hospitable table I oftencr than once met with you ; but, what was more

to the point, you requested that as often as I could, I should call

on you, and guide you to the most interesting and picturesque

points of view in the neighbourhood. This I did. I profited by our

walks. I thank you for the counsels you gave me. Our intercourse,

thougl) I was not gifted with conversational powers, seemed to be

pleasing. During that time, if you did not know me, I think you

should have known something of me.

' The following winter, I wont to Glasgow to complete my studies,

when I had the honour of breakfasting with you twice, and dinin<i'

oneo, and, at your request taught one of your Sunday schools, and

on the first Monday of every month was with you and your Sabbath -

school teachers when they assembled to report progress. In these

interviews, if you did not know me, I think you ought to have

known me. Afterwards, when you with your family resided for

three months at Ardincaple Inn, I had frequent opportunities of

meeting with you on occasions both of serious intercourse and

healthful amuseujont, when both character and acquirements had

an opportunity of being displayed. If you did not know me then,

I think you ought to have known me.

*■

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.D.

' You have not heard me preach. This I mentioned in my letter
and said I did not wish you to say anything about my qualifications
as a preacher, but that you should simply state what from your
own personal knowledge you knew of me, and, I think you ought
to have known something. Since I sent off my letter to you I have
been informed that you have recommended another to Col. Sniytho
as a fit person to fill the vacant charge at Methvcn. Had you stated
this as a reason for declining my request I might have admired
your candour and consistency, but, since you did not, I may men-
tion, and I am persuaded my information is correct, you could not
have recommended him on your personal knowledge: for you had
never seen him until a very short time before you brought him
under Col. Smythc's notice. You had heo.rd him preach one
sermon, and at the solicitation of a friend you wrote to Col. Smythe
strongly recommending him — of course on " your owa independent
knowledge" of his one sermon.

' This I admit you do not know, namely, to which side of Church
politics I belong. This I do not intend to make known to you, or
to any one else, until I see a fit time for making the discovery ;
but, in asking you the favour I did, don't think that I mean to
make your mighty name a stepping stone into office, or to bring
myself into notice by your fluttering commendations, even were
they granted. That I would scorn to do, even in a less sacred matter '
than that which has called forth these remarks.

' ]?ut I bog your pardon, though you had many opportunities of
knowing something of me in other respects, I must confess you are
gnorant of the spirit with which I would contemn everything

RECOLLECTIONS OP DR. CHALMERS AND IRVING. 43

like sycophancy, or mounting to notoriety on the shoulders
of another.

I am, llev. Sir,

Ydur most obedient servant,

ALEXANDER iMATIIlESON.'

" This reply terminated all friendly intercourse with tlie Doctotj
who in writing to Mr. Story some time afterwards seemed tickled with
some of the phrases eniployed and desired him to * alhiy my dir-
dum.' Some years afterwards, walking down Leith walk with the late
Doctor Boyd of the Edinburgh High School, we again met. Boyd
Slopped and conversed with the Doctor, I bowed and passed on; he
asked Boyd who I was, said he knew me well when brought to hia
recollection, and wondered I had not stopped to speak to him ; to
which I replied, ' the Doctor only knows me when it pleases him ;
I only know the Doctor when it pleases mo.'

" It was not till 1837 that I again saw him. I was commissioned
by the Synod or a Committee of the Church to put myself in com-
munication with him in relation to our Clergy Reserve's question.
I had gone with Principal McFarlan to London on the matter ; saw
Mr. Morris just before his return to Canada, and learned from him
the state in which the question stood. There was much still to do.
Doctor Chalmers was then in London, lecturing on his favourite
topic. I called at his lodgings repeatedly but never found hin\ at
home. At length I made myself known to Mr. Collins, his satellite,
and communicated my messagf*, requesting him to lay it before the
Doctor. At last a time and place were fixed for an interview, but
so large a party had assembled to meet with him, some on business,
and others to gratify their curiosity, that I had to wait a long time

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.D.

Agood many I found had been very unccrenjoniously greeted, and the
gcnei'al pica was used tluit he had come to London for a special pur-
pose ■which occupied his whole time. When I came forward, the same
excuse of want of time to attend to anything else than the matter
in hand was given. I stated that I had executed my commission
as I best couW, and had only to report to those who employed me
what had been done. He requested me to call upon him in Edin-
burgh when he would give full attention to 'our business, while I
urged the importance of his using his influence in London, where it
would have much more eft'ect. It wasinvain ; he was full of the benefits
arishig from the parochial scheme and strongly in favour of a friendly
coalition with the English Church. He was not decided as to the advan-
tages to be derived from a union of Presbyterians, so wedded were
seceders to dissent ; to introduce them into the Church would ulti-
mately, he thought, destroy the success of his theory. I got an
audience of nearly an hour, but it was quite fruitless, for the whole
of the time was occupied by an enthusiastic rhapsody on the Paro-
chial scheme. At length taking my hand, he said my face was
familiar to him, he must have seen me somewhere. I replied that
about fifteen years ago I had met him at Roseneath. This seemed
to bring back a flood of recollections, but he again excused himself
for not attending to the Clergy Reserves measures, and so we
parted, and, for ever, in this world.

" You will see from this meagre sketch that a distinguishing pecu-
liarity of the Doctor's mind was a complete surrender to the subject
occupying his attention, and that he seemed to bo more of a partizan
than in reality he was ; every thing gave way to the idea that
engrossed his mind at the time and imparted that inconsistency

•}«■

^c^taaastam

RECOLLECTIONS OF DR. CHALMERS AND IRVING. 45

to his conduct that too frequently niarketl it. Perhaps, too, you
may descry something of that obstinacy and impatience in the above
correspondence which has oftener than once disphiyed itself in the
conduct of your correspondent."

The impression made on this writer's mind by the above corres-
pondence tended to lower very much his estimate of the character
of the renowned Scottish preacher. His conduct appeared on this
occasion to be cold and heartless, and in our reply to Dr. iMathieson
we had hinted or said, " a fig for such friendship. " This drew
from him the following apology for Dr. Chalmers, which is worthy
of preservation as evidencing a fine forgiving spirit and conveying
also good advice to such as are prone to jump at conclusions :

" I would be very sorry indeed, if my letter to you of May
last^ has in any way disturbed the ideal you had formed of the
amiable and child-like Dr. Chalmers. There is a feeling of disap-
pointment when the notions we have formed of the figure, the
manners, or habits of any distinguished man are shaken or driven
to the winds that is absolutely unbearable. A thousand beautiful
visions are dispelled, a thousand irreconcilable facts quite perplex
us, the unity of our hero is lost, anil instead of the unique indi-
vidual which our fancy had pictured we have presented a motley
figure of the most contradictory proportions. It is human to be
composed of mixed ingredients. No man is all sinful or all holy
— all morally base, or all morally good. When the grand charac-
teristic features impress our minds we will allow nothing to interfere
with our ideal ; the shades which soften and beautify the picture
are kept out; we are dazzled by the brilliancy of the object. The
Doctor was truly a man of unaffected simplicity. His little knowledge

■^

*■

LIFE OP ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.D.

of the business of life, and the absorption of his mind by scientific

or literary pursuits, made him, in the estimation of the vulj^'ar

public, more than eccentric. He was known, as I understand, by

the general soubriquet of ' Daft Tammy Chalmers ', but there was

a genuine simplicity about him which in your idea of him I would

not have you forget. It was when he was forced into public life

that his enthusiasm led him into incongruities of conduct, and he

did not judge of matters as others of more worldly views would

have done.

Yours very truly,

A. M. "

>•»

CHAPTER FOURTH.

APPOINTMENT TO ST. ANDREW S CIIURCn. HIS ORDINATION AND

ARRIVAL IN CANADA.

Mr. Thomas Clirk, afterwards D.D., was the succcspful can-
didate for the Parish of Methvcn, and continued to be the minister
of it, and a leadinji; member of the Presbytery, till 1841, when he
was ti:anslatcd to Edinburgh. He was for many years the zealous
and efficient Convener of the Colonial Committee of the General
Assembly. To Mr. Mathieson the disappointment wa^ such as his
sanguine temperament ill fitted him to bear with equanimity, and
it would even seem that it gave rise to serious intentions of aban-
doning his profession for the practice of medicine, tliis bent having
probably been given to his mind by a previous attendance upon a
Course of Lectures on Anatoniy. That his heart was still in the
ministry, however, is evident from a memorandum written by him
at Roseneath on the 1st October, 1820 : " This day I enter on my
thirtieth year, and I trust on the most useful portion of my life.
If it shall please God to spare me in the land of the living till a
good old age, half that period has already elapsed, and with it have
passed away, unimproved, many opportunities which I enjoyed of

•^

*■

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MATniESON, D.D.

•*

fittinjr niy^olf more porfoctly for tlio business of this world, and of
preparing; myself for the next. Many serious reflections, many bitter
regrets, is the anniversary of my birth calculated to awaken. May
they come with firmer resolutions of being more active for the future.
The prospect of a wider sphere of usefulness opens before me, and
may God prepare me to discharge my duties with dispositions and
energy becoming their great importance. The profession which I
have made choice of from my earliest recollection, while it is the
most honourable in this world, is also the most awfully responsible.
May God ever preserve a just sense of these truths in my mind,
that I may neither bring disgrace on the heavenly religion wliich
He has called mo to proclaim, nor endanger my own soul by trifling

with the souls of other Something like reproach occasionally

steals across my mind that I should leave a f imily where I have
been so honoured and so tenderly treated at a time when perhaps
my services were most required. But I have the satisfaction to think
that my dear boys are likely to do honour to themselves and to
reflect credit on all concerned with them by their conduct as

scholars and gentlemen A few days more, and I must bid

the heathery hills of bonnie Scotland adieu. I will be far o'er the
sea, and among a people I know not, casting a wistful remembrance
to the friends and scenes I left behind me. Pleasing recollections
from the long catalogue which shall soothe a sad moment in a dis-
tant land 1 "

The sphere of usefulness here referred to was the charge of St.
Andrew's Church and congregation in Montreal, to which he at
this time received the appointment. Although he had considerable
interest with the Argyle family and also with the Earl of Montrose,

*■

'>^

APPOINTMRXT, OIIDINATIOX AND ARRIVAL IN" CANADA. 49

besides tlio patronage of tlic Principal of Edinburgh College and
Principal McFarlan of (Jlasgow, who ever proved to him a staunch
and steady friend, Dr. Mathicson records liis satisfaction that ho
was indebted particularly to no one fortius appointment, "The
duties of which I will endeavour to discharge with fidelity and
zeal, and if I ever return to my native land I will bo tho better
prepared for the service I will bo called to. I ho 10 I shall return
f )r my poor father's sake who feels very much at the prospect of
my departure. At all events in two or three yours I hope to revisit
Scotland, and perhaps to get a wife. / will be marriagedb/e by
that time.'" This was a subject that seems to have presented
itself to his mind at sundry times, and in diverse manners. He was
an ardent admirur of the fair sex, though that admiration was
manifested in a general rather than a particular manner, whicli
proved a barrier to the consn inmation of his wishes in this regard and
postponed the " happy day' '')r many years. He had accustomed
himself to regird the matter 1 n a philn ophical point of view, and
as one and another fair friend receded from his view he consoled
himself that thei'e remained as good fish in the sea as ever came
out of it. And besides, he had very exalted ideas of the marriage
.state. " If I could bring myself to look on matrimony," he
wrote, " as a matter of mere worldly convenience and comfort, i
would be less scrupulous, but my wife must be my companion, my
friend, one who is truly pious, and who will lead my soul with her
own, morning and evening, to the throne of our Maker. I by no
means expect to find a perfect being, nor would I wish it, but one
whose imperfections would be so brightened by her virtues and

I V.

*•

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MaTIIIESOX, D.T)\

piety th;it wc would bear ono anotlier's burdens and p irticlpite in
ene jmothci-'sjoy."

Apprehensive that in tlie opinion of , the profiinnm rii/jia he
iniglit soon be branded as a ntlcket minister. and morbidly brooding
over his x*ecent disappointment, the rejected candidate for Methvett
was one day walking disconsolatfly down the side of the Clyde irt
the neighbourhood of Govan, when a friend and relative, one of the-
Napiers, met liiui, N;ipier saw at a glance that somethiing was wrong,,
and enquired what was the matter. Mr. Mathieson di.«closed
the thoughts tliat were then rankliniir in liis breast, and indicated
very plainly that if he thought he could succeed in buijiuess he
would abandon the ministry. Ilis friend advised him to cheer up
and not to do any thing rashly, addi..g, that, should he finally
determine to go into business, he would find a situation for liim.
Napier asked him to return with him to Glasgow, which lie did.
In Glasgow they went into an "eating house" to get some refresh-
ment. While sitting theie in a room by themselves the door wa&
opened by a gentleman in whom Napier at once recognized a friend
from jMontreal. Being invited to join them, the conversation turned
upon the occasion of this gentleman's visit to Scotland. Having
stated his business Napier asked him if lie liad nothing else
in view. "Yes," said lu;, "1 have; St. Andrew's Church in
Montreal, to which I belong, is vacant, and the congregation
deputed me, wlu'n coming to Scotland, to make inquiries for a
minister. " " There s i/otir imni, " said Napier, pointing to Mathie-
son. The latter, being asked as to his willingness to accept the
charge, did not long hesitate in expressing it. After some con-
gultation with Mr. Burns, the fbrmer| minister of St, Andrew's
Church and who was specially charged wltii the seloction of his*

•J«

►I"-

•i"

APPOINTMENT, OKDINATION AND AlUUVAL IN CANADA. 51

-successor, the result was, Mr. Mathieson's appointuient and
departure for Canada.

At the Synod of Glasi-ow and Ayr, which uict on the second
Tuesday of October, 1826, application was made by the Presbytery
of Dumbarton for leave to meet on the 19t!i of that month, in
advance of the regular meeting, for the purpose of proceeding
to Mr. Mathieson's ordination, and expediting his departure
•Canada. The petition was unanimously granted, and on that day
the Presbytery met accordingly and in due form he was " set apart"
for the Holy Ministry. And the Doctor has been heard to
refer with lively satisfaction to the fact that a large number of
" the brethren" from the (rlasgow Presbytery graced the occasion
with their presence in testimony of respect and esteem for him, as
well as to n)anifost their disapprobation of " the remonstrance" '^
which had been sent to that Presbytery from Canada.

If any particular account of the solemn ordination services was
preserved, we have not been able to lay hands on it; and therefore
suppose that the proceedings were conducted in a satisfactory
manner to all concerned. We may be sure that " the imposition of
hands" was not foigotten, for that was a part of the ceremony for

* " Theio liiul arisen some coolness between the congregation of
St. Gabriel-street and St. Andrew's in consequence of a communication
secretly concocted and sent to almost every Presbytery in Scotland, It
WHS termed « re?MO«s/nj«ce — setting forth that tlie then ministers of St.
Gabriel's had offered their services to the congregation of St. Andrew's
ChurcL : that ihey were dissenters, disalTectcd to the Church of Scotland :
that there was suflicient clerical strength for the dispensation of ordinances
to both congregations : that they had not fuUilled their obligations to former

^M'

LIFE OF ALEXAJTDER MATIIIESON, D.D.

which the Doctor was a great stickler, and concerning wliich there
is a good story told by Gait, in his "Annals of the Parish," which
the Doctor used to relish greatly. Although Mr. Gait makes
the anecdote suit the creation of his own fancy, the real hero of the
story was the then eccentric Minister of Govan, Mr. Thoni, who being
present at an ordination could not, for the press, get near enough
tlie candidate to place his hands upon his he;id, but, instead,
readied forth a ponderous staff, which he carried, and touching
the young man's head with it remarked in audible, if not very
complimentary, tones, — " tinimer to timmcr — this must do for the
jyresent." That tlie inevitable Presbytery denner took place doc;
not admit of a doubt, for, otherwise, in those dnys tlie work would
not have been accounted " half done." The following reference to
a Presbytery dinner may or may not apply to the date of his
ordination but is sufficiently apropos to the occasion : " I must
tell you how Dr. G. spoiled a fine speech I was making with his
dry jokes. I was going on, I believe, making the most strong pro-
testation, that in whatever quarter of the world I might wander,
there was one old lady I would never forget, and whose health I
meant to propose. The light of beauty might grow din), and th
smile of love cease to stir my bre:ist, but the kindness of my old

incunibonts, &c., &c., and thereforo cautioning Presbyteries not to send
another minister tr Montreal. When tlio natiu-e of tiio document became
known to Mr. Burns he became vQry indignant, drew up a reply and sent
copies to several Presbyteries. But the selfish spirit of the document itself
■was a sufficient answer, and but lUtle notice was taken of it. This matter,
however, caused a bitterness of feeling to exist between the two con-
gregiilions, which was not removed for years afterwards.

■^

APPOINTMENT, ORDINATION AND AllRIVAL IN CANADA. 53

friend.— ' Wha ist ?' sfiia the Doctor; 'is it aiild Lady B-

1 see y'rc no gaun to wander tlu'ough the warld yet, gin ye can
■wile the auld lady wi your Avinsome speeches into matrimony.
There is ae thing : ye'll no be fashed wi mony bairns.' The whole
table were in au uproar. T said I was going to propose the health
o' her bairns too, and may slie aye bor'\. 'o as mony soncy chiels as
I see around me. My toast is, ' The auld wife 'o Dumbarton and
her bairns.' The joke was unforseen, and the good Doctor quaffed
to the auld wife with all his heart. The joke is this — a young
scion of the Kirk— and you know they are extraordinarily hlate in
general — being called upon for a toast declared he had none. One
of the members present said to him ' give us a young girl then ! '
' I hae nane tae gic, ' was the reply. ' Surely you can give us an

auld wife then.' ' Weel, I'll gie ye the Presbytery of ~

The joke was good, and from that time the Presbytery denominates

herself 'the auld wife.' "

Before leaving Scotland he made a parting pilgrimage of the
Presbytery of Dumbarton and received so much kindness and so
many expressions of earnest hopes for his future happiness and use-
fulness as lead him to say " it melted my very heart into a jelly I"
He visited Paisley and preached for his intimate friend the Bev.
Patrick Brewster of the Abbey Church. " After sermon," he says,
" a military gentleman waited on me to present me with ten shillings,
being the pay of the officiating chaplain for the day. (The yeo-
manry cavalry were on permanent duty, and attended divine
service.) In vain I protested I had nothing to do with the money — the
unknown insisted I should take it, and there was no coutendintr
the point, for a priest would have no chauce with a soldier in bran-

*■

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MATIHESON, D.D.

dishinir stoel — unless it was in the bloodless shape of a pen. What
shall I do with my ton siiill'iigs? Beiii^ the first money I iiavo
received for preaching, I am proud of it — it is from the King^
I think 1 shall buy a purse with it to hold my savings, and then I
am sure it will be a lasting memento, as it is never likely to be the
worse for the wear."

At last the day of his departure from the Clachan and from
auld Scotia came. " There was a singular melancholy this morning
in our little parlour. Breakfast passed in silence. IMy baggage had
been sent off early by the steamer under charge of a servant, while
. I was determined to linger as long as I possibly could on ' the
sweet Isle of the blessed.' I went to th ■ kitchen to lad farewell to
the servants. The kitchen is often a inciting scene, and was par-
ticularly so now in another sense. I pretended to laugh at the
tears of the [loor girls, but my heart was sad. I was a particular
favourite of the old nurse and permitted her liberty of speech,
which I was always very cautious in allowing to the other servants,
and of this she was not a little proud, she, supposing that she might
extend her prerogative at the moment of separation, clung round
my neck and poured out a torrent of tears. Then came my " Aunty
Betty," who had been evidently mustering courage to meet
this moment. The half smile with which she met me vanished
like the dew-drop in the sun when she attempted to speak. '
Math'son we have had our quarrels — they were never deadly
ones — the sun never went down on our wrath — and now my heart
is breaking to part with you. Go, go, and God's blessing be with
you, when you return your poor old Aunty Betty will be laid in the
dust ; ' and with that she sprung to her room, and I left that sweet

»^^-

•J«-

■^

APOINTMENT, ORDINATION AND ARRIVAL IN CANADA. 55

abode of uiy purest and happiest days with feelings I would in vain
try to describe. It was something of a wild vacuity of mind that
was almost insensible to all that was passing around."

But "the ordeal of parting witfi the members of the family, with
the friends at the manse, and, last of all, with his. good old father,
was a scene " utterly overwhelming," and too sacred to be described.
It was evening when he got aboard the steamer for Liverpool, and,
being thoroughly exhausted with the anxieties of the day he retired
to his cabin and found some relief in a flood of tears. " You will
laugh at my weakness. I care not I would rather be ridiculed
than be without feeling : if it has its pains it has its pleasures."
Next morning ho was tumbling amid the meeting of waters, off the
Mull of Cantyre, in a very subdued state of mind, taking a last
look at Caledonia's " rugged strand " and pensively muttering to
himself " Fare-well, fare-well; my native land ! " &c. A few days
were spent " pleasantly enough " in Liverpool till the IGth
November, when he found himself on ship-board, bound for New-
York. It was a moment of " mingled agony and delight." The
ship was just getting under weigh, and there stood on the quay a
little knot of friends waving adieu. " I kept my eye fixed on them
as long as I could distinguish them among the crowd, and then
I felt as thoui>h I were an outcast on the world, and abandoned
myself to the luxury of grief, while the good ship, under a crowd
of sail, was soon in the ' Fair way ' of the English Channel.
During the night the wind increased greatly, and when I awoke it
blew very fresh and the ship was pitching furiously. I attempted
to get up ; but not liaving been yet long enough on board to keep
the centre of gravity I was pitched headlong on the floor of my

•^

*■

■*

66 LIFE OP ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.P.

cabin, became very sick and made the best of my way to bed.
When at lengtlx I got on deck, I found that my fcllow-passcngcrs
had all hcen jjrodigionsli/ sick with the exception of one, a very fat
man, who went about wringing his hands and asking the sailors if
they were afraid, and to augment his horrors the fellows told liim it
was impossible that the ship could outlive the gale another hour.
The wind blew furiously. The sails were close-reefed, and we were
careering through the water at the rate of twelve knots an hour.
The sea was awfully grand, and there was something overpowering
in the idea of solitude so complete."

Cape Clear was passed the next morning, by noon they were out of
soundings, and, with studding-sails set, they were soon on the bosom
of the broad and boisterous Atlantic. On the 3rd of December
they were overtaken by a storm- " Towai'ds evening the wind
became exceedingly tempestuous, and whatever was not firmly
lashed down was rolled about with great violence. Most of us had
retired to our cribs earlier than usual. Though the noise of the
waves breaking against the sides of the ship, the gurgling mur-
murs of their broken strength, the moaning of the wind through
the cordage, and incessant creaking of the timbers, formed no sweet
lullaby, still, I sk'pt very soundly till midnight when the captain
called us on deck to observe two ignes fat id that flitted along the
yard-arms of the mizen and main-top masts. This appearance is
by sailors accounted ominous, and combined with the gloom of the
night was certainly adapted to strike terror into every heart not well
fortified against superstitious fears. The swell of the sea was
awfully grand. The tops of every wave seemed a sheet of pale fire,
a striking contrast to the long dark, hollow troughs between, into

I *

*■

>i<-

Ain'OlNTMENT, ORDIN.VTION AND AIIUIVAL IN CaNADA 5t

•

which every few moments the ship plunacd as if seeking- destruction.
The gale increased until mid-day following when the sight boci^iie
truly sublime. I would not have lost the spectacle which tlic
furious, foaming sea then presented for whole months of summer
sailing. The huge billows like dark green mountains, their tops of
purest white, interspersed with emerald tints, rolled fearfully along.
Now they hung their immense mass of water almost porpciidiculur-
!}' over us, threatening us with instant destruction, and then, as
the ship I'osc buoyant on t'leir surface, they went whizzing past, as
if murmuring that tliey had been di.-appointed of their prey. The
fat man's alirm increased with the gale, and, before it abated, he
had written his ' last will and testament' and put it intxi a sealed
bottle ready to bo hove over board."

Without I'urther incident worthy of note they reached their de-
sired haven and cast anchor itiside of" Sandy Hook " on the 13th of
December, having made what was then accounted a rapid passage of
twenty-seven days. We will not here detail Mr. Mathieson's first im-
pression of America, though they are before us in terse and vigouroua
"words : suffice it to say that he soon discovered for himself tlioi^e
salient points of American character that float on the surfice of
society, and which European writers usually seize upon with avid-
ity. He thought Broadway was " rather a handsome street, with
some neat buildings, chiefly of brick," from which, liowever, his
attention was now and then attracted by the eccentric dress of some
of the females, as well as of some of the male gender. " Gene-
rally speaking the ladies are not handsome ; they are not trim about
tlie ankles: they want the fine swell and expansion biilow the waist

of an ]"'inglish lady, and their busts are shockingly bad ; they want

LIFE OF ALEX AND liR MATIIIESON, D.D.

tlie bloom and expression of mingled simplicity and arclincss wliich
distinguish our Scotch lassie, but still their countenances are rather
pretty, and some of them have beautiful black eyes." But he ascer-
tained that the ladies were in general far more intelligent, and their
information more extensive, than the male sex, and that they could
talk politics, and even knotty points of theology, with the greatest
facility. He was surprised at the gastronomic feats performed by hiB
fellow-lodgers in the City Hotel, and took note of their chewing
and smoking proclivities with the usual accompanhnents. On the
Sabbath morning he worshipped in the Scotch Church and heard
an excellent Calvinistic discourse from a Mr. Philips. In the after-
noon he attended service in the Episcopal Church where he heard
a good sermon and was charmed with the music. In the evening he
stepped into one that he saw lighted up, and which proved to be a
Universalist meeting-house. It was crowded to excess, " but, such
silly trash was never pronounced from human lips as came from him
who professed to teach the auditory."

After a week's sojourn in New York he arrived in Montreal, on
Christmas eve, where he met with a kind reception from his
people and the Protestant community in general, and on the follow-
ing Sabbath was introduced to his new charge by the llev.
Archibald Connell of Martintown.

He had come out with a small stock of sermons which were soon
exhausted, and this caused him to work hard and to draw largely on
the hours of the night. However, he wrought cheerfully, visited
frequently, reserved a large portion of time for pleasant recreation,
and, as the labour became by habit lighter, he gradually became
reconciled to the " banishment " from home. But ere three years

^M'

APPOriSrTMEN"T, ORDINTATION AND ARRIVAL IN CANADA. 59

had elapsed he began to long for a sight of his native land, and to
breathe once more his native air. He went " home," and was
afterwards heard to say that, had he not done so, he must have
died. Love of country was with him a passion. He found his
friends in Scotland little altered from what he left them, and
returned to Canada, in good spirits, thoroughly cured for the time
being of hia home sickness. His congregation steadily increased;
and amid new friends and new attachments the feeling of separation
wore off and, save in his more pensive moods, his deep-rooted love
for the " land of brown heath and .sliagi;y wood " assumed a
cheerful and romantic cast.

Shortly after coming to Canada his sensitive mind was sadly
shocked b yan occurrence of a very tragic kind, and which rendered
it peculiarly difficult for him to bring his mind, forsonn time after-
wards, to bear closely upon any subject. Seated in the house of
his friend Mr. Robert Watson, tlie flour inspector, and iu social
conversation with him, he was suddenly startled by the report of
a pistol which had been fired through the window by an assassin
with deadly aim. Mr. Watson was fatally wounded and survived
only till the following evening. " 1 shall never forget," he remarks
in his funeral sermon, " the innocent, the interesting conversation
that preceded that awful moment when the thunders of the
cowardly, cold-blooded assassin so suddenly interrupted the'tran-
<juillity of our domestic repose ; and introduced death, and lamen-
tation, and woe — literally in the manner expressed in our text —
* for death hath come up into our windows,' (Jeremiah ix., 21.)
among those who, but a moment belijre, felt perfectly secure from
liarm, aud happy in each other's society." The motive wliicli insti-

*■

't!

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.D.

gated the crinio, ;»nd the perpetrator of it, botli remain to tlio
present day in tlic profoundest mystery. The sermon alluded to
was preached on the 8th April, 1827, and was published at the
request of tlie consrogation. Apart from the melancholy interest
attached to the occasion of its delivery, it was worthy of preservation
as the preacher's first attempt at authorship. He had never before
seen himself in print, and it was not till after he had been
repeatedly solicited, by friends whom he did not wish to disoblige,
that he at last consented to surrender his manuscript.

Mr. Mathie.'jon soon discovered that a very different ecclesiasti-
cism prevailed in Canada from that which he had loft behind him in
the Presbytery of Dumbarton. There, in every matter of dispute
or diffiuuliy that arose, recourse was had " to the law and the
testimony." Here, every Kirk session was a law to itself, for
neither Presbytery nor Synod existed whose jurisdiction was
acknowledged by tlio few and widely separated ministers of the
Church of Scotland. Besides himself, there were but five Kirk
ministers in all Canada in active work ; these were Dr. liarknesS'
of Quebec, Messrs. Henry Esson and his colleague Edward Black,,
of St. Gabriel-street Church, Montreal, Jolvn McKenzie of
Williamstown, and Archibald ConncU of" Martintown. jMr.
Sommevville and Mr. Easton, the former ministers of St. Gabriel's
and St. Andrew's, though both residing in Montreal, had retired
from ministerial work. It is true there were a few other Presby-
terian ministers — chiefly ministers of the Associate Church of
Scotland, or " Seceders," who had constituted themselves " the
United Presbytery of Upper Canada." In course of time, "the
United Synod " was formed andcontinued its tueetings until 1840,

■*

•i,.

APrOINTMENT, ORDINATION AND ARRIVAL IN CANADA. 61

when its.nieniberSjto the number of eighteen, were received into con-
nection with the Synod of the Church of iScothind in Canada, but,
from these, the Kirk ministers above named liad pr<^viousIy stood
aloof in +ho attitude of a "dignified neutrality," C( inform ing their
procedures, as best as they could, to the polity set forth in Pardovan,
Cook's Styles, or Hill's Practice. IIow long they would have
remained in this isolated condition, if they had been left to them-
selves, it is impossible to conjecture. And it must be regarded as an
anomaly in religious jurisprudence that the propriety of forming
Presbyteries and Synods of our Church in Canada was first sug-
gested by the "Civil Magistrate." In the very earliest records
of the Synod we find that a certain number of ministers and
commissioners from the congregations in connection with the
Church of Scotland in Canada met pursuant to agreement in the
church of Kingston on the^th day of June, 1831, when Mr.
McOill, in explanation of the object of the meeting, called the
attention of members to Sir. George Murray's despatch to Sir
John Colborne, Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, " relative
to a union between the ditt'ercnt classes of Presbyterians, to the
necessit.y of forming Presbyteries and a Synod in Canada ; and of
applying to the General Assembly for recognition."* After " long
delibera'ion " on these points a unanimous decision was arrived

day, the Synod of the Presbyterian

at, and, on the folk

lowini

Church in connection with the Church of Scotland met for the
was constituted with prayer by its moderator, the

first time, and

* The inconvenience of dealing witli individnal ministers in rcLUioa to
Clergy Reserves doulitless suggested the rccommendatiou of the govern-

uient at that particular time.

*■

•*

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.D.

Rev. Jolin McKcnzle. The number of rninist';rs who were
present at these deliberations was fourteen. Of this number there
are only tliree now living. Dr. Urquhnrt of Cornwall — the owly
surviving Minister in Canada who was then present — Dr.
Cruickshank, formerly of Bytown, now the minister of Turriff,
Scotland, and the Rev. T. C. Wilson, formerly of Perth, and now
of Duiikeld, Scotland. The story of tho Kirk in Canada, prior
to the time of Mr. Mathicson's arrival, is bound up in the bio-
graphies of a very few individual ministers; and its subsequent
history must be sought for elsewhere tlian in these pages. It has
had its seasons of trial and depression. It has figured on the
arena of controversy. It has stood on tho defensive and shewn
a bold front to a powerful rival, and it has been torn and
divided by that distinctive attribute of Presbyterianism that
delights in " Testimony Bearing." But, it can recount, too, its
"times of refreshing," and, we make bold to say, not boastfully,
but in a thankful spirit, that it has throughout maintained a con-
sistent and honourable position in the land, and that its prospects
now are brighter than at any period in its history. There are now
on the Synod's Roll one hundred and thirty-two ministers, and that
number fulls far short of indicating the growth of Presbyterian ism ;
for, from the division that occurred in 1844^ there has sprung u;>
a vigourous Church with two hundred and ninety-five minister.^,
making in all four hundred and twenty-seven ministers of
the I'resbyterian order in the Provinces of Quebec and
Ontario alone — known by the name of the Canada Presb\
Church — to which, if wo add the numbers in the i r
Provinces, it will probably appear that the Presbyterian element

*i<-

APPOINTMENT, ORDINATION AND AIUIIVAL IN CANADA. 63

outnumbers all otlier denominations in the Dominion. And
wc greatly misapprehend the signs of the times if a t^cncral
union of these churches is not consununated before lonj;, with-
out waiting for tho mandate of His Excellency, the Governor
General. It were an insult, however, to Dr. Mathieson's memory
did we lead the reader to infer' tliat such a consummation
would have been agreeable tu his feelings. lie never could bring
himself to coincide with the opinions of those who advocated a
general union of all the Pres^byterlan Churches as a matter of expe-
diency — or, upon the ground that a numerically large church must
necessarily exercise a correspondingly extensive influence on public
morals. In fact he deprecated every proposal that was based on
such principles, and, in terms so strong as to give colour to the
impression that he was opposed to union on any terms. But
such was not the case, as wc shall by and by endeavour to shew.

■^

CHAPTER FIFTH.

1831.

VISIT TO SCOTLAND AND THE CONTINENT. DISAPI>OINT.MENTS
AND VISIONARY PLANS. HIS MARRIAGE. DEATH OF HIS CHILD.

This date opens up a new era in Mr. Matliiopon's history, wlien
he took his place as an influential member of tlic church courts now
estr.blisheJ in Canada. But, that we may not lose siuht of the
individual in tlie crowded and sometimes stormy arena of debate,
it will be better to continue our domestic annals, even though it
will compel us, in a succeeding chapter, to return to this point.
As there is no evidence to tlie contrary, we suppose that for some
time after liis return from Scotland he took heartily with his work,
and that St. Andrew's congregation .continued to prosper under
his ministry ; that everything, in short, went with him as quietly
and satisfactorily as he could reasonably wish or expect. Of this,
indeed, we feel assured, for wo And this entry in his journal, under
date the 17th of March, 183^: " Tliere is some talk of my being
promoted to Quebec; however, that is very questionable. I liave
not made application for the vacant church ther^^, nor will I do so.

■^

■*

•i*-

VISIT TO SCOTLAND AND THE CONTINENT.

Many otlicrs have. The salary is a b'Hle better, being nearly £500
per annum; however, I think my own will, ere many years, be
nearly as good, cuid I have a Jciiid.Jlock.'^

Further on we read: " Two months ago I asked one year's
leave of absencj from my people, and had a quiet refusal, on the
ground that uo oth<;r individuil would suit them so well as myself.
This was fluttering enough, but not sitis/uctorij." lie had been
unwell, perhaps he again had had a touch of homo-siekness ; per-
haps lie was " heart-sick." We cannot now enter upon a diagnosis
of his malady, and it matters not. In 1836 he was again hors da
■combdl, and allusion to his shaven crown leads us, in this instance,
to infer that weariness of the flesh had been induced by " over-
much study." It does not boem. however, to have impaired his
relish for the humourous — a ve. v marked trait in his character, and
one that he may almost be said to h ive carried with him to the grave.
It is rare to meet such unexceptional pleasantry, and it is well that it
should be dul^ appreciated. That others appreciated this quality in
him appears in the foUowingextract from a letter written by an Epis-
copalian gentleman, one who is no mean judge of men and things,
shortly after tlie Doctor's death : '' Though I knew the ' old Doctor'
less iiiti n itely t,ian I should like to h ive done, I was sutUcieiitly
acquainted v'th him to have acquired a very sincere regard for
liim. It was pleasant to meet him, for religion was brightly
reflected in the cheerl'ulness of his character. 3Ioreover, he
belonged to a type of our race tliat is becoming uncommon and
bids fair to become extinct, lie was natural, genial, and courte-
ous. There was a hearty raciuoss about him that became conta-
gious, and people found themselves ha[»pier fur meeting oue who

*•

■>:<

HI
11

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MATRIESON", D.D.

seemed to be the very embodiment of happiness and contentment,
I often speak of him as an cxamplij cf christian cheerfuhiess tbor-
oiiglily worthy of imitation." But here is the good Doctor's
own reference to what was no doubt a severe illness : " I told you
that I had bc^en unwell. I am once more myself again, though I
had rather o hard time of it for two or three days, and I look now
l/ke a renovated being in a nice new wig, the doctor, cruel fel-
low, having insisted that I should part with my gray birses. I am
not quite up to the management of the concern yet, for last Sab-
bath morning, going into church, off went my cap, and in it the
wig, and forward I marched, all the while unconscious I was
exhibiting my shaven pole to the staring eyes of many beholders,

and was brought to my senses by Captain M whispering my

name to a gentleman near him with a ludicrous expression of
countenance that amazed mc. I instantly remembered the wig,
souiiht for it where it was not to be found ; at last got a glimpse of
it in my bonnet, clapped it on my head awry, and rushed out till
1 had got it fairly adjusted." It is in the nature of things that
there should be a great many wi^ stories; one we remember
which relates a similar accident, Init its denouement was more
embarrassing to the minister than in the Doctor's case. On enter-
in"" a church, a certain minister, who prided himself on punctuality,
observed, to his horror, tliat by the dock face in the church steeple
he was just half an hour later than the usual hour for service. One
of the elders came to his relief, assured him that it yet lacked fif-
teen minutes of the time, and that what had caused his nlarm was
but a painted clock. This only added fuel to tlie flame, and
brou"ht down on the Elder's head a sharp rebuke for allowing "a

VISIT TO SCOTLAND AND THE CONTINENT.

li'e " to be imprinted on the front of the church. As he entered
the vestry door, some inches too low for his clerical head, hat and
wig came to grief on the floor, when the ii^ldor improved the occa-
sion by remarking how much more sinful it was for a minister to
carry " a lie " on the top of his head than to have one painted on
a church steeple. But no one ever doubted for a moment Dr.
Mathieson's " honesty." This was one of his noblest qualities.
You knew always and exactly where to find him. He was per-
fectly inc;ip{ible of playing the hypocrite.

The chief obstacle in the way of twelve months leave cf absence
to the minister of St. Andrew's Church was the impossibility at
that time of finding "supply " for his pulpit. In the summer of
1837, however, the Rev. llobcrt Neil, now of Seymour, arrived in
Canada under the auspices of the Glisgow Colonial Society; with
him an arrangement was made to supply the church for six months,
and in July Dr. Mathicson took his departure for Scotland, bear-
ing with him a general commission to watch over the interests of
the Canadian Synod, and not without an eye to " a little matter of
his own," which he wished and hoped to accomplish at the same
time. But, though he pressed both his "suits " with exemplary
diligence and warmth, it does not appear tl.'t in either of them he
was very successful. On the contrary, by his own shewing, baffled
plans and blighted hopes conspired to throw his mind " into a sad
jumble of incongruitic:?." But it was not an unrelieved darkness
that set in upon his soul. There was never absent from his mind
a deep conviction of the wisdoi'.i and goodness of the Creator in
all his dealings with his creatures. What phrenologists call the
bump of veneration was in him largely developed, manifesting

->H

. u

!»■;:

. -i

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, B.tK.

itself specially in his love of God, "as God," and then " to the
King, as supreme ; or unto Governors as unto them that arc sent
hy him."* It has been bcautii'ully said tiiat " the darkest cloud has
its silver lining," and of the truth of wliich he at this time received
a very pleasing i'nd convincing illustration. Being present at the
University of Glasgow on the day on which the Duke of Montrose
was installed as Chancellor, Mr. Mathieson, without previous intima-
tion, had the honour of hearing his name announced among the
names of others on whom the degree of Doctor in Divinity had
been conferred. " It is well," says a chronicler of the event,
*' that no permission liad been sought for, for it is more than proba-
ble Dr. Mathieson's .innate modesty of character would have
inclined him to shrink from accepting such a well-deserved hon-
our." t

To rid him of the '* doldrums " he resolved upon a change of
scene and })lanned a s\)iort excursion to the continent. On the
18th April, 1838. he writes from Paris: — " In one of those fits of
fancy which sometimes seize me I have boon transported to the
capital of* La Belle France.' The steamboat in which I crossed
was crowded with cockneys availing themselves of the Easter holi-
days. Perhaps at some other time I would have mightily enjoyed
' this assemblage, and the truly ludicrous scenes enacted, but I was
too indisposed to relish them My debut was made in the market
place of Boulogne, and never was I in such an assemblage of the
woman-kind. I am sure there were three or four thousand. A
parcel of uglier women I never beheld. Wiiat a chattering and

VISIT TO SCOTLAND AND THE CONTINENT.

grimace ! I was almost convinced of the truth of the argument
that no women got to licavcn, since there was silence there foi' half
an hour,'^-' for I am sure it would have been impossible to liave
chained the tongues of the jabbering Boulogne.sc even for tiiat length
of time. On my arrival in Paris, as a good ' Doctor' should, my
first visit was to the Church, alas ! not with the feelings and pur-
poses I ought to have gone thither ; but, truly, among the most
devout was little devotion seen. The mummery of the llomish
Church has a hardening influence on the head and conscience, and
some of its gi'osser absurdities, arc seen and unsparing';' satirized
by its own adherents. I was much tickled with two paintings in
the gallery of the Louvre : one, a jolly rubicund priest confessing
a beautiful young girl — the expression of countenance looking as-
kance through the grated b;irs of the confessional was admirably hit ;
in the other, he was confessing an old woman, but here the intense
enquiring eye was shut, and the countenance was expressive of utter
inanity. The palaces arc noble struc.uros. The galleries of Fine
Arts are splendid. The churches gorgeous ; the music is entranc-
ing ; in short, a thousand things excite the astonishment of the
stranger and give a peculiarity of character to the city which no
one can form an idea of till it is seen." Of course our friend had
his frog sfori/ and it was a good one, but we must cut it short. A
Scotchman who was with him at a restaurant had in vain attempted
to make liimself understood. ITe wanted " a mutton c'lop." Had
he called for a " beef steak," he would have got it and no mistake,
but " mutton chop " was an unsolvable conundrum. High words

*■

■*

LIFE OP ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.D.

followed, which, happily, neither party undersiood, when at hist the
despairing Scotchman thundered out, "gin ye canna male a mutton
chope, bring ben onything that '11 fill the kyte o' a liun-
gry man, bit a frog — ^you French craters cat frogs —but a' canna
(stammac a frog." This caused such a roar of laughter from the rest
of the party as almost friglitened the Frenchman outof his propriety.
The Doctor set out for Strasbourgh — a distance of over three hun-
dred and fifty miles — travelling by Diligence, railways being then
unknown. He had no intention of stopping by the way, but, feeling
somewhat fatigued, decided to stay over a day in Nancy, said to
be the most beautiful city in France.

He was the rather induced to do this because, otherwise, he
must part with some agreeable travelling companions — a Swiss gen-
tleman, and his accomplished and lovely niece, with whom, to tell
the truth, the Doctor had fallen desperately in love. In after years
he seemed to recal this incident of travel with unspeakable pleasure
and many a time, in the honesty of his heart, he recounted it by
his fireside with inimitable pathos and vivacity. It may be told
now in his own words: " I daresay the true reason of my remain-
ing at Nancy was to enjoy the company of a beautiful Swiss girl—
a lovelier creature I have seldom looked upon. Such a pair of eyes
I have only seen once before that could match them. Her upper
lip is the only imperfect feature of her f ice ; it is itself beautiful, but
she pouts it out so as to resemble the huge bristling moustache of
her uncle, for whom she seems to have a perfect veneration. She is
the daughter of a Protestant clergynian ; has been staying in Franco
with her uncle, and is now on her way back to her native land.
She can neither understand my language, though in the sweetest

><-

■Ht

VISIT TO SCOTLAND AND THE CONTINENT.

tones imacjinablc she tells me I liacf understand a leetlc English —
a leetle verry ' — nor can I make out what she says, though she
repeats in German and French what slie wishes me to know, but
still we found enough of words to become groat friends. I know
not whether the coach inclined more to the side I was upon than
that on which her uncle was seated, but when she sunk into sleep —
for we travelled the whole night long — her head always fell softly on
my shoulder — I almost wished the day had never dawned, it bore
so sweet a burden. With sorrow of h<;art I parted with her, and I
think nothing but the sniiiU stock of money in my purse prevented
me from accompanying her to Switzerland. Indeed I felt that I
could have travelled the world over with her." The expression
" leetle verry " occurs in many of his letters, and with some of his
friends it was a standing joke which he always heartily enjoyed.

The Doctor was not much enamoured with French scenery, and
still less so with the natives — " a chattering unprincipled set of crea-
tures whose politeness is grimace." One trait of genuine feeling,
however, he observed in the Cemetery of Ptirc La Chasse. " I was
admiring the beautiful simplicity of an inscription on a tomb-stone
of unaffected neatness — ' >1 Mon Am'ie^ — when a youth came with
a garland, placed it on the grave, shod a few tears — I thought they
were sincere — plucked a flower — hcart's-ease — and departed."

He arrived at Strasbourgh on the 2nd of May. It was the
F6te of Louis Philip. "After breakfast I visited the Cathedral,
one of the most beautiful specimens of Gothic architecture in
France. Upwards of four thousand troops attended Mass. They
occupied in one dense column the nave. Nothing was seen but
the glittering bayonets. The soft low notes of the great organ

*■

■^

*•

LIFE OF ALEXANDEli MATUIESON, D.D.

alternating with its swelling thunders pealing along the vaulted
roofs — now and then interrupted by the full blasts of tlic liorns
and the rattling drums of a large military b md, had a novel and
grand effect, but very inappropriate to that Being who must be
worshipped in spirit and in truth. After service the troops
were reviewed in the great square of the city. Next came an
a(|uatic spectacle, wlion gay galleys floated on the river. In the
evening the city was brilliantly illuminated. I speak within
bounds when I say that thousands of rockets were in the air at
the same moment. The blaze of light vied with meridian
sunbeams. The exhibitions of Vauxhall are not for a moment to
be compared with this in respect of grandeur and eifoct. Torches
glared amid the trees, under the soft foliage of which thousands of
all classes ro:imed, and, among them, the" lectle fc/'r//," her unclr".
and I. Next morning they went off to Basle, not without warmly
inviting me to accompany them. I saw those Swiss mountains in
the distance amid which my imagination luid oftentimes pictured
uumy a lovely scene. I was sorely tempted to go, and ray cava
arnica urged her request by representing the pleasure it would
give to her aged father to meet with a Protestant clergyman from
another couutry. But it was fiited tiiat we should part. It was
the only really pleasing incident met with since I came to
France — brief and beautiful it has passed away like one of those
sunbeams that flit o'er the fields in Autumn— but, like the fields it
has contributed to ripen, the remembrance of it may give a
melancholy delight to the coming winter of a life which threatens
to be gloomy."

It was now wiihin a short time of the meeting of the General

■*

VISIT TO SCOTLAND AND THE CONTINENT.

■*

Assembly in Edinburi!;l», and our traveller must retrace his steps.
On his liomoward way ho arrived by Diligence in an old town
in Noriumdy ■■\b)at li/j o'clock one morning. The driver
endeavoured to inform him when he wouldstart again ; the hour he
understood to be half-past seven. Desirous of seeing as much of
the quaint old town as possiole, ho " did " the cathedral and some
other ancient edifices and returned to the hotel at seven, but to
his unutterable mortification learned that the Diligence had left
nearly half-:in-hour before, carrying off his valise in which was aU
his money, some thirty sovereigns ! What to do he knew not.
In a strange land, unable to speak the language of its people, and
without a penny in his pocket, what coiihl he do ? " AVithout a
morsel to eat," he used to say, " I set out to walk to the next
town, some thirty miles oft', with feelings that I cannot express,
fearing that I nii>i;ht have to foot it to Calais, and even beyond,
and bog my bread as I went along. By the way I suffered much
from the great heat and dust, from thirst and hunger. Though
soon footsore and weary I pushed along, and by night-fall arrived
at the inn where I was told the Diligence would stop. I quickly
entered, and in the corner of a common room among a heap of
baggage espied my valise, which I instantly took possession of
and transferred the * treasure trove ' to my depleted pockets."

The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland met then,
as it does still, on the third Thursday of May. Under any cir
cumstances the Doctor would have strained a point to be in
" Auld lleekie " on that august occasion, but a variety of per-
sonal considerations conspired to render his attendance at this time

particularly desirable if not absolutely necessary. He had tokeu

LlFl'] OF ALliXANDEIl MATUIl^SOxV, D.D.

a rather inconsiderate step by resi^ninLj liis chiirj^e in Montreal,
and must now seek the aid of his friends and patrons in his
cndeavonrs to secure another " iivinj;." The ordeal through
which he must needs pass was to be severe and humbling-, yet it
proved a salutary one, and in the end, was greatly conducive to
his future happiness. For some months about this time ho
acknowledges that ho was " the most miserable man upon ea'th,"
and certainly for a time ho allowed his feelings to get the better
of liis judgment, and gave reins to the gloomy forebodings of a
sensitive mind by entertaining proposals which sober reflection
convinced him were "visionary and absurd." We have already
hinted the existence of a tender attachment for "somebody" in
whom wore boun 1 up his brightest ho})es of do.iicstic bliss and
happiness. It is time now to speak more plainly and admit the
existence of a long-continued, pure, and aixleiit art'cction for one
whom he fondly hoped to become one day his " -Her cgo^ But
tliose hopes were now dissipated and blasted, and he had to drain
the bitter cup of disappointujent to the dregs as best he could.
We neeil not be more particular, but this explanation seems
necessary in order to account for the then unsettled state of his
mind and purposes, which otherwise were unintelligible. We can
now the better understand the following extract from a letter
dated the 2nd July, 1838: — "You will have heard that I have
resigned my situation in Montreal. This you will, no doubt,
censure as a foolish and imliscreet act, but circumstanced as I am,
and feeling as I do, it appears differently to myself. Even as it
respects my congregation it appears to me justifiable. In return-
ing to them unmarried I feel that I neither could be happy uor so

■*

*■

VISIT TO SCOTLA>TI) AND TIIR CONTI.VBNT.

useful to them us otliorwlse T ini;i;'itbj. But, jis I could not offer
such nil excuse, I e igorly ouibiM .cil ii inoincut iry t'eolin;^ of dissutis-
fiiction wlilch they expressD I for uiy bjini^ so lou;>; absent as a
reason for di)iM;j,- tint which on other grounds I h id CDiiteniplatod
to do." Tile Doctor wis rl'^ht in supposinjj; th it iiis loiij^ absence
was the ciuse of the disuffjction in iiis coiigre.^ation, an 1 that it
was only momentary, for he never lost the afflictions of his people
nor did his own heart over s^row cold to them — i life-long and
romantic attachment subsisted between the minister and people of
St. Andrew's congregation — nor does it appear that the resignation
referred to was accepted or even seriously entertained by them.
But the Doctor had acted in good frith, was reaily to accept the
consequences, and immediately " went into the business of can-
vassing for a kirk." But he ha:l calculated without his liost.
Never was there a man worse fitted fir the business. He had
influential friends in the Duke of Vrygle, Lord Stratlimore, the
Oswalds, Fox Maulc, Dr. John Loj, Principil MeFarlan and
others, but, unfortunately for the Doctor's prospects, these were all
on the inrmig side of politics. Besides, his own proud and inde-
pendent spirit stood in the way of preferment. Though he waa
on the Icct of some of the best parishes in Scotland he would not
Btoop to preach, as a candidate, a tri'd sermon. Not he. Bravo,
Doctor ! After two months of keen application, during which he
suffered " unspeakable misery," he desisted from further attempts
in that direction, and contented himself with making this note of
his failure: — "Perhaps Prin ipal Macfarhin had as much
influence in the way of Church preferments as any other, but lie
failed in my case. Perhaps he had not a proper presentable

■►{(

LIFE OP ALKXAN'DKR MATIIIESOX, D.D.

man — but in my own opinion, in tlicso days, I could have stood
alongside of any of my nciudibours, though this may bo a
little of the air of Canada that I have caught. Tt was, I
believe, tlic most anxious wish of the old Principal's heart to
get mo home, and on his deathbed ho regretted that he had not
been able to accomplish this." lie was now fairly launchod on
the tempestuous ocean of life, and abandoned liimself to the mercy
of the billows. He had been taught to regard great men's
promises as the mo.«t unsubstantial of all unsubstantial things,
and disinterested patronage as one of the rarest things in human
intercourse. Oppressed with the intended good offices of his friends
he was disposed to prefer the petition of another who in similar
circumstances prayed, " God defend me from my friends, I can
defend myself from my enemies." The General Assembly had
decided to extend their Indian Mission to Ceylon. As the drown-
ing man clutohes a straw, so the Doctor, in his anxiety to leave
the scene of his disappointments and to escape the interroga-
tions which a return to Montreal would give rise to, made applica-
tion, and was appointed as missionary to that distant field. But
ho had yet to be taught in the school of adversity. " I think I
mentioned," he writes to a friend, "that I liad been recently
appointed to the East Indies, and would probably tr.ke my depar-
ture immediately, but my confounded pride is at w jrk again, and
obstacles are raised up which have already marred my intentions.
1 found, that though I had been nominated to the station, I must
receive my appointment through the Presbytery of Quebec. This
proposal I spurned, declaring my willingness to go on my own res-
ponsibility, but I was made to know that I could not go in this way

i;<i-

'>/4

VISIT TO SCOTLAND AND THE CONTINENT.

without runninj^ tho risk of beiDg cxclsod from the Church
ahoficthcr. As I have no dosirc to biil the ' Auld Lady '
(jMother Church) so uncorcmoiii()U.«ly gnod-by, I am now turning
my attention to another quarter of the worhl — Domerara and tlie
Mauritius-^and have conic to tlic resolution of preparing myself
for the latter, on the contingency of my appointment being
certain. If my proposal is acceded to I will proceed immediately
to Paris and study the French language, or, perhaps go and sec
" hrt/e vcrrj/ " ; she will be a delightful instructor. "

Whiletlie.se conflicting plans and purposes were pcri)le.xing the
Doctor's mind he received an "unexpected deluge" of letters
from jMontreal from many of his people, expressing tho continued
affection of the whole congregation towards him and urging his
return. This was in September. On the 8th of October he was
aboard the good ship " Oxford " bound for Canada, and in due
time, to use his own ([notation, " llichard's himself again ! "

On the 30tli of July, 1840, Dr. Mathicson was married, by the
Rev. Henry Kssoii, to Catherine Elizabeth, daughter of Mr. John
Mackenzie, of iMontreal. It was a happy union, for, in the part-
ner of his maturer years were sweetly blended those christian
graces and accomplishments which his youthful imagination had
many years before pictured to itself as indispensible to his ide
of holy matrimony.

" At length his heart
Upon ii fellow mortal's answering breast
Could shed its tears of joy "

in a sense that he had never known till now he had "a homo "
in Canada ; a blythe and peaceful iiome it was, as all can testify

■*

f<'

LIFE OP ALEXANDER MATIIIESOK", D.D.

■who were privileged to enter it, :in'l its portals were as ehcorfully
opened to the poorest in the parish as to the representatives of
wealth and high degree. Ho had a family of two sons and four
daughters. On the :Mst of Mi.rch, 1847, death invaded his dwell-
ing and took from him his dear little daughter Nancy Fisher,
aged three ye irs and three months, Tiie good Doctor's love
for children was reniarkahle in one who had boon so long a " Ben-
edict.'' Ho coveted no better society than theirs. In their com-
pany and listening to their innocent prattle he could sit for hours,
and he him -elf became young again. To play dominoes witli
them, or tell ihem niirth-provoki g stories, to sing for them, or
dressing up iii.s thumbs with handkerchiefs, to amuse them with
pantouiiiijic illustrations of ''Punch and Judy,'' was his delight;
nor was it fin'ottcn to dismiss them with a kind word — a little
seed-thought — suitiblc to the occasion and the capacity of his lit-
tle 'ludience. Proportion ite to the love he bore them were the
teridorest emotions of his heart touched when his Heavenly Father
saw fit to create the first blank in his own fimily circle. " ' hi a
Saturday night at 10 o'clock the pliysician called and left no room
for hope. 8he was siidcing rapidly,, With a h 'avy hoart ne.x^t
morning I went to church, afrai'' j'l' allowing personal feelings to
intermingle with the duties of God's house. T prayed for sustain-
ing grace and preichedan old but an appropriate sermon — 'Not
my will but thine be done.' The sermon was solemn and the
congregation attentive. I hardly expected to find m^/ sweec loved
Nancy in the land of the living on my return. She was much
worse, but still perfectly sensible, I lay dowti on the bcjd beside
her, and, trying to bide my tears, spoke to her of God, and he.ivcn,

■*

VISIT TO SCOTLAND AND THE CONTINENT.

atiil of tlio love of Josus. She became weaker as the night wore
on, and ere the day dawned my beloved child drew her last breath.
Mortal life was gone, the endless life in Jesus Christ begun. The
body of corruption, still dear to us, shall be raised up a gloiified
body, incorruptible by the mighty power by which Christ subdues
all things to himself Precious are the consolations of the gospel
in such an hour as this. May the Holy Spirit descend upon us
and effectually apply them I"

Under date the 1st of January, 1848, occurs this further allusion
to his bereavenifut and cvidenceof his desire to profit by it: "God
has been pleased to spare me to see the beginning of another year.
Often during the course of the last have I thought that this was
what T could not expect. that I were sufficiently thankful, and
that He would enable me to be more faithful in His service than
in times j. -it, if it be His will to spare me to my family and for
the accomplishment of what.soever Tic may be pleased to honour me
as an instrument of carrying out. My family, and friend i are in
the enjoyment of good health and happiness. Our beloved child
has been taken from us — she is not forgotten, but lemembered
with deep sorrow. The whole of life is but u dream. that
God would enable us to realize this, and prepare for joining those
whom in His love Ho has removed from us. Many, innumerable
blessings have I to be thankful for — my kind, affectionate flock,
their indulgence and benevolence not the least."

>k-

■^

[ 1^

''I

*■

CIIAPTEll VI.

PARISH WORK. REVISITS SCOTLAND. DEATH OF MRS. MATHIESON.
LIFE AT BEECIIRIDOE. DEATH OP JANET EWINQ .MATHIESON.

It was in 1841), while comparatively a young man yet, at the
age of forty-six, that Dr. JMathieson had the first premonitions of
disease in his own frame. He began to feel unequal to the
unaided work of the pastoral superintendence of so large a congrega-
tion as St. Andrew's had become. There were now nearly five
hundred on the roll of communicants. His people were widely
scattered, many of them living far outside the city limits, which
rendered his visits to them irksome and tedious. The labour, too,
of preparing his discourses became more onerous, for while he never
neglected his habit of careful preparation, nor ever appeared in the
pulpit without a clean copy of his sermon iiiextcnso — and his caligra-
phy VfAs beautiful — his ideas began to flow less rapidly, and there
was loss of the ctrrientc calunw in the hand that once could dash off
a discourse at a sitting ; and its delivery came to be followed by a
depression, and sometimes a faintness that distressed him. Here
is the brief record of a week's work at this time : " Monday till
Friday, not much douo, though always busy; a number uf sick

■»*<

PARISH WORK AND DOMESTIC AlIPLICATION.

visits ; several funerals; very little fatigues me now. Saturday —
study ; wrought hard and constant till one in the morning ; sermon
not finished. Sabbath — at work in the morning; discourse long
■('jioiigh but not finished ; must make a practical application on the
value of the soul, the great motive of missionary and ministerial
labour. In better spirits to-day; very warm; my voice failed me ;
violent palpitation at the heart and quick breathing from the
slightest exertion. My work, I fca. 's drawing to a close. The
sumnici ended! Alas, how little done ! I begin to feel a deeper
responsibility, but, if I can judge my heart, my desire is to present
my dear people to Christ. Lord," increase my faith, make me more
oarncst, let me offend none, conciliate all. It pains me much that
some have left the church whose countenance and friendship would
have been encouraging ; but thanks be to God that a numerous
and attached people roiuiiiis under my ministry, bless it, bless
it unto them! The feeblest instrumentality is strong when Thou,
O Lord, art with us. Stir up Thy might, and save and bless."

Dr. Mathicson was too honest a man to appropriate to himself,
or try to pawn off upon his hearers, the thoughts of another with-
out due acknowledgment. With one single exception, which in
after years he used to recount with inimitable humour, and, when
told in the hearing of a brother cleric; always coupled with the
admonition "bosurj your sin will find you out,'" ho was blameless
of the charge of plagiarism. He admitted that upon a certain
occasion, from sheer want of time to prepare a discourse, he had
" taken in " a pretty large portion of a sermon that he had heard
preached in Scotland ere ho came to Canada, and which, untbr-
^unately for him, had found its way, in print, into tlie handa oi a

*■

I M

t-i»

I' 1 ''

LIFE OF ALLXANDEU MATHIESON, D.D.

lady belonging to his congregation with whom he was on intimate
terms of frien/ '''i. She only, of all that heard the Doctor preach
that day, detected the theft, but she wtis too true ix friend to m ko
mention of it to others. She was too polite, moreover, to make
direct allusion to it in after conversation with her minister,
but, from a casual remark or two that escaped her, the Doctor was
convinced in his own mind that she was perfectly cognizant of his
"crime," and he there and then resolved that it was the last time
he should ever be found in a similar predicannnt.

Little do most of us know of the arduous process nndergone in
that laboratory of thought, the p<irson's study, in the "getting up'
of two discourses such as a man of scholarly attainments would
wish to utter in the hearing of an intelligent, educated, and, per-
haps, a critical congregation. It is so usual to speak of a sermon
as a thing that a minister can shake out of his coat sleeve at any
time, on the shortest noiicc, that one requires to get a peep behind
the scenes to realize the amount of hard work involved. One of
our best sermon writers, who has had upwards of thirty years'
experience, assures us that it costs him "as many hours of hard
labour tc make a sermon, worth the name, as it costs any carpen-
ter to make a door, or any cabinet-maker a chair. And, if I sit
down to the more pretentious work of writing a book, who will say
that I am not undertaking labour which would cost me as many
days of toil, and occasion me as much fatigue, in the long run, as
would be incurred by tlie ten or dozen mechanics who should
underti>ke the construction of a steam engine, always supposing
my book would be worth reading."'!^

■^

3sk:

PARISH WORK AND DOMESTIC AFFLICTION.

A celebrated painter, on beinj:; asked how he mixed his colours
to secure such marvellous effect, is said to liave replied, "I mix
them, sir, with my brains." We need not pursue the analogy
further than to remark that a sermon without brains is a very
meagre affair, not in the least degree likely to reach the liearts of
those who listen to it. Dr. Mathicson's sermons were not of this
discription. Viewed as mere literary compositions they were
elaborate essays; carefully thought out and beautifully expressed.
Some of them, indeed, were so in an exceptional degree. We
might instance three discourses, preached in the ordinary course
of his ministry, and which were afterwards printed in " the fall of
the leaf," which fully bear us out in what wc say of his composi-
tiiui, and yet there are others which, perhaps, in this regard, were
even more worthy of preservation. Wbile no one could be more
deeply impressed with the duty of careful preparation, we cannot
but admii"e the playful allusion to his efforts in that direction : —
" Knowing that I must be absent for thri c days of the week pre-
vious to communion, I set down to my preparations the preceding
week, but necessiti/ not applying vigorously her lash, procrastina-
tion whispered enticingly, ' there is time enough yet:' so very

little was done. I started for , made and his spouse happy,

got a jolly fee, the largest I ever got, and returned to Montreal on
Wednesday with a fearful cold in my head. But the next day,
when I had resolved to begin work in right earnest, was wholly

taken up with other duties. P9or had died, and was to be

buried on that day. His mother was in dreadful affliction, and
hi.s father utterly cast down, so I resolved to visit them before the
funeral. The day was very wet, and going to the cemetery I got

*l<

'•

i'i

LIFE OP ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, DD.

more cold, with considerable fever. On Friday I had to set foj
besides the work for Sunday, having to select and (hess a mlfiov
this evening's repast, as A. K. H. B.* would designate the iin-
niature production of an earlier day, and having the same veal as
an offering to present to my people on the fullowing days. In
desperation I telegraphed to Quebec and had a favourable reply
from Dr. Cook, and so set to work with all fury ajid had my ser-
mon finished by midnight. The Doctor arrived early on Sabbath
morning, and I laid on hiai, table service, concluding address,
evening service, and Monday's. From the excitement 1 felt well,
but with sad revulsion on Tuesday, and I have scarcely been out
of the house since."

This may be the proper place to refer to Dr. Mathicson's printed
sermons. They arc twelve in number, and were delivered in the
following order :

1. 1827, April 8th. On the occasion of Mr. Waton's death,
from Jeremiah ix. 21 : " For death hath come up into our
windows."

2. 183G, November 30th. Preached before the ^t. Andrews
Society, Montreal, from PbALM cxxxvii. 1-G : "By the rivers
of Babylon, there we sat down, ycu, we wept, when we remember-
ed Zion " &c,

3. 18-13, October 22nd. Delivered on board the transport
ship 'Java, " off Quebec, to the 1st Battalion 71st Highland
Light Infantry, en route to the West Indies, frouj 2nd Con. Xlll.

' TLe reference here is to a cut ions article " concerning veal " in " The
Recreations of a Country Parson," by the Rev. Andrew K. H. Boyd, then
minister of til. Bernit.rd, Ediuburgli, and now of St. Andrews.

.^4

w^da^taimMm

■•*•

PARISH WORK AND DOMESTIC AFFLICTION.

2 : " Finally, bretlircn, farewell, " &c. : also. Acts xx. 32 : " And
now, brethren, I commend you to God and the word of his grace,"

&c.

4. 1848, May 21st. The Christian's death no cause for
sorrow. On the occasion of Miss Spier's death, from Jeremiaii
XXII. 10 : " Weep ye not for the dead," &c., also Revelations xiv.
13 : " Blcssud are the dead who die in tlic Lord," &c.

5. ( 1849. The moral and religious influences of autumn. A
P j sermon in three parts, preached on three several Sabbaths "in

' I the fall of the leaf,' ' from IsAiAii LXiv. G : " We all do fade

7. lasaU-af."

8. 1852. A tribute of respect to the memory of a good man ;
preached on the occasion of the death of Mr. Hugh Brodie, the
" faithful Elder " who accompanied Dr. Mathieson in many of his
missionary excursions to the valley of the Chateauguay. Acts XI.
24 : " For he was a good man."

9. 18G1. ['reached, 29th May, in St. Andrew's Church, Quebec,

at the opening of the Synod, frouj AcT.s iv. 19, 20 : " Whetlier it
be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto

God, judge ye : for we cannot but speak the things which we have

Been and heard."

10. 18G3. Preached, 30th November, before the St. Andrew's
Society, frouj PsALJi. XLVii. 12 13 : " Walk about Zion, and go
round about her, tell the towers thereof," &c.

11. 18G4. The vanity of earthly objects of attachment ; preached
on the occasion of the death of .Mr. James Hervey, and printed
for private distribution, from Psalm lxxxviii. 18: "Lover

■rr

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.l).

and friend hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into
darkness."

12. 1868. Preached on St. Andrew's Day, in the St. Andrew's
Church, before the St. Andrew's Society of Montreal, from Psalm
XLvn. 12, 13, 14 : " ,Valk about Zion," &c.

In addition to his written sermons, Dr. Mathieson lias left behind
him an amount of manuscript large enough to fill many volumes,
exhibiting an ease and grace of diction, a knowledge of men and
things in general, an acquaintance with literature, and a grasp of
mind and thought, that would have gained Iiim eminence as a man
of letters had he aspired to authorship. His writings are chiefly
in the form of letters, some of an official character, others of a
private nature; many of them are at once interesting and amusing,
from the graphic manner in which contemporaneous events arc
noticed, not a few of them contaiu information of value to the
future historian of the Church. In his youthful days he was addict-
ed to poetry, and he could also wield the pencil of the caricaturist
with considerable efiect ; but to these accomplishments his own
graver thoughts attached small importance. " The verses you
i^hought so pretty," he says, " were destroyed many years ago
when I thought [ was going to ' the Land o' the Leal.' I do not
know that you will be able to find a single couplet from my pen
anywhere except some extemporaneous effusions occasionally in
letters to my friends. I wrote for my own amusement. There
were many little pieces that I have often deeply regretted having
destroyed, but I had no ambition they should survive me. I was
proud of the fire-side praise, but desired no more, and co.nmitted
my papers wholesale to the flames, being too weak to undergo the

-i«

■►^

■I

•}«■

PARISH WOllK AND DOMESTIC AFFLICTION.

fatigue of uuikiiig a selection, and ^^•oul(l not for the world have
any knave laugh at uiy follies after I had taken wing."

From what has been said it may be inferred that the matter of
Dr. Mathieson s sermons ' :3 generally goi)d and oft times rose to
brilliancy and genuine elo<|ueuce. Ilis manner of delivery was
pleasing, though at times marred by a hesitancy of utterance,
chiefly caused by a peculiarity of vision — a near-sightedness, which
detied the skill of the most scientific optician to remedy, and
which prevented him from deciphering his own legible manuscript,
without which, except on baptismal and communion occasions, he
never attempted to speak from the pulpit. lie had early prepared
his congregation for the reception of " read discourses " and
defcndefl himself against the possible assailants of "paper min-
isters," as may be seen on reference to the first sermon which
he preached in Montreal, and which is hereto appended, where
allusion is made to his constitutional inability to " mandate "
his discourses. "The time taken in ma d, ting a discourse I
would consider more profitably employed, both for myself and the
people I instruct, in acquiring a more extensive knowledge of
Scripture truths, and in composing clear, well connected, and in-
teresting discourses." This deficiency, for such he acknowledged
it to be, was less regretted by himself than by his friends, and
was a subject on which he allowed himself to be twitted very
often without in the least discomposing him. Upon occasions
when conversation took that direction, and he thought it advisable
to change the subject, he usually brought down the company with a
heaity laugh over the story of two old wives in Scotland who had
a holy horror of "readers." They had gone together to hear a ser-

LIFE OP ALEXANDER MATIIIESOX, D.D.

mon prcaclicd by a blind minister, and both agreed tliat it was " a
gran' discoorsc." The fact of the preacher's blindness, however,
had remained undiscovered to the one, who, on their homeward
way asked her companion did she tliink " that you sermon wa^
read ?" " Na, na, replied tlie other, that couldna be, for the mnn^s
hlinny "Blinn said ye,"'retortcd her interrogator, ^^ than a wuss
they were a blinn.''^

The brief extract from his journal which now follows may suf-
fice to indicate the kind of work to which the city minister is
sometimes called, and the scenes he sometimes witnesses. (1849)
" Sent for to visit a sick person — horrid scene 1 Ushered into a garret,
on the bare floor of which, covered with rags, lay a dying creature
who had had a religious education but seemed to have lived long in
neglect of God, as I learned from others, for she was insensible and
within two hours of being called to judLinient. Her husband was
a ragged, squallid wretch, on whom want and drunkenness had
entailed disease. Around her there were half a dozen women, dirty
and ragged, and reeling with drink. A rough block of wood cov-
ered with a rag was her pillow. It was heart-sickening. I prayed
with the poor creature — utterly insensible I Ft ar to any religious
consolation — addressed those around in te ras of christian pity and
warning, mingled with reproach, but seemingly to no purpose.
There is room for reflection here — room for censure somewhere.
Why such brutish conduct, such induration of heart, such drunken-
ness, filth, forgctfulncss of God ? Why should these bo left to pur-
sue such courses without determined cff'ortsto reclaim them ? What
is to be done ? Already staggering under the load of duty and
anxiety I feel that 1 must break down, unless I find relief. Yet,

■^

PARISH WORK AND DOMESTIC AFFLICTION.

*■

work I must. Tho Lord mako mo faithful. Lot mo not shrink,

however toilsome the labour, or disgusting the scones, Streiigthon
me with Thy strength ; guide mo with Thy wisdom ; pour into my
soul a portion of the Saviour's zoal for perishing souls. Wo have

the engine that will yet move the world, let us apply it A. rich,

friendless, man may find flatterers, a poor man, no sympathy from
his associates. This man could find no oao lo aid him in carrying
his wife to the grave — human sympathy is gone because ho is in
rag>*. He is a useless wretch to bo sure, but surely^not so bad as
to deprive him of pity in affliction. Gave him five shillings to buy
a cofiin and ono shilling and throe-pence for a cart hire — " The rich-
man died: and was buried /"

To obtain a temporary respite from work, and in the hope of
re-establishing his health, the Doctor bethought him once more of
tho only remedy in which he had much faith, and the very anticipa-
tion of which was as " the balm of Giload" to his downcast soul —
a trip to Scotland. Having made the necessary arrangements for
the supply of his pulpit, he accordingly '' went home " in the year
1852, and, after spending a pleasant summer, during which he visit-
ed ihe three Kingdoms, and had the honour of addressing the
General Assembly, he returned to Canada with greatly invigorated
health. It was during this visit that he secured the services of his
first assistant, the Rev. Robert Dooie, then assistant to Principal
Haldane of St. Andrew's, and now the minister of Lindsay,
Ontario. This arrangement proved satisfactory while it lasted, but
was of short duration, for Mr. Dobie, having received a call to
Osnabruck, resigned connection with St. Andrew's congregation,

and for six long years Dr. Mathieson strove manfully to accom

■^

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

1^.

f/j

1.0

I.I

IM
2.0

1.8

1.25

1-4 1.6

-•

►

<^^. "^

c*;

Photographic

Sciences
Corporation

pi?

'v\a>>

23 WEST M.MN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580

(716) 872-4503

ill!

LIFE OF ALEX\rTDBR M4TH[BS0>f, D.U.

plish, alone, that which experience had convinced him was work
enougli for two ministers.

In the meantime our friend Tas subjected to the saddest and
most severe trial which it was possible for him to suffer. A»
^' friend after friend departs," the minister of a large congregation
must needs revisit oft, the city of the dead. The way to the ceme-
tery — that sleeping place,

" where servants, masters, small and great,

partake the same repose — "

becomes a familiar road, lined as it were with the memories of

those who have been borne to tli»e tomb. Along this rofld Dr. Mathie.

son had now to follow the remains of his dear wife to the silent

grave. She died on the 29th of February, lF5fi, aged thirty-tbrce

after a long illness, borne with 'Christian fortitude and resignation

to the divine wilL The bi'ief' epitaph inscribed on a monumental

tablet that was erected by her friends on the wall of St. Andrew's

Church, near the pulpit, records that she was " endeared to all

n^ho knew her by a kind disposition and the lively interest which

he manifested in the prosperity of this Church." She was a most

devoted, aifeetionate wife, and the very embodiment of matcnal

love — gentle, guileless, and sincerely pious, but who never

made any parade of religious fetling. In a letter writtei* to a

friend in Scotland shortly after her death, the Doctor thus alludes

to his bereavement — " you will deeply sympathize with me when I

inform you that she who was nearest and dearest to mo has been

removed from the troubles of this life to the enjoyment — we have

no doubt — of a butter. Her last end was peaceful and calm, indeed

I have seldom witnessed a more sublime spectacle of faith and hope

PARISH WORK AND DOMESTIC AFFLICTIOJf.

and resignation. Her confiilence in her Saviour's love, and longing
to be with Iliin, has infused great consolation into the cup of sor*
row given us to drink. Tliere was a heroism in her wliole conduct
and !in undoubting trust in her Redeemer tiiat seemed to me to be
a special vouchsafemeiit from our Heavenly Father — as a testi'
mony to herself, and to us, that she was accepted by Him through
Christ. Her unceasing prayer during the last night of her illness
was, " come, Lord Jesus, come quickly I'' I cannot yet realize the
terrible desolation in our affections occasioned by the absence of
her who was the spirit and life of all our household joys. God's will
be done."

The Rev. Robert Herbert Story, the son of his eld valued friend,
became Dr. Mathieson's assistant in May, 1850 ; but on the death
of his father, having received a presentation to the parish of
Roseneath, his engagement with St. Andrew's Church necessarily
terminated. In the following spring, the Rev. James Kerr arrived
as assistant, and remained about a year, when he returned to
k^cotland. Sonie years afterwards he and his young wife t )ok
passage on board the steamship "London,'' which foundered in
the Bay of Biscay, on her voyage to Australia, and they shared the '
melancholy fate of many others, who sank into a watery grave.

The Rev. W. M. Inglis, now minister of St. Andrew's Cliurcli,
Kingston, was Dr. Mathieson's next assistant and remained in
Montreal, till August, 1863. The Rev. Andrew Paton succeeded
him in November, 18G4, and, after the lapse of a year, was
requested to accept a permanent appointment as " assistant
and successor." Having received ordination thereto from the
Presbytery of Kinross, he was inducted on the Hth of February,

■*

■^

LIFE OP ALEXAN'DER MATHIESON, D.D.

18Gl). The circamstances connected with his demission of the
charge are so exceptional, aftd withal so honourable to Mr. Paton,
as justify us in giving them a place here in connection with the
history of the congregation.

Mr. Paton had been on a visit to Scotland during the eummer
(1869) ; was present at the General Assembly, whore he delivered
an address in relation to the position of the Canadian Church, and
had returned to his duties in the month of October. On the 18th
of Novenib-^r. he had given notice to the Presbytery of Montreal,
of his intention to ask leave to be released from his present charge,
although he had then no immedi ite prospect of obtaining another.
On the evening of the very same day he received a telegraph
message by the Atlantic Cable, oflPeniig him a presentation to the
parish of Penpont, in Dumfrieshire. On the 23rd, the day before
the burning of the Church, he received another message intimating
that he had been appointed to the charge. It is important that
Dr. Mathieson's estiin ite of his last assistant should be pieserved,
and here are his first impressions of him as communicated to a
friend, under date the 18th October, 1864: "My assistant
arrived last week and pre ched ai cxc. llent plain discourse last
Sabbath. I was highly pleased with him, I was not well enough
to go out in the evening, but am told his discourse was superior t^
that of the morning. He is a gentlemanly, unpretend ng u.an,
frank, and anxious lo approve himself in all departments of duty as
a good workman. I think I shall get along with liim very
agreeably." At a meeting of the congregation, held prior to Mr,
baton's departure. Dr. Mathieson alluded very feelingly to the
retations wliich had existed between himself and Mr. Paton, and

^^•

■*

*■

■*

PARISH WORK AND DOMESTIC AFFLICTION.

to the efficient manner in which he had always fulfilled his duties.
Nor were substantial proofs awanting that his services had been
appreciated by the congregation, and that their best wishes followed
him to his new sphere of labour.

During the last ten years of his life Dr. Matliieson was in the
habit of spending the greater portion of the summer months upon
his farm, at Becchridge, about five and twenty miles distant from
the city. There was nothing about the place, or its vicinity, tliat
one could have supposed would have had any attractions for a
mind so poetic and so keenly appreciative of the beautiful in
nature. To our own eye, though we saw it in winter, the locality
seemed a dull and dreary solitude, fitted rather as a place of
endurable exile than for a pleasant summer retreat. It was inland
and the landscape, unrelieved by hill or dale, was fringed by the
grim, gray primeval forest. But here the old Doctor had a snug
little cottage, and a hundred acres of land that he could call his own.
He had his garden in which to delve, and the woods through
which he could saunter and meditate without fear of being disturbed
by the ceaseless din of the busy town oi the ringing of the door
bell. He was not far from the manse, where he jouid always
reckon on a hearty welcome, and he took great pleasure in the
society and companionship of its kind and hospitable inmates. He
loved the country, "for God made the country, man made the
town." If any one spoke disparaging of it in his presence he
would join with his old friend Virgil, and exclaim, " fortunatos
nimium, sua si bona norint, agricolis." * Happy as the Mantuan

" thrice happy farmers, did they but know their own blessings."

yH'

•J"

LIFE OP ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.D.

bard, under shade of his own " beech tree," ho cnjoyeil " rustic
ease," as thoroughly as ever Horace did when on his Sabine farm
he quaffed his "mild falernian." There was little to give vtirioty
to his thoughts, saving the sound of the postman's horn that daily
woke up to the echoes of the woods. Then there was a rush for
the post-oflBce in expectation of letters from Montreal, or from
Scotland, or, perhaps, the much-coveted, and long-looked for
epistle from his dear friend Gregory Wortabet, " the Syrian exile."
Much of his time must have been spent in writing, for he had a
host of correspondents, and it is worthy of remark, as illustrative of
his exact and methodical habits, that of every letter he wrote, he
kept a verbatim copy, and that almost every letter reseived by him
■was preserved, labelled, and so carefully fyled that at any time he
eould refer to it.

Only one incident has come to our knowledge in connection
with his quiet life at Boechridge, that appeared helpful " to adorn
a tale," and we are not quite sure that the Doctor would ha^'s
liked to have seen it in nrint. But as it tends to display two very
characteristic traits of his character, we feel justified in making
allusion to it. Personal courage and benevolence were stamped on
Dr. Mathieson's countenance. So erect was his carriage, so martial
his bearing, so measured his step, that, but for his clerical habit
it might be said of him that he was " every inch a soldier." His
bravery was not of that kind that >empted him to rush recklessly into
danger, but, rather, a ready resource and presence of mind in the
liour of danger that never failed him. In no circumstances was
he known to betray unmanly alarm. During the time of the rebellion
he declared himself willing to doflf his cassock, shoulder a musket,

t^A-

■^

PARISH WORK AND DOMESSKJ AFFLICTION.

0.'

and fight the enemies of his Queen ard country. Though, had
the necessity for his so doing arisen, it would have pained him
grievously, for he had a very high regai d for his French Canadian
fellow country-men, of whom he said at the time, " Never have
there been creatures more belied than they have been. Their
nature is peaceable and polite, and, it heart, they are strongly
attached to the British Government, They have been sadly
duped and misled by designing knaves." But, to our story, a
few years ago it was, that the Doctor took his accustomed morning
walk into the garden, at Beechridge, where his old servant-man of
all work, was busily employed. He thought to have " a crack "
with him, but there was something:; in his gesture and incoherent
speech that morning that aroused the Doctor's suspicions. The
man had a " wakencss," he knew, rather by report than from
personal observation for the old man's respect for " his Reverence "
was great and had hitherto sufficed to keep him " within bounds "
in the minister's presence. But on this occasion, he had forgotten
himself; yet, as the Doctor thought, ho was not so "far gone " as
to be insensible to a mild rebuke, which was with due solemnity
and emphasis administered. Dean E-umsay relates an instance,
in which a similar remonstrance had been addressed to a high-
lander in respect of his partiality for the " mountain dew," in
which Donald naively acquiesced under certain reservations, thus :
" depend upon it," said Mr. M., " its a bad thing whiskey."
" Weel, weel, Sir," replied Donald, "I'll no say but it may ;'^
adding in a very decided tone, " speciallic hand whusky." But,
our old man was not prepared for even such a qualified admis'sioa
as that. He became furious, and made a desperate lunge at the

■>i*

ili!

*■

■*

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MATUIESON, D.D.

Doctor's person with the pitchfork, which he held in his hands.
The Doctor's situation was dangerous in the extreme. No quarter
was to be expected from such a foe, even had he felt disposed to
shew the white feather. With his stout walking stick, however,
he adroitly parried the thrust, and, with the proficiency of an
expert, plied his assailant with so rapid a succession of lusty thuds
as soon placed him hors dii combat.

It was a serious matter. The old man was hailed before the
magistrate and sent to prison. But the Doctor's goodness of heart
was shewn, first, by forwarJing the sum of five dollars to provide
for the culprit's comfort, and, afterwards, by visiting him in the
prison and manifesting a personal interest for his welfare, both in
body and soul. It may bo added that when his term of imprison-
ment expired, he resumed his old situation, and, when he heard of
his master's death, he wept bitterly, wishing that he himself had
cone first, as there would be no one now to care for him.

Before closing what we have called our domestic annals of Dr.
Mathieson, we wish to give an extract from a letter of his to a
friend, dated the 15th September, 1863. It is worthy of
preservation both because of its raciness and humour, and
it affords a capitable illustration of the manner in which the
Doctor could mount his '■' high horse " when a fitting occasion pre-
sented itself The reference will be quite familiar to the members of
his congregation, and wa feel sure that not one of them would have
us suppress it. It is so characteristic, and so good naturedly told
as completely to take the sting out of allusions that might other-
wise be regarded as ofl'ensive.

"It is now three or four years since I was walking down

'>'i

■*

TARISII WORK AND DOMESTIC AFFLICTION.

Blcury-street, as I fanciod, with all the briskness and agility of
youth, when I met two old women and heard the one say to the
other, " There goes old Dr. Mathieson." Old I said I, Old !
The sound was nmv in my eirs, and truly I was not a little
mortified in being ranked ainont^ the Patriarchs of the age,
especially as my friend Muir alleged that I was in hot haste in
search of a second wife. N^ow, to have the prefix old to ray cog-
nomen would assuredly obscure every ciiance of success. I
naturally thought the old dames delighted in scandal, and to call
me old w IS just a bit of spite on their part. I have had, however,
many material proofs since of the truth of their observation. But
what is worst of all some worthy members of my Church have
discovered that I am getting old, and that " it will bo for the
benefit of the congregation that I retire," and, in compassion for
my infirmities, have thought it expedient to offer me £400 per
annum for life to induce mo quietly to do so. A very nice thing,
you will say, and reproachfully ask why I did not at once jump at
the ofter ? Well, my doar friend, I have something of the feeling
of youth— if not the activity — about me still, and I would not
be so unceremoniously shelved even though they should try to
frighten mo by telling me that half of the congregation was about
to rise in rebellion against the administration of the old fogies, and
that it would be better for me to pocket the affront. So /
mounted mi/ high horse and told them 1 would neither resign the
office of minister of St. Andrew's Church, nor ani/ part of the
authority attached to it, until legally and constitutionally set aside
by the Presbytery , that I would neither accept of their bribe

uor minister to a dissatisfied people, and not doing the duty^

'>^

*■

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.D.

would accept none of the pay, so they might when they pleased
look about for another who would please them better, and roy
connection with them in relation to all active duties would cease
on the 24th September. Subsequently, at a meeting of the Elders
and Trustees, they repudiated the charge of dissatisfaction to the
extent alleged. My first intention was to leave Canada, tate a
eottage on the banks of the Gairloch, and spend the remainder of
my days among some dear friends in peace. When it became
known that I was about to leave the country a meeting of the
eongregation was held and certain resolutions passed, it is said
unanimously, highly favourable, nay, very flattering to me. I
have not yet seen them, but the probability is I shall remain in
Canada for the winter, if not for the rest of my days^ which now
«annot be very long."

It was at Beeehridge thattlie sad tidings reached Dr. Mathieso»
©f the death, by drowning, of his eldest daughter, Janet Ewing.
This distressing occurrence took place on the 29th of July, 1868.
In his enfeebled state of health it was a crushing blow to him.
Since her mother's death, " Tudy " had been the light of hi»
dwelling, and she was now woman grown, in her twenty-second
year. A lovely, amiable, happy creature. She had left him but
a few days before, in the full bloom of health, on a short visit to-
some friends at Cacouna. At high tide she went down to the
shore in company with another young lady for the purpose of
bathing, and a projecting rock was selected from whidi they might
leap into the water. Miss Mathieson was unusually cheerful and
sportive, and was the first to plunge, exultantly, into the wave.
IShe leaped into Eternity ! for she sank to rise uo more, Wheu

■^

PARISH WORK AND DOMESTIC AFFLICTION.

assistance arrived it was too late. Life was extinct. The fcelin<»s
of her aged father may be imagined, but no language could
express them, and we search in vain i\n any written record of
emotions that were too deep for utterance.

4^-

CHAPTER SEVENTH.

REMINISCENCES. MR. BETHUNE. BISnOP STRACIIAN. MESSRS,
SPARK, HARKNESS, CONNELL. ST. ANDREW'S CHURCH.

It was in the beginning of the year 18-18 that the Presbyterian,
a monthly magazine published by the lay Association of Mon-
treal in the interests of the church, was first began. Dr. Mathieson
was d .ring its earlier years a frequent contributor to its columns.
In the first number of it there is a long letter, signed N. M. I. L.
{nemo me impune lacessif) evidently penned by the subject of our
biography, in which are detailed a number of useful and interest-
ing fragments of history. To this the Doctor himself referred us
for the information that he was possessed of regarding the Rev.
John Bethune, who was instrumental in organizing the first Pres-
byterian Congregation in Montreal, that of St. Gabriel's, in the
year 1786. The Church of St. Gabriel, however, was not erected
until 1792. It was the first Presbyterian Church erected in
British North America, and is still in a good state of repair. For
some time prior to its erection the congregation were permitted to
worship in the old Roman Catholic Church belonging to the
Recollet Fathers, which stood, until about two years ago, on the

*■

REMINISCENCES.

101

corner of Notro Dame and St. Ilolcn-streets. This was kind of
the llccollet Fathers, and it shewed their wisdom. From that day
to this the Catholics and Protestants of Montreal have lived
together on the best of terms, and if occasional brawls liave dis-
turbed the streets, these have been caused by inconsiderate manifes-
tations of over much zeal on the part of individuals, not from a
sectarian spirit in the Churches. The Presbyterians of the time
appreciated the courtesy of the priests, and in testimony of their
gratitude presented thorn with a box of candles, 56 lbs., at 8d.,and
two hogsheads of Spanish wine containing 60 odd gallons each,
amounting in all to £14.2.4. Mr. Bothune remained little more
than a year in Montreal, and then removed to Williamstown, where
he oflSciated till the day of his death, in 1815. Through his
instrduiontality churches were erected at Lancaster, Williamstown,
Charlottenburgh, Martintown and Cornwall, in each of which he
statedly preached. Ho was a man of great zeal and piety, deser-
vedly esteemed by all who knew him, and whose name is still
cherished in sacred remenjbrance by the descendants of those to
whom he ministered.. His remains lie interred in the grave-yard of
Williamstown under a handsome monument that was erected to his
memory by his six sons. Two of these sons took orders in the
Church of England, and arc still living, and both highly
respected : the one, the very lleverend John Bethune, D.D., is
Dean of Montreal; the other, thellight Reverend A. N. Bethune,
D. D., &c., is Bishop of Toronto. The following extract from* a
letter of Dr. Mathieson's, dated April, 1864, has reference to
the first Bishop of Toronto, the late Hon. and Right Rev. John
Strachan, without doubt the most influential Scotchman who ever

102

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.D.

set foot in Canada, one who wielded more power in his day than
any other individual in the Province did before or since, and whose
noblest monument to-day, is the Church of England in the Province
of Ontario. When he first joined it he was one of a mere handful
of Anglic in ministers. By sheer force of character he became
their chief, and lived to witness his wide bishopric divided into
three Sees with three hundred ministers, while be himself had con-
ferred episcopal orders on no less than one hundred and sixty-si::
candidates. In giving the following passage the reader is asked to
remember that the reference is to a titue when Dr. Strachan swayed
a political sceptre, when politics ran high, and when party feeling
was strong. " Tt was in 1827 tliat our church began to be stirred
into life. Dr. Strachan's famous ' Ecclesiastical Chart for the Pro-
vince of Upper Canada' was one of the chief means of awakening
it from slumber. His statements were manifestly so untrue as to
require severe castigation : prose and poetry, ridicule and argument
were pressed into the subject, and never was there such zeal dis-
played for the extension of our church and securing its legitimate
privileges, unless it was when the late Mr. Hagerman made a rude
attack on Scotchmen and their church in parliament, and aroused
their indignation from Gaspo to Huron. Mr. Morris' mission
to England was the result.

" Shortly after his arrival in this country Mr, Strachan wrote his
two famous letters to, I think, Thomas Blackwood of Montreal, in
which it was proposed that, if the St. Gabriel-street congregation
then the only Presbyterian Church in the city, would give him a
good salary, he would return to Scotland for ordination and become
their minister. 1 hav seen the letters. A notarial copy of them

■*

i^l*-

REMINISCENCES.

103

was taken. The originals were in the possession of the late Mr.
Ramsay, wliose house took fire and many of his papers were
burned. I once asked him if the Doctor's letters were saved ; he
gave no direct answer, but assured me there was a notarial copy of
them. I inferred from the hints he gave that they were lost."

Let it not be supposed that the object in publishing this statement
is to disparage the character of the Right Uev. prelate, deceased. Ho
outlived all the odium theologicum which his ohivalric zeal in sup-
port of his adopted church gave rise to. For him, personally, Dr.
Mathioson frequently expressed his high admiration, nor could it
be otherwise, for in many respects there was a very close resem-
blance of character in the two btshnps. Great plainness of speech,
indomitable perseverance, firmness, amounting at times to obstinacy,
both possessed in a marked degree. It seems important, however,
to establish a fact in connection with Dr. Strachan's early history,
concerning which doubts have been expressed in certain quarters.
In Mr. Fennings Taylor's * Lives of the Last Three Bishops
Appointed by the Crown for the Anglican Church of Canada " it is
stated, page 193, " When Dr. Strachan arrived in Canada he had
neither been confirmed by a bishop of his father's church, nor had
he received the commuiuon from a minister of his mother's church."
His mother was a member of the Scottish Relief Denomination. " In
fact he had by no religious act of his own become a member of any
religious body."

It is difficult to reconcile this statement with that of Dr.
Mathieson's, because, assuming that the letters spoken of were
written by Mr. Strachan, and we cannot conceive them to have
been forgeries, there is strong presumptive evidence that Mr. Stra-

*■

■^

•*

104

LIFE OP ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.D.

chan must have studied theology at a Scottish University before
coming to Canada, otherwise, he would not have spoken of going
back '' /or ordination." He could not receive ordination without
going through the prescribed theological curriculum. Besides, the
fact of his having been a Scottish parish school-master affords
undoubted proof that he had connected himself with the Kirk of
Scotland, for he could not be admitted to that office without
sisinin"; the Confession of Faith and Formula of the Church of
Scotland.* This aormula is the same as is required to be signed
by candidates for license to preach the Gospel, and could not bo
honestly signed by any one who was not a member of the Established
Church. Thus it runs : —

I do hereby declare, that I do sincerely own and believe the whol(5
doctrines contained in the Confe.S3ion of Faith, approven by the Genera
Assemblies of this National Church, and ratified by law in the year 1690,
to be the truths of God : and I do own the same as the confession of
my faith : as likewise, I do own the purity of worship presently authorized
and practised in this church, and also the Presbyterian government and
di3cii)line now so happily established therein, andivhich, I am persuaded,
are founded on the Word of God and agreeable thereto : and I promise that,
through the grace of God, I shall firmly and constantly adhere to the same :
and to the utmost of my power shall, in my station, assert, maintain and
defend the said doctrine, worship, discipline and government of this church,
by Kirk-sessions, Presbyteries, Provinci;ii Synods, and General Assem-
blies : and that I shall in my practice, conform myself to the said worship,
and submit to the said discipline and government, and never endeavour,
directly or indirectly, the prejudice or subversion of the same : and I
promise that I shall follow no divisive courses from the present establish-

• Cook's Styles, pp. 191 :—

REMINISCENCES.

105

meat in this church, renouncing all doctrines, tenets, and opinions what-
Boever, contrary to, or inconsistent with, the said doctrine, worship, dis-
■cipline, or government of this Church.

It is irapos.sible to conceive of a more conscience-binding
declaration tlaan tliis, nor does the propriety of submitting any
man, layman or cleric, to such a test obviously appear. It is surely
better not to vow than to vow and not to pay ; yet, this solemn vow
has been broken in innumerable instances, and we know it will be
broken again, by men who will Strain at a gnat, and yet swallow
a, variety of camels. We have no quarrel with the Bishop for joining
the Anglican Church, but rather with the despotic ecclesiasticism
which weaves around men chains as complicated as the spider's airy
web : and quite as weak. If it is needful to swear at all, the power
that binds should have power to release, or, in some other mode,
there should be devised a way of escape for all such as from con-
scientious motives wish to avail themselves of it. But this is by
the way — our correspondent proceeds to say : —

" Doc;or Spark I never saw ; ho was removed from his
-earthly labours before I came to the country. His widow, who
afterwards married a Doctor Montgomerie, gave me several of his
sermons in manuscript ; from these, and the respect in which he
was held by his people, the impression I have of him is that he was
a man of considerable learning, incliued to literature, a correct
writer, a grave divine, distinguished for his good sense more than
originality, for his clear statements of truth more than the brilliant
corruscations of genius. He was reported to be Arminian in his
theology. Ho died suddenly on Sabbith afternoon, having
preached in the forenoon from Grouesis xiv, 2-1 : " See that

■^

106

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MATHIESON, D.D.

ye fall not out by the way," in which it was thought iheve
were some coincident allusions to his untinioly separation from his
flock. If you can acquire a copy of the " Christian Examiner" for
1837 you will there find a valuable and ably written memoir of
Doctor Spark, from the pen of his intimate friend, the late Doctor
Daniel Wilkie of Quebec, He was succeeded in St. Andrew's Church,
Quebec, by Doctor Harkness, in the year 1820. Harkness w»s
for some time master in the Aeadem^ at Ayr j an open-hearted,
generous fellow, but passionate and fearless, who often violated the
rules of propriety and decorum when he was aroused. He was a
great favourite with Lord Dnlhousie, and a frequent guest at the
Castle. His Lordsliip, while he was Governor General of Canada,
visited Scotland in 1824, when I renieuiber havirtg met him, and
heard him speak, with many culogiums, of Harkness, but lamenting
his fonrdnoss for card-playing and his passionate outbreaks. During
his ministry in Quebec a burying-ground had been purchased by
Protestants of all denominations, iind, of the proprietors, I have
been told, the Scotch were the most numerous. A pious fervour
awoke the zeal of the Episcopalians; they thought it drcadfu)
to lie in unconsecrated ground. The prospect of receiving the fees of
interments perhaps animated the roli.|,ious fervour af ih? clergy, and
led them to apply to Sir James Kempt, then Governor General, for
leave to consecrate the ground. Aware of what had occurred at
Kingston, a short time before, Doctor Harkness was determined to
prpservo the rights of his people. About the consecration of the
l^rouud he was indifferent, but he would not allow fees to be exacted
fronj the nunnbers of his congregation for the burial of their dead.
Taking with tiim such documents as he thought necessary for the

REMINISCENCES.

107

■*

vindication of their cluimg, he went to the Cistlo, obtained an
audience nt" the Governor, and laid before liini the c:ise, urging
warmly His Excellency's acquiescence with his views. Sir James
would not look throui^h the sanwj spectacles, but accused llarkness
of bigotry and intolerance ; the latter got angry and retorted
bitterly and in uncourtly terms. The Governor felt insulted
and rebu<ed the Doctor for his want of courtesy. llarkness shook
his fist in his face, telling him he cared not for his approval and
that he would carry the matter ' to the foot of the throne j ' adding,
you will not hear me, but your master will. The Aid-de camps
alarmed, left the room, HarknesS) gathering up his papers, put his
hat, which he held in 1 is hand, on his head. Indignant at his
incivility Sir James said, ' Doctor llarkness, you might at least have/
been polite enough to have kept off your hat in my presence.' Off
went the hat, and, bowing to the very ground, the Doctor replied;
* I will be as polite as you please, Sir James,' and, thrice repealing
the action and the words, concluded with the caution,—' Take
care what you do, I carry these papers to the foot of the throne.'
Sir James, finding that he had got into an ignoble squabble, and
being anxious to get out of it, asked the Doctor peremptorily what
it was that he wanted. ' I have told you what you would not hear/
replied the enraged Doctor. ' They may consecrate their ground
when they please. Presbyterians will sleep as sound in consecrated
as in uncoiisecrated ground. It's a' ane tae Dandy. But nane o'
them will mutter an ill-mumbled mass o'er a Presbyterian grave and
ask twa dollars for the doin' o't.' The Doctor having then calmed
down, condescended to explanations, which the Governor acknow-

In a short time the matter was settled to

ledged to be reasonable.

*■

■^M

liiiii

108

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MATHIESON, D.D.

the Doctor's satisfaction, and he withdrew with the bundle of
papers under his arm, pointing to which, he addressed the astonished
Aids as he passed out : ' Now, you can consecrate the ground when
you like: I have got all that I want; our rights are secured.' And
I believe the ground, notwithstanding the burning zeal of the
time, remains unconsccratcd till this day."

It has already been said that Dr. Mathicson was introduced to
his charge in Montreal by the Rev. Archibald Connell of Martin-
town. Mr. Connell was a warm-hearted Highlander, then fresh
from the heathery hills of Argyleshire, and, being of a frank and
genial disposition, the Doctor and he soon beciune friends. . But,
sooner or later, the best of friends must part. Before ten years
had gone round Dr. Muthieson was called upon to preach his
friend's funeral sermon on the same day that he opened for
worship the church of Martintown, which Mr. Connell had been
instrumental in building. Upon a marble tablet on the church
wall there is a touching allusion to the occasion, penned, there is
reason to believe, by the Doctor; it reads as follows: — "Within
this edifice, erected for the worship of God, his voice was only once
heard proclaiming the tidings of salvation. Assembled with his
flock under the open canopy of heaven, to show the Lord's death,
they were driven by the inclemency of the day to seek shelter
within its unfinished walls. By a remarkable coincidence, on that
same day of the month — one year afterwards — his remains were
interred on the very spot where he then stood to distribute the sym-
bols of the Bread of Life, and by that solemn act, close his ministerial
labours." Mr. Connell was buried beneath the pulpit. He was
a man of genius, and in him was verified one of Shakespeare's

REMINISCENCES.

109

many striking truisms that " Great wit is to madness near allied."
He was so nervously excitable that his mind sometimes lost its
balance, leaving- in the minds of his friends serious apprehensions
for the result. " Once," says Dr. Mathieson, " on a cold winter
night he arrived at my liouse, from Martintown, wearied and faint
from his journey and long fasting. He had eaten nothing the
whole day, nor could we persuade him to take any food then.
* Make me a howl of tea, and be sure you n)ake it strong,' was
his only request. It was procured, and, for a short time after
he drank it, he raved like a maniac, and not till after he had slept
for some hours were his words coherent. I have also been told
that, after a long pedestrian excursion in Wales, he went to
Liverpool, called for ' a bowl of strong tea,' fancied he was way-
laid by enemies who sought his life, started for Scotland, and
exhibited some fantastic tricks on board the steamer. On arriving
at Glasgow he called a cab, drove straight to the college and
detailed to the Professor of Divinity such a catalogue of horrors
as nearly drove the worthy Doctor as crazy a., he was himself.
He was exceedingly fond of music, and played well on the fiddle-
Once I remember, at Martintown, while playing a fine old Highland
Lament, his eyes began to roll most fearfully, he seemed to gasp
for breath, and I had to rise and stop his strains, which were too
powerful for his sensitive mind to endure. A stranger one day,
hearing him play, stepped unbidden into his room, complimented
him on his skill, and requested ' a tune. ' Connell laid down his
fiddle, and called his servant to show ^ the imp\ident intruder^ to
the door. Dut he was a noble fellow whose like we have rarely

seen.

*■

110

LIFE OP ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.D.

Among the first proceedings of the Synod of 1831 a resolution
was passed, requiring the several members of the Synod to prepare
a report of the state of religion in their several congregations and
neighbourhoods, and to transmit the same to the convener of the
Committee on a Memorial to the General Assembly, with a view
to their forwarding to Scotland detailed information respecting the
spiritual destitution existing in Canada, and the consequent need
of increased ministerial labour. A majority of the ministers com-
plied with the mandate — some of them, ai their leisure. The
whok Presbytery of Glengary, however, Mr. Ketchan of Belle-
ville, and Dr. Harkness of Quebec, having neulected to comply,
were cited before the Synod and " suitably admonished." Dr.
Mathieson, unwilling to be ranked as a recusant, transmitted a
draft Report, reserving to himself the privilege of revising and
elaborating it a future time. This he did, and, in due course
prepared an exhaustive document which might have been entitled
a topographical, statistical, commercial and ecclesiastical history of
the Island of Montreal and adjacent parts, and to which was
appended a succint history of the congregation of St. Andrew's
Church, Montreal, which will form a fitting conclusion to this
chapter of reminiscences.

HISTORY OF ST. ANDREW'S CIItJRCII, MONTREAL.
( Written in 1832.)

" The first authentic account of the congregation now forming
the members of St. Andrew's Church, Montreal, which I have been
able to obtain, is dated in November, 1804. 1 have been informed,
however, that for six months before that time a number of Individ-

HISTORY OF ST. ANDREW'S CHURCH.

Ill

uals assembled for public worship in a large private room, under
the pastoral care of the Rev. Robert Easton, who had been pre-
viously minister of a! congregation in Hawick, * Roxburghshire,
in connexion with the Associate Synod in b'cotlaud. The papers
relative to his settlement I have not seen, nor any authentic
account of the probable number of the congregation at that period.
I am inclined to believe that they were not properly organized as
a religious body till the 2Qd November, 1804. On that day the
cono-regation met, pursuant to notice, and elected seventeen of
their number to be a committee for managing their affairs. In
January, 1805, a petition was presented in behalf of the congrega-
tion to the different branches of the Legislature, praying that their
minister might be permitted to hold a legal register of the mar-
riages, biptisms, and burials by him' performed. This petition
was refused at the time, but on what grounds I have not ascer-
tained. Mr. Easton obtained registers in 1815. It had been
the unceasing desire of the congregation from their formation, to
get a suitable place erected for public worship, and, though the
difficulties which presented themselves to this undertaking were
formidable to a poor and a little flock, they determined that a
vigorous effort should be made to accomplish their desire ;
accordingly, on the 1st February, 1805, a subscription was opened
for that purpose. Their success was such as to give them every
encouragement to proceed. Soon afterwards the committee
appointed two of their number to look out for a suitable piece of
ground for building a church, and were empowered to conclude a

* Tliere is reason to believe that Mr. Easton came from the Town of
Morpeth, instead of Hawick, as stated in the text.

*■

•*^M

*■

■*

112

LIFE OP ALEXANDER MATHIESON, D.D.

purchase on bohalf of the congregation. This sub-corainittee
reported on the 10th of May that they had purchased two lots for
the sum of £180, and an annuity on the joint lives of two ladies of
£50, which was to be reduced to £37 10s. on the demise of one
or either of them. One of the annuitants is still alive, (1832).

** One of these lots contained a good stone house, which has Bince
fallen into such decay that it will require to be rebuilt before it
can be tenantable ; the other lot, being vacant, was reserved for
building a church for the congregation. A few days after this
purchase was concluded a series of resolutions were drawn up by
the committee and a general meeting of the congregation called for
the purpose of taking the same into consideration. When the
committee of management was appointed it does not appear
that their powers were defined, nor arc there any instructions to
them on record ; but it is evident from the minutes that all
matters of minor importance were transacted by their uncontrolled
ofiicial power, while we must naturally infer, from the sanction of
the congregation which was required to the above resolutions, that
all matters of greater moment had to be approved by a majority of
the whole congregation. By one of the aforesaid resolutions the
cona;ren;ation declared themselves to be ' in connection with the
Associate Reformed Synod in Scotland, commonly called the
Burgher Secession.' This act, however, was never homologated
by that Reverend Body, and consequently fell to the ground. The
resolutions were indeed presented to the Synod at a meeting held
at Glasgow in 180G, together with a letter from the Elders and
Managers of the Church craving to be taken into connection with
the Synoa, but nothing definite was done. The Synod delayed

■^

REMINISCENCES.

113

deciding on the said petition, and, nicanwhiiO, appointed a coni-
luittec of correspondence, who, it seems, never corresponded, and so
tlie matter was lost siii,ht of for nearly fifteen years. About 1820
a question arose how far, and in what manner, the congregation in
Montreal stood connected with the said Associate Synod, and a
reference was made to the Synod on the subject, but no entry was
found in their minutes to show whether any decision had ever been
come to in the matter.

" On the loth October, 1805, the foundation stone of the church
in St. Peter-street was laid, and the whole work finished in the
beginning of April, 1807, at a cost of about £1500. The walls are
substantially built. The dimensions arc 70 by 51 feet, without : and,
though a plain, it is a comfortable and commodious edifice and can
contain with ease 7'50 persons. Galleries were erected in 181G
at an expense of £400, which was borrowed for the purpose.

" Mr. Kaston's stipend, from the commencement of his ministerial
labours in Montreal, was £125. In 1816 it was advanced to £200,
and, in 1818, was further augmented to £250. In December,
1822, Mr. Easton proposed to resign his chaigc in eunsecjuencc of
the increasing infirmities of age and ill health, if a suitable provi-
sion was made for himself and his family. This was agreed to, and
a resolution carried, that steps should be immediately taken to pro-
cure a minister of the established Church of iScotland ' ( d none
else.' This being deemed too exclusive by many of the American
members, they withdrew altogether from the church, built a sepa-
rate place of worship, and have a minister from the United ^t'tates.
Eight or ten of the most respectable of the • American families
remained and are still in eunncction with theehurcli, and I mu^t iu

*■

■*

114

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MATTIIKSON, D.D.

justice Ray that, in rep;nrcl for our cstahlisliinont, and attendance on
divine ordinances, their conduct is truly exemplary.

" In accordance with the resolution above alluded to, a letter was
addressed to the Rev. Dra. Chalmers and Dickson, and tlic lato
Mr. Andrew Tiiompson, empowerinf^ them to elect and send ou
an ordained minister to succeed Mr. Kaston. This letter was
accompanied with a bond for £200 currency "per anmim, as salary
No reply having been received to this letter, another was dispatched
on the 20th December, 1823, of similar import. Choi.c was soon
afterwards made of Mr. John Burns, A.M., who was ordained by
the Presliytery of Kdinl.urgh, and arrived in IMontreal on the
I'ourth of July, 1824. i\lr. Easton then formally resigned and
retired on an annuity of £150, payable from thefunds of the Church,
which sum lie continued to receive till liis death, which took place
in May, 1831. On the 9th July, 1824, the committee of arrange-
ments, with the consent of tlie congregation, made an oflScial decla-
ration that they were 'christians in connexion with the established
Church of kScotland, under the ministry of the Rev. John Burns,'
to whom they promised all due obedience, encouragement and sup-
port in the Lord. This document, whii h is entered in the books
of the committee of management and also of the session, may be
considered as the basis of the present constitution of the Church
which, however, is not very very definite. * About the same time

* At a inoeiing of tbe congregaiion held on the 12lh of M.ty, 1835, a
well-digfsted constitution and code of hiws was adopted for the manage-
ment of its iiflairs. In 1849 the Congivgalion received an Act of lucorpo-
ratiun (12 Vict, Cap. 154). In the folhiwing year tlie constitution was
revised and remodelled, and was adopted, in lernis of the Acl, on tiie

■4-

REMINISCENCES.

115

■*

it was agreed to stylo the church and congregation by the namcol
St. Andrew's.

" jMr, Burns continued minister of St. Andrew's Church for
nearly two years, when, having suceec led to some landed property
in Scotland, he resigned his charge on the 10th of May, 182G, and
returned to his native country, A congregational meeting was
called to receive his resignation, when, in compliment to him for the
fidelity with which he had laboured among them, they delegated to
him power and authority to elect and send out a minister of the
Church of Scotland to be their pastor. This power was accom-
panied with a bond for £250 salary. On the Sotii September fol-
lowing, he appointed to the office Alexander Mathieson, A.M., u

llth March, 1851. It providea for an annual meeting of the congregatioa
to be held on the 25lh December, for the purpose of receiving a statement
of all accounts and financial matters connected with the cliurch. On the
death or removal of the minister a meeting of the proprietors, pew-holdcrg,
and members of the church is convened, williin eiglit days from the occur-
rence of the vacancy, wlien a committee of nine members in full commu-
nion is elected with full powers to take such steps as to them may seem
best adapted for speedily obtaining a minister. By article I.of tiie consti-
tution the congregation declare their adliercnce to the standards, form ol
Worship, and government of the Church of Scotland. By the 18th Article
the jurisdictien of the Synod of the Presbyterian Church of Canada in
connection with the Church of Scotland is recognised. It being expressly
understood, however, that no act or declaration of the said Synod shall
Contravene Article I. of these By-laws The last article provides that every
person, pew-holder or member, proprietor or sitter, shall subscribe the
constitution before they can be competent to elect or be elected to any

office.

*l<-

■•J*

IIG

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MATHIESON^ B.D.

licentiate of the Presbytery of Dumbarton, and residing within its
bounds.''

It is not necessary to continue the history of St. Andrew's con-
gregation furtlier than to state that, liaving greatly increased in
numbers and in wealth, steps were tiken in 1818 for the erection of
a new church. The finest site in the city was secured, on the brow
of Beaver Hall Hill, where was reared the finest specimen of tcclesi-
astical architecture hitherto attempted in Canada. The Cathe-
dral of Salisbury, which is perhaps the most beautiful of its order
in England, furiiished the model from which Messrs. Tate and
Smith, the architects, designed this admirable structure. They
also superintended its construction, and engrafted, as it were, on
this young colony hallowed associations and pleasing memories of
the old world. The church was completed at a cost of about
SG-4,000, and was opened for worship on the 12th of January,
1851.

On Saturday evening, the 23rd of October, 18G9, the choir met
in St. Andrew's Church as usual for practice. On their leaving, the
customary precautions were observed in regard to the fires and gas-
lights, and by the time they had severally reached their homes
a Sabbath's silence reigned in the streets of the city, unbroken,
save by the howling of the wind, which blew in fitful gusts from
the west.

In the gray dawn of the morning the great bell of the Cathedral
tolled the alarm, and the wild cry of " Fire 1" "fire!" awoke the
citizens from thoh' slumbers. Then there was a rushing to and
fro of lielmeted men, hasting to the rescue with reel and liose, with
huok and ladder, each vying with the other to be the first at the

REMINISCENCES.

117

scene of the conflagration, prepared to brave danger and death in
their efforts to stay the devastation. But the devouring clement had
ah'cady the mosery. Soon the whole of the interior was consumed ;
the roof fell ir with a tremendous crash ; the insutii.blo flames shot
up to the skies ; they licked the gothic arches of the doors and
windows; they envelop'ul the tall steeple as with a winding sheet
of fire, and illunintd the whole heavens with a lurid blaze of light.
The Baptist Church, in the immediate vicinity, was several times
in imminent danger, and was only saved from destruction by the
heroic efforts of the tJie brijiade. The roof of the tJniversalist
Church, inuncdiutcly opposite, ignited, and was totally consumed.
Many members of the congregation, who had been uninformed of
the disaster, repaired on the Sabbath morning to " the place where
prayer was wont to be made," and found it a mass of smoking
ruins. Nothing remained of their "beautiful house" but the
blackened walls. Fortunately for the .congregation, the church
was amply insured.

A costly and beautiful n)emorial window, which had been but two
weeks before placed in the Church, in memory of the late Misa
Mathicson, by the ladies of the congregation, perished in the gen-
eral conflagration.

The revenues of St. Andrew's Church from pew rents, dona-
tions and weekly collections amounted in 1832 to £450. In
18G9 the congregation contributed for all purposes connected with
the church and college the sum of 814,03(1, a sufficient indica-
tion of their material prosperity. 'J'he general statistics of the
congregation for the same years are, as nearly as can now be
ascertained, as follows :

.»J.

118

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MATHIESON, D.D.

1832.

1869.

1,500

1,300

250

.600

304

250

3,600

Probnblo number of individuals i
belonging to tlie Congregatio" J ' '

Number on communion roll

Number of Sabbatli-school scholars ♦.
Number of Sabbath-school teachers. . ,

Amount of Stipend paid . . : ,

There were in Montreal, in 1832, but two churches in connection
with the Church of Scotland, embracing 3,14:4 souls. The corres-
ponding numbers now are six churches and 4,477 adherents.

The population of the city when Dr. Mathieson arrived, in 1827,
was 22,000. Now it is 150,000.

* Including the Bible Class.

*■

■^

CHAPTER EIGHTH.

DR. MATIIIESON AS A MEMBER OF SYNOD.

By this tiiiic ^lie reader has formed for Into olf at least a gen-
eral and tolerably distinct idea of what sort of man Dr. Muthieson
•was in society, and as the minister of St. Andrew's congregation.
He will have discovered the weak points of his character, at all
events, no great pains have been taken to conceal them. Iln
must have looked with jaundiced eyes, or, through a distorted
medium, who has not also found redeeming points in his nature
sufficient to warrant him in saying :

" He was a man, take him for all in all
I shall not look upon his like again."

In the Doctor's own words — already quoted as applied to another

— " No man is all sinful or all holy, all morally base or truly

great." The most luminous orb in the natural heavens, which

dazzles and blinds the beholder with its brightness and glory, when

subjected to the scrutinizing observation of the physicist is seen to

have spots on its surface, and, while human naturo remains as at

present constituted, wc shall never want proof that man was made

" a little lower than the angels. "

•*

*■

■*

120

LIFE OP ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.D.

To proscut a faithful picture of Dr. Mathieson as n member of
the Synod, to describe his appearances, to define his principles of
church polity, to estimate the influence which he exerted upon
others, has from the commencement of this sketch been regarded
by us as tliat to which should be attached the highest value, and
in a proportionate degr e has this part of the work loomed out in
the distance, great, dilficult, almost unapproachable. To be true
to nature, the b^ain that conceives the portraiture must be clearer
and more fertile, the hand that wields the brush must be steadier
and more skilful than his whose chief part in these* preceding
pages has been the easy and congenial task of selecting and cull-
ing the flowers that lay thickly strewn around his path. But that
from which we thus confessedly had shrunk, another has done
for us, and this estimate of the B.ctor's character is the more
valuable that it comes from a clergyman who did not always agree
with the Doctor in the church courts, and who not unfrequently
fell under his lash. Without note, comment, or reservation, we
thankfully accept this opportune contribution, and endorse every
word of it — premising only that our good friend in his prefatory
remarks, overlooked the fact that what he modestly pleads as an
apology for his impromptu letter was precisely the kind of mental
discipline that he stood in need of.

" I know uo one who courted popularity, for its own sake, loss
tlinn Dr. Mathieson did. Of course, like all men, beloved power
and influence, but he would never condescend to acquire it by
trimming his sails to the popular breeze. lie was too outspoken,
and cared too little to conciliate those who were opposed to him in

DR. MATHIESON AS A MEMBER OP SYNOD.

121

opinion, to have his name associated with triumphant votes. Hence
he was more frequently counted with the minority.

" No face was more radiant than his, however, when he felt that
he was in sympathy with the Synod, as a whole; as for instance,
always, when reading and commonting upon the annual report of
the Widows' Fund, his smile was most benignant, and his eye was
filled with kindly warmth. The same was true of his treatment
of all persons who were in accord with his views — when at any
time they addressed the Synod. It was really a temptation to one
•to coincide with him — even against better judgment and convic-
tion — to obtain a hearty recognition from him. But woe to him
that roused the Doctor's wrath ! And this was not hard to do.
Let the slightest symptom of departure from what he thought the
■constitutional principles and practice of the Ciuirch of Scotland be
shown and the Doctor's agitated countenance and restless attitude
became quite a study. He seemed like a proud steed held in check
with the bi'iUo — ' c!i imping his iron curb.' Very frequently he
would not wait until the speaker sat down to express his protest
against anything that seemed to him in the remotest way to argue
contempt of, or indlifjronco to, the p u'ont church ; but would inter-
rupt him in spite of all rules and cries of ' order !' And, when
he rose iy such circumstanoos, the hearts of common disputants
quailed before him. Ilis lips firmly compressed, betokening the
resolution of his nature, indignation seated on his brow, and his
eyes flashing forth scornful tire — particularly if the opponent hap-
pened to be in the Doctor's estimation, >/oniifj and inexperienced^
wid therefore presaniptaoHs — this was enough to bear the unlucky

wight to the ground ; so that it mattered not that the Doctor did

*•

122

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MAIIIIESON, D.D.

not find free utterance. Like the full bottle, the few word? that
came out of his lips in spurts, being clenched by the determined
force with which the stuff was brought to t!ie ground, were more
powerfully c'oqucnt and effective than full flowing periods docked
out in theordlnury dress of rhetoric, but whicli want the subjective
reality and earnestness that characterized the Doctor.

'* Dr. Matliicson did not shine in debate. lie was governed
in his views more by instinct and feeling rather than by a
strict acquiescence with the laws and requirements of the
Church of Cinada, and thus had to speak everything that
occurred to him, when it did so occur, whether it was in order
to do so or not, sometimes rising half a dozon times in a single
debate. Nevertheless he was very influential, though not pos-
sessing the quilities needful in a leader. llis personal presence
and bearing were niUL-h in his favour — men of meaner exterior
felt themselves at a disadvantage when arrayed in opposition to
him. Of late years, too, the remembrance of his long and
f;iithful services added weight to his views, while his well-known
loyalty to the church gave liim a hold on the sympathies of all
who had a spark of chivalry in their nature, so that even those
whom he took to task in no honeyed words could not help respect-
ing him as an earnest, honest man. It cannot be doubtad that all
through our church's history his views helped to mould the legis-
lation of tho church if they did not control it — giving to it a
conservative tone ; so that on the whole, the Synod was the arena
on which he appeared to greatest advantage."

To the above apposite and comprehensive sketch we have nothing
to udd^ und it only remains to glean from tho minutee of Synod a

■^

DR. MATHIESON AS A MKMUlilll OF SYNOD.

123

few of the more prominent subjects of discussion that arose in the
churcli during the thirtyeiu;lit years in which Doctor Matluoson
was a member of the Court. During tluvt time we venture to say
thut no one man ever approached him in the number of dissents,
protests and appeals entjrcd in liis name. In fact, he was never
known to submit to an adverse vote upon an important question
without insisting on thi«^)rit;iY/7/r', which was usually recorded in this
way. " Against this decision Mr. Alexander Mathieson entered his
dissent for reasons to be given in due time, taking instruments in
the clerk's hands and craving extracts." Tills " taking instru-
ments" simply means the handing the clerk the sum of one shilling
for every protest taken, a part which the Doctor used to perform with
great gusto, and with such a pr.-ssiirc of the thumb as almost to
leave the impress of the coin on the tabl'V "Craving extracts"
implies tv demand for a copy of such part of the proceedings as may
be asked for, and which is furnished on payment of the usual fee.
Whether it was the case of an indivilual minister or of a body
of ministers belonging to another denomination that knocked at the
door of the Kirk in C in:»d i, seeking admittance, it seemed to be
the Doctor's peculiar prerogative to make sure that their declara-
tion of adherence to the Confession of Faith and Formula lacked
i!othing of the minutest punctilio. If it were a minister of the
Church of* Scotland who had come to Canada asking to be
" received" he was met on the threshold by the Doctor, insisting
upon a sight of his " Presbyterial certificate." In this regard the
Doctor was not exceeded by the old parish minister, who emphati-
cally declared thit he would not have allowed the Apostle I'aul
himself to preach in his pulpit " until he had produced his Prosby-

124

LIFE OP ALKXANDEK MATHTESON, I).D.

ter.al ccrtificito." It has already been siid that at the time of the
formation of our Synod, in 1831, there existed in Canada a body
of Presbyterians, knoNvii as tlie "United Synod of Upper Canada,"
composed chiefly of scceders. Negotiations were early commenced
with a view to their joininjj; the Synod in connection with tlu;
Church of Scotland. By reason of the opposition, however, of
the party who acknowledged Doctor Mathieso'n as their leader and
mouthpiece this union was delayed until the year 1840, when, in
amendment to the resolution to receive the members of the sa: ^
Synod, it was moved by Doctor Mathieson that a committee be
appointed to confer with the United Synod and to report on the
cvide»'ce laid before them of the ministerial character, the literary
acquirements, (tnd the soinuhicss in the faith of these dissenting
brethren, &e., &e. After long reasoning the motion was carried
by tl\irty-five, to tlnve, Doctor Mathieson as usual entering his
dissent, '' for reasons then given in, and for other reasons whicli he
may givt' in in (bie time." It is but I'iglit to add that the satis-
faction of having done '' his duty" was sufficient to console tlie
Doctor under such circumstances, and that his subsequent inter-
course with the brethren was always kindly and courteous'.

It was in 183-1 that Doctor Mathieson overtured the Synod to
take into consideration the propriety of establishing public schools
in Canada after the manner and pattern of the Scottif^h parochial
schools, but, if the proposal was seriously entertained by the
Synod at the time, it does not apjjcar to have led to any practical
results. From the year 1831 up to 1840 the adjustment of tlie
Clergy lies rves of Canada \SAi>\\\(iqacest'i() vrxdtri which occupied by
far tlio largest portion of the time and deliberations of the Synod.

*■

DR. MATJIIESON AS A MEMBEll OF SYNOD.

121

This was a subject tliat iiffordod Doctor iMathieson full scope for
displaying to good advantage the determination and indomitable
perseverance of his nature. It was not a favour that his Church was
seeking — it was " a right' that was to be demanded and, if need
be, fought for to the death. Although the chief credit must be
awarded to the late lion. William Morris for the ultimate recoL'-
nition of the claini» of this Church to an equal share in the
Reserves with the Church of England, upon the ground that in
terms of the treaty of union between England and Scotland the
one Colonial Church had as good a right to he designated an
Established Church as the other, there can be no doubt that
Doctor Mathiesnn's unwearied efforts were largely conducive to the
settlement of the question. The correspondence wliich during these
years he maintained with the Harl of Durlnun, Lord Glenel-,
Sir George Grey and of hrr officials of Her Majesty's Imperial Gov-
ernient, as well as with the Governors General of Canada, would of
itself fill a volume, and sufficiently attest the Doctor's claim on the
gratitude of the whole church. The only /'cr, however, that the
Doctor received for these services, so far as we know, was the
honourable, but somewhat onerous, appointment to a scat on the
Board for the management of the Fund which his energy had
been instrumental in creating: a position that he held till the
close of hi.= life, and to the duties of which he always applied him-
self with exemplary zeal and fidelity.

That period in the history of the Church con)monly known as
" the Disruption," and which culniinaled in 184-i by tl with-
drawal of twenty-four ministers who. at that time declared their
sympathies with the Free Protesting Church of Scotland, and

I>^-

■*h

126

LIFE OP ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.D.

erected themselves into a separate coinmunion, was the cause of a
piiinful unci life-Ion^ rcp;rct to the Doctor, who never could for>iivo
" the Frees" for their defection from the A aid Mother Kirk which
lie himself loved so well.

The disruption of the Church of Canada followed, as an inevit-
able consequence, the disruption in Scotland. There are those
who maintain that whatever cause there was for the division that
took, place in Scotland there was none in Gamidu. If patronage
was a grievance there, it never existed in Canad i. If it was wrong
for the civil power to intermeddle with ccclesiastio policy, or
intnrfore with its jurisdiction, such exorcise of the secular pre-
rogative was iniknown in Canada. Why shouhl a church thu3
happily free from these creative elements of discord seek to bo
mixed up in aquarrel not of their own making, and to inakesacrificos
for principles which could have no bearing on their own practice
and procedures? After a lapse of six and twenty years it is easy
and natural to argue after that fashion, but the fallacy involved is
none the less apparent. " Ccelnm non animnm mutant qui trans
mare ciirrinit.'-^^' Wiien it shall become a law of nature for
a mother to forget her child, or the child its mother, then will the
withholding of sympathy bo accounted a virtue. The disruption
in Canada was purely a matter of .sympathy, the avowal of which,
on cither hand, became tantamount to an espousal of the cause.
If wo say it was uncalled for, we stultify the men who were the
chief actors in it, and tliat we do not wish to do. More than that,
we can afford now, to say, " it was all for the best." Bat these were

• Tliey who cross the sea change their sky but not their affections.

DR. MATIIIESON AS A MEMBER OF SYNOD.

127

stormy tlnys in the Synod, from the third to the tenth of July, 1844,

^vhcn it was sought to define the rchitions that did, or shoiiJd^

exist been tlic Presbyterinn Church in Canada and tl»o Churcli of

Scotland. By some it was thou^lit a divi.slo!i would be obviated,

without the compromise of principle, by simply dropping tlie words,

from the dcsij^nation of the Church, " in connection with the Church

of iScothind." Doctor Matliieson would never consent to that, but

gave in i\ prota^t, onbehalfof hinisclf and certain others, to the effect

" that their taking part in the discussion should not be held as an

admission on their part that such discussion was not in its nature

unconstitutional, incompetent, or ultra vires, and, in particular, that

their so taking part and voting should not invalidate their right to

remain and continue to be the Synod of the Presbyterian Church of

Canada, in connection with the Church of Scotland, and to enjoy

all the privileges belonging to the saine> The Doctor's sentiments

prevailed, and without having altered its designation the Synod

adjourned, to meet again on the 18th of Scptcml'cr, which day it

accordingly met, minus the nineteen ministers and eighteen ciders

who had given their adherence to the protest and dissent of Mr.

Bayne, of Gait, who had previously moved a resolution that the

obnoxious words should be struck out, and that the Church,

thenceforth, should be designated the Prcshijtcrian Church of

Canada.

In all the subsequent missionary and benevolent operations
of the church, Doctor Mathieson's counsels and co-operation were
sought and freely tendered. He was the principal promoter, and,
for many years, the active convener of the French Mission Com-
mittee. Uo was a member of the oommittee for the managemont

■^

128

LrPI'] OF ALKX.VNDEll MATIIIESON, D.D.

of tho Ministers' Widows' atnlOrplnns' Fund from itsoommoncc-
incnt., and was its chairinaii and guiding spirit as long as ho lived.
At the foundation of Queen's College, in 18 10, Doctor Mathie.son
was among the first to bo named a trustee, and, during the thirty
years in which ho was a member of tho Board, no ono was more
regular in attending its meetings, nor moro earnest in promoting tho
best interests of tho College. In consequence of the unhnppy
suit in the Court of Chancery whieli followed the removal of a pro-
fessor from tho College, in 18G-1, Doctor Mathieson's name obtained
a wide celebrity, during several years, in law circles, both as defen-
dant and plaintilF, in the actions of" Wier versus Mathieson," and
" Mathieson versus Wier," the several pleadings and judgments in
which were regarded by the profession witii peeuliir interest, as
involving an important precedent in dotjrmining whether the pro-
fessor's tenure of office was, ad vUim aat cii/p iin, or, during the
pleasure only of those who appointed him. The decree of Chancery
affirmed that the professor had been improperly " removed," and that
the trustees consenting thereto were personally liable for the costs
incurred in the case. In May, 18G5, Doctor Mathieson thus refers
to the decision: " you have heard the decree of Chancery amercuig
individuals in costs, Doctor Urquhart and I have resolved to go to
jail rather than submit to such an iniquitous judgment. I have
no hope that our appeal on tho main question will be successful,
whatever bo the after proceedings; but, that a body of men
gratuitously discharging an important duty ami acting froni tho
conscientious conviction of saving the Institution from ruin, and'
without a particle of ill-will to the dismissed, should be thus dealt
with ia an outrageous violation of common sense ; but I hope we I

*■

DR. MATniESON AS A MEMBEll OP SYNOD.

129

shall all at least be " Marry .Virtyrs." In tho Cou of Error
and Appa il, to which Lho case was carrknl, the decree was reversed,
and tho Doctor becauio jubilant as tho visions of prison doors and
grated windows vanished from his imasjination.

There was no duty ever assigned to Dr. Mathieson that he dis-
charp;od with more satisfactii)n to hiins^ilf and credit to tho Church
than the visit which he p\id to the churches in the Maritime Pro-
vinces, as a delegate from the Canadian Synod, in the year 1855. He
returned from that visit impressed with the depth and solemnity of
the piety that pervaded the various congregations with wliicli he
was brought into contact, and which reminded him of the religious
character of the rural parishes of his loved native land. From an
admirable report* of the intercourse he then had with the brethren
of Nova Scotia the following extract may be given : —

" Your deputation met with the kindest reception from the lay
members of the congregations of Halifax, and, indeed, wherever
they went, while the Synod welcomed them with joy, as a prelude
to more frequent intercourse and co-operation, and invited them to
take seats as msmbers of the court, and a part in all its delibera-
tions, after having expressed in the warmest terms, through the
Moderator, ' gratitude to the Church of Scotland in Canada for
having sent a deputation of their number to them, and to the
members of the deputation themsalvas for executing the commis-
sion, and coming from so great a distance to visit the:n.' Havin^
sojourned a few days at Halifax we proceeded to Pictou, stayin"
one day at Truro, around which the country spreads out in fertile

130

LIFE OP ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.D.

vales, watered by fine streams. On Sabbath the pulpit at Pictou wa»
supplied by 3Ir. McKid, and at Roger's Hill by Dr. Mathieson.
Large and attentive audiences were assembled in both places. In
the evening Dr. Mathieson preached to a large congregation in
the Rev. Mr. Bain's church, reciprocating the kind feelings with
which your deputation was invariably received by their United
Presbyterian brethren ; on Monday, took part in a very interest-
ing missionary meeting in Mr. B lin's Church, and listened with
much pleasure to the interesting details of their Mission in New
Hebrides ; on Tuesday we visited Now Glasgow, where the Rev.
Allan PoUok is settled over a large and flourisliing congregation.
It is hardly possible to speak in too strong terms of the earnest
missionary spirit, of their devotedness to their work, and the emi-
nent success of the young ministers that have been recently sent
from Scotland to fill the deserted pulpits of Nova Scotia. SmolI-
grass, Sprott, McKay, Pollok, McLean, and Ilerdman, are names
that will be remembered as zealous preachers of the (Jospel of sol-
vation, long after they shall have passed away from the scenes of
their labours.

" In the afternoon we visited Mr. McOillivray, of MeLonnan's
Mountain. At the tinie of the Schism in \Si'i, he, only, ' faith-
ful among many faithless, found.' Several ministers left their charges
for more lucrative appointments in Scotland, or joined the Free
Church. Their deserted people were like sheep without a shepherd,
Mr. McGillivray alone remaining to watch for their spiritual

interests, and plead the cause of the Church of Scotland On

one occasion, both the scene and the circumstances were of the
most interesting nature, one of your deputation, being engaged to

•!<■

}•

DR. MATIIIESON AS A MEMBER OF SYNOD.

*■

131

assist at the dispensation of tlio I^ord's >upper, had nearly thirty
ujiles to tiMvel, ho accordingly give instructions thiit the per-
-■>■ ' who was to convey liiiu to the ground «hould come at nine
o'clock A.M., hut, instead of th:it hour, he c:une at six, and
every moment was imp:Uient to start. We sot out at lialf-p;ist
nine at a rapid trot, and having driven a considerable distance,
found a relay of hors^^s, that greater speed might be obtained.
Ignorant of tiie driver's purpose, he was freijuently exhorted to
slacken rein ; but the only reply was wc- will be late, and another
admonition to the noble aniiu il to renewed speed. At length the
mystery of our rapid flight was unveiled. About three o'clock P.M.
we came to a beautiful sylvan ^pot where we found a congregation
of from 1500 to 2000, listening with profound attention to ' (he
mm who, one after another, at the call of their minister, address-
ed the people on the topic which had been announced for discus-
sion in the morning. The congregation took little notice of our
arrival, but observeJ the sainj riveted attention to the speakers.
Not a movement was made, nor a .sound heard but the wind among
the trees, and the voice of the speaker echoing through the deep
forest — a voice which in prayer was empa.ssibned fervour, chastened
into toiicsof reverence and deep humility. And the P.salm, Oh that
Psalm ! as it rose, in wild irregular notes, from two thousand voices,
it struck home to our hearts and christian sympathies with a p twer
that can never be forgotten. It was now five in the afteruDon, and
thus had it been with them since eleven in the morning. Previous
to our witnissing this interesting spectacle we confess to having
cherished a rooted prejudice against such systenuitizod lay instruc-
tions, as being fraught "with danger to tlie peace of congregations

■Hlh

•J"

132

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.D.

and conducive to spiritual pride; but we canaot help thinking that
such patriarchs as these are invaluable helps to the Christian Min-
istry. In after conversation we found them to be men of the right
stamp.... The same devotional stillness and decorum characterized
all the days of their solemnities, and on the Sabbath, as the symbols
of the Bread of Life were spread out on rude planks, covered
over with linen of snowy whiteness, and surrounded by blootnin"
youth and gray-haired pilgrims, may we not hope that that green
spot in the forest was but a type of a greener spot in the vale of
life, where the pilgrims to the heavenly Jerusalem shall rest and
find themselves refreshed from the wells of salvation . . . We also
learned that many young men inight be found hereof a true spirit,
who might be induced to enter on a course of preparatory study
for the Ministry. Indeed, we were impressed with the conviction
that it is from Nova Scotia that we must look for the supply of
Gaelic-speaking students. The specimens you already have in
Queen's College do credit ti> their country and their church."
The recollection of this tour in the Lower Provinces was a
theme on which the Doctor ever delighted to dwell, and he hag
been heard to remark, that in all Iris journeys he was accom-
panied by his most valued friend, Mr. William E.lmonstone," " who
displayed a reverend zeal in the cause, and was apparently as
anxious about getting good ministers, and making suitable provision
for them, as he was for the proper equipment of his ships." This
pilgrimage continued till the last to be a green spot in the Doctor's
memory.

But the most characteristic of all Doctor Mathieson's appearances
as a meuiber of the Synod remains to bo told. In 18G0 it had

*•

■*

DR. MATIIIE80N AS A MEMBER OF SYNOD.

133

become known that these British North American colonies were to be
honoured by a visit from His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales,
and everywhere preparations were set on foot for giving him a
right loyal and hearty welcome. The Synod of the Church of
Scotland must join witli other corporations in presenting through
its Moderator an address ; and who so well fitted as '' the father
of the Church" to be spokesman on the august occasion ! Doctor
Mathieson was already an ex-Moderator. He had been elevated to
that dignity in 1832, and, though the procedure was an exceptional
one, he was now reinvested with the highest office which it was in the
power of the Synod to bestow, and, with him, Dr. Cook, Dr. Barclay,
the Clerk, Messrs. John Greenshields and Alexander Morris, were
appointed a committee to make all the necessary arrangements for
the presentation of the address. The Governor General was
informed by letter that the Synod had prepared an address to His
Royal Highness, and information was asked for in regard to the
arrangements that would be allowed for its presentation, and the
hope expressed that the ministers and elders might be invited to
be present. The reply of the Governor's Secretary contained these
words: " The address to His Royal ETigliness should be presented
at one of the levees which he will hold during his visit to Canada."
A copy of the address was next forwarded to the Governor' s Sec-
retary alc.^.g with the intimation that the committee would be
glad to receive further instructions for their guidance. " I pre-
sume," was the Secretary's reply, " that the Synod of the Presby-
terian Church of Canada may select any of the places named in
the Gazette of August the 1th at which levees will be held for the
pre3cntation of addresses." Montreal was one of the places so

I ill

134

LIFE or ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.l>.

nnmcd, and it was resolved that the address should be presented
there. But as to the particular time and Ibrnialitics to be
observed, the committee were kept in profound and perplexing
ignorance. The only information they felt warranted in making
to the members of the Synod was, that the address would pn)/;a/>?y
be presented in Montreal on Monday, the 27th instant. A few
days after the circulation of this notice, it was generally under-
stood that the levee would be held in the afternoon of the 29tli.
It was therefore supposed that the committee might safely call a
meeting of ministers and elders to be held in St. Andrew's Church
at noon of that day. A notice to that effect was accordingly issued
on the 2 1st of August. Meanwhile the Sy :od clerk, Mr. Snod-
grass, did his best to get an audience of the Governor's Secretary,
between his arrival in Montreal and the 27th August, if possiibb,
to obtain more definite inforaiatioa as to the course of procedure
likely to be followed.

On making enquiry at the St. Lawrence Hall, he was told
that " tiie Governor's Secretary w rs taking his tea." He wrote
him a letter, but was coolly informed that no answer would be
given that night (Saturday, the 24:th.) To make matters worse,
it was now uiade public that the levee was to begin at eleven,
o'clock, forenoon, instead of in the afternoon as formerly announced
By this time the Moderator had beome prodigiously indig-
nant over tliemuddelling unsatisfactory nature of the negotiations,
and, accompanied by Dr. Barclay, proceeded in person to the
hotel, and demanded an interview of the Provincial Secretary,
Colonel Irvine. Ho was courteously received, but learned noth-
ing definite respecting the presentation of the address, but, from

*■

■*

DR. MATIIIESON AS A MEMBER OF SYNOD.

135

the conversation, was led to suppose that it would be presented in
tlio same manner and at tlie same time as that of the Church of
England. The reply of the Governor's Secretary to the clerk of
Synod's letter of Saturday evening was put into Dr, Mathicson's
hand as he was departing: it was to the effect that the number of
addresses being so great, and the pressure such, there would not bo
time to ra^nl than at the levoo, but that the bearer of eich
address, on being presented to his Royal Highness, should hand to
the Prince the address with which he was cliarged, and pass on,
and that written answers would subsequently be sent to all
addresses presented. After reading this letter the two Doctors in
Divinitv were put to a stand as to how they should act in the caso.
In passing along the hall of the hotel, they opportunely met iMr.
Peniiifathor, the Secretary, and entered into conversition with
him on the subject. lie candidly admitted that he had foreseen
the difficulty that was likely to arise, but saw no way of counter-
acting it. He knew that there was no answer prepared. Dr.
Barclay immediately put to Iiimthe question, whether the address
from the Church of England was to bo read in presence of His
Royal Highness, and ho replied, he believed it was : when the
Moderator said, — " under these circumstances that from the
Church of Scotland could not bo presented." The situation had
now become a most embarrassing one. There was not a moment
to be lost. Immediately it was resolved to address a letter to His
Grace the Duke of Newcastle, of which the following is a copy>
and such of the members of the committee as were nigh were hast"
ily convened :

*■

136

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MATHIESON, D.D.

" Montreal, 27th August, 1860.

" My Lord Duke, —

" I have dutifully to acknowledgo the receipt, through the Gov-
ernor General's Secretary, of the notification, that it is His Royal
Hii:,hness' pleasure to receive the address of the Church of Scot-
land from myself as the bearer of it, but not to be read or replied
to at the time. Having been informed that a different course is to
be followed in the reception of the address from the sister Church
of England, I bog very respectfully to represent to your Grace,
that, as a branch of the established Churches of the Empire, the
Church of Scotland in Canada is, in the eye of the law, constitu-
tionally on a footing of equality with th^ Church of Rngl md in
this Province, and tint whatever privileges are possessed by the
one church belong of right to the other.

" Of course, as individuals, the members of the deputation are
proud of the opportunity of expressing, in any way that may be
pointed out to them, their loyalty to the Crown and their respect
for His Royal Highness, but, as representing the Church of Scot-
land in Canada, their consenting to occupy a position of inferiori-
ty to that accorded to the sister Church of England, on so inter-
esting an occasion as the present, would be received with extreme
suspicion by the large and respectable body on whose behalf they
have been appointed to act.

" I would moreover respectfully represent that the address is that
of the Synod of the whole Church in Canadi, and that ministers
and elders from various parts of the Province are in attendance for
tl"? purpose of presenting the s irae.

■>*

DR. MATHTESON AS A MEMBER OF SYNOD.

137

^'Respectfully requesting a consideration of the statements of this

letter,

*•' I have the honour to be, &c., &c.,

• " Alexander Matiiieson, D.D.,

" Moderator."

The draft of this letter was submitted to the committee of
Synod, which met at ten o'clock, and the course proposed was
adopted by the majority of those present. Others were disposed
to regard the whole matter as an insult to the Church of Scotland,
and would enter into no further negotiations. The draft was
adopted, however, and having been engrossed, was put into the
hands of His Grace so soon as he entered the appartments where
the levee was to be held, in the hope that, even then, it might be
possible to obtain, at least, a verbal reply. What a hurrying to
and fro there was that morning ! — Of country ministers in search
of gowns and banns — of elders, imploring the loan of courtly
garments they had never donned before. Having been one of the
pariy, the writer can testify to the excitement that prevailed as the
representatives of the Kirk collectively wended their way to the
Court House, headed by their Moderator, of portly a poet, and
venerable mien, mingled with the throng of two thousand citizens
that were congregated there, and endured all the tortures of an
unmitigated squeeze, preparatory to their being ushered into the
Hoyal presence. The denouement was at hand. The Judges and
Roman Catholic Clergy were first received ; the Anglican Bishop
and Synod followed ; the deputation from the Synod of the Church
of Scotland was then called for presentation, and entered the pre-
sence, still uncertain as to the fate of their address. Would it be

138

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.D.

read and replied to ? The odds were agninsf. it. The Moderator^
in i'ull court dresp, advanced, saluted the Prince, and was about
to retire when he was asked by the Earl of St. Germain if lie
had an address, and answered in the affirmative. [Jnder an
impression that this wms a command to present it in the same
manner as had just been done by the Bishop of the Church of
England, the Moderator unrolled his purchment and was in the
act of commencing to read it when Sir Edmund lieud, the Governor
General, came forward and said the address was not to be read,
but simply put into the Prince's hand, and that an answer would
be duly returned. The Moderator informed him that such a
course would neither be satisfnctory to the Deputation nor res-
pectful to their church, and that under such eircumstance, he njust
decline presenting it at all. So saying, with rare presence of mind
and dignity, he rolled the parchment up, handed it to the Clerk of
Synod, was presented to His Royal Highness, made a profound
bow, and withdrew. While the other members of the Deputation
wre making tl-oii- bows it was whispered into the Moderator's
ear that the Duke of >iev.'castle desired him to wait on him after
the levee The levee being over His Grace entered into con ver.sation
with the Moderator, expressed regret for the contretemps, and
endeavoured to mollify matters by explaining that, owing to the
laige number of addresses, all could not be read ; that the Free
Church might demand the same privilege, and that a line must be
drawn .somewhere. The Moderator replied that in his opinion the
line had been drawn where it ought not to have been drawn-
betwcen the established churches of the Empire, which stood
equal iu the eye of the law. That tlie Free Church stood ift

•i<

DR. MATIIIESON AS A MEMBER OF SYNOD. 189

a difForent relation to the State, and that, in his opinion, as well
as in their own, tl»e distinction was sufficiently wide. The Duke
replied, you must bo aware tint tlu>ro arc no established churches
in this Provinci3. The Moderator siid he was aware of the fact,
and was sorry for the sake of true religion that it wis so, adding
his opinion, that the nicnibGrs of the Established Churches of
England and Scotland had certain rights and privilej^es in every
part of the Empire, wherever they might be found.. The interview
terminated by the Duke's assuring the Sloderator that he should
hear farther from him in regard to the address. A meeting of the
Synod's Committee was forthwitii held, when it was resolved to
address another letter to the Duke of Newcastle setting-forth the
position of the Church in Canada, and defending the course which
the Moderator had been constrained to take. A short extract
must suffice, for the present, from the long letter that was imme-
diately dispatched to His Grace.

" It will, I am persuaded, be with feelings of deepest pain that
the members of the Church of Scotland will learn that an address
from the Synod of their Church in Canada, was not permitted to
be read to His Royal Highness, when addresses from tsvo local
Synods of the Church of England, in Quebec and Montreal, were
formally presented and specially replied to. And this the more,
that twenty years ago the question of the relative rights of the two
Churches was understood to have been finally set at rest, in accor-
dance with the claims of the adherents of the Church of Scotland
which were based upon the Act of Union between England and
Scotland ; the decision of the twelve Judges of England having
affirmed the equality of the Church of Scotland in Canada with the

»^^-

■»i<

•J-

140

LIFE OF ALKXANDKR MATHIESON, D.D.

Church of Enghmd. The revival of a question so lon^ disposed af
is deeply to be deplored, but yet I feel I would be wanting in my
duty were I not again to solicit, as I now do, that an audience
should be granted for the purpose of presenting our addr.-ss on
terms of equality with the sister Clmrch of England, at such time
and place as His Koyal Iliglmess shall be pleased to appoint, &c.,
&c."

In the mountirao the Moderator and several members of the
Deputation, personally, received warm expressions of sympathy
from the Lord Bishop of Montreal and many of his clergy. He
also received 11 is Excellency the Governor General's commands
to dine with the Prince of Wales on Wednesday the 29th, when
he had the honour of slinking hands with His Royal Higliness,
and could not refrain from breathing an audible prayer for his
welfare. Explanations of a highly satisfictory nature followed,
and an understanding was arrived at that the address would be
received, and replied to, at Kingston, which might be rognrded
as the most appropriate place for its presentation, being the city
from whence it was dated, and being the so it of the college of our
Church. A correspondent, who was present on the occasion, has
kindly furnished the following sketch of the proceedings at Itingston,
on Tuesday, the 5th of September :

" Doctor Mathieson, as Moderator, attended by a number of
ministers and elders were in readiness to present the Synod's
Address to His Royal Highness. So soon as definite intelligence
reached the party that there was no prospect of the Prince's land*
ing at Kingston, they prepared to go on board the steamer contain-
ing H. 11. H. which lay at anchor in the inner harbour. For this

■^

■*

DR. MATIIIESON AS A MEMUEll OP SYNOD.

141

purpose tlie representutivcs of the Synod moved from the City
Buildings, in which they had met, to tlie wharf, where a tender was
in waiting to convey the party to the steamer. The procession, as
it passed through the masses of human beings that lined the street
bordering on the water, was a source of wonderment to the on'
lookers. As they gazed on the majestic figure of the leader with
cocked hat and in full court dress, with gown covering all, followed
by his robed attendants, they evidently were puzzled to make out
who we were. How proud we all were of our grand old Coryphoeus !
All eyes were fixed on him. Arrived on board the " Kingston," we
were conducted to the saloon, and at once found ourselves in the
Royal presence. Having arranged ourselves in front of the Prince
and party, the /amons address was handed to the Doctor, who,
with leisurely self-composure, unrolled the document, and proceeded
to read it. The whole Doctor was iu the reading There was
dignity, courtly breeding, and loyal respect in every tone. So soon
as it was read, and tiie Prince had made his reply thereto, the party
were presented in order, when, however, the formal proceedings
were ended, the Prince stepped forward, stretched out his right
hand, and said : " Doctor Mathieson, allow me to do myself the
pleasure of shaking hands with you." The tear started to the Doc-
tor's eye ; and throwing warmest blood into his fingers, he grasped
the royal hand with a right Scottish grip, while the loyalty of his
big heart rushed to his lips in the irresistable utterance : ' God
bless you /' "

At the following meeting of the Synod Doctor Mathieson read
the narrative of proceedings connected with the presentation of the
Synod's address from which these notes have been chiefly derived,

^<'

■^

142

LIFa OF ALDXANUKR MATIIIKSOX, D.D.

when it was unanimously resolved, " that this Court cxpre,«s, and
hereby expresses, its entire satisfaction with the dignified conduct
of Doctor Mathieson on that occasion.*

Our biography would be incomplete without some allusion to
Doctor Mathioson's views on the Union Question. That was a
subject which was never mentioned in his hearing without calling
Ibrth a very strong expression of opinion, and we hive not to
travel very far for a reason. It was not to be expected that one,
who bad all his lifetime been so demonstrative in his attachment
to the Church of Scotland, who prided himself so much on his per-
sonal connection with it, and bad battled so strongly for its prin-
ciples and privileges, would be likely to regard with much favour
any projiosal by which the relationship might be weakened or
jeopardized, or, that would commit him to any policy whereby his
loyalty to the Parent Church could possibly be called in question.
Others might speak of connection with the Churcb of Scotland as
a matter of small importance — as a mere myth — a romantic hallu-
cination. Not so the Doctor. In his estimation it was a sacred
bond, to sever which were sacrilege, and, as he could not conceive
of any basis of union with other Presbyterian Churches that would
not ask him to renounce allegiance to the Church he loved so well,
therefore, he instinctively set his seal of disapprobation on every
proposal that involved even a discussion of the question. It was
not that he was uncharitable or intolerant, narrow-minded or
bigoted. No one ever charged him with being influenced by such
unworthy and unchristian motives. On the contrary, those who

* A copy of tlie adthess is to be found ia the printed minutes of the
SyLod for 18G0, page 73.

■*

DR. MATIIIESON AS A MFMBER OF SYNOD.

143

differed most widely fioiii liini on this question never doubted that
ho was thoroujilily honest and consistent in the matter. On its own
merits, he did not choose to argue the case ; but when forced to do
so, he defendc 1 his ojiinions with great vim, if not always very
logically.

The union question was only twice brought formally bofore the
Synod. 'I'hc first occasion was by an overture in.roduccd by Doctor
George "on a union between this church and other Presbyterian
churches in this Province." This was in 18G0, and, the Doctor
being Moderator, hud of course to waive his right io protest, and it
must be held to be remarkable that in his closing address, in
which the proceedings of the Synod are generally reviewed in detail
and discanted upon, ho did not suflfor the slightest allusion to tho
question to escape him. His mind seems to have been sur-
charged on that occasion with a sense of the responsibiUties belong-
ing to the ministerial ofli and in tho concluding sentences of his
address he pressed these Uj m the attention of his brethren with
groat earne3tn<'S5 : " You are now about to return to your houses,
your families, your flocks, and to cngiigc again in the great
work to which the measures that have been taken by Synod are
only subservient. Your special work is to preach the Gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ, and to diiFuse, a pure, a healthy, and enlight-
ened religion throughout the land. This is the most important work
that can be committed to you, and your responsibility in the exe-
cution of this work is in proportion to its excellency. Let this
conviction be an abiding principle of your conduct. Cherish it.
Act upon it; and you will be drawn from all dependence upon
yourselves to lay hold on tho arm of Him who can sustain you.

144

LIFE OP ALEXANDER MATIIIESOJJ, D.D.

Well might you tremble in consideration of the magnitude of the
work, and, in view of the interests you are called to promote, you
nii<iht well exclaim with the Apostle to the Gentiles, who is suffi-
cient fur these things? But thouirh a minister has his trials,

CO '

peculiar to himself, he has also his joys, with w.iich'a .stranger
intermeddleth not.' These sustain and support him amidst many
hours of weakness and fatiguing thought. And ho has One, mightier
than all others, ever near him, to strengthen and encourage him.
Endeavour to realize Ilis promise, ' Lo, I am with you always.'
Take courige, brethren, and go forth to the discharge of your duties
in [lis sustaining strength. Think of His exalted nature, on the
greatness of His work, on the intensity of His love for man, for
those whom He has committed to your s^^^cial care. Endeavour to
have a just sense of the honour Ele has conferred on you in making
you ' fellow-workers with Himself in bringing luany sons into glory.'
These reflections will animate you with the purest zeal and the
highest christian motives. Animated by love, and sustained by
constant, fervent prayer, you will go forth to your work with ala-
crity, you will prosecute it earnestly, and you will be rewarded by
seeing the work of the Lord prospering in your hands. Brethren,
to Go J and the word of His grace I commend you."

In 18GG the union question again came before the Synod,
which met in Toronto, by overture from the Presbyt'jry of Ottawa,
" anent an union between this cliurch and the Canada Presby-
terian church," when twenty-three voted that the overture should
lie upon the table of tho Synod until tho next annual meeting,
and thirty three that it be rejected. In explanation of the word-
ing of the original motion and the ainallnoss of the vote, it may

*■

— *

^■

■^

DR. MATIIIESON AS A MEMBER OF SYNOD.

145

bo mentioned that the attendance was unusually small that year
on account of the Fenian invasion that had spread consternation
through the Province a few days before the meeting of the Synod.
Such was the state of excitement in the country, it was generally
supposed that the meeting of the Synod would have been post-
poned. Tiie whole country was up in arms — from Montreal to
Toronto t'le frontier bristled with bayonets. A whole fleet o'c
steamboats, hastily extemporized into gunboats, patrolled the waters
of the St. Lawrence and the lakes. The quiet old town of Corn-
wall suddenly found its population doubled — two thousand volun-
teers, representing every arm of the service, were quartered on its
inhabitants, while its principal streets were barricaded with Arm-
strong guns. Such a sight had never baen seen bjforo in Canada.
In the neighbourhood of Prescott the sp3Ctacle was such as none
who witnessed it cm ever forget. The sloping banks were white
with military tents, the wharves were crowded by armel men —
volunteers from Perth and Pakonham and other places far in the
interior — splendid looking fellows, many of whom had never seen
the St. Lawrence before. The shore was lined with gunboats. On
the opposite side of the river, too, around Ogdensburgh, could bo
desaried the long straight lines of tented soldiery and the low dark
hulls of vessels of war at anchor, with steam up, guarding the
liarb)ur, not from a dreaded attack of the British, but to aid in
protecting Canadians from the lawless bands of ruffi ms who were
plotting treason on American soil, and seeking to embroil the United
States Government in war with their peic.viblo ami unoir.'ndins
neighbours. And so it was at every im2)ortant point along the route,
while 8U3h of the inhabitants us were not under arms wore busyiug

*■

■^

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.D.

themselves in » ing preparations to seek safety in fllglit to the
back-woods for tne he'pless women and children. Sinall wonder,
then, that there were but three ministers from Lower Canada pre-
sent at the opening of the Synod in Toronto. But Dr. Mathieson
■was one of these. The valiant old soldier went up to do battle for
the Kirk. There was " treason " in the camp, and he must stamp
it out. Perhaps it is well that we cm not recall any of the
speeches that he made on that occasion, but a few sentences from
one of his letters, written about that time, will sufficiently indicate
his usual mode of treating the subject, and are, indeed, almcr,t
necessary to the filling up of our picture, the reader being at
liberty, if he likes, to set these extravagancies down as an instalment
of the " warts and scars " which, in the commencement, we pro-
mised not to conceal : " You may well imagine that, amidst the
electrifying eloquence and ignorance of the younger members of
the Synod, it was impossible to so concentrate my thouglits as to
fr me anything like a reply to your las*^ letter. But whatever
cause or causes may have kept uie so long silent, I now embrace
the first leizurc moment I have had to do so, I presume the
union men will again be cocking up their noses at the prospect of
having the sanction of the (yluirch in their favour, Tlieir plan is
to nu'mor alize the General Assembly to permit them to slip the
connection with lier, and leave them at liberty to join with the
* /"V. es ' et id genus omne. But assuredly, tliongh disconnecte 1
with the Church of Scotland to-morrow, I, for one, will neither
become a Free nor a U. P. Some time ago I learned that a great

meeting was held at at which this favourite scheme was ini-

tiutud, and it was j^ivon out that / hud concurred 1 Siuoo thou

DR. MATHIESON. AS A MEMBER OF SYNOD.

147

■^

moctlnpjs have been ciUed of the cMors of various churches, and
plotliios liave been made to take all constitutional measures to for-
ward this measure. This T r^'s^ard as a conapl.racij to overturn our
Churcli, on tlie part of tho-se of our own b)dy who sanction such
procecdini^s. It is e isy to forosee what reply the General Assembly
will <:!;ivG to the momorial they prop'^^j to sand. ' Why,' tluy say,
* we never coercjd you — we never assumed authority over you — ■
we left you freely to judge and act for yourselves — we shall not
interfere with you now — we h ivc hitherto given you our support
and counsel — we have sent you both men and means — if you are
dissatisfied with your connection with us we will not bind you, but
remember you need not look to us any longer to aid you or counsel
you.' A more imprudent measure has never been proposed. What
basis of union they contemplate I know not. They seem to think
no more is required than to sink at once all distinctions, shake
hands, and form one ' Grand Presbyterian Cliurch.' I am not
disposed to anticipate the great advantages that some do as result-
ing from such a union. With the free spirit of inquiry which
belongs to us as Protestants we cannot expect that there will be
unanimity of sentiment on every point, and humanity is not vet
brought into that loving, forbearing spirit that is needed even to
bo united in externals. But an external union, without unanimity
of heart and mind, would be nothing but anarchy and confusion.
Even supposing all were agreed, there are insuperable objections
to a general union. We have an Imperial charter (referriiig to the
college) which an Act of Parliament cannot annul, and we have a
widows' fund which would be disorganized. I look forward to the
discussion of this question, in the headlong spirit of the times,

148

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.D.

witli great apprehension. The iinpracticabllity of the thinjj; renders
it ahiiost ridiculou.s. The mischief that would involve our churches,
the unsettlemcnt of the rights of property with thei-enunciation of
the name, the lawsuits that would follow, the bitterness and con-
tentions that would arise out of it, are alarming. But I need not
vex myself on the subject. I will not bo long a combatant in de-
fence of lionourcd rights. And I have been irivcn to understand
that the movement was only abandoned till a f^w of the oldfoglea
had quitted the field — out of pure compassion to them ! — poor,
prejudiced, hirpling creatures, who cannot keep up with the intel-
lectual march of the times ! and that then both Synods should
memorialize tlieir respective Assemblies, crave permission to
renounce all denominational names, rights and privileges, shako
hands, get the Parliament to sanction the measure, when peace and
quietness would be expected to reign!"

" The headlong spirit of the times" to wliich the Doctor here
alludes had probably reference to the discussion then being carried
on in Scotland about " innovations," so called, under which heid-
iiig, we suppose, is comprehended every several departure from
" the book of our Common Order, and the Directory for the Public
AVorship of God," which was adopted by the Church of Scotland
and ratified by tlio Scottish Parliament so long ago as the year
1G45. From another letter we learn the Doctor's mind on the
matter. " The Assembly's measures may bo stringent, more so,
perhaps, than would be necessary were the Church in a sound
state of thinking on matters of doctrine and government. But
when, according to newspaper reports, we hear Dr. 3IcLeod declar-
ing that the fourth commandment was abrogated by the ristian

*■

DR. MATHIESON AS A MEMBER OF SYNOD.

149

economy, and Lee, Tulloch, and Story, &c., advocating measures
subversive of the distinctive characteristics of Presbyterianism,
Pirie'3 motion was not too strong. The innovations of old Grey
Friars (Lee's Church) is, I am informed, incipient Popery,* and
I am inclined to believe it. Such changes as the progress of the
age and taste of the times demand, and that could safely bo
introduced, might be adopted; but the innovntiiig party, in con-
tempt of the honest prejudices or piety of the people, have forced
their opinions so as to awaken a just alarm for the safety of true
church principles. Favourable as I am to instrumental music as
an aid to congregational psalmody, or, even, as I might be to a well-
digested liturgy, as a help to poor spiritless drones, I do not wish
that they should supplant the fervour cither of real devotional feel-
ing or drown the tones of the sweet human voice. Story has sent
me a copy of his Report, ' (of the Church Service Society it is pre-
sumed).' I am one of the Oil School, and c'ing to the forms that

• It may be right to infoi'in such of our reade-s as ai-e not familiar
with the topics here alludcil to that Dr. Lee's " Popery" went no farther
than making use of a printed form of prayer, composed by liimself, in
public worship, and in teaching his congregation to stand wliile singing
the praises of God, and to kneel in prayer. If we remember rightly, Dr.
Lee also admitted to having, wpon a certain occasion, administered the
coranini'ion to an aged sick person in private. He had likewise accug-
tomed his congregation to say jLmn after the prayer. For these he was
ftdjudgi d to be an " innovator" by the Presbytery of Edinburgh, and also
by the Synod of Lothian and Tweed-dale, upon which Dr. Lee appealed to
the Assembly, and, after a long And exciting contest, he won the day.
This discussion is set forth at huge in " The Life and Remains of Robert
Lee D.D.," by the Rev. R. 11. Story, receuily published.

•*

160

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.D.

have done more for Scotland than any new-fangled nostrums will
ever accomplish for her. The piety of the people has been cher-
ished and sustained by the good sense, deep thought, and godly
feelings of her njinisters. As these qualities decay, somewhat of the
Lee, Tulloch, or Story school may be brought in with soeniing
advantage for a time, but I am afraid that with such forms the
people in this Pge will get formal too."

So much for Dr. Mathioson's collorjnial treatment of the union
question. It is but fair now to quote a few sentences from his
sermon preached before the Synod in 1861 wherein his graver
thoughts on this intportant subject arc very clearly and empha-
tically set forth, — " It appears to be necessary to the full develop-
ment of the Christian Church, that there be divisions in the visible
body, so that those whose fiith and practice are approved by (Jrud,
may be made manifest. But though divisions are wisely permitted
and over-ruled for the general good of the Church, and every
attempt that has hitherto been made to gather into one community
the discordant and repellant elements of humanity, has utterly
failed; are wc to encourage religious dissensions, and sanction the
bitter strifes and animosities that flow out of them ? Far from
it : we deplore ecclesiastical dissensions as an enormous evil, — an
evil that impedes the progress of genuine Christianity — that
exhausts the energies of the Church, in internicene strife — that
neutralizes the principles of true Christian fellowship, and puts to
an almost hopeless distance, the prospect of the Universal ( hurch
' walking by the same rule and minding the same thing.' Although
there be little scriptural unity now, it is attainable, but progressive.
The great business of the Church is to edity the body of Christ,

*•

DR. MATIIIESON AS A MEMBER OF SYNOD.

151

'till we all come to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge
of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the
Stature of the fulness of Christ,' Even in external forms and
ceremonies, union is an ol)ject most desirable— an object to be
kept constantly in view, and its attainment aimed at, in the pure
spirit of brotherly love. '

Daring the last three years of his life a very marked change was
observable in Dr. Mathieson's Synod appear;inccs. It was not
altogether that he had lost the fire of youth. Certainly it was not
that his mental fjicultios were greatly impaired ; these retained
their force and freshness, in a remarkable degree, to the very
last. But he felt himself physically inoapaoitate 1 for taking an
active part in the proceedings of the Synod ; he had no longer the
agility of former years by wliieh to spring to his feet, as of yore,
and put a stop to " the drivellings " of some luckless speaker who
iujagined he was electrifying his audience, but whose arguments
in the Doctor's estimation, were '■^perfect nonsense." It was with
difficulty he could rise at all. His old enemy, rheumatism, had
stitfened his joints, and the disease that ultimately carried him to the
grave had fastened on him. He began to realize that his synodical
career and his earthly existence were soon to terminate, that the
night was coming, in which none can work. And it docs not
admit of a doubt that, gradually, as he neared the shores of " the
bettercountry," things of time and sense paled before his vision ; that
considerations to which he had once attached importance receded
from his view ; that his mind became more solemnly impressed
with the paramount importance of those Christian truths which he
bud 80 ol'tou prouohud to othcra ; aud thut he bcoauio moro

•*

*■

152

LIFE OP ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.D.

deeply sensible of his own nejd of "that Halinesa without
which no m;\n shall see the Lord." lie knew that ho had often
don3 the things that he ouj;ht not to have dono, and left undone
the things which ho ou.<ht to have done ; that he had said things
that he ought not to have said ; and though he was not the man to
in;ikc a parade of his religious convictions before his fcllow-raen, he
did not seak to dissemble nor cloak them before the fac3 of liis
Heavenly Father. He could say with St. Paul ; " Brethren, I
count not myself to have apprehended ; but this one thing I do,
forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto
those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize
of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." " We are troubled on
every side, yet not distressed : We are perplexed, but not in
despair." 'Had he been pressed to give an exposition of his fiith
and hope, he would have said no more than this, " By the Grace
of God, I am, what I am."

The Synod which met in Kingston in 18G3 was distinguished
by the harmony which porvaded its deliberations. It was also
distinguished for an unprecedented manifestation of catholicity on
the part of its members. The conference of the Wesleyan Metho-
dist Church was simultaneously assembled in the same city, and it
was resolved, without a dissentient voice, that a deputation should
be sent to the conference to convey to its meuibers the christian
greetings of the Church of Scotland in Canada. It were easy to
imigine that Dr. Mathieson might have objected to the proposal, on
constitutional grounds, as being opposed to the use and wont of the
Church of Scotland to acknowledge or recognize " dissent " in
any form. Hud he regarded tho proposition as a matter of mere

■^

BR. MATTItESOS AS A MKMnER OF SY.fOD.

153

•*

*■

policy or expediency ho would have set his face against it, and
frowned it down. The time was when he would have done so.
But, believing, as he now did, that there was involved no compro-
inise of principle, and that the expression of good will intended to
be convoyed was honest and sincere, he would not forbid the banns ;
and in that largo assemblage that met in St. Andrew's Church to
receive the addresses in reply from the Methodist brethren there
was no face that beamed with more evident satisfaction than that
of the old Doctor, nor heart that throbbed with nobler impulses
than his, nor voice that sang with deeper pathos the familiar lines :

" Behold how good a thing it is,

And how becoming well.
Together such as brelliren are

In unity to dwell."

What shall we say of the Synod that met in Hamilton in the
following year, 18G9 ? What can be said, to make it more memor-
able, than that it was the last meeting of the Synod at which the
noble form of the now venerable minister of St. Andrew's Church,
Montreal, was seen ? This can be said: that Dr. Mathieson was
selected by the Moderator to preach on the morning of the sabbath,
and that it was the subject of general remark, that, if ever the
Doctor exceeded himself, it was on this occasion. His sermon was
remarkable for freshness of thought, for earnestness and grace of
delivery, for, indeed, all that constitutes power in preaching.
Again, this meeting of Synod is memorable for the interchange of
cordial brotherly salutation, with the brethren of the Canada Pres-
byterian Chuich — a manifestation of Christian fellowship which
the Doctor did not attempt to suppress, but which, on the contrary,

154

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.D.

met liis hearty approval, shewing conclusively that he was not the
uncompromising, vindictive opponent to union, which sonic supposed.
Lastly, that it was marked hy a solemnity unknown in all the
previous history of the Synod. It was fitting that Dr. IMathieson
should close his connection with the Supreme Court of his church
with a sacredness becoming the occasion. Often had these ministers
placed in the hands of the people committed to their charge tho
memorials of Kcdceming Love. Often liad they adressed to others
the words ; " This do in remembrance of Me" ; but never before,
as a body of ministers, representing a branch of the Christian
Church, had they themselves surrounded the Table of their Lord
and Master. Such an observance of the Holy Sacrament by tho
Synod was without precedent in the Courts of the Church of Scot-
land. Tn former years Dr. Mathieson might have had doubts as to
the suitableness of the ceremonial to the occasion, but he had none
now. At that Communion Table we reverently take leave of our
loved friend and father, as a member of Synod. Let imagination fill
up the picture. Let memory imprint it en the mind uever to be

effaced,

" Till death-divided friends at last

Shall meet, to piirt no laoro."

CHAPTER NINTn.

]^OT[0B OP DR. MVTIICESOX'S DEATH AND FUNERAL, EXTaACTS
FROM "THK PRESBYTERIAN" AND OTHER SOURCES.

Sonic extracts from a biograplileal notice hastily pi-cparcd for
" the Presbyterian," shortly after Dr. Mathieson's death, will form
a suitable continuation and conclusion of those memoirs, and may
be helpful to the reader in forming a general estiinito of that
character of which we have beea endeavouring to delineate a few
separate and distinct traits.

Seldom has it devolved upon any journalist to record the death
of one who, in his life-time, enjoyed more largely the respect of his
fellow men than did the subject of this notice, the late Minister of
Saint Andrew's Chu;ch, Montreal, who departed this life on
Monday morning, the 14th of February, in the 75th year of his
age, and the forty-fourth of his ministry in this city. Although
our departed friend and father had thus passed the usual limits of
man's age; yet his admirably developed physique, his robust

■4.

156

LIFE OF ALEXANDEll MATIIIESON, D.D.

constitution, his regularity of life, and the mental vigour retained
by liini to the last, were all such as justified the expectation that
he might have attained a still greater longevity; and even he
himself has boon hoard to express the hope that ho would reach the
years of his father, who died at the age of eighty-two. Nevertheless
it may be said that ho has gone down to the grave in a good old
age, full of years and full of honour; and, what concerns us vastly
more, full of faith in the doctrines of Christianity which ho had
80 long preached to others, and full of assured hope for the life to
come We know that this humble tribute to his memory has been
anticipated by others, and it accords better with our present
feelings that we are found reflecting the public opinion, rather
than seeking to form it. By the death of Dr. Mathicson, the
City of Montreal has lost a good citizen, and society a distinguished
ornament. Others will doubtless be found to enter upon those
beneficent labours fioiu which he has ceased. Another niinister
will supply the pulpit of Saint Andrew's Church; another member
will occupy his scat at the Councils of the Temporalities' Board ;
another Trustee will be elected for Queen's College; another
manager for the Ministers' Widows' and Orphans' Fund; another
p.itron will be found for the St. Andrew's Home ; but there is a
sense in which his place will not and cannot be filled. His removal
from us is the disappearance of an old familiar land-mark, his
separation from us, the severance of a link connecting the preset''
with the past history ol" the country and the Church, th"' ctirf
be repaired. In looking back through the vista of yc. >^ii"r-
which our late friend lived and laboured among us, if it is diffi-
cult to roalizo that changes so great and so varied should hav

•i--

■!?"

SUMMARY OF HIS CIlAUACTEIl.

167

transjiircd durin<5 a .single life-time, it is no less difficult to form a
correct estimate of the influence exerted upon a community by a
Christian Minister, who, during all these years, of unexampled
progress and prosperity, occupied a prominent and an honourable
position. In 182G, when Mr. Mathicson first took up his residence
in Montreal, the city wore an aspect, scarcely a single feature of
•which can be recognized at the present time. Few cities in the
world have undergone so thorough a transformation ir» so short a
period. Then, it was an unimportant town, little more than an
outport of Quebec, without wharves, without shipping, without
manufactures, and without those means of communication that have
made it what it is. Then, it had a population of probably not more
than 22,000, and of these the English-speaking inhabitants formed
scarcely an appreciable minority. Now, it is the commercial
capital of British North America, the centre and seat of wealth,
intelligence and enterprise. Its population lias ri^en to 150,000,
while recent statistics have brought to light the significant fact
that the assessed value of the property held by Protestants is largely
in excess of that held by the Roman Catholic population.

In speaking of the character of the venerable minister now gone
from us, we love to think of a man endowed wiih many noble
qualities, yet a man, subject to like passions and infirmities as we
are, diff"ering chiefly from others in the intenseness which marked
the characteristics of his nature. In outward aspect he was of
fine personal appearance and of commanding presence, courtly
and dignified in his bearing, but not ostentatious. Observing the
strictest propriety of costume at all times, he showed not otdy his
sense of self-respect, but manifested also a becoming regard for the

158

LIFE OP ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.D.

mhustcrial ofTicc, a (.luty -whicli, by precept as well as by his own
example, lie omitted no opportunity of impressing upon others.
No one could be long m his company without feeling that he was
in the presence of a gentleui m, a mm of superior intelligence, of
acute observation, and of large informition. Not only was he an
accomplished scholar ; lie kept abreast of modern thought and
literature, and he was conversant with the great questions of the
day. Had you looked in upon him during tiie eventful crises of the
Italian revolution, of the Indian mutiny, the Crimean war, or the
Abyssinian expedition, you would have found him reading the best
authenticated histories of these countries, studying with minute
interest their gcograpliy, and acquainting himself with the physio-
logical peculiarities of their inhabitants. He was a great reader,
and, although unknown in the world of letters, was a voluminous
writer, of which his written sermons alone, not to speak of his other
manuscripts, furnish marked evidence ; for, whether we regard
the depth of thought, the beauty and diversity of imagery, the
chastcness of language, or the general carefulness of composition,
these will compare favourably with tlie writings of the most gifted
men. He was never known to preach an extempore sermon, and
during those frequent excursions which in his earlier days he made
into the country, where he found neither churches nor pulpits to
preach in, his ingenuity was often taxed to supply tlio indispen-
sable reading desk. An instance of this occurred in 182S, at Hun-
tingdon, then a county town consisting of six or seven houses,
where he had received a warm welcome from one of the people, who
gathered the neighbours and requested the Doctor to address them.
" Being a p qicr reader,^^ us he himself describes it, " I had to erect

*■

SUMMARY OF HIS CHARACTER.

159

a pulpit by the fireside, which was easily cxtoniporizcd by two chairs,
back to back, and a four logged stool laid across and covered over by
a piece of carpet." Of the amount of labour he underwent in
visiting the settlements in the valley of the Chateauguay, at a time
when they were wholly destitute of the stated ordinances of religion,
it is impossible now to form an adequate conception ; but in spite
of the difficulties he encountered in the shape of bad roads, or
rather the want of roads and of conveyances, to the end of his lifo
he referred to these excursions, as associated with the hapiiiost of
his memories. In the year already mentioned he had been asked
to go into the country, thirty miles or so, to officiate at a marriaso,
and he thus describes tLo only mode of travelling then available :
'* At Caughnawaga, I fotnd myself among the Red Indians in
want of a guide and a eonve^ anco to take m>' through the six miles
of forest and tangled brush 1 hud to traverse, but how to make my
wants kiio\v:i 1 knew not. All my jerks and gestures failed to convey
my meaning, till a youth took up the idea of a man on horseback,
which he endeavoured to imitate, who, on receiving an expres-
sion of my satisfaction, went off in an instant, and returned, leading
by the mano a shaggy pony whoso bones were too angular for bare-
back liJ'ng. At length a saddle v>as procured with only one stirrup
— we supplied the other with a rope — and an iron bit having been
found, with a new hempen cord we made a bridle, fwas hoisted
into the saddle with my valise labhed behind, and my Registers, two
quarto volumes of considerable size — under my arm. My red
guide, whose dress consisted of a pair of linen drawers and mocoa.
sins, kept up witii the (rot of the pony, admonishing it betimes to
a quicker puce with the v/illow branch wliicli ho carried iu his hand.

*■

160

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.D.

Through the dense forest, sometimes almost brushed off by the
branches, we hastened along the rough path, and in less than an
liour emerged on a settlement on the Chateauguay." These illus-
trations of preaching and travelling under difficulties, recall to
mind disabilities of another kind that sound strange to our ears.
Up to the date of these incidents, and indeed, for a number of years
afterwards, no marriage in the Province was accounted legal unless
the Clergyman celebrating it had obtained permission to keep a
Register, previously paraphed by one of the*Prothonotaries of His
Majesty's Court of King's Bench, and as permission to keep such
records was confined to a very small number of ministers of the
Established Churches, it followed that a groat many marriages and
baptisms performed by the representatives of other religious denom-
inations were in the eye of the law null and" void. It must be
supposed that subsequent legislation came to the relief of these
early settlers, but at all events it is certain that Dr. Mathieson was
not unfrequently called upon to remarry parties who, after many
years of married life, had made the unpleasant discovery that they
were living in doubtful wedlock. In respect of baptism, the Doctor
often found himself at a loss how to proceed. He was too good a
a Presbjteritin to dispense this privilege without being satisfied
that the lives of tlie applicants were, outwardly at least, in accord-
ance with their own baptismal vows. It frequently happened that
at the close of a service in a private house or school-room, a dozen
or more children were brought to him for baptism. To use his own
language on one of these occasions: — " The parties were unknown
to me; wliat was I to do ? Admit them indiscriminately, or
institute an enquiry into their character and christian knowledge ?

*■

■*

SUMMARY OF HIS CIIATIACTER.

101

For that tliere was no time, and I might bo imposed upon. T
immediately, in the presence of the coni^re^ation, cominindol my
elder, to whom the people were all well known, to select two
discreet and pious men, and this being done, I addressed them,
enjoining them to recommend those parents only whom they in their
conscience considered worthy to hive their children admitted to the
ordinance On this being done, I laid a solemn Injunct.ioii on thorn
in regard to their parental duties. This pad of the service was
interesting and impressive, and my good elder complim Mited me on
u)y address, saying, that if [ would speak as well without the p ipcr
at home, T would soon attach to rae the whole community." It
was iiuleed a very singular trait, in the Doctor's ministerial char-
acter, that while he felt himself on ordinary occasions utterly and
constitutionally unfitted to app;?ar before an audience without his
manuscript, in presiding over a communion table, and administering
the ordinance of baptism, there were few to compure with him in
the fluency and power which characterized his addresses.

The law allowed the officiating minister to exact the fee of five
shillings for every registration of baptism, but the Doctor invariably
refused to receive a penny, thinking it " horrible to sell a christian
ordinance." Upon one occasion the elected elders withheld their
consent to the application of a drunken father who wanted baptism
for his child ; the man became furious and even threatened to
thresh the minister into compliance, but the Doctor remained
inexorable. It having been stated to him, however, that the mother
of the child was a good pious wo nin, upon In'r he put the vows
in the presence of lur husband, and witli sueh allusinn to his
conduct as brought tears to his eyes, and drew JVimu hini an

*■

^^'

162

LIFE OP ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.D.

■*

humblo apology, witli the proniise that ho would become a better
man.

These are mere passing allusions to the Doctor's early minis-
terial career. Though in themselves trifling, they give us a glimpse
of the joyous and yet earnest spirit which animated him even in
the discharge of irksome duty. It were 6asy to fill a volume with
such reminiscences of his life, and it is to be hoped that some one
of his many intimate friends will undertake the preparation of an
extended biography for which we believe there is abundant material
existing. To have known Dr. Mathieson, as an intimate friend,
was indeed a great privilege, for he was the truest of friends. The
sliadow of suspicion as to the sincerity of his professions could never
for one moment be entertained. He was outspoken in stating his
opinions, and none the less, though his dearcst friends should be
the subject of remark ; and while at times he spoke perhaps too
strongly, he ever spoke and acted under an honest conviction of
the truth and justice of the principles he maintained. Policy and
expediency were terms wholly unknown in his vocabulary and, iie
regarded them as " simply intolerable " in others.

Had it not been for this conspicuous trait in his character his
influence in the Synod and other Church Courts would have been
overwhelming. He was too diffident, however, to excel in debate,
and too uncompromising in the maintenance of his opinions, even
when great principles were not at stake, ever to Ixscomc a party
leader; and the respect, amounting to veneration, which was
accorded him l»y nearly all hi brother ministers, was traceable to
his personal tjualities ;is a man, to his moral worth, and to his
loyalty and devotion to tho Church. We have hoard it said of

SUMMARY OF HIS CHARACTER.

163

him, that " it was impossible for him to conceive a meanness. "
We may add that he abhorred the very appearance of meanness in
another. That he was twice chosen moderator of the Synod — an
exceptional procedure in the practice of the Church — was of itself
a high testimony of confidence reposed in him. The first occasion
was in the year 1832, and following so soon after the formation of
the Court, shewed that at that early period he had already made
his mark. The second instance was even more noticeable, because
it singled him out as the most fitting representative of the Church
of Scotland in Canada, upon whom should be devolved the duty
and high honour of presenting the Synod's address of congratula-
tion and welcome to the Prince of Wales when he visited tho
British North American possessions in 1860 ; and the characteristic
dignity and presence of mind with which he vindicated the honour
of his Church upon that occasion, will not soon be forgotten.

As might have been expected from one in whom a stern sense
of duty so largely predominated. Dr. Mathieson was r.-gular in his
attendance upon Cimrch Courts. During the whole course of his
ministry he was not absent from the meeting of Synod upon more
than three or four occasions, and then, he was cither out of the
country or prevented by indisposition from attending.

But while the Doctor gave much time and thought and valuable
assistance to the general business of the Church, it was in a special
manner as the minister of St. Andrew's Church, that he desired,
above all else, his services to be known and appreciated. Of his
preaching before his own congregation wc need not say more chan
that it was able, earnest, practical, and scriptural, and tiiat it was
a faithful reflection of the doctrines of the Westminster Confession.

-v

104

LIFE OP ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.D.

i I

He delighted to set forth the unity of the Divine procedure in the
government of the universe, not distinguishing Providence from
Grace, as though they 'vere separate domains, but recognizing
Redemption as an integral part of the comprehensive control
exercised by the Creator over all his works. He dwelt also with
special emphasis upon the necessity of penonal regeneration by
the Divine Spirit. Time and space would fail us to speak of his
ministrations by the bedsides of the sick and the dying. The
paternal regard that he had for the poor of his parish bordered
almost on romance. How he visited them in their humble abodes !
How he sat down at the end of every year with one or more of his
elders and rigidly scrutinized the demauds of every claimant upon
the bounty of the session I How much discrimination he observed
in dispensing the charities which the accumulated Church collec-
tions, added to the gifts of private friends, had placed at his
disposal !

But perhaps the noblest trait of his disposition, one liable to
mis-interpretation, was that which irresistibly prompted him to
sympathize with the misfortunes of the unfortunate. Whether it
was the case of one unjustly stigmatized by an unfeeling world, or
whether it was that of a weak brother who had yielded to tempta-
tion, no appeal was ever made to iiini for aid or comfort \\\ vain.
To stand by a friend in need ; to shield him from obloquy ; to
relieve him from present want; *o defend him, if he could; to
mitigate, if it were possible, a deserved punishment ; to bring up
again such an one to a position of usefulness and respectability,
that was the highest gratification which he could propose to himself.
It was not that he connived at the fault ; but, against the principle

••i^

LAST ILLNESS AND DEATH.

165

of keeping a man down who had inadvertently fallen, ho invariably
protested.

For about ten years preceding his death, the rheumatic attacks
to which he had been occasionally subject, became more frequent
and severe. An asthmatic affection, with which he had also been
sometimes troubled, grew upon him with advancing years. More
recently, having suffered at invervals from irregular action of the
heart, it became necessary for him to intrust his late worthy and
able assistant and succes.sor, Mr. P.iton, with the burden of the
pastoral work. It was not, however, till the dispensation of the
communion in October last, upon which occasion he preached and
presided, that the state of his health became a matter of solicitude
to his friends. He was advised by his medical attendant to abstain
altogether from pulpit duties, and although he did so for a time,
he yielded to the strong desire which he had to preach to his con-
gregation on the last Sabb:ith of the year, the same sermon that he
preached that day forty-three years before — his first Sabbath in
Montreal.

The last occasion on which he pre;iched was' on Sabbath, the
23rd of January, three weeks before his death, when he spoke for
fifty-five minutes from the text. " It was winter. "

The effort was tuo much for him. He felt seriously unwell the
next day, and for several days after, but he rallied sufficiently to
take a short drive on the following Thursday. On Friday, the
28th, " the old L'octor " was seen in the streets of Montreal for
the last time. A little group of friends gathered round his sleigh
at the Post Ofhce, where he had halted to mail his last letters for
Scotland. Few were the words spoken, but the ominous looks of

*■

IGG

LIFE OP ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.D.

one and anothnr told that tlio pale ensign of death was seen to bo
stealing over liis forehead. Tlic picture then imprinted on memory
was not that of a noble ship wrecked on a foreign strand, but,
rather, of a dismantled man of war, riding quietly at anchor, in safe
moorings — the last round of ammunition expended, the battlefought
and won — the colours still nailed to the mast — awaiting orders to be
refitted. And as he took leave of us, and directed his course by the
old familiar way, imagination overheard the parting soliloquy, —
Farewell crowded thoroughfare! Farewell city of palaces! Fare-
well dear old St. Andrew's Church, beautiful in thy ruins I Fare-
well to wealth, pomp, fashion : to ambition, applause and fame I
To earth .farewell I '^ I have a building of God, an house not made
with hands, eterngl in the heavens. "

After this there cime two weeks of great bodily weaknoss and
severe suffering, of mortal conflict with the last enemy ; two weeks
during which love and friendship, kindred and acquaintance waited
upon him with tend^rest regard, and during which he daily received,
with inexpressible satisfuction, the consolations of religion at the
hands of a brother minister. Then came " the messenger of Peace
that calls the soul to Heaven. "

The funeral took place from his late residence in City Council-
lors-street, on the Thursday following, when a large concourse
assembled within and without the dwelling. Soon after the
appointed hour the funeral cortege wis fori^iod an 1 proceeded to
St Paul's, which had been placed at the disposal of the Trustees
of St. Andrew's Church. The order of procession was as follows :
The hearse, with four ministers and four elders, as pall-bearers,

H*-

Hr^

■*

FUNERAL SERVICES.

107

walking on either side. There immediately followed the liearse>
Dr. Mathieson's two sons and the numerous connections of the
family. Then came the Moderator and the Clerk of Synod
dressed in their robes, followed by the clerfjjy of the Presbytery of
Montraal, and by a number of the clergy of other denominations.
After these, the elders of other congregations, members cf St-
Andrew's congregation, the St. Andrew's Society, and a largo
representation of all classes of the community. On arriving at
the Churoli, the coffin, literally covered- with exquisite flowers, was
placed in front of the pulpit, which, together with the screen of
the choir, was appropriately draped in black cloth, giving to the
whole scene a very solemn and impressive effect. Every part of
the capacious and beautiful structure was filled, and amongst tho
many that were observed to be present was the venerable minister
of Cornwall, the lleverend Dr. Urquhart, who is the only clerical
Contemporary of the deceased now living. The ministers of tho
Montreal Presbytery present were Dr. Muir, Dr. Jenkins, Messrs.
Simpson, McDonald, Sym, Patterson, Masson, Thomas Fraser,
Joshua Fraser, Donald lloss, B.D., Campbell, Durr, and BluckJ
Queen's College was represented by the very llev. Principal
Snodgrass and Professor McKerras ; Toronto Presbytery, by tho
llev. Kenneth McLennan; and that of Quebec by the Rev. Mr.
Tanner of feherbrooke. Among the ministers of other denomina-
tions present were noticed Dr. De Si)la, the Jewish Rabbi, tho
Uev. John Cordner, Rev. Canon Bancroft, Canon Balch, Dr.
Taylor, Dr. Wilkes, 31r. Kllegood, Mr. Uumoulin, Mr. Carmichael
and Mr. Gibson, together with several others whose names we did
not Icurn.

■/

■*

108

LIFE OP ALEXANDER MATFIIESON, D,D.

The services were conducted in a very impressive manner by
the Rev. Dr. Jenkins. After repotting the Lord's prayer, four
verses. of the 5l^rd piiraphraae were sung, commencing with the
lines :

"Take comfort, Christians, when your friends

In Jesus frtll asleep :
Their bettor being never ends;

Wliy then dejected weep?''
Tlieso verses wore sung to the plaintive tune of " Comfort."
The last line, " Why then dejected weep?" being repeated at the

end of cMch verso, produced an offjct very toachiiig an I in perfect
harmony with the occasion. The singing was led by tlie organist

and choir of St. Andrew's congregation. Suitable portions of

Scripture from both the Testaments having been read, an ('lo(|uent

and appropriate funeral address was delivered by the prosiiling

minister, in substance as follows :

ADDRESS.

Fathers, Bretiirex, and Friends.
I might well shrink from undertaking the solemn task which
falls to me to day, and lay upon others this sad service of love and
regard for the venerable man whose remains we arc bearitig to the
tomb ; the more, because there are here ministers who have known
him during nearly the whole course of his official career. The
position which I hold in the Church, however, and the daily
intercourse which I have enjoyed with our departed brother during
the last three weeks, have led to my being pressed into a service,
which, I may say, could be performed by no one who entertains a
deeper reverence than I do for his noblo, upright character.

■*

FUNERAL SERVICES.

100

This is not the occasion for presenting a detailed history of the
life and work of the late minister of St. Andrew's Church, or for
sketchin<^ the features, intellectual and moral, which so strongly
characterized him. This is an office which will bo discharged by
others, I trust, at a more fitting time. To day, rather let us seize
upon the few thoughts which those solemn scenes suggest, and
make such personal application of them as may tend to our comfort
and improvement. Lot us see whether we cannot become better
ministers, better Christians, better men, by the part we take in
this burial. .-

Death, in tliis instance, has severed many a tie. The parental
tie is severed, and the children of our friend are driv(m to look to
Him who " in His holy h:ibitation " is " a Father of the father-
less." On their behalf wo also cast our eye heavenward, and
upward send our prayers for their comfort, their guidance, their
salvation. The tie of friendship is broken. For who can doubt
that, during the residence of such a man for forty years in one
place, there were formed friendships of the firmest and tenderest
character. The pastoral tie is rent. How strong that tie becomes
through the growtli of years you know who have seen this vene-
rable minister go in and out among you for almost two generations.
The Presbyterial tie is sundered. We, his co-presbyters, are called
to mourn the loss of the father of our Presbytery, the father,
indeed, of our church in this country. Much might we say of him
in these .several relations: of his faithfulness, of his courage, of
his self-denying work when he was left almost alone in our Church
here, of hisjourneyings oft, of his perils, of his anxious care of the

churches, of his faithful counsels in sickness and sorrow, of his

■^

170

LIFE OF ALEXANDEU MATIIIESON, D.D.

consideration, almost to a fault, for the failings of others, of his
tenderness in seeking to restore those wl»o were overtaken in error
or sin, of the faithful nature of his friendships, of his gcnerousness
to the poor, of the comforting and hope-inspiring words with which
ho was over ready to sustain the hearts of the dying. Not that wo
would set him forth as faultless I Those lips, now cloged in death,
would reprove us, could they be but opened, were wo for ono
moment to attempt tlie concealment of frailties and in)perfcctiona
which our brother consciously shared with us all, and which are
the common hcrit;ige of our now fallen humanity. . What we do
say is that in him whose remains lie before us, wo have lost much
that was valuable to us all, whether in the family, in the congre-
gation, or in the Church at largo, that in him were qualities of
strength, of firmness, of endurance, of courage, of self- forget ful-
ness and of faith, upon the like of which we shall seldom, if ever,
look again. Had he lived in the days when the Covenanters laid
down their lives for their principles, he would have been among
the first of Scottish martyrs. In these characteristics he has left
to his children, and to his brethren in Christ's ministry, a noble
legacy which they will do well sacredly to hold and cherish.

He is gone ! We shall see no more tl;r.r. noble form ! Wc shall
not again hear his voice giving utterance to those words of strength
and chasteness and beauty in which he was wont to clothe his
no less strong and chaste and beautiful thoughts. Those lips will
never again convey comfort to the sorrowful, and strength to the
dying. We bow to the will of Providence. Upon Him whose
throne is built on righteousness, we rest. " Clouds and darkness
are round about Him : righteousness and judgment arc the

•i*

PUNERATi SRRVrCES.

171

habitation of TTia Throno." Wc mark it as an cvidcnco
of Dlvino love that our revered friend was so long spared to
us, to counsel us by his wisdom, to oncourajro us by his example,
to cheer us by his friendship. And that he has dtoil full of days
and full of honour, surrounded by affectionate children, and faithful
relatives and friends who have watched and cared for him, with,
I may say, unexampled devotion, we accept also as a mark of the
Divine favour. But that in the midst of very great sufferings he
should havQ retained his faith and courage, that in the certain
prospect of dissi)lution he should haVc remained calm and unshaken,
that death should have become to him a welcome visitant, that un-
flinchingly and without even the shadow of fear he should have
cried out for release — this is an evi<lence of Divine mercy, the
strength and depth of which I cannot find words to express.

During a ministry of three-and- thirty years, I have witnessed
many a death-bed : T never witnessed one in which Christian
faith seemed so strong and abiding, and, at the same time, so char-
acteristic. Often, very often, did our friend cry out in his petitions,
" Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly ! Into Thy hands I commend
my spirit. Thou hast redeemed me. Lord God of truth. " Then he
would dwell upon the faith of the old patriarchs and try to make
it his own ; and his it truly was — simple, strong, sustaining. " The
Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song, He also is become my
salvation. " But the words on which he seemed most to rest were
those of the Psalmist already quoted, "into Thy hands I commend
my spirit, Thou hast redocmeil me. " Of our version of the
psalms, specially dear to hiin were the 'j;]rd. 46th and ll(5th.
His favourite death-bed hymn was the 5th, for the reading of

.♦J,

>¥

172

LIFE OP ALEXANDER MaTHIESON, D.D.

which he often called, and wliicli I myself had the privilege of
reading to him a few hours before liis doatli.

" The iiour of '".y depiirtiire's come,
'■ I hear the voice that calls me home,
" At Inst, Lord, let troubles cease
" And lei Thy servant die in peace."

If you ask nie in what fiith he died, I could not ^ivo you a
truer formula than the 3rd verse of this hyi' n :

'•' Not in mine innocence I !rii.^t

" I bosv before Thee in the dust,

" And through my Saviour's blood alone

" I look for mercy at Thy Throne. "

I could toll you a great deal more of what our friend tlioiight
and said and believed, but it is not needful.

Why do I say aught at all ? Because I feel it right that you
should know how yonr minister died. Right that you should be
told that the truths which lie so often spoke to you from the pulpit,
and at the sick-bed, suiliced to sustain hun in the trying hour;
''jve him victory ever doubt, over fear, over death itself.

And nnw we bear away to '"-.^ last resting place this noble and
once majestic form ! Corruptible, it sliall put on incorruption ;
niiu't.d, it shall put on iunnortality ; sown in weakness, it shall be
raise.] in power ; sown in corruption it shall be raised in incorvup-
tion ; sown a natu"al body, it sliall be raised a spiritual body ; even
in that day when the trumpet of the Archangel shall sound, and
shall summon from their graves the right'^ous dead. Tlien shall
be bmnu'Iir to puf.s the saying that is written " Death is swallowed
up in victory ! "

»;^-

■^

>4-

■*

FUNERAL SERVICES.

173

Prayer was then oifercd for tlio bcrojivcd family, for the contrc-
gregation, for tlie uinistry and eldersliip, and for the whole Catholic
Cliurcli , after which the coniiropjation joined in sinewing th'. 3rd
and 5th verses of the fifth Ilynni, and received the Apostolic
Benediction.

A large number of tlic members of St. Andrew's Church availed
themselves of the opportunity afforded tliem to take a last look at
the placid features of their late minister, while the doleful, deep-
sounding notes of the " Dead iMarch in Saul " were pealed forth
from the great organ.

A greater m;uk of funeral respect has seldom been paid to a
citizen of Montreal. Taken as a whole it was a grand spoctaole,
and tlie ceremotiv was of a most impressive character. On leaving
the church m.: procession reformed and proceeded to Mount Royal
Cemetery, in one of the vaults of which was deposited all th-'*' is
mortal of one concerning whom it may be said, as of th'^ great
Scottish llel'ormer : " Hkrio mks one who nkvku I'karkd

THE FACE OF lAlAN. "

At a meeting of St. Andrew's congregation, held on the 21-th
February. 1870, the following minute in reference to their late
minister, was unanimously adopted ;

'■ The congregation of St. Andrew's Ciiurcli thiidc it becoming
in them to express the very high estimation in which they held
their latt! niueh lamented pastor, the Rev. Alexander Mathicson,
I).i).,and to recoirnizc hisgre.it services to the Church, and to
the cause ol' religion in Canada, as well as to the congregation in
particular; also, to bear testimony to his prc-eminvut viitues,

iWW

^■

tjf'

■^

174

LIFE OF alexan:jer mathieson, d.d.

dignity of chnrncter, large hearted benevolence, geniality of dis-
position, true nobility of nature, joined with simple piety and a
pure life, which so endeared him to all, and, more especially, to
the congregation over wliioli ho so long presided, and to whom ho
dispensed the Bread of Life."

A minute of similar import to the foregoing, was also adopted
by the Kirk Session of St. Andrew's Cliurch, at their first meet-
ing, after the death of " their late Moderator, Pastor, and Friend."

The entire press of Canada joined in the general tribute of
respect that was paid to tlie memory of Dr. Mathieson, on the
announcement of his decease, thus affording a gratifying and con-
vincing proof that his many noble qualities of head and heart were
duly appreciated by his follow subjects of all creeds and denomina-
tions, of all nationalities and shades of politics. Wo h;ivo only
room for the concluding passage of an article occuppying tv.o
columns of the Montreal TL'rald, in which particular allusion is
made to his coimection with the St. Andrew's S 'ciotyof Montreal.
"Of Dr. Mathieson it may be said that he was a universal
favourite with all ho came in contact, being much beloved by his
flock, who looked to him as tlicir Father. To all he was affable
atid courteous, the poor being special objects of his care ; and, as
he said on his retirement from office in the St. Andrew's Society,
in the fall of 1809, his aim was not to foster pauperism, but to
give the applicants for aid, first, work, and then assistance. His
connection with the St. Andrew's Society wa.s from the date of its
foundation in 18;{5, when he was elected its first chaplain. On
t'-o 30th November, 1836, he preached the first annual sermon,

A MONUMENT TO HIS MEMORY.

175

■^

and, in 1868, he preached his last sermon in connection with it,
from the words, " walk about Zion," &c. His discourses were
peculiarly appropriate to the occasions on which they were
delivered, and so touching were some of his allusions to the
" land of the mountain and the flood," and her glorious Institu-
tions, that his hearers were visibly affected. The Reverend Doctor
was twenty-five times elected chaplain of this Benevolent Society,
and was always regular in attendance ' the committee meetings,
and ever ready to assist them in their labours of love.

Photography has preserved for us some admirable and life-like
portraits of the late venerable minister of St. Andrew's Church.
But it is worthy of considei'ation whether or not a substantial and
enduring monument should be erected to the memory of so worthy
a citizen of Montreal as Dr. Mathieson was. Along-side of the
Anglican Cathedral, an elaborate and costly monument is in course
of construction to commemorate the services to his Church, during
eighteen years, of the late excellent Bishop of Montreal. If wluit
we have said, and what others have said, who were less likely than
we to be biassed in their estimate of Dr. Muthieson's character and
services be true, the Presbyterians of Montreal would do honour
to themselves in placing along-side of St, Andrew's Church, a
etatue of its late minister, who was for a much longer period the
recognized head and representative of Presbyterianism in the city.
Whatever expense might be incurred in carrying out such a
proposal would be cheerfully shared by all the congreg itions of
the Church.

■^

176

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.D.

Extract from a sermon prcaclicd in St. Andrew's Church, Toronto,
by the Rev ^^" Barclay, on Psahn cvii., 7, " He led them
forth by tlie right way that they might go to a city of habi-
tation."

It is unspeakably precious and consoling, amid earthly separations,
to think that Lho completed journey of a true Christian life is but
the arrival at the end of " the right way " which leads to " the
city of iiabitation." There are households amongst us where such
testimony has but recently been borne to the value of religion as
a guide through that way, to the rest on high. Valuable are the
lessons which thus come — whether from high or from humble
homes — loud the calls thus uttered, strong the inducements thus
presented to us all, to be '• followers of those who are now inherit-
ing the promises."

In thus reviewing the te.Kt. in the admonitions it lifts, my
thoughts turn with .«addened interest to an old and much-valued
friend, recently departed, whose p''oniiuent position in the Church,
during a lengthened ministerial life, entitles him to public notice
from any of her pulpits; and ovin* whoso unexpected decease I desire
liere to give expression to my own heartfelt sympathies, in the
regret I feel at the separation from us of one so worthy of all
honour, whose face we shall not again behold in this land of living-
men. I refer to the late Rev. Dr. Mathieson of Jlontreal, whose
name has been so long and intimately associated with the history
of the Church of Scotland in this land, and whose many noble
qualities secured for him the re;-ipect and regard of a large circle
of friends, who highly appreciated his worth, and will long chou.'?h
his memory.

EXTRACTS FROM DR. BARCLAY S SliRMON.

177

Of a commanding presonco and dignified deportment, vlnsclfish ,
and free froai all that savoured of a mean or sordid nature — pes
sessing warm sympathies, and of a generous disposition, with
great kindness of heart — he was peculiarly fitted to occupy a posi.
tion of promineno3 among his fellow-men, whilst he enjoyed in
largo raoasure, the estesiu of those wh) wore priviloged to associate
with him.

Coming'to this country previous to the organization of the Synod
he has thus been connected with our Church, in active minis-
terial service, for nearly half a century. Occupying as ho did a
leading plico in our Communion, as t'le minister of oul; of tho
most important of our congrogitions — 'us first an I only minis-
terial charge; fitte 1 by his tal^nt^, by his wjight of character,
and by his indomitable energy and stei Ifastuoss of purpose, to
takealeidiug pirtii t!ii C'.iurc'i's cv.iusels and in conducting
its public aff lirs ; warmly attached to the Church of Scotland and
desirous of imitati.ig, or emulr.ting, all that was praiseworthy in
the venerable Parent, by a close adherence to its model in organi-
zing and consolidating our Church in this land, his influence was
felt in the leading emergencies in its iiistory. lie has left his
impress on many of its acts, an 1 had a largo share in the shaping
of its policy and in tho direction of its aff lirs ; whilst in all that
concerned the welfare of the Church he took the deepest interest,
and devoted thereto no small portion of his time and energy.

To the consideration of all questions affecting the position and
public interests of the Church he brought a sound judgment and
thoroughly honest convictions, which he never sibandoncd for the
suggestions, however plausible, of a doubtful expediency ; whilst he

•J*-

>4-

178

LIFE OF ALEXANDER MATIIIESON, D.D.

uniformly exhibited a straightforwardness of purpose in the
firm assertion of what ho believed to be right, and to wliich he
clung with a resoluteness not easily if ever shaken. He might bo
mistaken in some of his plans, but he was never other than sincere
in upholding them. Stable in his friendships, of a genial tempera-
ment, and ever ready by his counsel and his means to h(5lp all who
sought his aid, he might sometimes be deceived by those who
abused his confidence, yet in high principle and generous sentiment
he showed the true nobility of his nature, the disinterestedness of
his friendship, and the reality of his sterling worth.

A perspicuous and graceful writer, with a naturally vigorous
intellect and of a philosophic turn ; having a mind well stored
with the acquirements of early study, and thoroughly embued with
the importance and magnitude of the great themes to which the
eff'orts of the pulpit are devoted ; and with a heart quietly and un-
ostentatiously responding to their influence, he to )khigh rank as an
intelligent and instructive expounder of God's Word, to which hon-
ourable and responsible work so many years of his life have been
devoted.

Though not usually demonstrative in his piety he was never-
theless true to his reli;ious convictions, and clear in his apprehen-
sions of divine truth ; and his latter end, as testified to by those
who were privileged to witness the gradually closing scene of his
long and honourei' life, was distinguished by a peculiar firmness
of faith, and trustful dopcndenoj on the Saviour, to whom he looked
with unshaken confidence in the prospect of dissolution.

I have been expounding to you this day some of the features of
a true christian as set forth in the text, and the character of " the

EXTRACTS FROM DR. BARCLAY'S SERMON.

179

Way'' by which he walks in the pilgiiiu.igo of life, with as much
clearness as my own apprclieiision of them enabled mo, and with
such fulness as the present opportunity has afforded ; but I point
you also to the record of the like truth as written in the history of
a departed believer, whose aim was to walk in that way, huml'ly
and unostentatiously servinjj; the Lord. I To hail passed the three
score years and ten usually allotted to man, and the way for him
was therefore not a " s/ior<" one. Whether, and to whatextent, amid
the dark shadows of bereavements which passed over his dwelling,
and other tri ils that skirt the pith of life, it may have been to him,
not the " easy way,'' nor the w;iy that was free from perplexities,
we cannot fully tell. But the way, we trust, it has been for him
to the "city of habitation." " Behold the upright, for the jattcr
end of that man is peice,"

From many quarters, and in varied form.s, admonitions are per-
petually co.ning to parsuade us of the benofits of walking in '•' the
righ- way" as strangers and pilgrims oi< the earth — thus conse-
crating to Grod's service the talents, whether the two,or the ten, lie
has given us to "occupy," we may make the journey of life a pil-
grimage to the better land. Give heed then, to the lessons of true
wisdom ; walk in her ways as defined by Christ Himself, and
exemplified in His own holy life; cherish that truo hope which rests
on this Rock of Ages, as set forth in the great charter of our faith,
and commended to us by the life and death of the good and true
of our follow-men ; so that over your completed life there may at
length fall to be written in the language of truth an epitaph, eiu-

bc dying the sentiment of the toxt; '' He was ltd forth by the righ

Way tliat he might go to a city of habitation."

»i*

*■

luiural §nmm.

^■

■^

In accordance with ecclesiastical custom the members of the
Presbytery of Montreal, who attended Dr. Mathieson's funeral met
in the vestrf of St. Paul's Cliurch, immediately after tho inter-
ment. The Rev. Donald Ross,, B.D., acting as Moderator: when
tho Rev. John Jenkins, D.D."* was appointed to preach to the
congregation of St. Andrew's, on the following Sabbath, and also
to act as moderator of tho Kirk Session, until the next moctinij: of
the Presbytery.

The funeral sermon that now follows, was accordingly preached
by Dr. Jenkins, on the 20th of February, 1870, in the Hall of tho
Normal School, in Belmont street, where the congregation of St.
Andrew's have worshipped since the destruction of their Church by
fire.

IMAGE EVALUATION
TEST TARGET (MT-3)

pym

<% ^

/y.

1^ /-/^y

1.0

I.I

t m
^ 1^

M llllili

12.2

12.0

1.8

1,25

1.4 1.6

►

Photographic

Sciences
Corporation

23 WES'' MAIN STREET

WEBSTER, N.Y. 14S80

(716) 872-4503

■'^.

i-p.

^■

■•*

*■

FUJVERAL SERMOJY.

Behold, I shew you a mystery : We shall not all sleep,

BUT WE SHALL ALL BE CHANGED, IN A MOMENT, IN THE

TWINKLINO of an eye, at the last TRUMP ; FOR THE

TRUMPET SHdLL SOUND, AND THE DEAD SHALL BE RAISED

INCORRUPTIBLE, AND WE SHALL BE CHANGED, &C.— I Corin-
thians XV, 51.

Pliny, an accomplished writer and philosopher of ancient
times, maintained the opinion that two things are impossible
to the Creator : One, The bcstowmeut upon mortals of endless life,
the other. The resurrection of the dead. He speaks, elsewhere,
of the resuscitation of the dead as "a childish, doting story"
J3schylus, a disciple of the, I'ythagorean school, was also of opinion
that it is beyond the power of Deity to raise from death a human
body. This was the universal doctrine of ancient speculation.
We read, in the Acts of the Apostles, that, in Athens, certain
philosophera of the h^picuroans and of the Stoics encountered Paul,
crying out, " What will this babbler say ?" and, " Ileseometh to be a

■*

18(5

FUNERAL SERMON.

setter forth of strange gocla?" Why this reproach ? The historian
supplies the reason : " Because he preached unto them Jesus and
tlie resurrection." From these sources, and from otliers which
might be readily named, we learn that the world by wisdom kn^-w
not the doctrine which is so authoritatively announced and so
strikingly illustrated in this remarkable chapter.

This doctrine of the resurrection of the dead is a doctrine of
pure revelation. The ancients needed the first sentence of the Bible
to prepare them for their researches into the laws of nature. Their
ignorance of the fact that " in the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth," led to their acceptance of the theory of the
eternity of matter. So, they who thought the creation of something
out of nothing impossible, were ill-prepared to admit the resurrec-
tion of corrupted, dissolved and dissipated bodies. Even the
doctrine of the immortality of the soul was held with doubt ; and
was taught, not so much because it was believed, as that it was
deemed a powerful check upon the morals of the masses. Nu-
merous proofs of this might be supplied from the Greek and Latin
classics. There woie vague imaginings of immortality as the end of
this> Ki itable and sorrowful life; but they never assumed a palpable
conception. How uncertain were the views of the old philosophers
on the subject of a future state may be seen from the avidity with
wlilch they embraced the doctrine of the transmigration of souls,
which Pythagoras first learned from the Hindoos, and then dis-
seminatcc^ throughout Greece.

I mention these facts that you may be assisted to appreciate the
value of the 'Jible ; especially of that portion of the Sacred Writ-
ings which constitutes the basis of Christian teaching — to appreciate

FUNERAL SERMON.

18T

the elevation to which you are raised by your connection with
Christianity. I would you should feel how superior in true
subliuiity and certainty of teaching is the Gospel system to every
other. I confidently challenge a comparison of the clearest deliver-
ances of antiquity on this and kindred subjects, with the clear, con-
secutive, profuunil, eloquent and conclusive reasoning which Paul
presents to us in this chapter. There is a power in the Apostle's
language, a felicity of illustration, a transparency of instruction,
which seem to cast every other author into the shade. It is the
ligiit of day quenching the glimmering of tiny stars! It is the
glory of the sun dissipating the clouds of uncertainty, dispelling
the darkness of error !

The obscurity which enveloped the teaching of the Old Tes-
tament on the subject of immortality and the re.>!urrection was
partially relieved when Jesus cried out before the sepulchre of
Lazarus, " I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in
Me, though he were dead yet shall he live, and whosoever livcth
and believeth in Me shall never die." Still further was this
obscurity dispelled when the Redeem?'' was Himself raised from the
dead by the glory of the Father.

In this chapter another, may I not say the last, step is taken.
Every difficulty is cleared away ; every doubt dissipated ; the whole
subject stated with unquestionable authority. Our Apostle has left
nothing to be added. It is as tliough he had exhausted the subject ;
as though, in truth, he had stretched forth his hand and snatched
away every remnant of the veil which before intercepted man's
view into the future. One truth he enunciates which was never
before disclosed — a truth which, up to the moment when his pen

188

t'tNERAL SilRMON.

inscribed otir text, was involved in tDystcry; a truth, ignorance of*
wliich constituted an obstinate difficulty in the investigation of the
wliole subject. Granted that the bodies of the dead are to be raised ;
granted that the scattered dust of mortals shall be collected and
re-constructed into glorious bodies; what is to become of the
millions that shall be alive at the appearing of Christ ? Shall their
bodies remain as they are ? — or shall they die and their remains be
scattered over the earth for a brief time so that they may share
resurrection blessings ? Moses throws no light upon the subject ;
the prophets do not unveil the mystery ; even Christ is silent; and
We have no knowledge till Paul steps forth and says : " Behold, I
show you a mystery : we shall not all sleep but we fahall all be
changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last
trump. "

I have thought that nothing could be more instructive or com-
forting to you in the solemn circumstances in which we meet than
a consideration of this great subject. You will not expect me, after
what was said on occasion of the burial of your late revered pastor, to
speak to you again of his qualities as a minister, as a Christian and
as a man. You have learned what they were by long observation, and
by the largest experience. Let me rather raise your thoughts this
morning, the thoughts especially of you who have lately been
bereaved, to that " life and immortality "which the Gospel brings to
light, and the hope of which is alone our support in the bereavements
of time; — that immortal life of believers which is " hid with (Jhrist in
God." In the light ol revelation we regard our venerable and vene-
rated friend not as dead, but as asleep ; resting in Christ until ho
shall awake in the morning of the resurrection. Paganism looks into

It^l-

■•*

FUNERAL SERMON.

189

human graves despondingly, and takes a last, an eternal farewell of
those who die. Christianity commits the bodies of believers to
the grave with confidence and hope akin to those with which the
husbandman casts seed into the ground. Your late minister
sleepeth I But methinks I hear the voice of Jesus whispering in our
ear the hope-giving words, " Your pastor, brother, friend shall
rise again ! " The trumpet shall sound, and then the Saviour will
come to awake him out of sleep 1

The text furnishes a description of what shall take place at the
sounding of the last trump, and of the triumphant scenes which
shall follow.

" The trumjiet shall sound. " Elsewhere it is called " the trump
of God;" again, " the last trump." The reference is to the coming
of the Lord, when He shall descend from heaven with the voice of
the Archangel, and when " the dead in Christ shall rise first."

There was the sound of a trumpet on Sinai at the giving of the
law ; it shook the mountain to its base, and the people did exceed-
ingly fear and quake. The voice of the last trump shall shake the
world. AVe infer that there will be but one blast, for it shall be
accomplished " in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye ;" be this
as it may, it shall be so deep, so loud, so thrilling, that there shall
be no part of this vast earth in which it shall not be heard, no
cavern of the dead which its sound shall not enteV, no sea nor ocean
the depths of which shall not be penetrated by its voice : " The
trumpet shall sound."

" And the dead shall be raised incort'uptible. " This, wo
have said, is a doctriue of pure revelation. The attempt has
been made to prove the future resurrection of the dead oa

190

FUNERAL SERMON.

■^

simply natural principles. It has been wliolly unsuccessful. Con-
trariwise, an effort has been made, on the same principles, to
demonstrate its impossibility. I shall not enumerate the objections
•which have been raised against the doctrine of the resurrection.
I resolve them by a reference to the Almighty, with whom all
things are possible ; and by a reference also to the Word of God,
from which there is no appeal.

St. Paul, in the chapter before us, speaks of the resurrection of
the rigJUeous dead. Respecting the wicked it is only needful for
me to say here, that they too shall rise ; but it shall be " to shame
and everlasting contempt."

The righteous dead shall be raised incorruptible. It has
been attempted to fritter away this teaching of our apostle by
the theory that the future bodies of the saints shall not be iden-
tical with those which they now have. You see at once, that to
accept such a theory would be, virtually, to abandon the doctrine
of the resurrection altogether. If the same body be not meant,
then were it a contradiction in terms to call it a resurrection. That
it will be greatly changed we learn from both the statements and the
illustrations contained in this chapter. No longer natural, it shall
be a spiritual body ; no longer earthly, it shall be a heavenly body.
But that its identity will be maintained — maintained in some suffi-
cient sense, is clearly given to us as the opinion of the Apostles,
The objection to the statement of the Apostle in the text,
has been urged on the ground of the ra;ignitude of the
miracle which a general resurrection involves. It is deemed too
stupendous for credibility. In the estimation of these objectors it
cannot be that the scattered dust of the innumerable dead shall be

■*

*■

•*

FUNERAL SERMON.

191

collected and re-formed ; but it may be that other bodies will be
constructed from other dust. The Creator could, did, construct a
body for man, yea, an immortal body, from the dust of the earth,
impressing it with grace and beauty and even majesty ; but now that
this body has returned " to the dust as it was," He cannot
re-construct it into a body like unto Christ's glorious body I It is
too much to suppose that the Divine Being could watch over this
dust for five or seven thousand years, and at the end of this period
re-invest it with life and beauty ! Could he care for this dust and
protect it for a day ? why not for a thousand years ? seeing that
" one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years
as one day." Narrow, imperfect must be the views of these sceptical
Christians concerning the perfections of God ! What is all time to
Him who inhabiteth eternity ? What the preservation of the dust
of millions to Him who is almighty and omnipresent ? What
the care of dead bodies, as they lie entombed in the earth, to Him
who cares for fifteen hundred millions of living bodies every moment
of every year ? This corruptible shall [)ut on incorruption ; this
mortal shall put on immortality. The dead shall hear the voice
of the Son of God ; and they that hear shall live." " All that are
in t\\Q graves shall hear the voice of the Son of Man. " Take
these texts ; accept them in their simple meaning ; give them
a place in your intellects and your hearts. When you lay
the remains of the departed in the grave draw comfort from
the promise that from this very sepulchre the stone shall bo
removed, that this very grave shall be re-opened, that this very
body shall be re-animated with life, that these ears shall hear the
last trump, these eyes, now dark and sunken, gaze with rapture on

•*

192

FUNERAL SERMON.

the Soa of God, the Saviour, these lipg, closed and livid, shout the
noble pooan, " Tluinkg bo unto God who giveth us the victory
througli our Lord Jesus Christ." You have laid in yonder ceme-
tery a father, a pastor, a husband, a wife, a child. Sorrow not as
those without hope. They only sleep, and arc gathering new
vigour for the morning of the resurrection and the day of eternity.

Emblems of the resurrection meet you on every hand. Nature
is full of them. See that worm, it lives, it crawls, it spins its silk,
it seems to die ; the chrysalis lies in torpor ; byand-bye it bursts
its shell, it expands its wings, and flies away with new life, invested
with a grace, a loveliness, a beauty which it did not before possess.
This is a resurrection. Will you say that it is not the same worm
which crawled at your feet, that now attracts you by its grace and
loveliness ? What is morning but the resurrection of day from the
death of night ? Tiio diy dies, and is buried in silence and in dark-
ness; it bursts tlio tomb of night, and rises in glory. Hero, says
Tertullian,you h ivo before your eyes a daily emblem of the doctrine,
a diurnal resurrectiijn. Wliat is winter but death? The sap, the
life of vegetation, descends into the roots and is buried in the
ground ; the earth is covered with snow or crusted with frost,
and becomes one vast sepulchre ; but when spring appears, the
plants and flowers come out of their graves and rise in be luteous
life. Every seed as it falls from the tree is an emblom at once of
death and of the resurrection. It falls into the earth and rots ;
but it contains the germ of life, and in a little while sprouts and
shoots and lives agiiin in grace and vigour.

You reply, that tliesc facts in nature afford no proof of the
resurrection of the body. T know it. Hut they surely suggest both

FUNERAL SERMON

193

the possibility and even probability of sucli a transformation. At

least there is no absurdity involved in this article of the Christian
creed, " I believe in the resurrection of *^o dead," natural science
being itself judge. There is point in the reproof and rejoinder of
Paul, " thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except
it die."

" This cornqytible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must
put on immortality.'^ It must, that it may become a fit caskot for the
glorified spirit ; for hov\ can that which is carnal, mortal and cor-
ruptible, enjoy that which is spiritual, immortal, and imperishable ?
Here you have the reason for the change which shall be wrought
in the bodies of those believers who shall be alive at the coming
of the Lord. Although they shall not die, yet sliall they undergo a
transformation equivalent to that which the raised dead .shall have
undergone; their bodies shall be made incorruptible, immortal,
like unto Christ's glorious body. Have we not here an incidental
proof of the identity of the resurrection of the body ? It will not be
denied that, in the case of those who remain unto the coming of
Christ, the same body shall be renewed and glorified. But you at
once give these a superiority for which you have no scriptural
warrant, if you deny the general identity of the raised and trans-
formed body. " The dead shall be raised incorruptible and we shall
be changed." " This," says Paul in one of his Thessalonian
Epistles, " this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that wc
which remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not go before
them that are asleep, for the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven
with a shout, with the voice of the Arcliiingcl, and the trump of
God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are

^<-

194

rUNEKAL SlillMON.

■1*

alive and remain bhall be cau<:,ht up together witii them in the
clouds, to meet the Lord in the air : and m shall wo over be with
the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words."

Contemplate the triumphant scenes which shall follow the resur-
rection and transformation of the bodies of the saints.

" Then shall hehromjht to pass the saying that is written, Death
is swallowed up in victory," This is a quotation from one of Lssiiah's
prophecies concerning Christ. You find it in the twenty-fifth
chapter : " He will swallow up death in victory I " The expression
suggests conflict. Strong aud protracted has been the conflict
between death and the saints of the Most High ! It still goes on.
But now the conflict shall bo ended; and the victory shall be
Christ's aud Ilis people's. The victory shall be yours, my brethren
as in anticipation it was that of your late Minister, when with joy
and trust he cried out, as life was ebbing, " Into Thy Hands I
conunend my spirit. Thou hast redeemed me. Lord God of trutii."

Look at the pledges of your future conquest over death : Go to

Zari'pliath, into the widow's house, and see death conquered by

the efFeetuul fervent prayer of righteous Elijah I Go to the grave

of Elisha, and behold germs of lil'e in the very bones of the

prophet! Go to Ezekiel's valley of vision, and see there death

dissipated by the breath of the Spirit ! You say it is only a parable.

Yet it proves that the reality is practicable. Go to Nain, aud see iu

the restoration of the widow's sou that death is held iu subjection

to the will of Jesus ! Go to the tomb of Lazarus, aud behold iu

his liberation from death's prison-house the power over death of the

voice of the Sou of God. Go ! Search the tomb of Christ, aud see

iu that vacated sepulijhrc, a pledge that He will at leugth "swalkw

RHIH

jr.

l>4

■*

FUNERAL SERMON.

lor,

up (lonth in victory, " and i.liat mortality s1im!1 be fiiwalinwccl up
of life." Death shall be swallowed up 1 Complete fihall be tho
conquest. Death sliall be sv/allowcd up I never again to appear ;
T.over more to exert his power or use liis sting. Deatli shall bo
swallowed up I for Clirist shall put all enemies undor ITi;^ feet ;
" the last enemy that shall bo destroyed is death." *■ Death and
Hades shall be cast into the lake of fire." There shall be no more
sin and no more curse, and so, " there shall bo no mors death."

" Dcith is swallowed up in victnn/." With what joy sliill the
saints survey this conquest over their last surviving foe ! Looking
b.'ick over this world's scenes, when death wrung out tears and
groans, and provoked many a conflict, when widows shrieked and
orphans wept , and parents mourned over the gra\'i33 of the
departed ; — looking back, T say, upon these scenes, and ciomi>aring
them with what shall then be,

" Wonder and joy sliall lill ihcir heart,
And lovo command their tongue."

Can you be surprised at the exultation with whicli it is here
foretold the eaints shall be inspired ? Can you wonder at the
defiance with which it is represented they shall insult their van-
quished foe ? Judging from his language, the idea suggested to
the Apostle's mind was that of the whole multitude of the raised
and glorified dead — an innnense assemblage — looking down witli
defiance upon the monster-foe, stingless and disarmed, giving
utterance to a song of universal triumph. Tt is a lofty conception I
The whole body of the redeemed constituting one vast choir: Some
of them singing " death, where is thy sting?" Others of them

•J"

196

FUNERAL SERMON.

responding, " grave, where is thy victory ?" Some, again, chaunt-
ing, " The sting of death is sin ! " Others, taking up the chaunt and
replying, " The strength of sin is the law! " And then, the whole
body breaking forth in one grand ecstatic chorus, " Thanks be
unto God which givetli us the victory through our LoiJ Jesus
Christ." that we might be present on that great occasion !
that we might listen to the triumphant song I that we might
help to chaunt its wondrous melodies 1

" Through Jems Christ our Lord! " This is <he climax of the
wondrous chorus. It is Christ who hath abol'shed death. He hath
banished him from his own domain — -the Church of the redeemed.
His blood is the price paid down as a ransom for the deliverance
from death of both the bodies and the souls of His chosen ones.
And this blood, and the atonement which it made, shall be the
chief theme in all the praises of the glorified in heaven : " Thou wast
Blain and hast redeemed us unto Qr^^A. by Thy blood, out of every
nation and kindred and people and tongue." " Thanks be to God,
which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

But for Christ, death would have remained victor, and our bodies
woald have been for ever held in the bondage of the grave. But
for Christ, Paganism would have been right; silence and gloom,
unbroken and impenetrable, would have brt>odetI over every
human grave. But for C'hrist, the glories of the resurrection
morn would never dawn upon the ,vorld ; the grave would reniain
for ever closed ; the caverns of the sea would for ever hold fast their
dead. But for Christ, the saints would never walk forth from their
graves in the robes of immortality, and the universe would never

•J<-

•>n

■*

FUNERAL SERMON.

197

witness the glorious spectacle of a redeemed world shouting victory
over death.

How much owe we to Christ I Have we peace ? He is its
author. Are we holy ? His blood has cleansed us. Have we hope ?
Christ is in us the hope of glory. Are we sustained in our
bereavements ? It is because our friends whom we have buried
out of our sight " sleep in Jesus."

I come to you to-day with a solemn message. I am commis-
sioned by the Presbytery to proclaim this Charge vacant. Already
are you called to take steps to fill the place of him who for more
than three and forty years presided over your interests as a congre-
gation, and ministered to you the Word of Life. There will bo
other ministers of St. Andrew's Church ; — there will never be buried
a minister of this congregation, who will have more earnestly
thought and worked for his people than he whose funeral we
attended on Thursday. To the very last his heart was here, going out
in aflfection for his people, anxiously desiring the future prosperity
of the church for whose interests ho so long laboured and so suc-
cessfully. There were in him resources of power, intellectual and
moral, not often found in the ministry; or this church woulcJ not
bo what it is, to day, in numbers, in liberality, in influence, in
true power. It is not pretended that he was always right I Who is
always right? But it is claimed that he was always conscientious
and that he ever sought, so far as he was able to apprehend, the
best interests of St. Andrew's Church. That he was a grateful
minister, feeling to an almost distressing keenness the kindnesses
which he occasionally received from his flock, none can doubt. The

*•

198

FUNERAL SERMON.

sympathy extended to him in the overwhelmin'^ sorrow which befel
him eighteen months ago was so di^eply felt as to be utterly inex-
pressible; and the graceful token of respect for him, and for her
whom he mourned, which some of you evinced in tbb erection of
that beautiful memorial destroyed by the calamity of the 24th of
October, lodged itself in his heart with undying gratitude. I
shall read to you the sentences which he penned in regard to this
ubject, and which he clearly purposed sending to those who had
thus contributed to his sad joy. These, his words, shall be my last
words to you to-day. They are found in an unfinished note, penned,
evidently, under deep emotion — an emotion so deep as that he was
unable to finish it. It would seem, indeed, to have been written
in a reverie of overwhelming grief mixed with gratitude :

Montreal, 4th Nov., 1867.

My D : Language is inadequate to express my gratitude for

your kindness in raising a memorial window in remembrance of my
dear Janet Ewing 3Iathieson. I can only thank you, which I do
from the very bottom of my heart.

The frail memorial, like her lovely life, has passed away ; teach-
ing us not to fix our afiiections on any eaithly blessings, but to
fix them on the things that are above. May the Divine Spirit affix
on our hearts the truth so impressively taught.

Youv sympathetic memorial took me somewhat by surprise. My

emotions were too dc'jp. I could not look on it without unmanly

weakness. From the glance I gave to it, it appeared to me very

beautiful. When they somewhat subside, I hope to contemplate it

with composure.

* * * *

■^

PART II.

*•

Kf'

THREE DISCOURSES

Preached by Dr. Mathieson,

Different Oecasions.

*■

!;•#-

■M

The writers of discourses for tlic pulpit are, of all men, the most
subject to interruptions in their litorary labours, and it cannot be
expected that they will be always equally successful in style and
matter. In proportion to the number of sermons from which a
selection is required to be made is the difficulty of fixing upon
such as may be esteemed the best, or the most suitable for pub-
lication. In the present instance, the amount of time and labour
that would be required in making a judicious clioice are such as
quite preclude the attempt. It is therefore proper to state that the
following sermons are offered to the public chiefly on account cf
the historical interest which is supposed to attach to them, rather
than from their intrinsic literary merits — though, at the same time,
they afford evidence of careful preparation and of high mental
culture.

The first sermon preached by Dr. Mathieson in Montreal, the
last sermon preached by him before the Synod, and, the last, to
the Congregation of St. Andrew's, will, it is confidently hoped, be
accepted as a pleasing souvenir of their author, and a suitable
accompaniment to these memoirs.

'>.<

SERMON I.*

Brethren, PRAY for us, that the Word oi the Lord may

HAVE FREE COURSE AND BE GLORIFIED. — II ThessaloniCins
111. 1.

My Christian Brethren and Friends — Having,with the customary
solemnities, been invested with the pastoral charge of this congre-
gation, I this day enter on the public performance of the very
important duties of that office — duties deriving their importance
at once from the authoritative sanction of Almighty God, whoso
ambassador to you, with the overtures of peace and reconciliation,
I profess to be, and also, from the intimate connexion which the
discharge of these duties has with the happiness or misery of your
undying souls; for the faithful minister of His Word is always unto
God a sweet savour of Christ in them that arc saved and in
them that perish ; to the one he is the savour of death unto death,
and to the other the savour of life unto life.

(*) This wag the first sermon preached by Dr. Mathieson in St. An-
drew's Church, Montreal— on the last Sabbath of 1826. It was delivered
by him again on the last Sabbath of 1869, a very short time before the
close of his ministerial labours.

*■

208

SERMONS BY DR. MATIIIESON.

The arduous and difficult nature of tlic duties of the ministerial
office bears a rohitive proportion to their supreme importance.
This, in part, arises from the nature of the office itself, the j^rcat
end and aim of which is the recovery of fallen and degraded men
to their original purity and happiness ; the enlightening of their
understandings who arc spiritually blind ; the communication of
truth to the minds of those who arc dead in trespasses and sins;
the production of principles which will bring forth fruit unto
everlasting life in the souls of them who are at utter enmity
with God, and habitually addicted to all that is impure and unholy.

In attempting to realize these great ends of the Christian minis-
try, it is obvious, from the nature of the employment, that difficul-
ties and discouragements of no ordinary magnitude stand in the
way. There is a levity and carelessness of disposition, and an
indiffiarence to whatsoever is of a spiritual nature, that are charac-
teristics of human apostacy, \^hich too often oppose themselves, at
the very threshold, to the reception of the Gospel. Should the
faithful minister of Christ succeed in breaking down this formid-
able barrier, and awakening in the mindsof His people a just sense
of their danger, still he will find that the unrenewed priflciples of
humanity will disqualify him from willingly accepting the plan
which God, in His wisdom, devised, and by His Almighty power
wrought out for the salvation of sinners, and which in the Gospel
of His Son is so clearly revealed. His pride refuses to be humbled,
and will not tolerate the communication of truths which fasten the
charge of guilt and depravity on the conscience. His selfishness
and vanity will but little dispose him to rely with humble confi-
dence for salvation on His merits alone whom God hath set forth

*■

SERMON I.

200

*■

to bo the only propitiation for sin, nnJ few indeed will bo found
who sit so loose to the world and its pleasures as to make thoso
fielf-sacrificcs wliicli the Gospel requires, and unrcluctantly
forcso the <iratirications of sense for enjoyments tliat are pure and
spiritual, and which can only bo discerned by the eye of an onliglit-
cned and discriminating filth.

Thus opposed to the prejudices and passions of men, the truths
of the Gospel will be regarded with aversion, or rajccted with
disdain by many, while its ministers, instead of being welcomed
with joy, as the hxrbingers of happiness ai\d peace, will bn tra-
duced as nies.^ongers of evil tidings, and propagators of a dark and
gloomy superstition, adapted only to abridge the number of our
social enjoyments and give a forbidding aspect to all the pleasures
of life. And should the MiiniUcr of Christ he the lionoured instru-
ment of awakening the n)inds of those committed to his charge to
a just sense of the danger of their condition, and instructing them
in the knowledge of those truths that are intimately connected
with their salvation, still he will find that here his labours end not.
His strenuous and persevering efforts will still he necessary to
convert their speculative knowledge into active principles. This,
unquestionably, is the work of a higher agent th.iu man, a work
which only Omnipotence can effect, still, as God chooses to work
by means, and as He hath set apart an order of men expressly for
the purpose of carrying forward His dcsi::ns with respect to our
fallen race, not to avail ourselves of the means which are of His
appointment— means which He" hath put within our reach, and pro-
mised to bless, would be as derogatory to His honour as it would
be altogether to deny our dependence on Him. Regiirdiiiir the

ISJi

>^4'

210

SERMONS BY DR. MATIIIESON.

Christian ministry na an instrument in God's hands for advancinfr
Christ's kingdom in the world, and building up from the ruins
of humanity a holy and spiritual temple in which the Most High
God will condescend to dwell, unquestionably, it is the most impor-
tant occupation in which a man can be employed, demanding
uncompromising fidelity, and unwearied devotedness, until the
image of God, after which man was created, again beautify and bless
every individual committed to his charge. how anxiously must he
tend the germ of divine truth implanted in the soul, lest the deceit-
fulness of sin, and the secret insinuations of the spirits of darkness
(for we wrestle not only with flesh and blood, but with principalities
and powers, the rulers of the darkness of this "world and spirilual
wickedness in high places) should wither it in the bud, before the
early dawning of conviction grow into that elevated piety, which
the darkness of guilt cannot obscure nor the temptations of the
world ever shako. How diligently must he watch the progress of
the divine life in the soul, lest the cares and vanities of life should
stifle it in its origin and tempt to repose the hopes of salvation
on the transient feelings of love or devotion — which casual circum-
stances, or a scrupulous observance of the formalities of religion,
awaken — instead of unqualifiedly surrendering every thought and
feeling, every word and action to the service of God. How fre-
quently and earnestly must he expostulate with sinners on the folly
of their ways, and again and again entreat them, by all that in
tender and encouraging in mercy, and by all that is awful in the
consideration of death, judgnient and eternity, to crucify the world
with its lusts, and be reconciled unto God. With what delicate
taste and discriminating judgment must he convey his instructions,

SERMON I.

211

so as to suit the capacities, the character and ciicumstances of
each individual, teaching; the rich and powerful to be humble and
charitable, the poor and oppressed to be patient and resigned to
the dispensations of Providence ; repressing the voice of the mur-
murer, checking the spirit of tiio arrogant, consoling the afflicted,
and comforting the penitent, without infusing the elements of false
peace into his soul ; rousing the careless and obdurate, and yet so
as not to break the bruised reed, nor inflame the wounds of the
contrite spirit; bearing home to theconsciences of all men the con-
victions of sin, and yet avoiding even the appearance of personality ;
in a word, approving himself unto Grod a workman that needeth
not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

How carefully, also, must he qualify himself for the performance
of his duties, by devoting many an hour to the erihausting exercise
of intense thought, and to acquaint himself with the general dictates
of inspiration, that he may not speak in God's name what He hath
not spoken, but plant " wholly a right seed : " How patiently must
he cultivate those dispositions and h;ibits, which will make his per-
sonal conduct a practical illustration of the doctrines he teaches.
How carefully must ho strive to elevate his principles and purify
his motives, that he may neither be seduced by the applause of the
world, and become vain ostentatious, or indolent nor be tempted to,
despond when he finds his aifoction and love repaid with contempt,
and when a seemingly impenetrable ignorance and insensibility resist
hiseff'orts to instructor improve those committed to his care. Amidst
the weariness and mental distractions which these labours entail
often will he envy the condition of the sons of bodily toil, who,
when the day's hard task is done, can quietly resign themselves to

212

SERMONS I'.Y DR. MATIIIESON.

the sweets of oblivious repose, and the protection of that gracious
Being who watches over thorn continually, and loads them wiih Hia
loving-kindness and tender mercies.

" When we cotiteniplate the great purposes to be served by the
Christian ministry, and the difficulties and discouragements that
stand opposed to its success, well may the servants of Clirist tremble,
and, in the consciousness of their own weakness, exclaim with the
Apostle, " Who is sufficient for tliese things 1 "

But although unr.umbered difficulties attend the discharge of the
functions of the ministry, yet there are many incidents which banish
despondency and throw a briglit ray of hope over the darkest hour
of trial. Bud as the world is, and unconcerned as men generally
are about their eternal welfare, the ambassador for Christ will
meet with many whose greatest wish is to obtain that salvation
which he is commissioned to proclaim, and whose chief happiness
is to listen,- in the spirit of meekness and docility, to his instructions ;
whose strenuous exertions will be employed to promote sincere
obedience to the precepts he inculcates, and will manifest their
gratitude by cultivating that spirity of charity which is the bond
of perfectness, and, which, like precious incense on the altar, will
diffuse a hallowed influence around. Such considerations will com-
municate a joy to his soul, which will more than compensate for
many an hour of toil and trouble. At the same time the reflection
that his success depends not on his own skill or strength, but upon
the power of God and the wisdom of God, will banish all distrust
arising from the consciousness of his own weakness. He feels, in
every diffieulty,strongin the Lord, and that, through Christ strength"
cning him, he can do all things ; hence, brethren, in the work of

»^

■A

SERMON I.

213

the ministry, wc ought never to view the difficulties to be sur-
mounted in connection with the weakness of the instrument which
God hath chosen to accomplish His puriwses, except in so fur as
such a view is c ilculitcdto increase our reverence for the ordininces
through which Tic communicates the influences of His Spirit, and
to stir us up to make a proper use of them.

But though it be to God, and to him alone, we must look fur success,
still, the assistance which lie vouchs.ifes to i;iipart, by no moans
supersedes the necessity of exerting, to the uttermost, our own
powers and faculties, and He only bestows His favours in the way
of His own appointment. Now, in His V/ord, we are repeatedly
assured, that the conditions on which He is ple:i6cd to grant Hig
aid, are, that we ask for it, and cherish it. " Ask and it sliail be
given you, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened
unto ycu." " Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will 1
do. " I know NO subject of meditation more appropriate to the
circumstances in which we are this d ly asso:nbled, than thcro(juest
Paul made to the Thessalonian Church, in the words of our text :
*' Brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free
course and be glorified, even as it is with you.'' When wo consider
the direct eifcct which this exalted act uf devotion has in procuring
for us the blessings which wc need, or its indirect influence in pro-
ducing those afi"cctions and feelings which dispose us to receive reli-
gious instruction with profit, we will be impressed with the conviction
that the request which Paul makes in the text, it is our duty to
comply with, no less from motives of personal advantage, than the
instincts of liumanity : " Brethren, pray for us, that the word of
the Lord may have free course and be glorified."

*■

■*

►I"-

■>J"

214

SERMONS BY DU. MATllIESON.

That wc may more forcibly apply the text to our own case, let
us briefly inquire in what way the word of the Lord had free
course and was glorified among the Thessalonians. Nor is this an
inquiry of little importance, for, undoubtedly, in whatever respects
it had free course and was glorified among them, in the same res-
pects and in the same way, in so far as our respective circumstances
coincide, it will have free course and be glorified among us.

We are informed by accurate chronologcrs that Christianity
was planted at Thessalonica by Paul about the 50th year of the
Christian era. The success of his ministry appears at first to have
been very great, for, in his first Epistle, he says " his coming
unto them was not in vain." That the Gospel had come unto
them, not in word only, but also in power and in tiie Holy Ghost,
and in much assurance, and he thanked God withou.*; ceasing,
because that when they had received the Word of God, which they
had heard of him, they received it not as the word of man, but, as it
is in truth, the Word of God. He also tells them that he remem-
bers their work of faith and labour of love ; that it was known at
Macedonia and Achaia, that they had become followers of the Lord >'
that they had turned from idols to serve the living God, and to
wait for His Son from heaven ; that their faith grew exceedingly ;
that the charity of every one of them all towards each other abound-
ded ; that they had faith and patience in all the persecutions they
endured ; that, as touching brotherly love, there was no need that
he should write unto them, as they were taught of God to love one
another; that they did so and edified and comforted one another.
From these passages you will perceive, how the Word of the Lord
liad free course and was glorified among the Thessalonians, and

■^

SERMON I.

215

filso what things ought to be the subjects of your frequent and
earnest prayers at the throne of grace. The Christians at Thessa-
lonica glorified the Word of the Lord by the readiness, humility^
and joy with which they had received it. They cavilled not at its
doctrines, they rejected not its precepts, but gave a willing assent
to all its demands. The blessed fruits it produced in them were
conversion from the darkness of heathen ignorance and idolatry to
the light of the gospel and the service of the living God, to the
exercise of patience in all their trials, to the exceeding increase of
an enlightened faith, and a widely extended charity. Such are tho
gifts and graces essential to the character of every Christian. Pray
then, brethren, to the Giver of every good and perfect gift that He
would pour out in rich effusion, upon all the ministers of His Word,
the enlightening, strengthening, sanctifying influences of His Holy
Spirit, that they may discern what is the good and perfect and
acceptable will of God ; that they may search for and find in the
pages of inspiration the law of their own lives ; and, by a faithful
discharge of their duties, recommend the same unerrii.g guide to
their several congregations. Pray ye, that the God and Father
of Our Lord Jesus Christ" would give, to every individual they
are commissioned to iuvStruct, the Spirit of wisdom and i-eve-
lation in the knowledge of Him ; the eyes of their understanding
being enlightened that they may know what is the hope of His call-
ing, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the
saints, and what the exceeding greatness of His power in them who
believe, so that they may embrace with gratitude the offered salva-
tion, and welcome with joy the glad tidings which angels announced
to the shepherds, while their anthems of glory to God in tlio highest

•H^

*•

216

SERMONS BY DR. MATIIIESON.

■*

awoke the still slumbers of the nicrht, and their hymns of praise to
God, and good-will to men, in sweetest melody, floated on the
midnight breazos o'er the plains of Bethlehem. Pray ye, that the
Gospel may came unto them, not in word only, but also in power,
and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance, to extirpate every
prejudice from the mind, to subdue every evil propensity, to withdraw
their hearts from the world's idolatry, and give the whole homage
of their affections unto Him whose inalienable prerogative is the
absolute sovereignty of the he:irt. Pray ye, that they mny be
endued with the faith that overcometh the wirld, that ohnrity, the
bond of perfcctness, mny be richly diffused over all the dwellings
of men; giving unto all a common objoot of pursuit, and a recipro-
cal concern for each other's wolfire which will unite them in indes-
tructible harmony. This is the true spirit of the gospel of
Christ. In proportion as it prevails the tumult and strife that
arise from a collision of conflicting interests are hushed, and wrath
and animosity disappear.

It is consistent with the loftiest conceptions we fovm of an
infinitely powerful aiul benevolent God that He grant an answer
in peace to the prayers of unfeigned fiith and humility. Explicit
declarations, that, " the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man
availeth much ; " that, " him that calleth upon God in sincerity and
truth He will hear and answer, " are scsittered over every page of the
sacro^l volume, and are confirmed by the experience of good men in
all ages. You have read that when the rebi'Uious Israelites com-
plained, and theanger of the Lord waskindled against them, an<l His
fire consumed them, Moses prayed and the fire was quenched. You
iiavo read that the prayers of Joshua arrested the sun in his course

KTIH

SERMON I.

217

until the ciioniics of the Lord had been destroyed; that the prayers
of Elias reanimated the dead, sealed the windows of heaven, so that
" it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six
months;" that at his intercession it was re-opened, tlie rain foil, and
the earth brought forth her fruits. You have read that the prayers
of ITezekiah brought an angel from heaven to cut off the beleaguer-
ing hosts of the Assyrians; that Samuel and John were given in
answer to their mother's supplications, and that the venerable
Simeon ultimately obtained what had long been the object of his
holy desires, and the theme of his constant prayers. But why need
I multiply examples of a fact which, I am persuaded, you all
acknowledge ; many of you, I sincerely hope, from your personal
experience. Surely, if the prayers of holy men in times past have
been effectual in working miracles, we may reasonably expect that a
gracious answer will be given to the requests we make for things
agreeable to the will of God. It surely is no hard or grievous con-
dition that is attached to the blessings He bestows, that -Ave ask for
them ; while you must feel satisfied, that, in the very nature of
things, prayer is a fit means for keeping aiive in our minds a con-
stant sense of our dependence on God, and cherishing those holy affec-
tions which qualify us for the reception of the Gospel, and make
us meet for the inheritance of the saints in light. Can a higher
honour be bestowed on mortals than being permitted to enter the
sanctuary of God, and worship Him who is adored by angel and
archangel. In every act of true spiritual worship wo leave
behind us the ignoble attachments of earth and ascend to those
mansions of glory where Jehovah has fixed hi,s tinone. Wo, come

into llis immediate presence, we behold all IJi.s excellence and

*■

218

SERMONS I5Y DK. MATHIE80N.

■*

hold friendly and affectionate intercourse with Hiin. Thus .sceini^
lliui as lie is, we become more intimately acquainted with His
nature and attributes, with the r, quireinents of His law, and assimi*
lated to Him who is the express image oi^ His person, and in our
nature has revealed the Father unto us. And when our thoughts
return to the necessary cares and duties of this world, like richly
freighted vessels from a distmt land, they will return fraught with
the spirit that pervades every bosom in heaven with love to God
and love to all mankind. Like the influence of the example of
those with whom we associate, we may not at once perceive the
efficacy of prayer, yet it will always be attended with similar effects,
and, more especially, if our supplications liave been that His Word
may have free course and be glorified. Indeed we can hardly ima-
gine that they who have bent before the throne of grace, and earn-
estly implored a blessing on the labours of their pastor, will retire
from the services of the sanctuary without being better members
of society, better prepared for the duties of life, and better fitted for
the kingdom of heaven. The voice, the manner, the matter of the
preacher's discoui-se may not be to their taste, but they go not to
find fault, but to profit by his instructions ; their humility will lead
then to consider whether much of what they dislike may not be
attributable to their own ignorance or vitiated taste ; while candour
v/ill constrain them to acknowledge that even from the most com-
monplace di-course much might be gathered, and, if appreciated
as it ought to be, would largely contribute to their spiritual edifica-
tion and improvement, and, much more than they who had neglected
the means and opportunities they possessed could reasonably hope
to receive. The infinite importance of the respective duties of

»$»■

■yi*

•*

SERMON I.

219

pastor and people will beget a mutual sympathy, which will, in
him. be manifested by intense earnestness in feeding the flock of
Christ, and in approving himself faitht'ul in the trust reposed in
him by the Chief Shepherd and Bishop of souls; and, in ihcin, by
an anxious desire to grow in grace and in likeness to Christ, under
the ministrations of Ilis Word.

The simple habits and incidents of pastoral life have often been
employed by the moralist to give point to his lessons and interest
to his tale. I know no moral picture half so lovely, nor half so
interesting, as t'lat of the faithful Christian sheplierd and his
flock journeying through this dark, rugged, and dangerous world
to the l.ind of uprightness. Peacefully they proceed, fervently
imploring heaven's blessings on each other, and lending each
other mutual comfort and aid ; he, carrying the lambs in his
bosom, carefully removing every obstruction from the path, and
gently freeing from the briars and thorns those that are
entangled by the way ; they, listening to the voice of the
shepherd and following his steps as he goeth before them.
This is no ideal picture. It is one that may bo realized over
the broad expanse of the world by the united faith-fraught
prayers of pastor and people. Coma, auspicious day! for then,
indeed, would the tabernacle of God bo with men, and the reign
of heaven commence, which the sure word of prophecy teaches us
to expect, when the light of the Gospel shall illumine every land,
and the dark and dreary regions of superstition and error shall
rejoice and blossom as the rose.

Perhaps I may bo indulged if I take this opponunity of
referring to a topic, somewhat in oonnjotioii with what wo have said,

M-

220

SKRMONS BY DR. MATIIIESOIT.

but perhaps more personal than ought to proceed from the pulpit ;
but, if the observations which I am about to make may, in any
degree, contribute to draw more closely the bonds whicli unite us
together, and stir us up to the exercise of mutual forbearance and
charity, I shall neither think they are mis-timed nor that they
degrade the sanctity of the place where I now stand. It may be
said that, if I conceive it to be the duty of a pastor to remove,
in so far as he is able, every obstruction that stands in the way
of the spiritual edification of his flock, and well knowing that
a general prejudice exists against discourses being read from the
pulpit, to act consistently with my opinion, I should endeavour to
mandate my discourses and avoid casting a stumbling-block in the
path of the htlting. This, lam now unable to do. The time
taken in mandating a discourse I would consider more profitably
employed, both for myself and the people I instruct, in acquiring
a more extensive knowledge of Scripture truths, and, in so far as
lies in my power, in composing clear, well-connected and interesting
discourses, and I am p-rsuadod; from the enlightened and liberal
sentiments which n)y hitherto limited intercourse has led me to
believe you entertain, that those who ditl'er from me in opinion will
bear with my deficiencies. Yet, I hesitate not to declare, — and this
confidence rises to assurance, if you yield yourselves frequently and
fervently to the duty enjoined in the text, and which I humbly crave
on my own behalf, as well as on behalf of all the preachers of
Christ's glorious Gospel that this you will do. Brethren, I
beseech you, pray for us. Pray for us, I beseech you, by all that
is interesting and beautiful in the spectacle of a company of
dependent mortals bonding in prayer before the throne of their

'^<

-l><i

SERMON I.

221

Almighty Father and Friend for thin<^s agreeable to his will; by
oil that is ennobling in the service; by all that personal satisfaetion
which is felt from the consciousness of tlie honour and dignity
conferred in being permitted to approach into the presence of Ilini
before whom angels veil their faces with their wings, as unworthy
to look oil Tlis uncreated glory. Pray for us, by all that pure and
exalted delight which the benevolent heart experiences in the
exercise of charity and love. We think it a mark of friendship,
and we take a noble pride in recommending one in whom we have
an interest to one by whose patronage and support he may rise to
honour and distinction in the business of life. But who is greater
tlian the Eternal Ruler of the universe— the Father and the Friend
of the good — and what greater honour can we have than being
permitted to commit those whom wo love to His protection and
care. Pray for us, I beseech you, by the salutary eifccts which
this act of worship will have on your own tempers and dispositions,
and by the close and intimate connection which subsists between
it and the salvation of your own souls. Time i.-) fast fleeting
onward, and boars with it on its wings the most momentous conse-
quences. By its shortness and uncertainty, and all that is awful
in the contemplation of death, judgment and eternity, I beseech
you, pray for us. It is now called to-day with you. Mutability
and vicissitude are stamped on everything earthly ; and the
lessons which this fact is silently pouring into the ear forcibly
remind us of the necessity of being up and doing. Another
period by which the lapse of time is marked will .«oon draw to a
close. The shadows of a few more evenings shall fall and the
dawn of a few more mornings will lighten the world, and the

i I

222

SERMONS BY DR. MATIIIESON.

present year will bo numbered with the ages that are past and
gone. But who can say that lie will see the end of the coming
year ? Those who to-day are blooming in beauty, and in the buoy-
ancy of health may calculate on a long life, may, ere to-morrow,
be cut down as a flower of the field, and in u few days their bodies
may bo crumbling into dust. Such considerations should have, at
all times, a powerful ofF:ct on minds capable of serious reflection.
From these considerations permit uie to urge you to the necessity
of working out your salvation with fear and trembling, while time
and opportunities are merol^ully given you. From these consider-
ations let me urge you to be frequent suppliants at the throne of
grace, pleading that God would give you that living faith — for it
is his gift— that, in answer to your prayers, will bring down plen-
tifully the richest of heaven's blessings on your souls, and on the
souls of all those with whom you are connected by any tie. Let
these exhortations sink into your minds, and m \y these precious
fruits be exhibited in your conduct. And, thou Almighty hearer
and answerer of prayer, while I crave the prayers of this people for
a blessing on the Gospel of salvation, which I am sent to preach
unto them, and that grace may be given me, that in all my ways
I may glorify Thee, and finish with acceptance the work Thou hast
given me to do, hear Thou, in heaven, and grant an answer to their
prayers in peace, and bless abundantly the preaching of Thy holy
Word, that it may have free course on the earth and be glorified I
And to TiiEE, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, one God, bo all tho
glory. — Amen.

■*

■^

SERMON IT.*

God created man in his own isiage, in the image op
God crkateu he him ; male and female treated he
TiiEM. And God blessed them, and God said unto
TiiEM, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish
thj-; earth, and subdue it: and iiAVfi dominion over

THE PISH OP THE SEA, AND OVER THE FOWL OP THE AIR,
AND OVER EVERY LIVING THING THAT MOVETH UPON THE
EARTH.— 6Vh. I, 27, 28.

My Friends, — It must, I tliiuk, bo evident to you all that there
it; an intimate connection between the condition of man, as stated
in the first of these verses, and the blessing pronounced upon hlin
in the second. In other words, that man's power to subdue the
earth and bis dominion over the irrational tribes of creation
depend on his being created in the image of God. It is to God-
like man dominion is committed, to man created in God's own
image that authority is given. The Divine image is the title to
his power and prerogatives, his God-like nature fitted him for

♦Prcaclied before tlic Synod, at Ilaiuilton, Ontario, on Sabbiuli, the Gtli

June, I8(j9.

u
11

f ■

'^<

226

SERMONS BY DR. MATIIIESON.

accomplishing his liigh destiny as lord of creation. Our text,
therefore, embodies the great constitutional law of man, and
determines the purposes of his being. He is to be " fruitful and
replenish tjie earth," t. e., he is to people the fair scenes of this
sublunary world with multiplied images of intellectual life, and
moral beauty, united in one community, by the sacred ties of divine
love. He is to " subdue the earth," {. e., he is to make himself
acquainted with those subtle and tremendous forces which the
Creator has stored up in the physical world, and make them the
subjects of his God-like will.

Obedient to the fixed laws imposed on them by the Creator,
these latent forces, evolved, controlled and directed by God-like
benevolence, would minister to the wants and wishes of man, and
everywhere spread before his delighted eyes gf^enes of paradisaic
loveliness and peace; but under the sway of a malevolent. will in
their impetuous energy would rend the earth to its deepest
f lundations and destroy every vestige of order and harmony. Goil-
like man, by a thoi'ough knowledge of their organic laws, wonld
modify, combine and regulate these forces, so as to make them the
obedient servants of his enlightened and holy will ; would make
them the communicating medium of his authority over the irra-
tional creation, both animate and inanimate, and appropriate their
various properties to his own use ; would make them the exponents
of Ills will, the medium of communication with all spiritual
intelligences, with angels, yea, and with the eternal fountain of
thought, the ever living and uncreated One.

This constitutional law seems to have been re-established at
man's second birth, but with some modifications. V/hen the earth

■*

SERMON II.

227

■*

emerged from tlie purifying waters of tlie deluge, beautiful as the
hues of the rainbow — that seal of the covenant which bound afresh
tlie agencies of nature to the destinies of man — God blessed Noah
and his sons, and said unto them : Be fruitful, and multiply, and
replenish the earth. And the fear of you, and the dread of you,
shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of
the air, and upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon
the fishes of the sea ; into thy hand are they delivered. We
may here remark that the subjection of the earth is not
expressly specitiod, or, in other words, the dominion of its
latent forces was not committed to man. The fear of him and
the dread of him was to be on all inferior creatures, and into his
hands they were committed, but not, as formerly, that he might
rule them with absolute sw.iy. Why was this ? Because he is no
longer the holy and benevolent being he originally was. The
image of God is defaced in his soul. He has lost the dominion
of the physical world because he is no longer like unto God, by
reason of which likeness sovereignty over the earth had been
committed to him. He is now unfit to hold the reins of authority,
. even had they been put into his hands. Tlie principles of his
nature are now at variance. Intellectually he is unable to discern
what is good. Morally, he is unfit to rule. Tiie propensions of
his nature are not now purely benevolent, nor can his intellectual,
his moral and physical powers be so fused as to produce unity of
action. What would be the result, I ask, if, in his present ungod-
like condition, beheld the latent forces of nature at his command ?
What would be the result, if, with his heart teeming with every
iiatel'ul passion, he could oiijuin (he thunders, and guide the

■i«

*•

■^!«

*■

228

SERMONS BY DR. MATIIIESOIT.

lightning?, and charge the powers that upheave the earth, and
make the mountain smoke, to obey his will ? These forces in his
hands would be fearful implements of destruction. In his
instinctive and selfish struggles for dominion all that is morally
beautiful and good would have long since perished from the earth.
Man warring with man would have convulsed the universe, Ilis
enlarged mental energies would have augmented and made more
formidable the iniplcments of evil, and everything capable of
destruction would have long since sunk in the conflagration of
unholy passions.

Let us here for a moment inquire what the ini'ige of God in
man is that fits him for dominion over the earth and the creatures
that are therein.

There seems to be a t'l vccfold division in the nature of man,
{. c, the whole man is composed of three several parts : the soul,
or the moral and religious nature of man ; the spirit, or pure intellect
— reasoning — conscience; the body, the mateiial tabernacle
in which these powers dwell, and by which visible expression is
given to their unseen actings. It is understood, says a popular
writer of our day, that Paul makes allusion to this distinction of
parts when he prays for the Thcssalonian Church, that " the whole
spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of
the Lord Jesus Christ." No doubt, says ho, man is thus composed,
whether the division be good or bad, or whether the Apostle
alludes to it or not.

It is the constant, united and harmonious action of those
several parts or principles of man's nature, and not the exclusive
exercise or predominating power of any one of thent, that fits

^:<'

SERMON II.

229

man for dominion. Each one must occupy its own sphere of
action, and not cncroacli on tliat of the others, or rather, there
must be a perfect unity in their individual actings. There must
be goodness, wisdom and power operating as an undivided whole,
a complete and perfect fusion of these distinct principles in every
determination of the human will. It is the unity of the divine
attributes that forms the grand characteristic of the government
of God. It is the unity of the moral and intellectual principles
expressed through the material part of his nature that constitutes
the image of God after which man was created. There have
been high developments of mind in the world, wonderful mani-
festations both of skill and power, since the creation ; but, in them
all, it will be found that these principles, though they have operated
in combination, have not acted in unity. But without unity of
purpose and of action they will be inefficient elements in working
out the destinies of man. They have wanted the harmonizing,
fusing clement of heavenly love. Not, indeed, wanted it entirely,
otherwise the world could not have stood, but they wanted it in
that due proportion which would have checked their irregularities,
which would have assimilated their energies and directed them
to their legitimate ends. They wanted goodness, the principle by
which the power and wisdom of the Superior Ruler of all tilings
is regulated and directed. They wanted that /oi'c by which He
binds all Mis faithful subjects in allegiance to His throne ; by which
He unites in holy brotherhood all the children of men ; by which
Ho elevates and sanctifies human thoughts and desires, and by an
amazing economy fits the Camily of earth for a holy iticorporation
with the great I'amily of heaven. They all wanted, as a pervading

■*

230

SERMONS BY DR. MATIIIESON.

eloiTicnt, a supreme regard to the will of God, wliich constitutionally
belongs to humanity, but has been so oblitera-ted as scarcely to be
legible in any of the pursuits or actions of men.

We cannot take oven a cursory glance at the great events of
the world's history without having the conviction forced home
upon us that it is not physical power, nor the might and energy
of pure intellect, nor of intellect and physical strength combined ;
it is not the ethereal dreams of imagination, nor the brilliant
conceptions of genius, nor the exquisite manipulations of art,
ministering to the refined pleasures and voluptuous indulgences of
social life, that elevates humanity, and gives it the mastery of the
world. These, indeed, are elements in the process, elements that
hitherto have been chiefly in operation, but, astonishing as the
fruits have been, no experience of the results can convince us that,
alone, they will ever replace the lost sceptre ©f dominion, in the
hands of man.

And, yet, in these days, when mechanical powers and intellectual
vigour have apparently reached the culminating point of excellence,
and the world's progress is advancing with the lightning's speed
— when the widening fields of knowledge have enlarged botli tlio
views and resources of men, and one discovery leads the way to
another of greater magnitude and importance with a rapidity that
is absolutely bewildering, and ominous of results that baffle the
human mind to conjecture; he would indeed be a bold speculator
who would afiirm that the final result will not be the highest state
of perfection, and the elevation of man to his lost throne of
dominion over tlic forces of nature. Already, in the vastness of his
power, he seems to have reached inmost the calminating point of

■*

SERMON II.

281

his high destinies. Even now, he flies over the earth with tlic
speed of the winds. " Fire and vapour of smoke," waft him over
the seas. " He sends the lightnings that they may go," and
obedient to His commanl, they say "here are we." — He hath
measured the heavens; and weighed tlie worlds that career througli
unbounded space ! By the application of His skill, He has ascer-
tained the component parts of many substances, and the laws
which give to each, its particular form, and weight, and colour :
and with a sovereign hand He presses them all into His service
Look at the steaiu engine, wluit a mastery of mind over matter
does not only its nicely moulded form, but also its complicated
and accurately adjusted movements, display !♦ Look at the gallant
ship, ill the face of the angry winds and boisterous waves, careering
over patliless waters, guided in her course by a knowledge of the
magnetic attractions of a needle ; and impelled by the application,
of a simple mechanical power ! Look at the earth returning in
richest abundance of fruits and flowers, the labour and fertilizing
piopcrties which a knowledge of its component parts enables the
skillful agriculturist to supply? Is it now deemed incredible that
the whole earth and sea shall be girdled with a line of intelligence ;
or that any undertaking, however stupendous, can defy the powers
of man ? We recently spoke with hopeful confidence of spanning
the broad St. Lawrence with an iron pathway, on which self-
impelling vehicles would rush alonij; with marvellous velocity.
That is not now a doubtful problem. It is an accomplished
fact ! And man, in the consciousness of his skill, smiles at the
idea of the enraged river, heaving its icy mountains with u
mightier force than that of the thunder-bolt at the light and

*■

232

SERMONS BY DR. MATIIIKSON.

beautiful structure, that seems to smile defiance to its power. The
accelerated progress of knowledge verifies the maxim that "know-
ledge is power." But what limitation can we assign to that power
In relation to human agency ? It would be vain to conjecture !
Most of the tremendous forces, that man, with sovereign power,
now presses into his service, are but of recent discovery; and
their attributes are but in the process of development. Although
they have been operating since the birth of time, yet, they are but
as yesterday to man. But what great things, even in the infancy
of his acquaintance with them, have they enabled man to achieve ?
When thaso., and all the other forces of nature, perhaps some of
them still undiscovercl, shall be fully developed — when man him-
self shall be thoroughly permeated with divine goodness, comprising
in that term every moral attribute ; when he shall have all his
powers, mental and physical, perfected, and harmoniously attuned,
and it shall be a necessary law of his being, to modify, combine,
control, and direct the mighty agencies- of nature to the most
beneficent moral purposes, then shall the e irthly destinies of man
be accomplished, and the will of God shall become the sole law of
sanctified humanity. But until this renovation is eficcted, assu-
redly we need not expect that the Eternal King will commit to
man, as his vice-regent, the unlimited command of the latent forces
of nature.

These elements, to be effective of any thing truly groat and good,
must be regulated and controled by a God-like will. Physical
strength and intellectual power may be employed to a bad as well
as a good purpose. Like a sword in the hand of a madman, high
intellectual power, in the possession of a godless man, would be a

•{«■

SERMON II.

23a

fearful and destructive iniplenient. Was there a universal diffu-
sion of knoAvlcdge; were the highest attainments in the mechanical
arts reached by every man ; were men intellectually and physi-
cally equal, those distinctions of rank observable amongst us,
and which seem essential to the very existence of society now,
would be unknown, and every man would do that which is right
in his own eyes. But would there be peace and plenty ?
Would there be prosperity and happiness ? Would there be
those cherished feelings and affections which belong to families ?
No 1 We fearlessly affirm that there would be universal anarchy,
and a disorganization of society, more complete than occurred in
the world before the flood ! and destruction more awful. A
licentious spirit of self-government, of which we now see the
incipient evils, would pervade individual minds. Each one would
struggle for sovereignty ! Bach one would be his own ruler. Each
one would be a god, a god unto himself, a god over all others.
Each one, impelled by the laws of his constitution, would aim at
universal ssvay. Increased mental energies, and enlarged physical
powers, would be sources of more tremendous evils than have yet
fallen upon man, and in the fierce contests for dominion, the
human race would bo extirpated from the earth.

Man is not yet prepared for his original birth-right of dominion.
He is not prepared for living with his race in unity, equality, and
fraternity, and this is indeed a condition of his being in a state
of perfection. The process is going forward that will effectuate it.
But intellect and physical strength, as we have said, are not the
sole formative principles. 'IMiey arc indeed the mightiest instru-
ments now at work ; but were they mightier than they are, they

'>M

■*

234

SERMONS BY DR. MATIIIESON.

would bo incapable of giving effect to the great constitutional I;uv
of man. God-like benevolence is just as essential a part of that
law, as knowledge or power. There must bo, moral, intellectual,
and physical energy, in united and harmonious combination. In a
^vord — the reformation within him of the image of God, before he
can regain or expect to regain his birthright .xovorcignty.

Now, is there any thing that would lead us to suppose t'.at
man will ever regain the possession of his lost dominion ? Shall
his knowledge ever bo so enlarged as to apprehend the nature of
every thing material, and know intimately the laws by which their
mutual relations are determined ; and have the power to dispose
and arrange them according to his will j shall he ever become God-
like, and ob3dient to the Jirst law of his nature ; shall he of neces-
sity choose good and r.ject evil — mastering the latent forces of
nature, shall he ever be able to compel them to submit to his
sovereign sway ? This may seem a visionary expectation. But
when we announce this as nuiu's destiny, we are borne out in the
assertion, both by the testimony of heaven and earth.

The divitie economy revealed in the books of nature and inspi-
ration is professedly a plan for restoring man to his birthright
privileges by restoring him to the in>age of God. The history of
the world in all the departments, both of animate and inanimate
nature, is demonstrably but a narrative of this plan, advancing
step by .'^tcp to its consummation.

Wc cannot even take a cursory glance at the intellectual and
moral condition of the human race in connection with the great
events of the world's history, without observing the silent, slow,
but steady progress of mental development — without observing

SERMOM ir.

235

■^

the perms of thouj^ht, at first stru;j;gling into lisht throu^li igno-
rance of the hii^h purpases of God, and m in's immortal tixistence —
that, like cliuineri.m d;irkne3'^, settled down upon him at his fill —
and then, in efflorescent beauty, presagin;; its profounder attain-
ments in scieutilio crutli. Nor can we fail to observe that the
practical and benefici:il results of increased mental power, had
depended on and corresponded most oxictly with the developments
of another principle — religious truth— which has been gradually
evolving since the day that the promise was given, that " the seed
of the woman shall bruise the head of the serpent." Nor can wo
look at the progressive power and transforming effects of this
principle without entertaining the confident anticipation that it
will ultimately expand, enlighten, and purify the human mind
and fit maji for again holding the reign of sovereign authority over
the forces of creation.

If we look to the mental developments of the e irlier ages, as
exhibited in the remains that have come down to us of these
sciences and arts, we cmnot fail to be struck with the influiuico
which religious truth had on the production of these results. An
.attentive observer of facts must perceive that all the loftier exhi-
bitions of mental skill owe their origin to the silent influences of
religion. Tliis is sufficiently attested by the structures of India,
of Kgypt, and even of Greec3, while the disintombed ruins of
Babylon and Nineveh testify to the same truth. It is admitted
that a deep veil of mystery still shrouds from the inquiring the
circumstances that gave origin to these stupendous structures,
the very descriptions of which fill us with amazement allied to
incredulity. It is only through the rcndings of that veil which

*•

*■

236

SERMONS BY DR. MATUIESON.

time has eifcctcd that wo can dimly see and impcrfoctly read these
legends. But from the shivered parcels of knowledge wliich we
can collect, we are warranted in concluding that in these tiations
the mighty impulsive power which operated on the public mind
and educed the national resources for the construction of these
sublime embodiments of their inner spiritual conceptions was
religious truth. We can trace in them all a recognition of the
o.xistenco and supremacy of God — of a belief in man's immortality
and his proud aspirings to a higher than his earthly destiny.
This shows plainly that the religious sentiment lay at the founda.
tion of all the great movements in history, if not in the form of a
cherished sacred feeling, yet, as an instructive propelling power.

Moro especially the revelation of the will of God recorded in the
Gospel of Christ throws the clearest light on the present condition
and future prospects of man. It intimates in strong terms his
coming dignity and sovereign power. It lells us that he shall
•' reign with Christ," " for whom are all things, and by whom are
all things." It asserts, what every man must feel whose moral
sense is not utterly vitiated and whose conceptions of God are
raised above the most brutal ignorance, that he has fallen from his
original state of innocence; that the image of God in his soul is
defaced ; that, instead of being a ruler, he is a degraded slave ; at
the same time it makes known a plan by which his sins are all
taken away, their guilt pardoned, and he is re-created after the
image of God in Christ Jesus, and refitted vfor the high purposes
of his being.

The word of God has gone forth into the world fraught with
diviue power, and it " will accomplish that for which it is sent."

^f-

SERMON ri.

237

On minds that " receive it in love of it," tlic spirit of trutli and
holiness is operating with a quickening, sanctifying power. It is
making the ungodly like unto tlie Son of God hiuiself, holy, good,
and utterly free from selfishness and sin. Though the leaves of
the Bible in themselves, and apart from the living spirit that is
Operating through them, are as inefficient to any good purpose as
the dry leaves which the autumn winds shake from the trees, yet,
containing, aa they do, " the testimony of God, concerning His
Son," the truths recorded in them become " spirit and life unto
every one who receives them in faith. The Gospel of Christ " is
the power of God and the wisdom of God unto the salvation of all
who believe," and divine pow^r and wisdom will assuredly afl'ect
that great change in the moral and intellectual condition of man
which will fit him to aj propriate the latent forces of nature, and to
employ them for the . "complishment of the great ends of his
spiritual and immortal li

The renovating power oi the Gospel is progressive and irresist-
ible. It is >ilent and unseen, and can only be known by its
eflfects ; but, as it operates through a visible agency, we can easily
discern these effects, and they have been greater and more
astonishing than the most marvellous transformations in the
material world. Men who have lived in all manner of wickedness
have been made holy and good. Men who have hated God and
each other, by the transforming power of divine truth have become
God-loving and devout, meek and gentle, tender-hearted and kind ;
in a word, have been made like unto the Son of God, who came
into the world to do the will of His Father, and went about con.
tiuually doing good, both to the souls and bodies of men. Such is

*■

238

SERMONS BY DR. MATIIIESON.

tliG natural tendency of a loving reception of the truths of tho
Gospel, They exalt, purify, and spiritualize the nature of man ;
they restore within him tho image of tho invisible God.

In the Gospel, not only are the most perfec. instructions given,
but, also, the most finished and perfect pattern of every virtue and
every grace is presented. In Christ Jesus we behold, embodied,"^
that exalted excellence to which all shall be raised who believe in
Him, " for in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the God-head bodily,"
i. e., in the Man Christ Jesus all the attributes of God, in perfect
union with humanity, are manifested. The incomprehensible
God, whom no eye hath at any time seen, is revealed in a condi-
tion which our finite minds can comp >hend and appreciate ; " all
the goodness of God is made to pass before us. And how
glorious is the spectacle 1 la the Man Christ Jesus, wo behold
infinite wisdom and goodness administering infinite power i All-
embracing love directing unsearchable knowledge ! How consistent
with each other, and with the whole will of God, was His every
thought, every word, every action ! How loving and compas-
sionate I How holy, and just, and true! How tender, and kind, and
good, was He ! His character was unique. No one ever approached
it by an infinite degree. Truly, He was God manifested in the
flesh.

And yet, it is to such perfect excellence that the Gospel
designs to raise the sinful children of men I By faith they are
united to Christ, and the glory which the Father hath given unto
Him He hath given unto them, that they may be brought to "a
complete communion of Divine life with Him." When the grand
fechemo icvealed in the Gospel for the moral renovation and

'>^

SERMON 11.

239

redemption of man will be completed, they will be assimilated to
Him, and raised to a share of His happiness and power, for He hath
declared, " to him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me on
.my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my
Father on His throne."

When man shall have all the powers and faculties of his nature?
both mental and pliysical, thus perfected and harmonioudy
attuned, and it shall be a necessary law of his being to modify;
combine, control and direct the mighty agencies of nature to the
most beneficent moral purposes, and the will of God shall become
the sole law of his thoughts and actions, then shall his earthly
destiny be accomplished. Then, this rudimentary state of things
t^hall close, " and a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwellcth
righteousness, shall bo the dwelling place of holy, spiritualized
humanity." Intellectual life shall then consist in choosing that
which is good, and applying the best means for the accomplish-
ment of the best ends. Moral life shall consist in absolute purity^
in constant action. Physical life, in the exercised functions of a
spiritual, immortal body. These, in union, will be the distin-
guishing qualities of perfected humanity. The living power of
the Gospel of Christ, having accomplished its groat traiisforma"
tions, man shall be re-invested with his lost sovereignty, and shal
reign with Him who is head over all things, for ever and lor ever-
The blessed spirits around the throne of heaven, in their song
that is ever new, arc represented as a.scribing glory and praise unto
Him who redeemed tliem by His blood, and made them unto their
God, kings and priests to reign with Him on the earth. It is far
beyond tlie powers of our minds even to conceive the blessedness

■^

•?«■

■^

240

SERMONS BY DR. MATIIIESON.

of tliose who, as kings, shall reign over the tremendous forces that
are stored up in nature, and as priests shall present them all, an
offering unto God in the accomplishment of His will. The
triumphs of mind over matter which we now behold are, so to speak,
but the germinal buds of the matured fruits of mental grandeur in
those happy scenes whichshall succeed this perplexed and troubled
state of being — a state of being, however, perplexed and troubled
though it be, which is, perhaps, the one best adapted for eliciting
the faculties that fit a man for the society of heaven — best adapted
for making him acquainted with those forces, and the organic Iaw«
they observe, on the knowledge of which his future intercourse
with the spiritual world depends. Forc-3s which anniiiilate time
and space, and th) command of which invests man with a power,
the results of whicli it is impossible for him, in his present state,
even to conceive.

In conclusion, permit me to oiFer a few exhortatory remarks by
way of inducing you to cultivate with care your physical, your
moral, your intellectual faculties, and to strive to have all the
principles of your nature so elevated, purified, and harmoniously
adjusted, as to fit you to " reign with Christ upon the earth;'' and
as priests, to present the various motive powers of matter, witli
the governing laws and results, a holy offering unto God.

No physical culture, it is true, can give life, — that is the gift of
God, through the Lord Jesus Christ. Tlic body is the casket in
which that gift is preserved ; and the instrument by which its
operations are expressed. By observing the laws necessary to
health and longevity, you give an enlarged sphere, and a more
intense energy to the actings of your moral and intellectual nature.

*■

•i-

SERMON II.

241

*■

Although the spiritualized body, when it is raised from the dust of
death, shall in many respects differ from the body of flesh in which
we now live, we huve no reason to believe that any of its powers or
faculties shall have perished in the grave. Those are essential
elements of humanity, necesjary to its perfected condition as well
as to its growth and maturity. It is by physical action that the
thoughts and desires of the mind are expressed. The more
perfectly they are expressed the more true and sympathetic will be
the contact of one mind with another, and less liable to misappre-
hension or error. In our ignorance of the future we cannot tell
what effect the full development of our physical powers will have
on our spiritual condition, but, assuredly, the results will be glorious.
This we know, that while striving to perfect them we are doing the
will of God, and, as His agents, carrying forward the great work
which He is accomplishing on the earth.

Cultivate with care your intellectual powers, endeavour to form
the habit of accurate observation and patient thinking. Many
things will occur in the journey of life which you know little or
nothing about, but their causes and eflPects it is important you
should know. Let nothing that is new to you pass fro n your
minds without becoming the subject of patient scrutiny. Many
individualand social advantages are derived from this practice.
The simplest incidents oftentimes give origin to the most impor-
tant discoveries. The falling of an apple to the ground led
Newton to reflect on that power which causes all bodies to descend
to the centre of the earth. Investigating this power on the
principles of sound philosophy, he disc.tvered tiie law of universal
gravitation, a discovery which wrought such a revolution in the

■^

242

SERMONS BY DR. MATIIII'SON

opinions of men, as to present philosophy in a new aspect, anrl
religion in a more attractive form. It will not be till all the latent
powers and properties of nature be fully elicited and distinctly
understood, that ram's earthly destiny shall be accomplished and
huminily fitted for the employments of the eternal world.

Above all cultivate your moral and religious nature with
assiduous care. If we have been orrect in our deductions, that
the sentiment of religion, either as an instinct or a moral principle,
has been the chiof stimulus to every great enterprise in the ancient
world , if the utility of every discovery has wonderfully corres-
ponded to the developments of this principle; if, until it is per-
fected, and God's will sliall be the sole law of our lives, wo will
hope in vain to repossess our birthright dominion over the earth ;
if without this principle to regulate the outgoings of knowledge,
our acquirements would be a curse instead of a blessing, then
cultivate your religious sentiments with peculiar care. To this
end you have every advantage given you ; you have divine
instruction given, a perfect example set before you, heavenly aid
piomised you, and the noblest object that can inspire ambition and
animate Christian zeal is placed before you as the end and aim of
all your aspirations. Let the mind that was in Christ be also found
in you. Until you are made like unto Him, you arc unfit to guide
the elements of natuic, and command them to obey your will.

Science is increasing its bounds, knowledge is enlarging its
fields of operation. The world of mind and the world of matter
seem to be hastening to perfection ; why should the Divine science
of knowing God in Christ stand still? Why should the fields of
heavenly knowledge remain uncultivated ? Why shut our eyes to

•<i*

■*

SERMON ir.

24a

the li'-'lit of the truth, that alone can uruide our course over the
dark waters of perplexed and troubled thouglit ? Why shut our
hearts t;) the influences of God's love, which would mould them
unto His own image and make fallen man like unto Christ Jesus,
holy, benevolent, ever doing good, whose voice all nature obeyed ;
whose will was the will of His Father in heaven, whose dominion
endureth throughout all generations.

When man, created anew after the image of God, shall be pure,
righteous and good, as when first he came from the hands of his
Maker, and shall oifer the fruits of his enlarged faculties an holy
offering unto God, then shall be completed the great work which
Christ came from heaven to accomplish. You are called to be
fellow-workers with Him. If uuble ambition can inspire your
hearts with courage ; if glory, honour, and iumiortality can excite
you to patience and perseverance in well-doing ; if eternal life be a
reward adequate to the dignity of the renewed mind, the prize is
before you. The most favourable advantages are afforded you,
the Sabbath with its holy ordinances, communion with God and
its blessed influences, the Bible and its words of perfect life and
liberty are the high privileges you enjoy, Christ is ever with you to
make them available. Yield yourselves to the influences of His
Spirit. Through Him strengthening you, you can do all things
you will attain dominion not only over the earth but the higher
glory of ruling your own spirits, being filled with the light and the
righteousness of God. Amen.

► ^■

'^'^

t'f-

SERMON III.

AND IT WAS WINTER. — John X, 22.

The winter is a season that is fitted to call up reflections of a
solemn but of a peculiarly interesting and improving kind. The
year, closing amidst its rigours and when nature seems dead, silently
leads the mind to the time when the long and dreary winter of
death shall come, and the darkness of the grave shall cover us. But,
if winter is associated with the gloomy thoughts of death, it is also
brightened with the pleasing hopes of immortality. If we give the
parting tribute of a sigh to the departed year, that may have borne
away with it many of our joys, so do we hail with gladness the
advancing yeaf, which, in the buoyancy of hope natural to the human
mind, we expect will be fraught with many blessings. As these
anticipations come crowding upon us, if we devoutly raise our
thoughts to that gracious Being, " from whom cometh down every

This, the last sermon preached by Dr. Mathieson, was one of his
favourite discourses. It appears to have been written aliout the j-ear
1848, and to have been preached frequently — twice at least to the Con-
gregation of St. Andrew's — the last occasion being on the 23rd of January,
1870.

■*

246

SEKMONS BY Bll. MATIIIESON-

good and perfect gift," the winter would not only remind us of the
close of liumtm life, but would also lead us to contcnipbitc those
.scenes which shall succeed the fluctuations and changes of mortal
existence, and for the enjoyment of which the trials and vexations
of this passing scene iirc wisely and graciously designed to bo
preparatory.

We are now in the very lieart of the winter. The light and the
heat of the sun are diminished ; the day " has dwindled to its
shortest span ;" the earth is buried beneath the snow ; myriads of
those living beings that sported in the beams of the summer's
sun are motionless or dead, and others have taken their flight to
more congenial and far distant climes ; the groves are now silent,
or echo to the moaning winds ; the rippling streams, which lately
to the imagination seemed the very types of youthful gaiety, are
now ice-bound and still, or like a mighty giant, contending with
death, for a moment they straggle with their crystal fetters,
and then, " like a child that has brawled itself to rest," they
lie still and silent as death. Over the face of nature a death-like
torpor is cast, and scarcely a vestige of what clothed hill and dale
with beauty is now to be seen. Yet, over this dead and desolate
scene the bright and beautiful sunshine is often tlirown with sur.
passing splendour, like the light of immortality shining on the
coldness and desolation of the tomb. The jocund voices of con-
gregated friends, in healthful exercise on the ringing ice or crisping
snow, the glad re-unions of the scattered members of families around
the paternal hearth, the warm flow of charity, brimming over to
the cold and hungry poor, which tliis season calls forth, may remind
us too that there arc affections and feclinus which deatli cannot des-

•i«

-^--^^

■^

SERMON III.

247

troy ; that spiritual life glows amidst the desolation and decay of
matter, and of that joyful re-union of the far scattered members of
the great family of God, wlien time shall bo ended and eternal
ages shall run.

Nature lifts up her instructive voice in every season, and adapts
her lc(-sons to the varying emotions of every period of human life.
But never is her voice more awfully solemn, nor her lcs.sons more im-
portant and instructive, than when uttered amidst the storms and
ravages of the closing year. To the consideration of these, our text
naturally directs the thoughtful miiul, but in calling your atten-
tion to the teachings of Nature it shall not be our object in
this discourse to lay before you all the lessons suggested by the
text, interesting and important though they may be. We will confine
our observations chiefly to the circumstances with which it is con-
nected, and hope that, by blending them with the emotions that
naturally belong to this season, a deeper and a more permanent
impression of divine things may be made on our minds, and that
the storm and desolations of the winter may be unto us the
impressive preachers of righteousness.

It was winter. This was the season when the Son of God
appeared in the world, and the cold and bleak aspect of Nature
is a befitting emblem of the cold and uncourteous reception that
was given to llim by thnse He came to save. He came to his own,
buthisown received him not. Though Tie was " the Lord of Glury,"
" the Prince of the Kinu's of the earth," none welcomed His
advent — none waited to do Him homnge; He seemed an oulcjast in
the world, which He Himself had made. He was despised and rejected
by the creatures He had formed The hardships and privations to

*■

■»*

248

SERMONS BY DR. MATIIIESON.

which He was exposed cannot be surpassed in the condition of
the most nef;;lcctod of the children of poverty, even amidst tlie
riirours of the most inclement winter.

Brethren, our hearts aro touched with pity when wo look upon
the sufferings of homeless poverty and want aggravated by pinching
cold ; and colder than the bitter blasts of the winter must bo the
heart of that man who would not to the poor, at lea,st to the
suffering poor, extend relief Judging from these generous feelings of
our nature, we can hardly conceive it possible that we could have
incurred the reproach which is justly attached to the Jews, for their
inhospitable reception of the Saviour. But let us bear in mind
that much of this generous sympathy with the suffering poor must
be aserib d to the benign influences of the religion of the Son of
God an advantage which the Jews possessed not, and that much of
their unkind treatment of Jesus arose out of prejudices with which
we have not to contend. But notwithstanding our superior advan-
tages, have we any reason to boast of a more profound sympathy
with the "Man of sorrows?" Have wc given Ilini a kinder
reception than His Qwn ungrateful countrymen gave llim? When
lie sent out His disciples with thcmcssagis of peace and salvation
Pie said unto them : " He that recoiveth you receiveth Me." This is
greit plainness of speech. Have His messengers come unto you
in His name, and with His own gracious words of love and mercy
on their lips, and have you received them as you think you would
have received Jesus, the Son of God, had you lived when He was
ni inifested in the flesh ? Have you listened to them with the same
iiitenso earnestnis^ as you think you would have listened to Him
** who spake as never man spake" had you enjoyed the privilege .of

■^

■*

SEKMON III.

240

listening to the audible tones of His heavenly voice ? It is vain to
say the r;»so is altered now ; that those who come to you are rude
in speech and ungainly in manners; they tell you nothing that
you have not heard before. Christ knew well what He said, and
we repeat His words, " he that heareth you hoareth Me." He well
knew that those He sent forth with the overtures of pardon and
peace were uicn full of imperfections and sin, that the " bodily
presence" of some of them " was weak" " and their speecu con-
temptible," yet He selected such imperfect earthly vessels for the
conveyance of the messages of His love, and He claimed for them in
the exercise of their holy -duties tho same honour and respect that
should be shewn to Himself " He that despiseth you despiseth
Me, and he that despiseth Me, despiseth him that sent Me."

Brethren, if we would bear in mind these solemn words of our
Lord there would be surely less disrespect shewn to the messen-
gers whom He sends, and less indiflfcrenee to the tidings which they
bring. Surely if we felt that we were condennied sinners, and hell
was yawning to receive us, our cry would be, " what shall we do
to be saved " Instead of seeking. to have our ears tingled, and
our tastes gratified, we would earnestly seek to have our hearts
affected, aud would listen with the most intense interest to every
illustration, and to every exposition of that scheme of niercy and
grace by which the sinner is sanctified and saved. Our earnest desire
would be to have the life-giving truths of God's Word dwelling
richly in our hearts. It would not be for the streams of worldly
delight we would thirst, but for water from the wells of salvation ;
and we would drink of them deeply, wii.thor presented to u.s in an

earthen cup or in a golden chalice.

*■

■^

250

HEI5M0NS IIY DK. MATIIIESON',

Ui ■

V.I

^ '.'

i} :1

But wliat is tho reception that men generally j^ivc to the me»-
Reiij^crsofClii it t ? Is it with the " enticinf? words ol'man's wisdom,"
er ill the uiiadoniod siiuplicity of truth that they desire to have
the (Jospel prcaehcd uii-to tlioui ? There is no dismiisinjjf the fact,
unless tho iMessciiiier of God conic with all the artificial graces of
oratory, and a voice in modulated tones to captivate the car, he
will not incet respect due to his sacred office. What is the rcccptior>
they give to the divine message itself? l>o they who hojxj to be saved
by the faith of the Gospi'l cherish its truths in their own heart*
and endeavour to have them extended and established in the world ?
'•The foxes 1 avc holes," said our blessed Lord ; "the foxes have holes,
and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of nian hath not
whereto lay his head. " Like its homeless Author, Christianity slilB
seems to want slielter and a resting jdace in the woi Id. What has been
done for teaching and making disoiples of all nations of the earth 7
This is the mission <d' kingdoius as well as iiuiivitluals, but what
provision lias tiie im^st favoured kingdom luaile ftr the mainte-
naiic.! of the public worship of God, and publisiiiiig the knowledge
i)f salvation throughout the world ? xVpirt from political consi-
derations, absolutely nothing. As a fiscal arrangement, as a cheap
state police, the preaching of the Gospel is sanctioned, and in some
states publicly su|>ported in some measure. The teiideney of Cliris-
tiaiiity as a national institution is to promote the pcaej and pr )S-
perity of society, to empty the prisons by preventing crimes, to
dimiiii>li pauperism by promoting industry, to establish intern;'
peace by inculcating coiileiitiaeiit aiultlie practice of goc' "iir
uiid to ertect tliese important purposes, in some places, a iiu.-..

been given, but sliutedly and gruilgingly. But, in rwluiion to

■4'-. ■

>!«

SERMON in.

251

men's lii^lier ami iiuinoi'til dcstiiiius, wlmt li;ivo nations done for
the ostablishmont of Christianity on tlio oarth ? 0, cry out some,
with atFoctcd earnestness, "the kingdom of Uhritt is not of this
world;" it has no connection witli its iwlicy or pursuits. A national
reUgion C(/rrupts the streams of divine truth. A national church
letters the free spir it of Christianity, encroaches on tiie civil liber-
tics and religious privileges of the people. The work of evange-
lizing the world has been committed to the saints. The duty is
fours. We perform the comuiandment of the Lord. Ah !" What
meaneth, then, this bleating of the sheep in mine ears,and this lowing
of oxen that [ hoar?" If it is the duty of one and all of Christ's
followers to devote themselves and all that they have unto Him ; if
this dedication of themselves be a fr. c and voluntary self-sacriliec,
what mean, then, those blatant appeals from platforms and
pulpits to the geucrosity of " the Christian people." What mean
those bollowings and boastings of what has been reserved
from luxurious pleasures as s.icrilicjs unto the Lord ? After all
the noise and pious prattle that has been made, whai are these
sacrifices? crumbs from the table! paltry clippings of garments!
the sweepings of fraudulent gains perfumed ostentatiously with
the odour of charity ! ! Has there boen i sacrifice of spiritual pride?
of sectarian animosity? of Pharisaic arrogance ? Has there been a
willing obedience to the"' exc-eeding broad commandment of Chris-
tian love' which is better than all sacrifices. Brethren, calmly and
candidly, cont^5mplating the state of Christianity in the world and
the ettbrts that have been made to exteui the boundaries of Christ's
Kingdom, can we affirm that either Christian nations or Christian
men have done their duty ? Has even the Church been faithful to

■*i<

252

SERMONS BY DR. MATIIIESOST.

the trust committed to it ? We are ol)liged to confess that, like its
unnoticed and neglected Author, Christianity still sleeps as in a
manger ; that it is still confined as with swaddling clothes, and
ia bonuuibed by the chilly wintry blasts that whistle around it,

2ndly. " It was winter." This was the seison, says the Evangelist^
somewhat emphatically, when Jesus walked in Solomon's porch, in
all probability to shelter Himself from the inclemency of the
weather, as well as indirectly to give the Jews another proof that
He was the Mec-'.ah.

In all the sinless infirmities of humanity Jesus participated ; He
submitted to hunger and cold and fatigue in the execution of the
work given Him to do. In the porch, or covered way of the Temple
named after the Son of David, did Christ, his Son in a far higher
and spiritual sense, seek to shelter Himself from the me];ciless
blast ; but cold and cutting as it was, it wv.s not so keen as the
storms which the malice of liis eiiemifo, caused to fall on his
unsheltered head.

It ia painful to think that this stornj continues to rage with
unabated fury. We speak not now of those who openly blaspliome
His holy name, and with demoniacal fury attempt t6 subvert His
lieavenly religion, we speak of those who profess to honour
Him, but who in thoir deeds* deny Him. As sincere inquirers
after truth, the Jews came round about Him, asking Him to
tell th.om plainly if He were the Christ. Thi-j seems to be a
reasonable and a candid rc'iuost ; but their hearts were full of
prejudices and animosity agauist Him, which no testimony could
subdue. Had He told them plainly that He was the Mcs*siah, wo
know from the subsequent context whfit would hare happened.

-8

A '

i;!^

■A

SEKMON III.

253

He told them, as plainly as the state of their own hearts would per-
mit the truth to be revealed, consisstently with tiio natural accoai-
plishnient of His purposes, that all power in heaven and in earth
was His, that life and death were in His liands, and He accompanied
the&odeclarations with such proofs of His veracity as were sufficient
to convince reasonable Picn ; but they believed Him not. His
humble birth and His obscure condition did not correspond with
thoir notions of the Messiah. And when He asserted, in express
terms. His divine origin and heavenly power, they accused Him of
blasphemy, and would have stoned Him to death had Ho not
" escaped out of their hand."

How similar is the conduct of many professed followers after
truth in these days, to t'lat of the Jews. Tliey come to the Bible
Avith the ostcn.sible questini, tell us plainly, is Jesus of Nazareth
the Christ but their judguit 'it is already formed. They believe
that he is merely a man, it may be a good man, qualified to instruct
mankind now they may enter into the kingdom of heaven. To
every Scripture testimony to these facts they yield their assent, but
when, in very cxi»licit terms, tlie Bible affirms that Jesus has power
in Himself to lay down His life, and to take it again ; when it
speaks of nis death as an atonement for sin, and ascribes an effi'
cacy to His blood that is more precious than all created objects'
when it testifies that salvation is God's work entirely, and refers
to the manifestations of God in nature and in providence as a proof
that its revelations arc true ; when it speaks of the utterly help-
less state of all mankind, and that none but Jehovah can save
them ; when it ascribes the incommunicable attributes of Jehovah
to Jesus, and asserts His being one with the Father, in terms which

SI »

254

SERMONS BY DR. MATIIIESON.

no sophistry can mystify, and no ingenuity can sub\'crt, thoy arc
driven to denounce the views, which an honest, unbiassed mind
would take of these statements, as blasphemous, or to have recourse
to unbelief. Thct^e sufficiently plaintestinionios of the Bible arc all
so irreconcilable with their pre-conccptious of the nature of God*
and the laws of his moral government, that they will not believe
them. Our Lord tells us why : '' Ye believe not" said lie to the
Jews, " because ye are not of my shcjp. My sheep hear My voice'
and they follow Me, and T give unto them eternal life." They, like
the Jews, have formed a sclnme of salvation, more in accordance
with what they think to be right and philosophical. They are wedded
to their own notions. It is not with the spirit of candid inquirers
that they approach the Scriptures. Instead of listening to their
testimony, as that testimony would bo received by simple-minded
and candid men, thoy listen to the suggestions ol' their own reason-
ing faculties, and follow the counsels of their own heart:?. Though
they know but few of the ways of Jehovah and cannot comprehend
the full thunder of His power, yet they would concentrate in their
own narrow minds all knowledge of His nature and attributes, and
denounce as blasphemous everything that would controvert thoir
own limited views of His incomprehensible nature, and unfathom.
able purposes.

But it is not by the blasting influence of speculative opinions
inconsi.stent with the plain and simple statements of God's Word
that men corrupt and destroy the genuine fruits of the Gospel ; by
their practical indifference to the doctrines of Christianity, there ia
more real harm done, than by open hostility. " If ye love Me," said
Jesus, " yc will keep My commandments.'' If obedience be the test

■^

*■

■^

SERMON III.

255

and measure of love for Jesus, few, I fear, can free themselves from
the reproach of treating Ilim disrespectfully, as the unfeeling Jews
did. Which of His commandments have been faithfully kept ? Who,
with corresponding zeal, have striven to advance those great pur-
poses which He came into this wintry world to accomplish ? Have
we ourselves done nothing to retard His religion, or excite against
it the withering soorn of the scoffer? Have we never, by our indif.
fereuce to the all-important truths of salvation, confirmed others in
sin or encouraged them to pursue the path that leads to destruc-
tion ? I fear, brethren, even (vlien we drop the tear of mor-
bid sympathy over the memorials of His sufferings, were we faith-
fully to remefubor how we have discharged our incumbent Christian
duties, we could not adduce our fidelity to His commandments, as
an evidence of our luve to Jesus. Oar hearts are often as cold as
the winter's snow to all that tends to advance His kingdom, and
the tunour of our conduct is as injurious to vital godliness as the
bitter blasts from the frozen north are to the early flowers of the
S]>ring.

oidly. Our thoughts are directed by our text to the circum-
stances which distinguished the season when Jesus walked in Solo-
mon's porch. " It was at Jerusalem, tlie feast of dedication, and it
was winter."

The feast of dedication was not of divine appointment, it was insti
tuted long posterior to the giving of the Law, probably by Judas
Macabcus, and afterwards confirmed by the supreme counsel of the
nation. It was designed to comniemorate the recovery of Jeru-
salem from tlio heathen, and the purification of the Temple from
the gross profanation of it by the impious Antiociius. Either out

*■

■►J.

»¥«•

'.! : i

' 'i
I' I

1 i

^
'h

Z L

.z. -

256

SERMON BY DR. MATIIIKSON.

Oi' revenge or cruel policy, that tyrant, after quelling an insurrec-
tion in Jerusalem, slew 40,000 Jews in one day, and sold as many
more for slaves. Not contented with this, he profaned the Temple
in a way most abhorrent to the religious feelings of the Jews. He
intruded himself into the " Holy of Holies," into which it was
unlawful for any one but the High Priest to enter, and only law-
ful for him, once a year, when he entered with the blood of atone-
ment. To pollute the sacred edifice, to the utmost degree, he
caused swine to be sacrificed on the altars of God, and water in
which the flesh of these unclean animals had been boiled to be
sprinkled on every part of the building, that it might be rendered
utterly unfit for the worship of the living God.

After it had lain three years in defilement, it was recovered by
the Jews and purified with many sacrifices and lustrations, and
dedicated anew to the worship of God. It was to commemorate
the purification of the TempK; that the feast of dedication was
instituted. The Jews celebrated it with great pomp, as a resusci.
tation of their political being, and, as it were, life from the dead,
and Our Lord sanctioned it with His presence.

But, brethren, the defilement of the symbolical temple was not
more complete than the pollution of the liuman soul by sin. Tlie
soul is the spiritual temple of God, which at its creation was
honoured with the divine presence, and which He hath promised to
fill with His glory ; but before the Spirit of God can dwell in the
soul of m:in it must be purified, raised from desolation, and
consecrated to the service of Jehovah. Like the material temple, it
must be sanctified by sacrifice •■> • lustrations, by the sacrifice of
Him who " came to put away sin" by off"ering Himself unto God

■*

iiLi ^

■*

SERMON ill.

257

for us, and by sprinkling the soul with His blood, which " clean-
geth it from dead works to serve the living God."

Without straining the analogies of nature beyond due bounds,
does not tlie winter, with its softly falling snow, suggest lessons
of spiritual purity and divine activity, analogous to what both
reason and Scripture tell us must pass upon the soul of man, before
it can be restored to the divine favour ? As winter approaches, the
earth gradually assumes a deadlier aspect, a more sombre hue ;
yet still there is vegetable life and matured beauty. Many of the
autumn's flowers are in bloom ; the meadows are still green, and
the tinted leaves still adorn the woods. It is winter : thoy droop
and die. The first nipping frost strips the flowers of their
beauty and sweeps the leaves in rustling shower.s to the ground.
The earth is cold and dead : incapable of sustaining life : rugged and
unsightly. The fleecy snow descends, how soft and beautiful !
almost imperceptible, like the breath of the Spirit, wrapping, as in
a winding sheet of transparent whiteness, the wan face of dying
nature, and clothing in robes of purity the memorials of decay.
White robes are given to every one of them, and it is said : " Ye
shall rest yet for a little season." They disappear from the earth, but
it is to burst forth again in renewed and resplendent brightness.

" What are these that are arrayed in white robes, and whence
came they ?" " These are they that have come out of great tribula-
tion, and have washed their robes and made them while and clean
in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne
of God and the Lamb, and serve Him day and night in His
Temple."

The heavenly purity of the saints of God is not perfected till

•i"

•*

258

SERMONS r.Y PR, MATIIIESON.

tlic winter of temptation and trouble is over and gone. It is out
of great tribulation they pass into glory. When the storms and
tempests of life arc past, purified from sin, they shnll enter into
the joy of their Lord. Like the flowers of the field in the winter's
storms, every earthly virtue shall perish amidst tlie trials of faith ;
all selfishness shall wither; the soul shall be clothed with the
robe of the Redeemer's riiLiliteousne^s. But though all tliat is
earthy shall die, the .seeds of spiritual life, that were matured amidst
corruption and decay, shall survive, and througli the life-giving
power of Christ's death shall again be called into activity. They
will arise in the image of God, after which they were originally
created.

This renewing of the whole man must be begun on earth, though
it will only be completed when the winter of death is past, and the
genial mildness of eternal spring shall be diffused over the wide
sphere of spiritualized humanity. Then, the bodies that arc sown
ill corruption .sjudl be raised in incorruption. But it is here the
seeds of life must be deposited in the heart. The Spirit, like the
breath of spring, will cause them to germinate and spring up, and
bear their appropriate fruits.

To this spiritual cultivation wc must here devote ourselves ; wo
must open our hearts to the reception of the principles of holiness
and truth, and wait in fiuth till the Spirit of God evolve them in
beauty.

Among the many important lessons which the winter teaches,
we are impressively admonished of the necessity of attending imme-
diately to the duty of dedicating ourselves to the Lord. The heaven-
appointed means are within our reach. They must be applied.

-►^

SERMON III.

259

They can only be made effectual through the influences of the Holy
Spirit. The Spirit will be given to them who ask for it, and, through
faith, will impart a divine efficacy to the blood of atoiiement.

The Temple, desolate and polluted, without sacrifice, without
songs of praise, the bleak winds of winter whistling through its
deserted porches, and gloomy sky throwing a deeper shude of melan-
choly into its courts, empty, where the pcoi)lc of tlie living God did
congregate. The polluting worship of devils, staining its desecrated
walls, presented not to the Jew a more saddening spectacle than
the unrenewed, unsanctilied soul of man to one who is alive to a
sense of his condition in the sight of God. Brethren, in the specta-
cle described in that passage of which our text forins a part, wc
have before us an objective representation of the purification of the
soul of man, the living temple of tlie living God, and the divine
glory with which it shall be filled.

Who is lie that walks in that Forch o{ tho material Temple, dis-
tinguished for its superior beauty, that is associated with the most
glorious period of Jewish history, and is a pledge of the fulfil-
ment of the promise, that the Lord " the Desire of all nations shall
suddenly come into His Temple, even the messenger of the
covenant?" It is Jesus of Nazareth, lowly and meek, with nothino-
attractive but His divine purity and benevolence! Wiio arc these
tliat throng around Him ? They are the children of Abraham, who
profess to seek the promised Messiah. Jesus tells them that He
is He whom they seek, and He refers them to His works in proof of
His veracity — works which none but God could accomplish. He is
the Son of David, according fo tlu! flesh, and the lineal heir to the
throne ol' If>rael. JJut surely, a greater than lIlIici- David oi-

^4-

'^M

.X.-L-M.ii . ^^

U ■

K I

*■

260

SERMONS BY DR. MATIIIESON.

Solomon is here. The onco desecrated Temple was purified by
sacrifice and lustrations, and is now blessed with His presence, who
came into the world, as Retells them whom He addressed, to
purify, by the sacrifice He was about to offer, the spiritual temple
of God, and dedicate it anew to His glory. His woi'k was to
sanctify and save all who believed in Him, and give unto them
eternal life. As the desecrated gold and silver of the material
Temple was purified by making it to pass through the fire, and the
polluted garments of the priests, by being thoroughly washed, so,
by the fiery test to which their faith was exposed, and by washing
them from sin in His own blood, He would thoroughly cleanse all
who believed in Him, and fit them for off'cring unto Gol holy and
acceptable sacrifices. He would sit, as His Prophet said concerning
Him, as a refiner of silver, " and will purely purge away their
dross and take away all their tin."

The present is the time for these fierce trials of faith, the time
of purification, and for dedicating ourselves to the service of the
Lord. The time is short to us all for the performance of these
indispensable duties. It will be soon ended ; but if we are not
sanctified by the blood and Spirit of Christ, and fitted for glory
before the winter of death come upon us, we must perish. Like the
green herb, before the deadly blasts of the wintry storm, our hopes
shall be strewed in the dust, never to be revived by a returning
spring, but buried in the desolations of an eternal winter.

The reflections to which the winter gives rise are in beautiful
liarmony with the spirit of reformation which the children of God
arc called to cultivate, and thchoi>es of a blessed immortality which
they will delight to cherish. Brethren, let these reflections lead

III

*!^

SERMON III.

261

you to begin and follow out with firm purpose, a more active course
of faith and duty; strive, by those means by which God has pro-
mised to communicate the sanctifying power of Ilis Spirit, to have
your conduct purified from those stains of sin wliich a conscien-
tious inspection of your past lives will reveal. There is not
one among us all, who, on looking back, can say there is nothing in
liis conduct he would wish to amend, nothing that he has left un-
done, nothing that he would desire to alter. Wherefore, brethren,
let us humbly repair to the throne ofgrace, through the new and living
way opened up to us, to implore grace to purify us from all
ungodliness, and to help us to devote ourselves unreservedly and
for ever to the service of God.

There are many other important and instructive reflections sug-
gested by the words '-and it was winter" which we have not had time
to touch upon. We have confined ourselves to thoi^e chiefly sug-
gested by the circumstances connected with the text ; with Divine
permission we may at another time take up some of them, and
endeavour to draw from them those lessons of encouragement and
hope which they are so fitted to teach.

May God bless what has now been said in accordance with His
will and conducive to His glory. May the emphatic expression
" and it was winter" remind us of the coldness and neglect of men
to their own eternal interests, of the love and suff'erings of the
Kedeemer, and teach us to die daily to sin, and dedicate ourselves
unto God holy and living sacrifices, " which is your reasonable
service. "

Now to the King Eternal, immortal, and invisible, the only wise
God, be all glory and praise. Amen.

^M'

»; J

1 I i

'Mi

f ">

Irif i ^'
6i f'

CONCLUDINU TRIDUTB.

■•;•<

At a public breakfast given in Montreal, on the 4tli of June,
1870, to the Synod of the Churdi of Scotland in Canada, tlio
absence of the venerable minister of St. Andrew's Church was felt
by all present. In liis reply on behalf of the City Clergy, Dr.
Jenkins feelingly alluded to his departed brother, on whom would
undoubtedly have devolved the duty of acknowledging the honour,
done to the Synod had tlie entertainment been given a year before,
while Dr. Cook of Quebec exprei^scd his affectionate remcmbi'ancc
of his deceased friend in these terms, —

"One thing it is impossible to refrain from remarking, tlic
absence from among us of that noble form, which even amidst the
frailties of declining years, and under the pressure of domestic
calamity, imparted a certain dignity and respectability to all our
ecclesiastical assemblages, connected as it was, with an indeiien-
dent judgment, with consistent principle, and with u genial and
loving nature, cast in the true Scottish mould, and cherishing such
persistent and unwavering attachment to his country and his
country's church, that it might be truly said of him in the words
of the Psalm, — "their very dust to him was dear." I am not now
to pronounce an unqualitied eulogium on Dr. Mathieson. No man
is altogether without faults and failings. But, take him all in all,
it will be long before the citizens of Montreal or the members of
the Synod of Canada, look on his like again. It is well known
that I often differed from him in church matters. There were
others of the brethren, with whom in regard of tliese, I sympathized
more. But he was my first friend among the ministers of Canada,
and to the last day of his life, he held the first place in the regard
and affections both of myself, and of the members of my family."

,( <

» If

r rr' *si