tillllii />"'/? LIFE AND TIMES KEY. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. Ex Libris C. K. OGDEH LIFE AND TIMES REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D., (1762-1847) LATE MINISTER OF KIRKMAHOE. BY HIS SUCCESSOR, THE BEV. DAVID HOGG LONDON : HODDER AND STOUGHTON, 27 PATERNOSTER ROW. EDINBURGH AND GLASGOW: J. MENZIES AND CO. DUMFRIES: J. ANDERSON AND SON. 1873. GLASGOW 1-KIKTED BV It. ASDERSOS, 22 ANN STREET. ATHENAEUM* CANCELLED LIBPtARY/ ex W5 7 UNIVET? ' SANTA PREFACE. THE following Memoir has been written as a tribute of regard to the memory of one with whom I was associated in the ministry for a period of nearly three years, and who always treated me with affectionate and unvarying kindness. It is now upwards of a quarter of a century since Dr. Wightman's death, and as he had almost completed the eighty-fifth year of his age, and the fiftieth of his ministry, when that event occurred, I have had to consider many customs, clerical as well as social, which have now undergone considerable change, and some which have passed away altogether. Dr. Wightman was widely known for his benevolent and generous heart, his high classical attainments and general scholarship, his popular gifts as a preacher, and his shrewd discernment of character in various grades of society. As was common with many of his brethren in the Church, he kept a diary from the date of his license till almost that of his death, in which he freely recorded his opinions of what was going on, not only in the ecclesiastical, but also in the political world. From certain of these entries it is evident 11 PREFACE. that he intended them one day to see the light, so that in any reference made to them I have not been intruding upon forbidden ground. At the same time, I have endeavoured to exercise a judicious discretion in what has been selected, so as not to cause offence to the impartial reader, or wound the feelings of any living relative whose ancestor may have come under notice. I have not willingly misrepresented parties, or perverted truth, when there was occasion to notice the leading controversies of the day, my only object having been to recall certain phases of the times of old in connection with the life of a good man, who faithfully served his day and generation, and whose memory is still green wherever he was known. As several of the anecdotes throughout the volume were originally contributed to Dean Ramsay's Reminis- cences, I have thought it not improper to reproduce them on my own account. I gratefully acknowledge the ready kindness of Dr. William Chambers in per- mitting me to extract the substance of two papers on Deaths and Burials, formerly furnished to Chambers' Journal. Special thanks are due to D. Mitchell, Esq., of the Dumfries Courier, for his valuable assistance in preparing the work for publication. D. H. KIRKMAHOE MANSE. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Page Patronage and Boyhood Struggles of Poor Students Popular Error about Bastardy Goes to College Broil with Lord Brougham Assistant in the Grammar-School of Dumfries Offer of Tutorship in Virginia Goes to Leith Candi- date for the Grammar-School of Kelso Receives License Experience of Preachers Private Tuition Rusticates to Recruit his Health Dr. Blair and Principal Robertson- Dissatisfied with his Position as Tutor A Change, . 9-24 CHAPTER II. Becomes Tutor in Balchristie Candidate for the Grammar- School of Dumfries Tutor in Dunragit Applies for a Church in America Letter from the Rev. Dr. Blair Joins the Volunteers Grievances Reflections on Public and Private Education Resolves to Resign Situation Letter from the Rev. Dr. Burnside Receives Presentation to Kirkmahoe, 25-40 CHAPTER III. Ordination Reception in the Parish First Communion Dr. Bryce Johnston Communion in Olden Time Solemn Scene at Sanquhar Tent-Preaching Popular Prejudice against using a Pulpit-Gown Vindication of Veracity in IV CONTENTS. Page Church Extract from Diary Attendance at Church Letter from Dr. Cririe, 41-60 CHAPTER IV. Preaches Royal Infirmary Sermon Extracts Sets up House- keeping Private Reading Cases of Sympathy Losses by Loans Desirous of his People's Affections Reforms in Baptism Rebuked by an Elder Superstitions about Baptism Difficulties in Administering the Ordinance Anecdote of Dr. Chalmers, ...... 61-79 CHAPTER V. Death of Washington Proposed Peace with France Sir Ralph Abercromby Peace Rejoicings Attempts at Matrimony Effects of his Failure Dr. Duncan Forbes Manses of Tinwald and Torthorwald Letter to Mrs. Lawson Man in the Coal-Closet Simulates the Servant Laying the Foundation-Stone of Dumfries Academy, . . . 80-97 CHAPTER VI. Introduction of the Paraphrases Change in the Psalmody Diet of Catechising Anecdotes of such Meetings Customs at Death Encoffining Old Acts of Parliament Burial Entertainments Modes of Carrying to the Grave Treat- ment of Suicides The Draigie Ancient Burial Para- phernalia, 98-130 CHAPTER VII. Impressment and the Press-gang Form of Procedure Doings at Sea Raids on Land Sergeant Blatters Fear of French Invasion Volunteering Proclamation of Bonaparte CONTENTS. V Page Ready Men of Keir Sermon by Rev. Henry Duncan Pastoral Address Offer of Assistance by Patrick Miller of Dalswinton, 131-152 CHAPTER VIII. Patrick Miller and Steam Navigation Mr. James Taylor Assists in the Invention Mr. William Symington Con- structs the Engine Launch of the First Steam-boat on Dalswinton Loch Previous Attempts by other Parties Dalswinton Invention Pirated Mr. Symington's Claim to the Invention The Loch a Storage of the Old Romans Introduction of Swedish Turnips Testimonial from the Parishioners of Kirkmahoe Admitted a Burgess in Dumfries His Death Anecdote of Shipwreck Angel Worship, 153-172 CHAPTER IX. Rev. John Crocket Correspondence Tutor in Dunragit Rev. George Coulter Settlement in Kirkgunzeon Char- acter as a Preacher Examples of Ready and Tenacious Memory Anecdotes of him and the Rev. Walter Dunlop His Death Hannah More' s Female Education Criticized Sacred Dramas Coelebs in Search of a Wife Dr. Thomas Tudor Duncan Ordination at Applegarth, . . . 173-197 CHAPTER X. Thanksgiving for Naval Successes Death of Lord Nelson Church Vacancies in Dumfries Mr. Wightman a Candi- date for the New Church Call in Urr Dr. Muirhead and Burns Examination of Students Allan Cunningham The French in Spain Lines on Spanish Patriotism Extracts, 198-221 VI CONTENTS. CHAPTER XI. Page Rejoicings at the Success of the Allies Ode to the Memory of Pitt Bonaparte left Elba Battle of Waterloo Complimentary Dinner to the Scots Greys in Dumfries Nuptial Ode on the Marriage of the Princess Charlotte Patriotism, . 222-239 CHAPTER XII. The Cameronians Meet at Quarrelwood The ' ' Four Johns " Wide Circuit of Superintendence Congregation Offended at the Minister Playing on the Violin Deputation sent to Remonstrate Communion at Quarrelwood Meeting- \/ house Erected Dispersion Tbe^Buchanites Their Pecu- liar Tenets Expelled from Irvine Settle in Closeburn Mobbed by the Inhabitants Ridiculous Attempt at Trans- lation Retire to Auchengibbert Break-up of the Sect, 240-263 CHAPTER XIII. Religious Epidemic Resolution and Speech in the Presbytery Address to the Nith Extract Rencontre in the Presby- tery Poorhouse Sermon Dr. Chalmers Byron Diim- fries Academy, 264-286 CHAPTER XIV. Academy Address Delivery of Sermons Unusually Sultry Summer Suffering and Distress Better Times Anec- dotes Conviviality Poetry Visit to Edinburgh Rev. Mr. Gillespie of Kells, 287-305 CHAPTER XV. Rejoicings at Terregles Apocrypha Controversy Synod Meet- ing at Irvine Extracts Attends the General Assembly CONTENTS. Vll Page Induction at St. Michael's, Dumfries Public Dinner to Allan Cunningham Sermon at Locharbriggs Reform Meeting Extracts Impromptus, .... 306-328 CHAPTER XVI. The Patronage Question Peter Johnston of Carnaalloch f^ Receives the Degree of D.D. Professor Gillespie of St. Andrews An Old Man's Dream Church Matters Extracts Irenica Veto Act passed by the General Assembly Assistant and Successor Appointed, . . 329-352 CHAPTER XVII. Receives the Freedom of the Burgh of Dumfries Entertained at a Public Dinner Congratulatory Letter from Principal Mac far Ian, Glasgow College The Disruption Assistant Leaves Efforts to keep his People together Another Assistant Appointed Presented with his Portrait A Dirge Rev. Dr. Macleod of Morven, .... 353-375 CHAPTER XVIII. The Minister's Man General Character David Henry Imitation of the Minister Familiarities of the Class Anecdotes Faithfulness and Sincerity, . . . 376-387 CHAPTER XIX. . Jubilee Anticipations Seized with Illness Death-bed Scenes His Death The Funeral Churchyard Musings Funeral Sermon Conclusion, 388-408 LIFE AND TIMES BEV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. CHAPTER I. PARENTAGE AND BOYHOOD STRUGGLES OF POOR STUDENTS POPULAR BRROR ABOUT BASTARDY GOES TO COLLEGE BROIL WITH LORD BRODGHAM ASSISTANT IN THE GRAMMAR-SCHOOL OF DUMFRIES OFFER OF TUTORSHIP IN VIRGINIA GOES TO LEITH CANDI- DATE FOR THE GRAMMAR-SCHOOL OF KELSO RECEIVES LICENCE EXPERIENCE OF PREACHERS PRIVATE TUITION RUSTICATES TO RECRUIT HIS HEALTH DR. BLAIR AND PRINCIPAL ROBERT- SON DISSATISFIED WITH HIS POSITION AS TUTOR A CHANGE. THE Rev. John Wightman, D.D., minister of Kirkma- hoe, was the son of a Galloway farmer, and from his early boyhood was trained to agricultural pursuits, so far as these were compatible with his education at school and college. He frequently "looked the hill" in the morning to see that all was well with the sheep, at seed-time he followed the harrows, and in autumn he wrought in the harvest-field. He was born at Glaisters, in the parish of Kirkgunzeon, on the 12th of August, 1762, the same day, he delighted to remark in after years, on which George IV. first saw the light. 10 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE His father, William Wightman, occupant of the farm, was in comfortable circumstances for his position in life, and was esteemed in the district as a shrewd, intelligent, pious man, whose word was as good as his bond, and whose judgment was always respected in matters of important reference. His mother, Agnes Thomson, was a woman in her own sphere a fitting equal for her husband, and who, while devotedly attached to her children, had still the good sense and o the firmness not to spoil them for want of correction. John was early destined by his parents for the ministry, and this object was kept constantly in view; not that he indicated any special aptitude for the profession, but rather from a feeling then prevalent, even among the lowest peasantry, of what was considered "honour- ing God with their substance," by dedicating one of their sons to the service of the Church, though the prospect was oftentimes long and dreary, and the privations undergone severe, before the ardently cherished desire was realized. The eldest son was usually selected for the purpose, unless he had a deli- cate brother who was not likely to be able for much manual labour, and then all the energies of the house- hold were called into requisition to foster and mature the tender plant. Young Wightman, however, did not come under either of these categories, as he was neither the eldest son, nor was he a sickly child, but still he was the one fixed upon to be an honour to the family, and an ornament to the Church. In former times a large proportion of the ministers of the Church of Scotland belonged to the lower classes of society, and many of the ablest and most eloquent REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 11 of them had their origin from this source. An inter- esting volume, though perhaps a painful one, might be written, descriptive of the difficulties and hardships encountered, the faintings and despondencies experi- enced, the hopes now high, and again extinguished, which lay in the way to the attainment of this position. Nor was the struggle confined to the twofold energies of wedded life in pushing the aspiring herald onwards to the pulpit, for even the mother who was never honoured with the name of wife braced herself for the contest, and made a noble effort, despite a prejudice which lay in the way. She laboured at field-work by day, earning but a scanty wage, and at night she sewed or spun, to procure the means for educating and sup- porting her son at college. A popular belief prevailed that illegitimacy was a barrier to entering the Divinity Hall, that every student was strictly examined on this point, and should any one happen to be passed over by mistake at this stage, he could not by any possibility obtain license, or be admitted into the ministry. In short, the Presbytery neither could nor would allow such .a thing. This opinion was founded on a passage in Deuteronomy, which says, "A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord." Notwithstanding this, however, the attempt was sometimes made, and not without success, though popular prejudice was still firm in holding that the real state of the case had not been known, and no blessing could possibly follow the ministrations of such a man. Having finished his elementary education at the parish school, and being now fully eighteen years of .age, our young friend was sent to the University of 12 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE Edinburgh to undergo the usual training for the sacred office to which he was designed. Here he commenced and continued his curriculum till its termination. Students then often made the tour of all the univer- sities, for the purpose, it was said, of taking the cream of these institutions, though to the detriment, we fear, of their studies, by breaking the continuity of the course of training upon which they had entered; but he had no such roving disposition, and Edinburgh was his Alma mater throughout. His appearance in all the classes of Arts and Divinity was highly creditable to his diligence and abilities, and attracted the special notice of several of the Professors. Under Professor Hill he acquired a proficiency in the Latin language which was very marked, even in those days when it was common to intersperse conversation with phrases from the Roman poets. He had also a tenacious memory, and remembered almost everything he read or wrote, a striking instance of which we shall give anon. While attending the classes in the University, he engaged also to a considerable extent in private teaching as a means of helping his finances, and he had under his care in this way two lads who afterwards became eminent in their country's annals Lord Mackenzie, son of the author of "The Man of Feeling," and Henry Lord Brougham, whom all the world knows, but who was one day so mischievous and disobedient, if not worse, that Mr. Wightman took him by the collar and thrust him out of the room, with the anathema, " Begone, you firebrand, you will plague the nation yet !" In 1785 he was appointed assistant or usher to Mr. Wait in the grammar-school of Dumfries, with whom REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 13 he continued for three years, becoming by the exercise of teaching still more proficient in his classical attain- ments. From this circumstance he ever afterwards took the warmest interest in the prosperity of the Academy, the name it afterwards obtained, and till the close of his life he had a delight in privately visiting the class-rooms, when the scholars were allowed by their masters to give him a ringing round of welcome. One of his highest gratifications, and which he could not conceal, was his being appointed by the Presbyter}', which was constantly done, to preside at the annual examination of the institution, for which he always prepared a highly complimentary address to the masters, pupils, parents, and others interested in the cause of education. These addresses were always learnedly, ornately, and poetically composed, and from an expression in them which he almost invariably used, some of the more thoughtless of the boys, when they saw him taking the desk in the New Church (now Greyfriars) at the distribution of the prizes, called it " Wightman's officiating at the Sabsean altars." We shall afterwards have an opportunity of giving our readers a specimen of these addresses. In 1787 Mr. Wait having been requested to recommend a properly qualified tutor to take charge of a family going out to Virginia, and to reside with them there for three years, .at once suggested the name of Mr. Wightman as emi- nently qualified for the situation, and he was imme- diately communicated with; but the terms were not the most tempting for such an undertaking namely, 30 a-year, with the promise of a present of ten. guineas at the expiration of the agreement, should the 14 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE poor tutor's conduct give satisfaction. Certain expres- sions in the communication as to what was necessary on his part he considered derogatory in tone to his feelings, and unnecessary. During the interval before his departure he was "to acquire as much knowledge of the French language as possible" he was "to endeavour to write a steady good hand., which it was thought in six months he might do exceedingly well" he was "to be a master of grammar in general, and perfectly accurate in the English tongue; and the more he could acquire of the elegance of pronunciation both in English and French, so much the better." All this was required for a short engagement, in a distant land, at an annual salary of 30 with board, and ten guineas more looming in the distance unless a squall arose. Mr. Wightman felt himself insulted, as well as his master who had recommended him, so, suppressing his feelings, he replied that he could not accept the pro- posals made, as even with the early intimation given,, he would be unable to acquire some of the qualifica- tions which seemed indispensable for the situation. He now left Dumfries, and became assistant in the grammar-school of Leith, presided over by Mr. James Cririe, afterwards Dr. Cririe, minister of Dalton. Still he always cherished the warmest affection for Mr. Wait, and on the death of that gentleman in June, 1804, he inserted the following tribute to his memory in the local newspaper: "Died at Moat, after a lin- gering illness, on the IGth instant, James Wait, Esq., late Rector of the grammar-school in this place. He was a man of great integrity, and of a remarkably independent tone of mind. His desire of knowledge REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 15 was insatiable, his application in pursuit of it un- wearied, and his attainments in it truly uncommon. His acquirements in classic literature, and particularly in Greek and Roman antiquities have been long and justly admired; but his knowledge was by no means confined to ancient learning; his acquaintance with the history, philosophy, and politics of modern times was very extensive. He read French and Italian with ease, and was acquainted with most of the best writers in these languages, both in prose and verse. He applied himself sedulously of late to the study of German, and without any assistance but his grammar and dictionary, and his own ardent mind, obtained a very considerable knowledge of that language. In the course of a year he read Puflfendorf's Introduction twice over, and almost all Luther's Bible. The Idyls of Gessner, and some other lighter productions of the German Muse, were quite familiar to him. He was well acquainted with the history of the families of the great men in Europe, and especially of the nobility and gentry of this kingdom. Though his habits of life were retired to a fault, yet with a few select friends he was a very hearty and agreeable companion." While he was assistant in Leith the grammar-school of Kelso became vacant, when he offered himself as a candidate for the situation, and being strongly sup- ported by some of the most eminent teachers of the day, he was very sanguine of success. Mr. Cririe said "In recommending him as a teacher, I think I do the public the most essential service in my power." Mr. Wait certified that " he was very well qualified as an instructor of youth, particularly in communicat- 16 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE ing the principles of classical literature;" and Professor Dalzel of Edinburgh College wrote, " I think he would make an excellent teacher. He has had considerable experience, from having acted in the capacity of usher to Mr. Wait, at Dumfries, who appears to me to be one of the best masters of a school in this country." He further characterized him as "a very deserving young man." He was doomed, however, to disappoint- ment, a Mr. Taylor being preferred, to whom, with his natural generosity of feeling, though an unsuccessful rival, he offered his congratulations with best wishes for his success. Some few years afterwards the school became once more vacant by the translation of the teacher to Musselburgh, and Mr. Wightman was asked by one in authority, and having a desire to befriend him, to make application again, with a hint that he was almost certain to be appointed. He agreed to consider the proposal, but former defeat had not lost its impression, and he went no further in the matter. His college curriculum was now running to a close, for while he had been engaged in educational pursuits, he had never for a moment taken his eye off the Church. Accordingly, in 1791 he passed his probationary trials before the Presbytery of Edinburgh, and was licensed to preach the Gospel. There were present on the occa- sion Principal Robertson, Dr. Henry, the historian of Britain, Dr. Erskine, Sir Harry Moncreiff, Dr. Paul, and other members of lesser note. The subject of his Exegesis, or Latin discourse, was, An anima humana sit immortalis? which he delivered from memory, without a single note before him, to the great won- derment of the reverend Court, who declared with REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 17 reference to the feat, that " they had never so seen it done in Israel!" After receiving license he had many applications made to him, near and distant, for his "valuable ser- vices," even from parties whom he scarcely knew, and whom he certainly never reckoned among his friends. A forenoon, or an afternoon, or a whole day, would be esteemed the greatest favour, with the hint that per- haps something might come out of it, as some influen- tial personage was likely to be present. But, to the reproach of the Church, these "services" were asked, and expected, and received, without fee or reward, as if .a poor student, after struggling hard with poverty for ^ight years, and oftentimes many more, and perhaps paying his last half-guinea as the Presbytery clerk's fee, on becoming a probationer, turned into a sort of clerical chameleon, subsisting solely on air, and the good wishes of those he served for a speedy introduc- tion to some benevolent patron. It was then as now on the licensing of a student, "wherever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together." No doubt, getting license was a great event in the student's career. It was the climax of his efforts in that direc- tion, and henceforth he should be designated by another name. It was to him crossing the Rubicon, and if, with CaBsar, on approaching the bank, he felt that "if he did not cross that river he was undone," so like him also, the joy was great when the passage was safely accomplished. In those days the term Proba- tioner had a very significant meaning, much more than now. It implied long years of preaching, travelling, soliciting, and introducing, before the final stage was 18 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE reached, the presentation to a parish. One of the earliest of these applications for aid was from the Rev. Dr. Hugh Blair, one of the ministers of Edinburgh, and Professor of Belles Lettres in the University. The note was very formal and polite, addressed to "Mr. Wightman, Preacher of the Gospel," stating that "he was suffering from a cold, that his diet was in the afternoon, and that if Mr. Wightman would take it for him it would be a seasonable relief and favour." Of course the request was complied with, and after the service was over the "preacher" was allowed to return to his own lodgings for dinner. "No, no!" was the rebuke we once got from the mistress of a manse, when in our ignorance we confounded terms, "he's nae minister, he's only a preacher." But though dignified with the title of Probationer, or Preacher, he was still practically nothing else than what he had been before, an instructor of youth, de- pending entirely for subsistence upon private tuition. His preaching put nothing in his pocket, and as little he thought in the way of promotion in the Church, however complimentary the phrases he received on bidding "Good-bye" to the clerical friend he had been assisting. He was constantly employed in teaching; his abilities as a scholar being so well known that he had more work offered him than he could undertake to- perform. He taught in the families of Mr. Henry Mackenzie, of the Exchequer, author of "The Man of Feeling," Mr. Davidson of Ravelrig, Captain Swinton, Professor John Robertson, Professor Tytler, Dr. Craigie, and others, whose sons were attending the High School or the College. His emoluments were at the rate of REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 19 five guineas a quarter for two hours a day. He was upwards of two years in the family of Mr. Mackenzie, of whom he always spoke in the kindest of terms, such as "Drank tea with Mr. Mackenzie of the Exchequer, who always makes me happy in his company, and is remarkable for being the great sublime he draws, The' Man of Feeling." His time being thus fully occupied, he had little leisure for private study, but he rose early and sat late, a course of procedure which began to tell upon his constitution. In December, 1791, he makes this note on the subject " This is a very severe winter of frost, and is compared to the year '40. The thermometer is 14 below the freezing point, my hands are covered with chilblains by rising in the morning "at 6 o'clock; but it is difficult to say whether it is better to rise so early or not, for one is not so active during the day on that account. However, it is still doing more like a^ rational being, than lying till 9 or 10 in the forenoon, as will sometimes happen; and therefore I resolve never to be in bed, if in health, after 6 o'clock, summer and winter, except on some Sundays when I am to preach, as I find my memory is affected by the state of my body, and that it is always most faithful to me when I sleep neither too much nor too little." This resolution he followed out till he was far beyond the allotted boundary of life, threescore and ten. His lodgings were neither aristocratic, commodious, nor costly. They were first in Candlemaker Row for about a year and a half, but he thought it necessary to- change them, and took up his abode in Potter Row, in the house of a tailor, at three shillings per week. The 20 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE air was freer, and the room larger, than where he was before, and he hoped his health might thereby be maintained, if not improved. It was one of the diffi- culties that private tutors and probationers had then to struggle with, that of being obliged from circumstances to live in small, confined, and badly ventilated rooms, by which their constitution was enervated and disease engendered, which often terminated in death. He be- gan to be dissatisfied with his position as a mere private teacher, and the more so that there was not the slightest prospect of a church. His divinity study seemed to have been in vain, his time wasted, and his means thrown away. He imagined himself to be a neglected man, not sufficiently appreciated, and doomed to a life of inglorious obscurity. What he so much dreaded, too assuredly came to pass, notwithstanding the effort he had made to ward it off. He was necessitated to relinquish for a time his avocation of teaching, and to rusticate among his native hills in Gallowaj, for the benefit of his health. Still, though off duty on what may be called the "sick list," he was by no means idle in so far as preaching was concerned. He frequently officiated in neighbouring parishes, in Newabbey, Lochrutton, Irongray, Terregles, TJrr, Colveod, and Dumfries. We find the following entry, under date 1st December, 1792. "Have re- turned to town after six months' stay in the country, where I was re-establishing my health, which had been much impaired by sitting late, studying too closely, and living too abstemiously. Had a sort of nervous fever, together with an extraordinary dejection of spirits, to which the above causes contributed, with some of those REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 21 disappointments and marks of ingratitude and neglect to which a life of dependence is subjected. But, by the goodness of God, and the vigorous exercise of my best resolutions to suffer no worldly circumstance to disturb the essentials of my peace, and to expect no more from man than what is consistent with his own advantage or humour, I resolved to repose my trust in Providence, and to render myself independent of the smiles or the favours of fortune. By these resolutions, the air and exercise of the country, and the blessing of God, I have recovered from my fever and my melancholy, and have returned to the theatre of life, my former business of teaching, and preaching sometimes as usual." On returning to town he changed his former mode of living as a lodger, and boarded with a Miss Hunter, in Milne's Court, at the rate of 30 a year. This was in every respect a judicious doing, as he was better fed, better accommodated, and better cared for, so that his health, now re-established, was the more likely to be maintained. Not long after his return from rustication, he was asked by Dr. Blair to preach and to dine with him afterwards, both of which were done to their mutual satisfaction. After dinner, the conversation assumed a literary character, in which the religious merits of the Romans and the Greeks were freely discussed. The Doctor was greatly pleased with his young friend, and commended him for his success in studying a portion of the history of mankind at once so agreeable and in- structive. He advised him to prepare a few good popular sermons on some of the peculiar doctrines of Christianity, such as the Death of Christ, Faith, and 22 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE similar subjects, which might be suitable for sacra- mental occasions, or for preaching in vacant parishes. Mr. Wightman left in the evening highly gratified with the whole day's proceedings. A day or two afterwards he called upon Principal Robertson, who had requested him to preach, and he makes the following note of the interview: "Dec. 26th, 1792. Called on Dr. Robertson, who is now old and infirm, but who yet displays the glories of the setting sun. He is a very gentlemanlike man, of easy manners, obliging and condescending. He lias a wonderful stock of local anecdote, and particular information concern- ing the whole kingdom, the living history, as well as the transactions of past ages, which makes him a very interest- ing character, and his conversation very agreeable. Dr. Blair and he are two great friends, and cordially interested in each other's welfare. They will likely live to nearly the same age, and die almost together. Indeed, Dr. Blair is already seventy-five, and is more healthy than his aged compeer, though he is at the same time a few years older. Dr. Robertson has had an attack of black jaundice, but is now much better, and out walking every morning before breakfast, in order to protract his useful and respectable life. He says he always preaches himself when he is able, as it is agreeable to perform what one should do. He is happy to see the preachers so willing to give him assistance. He has much less of the monk about him than Dr. Blair sometimes appears to have, as well as less preciseness and pettiness. Both are good men." Again the old feeling of dissatisfaction with his posi- tion as an outdoor tutor came in the ascendant, and he was unwilling to suppress it. Since he received license REV. JOHN WTGHTMAN, D.D. 23 he had made little addition to his stock of ideas, or improvement in literature, owing to his close attention to teaching, and to the few opportunities afforded him for enlarging his acquaintance with the world, or with books. He had been obliged to trudge from one door to another so many hours a day, and to travel over the beaten tracks of school elementary lessons, except when reading the higher classics with those pupils who attended college, so that the very monotony of his daily life rendered it irksome and even distasteful. Had his aim in life been no higher than a teacher, the matter would have been altogether different; but when he studied and strove for a church, and yet no church appeared, he felt disappointed and chagrined. Not only did he feel his health giving way, by protracting his studies far into the night, on account of the inter- ruptions he met with throughout the day from the desultory nature of his employment, but he found his habits of application considerably relaxed, and a kind of apathy induced, very unfavourable to progress in any branch of learning. When such a day's business as he engaged in was over, one had little disposition to do much by himself, and was often deceived by appear- ances of having done something when in reality there was almost nothing. It therefore became a question with him whether he would not have been happier with his old father on his farm at home, and enjoying the sweets of social affection with his brother and sisters, where his consequence was felt as a member of society, than he was at present, not only detached from them, but also from the world, though in the midst of the great metropolis, without any prospect of success in 24 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE the Church, as he was too proud to submit to some of the terms by which advancement in that direction was secured. Still, in the midst of such reveries, he deter- mined to do the best in his power to make his way creditably through the world, never to stoop to a mean or ungenerous action, so as to forego the pleasure arising from a good conscience; to be industrious, prudent, and contented with the condition in which Providence placed his lot. Thus he should be happy indepen- dently of the smiles of fortune. The great object of all his studies, kept constantly in view, was that he might be a virtuous man, a good scholar, and a persuasive preacher. In the midst of his ruminations and resolu- tions, a new phase appeared in his life which put an end to his murmurings against peripatetic tuition. REV. JOHN WIGHTMAX, D.D. 25 CHAPTER II. BECOMES TUTOR IN BALCHRISTIE CANDIDATE FOR THE GRAMMAR- SCHOOL OF DUMFRIES TUTOR IN DUNRAGIT APPLIES FOR A CHURCH IN AMERICA LETTER FROM THE REV. DR. BLAIR JOINS THE VOLUNTEERS GRIEVANCES REFLECTIONS ON PUBLIC AND PRIVATE EDUCATION RESOLVES TO RESIGN SITUATION LETTER FROM THE REV. DR. BURNSIDE RECEIVES PRESENTATION TO KIRKMAHOE. MR. WIGHTMAN, to the great relief of his moody musings, received and accepted an invitation to become resident tutor in the family of Captain Christie of Balchristie, in Fifeshire, and at Whitsunday, 1793, he left Edinburgh for the discharge of his responsible duties. After a stormy and tedious passage across the Forth, he landed at Kinghorn, where he found a horse awaiting him, and in due time he arrived at his new abode. His reception by Captain and Mrs. Christie was most cordial and kind, and the accommodation provided for him was all that he could desire. The family library, more select than large, was placed at his disposal, and he was even requested to take it into his own apartment. This he felt to be a very great boon, and he resolved to make good use of the privilege afforded him, so as to redeem the time which he con- sidered had been lost. The portion of the family consigned to his care consisted of three sons and three daughters, the two youngest, however, being reserved B 26 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE for a later stage. His interest in the new situation was the greater, from the circumstance that Balchristie was the most ancient of all the places bearing the name of Christie, and that one of the family ancestors, having been standard-bearer to David I. in one of the crusades, was highly complimented for his bravery on the occasion by the king, who bade him for the future always to act worthy of his name, giving him the sign of the cross for a crest, accompanied by the motto, Vita sit nomini congrua. He found, as he anticipated, his young charge very docile and attentive, and, as time went on, their progress was much to his own satisfac- tion as well as that of the parents. He frequently officiated in the neighbouring pulpits, arid thereby, while improving his preaching abilities, he also ex- tended his sphere of acquaintanceship among those who might have it in their power to place him more prominently in the eye of the Church. In his anxiety for the benefit of youth under domestic tutorage, he projected the publication of something towards that end, in which he aimed at showing how much depended upon the parents themselves, in countenancing the teacher, enforcing his rules, and strengthening his hands, by a marked desire to uphold him in the exercise of discipline, and to assist him generally by approving of what he did. He had found from experience that there was sometimes two separate interests in a family one of the tutor, and another of the parents which ought not to exist, and which could not possibly do so without detriment to both and disadvantage to the children. A portion of the treatise was proceeded with, which took the form of dialogue, REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 27 but from want of leisure it was discontinued and never resumed. During the first year of his engagement there, the mastership of the Grammar-School of Dumfries became vacant, by the retirement of Mr. Wait on account of declining health, and he made application for the office. Before doing so, however, he consulted his friend Mr. Cririe in the matter, and it would seem that at this time he entertained some thoughts of entering into married life. The endowments of the office, including the salary of session-clerk, were 60, of which 20 were payable to Dr. Chapman during his life; the remaining 40, with the Candlemas offering, a free house, and wages from country scholars, were all that could be looked to, except what might arise from keeping boarders. But even this was burdened with the expense of an assistant. Notwithstanding this small allowance, Mr. Wait, during his incumbency of some nineteen years and a half, had amassed a sum of 5000. Mr. Cririe had himself been solicited to stand for the situation, but declined, and he left Mr. Wight- man very much to his own decision, stating that " he durst not say more than that it would be a certain and honourable situation." By way of joke, he asked him if he would not think of going back to Galloway to assist Mr. Finnan by marrying his daughter and getting himself appointed assistant and successor by means of interest with Heron of Heron. The election was made by competitive trial, under the examination of Professors Dalzel and Hill, who were brought from Edinburgh University for the purpose. Mr. Wightman was not appointed, to his very great chagrin. There were six 28 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE candidates in all Mr. Wightman, Mr. Sband (a school- master from the North), Mr. Hamilton (teacher of elocution in Edinburgh, and who had formerly taught an academy in England), Mr. Grierson (master of the free school of Balmaclellan), Mr. Thomson (son of the schoolmaster of Tynron), and Mr. Gray (a student). Mr. Gray was the successful competitor, the Professors recommending him as having answered their questions most completely. Mr. Wightman was exceedingly mortified, and complained that the field of examination was much too narrow, and. did not by any means furnish scope for literary abilities; even the very minor points could not be reviewed in the short space of less than an hour, which was given to each, much less the knowledge of antiquities so essentially requisite in the teacher of a grammar-school. The subjects of examina- tion were: A short chapter of Livy, a few stanzas of an ode of Horace, two or three verses of the Greek Testament, a single sentence out of Mair's Introduction, three questions in Greek, and the same number in Latin. Professor Hill's Synonyms, quirks, and enigmas, composed the rest of the trial. Some of the questions were What is the Litera tristis? the Liter a salu- taris? What do the letters N. L. signify? What means the tlieta in the passage of Persius? What is the meaning of Poscere vitam libello? What means Terra clauditur infans? Mr. Wightman did not make a good appearance, partly from ignorance, as he said, and partly from natural trepidation, but he acquitted the examinators of all partiality, and doubted not that their decision was honourable and fair. Still he could not but ask himself if these were the criteria REV. JOHN WIGHTMAX, D.D. 29 by which to judge of classical knowledge and accuracy in the principles of the two languages. Towards the close of this year, 1794, Dr. Chapman of Edinburgh wrote to him, intimating his intention of opening a small classical academy at Liberton Kirk, and request- ing him to take a share in it. He offered him every inducement, promised to give him the greatest part of the profits, as he would have the greatest part of the labour, and to do everything possible for the promotion of his comfort. This, however, he declined, being unwilling to accept the conditions proposed, of giving up all other views, and devoting his attention enthusi- astically to the duties of the new academy. After having been two years in Balchristie, feeling himself embarrassed on account of the increasing num- ber of his pupils, and having little time for private reading or study, though in all other respects he had nothing to complain of, save an occasional want of paternal concurrence in the coercive measures he thought necessary to adopt, he. resolved to accept an offer made to him of another tutorship in Galloway, his native district. Professor Dalzel and Mr. Cririe had been applied to by Captain Dalrymple Hay, of Dun- ragit, near Glenluce, to supply him with a tutor for his son a boy about six years of age at a salary of 25 per annum. The first offer was made to Mr. Wightman and accepted, when he immediately left for his new sphere in the south. Taking a month's holidays for rustication and visiting friends, he entered upon his duties at Dunragit on the 14th July, 1795. Here he found all the comfort and happiness of home; his .pupils were docile and clever, and the parents treated 30 LIFE AND TBIES OF THE him with the respect due to one engaged in so impor- tant and responsible a work. He commenced with the greatest enthusiasm, resolved to exert himself to the utmost, especially as Mr. Cririe had said in his letter offering the situation, "There is hope that this ma) 7 end in a kirk." He was very methodical, not only with his pupils, but also with himself. He rose at five in the morning, walked till seven, taught till nine, break- fasted, taught from ten till twelve, studied and read till dinner-time, taught again from five till eight, supped at nine, read till eleven, and then went to bed. " He found it necessary," he said, " to rise with Aurora and inhale the salubrious breath of the spring, to prevent him sinking into the feeble effeminacy which is destructive of all energy of mind and relish of life." From too much confinement previously, he had con- tracted a delicacy of constitution which made him anxious to regain his former robustness of health, and prevent consequences by which his usefulness might be impaired. Having got wet in one of his morning perambulations, he was seized with a sudden illness, which lasted for two days, and so violent and dangerous were the symptoms that his life was despaired of; but, by the assiduous attentions of Captain and Mrs. Hay, he was brought round, to the great delight of all. This kindness greatly attached him to the family, while a sense of obligation and duty rendered his situation exceedingly agreeable. Though there was only one boy, there were four girls the youngest ten and the eldest sixteen to whom also he agreed to give lessons three hours a day; but as they were very pleasant and attentive, he considered the additional charge a delight REV. JOHN WIGHTAIAN, D.D. 31 instead of a burden. Though under the care of a governess, they preferred taking their history, arith- metic, writing, geography, and grammar from the tutor, who felt flattered and encouraged by the distinction thus shown. He had now more leisure for reading, and study, and writing sermons, than he had long enjoyed. Indeed, during his two years' incumbency in Balchristie, he wrote only one discourse, a lecture on the Prodigal Son. He now read very sedulously every new book he could obtain, making critical jottings as he proceeded. He revised his Latin by reading through the whole of Virgil, and he varied the recreation by going over several standard works in French. Of course, the Greek and Hebrew were not neglected, especially when he was preparing for the pulpit. He preached, too, occasionally for the neighbouring minis- ters, thus keeping himself in exercise for what he trusted would, in the course of Providence, be his permanent profession. His pupils went on most satis- factorily to all parties his spirits were high, he braced himself for greater efforts, and he thanked heaven that his lines had fallen in such pleasant places. Still, he was desirous of getting into the Church, as that had been the one object of his whole life, the main- spring of all his studies. He had many clerical friends who had been using their influence for the attainment of this, and he himself left no stone unturned that he might finally succeed. Learning that a vacancy had occurred in an American church, the filling up of which was entrusted to the Rev. Dr. Blair of Edinburgh and his colleagues, he at once made application for the charge, and received the following letter in reply: 32 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE "EDINBURGH, 12th Nov., 1795. Dear Sir, I remember you very well, and not having forgot how obliging you used to be to me some time ago, I shall be very well pleased to be of any service to you when in my power. As to that settlement in America, concerning which application was made by the congregation to me, in conjunction with Dr. Baird and Dr. Hunter, I cannot say whether it be pre- cluded or not. The offer of it has been made to a clergy- man at some distance, whose final answer we- have not yet received. In case he decline the offer, and the place remain vacant, I shall not fail to mention you to my colleagues in that affair, and shall let you know the issue. It is the Presbyterian congregation of Halifax, in Nova Scotia ; their salary is 180 per annum; money is lodged with me for the passage of any one whom we send to them; they take him on a sort of trial for the first half year. Their last minister was Dr. Andrew Brown, who was sent to them by Dr. Robertson and me. He lived among them for some years very comfortably, and with very high reputation, and they expressed the greatest regret on his leaving them. He has lately returned to this country, and is just now settled minister of Lochmaben. If you have any acquaintance with him, he can give you full informa- tion, and, indeed, we wish to have his approbation of any person whom we recommend to the congregation. I shall be very well pleased if this or any other thing succeed to your wish, and shall, as I promised, let you know if this remain open, and if the choice is likely to fall upon you, in case you shall incline to accept the place. I am, with best wishes for your welfare, dear Sir, yours sincerely, " HUGH BLAIR. "P. 8. Dr. Burnside, who recommended you to me some time ago, will probably now be acquainted with Dr. Brown, REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 33 and it may be of use that he recommend you to him, in case this charge remain open, which, however, as I told you above, is uncertain, as the offer of it, previous to your application to me, had been made to two gentlemen." As no other intimation respecting it ever reached him, he understood that a previous applicant had been appointed, and he calmly resigned himself to his fate. It is said that "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick," but though his had been frequently in this state, yet it speedily revived under a consciousness that he deserved better, and that however long the world might overlook him, it would bring all things right at last; therefore, he looked forward to better fortune, when it should please Providence to send it. He had in a manner become habituated to failure and disappoint- ment in his views, but still, "though cast down, he was not destroyed." At this time there was the greatest fear of French invasion, and men were everywhere called on to enrol as volunteers in defence of their country. Mr. Wightmau sent in his name to the corps, and soon afterwards wrote a patriotic ballad to the tune of "One bottle more," which appeared in the Edinburgh Magazine under the signature of "A Wigtownshire Volunteer." One of the stanzas ran thus: "Ye artists and workmen of every degree, Coine rise in defence of your country with me ; Let nothing, I pray you, now damp your bold zeal, But arm in defence of the great Common-weal. Great Common-weal, &c." Bright as was the sky, and beautiful the landscape, when Mr. Wightman first went to Dunragit, by-and-by specks of cloud began to appear on the one, and corres- 34 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE ponding shadows on the other, which in his eyes considerably altered the witchery of the scene. Little disagreeable incidents occasionally occurred in the way of his profession, which might have been passed over more easily by one of less sensitive feelings, and with a lower estimate of the responsibilities and duties which devolved upon him. Petty grievances, real or imagin- ary, took possession of his mind, and when this is the case, a molehill becomes a mountain, and the jealous eye looks at everything through a distorted medium. Maternal sympathy was thought to interfere too fre- quently with preceptorial decree his independence was not sufficiently recognized when the parents were absent the children were told to take the head and the foot of the table, Avhile the tutor and governess sat anywhere. James, the pupil, took suspicious headaches when a lesson seemed difficult, and then he was " to be excused." When he was complained of for assisting the maid to milk the cows, the answer was " It was natural;" he went with the shoeblack to hunt rabbits, but this also " was natural." It was proposed that he should sometimes go to church, but then "this would prevent him from enjoying himself," and so on with other things similar. Now, Mr. Wightman, in his anxiety to become a model tutor, and to train up his pupil in order to be a model gentleman, might have known, with the experience he had acquired, that such things as these were not peculiar to the heir of Dun- ragit, as every tutor could testify in a greater or less degree. But he was a strict disciplinarian, and had a high sense of authority in the schoolroom, perhaps a little too much with a boy of such tender years. How- REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 35- ever, after mutual explanations had been made when any little misunderstanding arose, the sun shone out as before, and all was again beautiful as if there had never been a cloud. It was during one of these temporary overshadowings that he made the following reflections on the subject of domestic and public education: "A free and open manner is not so much the effect of being under no re- straint, as being convinced that the restraint is just and reasonable, imposed without any vindictive spirit, and preserved on all occasions without caprice, no difference of opinion taking place in the matter of execution. Sympathy is the great key of the human spirit, and if all the parties are of one opinion, a boy will acquiesce in suffering the restraint due to his situation, and will possess more confidence than one who is less restrained, but whose feelings have been agitated by sympathizing with a variety of opinions on the subject of discipline. Let your laws be few, just, liberal, and executed with unshaken steadiness, and without the least partiality or caprice, and a free and unconstrained behaviour is the natural and becoming result. There is more danger of caprice and frowardness respectively on the side of the teacher and the scholar in a family, than where both parties are free. The idea that his kindness is not independent, and his corrections liable to a strict and partial review, renders the mind of the teacher uneasy; and from this very uneasiness and ruffled state of mind arise sometimes actions of rigour and severity which he would never think of were he entirely conscious of freedom to do as he pleased. And, on the other hand, a boy is apt to consider all the happiness of his condi- -3G LIFE AND TIMES OF THE tion as the effect of his father or mother's vigilance in his behalf, and all the pain he suffers to arise from the perverse disposition of his tutor. Hence that coldness and even aversion which we often see between a person who has been instructed in a private family and his tutor, while that same person speaks with affection and respect of him who presided in the public school where he may have studied a while, either after or before the period of his domestic education. This is one of the many arguments for a public education. The reason arises from the wish of parents to avoid all the odium that attaches to punishment, and to be the objects of all the gratitude and affection so natural to youthful minds. Much might be altered for the better in the -ordinary modes of domestic instruction. When a tutor enters a family, he generally sees habits which he longs to undo, and replace by others more suitable to young persons acquiring with advantage the principles of knowledge; but he will do well to consider that these habits have been formed by causes which he is not competent to remove, unless he meets with a more hearty concurrence from the heads of the family than is usually to be found. The very accent of their speech, as well as the tone of their manners, have been derived from the company with which they (the child- ren) have been accustomed to associate, and he will find few parents disposed to agree with him in thinking these things faults which they have been used to hear and see every day. The teacher must be satisfied to correct a part, but he must not attempt to grub up and plant anew lest he should raise a dust not easily laid. The children are disposed to think the old way best, EEV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 37 and few parents will think any new way good which gives a moment's pain to the children, whatever advan- tages may be supposed to result from such renovations. A teacher who does not duly attend to this will prove another Don Quixote, and be bruised by the windmills he madly rushed on. The manners and ideas of the country and provinces are to be considered, and any set of ideas or manners opposite to these, or superior to them, ought not to be pushed too far against the tide of custom and general opinion; for on every occasion you are liable to be overborne by the plurality of voices; and where the condition of a leader is, in general, disrespected, no merits will justify any one of the order to assume airs of more importance than his fellows. On considering the case of a tfctor whom his pupil had left at home till he should return from a month's visit to some of his great relations and friends,, it strikes me that young persons should have finished the most material parts of their education before it be found necessary to separate the tutor from his pupil in so delicate a case, and' this seems another reason why a teacher should prefer a public school to a private family. In the former situation his work goes on, notwithstanding the absence of some of his numbers, and he is not reduced to the alternative of moping on the miseries of his lot, or of having recourse to pursuits incompatible with, and perhaps destructive of, a taste in his profession. He is like a sword in the time of peace, which is eaten with rust and neglected, till the trumpet sound to arms again. Another argument for a public education is this : Before a teacher has gained that confidence and authority, that importance" and 38 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE credit in a family, he is too great a man I mean, he is beyond his rank when he is out of the family and this is injurious to his happiness; and if he has not this consequence, the pupil is lost or degraded by receiving instruction from one whom he must despise. A public school or academy is best for the teacher in every case." In the summer of 1797 he had become so utterly tired of his situation that he firmly resolved to leave it, if not to abandon the profession altogether, as a "critical, laborious, degrading, and under-valued em- ployment." On the 9th May he prepared a letter of resignation to Captain D. Hay, in which he stated that the situation of domestic tutor seemed to involve cir- cumstances peculiarly unfriendly to his happiness, that even the liberal and judicious arrangement of his family could not secure him against their real or ima- ginary influence, and he would therefore resign his office as teacher at the end of July, which corresponded to the time at which he had entered two years before. This letter he deferred delivering in the meantime, perhaps thinking he might change his mind, or that it might be better to find a new situation before he gave up the old. From the light of after years it was evident that he was entirely mistaken in the sus- picion he cherished as to being slighted and regarded as a menial. On the contrary, he was held in high estimation, and on his leaving he received from the parents a diamond ring of very great value, and the members of the family, male and female, kept up a correspondence with him for many years after he left, sending him little souvenirs of their affectionate re- membrance and regard. But he did not know these REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 39 kindly feelings towards him at the time, or rather, \ve should say, he blinded himself to the perception of them, not willingly, but from the over-sensitive consti- tution of his nature. But we are anticipating. It was on one of these dark days, metaphorically we mean, that the light streamed in upon him with over- powering effulgence. Churches were vacant every- where, three within the Presbytery of Dumfries Troqueer, Irongray, and Kirkmahoe. He had applied to several friends to use their influence for him, and some had done so unbidden, but still there was no sign of a presentation. Mr. Cririe had written him that his appointment to Dunragit might end in a kirk, but that seemed to him an impossibility. One day, when sad and ruminating in a iSnely place distant from the house, the following letter was put into his hand by a servant who had been searching the fields to find him. It was from the Rev. Dr. Burnside of Dumfries: "DUMFRIES, 8th June, 1797.^ My Dear Sir, It is with much pleasure that I have to inform you that I had a call this morning both of Mr. Constable and Mr. Staig, who each of them showed me letters from the Duke of Queens- berry, from which it appears that you are to be minister of Kirkmahoe. For this you are indebted to Lady Winifred and Mr. Constable. Mr. M'Morine of Carlaverock and I pledged ourselves that you are a man of good principles both in religion and politics, and that we believe you will make a good and useful pastor for the Christians in Kirk- mahoe. So take care and be prepared to act accordingly. When are you coming down to give me your annual sermon? Remember I will expect that favour from you. You will hereafter have less distance to travel for it. The presenta- 40 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE tion, which is in Mr. Staig's hands, will be lodged in du& time with Mr. Heron, our moderator. Our next Presbytery is on the first Tuesday of July, when it will be lodged along with a letter of acceptance from your Reverence, which I dare say you will have no difficulty of granting. I am, dear Sir, yours faithfully, W. BURXSIDE." It is almost unnecessar}'- to say that on reading tins letter his joy was unbounded. There was now no necessity for giving in his proposed resignation, and he felt ashamed that such a proposal should have been entertained. Everything had assumed a pleasing aspect, and the world never seemed so beau- tiful before. Eager to announce the grateful tidings, he hurried homewards with all speed. A small stream lay in his way, but he rushed straight through it, as time would have been lost to have sought the bridge. " He stayed not for brake, and he stopped not for stone, He swam the Esk river where ford there was none." On entering the hall, in the greatest exuberance of spirits, he cried out, "Make way for the minister of Kirkmahoe! I'm the minister of Kirkmahoe!" Every one came running to see what was the matter with the tutor, and hearty were the congratulations he received from all when he explained to them the cause of his joy. He felt they were all friends together. Poor James' feigned illnesses were all forgiven, and forgotten even the shoeblack got a kindly smile of recognition, and the hunting of rabbits was tacitly acknowledged to be "very natural after all." REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN. D.D. 41 CHAPTER III. ORDINATION RECEPTION IN THE PARISH FIRST COMMUNION DR. BRYCE JOHNSTON COMMUNION IN OLDEN TIME SOLEMN SCENE AT SANQUHAR TENT PREACHING POPULAR PREJUDICE AGAINST USING A PULPIT GOWN VINDICATION OF VERACITY IN CHURCH EXTRACT FROM DIARY ATTENDANCE AT CHURCH LETTER FROM DR. CRIRIE. THE PRESENTATION and Mr. Wightman's letter of ac- ceptance were laid before the Presbytery of Dumfries on the 4th of July, and ordered to remain upon the table till the next meeting on the 14th, when they were considered and sustained, and he was appointed to preach in Kirkmahoe on the following Sunday. The moderation took place on the 3rd of August, when the call was signed by seven heritors, one elder, twenty- four heads of families, and other parishioners. One who was both an heritor and an elder expressed his concurrence in presence of the Court. No objections being made, the call and concurrence were sustained, and the subjects of trial prescribed. These having been satisfactorily performed at a subsequent meeting, the ordination was fixed for the 21st September, at Kirk- mahoe. The Rev. Joseph Easton, who had been ordained assistant and successor at Troqueer only a few weeks previous, presided on the occasion, preach- ing from Malachi ii. 7, " For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his c 42 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE mouth : for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts." Mr. Wightman, having given satisfactory answers to the questions put to such as are to be ordained, was set apart to the office of the holy ministry by the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery, after which he received the right hand of fellowship from the brethren present, and was suitably addressed by the Moderator, as was also the congregation, on their respective duties as pastor and people. After the dismissal, the heritors, elders, and others of the con- gregation took their new minister by the hand in token of their friendly welcome and desire for his success. Mr. Wightman had now obtained the full accomplishment of his desire, for which he had long prayed and struggled amid many difficulties, though still with fewer hardships than some. He was now thirty-five years of age, and had been six years a probationer. He had almost given up all hopes of preferment in the Church, and, as we saw, had nearly relinquished the profession of domestic tutor in despair. Only some four months ago he thought his lot a dreary one and scarcely to be borne; now he is at the height of his ambition, with his happiness complete. As the manse was in a bad state from decay, and a new one was about to be built, Mr. Wightman took lodgings in the neighbouring farm-house of Kemyshall, where he remained for upwards of two years. Though he had been long a preacher, and in that capacity had widely officiated for his friends, yet his stock of sermons was limited, as he had been unable to command leisure for private study to any considerable extent. Accord- ingly he set himself to prepare a lecture and a sermon REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 43 every week, besides attending to the week-day pastoral duties of the parish. This was no easy task to which he devoted his energies, for, in addition to the studying and writing of his discourses, there was also the com- mitting of them to memory, there being the strongest popular prejudice against the use of manuscript in the pulpit; and for thirty years he never used a note. His entrance into the parish was not altogether favourably regarded by the great bulk of the inhabitants, although they had not formally objected at the moderation of the call. He had been recommended to the patron by one who did not beloog to their religious denomination he had been presented before he had once preached in the parish they had no opportunity of hearing him, and in no way had they been consulted in the appoint- ment. The first sermon he preached they watched for his halting, and carefully counted how often, or rather how seldom, the name of the Saviour was introduced; they declared it had been mentioned only seven times, and in other respects they did not consider it up to the mark of gospel preaching. The subject was the danger of keeping bad company, preached from the text Prov. iv. 14, 15, "Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men ; avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away." Unedifying as it was then regarded, when he preached it to them again, eighteen years afterwards, they considered it so in- structive that they earnestly solicited him to publish it for general benefit. He was not unaware of the feeling which existed against him, but he strove the more assiduously to gain their affection by an ardent and faithful discharge of the duties of his office, and 44- LIFE AND TIMES OF THE in the course of time he entirely succeeded. When a vacancy occurred shortly afterwards in the neighbour- ing parish of Tinwald, the people there expressed a wish that they had him for their minister, which so affected him that for many a day he went to the Tinwald hills to study his sermons for his own folk of Kirkmahoe. The following incident shows how the wind was blowing at the time. One day coming down the parish from a visitation he overtook an old woman who was vainly endeavouring to rehoist a burden of firewood she had laid down for a rest. When she was making a prodigious effort he came behind her un- perceived, and aided her by lifting it on her back- Finding it rise so easily, she looked round to discover the cause, when, seeing it was the minister, she said, " Be thou gude, or be thou ill, thou'st dune me a gude turn anyway." The church began to be well attended r and in a short time became so full that seats were not to be had, so that an additional gallery was thought of for increased accommodation. This greatly encouraged him in his work, and he put forth all his strength for their edification, and to merit their good-will. His communion came round, and he made the necessary arrangements. Dr. Bryce Johnston, author of an Ex- position of the Book of Revelation, was at this time minister of Holywood, and he preached on the Fast- day. The following memorandum is given of his pulpit services : "Thursday, 26th June (Fast-day). Dr. Bryce Johnston preached all day for me from Acts viii. 37: 'If thou believest with all thine heart thou mayest.' The Doctor introduced t-lie subject with a long explanation of the context REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN,*D.D. 45 relative to the treasurer of the Queen of Ethiopia, and then proceeded to show what is implied in believing with the heart. He laid great stress on the^word heart, and often reminded us that it is nowhere said in Scripture that we are to believe with the head. He made a diffuse application of the doctrine of salvation by faith to the occasion of the sacrament, and insisted on the use of means. I thought he was particularly agitated in his sermon, as if he had met with some opposition to hisjmaxims,] and I never noticed him so intemperate in his gestures, nor so low and vulgar in his allusions and comparisons. Showing that we can receive knowledge only by^the^channels God has appointed, he said if we were to shut our eyes we could not see with our ears, and appealed to the audience, that though he just now saw the letters on the munifaction tablet on the wall before him, yet were he to shut his eyes he could not see these letters with his ears, and desired any of his hearers to make the trial ! Illustrating the evidence of testimony, he said we believed there was such a city as Paris, and we knew from experience that ^Dumfries was near. When showing that we are accountable beings, he said a machine performed the work appointed, but not from any motive for example, a mill and he triumphed in this allusion with peculiar exultation. I do not think such methods of illus- tration, however plain they may be reckoned, are very edifying in the church, and especially on sacramental occa- sions. He said that God could have made anything to answer the purpose served by another, even common whin- stone to have been as good a manure as lime. Ohe, jam satis!! Yet the Doctor has talents, and considerable shrewd- ness in both religious and civil matters." The Communion Sunday was extremely hot, and in the morning, before public worship began, Mr.Wightman 4G LIFE AND TIMES OF THE ordered several panes to be broken out of the church windows for ventilation, which had a good effect, though by some it was thought indecent to break church win- dows, and especially on Sunday. He had them after- wards filled in at his own expense. There was no tent preaching, which caused some temporary offence to several individuals, but all was conducted decently and in order on the part of both ministers and people. There were eight tables, and three assistant ministers. The forenoon service terminated at half-past five o'clock, and, after an hour's interval, Mr. Smail of Kirkmichael preached the evening sermon to those who remained. Two ministers had preached on the Saturday, and other two followed on the Monday, making nine in all em- ployed on the occasion. As the manner of observing this ordinance in rural parishes has undergone a very great change, we may glance at the form of procedure in the olden time. The Communion, or the " Preachings," as it was com- monly called, from the amount of preaching which attended it, afforded a favourable opportunity for the exercise of various ministerial gifts in the several addresses which were delivered. At the close of public worship on Saturday, before the blessing was pronounced, the minister himself entered the pulpit and gave some directions about the next day's worship. This done, there followed a long and minute recapitulation of the sermons which had just been delivered, as well as on the Fast-day preceding. This was called " perlequeing," and was considered advantageous to the hearers, as bringing into a focus before them the lessons of instruc- tion to which they had listened, preparing them for the REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 47 profitable observance of the next day's solemnities. No doubt this had a beneficial effect to a certain extent, and the end was so far promoted, but there was, perhaps, another purpose not wholly out of view by the speaker in being so minute. This was the gratification of a little display, showing how much he himself remembered of what had been said (no great achievement after all), and thereby conveying a tacit admonition that those addressed might have done the same, had proper attention been given. Sometimes considerable ingenuity was displayed in dove-tailing one sermon into another, so as to make them appear one continuous whole, when the subjects were far from having a homogeneous character; but this only told the more to the ability of him who attempted it with success. This custom had another phase not so agreeable. It was sometimes discourteous to the preachers, though it generally erred the other way; for where a sermon had been either defective in doctrine, dry in treatment, or confused in style, new matter, illus- tration, and arrangement were introduced, as if origin- ally given, so that while assuming a complimentary form ostensibly, it yet indirectly rebuked the preacher for his lack of logic and theology. Such defects, however, real or supposed, were sometimes not allowed to pass in silence, and doctrines were controverted as misleading or erroneous. A minister of Lochrutton, in Galloway, was accustomed to speak very freely when engaged in this duty. On one occasion he attacked the discourse which had just been given by an able and experienced parish minister, who was sitting behind him in the pul- pit at the time, and tore it to shreds, declaring that it was not at all an exposition of the text, and altogether 48 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE unsound. The people knew their minister's tendency, and so paid no attention to his strictures, the scarified preacher doing the same. The Sunday was the greatest of all the days in im- portance, solemnity, and outward excitement, several ministers arriving to assist in the work. As the neigh- bouring churches were thrown vacant on that day> the several populations gathered in crowds and were addressed from a tent in the churchyard, while the more solemn part of the service was conducted inside the church. Sometimes, for the greater convenience of the worshippers, when the weather was favourable, the tables were arranged in the churchyard in front of the tent, and the whole duties of the day were performed in the open air. This had a solemnity and sublimity not realized within the church. The simple worshipper looked up without obstruction to the heavens high above his head, while the homage of his heart and the utter- ance of his lips rose in sweet memorial to the throne of God. The field of death around brought all, as it were, into closer proximity with their God, with the great resurrection, and with those kindred spirits who had gone before to the mansions above. There, seated on the green graves- or the gray tombstones, with the dust beneath them, it required but little imagination to con- sider both dead and living listening to the word of life, or standing for judgment before the great white throne. The old trees around, venerable with age, like the cedars of Lebanon, and the blue vault of heaven above, gave additional impressiveness to the scene, and imparted a charm to the occasion which wrought a beneficial influ- ence upon the hearer's heart. Besides, suitable topics REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 49 were often suggested for discourse to those who addressed the assembled multitude. Some of the ministers were very felicitous in adapting their exhortations to the peculiar circumstances in which they were placed, which always produced a solemnizing effect. James Hislop gives a very beautiful illustration of this. On one of these occasions the ordinance was just about to be dispensed in the churchyard of Sanquhar, which is picturesquely situated in the bosom of aged trees, and surrounded by high hills. The long tables, covered with snow-white cloths, were filled with devout wor- shippers, while hundreds were seated around, waiting till they could be admitted in turn. The action sermon and other preliminary devotional exercises were over, and the minister at the head of the tables had read the latter portion of the 116th Psalm, usual at such times, when an awful peal of thunder burst over their heads, echoing and re-echoing among the hills. All were struck with the profoundest awe, and held their breath till the sound had died away. It seemed as if the Almighty was giving an audible approval of the religious ordinance in which they were engaged. When all were hushed in death-like stillness, the minister addressed them in the following terms : " My friends, how dreadful is this place ! This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. He before whom we must appear in judgment, from His pavilion of dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies, in a voice of thunder is now addressing us who are assembled around His table; and I have no doubt that if the thin veil by which we are separated from the invisible world were drawn aside, we might discover amonsr these dark clouds where the 50 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE thunder is rolling the throne of Him from before whose face the earth and the heavens shall flee away we might behold on the mountains around us the bright armies of heaven drawn up in their shining ranks, under the ban- ners of the King of Righteousness we might behold those who have joined with us at this table, whose graves are now rising green beneath our feet, but whose spirits are in glory. I say we might behold them looking upon us with heavenly joy and satisfaction, while we join our- selves unto the Lord in a perpetual covenant never to be forgotten." Every worshipper there might well re- member that communion till the latest hour of life. So much was the dispensation of the ordinance in the church- yard appreciated in the parish of Closeburn that when it was proposed by the minister, for the first time, to transfer it to the church, the elders resolutely refused their consent, declaring it "most unseemly that the holy communion should be celebrated in a hole-and-corner way like that." The minister, however, was firm, and while there was the usual amount of tent preaching out- side, the ordinance was partaken of within, but other elders had to be borrowed from Kirkmichael to officiate at the tables. In "Fencing" the tables, what was called the Debar- ring was always lengthened and minute, while the Invi- tation was short and general. The Debarring was so called from the several classes of sinners addressed being solemnly debarred or prohibited from partaking of the ordinance. So minute and comprehensive was the enumeration of these classes that one would have thought the tables were prepared in vain, as none could be entitled to come forward with impunity. Profane swear- KEV. JOHN WIGHTMAX, D.D. 51 ing was very particularly insisted on in all its forms, and especially in that of rninced oaths, which were very common. One clergyman in the vicinity of Dumfries is reported to have said, when engaged in this part of the service " I debar from these tables all those who use any kind of minced oaths, such as heth, teth, feth, fegs, losh, gosh, or lovenenty." No doubt the great object of such particularity was to preserve the purity of the ordinance, and prevent the commission of aggravated sin, though there was a seeming inconsistency in what followed, the earnestness in inviting and urging com- municants to come forward and partake of the memorials of redeeming love. Indeed, an instance is on record, when, after the debarring, not a single individual would come forward, till the minister, seeing his mistake, en- treated them by saying that he did not altogether mean what he had said. It is right, however, to mention that this minister did not belong to the Church of Scotland, and his own brethren admonished him for his zeal with- out knowledge. While the church was filled in every part, pews, pas- sages, and stairs, the tent was the great attraction, and the service there began as soon as an audience had assembled, and was continued by relays of preachers till the worship in the church was over far towards evening. Those clergymen who did not require to use notes always got well on in the tent, for, besides this stroke of popularity, there was a great oratorical advantage in being able to lean over the fauldboard, and look at all around while making some allusion to the sleeping dust beneath, while those who used the manuscript had some- times difficulty in keeping it before them from the gusts 52 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE of wind that would rush in through the trees. We once saw the papers of a preacher in this position whirled out of the tent altogether, and blown in various directions over the churchyard. The audience ran in pursuit of the lost treasure, while the preacher acted as well as could be expected, and quietly gave out a psalm, which was joined in only by the precentor and himself. The per- formances of the various preachers were all freely criti- cized by the hearers on the way home, when the day's duties had come to a close, and their criticisms were often of an original character. Dr. Scot of St. Michael's, Dumfries, was once assisting at the communion in Urr, where the other officiating clergymen were great guns from Edinburgh. Though highly distinguished in his own locality, he exerted himself so as not to be eclipsed by the strangers from a distance. He gave one of his best discourses as a table address, the subject of which was the Resurrection, which he treated under the three divisions, it is Possible, Probable, Certain. It com- manded the most solemn attention and interest. In the tent he preached from the text, " There is joy in .the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth," and made a great impression. A little band of old women 011 their way home in the evening, shortened the road by discussing the merits of the several preachers who had addressed them, when a worthy dame, who had not spoken before, on being applied to for her opinion, gave it honestly thus : "Leeze me abune them a' for yon auld, beld, clear- headed man that spoke sae bonnie on the angels, when he said, Raphael sings, and Gabriel tunes his goolden ,herp, and a' the angels clap their wings wi' joy. O but REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 5S it was gran'! It just put me in min' o' our geese at Dunjarg, as they turn their nebs to the south an' clap their wings when they see the rain coming after lang drooth." The abolition of tent-preaching on sacramental occa- sions was one of the greatest reforms in the Church, and for this we are in great measure indebted to- Burns' satire, " The Holy Fair. " The descriptions there given of men and manners may be thought more plain than pleasant by some, but thousands can bear testimony to the truthfulness of his representa- tions, as having been witnessed in their own parishes on similar occasions. So far as we are aware, there is no such thing now in any of the Lowland parishes of Scotland. It is a thing of the past, and many of the- present generation do not know it even by name. Would it had always been so ! Doubtless the clergy did not allow, far less approve of, the indecorous scenes which then took place; and doubtless also they admonished, and exhorted, and rebuked, in no lenient degree those accused of their participation, but nevertheless th& custom continued to prevail with unabated vigour, and amelioration was scarcely to be hoped for, if it could only be restrained from going further, supposing that possible. Burns was. however, longer-sighted. He saw the effect must continue as long as the cause existed, and therefore, taking one of his sharpest pointed shafts, he aimed at both, and the world can now testify as to the result. When the tent at C , in Ayrshire, was laid aside from further use, a discussion arose at an heritors' meeting with regard to its disposal, and it was unanimously agreed that the sides should be converted 54 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE into backs for the communion table seats, which hereto- fore had been only movable forms. The top, however, from its peculiar shape, presented a difficulty. There was no purpose to which it could be adapted; but, on the suggestion of one more liberal than the rest, it was resolved to present it as a "hopper" to the parish miller. Had it been able to quote Shakspeare it might have cried out in indignation, " To what base uses do we come at last!" The reader will now see the reason why some took offence at there being no tent-preaching at Mr. Wightman's first communion. There was at this time a strong prejudice among the inhabitants of rural parishes against the use of a pulpit gown, as it was considered a remnant of rank Popery or black Prelacy, and therefore could not be tolerated on any account. One of Mr. Wightman's earliest an- noyances arose from this cause. A kind lady of high position in the parish had presented him with a very handsome pulpit gown, and he was extremely proud of the gift, as he considered it a seemly ornament in honour of the service of God; but the people of Kirk- mahoe did not think so; on the contrary, it was in their eyes a badge of the Beast, and, with regard to their minister, they held with the poet, "When un- ndorned, adorned the most." There had been low mntterings of dissatisfaction among them from the first day he appeared in it, but none had ventured to remon- strate with him personally on the subject. The first direct reference they made to it is thus- recorded : "4th Nov., 1798. Preached at Kirkmichael, the Rev. James Small exchanging with me. Kirkmichael church well REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 55 attended, considering the inclemency of the weather. Infested much with the barking of dogs, and other annoyances, people going out and coming in frequently. Mr. Smail wore my gown in Kirkmahoe, and some spoke of it to him as a dress too like that of the clergy of England, or of the priests of Rome and France. Alas ! that in the close of the eighteenth century there should be still persons found in a civilized part of the kingdom of Britain who should measure a clergyman's merits by such, matters. But the prejudice is like that against the name of king to those who are intent on estab- lishing or preserving a democratical form of government. Prelate is an odious term to old Presbyterians, and the robe worn is inconsistent with puritanical plainness." A report had become current in the parish that he was not a man of truth that he had pledged himself not to wear a gown in the pulpit, and now that he was doing so, no edification could be derived from a man who did not regard his promise, and who set such an improper example before his flock. He was greatly annoyed at the calumny, for it was entirely without foundation, seeing he had never once spoken on the subject, and he could not live under such an imputation. He resolved to give it a denial at once in the most public manner within his power. Seizing the earliest opportunity, at the close of a thanksgiving sermon upon a Thursday, he brought the matter before his hearers, and vindicated himself from the aspersion with which his veracity had been impugned. He said " he had been groundlessly charged with breaking his word by some thoughtless individuals, who alleged that they had heard he had promised not to wear a gown in the pulpit, and this he believed had caused some of them to absent themselves 56 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE from church. There was no truth whatever in the- report, and he was astonished at their listening to such frivolous gossip. If they could charge and convict him of deliberately violating the least of the commandments, he would divest himself of his sacred office at once; but he hoped it had all arisen from want of thought, and he trusted he would never be called on to make such an address to them again. If any should withdraw themselves from the church on account of it, as he feared some had already done, he hoped they would meet again in heaven, in those blissful regions which are beyond the strife of tongues, where the dark surmise would never spring up to separate their friendship any more where his affection for them would break forth as the light, and where all their weaknesses would be forgiven." When he had concluded, Mr. Patrick Miller of Dalswin- ton, whose pew was opposite the pulpit, rose up, and after apologizing for speaking in the church, said to the minister that " he knew not the case to which reference had been made, but he would give him this testimony that if any in the parish were dissatisfied with him, they were blind to his merits, and insensible of the blessing which God had given them." This proceeding, however unusual it may be regarded now, was perhaps the most effectual that could be adopted; it put an end to the calumny, and restored tranquillity to the poor pastor's breast. Still it did not reconcile the people to the use of the gown, and some never returned to the church. The following Sunday the precentor was absent, and did not again appear in the desk, without assigning any reason for his conduct, and, about a year afterwards, the following words were discovered written inside the REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 57 board of the psalm book, " I will be precentor no longer to a minister who wears a black gown." That this prejudice against the gown was inveterate is evident from the fact that, upwards of a hundred years before, the Synod of Dumfries had recommended the use of it to all the brethren as "decent and suit- able." The words were " The Synod, considering that it's a thing very decent and suitable, so it hath been the practice of ministers in this Kirk formerly, to wear black gowns in the pulpit, and for ordinary to make use of bands, do therefore, by their act, recommend it to all their brethren within their bounds to keep up that laudable custom, and to study gravity in their apparel and deportment every manner of way." So strong is the power of prejudice, that in this case, a whole century, supported by the injunction of an eccle- siastical court, was inadequate to make any impression towards its removal. So great, also, is the importance which is attached to matters of comparatively little value. With regard to the above vindication, it may have been that Mr. Wightman's great sensitiveness of feeling tended to magnify the evil of which he so bitterly complained, as we find him recording a few months afterwards how easily he was elevated or de- pressed: "My spirits are affected by matters apparently of small moment. A single circumstance has often rendered me almost unable to proceed, and on other occasions a piece of good news, or some fortunate inci- dent, especially regarding my ministerial character and influence, has made me deliver with a spirit and energy that had rendered me almost a different person from what I was before." From the following extract it D 58 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE seems the people of Kirkmahoe were not easily deterred from attending religious ordinances in the church by the inclemency of the weather: "Sunday, llth August. At home. Preached two ser- mons from 1 Timothy iv. 8, and reserved a third for another opportunity. It was a very wet morning. The roads were much flooded, yet the people were well gathered, and I was reminded of the pains which the ancient Hebrews took to attend their temple, passing through Baca's vale, though the difficulty of attending the church was occasioned by a different reason from that which troubled the Israelites. The latter had too little water, but my good people had too much. They had carts to convey them through some of the currents on the road! It pleased me to see their care and attention equal at least to that which they bestow on their secular affairs. It warms my heart in their favour, and makes me wish I could give them instruction in some measure corresponding to the diligence which they use to obtain edification." This is very creditable testimony to the church-going propensities of the inhabitants of Kirkmahoe in those times, and we believe the same may be said of them still. But, after all, church-going seems to be in great measure a habit, and while one parish is distinguished for attendance upon religious ordinances, another not far distant is noted for its remissness in the observance -of that duty. A ploughman who had been a couple of years in the parish of Ochiltree, but who seldom had " darkened a church door," removed into the neighbour- ing parish of Coylton, and some months afterwards meeting with his old master was thus accosted " How are ye John ? I'm glad to hear ye attend the church REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 59 now." " Ou ay, Sir, a' folk gangs to the kirk here. Ye're thocht naething o' if ye dinna gang to the kirk." From various causes, more imaginary than real, how- ever, Mr. Wightman felt a depression of spirits which seemed to be not easily got rid of, and he felt at a loss what to do. He was most anxious and zealous for the welfare of his people, but some of them showed a cold- ness and rather stood aloof. He thought himself more appreciated in other parishes than his own, which was a source of disquietude to his spirit, and which he would gladly have reversed. He was mistaken in his opinion, but so he thought. In his sadness he made his com- plaint to his friend Dr. Cririe, afterwards minister of Dalton, who, in a friendly communication to him, said " I am sorry to find you in so much distress in the midst of so much good fortune ; but did you ever expect to be exempted from the common lot of mortality ? Popularity is good so far as it tends to make a man useful, but are not you a little too anxious about it? Do you take care that you do not hurt the usefulness of your brethren by appearing a greater orator than they? Let your discourses be solid rather than showy, and you will find them easier to mandate command ideas, and words will follow. You are not now such a child but that you may be on your guard against damp. You had better place yourself at the mouth of a cannon at once, ia defence of your country, than creep into a damp cell in quest of popularity. It is not a man's pulpit labours that I should expect to be the most useful. You mention visiting, but I see nothing of examination. Show yourself really solicitous for your people's welfare rather than for their good opinion. Be rather distant 60 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE than familiar, but let that distance have no appearance of pride. Remember the great example." He then goes on to give some goodly counsel with regard to the means necessary to protect his health, and concludes with the advice that he should take a wife to look after himself and his house. This letter in a considerable measure restored his spirits, and he went through the parish with greater elasticity of step than before. REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 1 CHAPTER IV. PREACHES ROYAL INFIRMARY SERMON EXTRACTS SETS UP HOUSE- KEEPING PRIVATE READING CASES OF SYMPATHY LOSSES BY LOANS DESIROUS OF HIS PEOPLE'S AFFECTION REFORMS IN BAPTISM REBUKED BY AN ELDER SUPERSTITIONS ABOUT BAP- TISMDIFFICULTIES IN ADMINISTERING THE ORDINANCE ANECDOTE OF DR. CHALMERS. THE preaching of the annual Royal Infirmary sermon in Dumfries seems to have been attended with greater "pomp and circumstance" in former days than now, and also with greater pecuniary results. This is a highly useful Institution, partly supported by church collections in the town and country, which are neither so large nor so numerous as their object deserves. Mr. Wightman had the honour of being asked to preach this sermon on Sunday, 25th August, 1799, which he did in the New Church (Greyfriars), taking for his text Job xxx. 25: '' Did not I weep for him that was in trouble ? Was not my soul grieved for the poor? " The sermon was fifty- five minutes long, and was attentively listened to by a crowded audience, among whom were his Grace the Duke of Buccleuch, president of the Institution; Mr. Miller of Dalswinton, vice-president; Lord Hume, and a large number of the directors, as well as of the sur- rounding gentry. The magistrates and minister went in procession from the King's Arms Hotel to the church, with a band of music playing before them, and returned in a similar manner. At the close of the discourse, Mr. 62 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE Wightman made the following energetic and touching appeal on behalf of the Institution : " The Institution, for the benefit of which the benevolent contributions of this day are to be applied, affords us an opportunity, which does not always occur, of being at once charitable and useful. The iniquities of the woiid have sometimes rendered the virtue of charity inefficacious, and turned it from its proper object. Hence the hand of benefi- cence has been opened at the voice of dissimulation, and the heart of pity has bled at the imagined woes of hypocrisy. Idleness and profligacy by their clamorous importunity have extorted from the benevolent the tribute which was due to complaining industry and to real distress. But here the rich stream of benevolence may flow in a pure and safe chan- nel. We have no reason here to be afraid that the einews of industry will be relaxed, the spirit of independence repressed, or the public prosperity injured by a fond and misplaced compassion. Here 'mercy and truth meet together.' The original purpose of this charity, to the true and lasting honour of its founders, was to preserve, xinder divine provi- dence, ' such useful and deserving members of society as might be labouring under the consequences of those violent acci- dents to which, from the nature of their employments, the industrious part of mankind are particularly exposed; who are often reduced to such circumstances of poverty, attended with such distress of body and depression of mind, as those who have not visited the habitations of the sick in the humble ranks of life can but faintly conceive;' and by afford- ing them, as much as possible, ' every necessary accommoda- tion and assistance,' to restore them to their friends and the community as an invaluable blessing which might otherwise be lost. For this laudable and benevolent end, in the year 1778, an asylum of human infirmity, a place of refuge to the REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 63 distressed in body and disordered in mind, large, convenient, and pleasantly situated in wholesome air, arose in this place, an ornament to this town, an honour to this part of the country, and a monument of the virtue of those who pro- posed, and who contributed, to its erection. Thither from every quarter the children of misfortune and distress are brought as to a sanctuary of relief, where they are removed from ' those numerous causes of danger or of death, arising from bad air, confined space, and various circumstances of defective or bad management, which prove so often injurious and fatal, not only to the sick, but also to those who attend them,' where suitable ' measures are adopted,' and due means used, for their recovery. " The original object of the Institution has always been kept in view, and the consequence has been such as might reasonably have been expected. Its salutary effects have been extensively felt and acknowledged, and it is happily at this day in the full possession of that high reputation to which it is so justly entitled. From the period when the Infirmary was opened till the present time no fewer than 3500 children of affliction have been admitted to its privileges, of whom 1914 have been completely cured, and 530 less or more relieved ! And may we not indulge the hope, from the distinguished patronage it receives from the great and good, from the confidence placed in those who conduct its duties, that it will continue to open its hospitable recesses to the afflicted poor, while such are in the land, and, under the providenc e of God, whose mercy is over all His works, to raise up through successive ages those who may be ' bowed down !' Go, lover of mankind, visit this house of mourning, this house of mercy ; take your pictures of distress here from the life, and indulge the sentiments which your heart will suggest on the occasion. Here you will see, among others, the man who but lately was the support of his aged parents, 64 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE himself, it may be, the father of a numerous family, who depended on his daily industry for their daily bread. See him laid on the couch prepared for such, unable to administer with his own hand even a cup of water to his lips, and still less able to supply himself with his necessary food. Visit him again and again. See him at last, by the patient assiduity of a nursing-mother habituated to practical compas- sion, and by the labour of the faithful physician, restored, under the divine blessing, to health, and strength, and joy. Follow him to his own home, where he had left his family and all dear to him, who knew not whether they should see his face any more in. the land of the living. Here yon mingling accents of gladness in the children's announcement of their father's return. See how they receive his welcome blessing, while she, who lately felt almost a widow's sorrow, now in her heart sings for joy, and blesses the God of the fatherless, in whom she trusted ! Ye great, ye mighty, ye noble of the land, here is a scene not unworthy of your eye, a family of your humbler brethren, whose daily toil is all their riches, finding bread and raiment to them, with health, a kingdom ! who are only less happy than yourselves in one point, as they have less power and fewer opportunities to communicate to others that happiness which they feel ! Go on, ye virtuous patrons, and conductors, and guardians of this charity. Be not weary in well-doing, for though the unthinking part of mankind may not appreciate your merits, or the undiscerning judge of your labours, yours is the testi- mony of a good conscience, yours is the approbation of God, and great will be your reward in heaven ' Inasmuch, as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.' " The collection taken at the close of the service amounted to 32. Above forty gentlemen, including REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 65 the president and vice-president, dined together after- wards in the hotel, when " several very suitable toasts were drunk, and the day was closed in a decent and sober manner." No public recognition is now taken of this annual sermon beyond a larger audience than usual in the church where the service is conducted, perhaps attracted as much by the popularity of the preacher as by the necessities of the Institution. The parish of Tinwald was at this time vacant, and the Rev. George "Greig had received a presentation to the living. He preached in Kirkmahoe, and the following note is given of his appearance there : " Sunday, 20th Nov. Mr. George Greig, presentee to Tinwald, preached for me two discourses from Heb. ii. 10, * For it behoved, &c.' After some remarks on. ' many sons,' with some very pointed strictures on the improper conduct of zealots, who confine the divine mercy, and judge of it by their own narrow mind, he described the glory to which the sons of God are raised in a future state, in its different properties, light, city, crown, kingdom, &c., which are inade- quate to convey a proper idea of the ' fulness of joy.' Mr. Greig is what we term a flowery preacher, yet his flowers are not without fruit, but the sure signs of autumnal plenty. He is a good man, and has a very gainly and respectable presence. I think he will be a very useful and successful minister in Tinwald. Everybody liked him as far as I know. One man, the master of a small school in Tinwald, wishing to show his learning and judgment, upon his hearing Mr. Greig modestly declining to describe the blessedness of heaven, said, 'He went further than he could explain,' which is one among the many instances of men's attempting to judge in matters too high for them. I have often remarked with regret, that a dogmatical assertion from the lips of a 66 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE fool gains more credit to the owner among the vulgar than a modest observation, however reasonable, from the mouth of a wise and prudent man. If you wish to gain the applause of fools, you must profess to know everything,, and attempt to explain all mysteries ; but we should think on the Apostle's remark, ' If I have not charity I am nothing.' " The new manse being ready for habitation, on Christ- mas, 1799, the minister, with his two servants, David Henry and Margaret Haining, entered upon possession, and for the first time in his life he slept in his own home. With a humour characteristic of his nature, he afterwards remarked, that he did not experience any unusual emotion from the event, as he had anticipated, beyond the feeling of responsibility attendant upon housekeeping. That feeling, however, was pretty strong, and well might be so. Provisions were dear, servants' wages were high as times then went, and the resources were by no means great from which all expenses were to be defrayed. Oatmeal was 3s. 3d. per stone, and every day was rising higher, till in two months it was being sold at double that price. Butcher meat was in proportion, or rather out of proportion, as many a family could not obtain it. Candles were 9d. per lb., and 20s. were paid for a cart of coals. Over all this inexperience cast its dark shade, for he had never managed in this way for himself, and the future was wrapt in consider- able obscurity, if not misgiving; but he resolved to economize as much as possible, and, in a household sense, "preach according to his stipend," live within his means. He had been long threatened with a bleed- ing at the nose, and in order to check this tendency, REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 67 and avert future evil consequences, he resolved to- abstain from animal food, and to live upon the plainest fare. He was perhaps the more easily persuaded to- this from the circumstances in which he was placed, the res angusta} domi, and the greater credit was therefore due for his determination to act accordingly. He was naturally liberal of hand as well as generous of heart, as his after life amply testified, but he prudently resolved at the outset of his ministerial career to avoid the Charybdis so destructive to the happiness of many on commencing housekeeping running into debt; while at the same time he wished to maintain the prestige of hospitality characteristic of the Scottish manse. He had several kind friends in the parish among the married ladies, who assisted him in plenishing his new abode. One sent the present of a carpet, another table linen, a third a bed, and other articles of utility, so that with his own furnishing he was pretty comfortable. We find this jotting on the subject : " 26th and 27th Dec. I was employed on both of those days setting up furniture and buying provisions for the family. Find the expense of housekeeping is considerable- on the most frugal plan one can adopt. I have already laid out on furniture and provisions more than 60, besides what furniture I had in my rooms at Kemyshall, which, cost me upwards of 30. Paid 9 for three Carron grates, and in the same proportion other things are dear. Got a bed in a present from Mrs. M'Murdo, of Milnhead, to whom I sent the following lines in acknowledgment of her gift : " While journeying through the vale of life your bounty gives me- rest, I'll live secure from care and strife, and nought shall me molest. 68 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE Or if, in spite of all your care, grief shall my breast invade, Such woe will prove but short and rare, and ere next morning fade. Whene'er life's ills my heart oppress, your kindness will relieve ; It soon will banish my distress, and bid me cease to grieve. With such regard, let truth be said, I seldom ever met, And easy lie the giver's head, till I the gift forget." To this Mrs. M'Murdo sent a very pretty answer, in which she expressed her regret that the gift bore no proportion to her regard, and requested him to consider her one of his friends, adding these lines of her own : " It is my trust no thorny care shall e'er your rest invade, Smooth is the pillow, soft the bed, where innocence is laid. " It is interesting to observe what was the character of his private reading at this time. Many of our young clergy- men might take a profitable lesson from his example, in not skimming the surface of theology, but descending into the depths. Turretin and Vitringa, and such like authors, lay continually on his study table, and that he examined them minutely is evident from the remarks he makes upon their writings. Here is an opinion pretty freely, but conscientiously expressed : " 22nd Jan., 1800. Read several sections of Turretin's Latin System of Theology concerning the nature and defini- tion of the term theology, which, he says, though not a scriptural word formaliter, is yet one naturaliter. Much idle and scholastic quibble is to be found in this work, but here and there a sensible and useful remark may be picked up, as among rubbish one may find a gem or useful utensil. I admire also a certain acumen of penetration uncommon, and a skill of arrangement worthy of praise, as well as the improbus labor, without which no excellence can be attained in any department of learning whatever. And considering the time and place where this author wrote, he REV. JOHN WTGHTMAN, D.D. 69' is one of the greatest divines of his times. I do not agree with him in several of his positions, but these are not essen- tial, I hope, to salvation. I am pleased to see him assert the use of reason in matters of faith, and boldly declare that some rays of natural light have escaped the ruins of the Fall. I am diverted with his argument for using words which have been applied to heathen purposes, drawn from the conduct of the Israelites, who employed the vessels of the Egyptians for sacred uses." Mr. Wightman was naturally of a most sympathizing disposition towards any one placed in circumstances of affliction or distress, and almost innumerable instances might be given of his great tenderness of heart, though, as he often said, lie could never give expression to what he felt. His heart melted at the tale of woe. When he had one day preached in Tinwald, during the vacancy caused by the death of the Rev. Mr. Laurie, he went out of pure sympathy to take dinner at the manse, as the widow and family had not yet removed. The propriety of his doing so may be questioned, in circumstances which must have been painful, from old associations, to the afflicted widow and family, but the motive was laud- able, as he did it with the purest feeling of commisera- tion, and he left them more cheerful than he found them. The manse is not always the paradise which it seems to many, and the generous heart blest with heaven's bounty might oftentimes cheer a gloomy hour, lighten a galling burden, and dispel in great measure corroding care. He preached one day in his native parish of Kirkgunzeon, during the last illness of the minister, Mr. Heron, and he was much moved by what he then saw. "The occasion," he says, "was truly 70 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE 'melancholy. Mr. Heron himself in church, scarcely able to sit till the service was over his breathing difficult his colour gone his body emaciated, and many strong appearances of approaching dissolution upon him. His wife and children around him in the seat, and the tears coming now and then into their eyes, as anything they heard touched upon their state by the most- remote application. I took a walk with him, after sermon, in the garden. He looked at some pear-trees he had planted, and the improvements he had made, and said in the words of Virgil, ' Whether shall I say ? Nos, patriot fines et dulcia linquimus arva ! or Insere, Daphni, pyros: carpent tua poma nepotes! and as he had hopes of himself even to a degree of sanguineness beyond what his situation seemed to encourage, he thought he might yet say the last of these. All he did and said affected me, and the more as he seemed not to be sensible of his own dangerous condition. His children were a piteous group indeed ! and the father's circumstances I fear are embarrassed, at least in some degree." Such are examples of his sympathy and tender commiseration. The readiness to feel for those in distress was some- times taken advantage of by those acquainted with this characteristic of his nature, and he was occasionally im- posed upon by some with unblushing effrontery. He lost various sums of money by loans to parishioners, who ungratefully treated his goodness by forgetting the obli- gation and leaving him minus the amount. This and that other one had a trade bill that was about due, and he was applied to for part if not the whole of the money, "just for a week or so, till country accounts were col- lected," which seemed a difficult matter from the length REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 71 of time usually taken in the business. A gentleman- farmer borrowed 60 of him for three months, compla- cently saying, " to whom can I apply in my need but to my own minister?" The three months passed three years passed, and he became bankrupt. One day meet- ing the minister in Dumfries, he had the audacity to come forward with a jaunty step and a smirking coun- tenance, and say he hoped he would accept the com- position offered his creditors. " How much is it?" asked the minister, and being told half-a-crown in the pound, he instantly replied that if that was all he might keep it also, which was accordingly done. But though he was in this way frequently deceived, he could not refuse an application if it was in his power to grant it, " willing rather," he would say, " to lose a little than believe there were rogues in the parish." A starving poetaster who knew his generosity called upon him one day with a fulsome panegyric in the one hand and a begging letter in the other, at the same time soliciting any cast-off cloth- ing laid aside, on which Mr. Wightman went into the lobby, and taking down a black coat hanging there, he presented it to the dilapidated bard amidst a profusion of thanks. However, on dressing next day for church, he found to his amazement that he had parted with his best vestment, and he had considerable difficulty in making himself respectable for the pulpit. He now devoted his whole energies to the pastoral duties of the parish, allowing himself only six hours of sleep, as if he would literally take the kingdom of heaven by violence. He studied, and read, and wrote, with the utmost assiduity, that he might preach to his people not only suitable and edifying doctrine, but also present it 72 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE in a form which might attract their attention and so win their souls. Nothing delighted him so much as to see them come out in goodly numbers to divine service on the Lord's day; and he felt saddened beyond conception if he heard of them going elsewhere, even for a single day, as he thought it implied dissatisfaction with his spiritual teaching. Again and again he gives expression to such a feeling as this : " I know not what I would do if my people were to desert me, for I find my happiness depends much on their regular attendance at church, and on every mark of satisfaction with my ministry among them. Yet what is the popularis aura? a breath a bubble nothing; but it requires much fortitude to do- your duty, if that duty is not acceptable to your fellow- creatures. So that popularity is of much consequence in this view; it contributes to make you happy, because you are the means of making them so. Never may I relax in my strenuous endeavours to do my duty, and never may I feel the sting of a mind reproaching itself for indolence or wilful omission of it! I at present possess the esteem of my people, and the maxim is true in more respects than one 'imperium retinetur iisdem artibus quibus primo partum sit' which may be rendered in my instance, ' The affections of my people are to be kept by the same means which gained them, by a faithful and diligent as far as my frailty permits discharge of the duties of my station.'" The general mass of parishioners are not aware of the stimulus which their presence in the church gives the minister, however much he may seem regardless of this. It is cold and heartless for him to preach to empty pews, and he has little spirit to exert himself in bringing forth all his resources to a mere REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 73 handful of hearers, who perhaps imagine they are patron- izing him by being there at all, while he, on his part, is apt to fancy that he is " wasting his sweetness on the desert air." Mr. Wightman was extremely susceptible of impressions whether in the pulpit or out of it, and sometimes felt his mind distracted, during the delivery of his discourses, by a levity of conduct on the part of some of the audience, who, from their position, ought to have known and acted better. How entirely different is the conduct of the congregation now ! We under- stand it is the universal remark of stranger ministers when officiating in the church, that a more attentive and decorous congregation is impossible. One Sunday shortly after term-day, a farm-servant, who was new to the parish, was in church, and on the text being read out he laid his head down upon the bookboard, evidently with the intention of having a snooze, but was instantly roused up by a poke from his neighbour, and an audible whisper, " nobody sleeps here." The poor fellow looked up in bewilderment, half-ashamed, and half-dissatisfied that he could not do as he liked. There had long been a great aversion on the part of parents to have their children baptized in church before the congregation, and the minister set himself to the task of putting a stop to the irregularity; .but after many remonstrances on the subject, which proved of no avail, he made a resolution, and intimated it from the pulpit, that he would baptize no child privately within two miles of the church, except in the case of urgent neces- sity, certified by the doctor. The radius, however, could never be exactly drawn, and it seemed on every occasion to be getting shorter. He threatened to refuse the E 74 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE ordinance, the parents threatened to leave the church and go elsewhere, and the circle became more and more circumscribed. The very grave-digger, who lived almost at the church gate, insisted on having his child baptized at home, on which the facile minister replied " Ay, ay, what more will ye have me do ? ye have now brought me to the very grave's mouth." Stringent as he was to observe the laws of the Church, at least in purpose, he laid himself open to a breach of discipline, and was not allowed to pass with impunity. He had baptized a dying child to an unmarried woman in great distress, before she had given satisfaction to the church, but on the promise that she would do so on the earliest opportunity. The following Sunday, after sermon, one of the elders called him to account, in a state of very considerable emotion. He said he had been in- formed, on good authority, that he, Mr. Wightman, had baptized a child to a woman before she had satisfied the congregation, and if this was to be his manner of discipline he could not sit with him in the session. The minister said that he had acted after the Great Exemplar, who said He would have mercy rather than sacrifice it was a case which he hoped would never again occur in the course of his ministry that he could scarcely say he would not do the same thing in a similar case, but that he wished it might not occur ; and if he was hinting that he should promise not to do ^the like again, he thought he might venture to say as much. This con- cession was made for the sake of peace, though it is to be regretted that elders should think it necessary to bring their ministers to acknowledgment. Such conduct weakens the hands of both, and renders the cause of REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 75 religion an object of scorn to those who are disposed to scoff at such matters. The answer pacified the irate elder, who thought he had gained an important point in respect to the good of the church, by bringing the minister to confess that what had been done was contrary to the ordinary form of procedure in church discipline. It were well if there were a greater number of candid and generous-hearted per- sons who would always suppose the minister meant well in what he did, or, if he went wrong in a matter of form, that he never erred in point of intention. It must not be supposed that Mr. Wightman was singular in committing such an irregularity in baptism as that just referred to, and in being speedily called to account by one of his elders. Something of a similar kind occurred at the same time in the neighbouring parish of Tinwald, and with a like result. The elders were exceedingly displeased with their minister for having baptized, without their knowledge, the first child to his man-servant, which they alleged was not legiti- mate. The moderator, Mr. Greig, reminded them that a certain period was allowed by medical authorities in such cases, but he was met with the reply that they had counted the time, and it was two days more. He said that the law was, Semper in dubiis benigniora sunt preferenda, but they did not understand Latin, and regarded his explanation of it with suspicion ; so, yield- ing to their importunity, and gratifying their sense of office, he consented that the man should receive a sessional rebuke. In those days the elders ruled well at least, and considered it essentially necessary to adhere 76 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE strictly to the letter of the law in administering discip- line upon delinquents. The reason why there was, and still is, to a consider- able extent among the lower classes, a strong irrepres- sible desire to have their dying children baptized, even in the very last moments of life, was not so much out of honour to the Redeemer by having them initiated into the visible Church, as to secure for them a passport, as it were, rendering them admissible into glory, for they believed that unbaptized persons after death could not be received into heaven, and were consequently lost. A similar sentiment was held by the Greeks and Romans, and frequent reference is made to it in their writings. Thus Virgil says : " Hsec omnis, quam cernis, inops, iahumataque turba est: Portitor ille, Charon: hi, quos vehit unda, sepulti; Nee ripas datur horrendas, et rauca fluenta Transportare prius, quam, sedibus osaa quierunt. Centum errant annos, volitantque hsec littora circum: Turn demum admissi stagna exoptata revisunt." That this was a superstition of wider extent than Niths- dale is shown by Burns, when, in his description of the famous carousal in Alloway Kirk, he mentions "un- christened bairns" among the accessories of the scene. Instances are given when it was not known by minister or parent whether a living or dead child was receiving the solemn rite at their hands. Mr. Wightman endea- voured by every means in his power to eradicate this belief, by appealing both to reason and revelation. He used all the logic for which he had been famous at col- lege, but here it was of no avail, nothing would convince the mother of a dying child; and when, with tears REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 77 streaming, unable as well as unwilling to meet his argu- ments, she besought him in words almost identical with those of Scripture, " Come, ere my child die," it was impossible to refuse. Perhaps had the other members of session seen and heard what passed between the afflicted mother and the minister, they would not have been so stringent in tithing mint and cummin, and omitting the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith, and their earnest minister would have been saved the humiliation of acknowledging he had done wrong. Another superstition which came under our own cognizance connected with this ordinance was of the following nature. When, in administering the rite, the water fell upon the infant's face, it gave a loud scream, and after the service was over, the mother kissed and fondled her child with the greatest affection, saying, "Ye' re gaun to leeve yet, my darling! Ye're gaun to leeve yet, my darling!" Judging there was something under this, we inquired what it meant, and were told, that if when a sickly child gave a cry on re- ceiving the water of baptism, it was a sure token that it would live. We thought that if it was so, the power of life and death was very much in the hands of the officiating minister, according to the quantity of water he used. Another superstition, which probably is still universal, was that when children of different sexes were to be baptized together, the male always received the preference, as it was believed, and proofs were ready to be adduced, that if the female was first baptized, she would in after life wear the beard instead of the other, a matter greatly to be deplored by both. Ministers were not at liberty to baptize a child by any 78 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE name an eccentric or a fanatical parent might propose. All names savouring of ancient paganism, and such as were peculiar to the Deity, were prohibited, though scriptural names of holy persons might be given. Also when a clan or tribe fell into disfavour with the king, or became an eyesore to the country, the name was forbidden to be used in baptism, in order that as speedily as pos- sible it might become extinct. The clan Macgregor had become so obnoxious to the country on account of their cruelties and depredations, that they were proscribed as "lawless limmers and villains," and no clergyman was to baptize a child in their name under the penalty of fine and deprivation. Baptisms were sometimes performed under circumstances of peculiar difficulty, but still show- ing " where there is a will there is a way." A former minister of Kirkgunzeon, when one day out shooting at a distance from the manse, called at the cottage of one of his parishioners where there was an unbaptized child, and, to save the trouble of returning for the purpose, he offered to do the duty then. There being no water in the house, and the well a long way off, the minister said he had some in his flask, and it was used accordingly. We once heard Dr. Chalmers relate with great zest the following story of a Highland baptism : A clergyman went to administer the rite in the house of one of his hearers, near which there ran a small burn or river, which, when he reached it, was so deep and swollen with recent rains that he could not get across. In these cir- cumstances he told the father to bring his child down to the burn -side. Furnished with a wooden scoop, the clergyman stood on the one side, and the father, holding his child as far out in his arms as he could, stood upon REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 79 the other. The service proceeded, and when the time came for sprinkling the babe, the minister, dipping the scoop into the water, flung its contents across, aiming at the baby's face. He failed more than once, calling out to the father after each new trial, " Weel, has't gotten ony yet?" Dr. Chalmers wondered what the great stick- lers for form and ceremony in the sacraments would think of a baptism by a burn-side, performed with a wooden scoop. We observe this anecdote is recorded in the fourth volume of Dr. Chalmers' Memoirs, but it is impossible to realize the humour which irradiated his countenance when he related it to his students at the breakfast table. 80 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE CHAPTER V. DEATH OF WASHINGTON PROPOSED PEACE WITH FRANCE SIR RALPH ABERCROMBY PEACE REJOICINGS ATTEMPTS AT MATRIMONY EFFECTS OF HIS FAILURE DR. DUNCAN FORBES MANSES OF TINWALD AND TORTHORWALD LETTER TO MRS. LAWSON MAN IN THE COAL-CLOSET SIMULATES THE SERVANT LAYING THE FOUNDATION-STONE OF DUMFRIES ACADEMY. WHILE Mr. Wightman was intent on the diligent dis- charge of the duties within his own parochial domain, he was also a keen observer of what was going on in the political world, both foreign and domestic, and freely expressed his opinion of the wisdom or the injudiciousness of those who conducted public affairs. When the news of the death of Washington reached this country he was greatly grieved, saying that the death of that truly great man would be lamented by the admirers of genius, integrity, and patriotism, for he thought that however his exertions had prevailed in depriving Great Britain of one of her most valuable possessions, he had acted from the most thorough conviction and the purest principle, therefore his memory would be held in the highest veneration. It was not to degrade and enslave his native land that he had lifted the sword, as the late usurpers of France had done, but when the object was accom- plished, he, like another Cincinnatus, resigned his supremacy, and reposed in the bosom of an honourable retirement, a retirement more illustrious than the REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 81 monkish seclusion of Charles V., to which that monarch betook himself, and which was applauded by his pane- gyrists far beyond its deserts. Turning to home affairs, the legislature has been dis- cussing the preliminaries of peace with France, on which the following remarks occur : " I rejoice at the prospect of a general peace. I fear evils from the licentious prin- ciples that will be propagated through this country in consequence of a free intercourse with France. I know not what to think of the system of government there. It is a heterogeneous mixture in which atheism, Jacobin- ism, old popery, theophilanthropism, true liberty, and mad licentiousness, have all less or more influence upon the public mind, and the genius of Bonaparte himself is not able to rule the chaotic mass, from which some new order of things seems likely to break forth. The Chief Consul's career seems to be near its close. He is one of those luminaries which shine only amid storms and tempests, and shed an awful glare on the elemental war. When peace comes his mind will have no congenial objects, for whatever he may say of social happiness his soul is not tuned for such serene enjoyments. He will likely be murdered by some dark rival or revolutionary cabal, if men are not yet satiated with blood. The speeches of Lord Grenville and Mr. Windham against the peace, and of Mr. Pitt and Mr. Fox for it, are masterpieces of senatorial eloquence. Grenville thus concludes a speech replete with dignified sentiment ' We are enfeebled, my Lords, but not broken down ; we are lowered, but not debased. Some of our outworks have deen demolished, many of them surrendered to the foe, but the citadel yet remains, and while it is defended 82 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE by the noble courage of united Britons it will bid defiance to attack. We meet with mortifications and disappoint- ments, but we shall, I trust, preserve our Honour, our Constitution, and our Religion.' Mr. Pitt in a part of his speech states among other objects of the war this one ' We were desirous of collecting the venerable fragments of that ancient fabric, the overthrow of which entailed so many years of misery on France we hoped to restore its ancient system dives opum, Priami dum regna manebant ; Nunc tantum sinus, et static malefida carinis.' There is something very happy in this quotation; it re- minds one of some of the eloquent flights of Mr. Burke on the same subject. Mr. Windham in an eloquent speech against the peace insisted that the great aim of France was universal empire and aggrandizement, and that it was not safe to allow them to gratify this desire by peace. The French adopted various measures, but never lost sight of their aim. ' In all their revolutions, involutions, and evolutions, they pursue the same course, like pigeons which turn in the air, but still pursue their flight. The figure and the music are not always the same in this dance of death.' I believe there is no such theatre of eloquence as the British senate. Every great and noble sentiment is there inspired. British genius puts forth its strength in the best of causes, the welfare of its country, some one way, some another, but no true eloquence can spring from insincerity. It is this which renders the harangues of Fox so tedious to those who see his character." Mr. Wiffhtman cherished an inveterate hatred to the REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 83 great First Consul; and notwithstanding his saying that he never let the sun go down upon his wrath, which we believe was as true as can be said of any human being, yet in this case we fear that Bonaparte was an exception, though perhaps the only one. But it should be remembered, that almost every man of Britain, most certainly of Scotland, held the same opinion. Among all classes of society no epithet was too derogatory to be applied to him. His reputation was considered public property, and it was generally kicked about like a football. We shall by-and-by see what consternation he caused to the peaceful inhabitants of Dumfriesshire and Galloway, though at the same time, as it turned out, they were more frightened than hurt. Still, if one is recklessly frightened, he has good cause to take um- brage at the bogle. Let us hear Mr. Wightman again on Bonaparte : "7th May, 1801 (Thursday). The news of Sir Ealph Abercromby's success in the sacred expedition to Egypt is gazetted. This fortunate turn of affairs will, with other late occurrences in the north of Europe, it is hoped, prepare the way for peace, so much to be desired. I think Bonaparte is not to survive long amidst the convulsions to which a republic, not founded on virtue, is subject. Some rival will cut him off by violence, or he will rush on some hazardous enterprize which will prove fatal to him, for lie is a meteor which pleases only while it moves, and is destined to spread ruin and terror while it lasts, but is never to enjoy the blessings of serenity and peace, as he does not seem to be calculated to act a part suitable to the prime personage of a nation in peace. When daring and bustle are not needed, Bonaparte will have no existence. 19th May. Heard that 84 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE Sir Ralph Abercromby had died of his wounds in Egypt. A General Hutchinson has taken the command of the troops there in his room. This, I fear, is a bad omen of success on our enterprize there. A great deal of blood has already been shed in Egypt, and more must be shed before we take the country out of the hands of the French. They wish to make it a step to our settlements in India, and a key to the further extension of their boundaries. The 42nd Regiment, I think, a Highland corps, it seems had cut off to a man the invin- cible band of Bonaparte. The latter had taken all the flints out of their nmskets that they might depend on their bayonets alone, yet French enthusiasm was defeated by Highland bravery, and the Caledonian diamond cut to pieces the Gallic steel. Long live the brave Highlanders! they are noble heroes! How many poor mothers in Scotland are now lamenting their sons slain in battle, and methinks, in France even, I see the generous tear fall, and I pity even our Peace was proclaimed, but how long, or rather how short, it continued we shall speedily see. In the mean- time Dumfries is in a state of ecstacy at the glad tidings, and has no desire to conceal her emotions. Let us hear Mr. Wightman's opinion on the subject: " 14th October (Wednesday). There was an illumina- tion in Dumfries last night, on account of the news that peace had been concluded with France. The populace were very noisy, and some of them a little tumultuous about the streets. The newspapers are full of the most extravagant expressions of joy on account of this news. Some soldiers, in a town in England, actually kissed the wheels of the mail-coach that brought the intelligence. The Opposition prints are full of triumph over the late Ministry REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 85 and eulogiums on Bonaparte, while they speak of our own country as in a deplorable state of humiliation and distress. I hope we shall recover from the wounds we have received, and that time will allay all our grievances, great indeed. When shall the widows receive their husbands and their sons, and when shall the public debt be removed? But this war has shown the world that Great Britain is an enemy to anarchy and wild democracy, while she embraces peace as soon as she can do it with consistency or safety. I speak not of honour or of glory; I will leave these terms for happier days still It appears to me that Bonaparte is a man who cannot live in peace, any more than a leviathan on land. The same jealous rivals of his military fame, and enemies of his measures, may plot and effect his ruin. France, I consider, is a great sea without any fixed limits, roaring and swelling after a storm, and which yet may occasion some disasters before it peaceably repose in its channels. Much broil and feud await the inhabitants of France before their interior affairs be arranged and some form of worship be recognized, which, if not established, all will go to wreck, and a deluge of atheism and infidelity will overspread Europe. Quod Deus avertat!" Notwithstanding the kindness of the married ladies in helping him to furnish the manse, there still remained a great deficiency which he was anxious to supply, and he reasonably imagined they might aid him in this matter also. In fact, the very generosity, sympathy, and affectionate regard they had shown him, increased his desire the more to have the vacuum in his heart and in his dwelling removed. The angel of the house was awanting. Margaret Haining or Jenny Glen might be very good housekeepers, and promote his comfort by 86 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE all means in their power; but a housekeeper was not a wife, and mere comfort came short of true and full happiness. But, alas! easier thought of than obtained. He lived and died a bachelor, partly from necessity and partly from choice, by which we mean that he remained in a state of celibacy because he did not succeed in certain quarters where he applied for a wife. He could not brook denial, even when it came with no such real intent, and he was too independent of spirit, shall we say proud, to press his suit. A Miss Taylor, the daughter of a neighbouring farmer, a young lady of great beauty and engaging manners, made a deep impression upon his heart, so much so, indeed, that he resolved to ask her parents that they would allow her to become mistress of the manse, even, we believe, before he asked the consent of the damsel herself. Accordingly, one even- ing he embraced the opportunity and solicited the hand of "bonny Jean;" but though the maternal heart was flattered by the proposal, Mrs. Taylor modestly said, " It is certainly a great honour you do us, Sir, but I'm afraid she is too young for you." "Well, well," said the wooing minister, " ye know best, let it be so," and the subject was never introduced again on either side. No doubt the mother was right, whatever were her feelings in the matter; he was upwards of forty years of age, and her daughter not half the number. He never, however, ceased to cherish a strong affection for the young lady, but which he thought was not reciprocated in the way he wished. He once sent to her, along with a winter rose, a poetical effusion, the close of which was as follows : REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 87 "And when life's November around you shall close, And withers the beauty that ravished the muse, May piety flourish like this winter rose, And o'er your last moments its sweetness diffuse ! " Miss Taylor died at Ellisland, whither the family had removed, and her remains were interred in Kirkmahoe churchyard on the 26th February, 1838. On the day immediately preceding her funeral the following was jotted in his diary: " Miss Taylor of Ellisland, who died of palsy, is to be buried in our churchyard to-morrow. I trust she died in peace, and felt all the comfort in her last hours which I once wished she might feel in those lines which I sent her, when I thought she did not like my attentions so well as I wished. Lord, prepare me for my own latter end, which cannot be far distant!" He was so affected that he could not attend her funeral, but he visited her grave a few days afterwards, and there, sitting alone by her tombstone, an old man at the age of seventy-six, he sought relief in the following strains. What a subject for an artist! Old age mourn- ing at the grave of unwedded early love : " Beneath that stone the dust doth rest, Of her whom living I loved best ; My voice of grief she cannot hear, Nor can she see my falling tear. virtuous love, thy powerful ties Are made of nought that fades or dies ; With mind's pure essence they're entwined, And are immortal too like mind ! When yon bright sun and circling spheres Shall count no more their days and years, When that strong chain that binds them fails, And desolation wide prevails, Thy mystic ties, so firm and sure, Will through eternity endure!" 88 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE Another attempt elsewhere was also unsuccessful, but this time the fault lay solely with himself. He went one evening ostensibly to take tea with a family with whom he had been for a considerable time on terms of the greatest intimacy, and, as he supposed, on terms of the greatest friendship; we say ostensibly to take tea, but really to ask the daughter to be his wife. His visit was unexpected, and perhaps household affairs had been undergoing a scrutiny and a renovation, so that the family were scarcely in trim for receiving the minister's visit. The Fates were again adverse ! He left without hinting a single word of his errand. And why? When the blooming fair one, who occupied his whole heart, brought in the tea apparatus, she put them on the table with such forcibility that he said he read in the noise she made, " What the plague's brought that body here again?" Young ladies, beware, the rattling of the tea- cups may lose you the offer of a husband. A third effort also failed. He went one day for the same purpose to a house in town, resolved to make an offer of his hand and heart, but, alas! after knocking at the door, he lost courage and fled before his call could be answered. These three instances we had from his own lips, and he said there were a few others which never went further than a dilly-dallying sentimentality. The result of his failures in attempting matrimony was such as might be expected in one with so generous, warm, and loving a heart as his. The solace he could not find at home he sought elsewhere, and the happiness he saw, or fancied he saw, in wedded life, was all the more aggravating, in that he seemed doomed to celibacy against his will. So we find him dining here and teaing REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 89 there, both in his own parish and out of it, when he might have been revelling in a paradise of his own. This state of celibacy had two principal results, one of which is to be especially lamented. The first is, that with his extensive classical knowledge, his experience in educa- tion, public and private, his great love for the ancient fathers, Greek and Latin, and his fine discernment of their beauties and faults, he might have given the world a work of importance on some of these matters so congenial to his own taste, which would have benefited and elevated his fellow-men, whereas all we have of this character is comprehended in a few occasional sermons, and a slim volume on one of the Epistles, to which we shall after- wards have occasion to refer. The second result was a perfect influx of visitors of a certain caste from one end of the year to another. Teachers and preachers all found their way to Kirkmahoe manse, and to show how much they enjoyed themselves there, they stayed for days and weeks at a time. The fare was homely yet hearty, but the great enjoyment was "the feast of reason and the flow of soul," which was far more appreciated than the other. With regard to the preachers, they always did some- thing for their bread in acknowledgment of the hospit- ality they received; they took the pulpit duty for the minister, which was a great relief, and allowed him ample time for his other duties in the parish. In this way he himself, though in the church, was sometimes not in the pulpit for two months, and, on one occasion, for three months in succession. Still it was agreeable to the people; they heard varieties of preaching, and seeing the minister always present they were satisfied that he was there to do his duty if required. Above all things, a con- 90 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE gregation cannot bear the idea that the minister is in- dolent, and if it is found that he is exchanging here and there, they are certain to put it down to that cause. Now, nothing is more erroneous. There are many things occurring, of which they are ignorant, which render it impossible for him to prepare new sermons every Sunday, and when he chances to repeat a former one, they are down upon him tooth and nail, as if what was good and edifying for them one day was not so another, and as if they remembered what had then been said to them, and had acted up to the instruction given. We fear that with many in a congregation their memory is assisted greatly by a pencil mark in their Bibles at the text. There was something in the remark once made by a clergyman in Nithsdale to a young friend Avho had officiated for him "You're a great fool; you are far too textual you can never again preach that sermon but from the same text. I never do such a thing. Nothing like treating a general subject, for which a dozen texts can be easily found any time." When a minister is in church with his people, though another is employed, they feel he is not neglecting his duty. Mr. Wightman was therefore never found fault with in this respect. And then he had such a kind word to say to his parish- ioners throughout the week on behalf of the preacher, that they reckoned it a favour they were so highly pri- vileged in hearing many of the young clergy, " hot off the irons," as they expressed it. No guest ever got a hint to leave the manse, however long his stay. He came at his pleasure and left at the same. Many a poor probationer was glad of such a City of Refuge, while his ministerial gifts and graces were REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 91 being tested, as it was not then, as now, a rapid transi- tion from the exercises of the Divinity Hall to the responsibilities of the pastorate of a parish. Among this class of visitors was one who paid a long visit every year, who might have given up all hope of a church had he not been like a certain portion of the human race who hold by the maxim, " while there is life there is hope," but Providence seemed to consider him more use- ful as he was then engaged than he could be in the church. This was the Rev. Duncan Forbes, LL.D, a student-grinder in Edinburgh, possessing an amazing amount of scholarship, ancient and modern. It was thought that if much learning had not made him mad, it made him eccentric, as his speech, actions, and famili- arities with the minister far exceeded even the bounds of friendship. He often interfered with the manner in which family worship was conducted, and on rising from his knees would remark, before the servants had retired, "I say, John, do you call that a prayer you gave us?" The minister replied in the affirmative, and took no further notice of the remark, being quite in accordance with his expectation. The other features of Dr. Forbes' character may be inferred from this, yet he was of the highest service to Mr. Wightman in his study of the Hebrew language, who acknowledged himself indebted to him for a better acquaintance with the Bible in the original tongue than ever he had received at College. Indeed, we have heard him say that he had read the Hebrew Bible three times through, every word, but that he knew little or nothing of the language till Dr. Forbes began his annual visits to the manse. However, always on leaving, he weeded considerably the manse library of 92 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE valuable volumes, which he forgot to return, but he was never reminded of them by the generous lender. Mr. Wightman had a peculiar pleasure in visiting at the neighbouring manse of Tinwald. There he received from Mr. and Mrs. Greig the warmest welcome, and as the family grew up he became almost one of themselves, and spoke of them in the kindest terms, as " spending the evening with the amiable Mr. Greig and his wife." At Torthorwald manse, also, the Rev. Mr. M'Millan's, though further distant, he was a frequent visitor, where he regarded the minister as a patriarch. " In the manse of Torthorwald," he says, " I always feel myself in the abode of a purer class of beings than the ordinary sort of mankind. The patriarchal simplicity of the minister, his heavenly conversation, his venerable hoary locks, and his good-humoured remarks, always edify and please me." How beautiful! There was in these days greater intercommunion among the clergy than now, except when business necessities, such as Sacraments, and School examinations, or perhaps an afternoon's sermon, demand a personal audience. As a specimen of his genial goodness of heart and his taste in expressing a compliment, we give an extract from a letter which he sent to Mrs. Lawson, the widow of the former minister, then in Edinburgh, along with a basket of apples, the first season after he took up his residence in the manse : " I take the liberty of sending you a few -apples as a specimen of the fruit of the garden this season. I wish every other thing showed no greater marks of degeneracy among us here than they do. There is one thing which I think is not likely soon to degenerate or decay with us in Kirkmahoe the warm REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 93 affection of your old friends in the parish. This is still more fragrant than the best production of your favourite tree. Mrs. Walker and three of her daughters did me the favour of drinking tea with me the other evening, and spoke of you and former times with much interest and affectionate remembrance. We had heard that James was not very well lately, and hoped he was now all right again. I was sorry I was not at home when he and Miss Lawson called last summer. I staid several days at home, hoping for a second call. I trust when you or any of your family are in this part of the country, which many here wish may be often, I shall be fortunate enough to see you and show you some small testimonies of my sincere esteem, for I wish you to consider the new manse of Kirkmahoe is ambitious to resemble the old one as much as it can in hospitality to the friends of religion. I was just going to throw away this sheet on account of the last sentence, which I feared might affect you too much, but as I meant well, though I did not express myself so, I hope you will take my present and letter both in good part, and believe me to be, with much respect, Madam, your obedient and very humble servant, JOHN WIGHTMAN." This was written in September, 1801, and every one acquainted with him will acknow- ledge that it was characteristic of his nature to the last. He was very strict and regular in the management of his household, and though he was frequently out in the evening, he never came home late or neglected family worship. He had a strong sense of propriety, and of the dangerous influence of bad example. One night, sitting later than usual, sunk in the profundities of a great folio tome, he imagined he heard a sound in the 94 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE kitchen inconsistent with the quietude and security of a manse, and so taking his candle he proceeded to in- vestigate the cause. His foot being heard in the lobby, the housekeeper began with all earnestness to cover the fire, as if preparing for bed " Ye 're late up to-night, Mary." " I'm jist rakin' the fire, Sir, and gaun to bed." " That's right, Mary, I like timeous hours." On his way back to the study he passed the coal-closet, and turning the key took it with him. Next morning at an early hour there was a rap at his bedroom door, and a request for the key to put a fire on. " Ye're too soon up, Mary; go back to your bed yet." Half-an-hour later there was another knock, and a similar request in order to prepare the breakfast. " I don't want breakfast so soon, Mary; go back to your bed." Another half hour, and another knock, with an entreaty for the key, as it was washing day. This was enough. He rose and handed out the key, saying, "Go and let the man out." Mary's sweetheart had been imprisoned all night in the coal- closet, as the minister shrewdly suspected, where, Pyra- mis-and-Thisbe-like, they had breathed their love to each other through the key-hole. It must not be fancied that in this action the minister had malice and took a cruel advantage; the reverse of this was the fact, but he was full of humour, and did it as a joke. The joke, however, turned out earnest against himself, as he very soon found; at the following term Mary gave up her situation, and set up housekeeping on her own account in company with her imprisoned lover, but whether or not the closet affair had any influence in bringing that matter to a crisis we cannot tell. He relished a joke with the greatest zest, even when REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 95 it turned against himself, and none laughed more heartily than he at the following, when in the excitement of the occasion he confounded genders and otherwise failed in his ruse. His maid had one afternoon obtained leave to visit her sick mother in the neighbouring village, and had placed upon the study table and the fire all the necessaries for tea, that he might help himself at the proper hour. When she left he bolted the door to guard against intrusion, and was soon absorbed in the mysteries of some ancient folio, when, by-and-by, there was a sound of carriage wheels at the door. He immediately remem- bered that a Mrs. Wilson and her daughter from Dum- fries were engaged to take tea with him that evening in the manse. He rushed upstairs to the servant's bed- room, put on her nightcap, and, throwing up a window, said to those below, simulating the girl's voice as well as he could " The minister's no at hame; she's awa' seein' her mither." The voice was too well known not to be detected. Looking up, Mrs. Wilson instantly understood the state of affairs, and said, " Come, come, Mr. Wight- man, let us in and we shall manage for ourselves !" The fare was always homely, but the hospitality was hearty, and his genial conversation soon made every one forget what was set before him. It was some- thing like what has been said of the preaching of Dr Chalmers; at first it seemed coarse and uncouth from the provincial tone with which he expressed himself, but five minutes had not elapsed till everything was forgotten, and the whole soul centred upon the gushing eloquence of an earnest master in Israel. Mr. Wight- man made every one feel at home ere he was well introduced. 96 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE A great event took place about this time in the annals of the burgh of Dumfries, which has been a source of just pride and self-gratulation on the part of the worthy citizens of the Queen of the South. This was laying the foundation-stone of its present handsome and far-famed Academy, which took place on the 27th of April, 1802, under the auspices of one of its ex-Provosts, David Staig. Among the immense crowd of citizens and others from the country who turned out on the occasion, in holiday attire and enthusiasm, there was none more interested than the minister of Kirkmahoe. He had studied under one of its ablest rectors, the Rev. Robert Trotter, M.A.; he himself had been one of the teachers when the institution bore a less lofty name, and he greatly rejoiced to see the status it had now attained. The whole affair passed off with the greatest eclat, and at the close of the ceremony a large company dined in the George Hotel, when Mr. Wightman re- peated the following verses which he had that day written for the occasion : ON LAYING THE FOUNDATION-STONE OF DUMFRIES ACADEMY. " Kind Heaven now marks this moment for its own, While on the chosen spot that stone is placed, And dates a course of ages yet unknown, In which its memory shall not be effaced. " No! 'tis a moment this to thousands dear, And thousands yet unborn its bliss shall know, For here fair Science means a fane to rear, Which ruthless Time will blush to overthrow. " Yes, when oblivion's mantle shall be thrown On all the smiling throng now gathered round, To learned strangers shall its courts be shown, Which, while they tread, they'll say, ' 'tis classic ground ! ' REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 97 " And when this fluttering heart shall beat no more, Nor yet this tongue such feeble lines rehearse, The Muses here some favourite's breast shall store With all the treasures of immortal verse. " Through Time's dread vista Fancy darts her view, And marks well pleased a long and studious train, Fresh as the morn and countless as the dew, The palm of knowledge eager to obtain. ' A line of sages, too, of sire-like mein, Glad she can trace distinguished from the rest, By Heaven designed in these retreats to reign, And stamp instruction ' on the glowing breast. " Her looks, full-shaded with the olive's wreath, On this fair scene Britannia seems to bend, And soft as o'er Nith's flowerets zephyrs breathe, To say ' My sons, now to my words attend ! " ' Love well your country, and its laws obey, Eeligion's sacred voice with reverence hear, And Learning's ample page intent survey, Fear God, my sons, and have no other fear !' " This noble Seminary has lately (1872) been enlarged and improved, to meet the demands of a progressive age, and is at present equipped with a body of teachers who, for intelligence, energy, and success, are not sur- passed in any educational establishment in Scotland. 98 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE CHAPTER VI. INTRODUCTION OF THE PARAPHRASES CHANGE IN THE PSALMODY DIET OF CATECHISING ANECDOTES OF SUCH MEETINGS CUSTOMS AT DEATH ENCOFFINING OLD ACTS OF PARLIAMENT BURIAL ENTERTAINMENTS MODES OF CARRYING TO THE GRAVE TREAT- MENT OF SUICIDES THE DRAIGIE ANCIENT BURIAL PARAPHER- NALIA. IN olden times the good folks of Kirkmahoe seem to have been greatly averse to what were considered inno- vations in the ordinance of religious worship, and some of the females might, in their zeal for Presbyterianism pure and imdefiled, have claimed close kin with Jenny Geddes and her stool in St. Giles' Church, Edinburgh. There is a tradition extant in the parish, that while the beadle was ringing the bell for public worship, some heroines of the Reformation seized the altar with both hands, and, having carried it off by their combined strength, heaved it with one indignant effort into a neighbouring pool. We have seen the prejudice which was manifested against the wearing of a pulpit-gown, and other things came anon which roused considerable opposition, but eventually passed away. There was a strong antipathy generally throughout the country to the use of the Paraphrases on their first introduction in the service of the Church, as they were considered mere human compositions, though a little reflection might have shown the cavillers that there was no greater reason REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 99 for rejecting them than the metrical version of the Psalms. David did not sing that which we use, but the prose one; and what are both of these but just portions of Sacred Writ put into measure, to suit the music we consider appropriate for divine praise. But yet simple worshippers could not be brought to see this, and especially those not connected with the Church of Scot- land. " Don't sing any of your Paraphrases, and I will come and hear you oftener," said a strong Cameronian to us one day, who occasionally saved the fatigue of travelling some miles to his own church, and also, in some degree, thought to save his conscience at the same time by worshipping near home, while, in addition to all, he imagined a great honour was being conferred in the patronage he gave to the Auld Kirk by his attendance there. However, by a resolute reference to some of these Paraphrases, which he stoutly endeavoured to avoid, comparing the verse with the prose, and show- ing that the rendering was as close and scriptural as the version of the Psalms was, we obtained a reluctant acknowledgment that the matter was not, after all, so bad as he had imagined. The first use of the Paraphrases within the bounds of the Presbytery of Dumfries was in Kirkmahoe Church, on the 23rd of January, 1802, when the llth was given out and sung without any appearance of aversion on the part of the congregation : " happy is the man who hears Instruction's warning voice; And who celestial wisdom makes His early, only choice. 100 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE For she has treasures greater far Than east or west unfold ; And her rewards more precious are Than all their stores of gold. " In her right hand she holds to view A length of happy days; Eiches, with splendid honours joined, Are what her left displays. She guides the young with innocence, In pleasure's paths to tread, A crown of glory she bestows Upon the hoary head. " According as her labours rise, So her rewards increase ; Her ways are ways of pleasantness, And all her paths are peace." In connection with the psalmody of the church, it is deserving of notice that the strongest antipathy also was exhibited to the disuse of reading the line by the pre- centor previous to its being sung. The schoolmaster had one day, of his own accord, requested the precentor to sing the last psalm without reading the line, which accordingly was done. At the close of the church ser- vice one of the elders was very wrathful, declaring the people would be justly angry, and that he and the other elders ought to have been consulted! Some words of an acrimonious character passed among the members of session on the subject, and the result was a resolution that the act should not be repeated. "I believe," says Mr. Wightman, making a note of the circumstance, "we must not persist in this matter, lest the people be pro- voked to anger by this gentleman because, he was not consulted. Oh ! oh ! how shall a minister act amidst REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 101 such notions ? and wha{. advancement in religious knowledge and practice can be expected while such things are reckoned the weighty matters? This gen- tleman would resign his office if the practice was to be continued." No doubt something might be said on the part of the elder as well as on the part of the congre- gation. He had a right to be consulted in all matters affecting the mode of conducting public religious wor- ship, and psalm-books were not so numerous then as now, but still on such occasions it is not becoming to fly into a passion, when a quiet remonstrance or con- ference on the subject would do equally well. The first time a repeating tune was sung in the church great offence was taken by some of the people, as it was called a " rant." A stranger minister had preached that day from Psalm cxxxvii. 3, " For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song ; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion." One of the congregation, on his way home from the service of the sanctuary, gave expression to the bitterness of his feelings by saying, " Had the captive Jews given the Babylonians one of their songs to the tune we got to-day, they would have been sent home next morning, with their expenses paid, as a nuisance in the land." Various alterations, we shall not say innovations, have been introduced since then, but the people have the good sense to see that it is entirely for their own comfort, and the more reverential conducting of divine worship in the house of God, and so have given their approval. In Mr. Wightinan's time there were certain customs connected with pastoral oversight which have now fallen LIBRARY UNIVERPT"" SANTA BAKBAlcA 102 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE into desuetude, but which were thought to be of con- siderable advantage during the period they prevailed. One of the most important of these was Catechising, or Examination. According to the second book of Dis- cipline " every minister is ordained to have weekly catechisings of some part of the parish," and though this was meant more expressly for the young, yet all ages were included in the common practice. This injunction was faithfully carried out by Mr. Wightman, and though it was a laborious duty, yet it was a very pleasant one after all. The greatest attention was always shown to the minister's comfort, external and internal, and the whole community, literally and figura- tively, were at his feet. A Diet of Catechising was a great affair, and every one prepared for it by a careful perusal of the Shorter Catechism. A leaf of that valuable treasury might have been seen in the hands of a youngster in the family, and another quivering under the scrutiny of old grandame, " with spectacles on nose, and pouch on side," in preparation for the grand review, while the milkmaid, in bringing home the cows in the evening, had laid aside her ballad and her lilting, and was carefully conning over Effectual Calling, and what was prayed for in the Petitions. A farmhouse was selected as central as possible for the district, and thither the surrounding families were required to repair on a certain day at a certain hour, as the tribes went up of old to the testimony of Israel. The barn was some- times used as most commodious, but as the event usually came off in the winter season, the large kitchen was found more agreeable. There all ages and classes assembled, the old and the young, the parents and their REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 103 children, the master and his servants, the farmer and his cottars, and underwent the ordeal of an exami- nation in the faith, according to the prescribed standard. The scene was in one view a painful one, as the old and gray-headed were placed on the same footing, and in the same position as the youngest. The grandmother and the grandchild were seen side by side, alike tremb- ling in the prospect of clerical inquisition, and while that was being made, the young prompted the old one when at a loss, and even sometimes giggled when they saw granny perplexed. Pray, what was the use of it all? We are now going to accompany Mr. Wightman on one of his catechising excursions, and will act the part of a surreptitious reporter. It is an early day in December, fine, clear, cold, and the Diet is to be held in Gleddingholm. That part of the parish is very de- lightful to one with a taste for landscape scenery. The prospect is very interesting, there being a great variety of hills and dales, rugged steeps, rushing streamlets, smoking cottages, and deeply hollowed glens. The view from the heights above Glenmaid, and at Auchen- geith, towards Lochmaben and Burnswark, is truly elevating, while the fine elastic air, the clear atmo- sphere, and tinges of the clouds on the horizon, are charming and exhilarating in a high degree. Queens- berry is towering aloft, as if in prideful rivalry, saluting Criffel, and by many deviations the gentle ^E is thread- ing its way onward to the sea. But the moral landscape is still more enchanting, and the reception of the minister by the families he has come to visit in a pastoral capacity is flattering in the extreme. The large kitchen of Gled- dingholm is filled with the surrounding families. All 104 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE are there, old and young. Seventy-seven persons are present, two more than were at the Diet held at Temp- landhill last week, a hundred and fifty-two in all in less than a fortnight, not a bad testimony of the religious character of the parish. We have said all were there, but yet not all. A farmer has sent out his two men to the plough, and they are absent. He apologizes to the minister, saying that he was later than usual, and he thought he might not come, and as a frost was setting in, and to all appearance this was the last day for some time to come that the plough could be goinof. he had sent them out, but their families are here. We overhear the minister muttering something, of which we catch the words, " things seen and temporal are apt to prevail." He is sitting in the arm-chair by the fire ; a table is be- side him covered with a snow-white cloth, on which lies the family Bible. Seated around the walls, on every available kind of seat, the audience have taken their places, like a badly-arranged row of volumes in a book- case, and the service begins. After reading a portion of Scripture and offering up prayer, the minister introduces the catechising by stating, that for the soul to lack knowledge is not good, that there is no knowledge like that of reli- gion, that it makes wise unto salvation, and therefore we should endeavour to obtain it. An assembly of learned and pious men, after much prayer and labour, compiled out of the Holy Scriptures a sum- mary of the leading doctrines and duties of the Christian religion, and this the ministers are commanded to teach and explain. He insists upon the necessity of instruct- ing the young. Human society is like a large wood REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 105 composed of older and younger trees, when a race of plants are making their appearance above the surface among the taller ones the hand of Time will lay the axe to the root of the old, and the young must then be all the wood that remains. How necessary is it, then, to water and cherish these young plants, that the face of society may be like a garden watered of heaven, a seed to serve God while sun and moon endure. Education, in connection with religion, is the great source of national, parochial, and family happiness. This is not a light matter, but one of inexpressible importance, and parents should therefore co-operate with ministers in bringing up the young in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. He then takes up the Shorter Catechism, and, beginning at one end of the circle, interrogates all without exception, taking the several questions in order, and making a short running commentary on each. On the whole, they are answered pretty well, though sad havoc is made in syntax and sense. It is evident that a better knowledge had once obtained on the part of some, but there is a willingness to do their best. One round is sufficient, and this being done, a portion of Scripture is read, prayer is offered, and the assemblage disperses, thankful that it is over, and that a long time must intervene till a similar examination comes round. These meetings were sometimes occasions of consider- able theological discussion and ready repartee, when the catechiser became the catechised, and was put to his wits' end to maintain his position. As the visitations were always expected at a certain season of the year, some of the more dexterous in the district prepared themselves for the sole purpose of puzzling the minister, G 106 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE and not at all to have some difficulty in divinity or Christian ethics satisfactorily explained. Indeed, in some instances such an explanation would have been a great disappointment, as defeating anticipated victory. Then the questions were so framed and put that a sermon or a treatise would have scarcely sufficed to give a full expla- nation, and yet a categorical answer was always required. The genealogies of the patriarchs was a grand resort, as was also predestination, free-will, and other intricate sub- jects, which it required a whole college of divinity pro- fessors to explain. A story is told of a minister who on such an occasion resolved to silence an inquisitive shoemaker by asking him a question thought unanswerable. "John, how long did Adam stand in Paradise before he fell ?" John saw the object of his inquiry, and immediately replied, " Weel, Sir, if ye'll promise to answer my ques- tion I'll answer yours." "Be it so, John." "Weel, Sir, he stood till he got a wife; How long stood he after?" The minister's answer is not known. Mr. Dickson, minister of Wamphray, was one day catechising at the house of an old man called Peter French, and naturally beginning with the host, he asked Peter, " What is the chief end of man?" To which Peter promptly replied, "'Deed, Sir, I'll no presume. That's your duty; ye're paid for telling us." Peter thereby saved his credit, and at the same time gave all due reverence to his minister. At one of these catechisings, which took place in the church, the name of Walter Hunter was called, as in this case the parties were separately examined. Walter was at the east end of the church among the school-boys the school being taught there and he answered in a loud voice, "Here, Sir." "O yes," said the minister, BEV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 107 " loud i' the lone was never a gude milk cow." Walter, after some keen interrogatories respecting doctrinal points and moral conduct, was dismissed to give place to another, but before rising he remarked, loud enough for all to hear, " I hae seen a cow that could gie a lilt, and a gude jilt too." A woman answered all the questions put to her by what Dickens calls the staple of American conversation, namely, " Yes, Sir." In order to see how far she would go with this response, she was asked, " Could you see the wind, Margaret ?" " Yes, Sir," was the ready reply. Of course her fellow-servants, after going home, twitted her about her examination and seeing the wind, which she still affirmed, and after much banter she appealed to ocular demonstration, saying, " Weel, then, if ye open twa barn doors, will ye no see the wun' blawin' through?" These diets of catechising were sometimes taken on consecutive days, in which case the minister did not return to the manse at night, but staid in some parish- ioner's house that he might more conveniently attend the next day's meeting. In this way almost a whole week was spent, before he returned home to prepare for the duties of the forthcoming Sabbath. The minister of Colvend went out one winter on a catechising tour, and took a boy with him to open gates and attend to his horse. At the close of the week, when the little man was about to be discharged, he said to the minister, "Sir, I hae heard you asking mony questions at the houses we hae been at, and I wad like to ask you a question before I gang. What do ye think o' the Fall, Sir?" "It is a mysterious subject, my man, but what do ye think of it yourself?" " I dinna ken, but it was a 108 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE terrible thing that the worl' should hae been lost for the sake o' an apple. I can gae into Dalbeattie an' get as mony's I can eat, an' my pouches filled, for tippence. But do ye no think, Sir, it was awfu' wee buikit o' the deevil to attack the woman instead o' the man ? I hae never thocht onything o' him sin' ever I kent it." Such is a specimen of what was once regarded as an important ministerial duty. It was perhaps of use in those days, when the channels of knowledge were not so numerous as now, but in these times of cheap Bibles, tracts, and religious magazines, we think the duty is unnecessary; and it has therefore judiciously been allowed to fall into desuetude. But we turn to more solemn customs than those we have just noticed solemn because they have reference to the dead and however ridiculous some of them may now appear, we are unwilling to treat them with levity, or speak of them with disrespect. They were well intended as marks of affection towards the departed, though it may be thought they were the lingering traces of a barbaric age. Times, however, are changing fast, and the incongruous hospitalities of death are almost entirely gone out of fashion. People, no matter how rural now, see that they can mourn without super- stition, that mortality comports ill with festivity, and that the rites of the grave are best accompanied by social prayer and silent meditation. We shall now refer to some of these ancient customs, that rest upon the mysteries of mortality, and which were in full force for several years after Mr. Wightman became minister of Kirkmahoe, but which he ineffectually endeavoured to remove. The tenderness felt for the dead still KEY. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 109 makes the living fearful to omit any accustomed mark of respect, and hence the tenacity of some of the old rites, which, in calm moments, might be thought " more honoured in the breach than the observance." It seemed quite a mistake to imagine that when a man's last breath went out there was no more of him with respect to the present scene. As his entrance into the world was attended with certain observances, so his departure from it had even more, there being four stages to be gone through his last death-bed moments, encoffining, burial, and draigie. These were religiously performed. We can well remember several curious customs regularly observed in connection with death. If this occurred in the family of a farmer, the arm of labour was immediately suspended. The horses were loosed from the plough and put up in the stable ; seed- sowing itself, however favourable the weather might be, was entirely interrupted. If the season was autumn, harvest was in like manner stopped. Traffic of all kinds was at a stand-still ; and even the poor cottar's children had to seek their milk elsewhere, or take their porridge without it. The dispensation was considered- the signal doing of the Almighty; and not to have en- tirely suspended labour, would have been thought alike impious towards Heaven and disrespectful to the de- ceased. The last expiration of the breath was received by the nearest of kin, as it was thought to bear with it the departing spirit ; for similar reasons, the last dying accents were faithfully treasured. We well remember, when a child, standing by the death-bed of a younger brother, seeing our weeping mother lay her face upon that of the child, just as the 110 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE last sigh was drawn. It was many years afterwards that we learned the secret of this melancholy move- ment. The eyes of the deceased were closed by the nearest relative the body, after being washed, was dressed in its finest underclothing the hands, if a female, were laid over the chest; and if a male, were extended by the side. Upon the breast was placed a plate of salt, which, it was believed, prevented the body from swelling and bursting the bands with which it was bound. This custom was also observed by some of the ancients, but from a different motive, as intimating their belief in a future state salt being the emblem of perpetuity. The looking-glass was covered with a cloth, lest the relatives should accidentally obtain a glimpse of their wobegone features. The striking pulley of the clock was removed, that there should be no note of the passing hours, and that silence might reign in the chamber of the dead. The cat was incarcerated beneath an inverted washing-tub, as it was understood that if she leaped over the corpse, and afterwards went over a living person, that individual would ever after be sub- ject to epileptic fits. A better reason would have been, to prevent her from attacking the body, as such animals have been sometimes known to do. Almost every corpse had its special visitors, who came for a purpose different from that of sympathizing with the bereaved family. Had a child been born with what was called a cherry or a strawberry mark upon its face, the spot was sure to be speedily obliterated on being submitted to the touch of a dead man's hand. Also, whosoever looked upon the lifeless form, should of necessity touch it, to prevent dreaming of shrouds, EEV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. Ill and ghosts, and churchyards. It was sometimes diffi- cult to be assured that the vital spark had fled in reality and for ever. Every family could relate traditions of corpses sitting up in their grave-clothes, staring around, and finally being restored to their friends. The effect of such traditions was, that the "kistin," or encoffining, was generally delayed to the latest moment, to afford every chance of a return to life; and the " waukin" of the corpse was a matter requiring considerable fortitude, and attended with no little appreheosion. Every one had heard of somebody's corpse starting up in ghastly wildness, striking terror and dismay, and requiring the presence of the minister to "lay" it; and to have heard of such a circumstance, however far remote, was of equal authority with having seen it. The " waukers " kept a candle burning all night beside the body; and frequent as well as timorous were the glances furtively cast towards the bed of death during the silent watches, till the morning again dawned upon the world. The encoffining, or, as it was called in the vernacular, the kisting of the dead, was regarded as of greater con- sequence, and observed with more solemnity in the olden time than now religious exercises being con- sidered indispensable. This was the reopening of the fountain of grief; and if it was not the final opportunity for taking farewell, it involved the wrenching of another tie, the complete isolation of the beloved from all that once was dear. Before this the body might be con- sidered as still holding its place almost in the domestic circle. The death-chamber could be entered, and the death-couch visited at will. It occupied a place belong- ing likewise to others of the family, who should recline 112 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE there on its being vacated by its silent incumbent; and in after-days they would tell it was there such and such a one breathed his last. The encoffining of the body was, therefore, the second step in its removal from the family group; it was now consigned to its own particular tenement; it was alone shut in from all the world, to rest in silence and darkness till another change should come. The lid, however, was not screwed down till the morning of the burial ; but few were the visits now paid. The coffin was itself doleful and forbidding; yet the mother would softly steal in with a wistful heart, trem- blingly lift the lid, remove the face-cloth, and kiss and weep over her unconscious child. It was customary for the minister or an elder to be present on this solemn occasion, who was conducted into the death-chamber to see the body put into the coffin, and offer up a suitable prayer for the consolation of the bereaved family. This was, doubtless, a very appropriate season for such religious exercise, which must have been an important ministrant to the spiritual comfort of the afflicted mourners. The custom, however, had its origin in an Act of Parliament. It is always pleasing to find the Government of a country attentive not only to the temporal but also the spiritual necessi- ties of its people, and especially sympathizing with them in their moments of affliction. It affords, indeed, a great mitigation of our woes when kings are our fathers, and queens our nursing-mothers, making, as it were, our individual cases their own; and, in return for such manifestations of parental feeling, we cannot withhold the gratitude, the loyalty, and the affection which spontaneously arise in our bosoms. But, alas ! the Act REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 113 referred to was not passed with the spiritual consolation and the religious exercise in view ; it was designed for a far different purpose namely, for the improvement of the LINEN manufacture within the kingdom. One may smile at the recital of such a cause, and think that so great a zeal for the benefit of the linen-draper and manufacturer but ill accorded with the sanctity of the house of mourning, and was like seeking the living among the dead. But so it was : the deacon, the elder, or the minister, was to intrude his presence, on that most mournful of all occasions, to see that the corpse was shrouded in home-made linen, and not exceeding in value twenty shillings per ell. In the second session of the first Parliament of James VII., held at Edinburgh, 1686, an Act was passed, called the " Act for Burying in Scots Linen," in which it was ordained, for the encouragement of the linen manufac- tures within the kingdom, that no person whatsoever, of high or low degree, should be buried in any shirt, sheet, or anything else, except in plain linen or cloth of Hards, made and spun within the kingdom, and without lace or point. There was specially prohibited the use of Holland, or other linen cloth made in other kingdoms ; and of silk, hair, woollen, gold, or silver, or any other stuff than what was made of Hards, spun and wrought within the kingdom, under the penalty of 300 pounds Scots for a nobleman, and 200 pounds for every other person, for each offence. One-half of this penalty was to go to the informer, and the other half to the poor of the parish where the body should be interred. And, for the better discovery of contraveners, it was ordained that every minister within the kingdom should keep 114 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE an exact account and register of all persons buried in his parish. A certificate, upon oath, in writing, duly attested by two "famous" persons, was to be delivered by one of the relatives to the minister within eight days, declaring that the deceased person had been shrouded in the manner prescribed; which certificate was to be recorded without charge. The penalty was to be sued for by the minister before any judge competent; and if he should prove negligent in pursuing the contraveners within six months after the interment, he himself was liable for the said fine. It was also enacted that no wooden coffin should exceed 100 merks Scots as the maximum rate for persons of the highest quality, and so proportionately for others of lower rank, under the penalty of 200 merks Scots for each offence. As might have been expected, this Act was very unpopular, and was accordingly evaded and infringed in every conceivable way. Those who did make use of plain linen on these occasions, endeavoured to pro- cure it of the finest texture and quality, and conse- quently paid a considerable price. The encoffming certificates were frequently neglected altogether ; others were irregular in their terms, or were not sufficiently attested, and it required but little shrewd- ness to divine the cause. Within nine years it was found necessary to ratify anew, and approve in Parlia- ment, this Linen Act, and to append certain stringent additions and penalties, for the purpose of enforcing its observance. These were: that none should presume to use home-made linen above a certain value twenty shillings Scots per ell under the same penalties set down against burying in foreign linen; and that the REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 115 nearest elder or deacon should be present at the en- coffining, to see that the Act was not contravened. It was also made statute that no seamstress should make or sew any sort of dead-linen contrary to the foresaid Act and its present addition, under the penalty of forty merks for each offence, for the benefit of the poor. Twenty years sufficed for this fashion of Scots linen- shrouds. Whether the linen manufacturers had become sufficiently well established, and thought they could maintain their ground without the further patronage and support of the dead; or whether the woollen manu- facturers, instigated by the success of their rivals in the linen trade, began a querulous bleating around the throne, in the strain of " fish of one and flesh of another," we are not aware; but we find that our sovereign lady, Queen Anne, in her first Parliament, did, for the en- couragement of the woollen manufacture within the kingdom, rescind the Linen Act of her ancestors, and substitute a woollen one in its stead, under the same severe pains and penalties for its contravention as laid down in the other. Within the last seventy years this Act was openly and regularly infringed and the penalty paid, the first item in the undertaker's bill always being, " To paying the penalty under the Act for burying in Scots linen;" but he charged only one-half of the fine, taking credit for the other half, as being the informer against himself. This will explain the custom which still lingers among certain families and in some districts, of wrapping the remains of their friends in shrouds entirely of woollen; but we have reason to be grateful for the improved legislation of our own times in this respect that such 116 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE sacred and solemn duties are not interfered with, that we are permitted to clothe and bury our dead in what- ever manner affection may dictate and means afford. But the last morning at length came, and the last fond look was taken by all concerned in the event, and then the coffin-lid was screwed down, shutting out friend and foe, and shrouding its unconscious tenant in darkness and solitude. The funeral was a great affair, requiring extensive preparations; and it was a matter of no small anxiety, during the whole lifetime of some, to have a " decent burial" at last. Inviting few attendants, or having less than a profuse supply of what were termed refreshments, was the greatest disrespect which could be shown to the memory of the deceased while the greater the number and the abundance, the greater was deemed the affection, and the intenser the grief. From the desire which all cherish of being thought well of after death, many sub- mitted to the severest privations, and denied themselves the necessaries of life for years, that the expense of their funeral might not fall upon the parish, and that on the occasion there might be enough and to spare. When such foresight as that referred to had not been duly regarded, the relatives, in order to escape the re- proach of the community, have involved themselves in expenses which it required years to liquidate. The time usually intimated for meeting was ten o'clock, and the "gathering hour" not unfrequently exceeded three hours of the sun. The consequences of sitting so long on a winter day in an open barn or outhouse, after, perhaps, the violent exercise of walking or riding over several miles of moorland, are not difficult to REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 117 imagine. Far and near, invitations or " warnings" were given; and as generally two-thirds more were invited than could be accommodated at once in the largest apartment, company after company was entertained in regular succession. The order of the refreshments was the following: Pipes and tobacco ale, with bread and cheese whisky, with the same accompaniments rum, with cracker biscuits brandy and currant-bun wine and shortbread. All these were in consecutive order, and more than one round of each. If any were intent on enjoying a double portion of the good things provided, they re-entered with the company next in attendance, and had their wants supplied. The bun and bread were cut into pieces about three inches square, and every one was helped to a piece, which he either ate or pocketed; but as he could not so readily dispose of the liquid, any man, whose better-half was indisposed at home, took with him what was popularly called a "droddy-bottle;" and when those serving came round, he held out his flask, and said : " Put it in there, and I'll tak it hame to the wife." We remember hearing Mr. Wightman say, that when he came to his parish in the Yale of Nith, about the beginning of the present century, at the first funeral he attended there was assembled in a barn one large company, who had taken more than two hours to " gather." There were seven rounds of refreshments, and he was required to " ask a blessing" that is, to offer up an appropriate prayer before every round; certainly, as he said, "a severe ordeal at the installation of a young minister." But Nithsdale was not solitary in this funereal prodigality. We find the same profuse entertainment was customary 118 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE in Carrick, and even a competition among the people as to the sumptuousness of the burial services. In the parish of Kirkmichael, the son of a deceased farmer ordered a whole boll (eight stones) of shortbread for his father's funeral; and this would have been prepared, had not the baker disinterestedly persuaded him that a fourth of the quantity would be sufficient. The currant-bun was cut the size of small bricks; and on one of the company remarking, "These are good gumps," he replied, with evi- dent gratification, " I mean gumps : my faither, in a' his life, could never thole to be scrimpit in onything, and he couldna hae restit in his grave had he thocht he was to hae a scrimpit burial." The excessive profusion of meats and drinks on these occasions, under the name of services, has been an un- seemly blot in the record of Scottish customs, from the twofold character of the consequences which it entailed the pecuniary embarrassment in which it involved the bereaved family, and the demoralization it produced on those who attended the obsequies. The doctor's bill is by-and-by handed in the apothecary's account is transmitted the village carpenter will call in some evening for payment of the coffin the grave dues must be disbursed ere the churchyard is left and a long list of articles of mourning for the various members of the family, to make them appear respectable, will fall to be paid to the haberdasher, the mantua-maker, and the tailor. Most problematical is it whether all these charges can be settled without inconvenience; and yet custom has declared, that in addition to these there must be bread and biscuit, and bun and cheese, and ale and whisky, and rum and brandy and wine, and all of EEV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 119 a superfluity. Perhaps the occasion of all this was the death of a husband and a father, the only or chief sup- port of the family, and whom, for weeks or months, a sick-bed had prevented from earning a single shilling! A custom has long prevailed with respect to marriages, which, we think, might with propriety be transferred to funerals : every party invited to a marriage is expected to take a present to the bride. How much better would it be rather to take a present to the widow ! No man should enter into the matrimonial state until he is well able to provide for the expenditure which that state requires. But death comes without our bidding, and seizes his victim often without the means to defray the expense of his interment. How would a little present on such an occasion cheer the widow's heart, and revive it with gratitude if not with joy! We have said that when the company was larger than the apartment could accommodate at once, it was divided, and one detachment entertained after the other. Ludicrous incidents sometimes occurred from this cir- cumstance, and from the state of inebriation which so many liquors induced. The corpse has sometimes been forgotten altogether, or dropped on the way to the churchyard. There is a traditional report that at the boat-house on the Doon above Kiers, in the parish of Straiten, the company was divided into two portions, and when all had drunk abundantly, they marched off to the churchyard, several miles distant. The advanced party thought the coffin was with the company in the rear the rear thought it was carried by those before ; and when they arrived at the Buskin Burn, in sight of the burial-ground, where it was intended to fall into 120 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE order, it was ascertained that the body had never been re- moved. The same circumstance is said to have occurred at the funeral of Mrs. Hume of Billie, in Berwickshire, an occasion when grave observance was peculiarly called for, as the lady had been barbarously murdered by her man-servant. Several years ago, a funeral company had wended their way for many miles through deep snow, over Eskdale Moor, bound for Moffat Churchyard. On arriving at the burial-ground, they discovered that they had dropped the coffin by the way, the back having fallen from the cart in which it was being conveyed. The extraordinary abuse of spirituous liquors on such occasions was not confined to the Lowlands of Scotland. Garnet, in his "Tour Through the Highlands," says: " A person, originally from Oban, had spent some time in the neighbourhood of Inverary, in the exercise of some mechanic art ; and dying there, his corpse, at his own request, was carried by his friends towards Oban for interment. On a hill between Inverary and Loch Awe, just above Port Sonachan, they were met by the relations of the deceased from Oban, who came to con- vey the corpse the remainder of the way. The parting could not take place without a glass of spirits that had been plentifully provided by the Oban party; and before they separated, above forty corpses were to be carried down the hill, in which, however, animation was only suspended, for they all recovered the next day." Within the last few years, in the Western Highlands, at the funeral of one Macdougal, who died at the age of ninety- two, nine hundred persons were present, who were accommodated in three houses. Into one were shown REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 121 the gentry of the neighbourhood, where were set re- freshments in superfluity, consisting of cold tongue, rounds of beef, bread of all kinds, various sorts of the best wines, and the costliest spirits. Into another were shown the respectable yeomen of the place, where a similar banquet was prepared, but of a less expensive description. In another assembled about five hundred of the commonalty, who were each, on entering, pre- sented with whisky and bread and cheese in abundance. Two glasses did not satisfy many seven-eighths of the company became intoxicated : there were here no wines, but plenty of whisky, with cold and hot water. Fifty-six gallons of whisky were mixed into "toddy." One of the stewards in the first-mentioned dwelling (our in- formant) slipped into the last one, to see how matters were going on. When he entered, the chair was occupied by a ruling elder of some note, who was dis- coursing in the most eulogistic terms on the merits of the deceased, and was very enthusiastically applauded by the vast assemblage. He wound up his peroration by giving a thump on the table, and calling silence. Silence being obtained, and while all were eagerly lis- tening, holding up a brimming bumper, he cried at the pitch of his voice: " Gentlemen, here's the health of Macdougal!" and the toast went round with three times three. Though all had been thus entertained, so much cold toddy was left, that an application was afterwards made to the proper authorities for leave to redistil it which was refused. Various attempts have been made, in many places, to do away with this prodigality, and its lamentable con- comitants ; but these have ever been most strenuously H 122 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE resisted. Some years ago, a clergyman, whose parish was on one side bounded by the Solway, endeavoured, with the assistance of his session, to introduce the cus- tom of but one service (one round of refreshments). The parishioners almost unanimously were up in arms. One of them sought to have his revenge even after death. He bequeathed a considerable sum to be expended in pro- viding refreshments at his funeral, and he appointed the kirk-session his executors to see his will accomplished. The conclave met to consider what line of tactics they should adopt whether they should decline interfering, or discharge the duty with which they had been intrusted. The result of their deliberations was, not to decline the trust, but to procure the most expensive wines, so as to absorb the money in one single service. On the day of interment, when the course of the enemy became appa- rent, the company of mourners rose up indignantly, and, marching off to the village inn, subscribed among them- selves, and lavishly quaffed the mountain-dew, hurling their anathemas at the kirk-session and their " shilpit claret." It was customary to carry the coffin on handspokes, as it was believed that no horse would ever thrive which had once drawn a corpse. The nearest relation walked at the head, and the next of kin to him went before, holding the footstrings of the coffin in his hand. When the distance to the churchyard was great, the shades of evening were often descending when the dust was con- signed to its kindred earth. As hearses had not been introduced, a long-bodied cart was used by those coming from a distance. But as even such vehicles were then in their infancy, and not found everywhere, the usual REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 123 method of conveying the coffin was to lay it across the necks of two horses, the riders taking care to keep close together, parallel and steady, so that no accident might happen. A funeral party once met with a sad disaster on their way to the churchyard. Coming to a burn in their way considerably swollen from recent rains, and there being nothing but a plank for foot passengers across, when the horses carrying the coffin on their necks were fording the stream, which was tumbling down "fast and furious," one of them stumbled and nearly fell, on which the coffin, a large one, plunged into the current, and was rapidly borne away, to the consternation of all. Of course, there was " racing and chasing" in pursuit of the fugitive down the banks of the burn, some running to this winding and others to that, but on careering went the coffin past them all, till at a very sharp bend nearly half a mile from the ford, it was safely landed, and re- placed in its former position, when the cavalcade again formed in order and moved along. By-and-by, however, hearses began to be introduced, and the progression to the burial-ground was sometimes as rapid as it formerly was slow. It was more like a race than a funeral pro- cession. Such was the case at the funeral of one Macadam, who lived on the Carrick shore, and who was widely known for his obesity which was so immense, that he could not see his shoe-buckle. He was to be interred in a churchyard about twelve miles distant; and it was doubted whether one horse could draw the hearse ; but such was the career at which it sped, that old Mr. Ramsay, the minister of Kirkmichael, burst his horse in attempting to keep up with it, and many short- cuts were taken to be in with the hearse at last. 124 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE In the olden time, paupers were only conveyed to the churchyard in a coffin, not buried in one. The article in use was what was called a slip-coffin, having a mov- able hinged bottom, which, being let down over the grave, and a bolt withdrawn, the body dropped in, and was quickly covered over, while the box was set aside for future use in the same way. The last slip-coffin remembered in Ayrshire was disposed of in the follow- ing manner : One Maclymont of Auchalton was invited to attend the funeral of a poor person in Maybole, where the body was to be ejected in the usual manner. When they had reached the grave, and the bolt was about to be drawn, he asked what was the cost of the slip-coffin, and being told it was three pounds Scots (or 5s. sterling), he immediately produced the sum, and desired the coffin to be lowered into the grave. Ever since, the poorest individual has been supplied with a coffin. The use of the mortcloth at burials was also a matter of important consideration ; it entitled the gravedigger to a certain fee ; and many a weary mile did he travel over mountain and moorland, through rain and snow, in fair weather and foul, with the sable covering under his arm. Afterwards, however, when hearses were intro- duced, the mortcloth was spread over the coffin only at the churchyard gate, and the sexton's labour was thereby considerably curtailed. His weary travels were dispensed with ; and he now stood watching by the grave's mouth, or the kirk gate, the arrival of the solemn cortege. As his services were now less, some thought the fee should be less also; and some even refused to use the cloth at all. This was occasion- ally productive of unpleasant scenes, ill becoming REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 125 the place and the occasion. Now long ago, the remains of a respectable farmer in the parish of Tarbolton were to be interred in the family burying-ground, and had arrived at the churchyard gate for the purpose; but, either because the coffin was richly mounted, and the relatives were unwilling that the honour thus conferred upon the deceased should be concealed, or because the mortcloth, from long usage, was become "a thing of shreds and patches," the attendants declined its service, and prepared to enter the churchyard without it, which so roused the ire of the gravedigger that, fixing his foot firmly in the centre of the gateway to oppose them, he exclaimed, with the feeling of insulted office, " Ye may tak him hame and bury him like a cow, for without the claith he shall never enter the yaird !" The gravedigger prevailed; the cloth was spread over the coffin, and the interment proceeded. Those who died by their own hand were not per- mitted the benefit of this mortcloth, nor were they, indeed, allowed any of the rites of Christian burial; but, coffinless and unmourned, their remains were conveyed at midnight to the march-boundary of two parishes or shires, and there deposited in neutral ground, with a stake driven through the body, as if fixing it to the earth, and precluding the hope of a resurrection. There, in loneliness and silence, they were left, far from the habitations of men, where no eye should mark the resting-place and no foot should stumble upon their grave. Their body was considered vile; the earth which wrapped them as stained with pollution; and the coarse frame- work on which they were dragged along was afterwards burned to ashes. One who had become weary of life, 126 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE and who had terminated his mortal career by suicide in the neighbourhood of Sanquhar, was drawn at midnight upon a sledge for several miles to neutral ground, and there received the melancholy and peculiar rites. Though the interment was made under the deepest darkness of night, yet the circumstance was not concealed. On the following Sunday, bands of profane and reckless men assembled at the mournful spot, dug the body from the grave, and, fixing a rope to the limbs, amused themselves all day by dragging it up and down the hills. When they were exhausted with their inhuman sport, they placed the corpse in a sitting posture against a stone, and as the glazed eyeballs peered out from beneath their half-opened lids, they put a glass to his mouth, calling him to drink, and not sit squinting there! No treatment was thought too inhuman for a suicide. A tradesman on the Galloway coast, whose wife had committed self-destruction, anxious to have her remains interred as near the churchyard as possible, since he durst not intrude them within it, deposited them close outside the wall; but the next morning, to his horror and astonishment, he found the coffin, with its contents, placed against the door of his dwelling. He applied to a certain Admiral Stewart in the district for advice in the mournful circumstances, who recommended him to say nothing about it, but to take the coffin down to the sea-shore during the night, and deposit it within flood- mark in the sand, when the next tide would obliterate all traces of the grave before morning. This was accord- ingly done, and the infuriated populace spent the next day in a vain search for the poor suicide's grave. The farmer's wife of Auchalton committed suicide, by REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 127 hanging herself, in the summer of 17 , and the husband, anxious that her remains should be quietly interred in the parish churchyard, had secretly procured the mort- cloth to cover the coffin on its way thither. But no; it would not be allowed. The people rose in fury and tore the mortcloth to shreds. They would rather thus destroy than desecrate and contaminate the sheet of the dead. Strange to say, the women were the most ferocious in their speech and conduct towards the remains of the unfortunate deceased. The most conspicuous of all was one Mary Harvey, whose name we record for the repro- bation of our readers. The following notice of a suicide at Oban, which occurred only a few years ago, shows that the old feeling has not yet died out : " A private of the Argyll and Bute Rifles, named James M'Gregor, whose regiment was stationed at the village of Oban, committed suicide by shooting himself with his musket. He was found shortly after the act had been committed in his room, dressed in fatigue clothes, with a handkerchief over his eyes, and the musket lying between his legs. He had placed the muzzle of the rifle in his mouth, and drawn the trigger with the toe of his right foot, which was divested of the shoe and stocking. The unfortunate man had been observed for some time in desponding spirits, and there was no doubt he was insane when he destroyed himself. The event created excitement in the village, and much contention arose as to the manner in which the body should be disposed of. The High- landers of the old stock denied its title to Christian burial, and insisted that it should be put into a hole in the corner of some field, with a stake through the breast, 128 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE according to ancient custom. The managers of the churchyard, however, finally resolved that the remains of the poor insane soldier might be interred in the ordinary resting-place of the dead. This was not to be, however, for, on the following Sunday night, four privates of the regiment, accompanied by an old ser- geant, conveyed the body, which was coffined, in a boat out to the Sound of Oban, and pitching it into the sea, returned under the notion that they had thoroughly retrieved the honour of their regiment from the disgrace cast upon it by the act of the suicide." Alas! for the poor soldier : there were more insane than he ! The committal to the grave, the smoothing down of the turf, and the replacing of the monumental slab above the lonely sleeper, did not complete the funeral obse- quies. A very important rite yet remained. This was the draigie, a term derived from the word diriye, con- spicuous in one of the chants for the dead in Catholic times. On retiring from the churchyard, the whole company withdrew to the village inn, not to lament over the memory of the deceased, but to have a hand- some refreshment. Strange and mournful results have not unfrequently followed the unseemly carousals that now took place. Family feuds which seemed extin- guished and forgotten, were revived with more than their original rancour. Genealogies were traced, and pedigrees recounted, with all the fluency and inaccuracy which resentment, kindled by inebriation, could en- gender. The closing scene of these disgraceful orgies was occasionally the introduction to another funeral solemnity. In olden times, certain paraphernalia were employed REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 129 on the occasion of burials which did not meet with approbation on the part of the Church. On the death of the Earl of Atholl, in 1579, a rumour being general that it was intended at the burial to use a white cloth above the mortcloth, and also for the mourners to have long gowns with stroups (hoods?), and torches, the General Assembly, held at Edinburgh in July of that year, directed two of their number to wait on certain lords connected with the family of the deceased, desiring that all such evidences of superstition should be avoided on the occasion. It was admitted, on inquiry, that the gowns were intended to be used, but not the torches; and the Assembly were desired to appoint two of their number to examine the preparations. They did so, and intimated their opinion that the cross and the stroups were superstitious; to which an answer was returned, that the mortcloth would be covered with black velvet. The gowns alluded to were made of black cloth, and had red hoods; the torches were of wax, and of very considerable length and weight. By the will of the Earl of Salisbury, executed April 29, 1397, twenty-four poor people, clothed in black gowns with red hoods, were ordered to attend the funeral, each carrying a lighted torch of eight pounds' weight. These torches were expensive, from their size and number, and therefore they were generally provided by the churchwardens, and lent out at so much each. It is not many years since, in some parishes in Ayrshire, funerals were attended by females arrayed in long mantles of black or red cloth, with hoods doubtless a lingering relic of the gowns and stroups. These customs were not confined to one locality or 130 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE shire, but were the same from the Solway to the Clyde, from "Maidenkirk to John-o' -Groat's;" and no voice was powerful enough, come from whatever quarter it might, to check the tendency in the popular feeling, till, by a very gradual process, the evil has now nearly corrected itself. Though Mr. Wightman regretted the unnecessary expense incurred, and the waste of time before the interment, and exhorted and urged with all his might for a reformation, still he was ready to sympathize with the family in their intended hospitality and kindly respect for the dead : and be would say, as if in apology for what was done, " Old customs are not easily altered, and there is often foundation for them in nature, as well as in expediency, which may not be discovered by a partial view." REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 131 CHAPTER VII IMPRESSMENT AND THE PRESS-GANG FORM OF PROCEDURE DOINGS AT SEA RAIDS ON LAND SERGEANT BLATTERS FEAR OF FRENCH INVASION VOLUNTEERING PROCLAMATION OF BONAPARTE READY MEN OF KEIR SERMON BY REV. HENRY DUNCAN PASTORAL ADDRESS OFFER OF ASSISTANCE BY PATRICK MILLER OF DALSWINTON. THE present generation cannot know as their forefathers did the awful import of the term Impressment, and its dreadful ally the Press-gang. Well for them should they never know either of these otherwise than as a word in the household dictionary, referring only to the past, and serving merely to explain the nature of some incident in history or fiction. The one was not merely a legal enactment compelling sailors of all kinds to join the King's ships, but, with certain few exceptions, it extended also to landsmen wherever they could be seized and the other was not a body of gentlemen fastidiously observant of politeness, or even of civility, in the dis- charge of disagreeable duty, intimating to some poor fellow, perhaps the head of a family, that his assistance was greatly needed in his country's service, and that they had come to conduct him comfortably on board. No; they were a band of ruffians, a detachment of desperadoes, alike destitute of the feelings of humanity, the fear of danger, and the dread of retribution. On various occasions it was found necessary to have recourse to this method of supplying men for the British navy, 132 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE but it was never attended with more than partial success. Seldom long at rest, with France on the one hand and America on the other, either engaged in actual warfare or expecting to be so engaged, Britain was always scouring her armour from its blood stains, overhauling her ships, and counting how many men might be brought upon the battle-scene. These last were generally defective, and active measures were ever being employed to supply the want, which was only effected with the utmost difficulty even when successful, which but rarely happened. Though the bounty of regular seamen was doubled and the pay increased, and men's patriotic feelings were enthusiastically appealed to, yet it was all in vain. Men were unwilling to engage in a sea-service of indefinite extent during perilous times, with the prospect of hard labour, rigorous disci- pline, severe punishment not always discriminately inflicted, and where their associates were certain to be, in great part, the offscourings of the country, the refuse of the workhouses, and the sweepings of the jails. Men who had not taken to the sea in their youth could scarcely be expected to divest themselves of long- acquired habits on land, relinquish trades and occupa- tions at which they were expert, and which brought them a satisfactory remuneration tear their affections from family and home, to enter upon a profession for which they were not adapted, and which they had no inclination to follow ; and all to the old cry of patriotism and duty, though it required but little penetration to discover the beggar's wallet and a wooden leg at the end. Such was not to be expected, therefore there was no response to the proffered reward, and hence the REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 133 necessity of resorting to compulsory measures for re- cruiting the service. The first recourse to impressment in Scotland was in 1755, when great apprehensions were excited of an in- vasion by the French, who had become jealous and envious of our colonial possessions. During the pre- vious half of the century we had been at war with that nation fifteen years, nearly a third part of the time, and a period of eleven years had elapsed since a cessation of hostilities had taken place. Three more engagements, embracing other nineteen years of war with that same people, were yet before us ere the century should close. Tired of peace, they were loud and boastful in their menaces, finally throwing down the gauntlet, which involved another struggle of seven years. Our land and sea forces were miser- ably unprepared for any hostile engagement which might ensue with such an energetic foe, and as the usual means for raising the forces to a proper strength failed in their object, the Act of Impressment was passed to remedy the evil, though at the expense of creating a greater in its stead. Increased pay and enlarged bounty, as we have said, had no inducement for men with the certain prospect of speedy and disastrous war before them, and hence the necessity of compulsory service wherever hands could be obtained. The plan adopted for carrying this Act into effect was to form gangs of the most desperate characters in the service, of a greater or lesser number, according to the scene of their operations, under the command of an officer, and who, armed from head to heel, should go forth in quest of men wherever they were most likely 134 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE to be found. Of course, regularly bred seamen were their first desire, and when these failed, landsmen were sought for to supply the need. Merchant vessels were plundered of their best hands, sometimes a sufficient number not being left to steer the ships into port. Men who had been long away on distant voyages, and who were rejoicing at the prospect of soon being with their families, were seized just as they were about to disembark and carried off to the fleet, without being permitted to set foot on shore, or see the face of wife and child. The success which attended this method of increasing the forces was not by any means equal to the anticipation. Difficulties were encountered in every quarter, and, as a necessary consequence, little attention was paid by the press-gangs either to the letter or the spirit of the regulations laid down for their direction. Not only was the number of men obtained compara- tively small, but their character or quality was miserable in the extreme. Lieut. Tomlinson says that, " After a hot impress of five calendar months, from the 22nd of September, 1770, to the 22nd of February, 1771, besides the advantage of the first surprise, and after sweeping London of great numbers of those idle, dissolute people who commonly enter on board men-of-war at the first breaking out of an impress; and after all the jails had been swept, and the refuse of the kingdom gathered together, they only mustered in their ships about 33,000 men (exclusive of marines) of all denominations, in which were a great many officers, and a very considerable number of servants, besides the complements of all the tenders, &c., so as to make the number of people raised, who really were seamen, very inconsiderable for the REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 135 time, and under the very advantageous circumstances wherewith that impress was favoured, especially when it was considered that the navy was supposed already to muster 16,000 men (marines included) when the impress broke out. But, to his certain knowledge, a very con- siderable number of those that were raised were the most miserable objects he ever saw in the navy or ever heard tell of." At the commencement of this impress so great a dread seized the sailors in the collier vessels between Yarmouth and the Nore, that 3000 of them fled ashore lest they should be impressed into the fleet. Again, at the commencement of the war in 1793, the whole number of men obtained by impressment throughout the king- dom, after eighteen months' laborious efforts in this way, amounted only to some 30,000 men. Every means which ingenuity could devise was adopted for evading the hate- ful impress. Desertions, too, were continually taking place, and to such a degree that it was believed the num- ber of men lost in this way more than counterbalanced all that had been obtained. Notwithstanding all the precautions taken to prevent it, the strict vigilance kept, and the severe punishment inflicted upon delinquents aiding or abetting in the offence, desertion went on, and the most daring attempts were made to escape. Many of the deserters went over to the American navy, and in endeavouring to regain them often little discrimination was used between natives and foreigners. The gang went on board any American vessel they suspected, caused all hands to be summoned on deck, and carried off those who suited them, declaring them British sub- jects, despite their asseverations to the contrary. One can scarcely form a conception of the numbers who at 136 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE various times were seized in this way, but from a list drawn up in 1801, it was found that 1132 American sailors had been wrongfully impressed, and consequently were set at liberty. The impressment of men at sea was always hazardous, as well as difficult, however well armed the attacking party might be. Men would not willingly surrender themselves and their liberty for a service they detested, if they saw the possibility of escape even w r ith a desperate struggle, and, on such occasions, frequently life was not only endangered but lost. The whaler Sarah and Elizabeth, of Hull, was returning from Davis' Straits at the close of the fishing season, and when about nine leagues off St. Abb's Head she was hailed by the frigate Aurora, and a party of men sent on board of her for the purpose of impressing some of the sailors. The attempt was of course resisted, and the crew, foreseeing what was intended, hid themselves between decks and secured the hatches. The frigate then came alongside the whaler, the hatches were broken up, fighting began, the carpenter's mate of the whaler was killed, and three of the crew were severely wounded. We now turn from the sea to the land, and in recording the doings there it is scarcely possible to exaggerate the outrages committed in the name of law. Towns were surrounded and kept in a state of siege till a certain number of men had been given up. The sanctity of the Sabbath was violated, churches were surrounded during the time of divine service, nay, even entered, and num- bers of the worshippers carried off at the close. Many a man might have said on the Lord's-day evening, as lie sat with his wife and family beside him : " No place is sacred, not the church is free. Eveu Sunday shines no Sabbath-day to me." REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 137 The press-gang one Sunday entered the church of Arbroath while the service was going on, and created the utmost excitement in the seamen's gallery. The minis- ter immediately stopped, and said "Were it not for my gown I would do my best to save my friends." An old dame in the gallery called out, "If I had Crummie's rung I wad sune lay some of them flat eneuch. Let them come up here an' they'll get what they're no seekin' for." Of course the greatest uproar ensued, and when the gang reached the gallery, the women rose and attacked them tooth and nail, while some of the sailors flung themselves into the area and escaped. Marriage parties were attacked in the midst of their festivities, and the young bride was left mourning the loss of her husband ere she had reached her new home. In short, nothing was allowed to be a barrier in the way to obtain men for the country's service by land or sea. The only favour accorded to those who were impressed was their choice between the two services, for soldier and sailor were equally in demand; and when the choice was made, they were bullied and badgered with the profanest language till they consented to enlist, and their service thereby rendered sure. Till this was done, their desertion was almost certain should opportunity occur, and they could not lawfully be punished for doing so; besides they required to be watched and guarded to prevent escape. On shipboard their treatment was harsh in the extreme, and on their remonstrating they were ordered with the wildest oaths to go and enrol themselves, and so end it. Many, therefore, did so to mitigate their misery, while others held on with obduracy, notwithstanding all they endured. When once in the clutches of their captors I 138 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE no attention was paid to feeling or comfort, and but little even to the support of life, beyond what was abso- lutely necessary to preserve existence, till they had reached their destined man-of-war. Their food was scanty and of the worst quality, while their clothing was only what they chanced to wear when they were carried away. On one occasion the captain of a guardship was obliged to put in at Whithorn to have some repairs done for the accommodation of a number of men who had been impressed and taken on board. He went into the town in quest of carpenters for the purpose, but not a single tradesman was willing to undertake the work for fear of capture, and it was only after the captain's solemn assurance that he would return them safe on shore, that two men consented to go with him. They found a number of men stowed away in the hold like so many head of cattle, but without the comforts usually afforded that class of animals. When one of those kid- napped persons asked the captain where their beds were, he pointed with his sword to the deck, and gruffly said, with an oath, " There are your beds." " Very hard to lie upon, certainly, after what you have done to us," was the reply. To which it was retorted, with a volley of profanity, " If you find it hard, you can turn the oftener." The carpenters were safely put on shore, and the vessel sailed away with its freight of unfortunates. On the outbreak of the impress about the end of last century, it is scarcely possible to conceive the excite- ment and consternation which everywhere prevailed both in town and country; and for many miles inland the panic was exceedingly great. The hand of labour was almost entirely paralyzed. Servants could only REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 139 with the utmost difficulty be procured to attend the cattle, cultivate the fields, and reap the harvest, while farmers and their sons were continually on the watch. Wives trembled, and children quailed as every sun went down, imagining that the darkness of night was sure to be accompanied with that more terrible darkness, the presence of the press-gang. False alarms, too, not unfrequently arose from the universal excitement, when the adult male population of farm-steading and hamlet fled to the woods, the glens, and the moors for safety, as did the Covenanters of old in troublous times, and there remained in concealment, in the retired cave, beneath the tangled brushwood, or among the brackens, stealthily visited by some little girl with a supply of food and a change of stockings under her plaid, till it was thought safe to venture back to their homes. Sometimes the one party was as vigilant as the other, and when the father had crept softly to his arm-chair at the fireside, after a week's exposure to wind and rain, skulking from moorland to glen, and from glen to moor- land, he was closely followed and pounced upon by the dreaded gang armed to the teeth. Entreaties were laughed at, and supplications vain. The fact that the service wanted men, and that they could not be pro- cured except by the use of compulsive means, steeled the hearts of those appealed to against every remon- strance Icthough uttered in sobbings and bathed in tears. To no purpose was the sleeping infant in the cradle pointed to, and the meal-barrel turned upside down to show it was empty, and there would be no one to fill it a^ain, so that starvation was inevitable. These men O 7 seemed as if they had never lain in a mother's bosom, or 140 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE climbed a father's knee. The days of their own youth were forgotten without pity or a soothing word of sympathy, they tore their victim remorselessly along, while wife and children clung around him, screaming and refusing to let him go. Armed force prevailed the threshold was cleared he was dragged away, and the heart- wailings of the sorrow-stricken family followed him far on the winds. It was the custom of lord-lieutenants of counties, who were instructed by those at head-quarters, to obtain from the different land proprietors a list of those persons who had become eye-sores to the laird, or who had forfeited the goodwill of the neighbourhood, that they might be called on to leave the parish for the parish good, as well as, perhaps, in the end, their own personal reformation. These were first favoured with the attentions of the gang, and afterwards any others that might be found. Many anecdotes might be given of these raids, laughable as well as serious, but we shall give only one as a specimen. The proprietor of Clon- caird, in Carrick, reported that no person could be spared off his estate but one man called James Wilson, subse- quently well known as Sergeant Blatters, from his stammering speech, whose ostensible fault was laziness, but the real one, a strong suspicion of his disturbing the game without lawful permission. In short, he was a determined poacher, and practised the arts of netting, trapping, snaring, and shooting, with astonishing dex- terity and success. James lived with his mother, a widow, and was her only child and the delight of her heart. Many a night did he spend sitting astride the " raneltree" in the chimney, while his mother kept REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 141 watch at the door; but notwithstanding his cunning and her vigilance, he was done for at last. One bitterly cold and frosty night James and his mother were keep- ing themselves comfortable by the fireside, and letting the game rest in peace, when the dog suddenly chal- lenged the sound of approaching feet. Too truly fearing it was the press-gang, in desperation he scrambled up the chimney to his old roost on the raneltree, and there in smoky darkness he tremblingly awaited the issue. It was indeed the terrible press- gang, consisting of some six or eight men of very formidable appearance, who either by accident or design had stumbled upon the widow's cottage among the hills. Their visit was always thought to have been intentional. "Cold night on the moor, this, good woman," said the leader of the gang. " We are right glad to see a fire, as we are almost dead with cold, and we shall take the liberty of warming ourselves ere we go further." " I'm a puir lane woman, wi' naebody but mysel', an' I hae naething to enterteen ye, but at the farmhouse ayont the hill ye'll be made richt walcome, an' get a' ye need; I'll let ye see the road." "Thank ye for your offer, my woman, but as a fire is all we want at present, we shall remain where we are," and clustering around the hearth, they piled on a large number of peats, which were found convenient in a corner. James began to feel uneasy on his lofty perch, as the smoke with increasing density curled around him. Lumps of soot also began to topple down, as he vainly shifted from one position to another. " We shall have a change of weather, for the soot falls," said one of the party, as a large flake fell upon his hand. " My old grandmother, 142 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE rest her soul, used to tell me so." "We shall soon be suffocated," said another, as the house filled with smoke from the obstruction in the chimney. " Tis enough to kill one." " That's a fact," cried a voice from the ranel- tree. " I canna stan't ony langer, come what wull," and down he dropped into the arms of his pursuers, who did not need the fire any longer, but immediately departed with their charge. In process of time James received his discharge, and returned to his native parish, with the name of Sergeant Blatters, and passed the remainder of his life begging from door to door. For a long time the fear of French invasion, like a mighty incubus, had hung over the land, and kept the inhabitants in a state of incapacity for rightly discharg- ing the duties of life. Those, especially, contiguous to the sea-coast were under very considerable alarm. France had been at enmity with Britain for the long period of nearly 700 years, 250 of which had been actually con- sumed in war with each other, twenty-three battles having been fought in that time, so deadly had been the hatred, and so vindictive the spirit of our Gallic neigh- bours. Bonaparte had been making the most terrible devastations wherever he went misery and bloodshed followed in his wake; and wherever he threatened to appear the utmost consternation prevailed on account of the calamities which were sure to ensue. In a pro- clamation by the French Directory towards the close of 1797, the people were addressed in these terms: "You unfortunate Europeans, innocent inhabitants of the plains of Franconia and of the Noric Alps, innumerable victims of the plague of war, in which more than a million of men have been sacrificed, and on which the REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 143 eye of peace itself beholds this day, on the field of glory, nothing but general misery, universal mourning, and vast despair." He had caused to be proclaimed at the Mauritius his determination to seize our colonial depend- encies, and, in repeated boastings, he had declared that he would land upon our shores and subject Britain to his sway. From his well-known ambition and indomit- able perseverance in attempting to accomplish whatever he undertook r it was considered certain that an invasion was inevitable, and any day we might see the landing of a foreign foe. What enhanced the fear was the circum- stance that rebellion had broken out in Ireland, and large numbers of our soldiers had been sent thither to quell the insurrection, thereby weakening our own defences against aggression, which was daily and hourly expected. In addition to this, French vessels were occasionally capturing ours in the North Seas, and reprisals had also been made, thus fomenting the discord already suffi- ciently great. False alarms, too, were by no means uncommon, and advantage was sometimes taken of the excited state of patriotic feeling for playing pranks upon the terrified inhabitants. A strange sail seen in the offing by day, or a gun heard at night, which was mis- chievously fired, was unanimously placed to the French account, and resistance or flight prepared for, as seemed the more judicious or the more likely to succeed. Though there were occasionally false alarms, yet there was just cause for the utmost vigilance' everywhere along the coast. It was reported that a French officer of rank had deserted to this country, and had communicated a plan, with full particulars, of the intended invasion, showing that a landing was to be attempted simultane- 144 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE ously at two places in Ireland, in the south and north of England, and also at different places in Scotland, a state- ment which after events confirmed. The call for volunteers was promptly and admirably responded to even before the call was made, the country foreseeing the necessity, great numbers came forward of their own accord and proffered their personal aid. At Newcastle, 60,000 colliers and others acted in this way, and every town, as well as every parish, was more or less zealous in the cause. It is impossible for us to conceive the alarm and consternation which prevailed throughout the kingdom onwards to 1803, when the panic seemed to have reached its culmination. The Bank of England was authorized to suspend payments in specie, an example followed by many others the theatres were con verted into barracks the Custom-houses were ordered to have their spirituous contents destroyed in the prospect of attack in the country, horses were to be hamstrung, and the cattle destroyed the axletrees of waggons and carts were to be sawn through to pre- vent their use by the enemy and, in short, every kind of destruction was to be wrought to impede the progress of the invading foe for all of which ample compensation would be made to the sufferers by the Government. Upwards of 335,000 volunteers were enrolled, and old worn-out veterans retired from the service were sworn in as special constables. Whenever the wind came from the French quarter the coastguards were greatly rein- forced, beacons were ready for lighting on every moun- tain-top, and red flags for hoisting from every tower and spire to rouse the district. These beacons were all safely guarded by night and day, and when an unknown sail REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 145 appeared in the distance it was scarcely possible to re- strain the people from giving the alarm by setting them all ablaze. Once a constant firing was heard at sea during the whole night and the following day along the coast of Cornwall, at the rate of twenty shots a minute. This, of course, caused great excitement, but no invasion followed, and the reason of the cannonading was never known. So certain was Bonaparte of success in his invasion of England, that he had ready printed in Paris a proclama- tion, which was to be issued as soon as he had landed on our shores. In some way it became known in this country, and from its nature roused the people to fury against the audacious Corsican. It ran thus : "Soldiers, the sea is passed ! The boundaries of nature have yielded to the genius and fortunes of France, and haughty Eng- land groans under the yoke of her conquerors. London is before you ! the Peru of the old world is your prey ; within twenty days I plant the tricolor upon the walls of her execrable tower. March ! Towns, fields, pro- visions, cattle, gold, silver, women I abandon all to you. Occupy these noble mansions, these smiling farms. An impure race, rejected of Heaven, which has dared to be the enemy of Bonaparte, is about to expiate its crimes, and disappear from the earth. Yes, I swear to you that you shall become terrible ! BONAPARTE." If ever "hating with a perfect hatred" existed in the human breast, it was towards Bonaparte, who was thought of as a fiend, and spoken of under every epithet of denuncia- tion in the language. Caricature almost exhausted its ingenuity in holding him up to ridicule, and though he was greatly dreaded, yet there was an eagerness of desire 146 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE to bestow upon him personal chastisement should he come within reach. A farmer, driving a waggon along a narrow road in Shropshire, was overtaken by a com- mercial traveller in a gig, who, finding it impossible to pass, shouted loudly for the way to be cleared. No attention being paid to his call, he assumed an air of great importance, and demanded, " Do you know who I am ?" A drawling " Noa " was the reply. " Then I am the great Bonaparte, and no other." Matters imme- diately changed. " O ho, ho, Mister Boney, is it you ? I have long wished to meet with you ;" and placing his waggon across the road to obstruct the way, he laid hold of the traveller's vehicle and overturned it in the ditch. Leaving the horse kicking for his freedom, he dragged the poor fellow out and gave him an unmerciful drubbing, for which he was called to account at the next town; but nothing came out of it, as the magistrates considered it not illegal to thrash Bonaparte soundly wherever he was found. It is almost unnecessary to say that the south of Scotland had a very large share of the excitement, and those in the neighbourhood of the Solway shore had seldom their eyes long off Criffel or the sea the one for signals, the other for ships. Meetings were held in every town, village, and parish for the enrolment of volunteers, and subscriptions of money for the public service. Presbyteries issued pastoral addresses to their people, urging them to be courageous, and in his enthusiasm, a clergyman (the Rev. Dr. Henry Duncan, of Ruthwell), preached in the red coat beneath the pulpit gown, to inspire the young men with a similar ardour in the cause. Volunteers scarcely required to be asked REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 147 for; it was enough to give time and place of enrolment, and those in charge lost no opportunity of gratifying the youthful aspirants to military fame. Mr. Wight- man makes the following note of what was done in Keir on a Communion Monday: " 15th August, 1803. Monday Preached at Keir. The day was good, and the people in general were attentive. A meeting was held in the church after sermon by the Deputy- Lieutenant, Mr. Thomas Kirkpatrick, for the purpose of receiving names of volunteers. All the men belonging to the parish who were present signed. This I consider as a remarkable instance of heroism and loyalty, and it does much credit to the parish." " 30th October. Read a sermon by the Rev. Henry Duncan, minister of Ruthwell, recommending an ardent and vigorous exertion in defending our country. Many excellent things in it. It glows with disinterested patriotism and benevolence of sentiment. Some phrases taken from Thomas Campbell's poem ' bare our bosoms,' ' deathbed of fame,' and such like. Some fine strokes of eloquence and pathos. On the supposition the enemy were to prevail, he says ' Then may the hand of death find me fighting in the first ranks, surrounded with those brave men of my own flock, who prefer a glorious death to a life of bondage and infamy! Ours is the cause of our country and our God; let our enemies tremble and despair.' It will do much good in this crisis." The vale of Nithsdale, from its contiguity to the Solway, suffered a sort of intermittent fever of the Gallic type, which was exceedingly catching, and from which there seemed little prospect of a cure. Every blasting of a quarry rock was at once accredited to 148 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE French cannon, and the inhabitants never laid them- selves down to sleep at night without a strong feeling of the probability that on their awaking next morning they would be all prisoners in the hands of the French. The good folks of Kirkmahoe shared in the excitement of the fever and the fear which disturbed all around. On one of these occasions, when the panic was at its height, every householder, without exception, in the parish, when he rose in the morning found the door of his dwelling marked with a mysterious number which no one could explain. First the suspicion and then the cry arose that the French had landed, and, by means of their scouts and emissaries, had marked out the first objects of their prey. As the day wore on, and inquiries were made, the whole affair was discovered to be a hoax, and one for which no extenuating circumstances could be adduced. The Presbytery of Dumfries held a pro re nata meeting to consider what was right to be done in the critical situation of public affairs. After anxious and careful deliberation, it was resolved that the ministers, seeing their personal presence was not legally required, or expected, should contribute 100 sterling in aid of the public service, and that a solemn and ardent Address should be prepared, to be read from every pulpit at the close of divine worship on the following Sunday. This was accordingly done, and we believe Mr. Wightman had a principal hand in the composition of the docu- ment. An extract from it will show what was the clerical spirit in these times, when our rights and privileges as a nation were in danger of being assailed. It reminds us of the times in Jewish history when the REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 149 priests always went forth at the head of the people to battle : " We trust that you will stand forth and quit yourselves like men. You have most sacred duties to perform, and we are persuaded that you will perform them with that energy for which Britons have always been distinguished, and by which they have often made the proudest armies of France to flee before them. On the plains of Cressy, of Poictiers, and of Agincourt, our British heroes, though few in number, made the kingdom of France tremble to its centre. And within our recollection, the cities of Syria and the shores of Egypt have seen the embattled hosts of their Invindbles routed and destroyed. And if our countrymen have been so victorious against their enemy on foreign ground, what may they not, under the same protecting Providence, achieve in defence of their country on their native soil ! Let not the heart of any man despair, and let not the hands of any be folded in idle- ness and languor. Let every one consider the sacrifice of his fortune, and even of his life, to his country as nothing more than his duty, and what hath been ventured and sacrificed by thousands of gallant men in a far less honour- able and less animating cause. "We fight, brethren, for our laws, our liberties, and our religion. Our enemies fight for the avowed purpose of mas- sacre and plunder. To which of these causes can the blessing of Heaven attach, and which of them ought most powerfully to inspire the heart with ardour and courage ? We fight for our people and the cities of our God. We fight to defend the dearest hopes of our posterity, and to maintain unsullied the honour and glory which, as free men and faithful Chris- tians, we received from our ancestors. We fight to guard from outrage, and shame, and violation, those whom nature hath entrusted to our protection. We fight for that Con- 150 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE stitution and system of society which is at once the noblest monument and the finest bulwark of civilization. We fight, in short, to preserve the whole earth from military despotism, and from sinking into an abyss of the vilest barbarism. Such, bi-ethren, is the cause in which we are engaged, and if it be successful in its issue, as we trust that by the blessing of God it will be, we will secure ourselves and our posterity for ages against the like insolent and injurious attempts, and we may be the means of awakening to a just sense of their rights those nations that have been long enslaved, and of enabling them to avenge the wrongs on the heads of those by whom they have been so cruelly plundered, oppressed ... If this be our conduct, and this the sincere and hearty pui'pose of our countrymen throughout the kingdom, we need not fear what men do unto us. He that is for us will be more powerful than all they who are against us, and the God of our fathers will be our God and guardian also, and that of our children throughout many generations." The Presbytery agreed that each clergyman should give his quota of the 100 sterling in aid of the public services in his own parish in such a manner as he should think best for the purpose, and produce vouchers of payment at their next meeting. To the Ministers' Fund Sheriff-Depute Craigie sent twenty guineas; Miss Kirk- patrick, daughter of the late Sheriff, two guineas ; and Mrs. Sweetman five guineas; to which parties Dr. Burn- side was desired to convey the thanks of the Presbytery for their handsome gifts. The pastoral address was not issued in vain. After bring read from the several pul- pits, meetings were enthusiastically held in every parish, and men and money were liberally offered. One instance among many is worth recording, from the munificence of the offer and the character of the man that made it. REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 151 Patrick Miller, Esq. of Dalswinton, addressed the follow- ing letter to David Staig, Esq., Deputy-Lieutenant for the district : "DALSWINTON, 2th Aug., 1803. " SIR, Having expended, in a long course of hazardous experiments, ten thousand guineas, with a view to benefit mankind, I am now, perhaps, not so rich as I was ; but I am more careful of what I have I am a greater economist. As such, I wish to insure my property, my share in the British Constitution, my family, myself, and my religion, against the French invasion. As a premium, I offer to clothe, and arm with pikes, 100 volunteers, to be raised in this and any of the neighbouring parishes, and to furnish them with three light brass field-pieces, ready for service. This way of arm- ing I consider as superior with infantry for either attack or defence to that now in use; but as to this Government must determine. I am too old and infirm to march with these men, but I shall desire my eldest son to do so. He was ten years a soldier in the foot and horse service. " In case of an invasion, I will be ready to furnish, when required, 26 horses, 16 carts, and 16 drivers; and Govern- ment may command all my crops of hay, straw, and grain, which I estimate at 16,700 stones of hay, 24 Ibs. to the stone. 1,400 bushels of peas. 5,000 bushels of oats. 5,080 bushels of barley. " You will please to transmit my offer to the Lord-Lieu- tenant of the county. If the French are rash enough to land on our shores, they will find, to their cost, that riches acquired by useful and honourable means have not the effect to ener- vate a people ; on the contrary, riches so obtained are sure proofs of a happy Constitution, and of a mild protecting 152 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE Government, to which all wise and good men must necessarily be attached. I am, dear Sir, yours sincerely, (Signed) "PAT. MILLER. "To David Staig, Esq., D.L." The French, however, did not come the panic died away the horses continued to plough the rich lauds of the Nith the provender stood stored in the stackyard of Dalswinton, and the warriors of Kirkmahoe were not required. Assuredly these were not times when one could sit under his own vine and fig-tree none daring to make him afraid. The rustle of a falling leaf, the creak- ing of a tree in the blast, the hooting of the owl at mid- night, filled every household with fear lest the dwelling was about to be assailed. REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 153 CHAPTER VIII. PATRICK MILLER AND STEAM NAVIGATION MR. JAMES TAYLOR ASSISTS IN THE INVENTION MR. WILLIAM SYMINGTON CONSTRUCTS THE ENGINE LAUNCH OF THE FIRST STBAM-BOAT ON DALSWINTON LOCH PREVIOUS ATTEMPTS BY OTHER PARTIES DALSWINTON INVENTION PIRATED MR. SYMINGTON'S CLAIM TO THE INVENTION THE LOCH A STORAGE OF THE OLD ROMANS INTRODUCTION OF SWEDISH TURNIPS TESTIMONIAL FROM THE PARISHIONERS OF KIRKMAHOE ADMITTED A BURGESS IN DUMFRIES HIS DEATH ANECDOTE OF SHIPWRECK ANGEL WORSHIP. PATRICK MILLER, Esq. of Dalswinton, to whom passing reference has already been made, was so well known in his time for his inventive genius, ardent patriotism, ex- tensive benevolence, and agricultural enterprise, that some fuller notice of him may not be unacceptable to the reader. Being the largest landed proprietor in the parish, his position was one of great importance, and he was naturally looked up to by all with more than a common interest, as well as expected to make a gene- rous use of the wealth he had acquired. Nor was this expectation unrealized, for no one was ever more ready than he to befriend the poor, and to devise means for their better comfort during the inclemencies of winter seasons, or when labour was scarce and provisions were dear. In this and in other respects the minister found him the strongest support in the discharge of parochial duties, as he could count with confidence upon his counsel and pecuniar}* aid, when cases of difficulty arose, in relieving the wants of the necessitous. Shortly after K 154 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE Mr. Wightman's entrance upon his ministerial charge, Mr. Miller sent him a donation of 20 to be applied at the discretion of the Session in relieving the wants of the parish poor. This was accompanied by a kind note, in which he referred to " the religious care and fidelity with which their late very worthy pastor, Mr. Lawson, and his elders, had managed for many years the affairs of the poor, and he believed that the same faithful attention and care would continue to be exercised by Mr. Wightman and his Session." This was exceedingly gratifying, and was an earnest of what was to follow. Mr. Miller was a native of Glasgow, and was born in 1731. A considerable portion of his youth was spent at sea as a sailor, a circumstance which doubtless contri- buted greatly in stimulating his genius in the direction it took, finally terminating in the invention of propelling sailing vessels by steam. On leaving the sea he entered on business as a banker in Edinburgh, where, by diligent attention to the duties of his office, and the exercise of shrewd sagacity, he acquired considerable wealth, which, to a great extent, was expended on his favourite hobby of an improved system of navigation. After retiring from business in Edinburgh he settled down upon his estate of Dalswinton, and directed his attention to the subject of agricultural improvements in general and mechanical navigation in particular. In close proximity to the house of Dalswinton there was a marshy swamp, which he caused to be formed into a beautiful loch, which will go down to posterity as the birth-place and cradle of steam navigation. The one great idea which filled his soul was the construction and working of a paddle-wheel to propel a vessel in case of danger or in a REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 155 time of calm. It does not seem that he looked further than this; at all events, it is certain that he had no idea of the extensive use to which the invention would be put in the progress of time. It has been long and widely believed that Patrick Miller of Dalswinton was the sole originator of steam navigation, and therefore to him the whole merit is due. To a certain extent only we believe that this is the case. He alone devised the paddle-wheel driven by a capstan, but the application of steam as the pro- pelling power was the idea of another, though he (Mr. Miller) gave the orders and furnished the means for carrying the experiment into successful execution. The fullest evidence has been collected from authori- tative sources in confirmation of this, but, from several causes unnecessary to be particularized, the facts have not been made sufficiently known. Although, as in many similar cases, he to whom the merit of the invention was really attributable was allowed to pine in poverty and die in neglect, without any recogni- tion of the boon he had been instrumental in conferring upon the world at large, yet it is only just to his memory that the real state of matters be told, which we are enabled to do from the most authentic and reliable source. The following condensed view of the story of the invention, which in importance has been placed side by side with the introduction of cannon, though their respective objects are wide as the poles asunder, em- braces all the points of moment necessary to obtain a true estimate of the merits of the respective parties. After Mr. Miller's retirement from business in Edin- burgh, as we have already said, he settled down on his 156 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE estate of Dalswinton, and being at a distance from the sources of education, he looked about for a properly qualified tutor for his sons, especially as they were about to enter upon a course of study in the University of Edinburgh. His attention was directed to a young man, James Taylor, a medical student, residing in Leadhills, who had been seven sessions at College, and had studied under Professors Andrew Dalzell, John Robertson, Andrew Fyfe, James Gregory, John Bruce, Adam Fer- guson, A. Monro, Francis Home, John Black, Dugald Stewart, John Walker, Dr. Cullen, and James Russell. We are thus particular in our notification, as it has been said that Mr. Taylor was only a first year's student on his appointment of tutor in Dalswinton. Mr. Taylor began his curriculum in 1778, and had attended regu- larly till this appointment in 1785. There is no foun- dation, therefore, for averring that his knowledge was limited, if he bestowed the usual attention to the pre- lections of the professors, which his certificates bear he did; and, further, it was widely known that he had a decided taste for mathematics and mechanics. When he came to Dalswinton, Mr. Miller was immersed in the subject of paddle-wheel propulsion, and every day brought him a brighter prospect of complete success. This wheel was driven by a capstan, which required the energies of four men; but so proud was he of his invention that, in 1787, he challenged a Custom-house boat to sail from the island of Inchcolm to the harbour of Leith, as a comparative trial of speed. A Mr. Wed- dell managed the one boat and Mr. Miller his own. The latter gained by a few minutes, but the men at the capstan were tremendously exhausted. Mr. Taylor was REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 157 also on board, and took a turn at the capstan, the fatigue of which induced him to represent to Mr. Miller the absolute necessity of devising some other means of pro- pulsion. Mr. Miller replied " I am of the same opinion, and that power is just what I am in search of. My object is to add mechanical aid to the natural power of the wind, to enable vessels to avoid and to extricate them- selves from dangerous situations, which they cannot do on their present construction; I wish, also, to give them powers of motion iii time of calm. I am satisfied that a capstan, well manned, can effect this in part; but I want a power more extensively useful, which I have not, as yet, been able to attain. Now that you under- stand the subject, will you lend me the aid of your head, and see if you can suggest any plan to accomplish my purpose?" After long and earnest cogitation on the matter, the application of the steam-engine suggested itself to Mr. Taylor, and he immediately reported the idea to the proper quarter. Mr. Miller at first demurred, doubted the expected success, dreaded the presence of fire on board a boat, and referred to a recent wreck off the coast of Spain, where every fire on board required to be extinguished, and where such an engine could not have been of any use. However, after much persistency on the part of Mr. Taylor, he succeeded in his purpose, and was requested to make drawings of his method of con- necting the engine with the paddle-wheels. These proving satisfactory, he was asked to find out a working- engineer who would carry the proposed theory into practice. He accordingly introduced to Mr. Miller's notice a school-fellow of his own, residing at Wanlock- 158 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE head, by name William Symington, who received a commission to have the engine constructed with all con- venient speed under the superintendence of Mr. Taylor. After a few months' constant labour the engine was ready for operation, and was removed to Dalswinton. Small it certainly was, having only four-inch cylinders, but still sufficient for the purpose, and on the 14th October, 1788, it was placed on board a boat 25 feet long, 7 feet wide, and furnished with two wheels. Steam was got up, and, amid the enthusiastic cheering of a crowd of spectators assembled at every commanding point of view, the tiny vessel sailed away on the beauti- ful loch, at a speed of five miles an hour! For several days the experiment was repeated, and when all parties were thoroughly satisfied with the entire success of the invention, the engine was removed to the house and placed as a drawing-room ornament, where it remained till Mr. Miller's decease, when it was sold by public auction, along with other effects, at the price of old metal, realizing only a few pounds! The boiler, which was of copper, was about 4 feet in height and 2g- feet in diameter, not cylindrical, but oval in form, and was so encrusted with soot that no one could tell of what metal it was composed. Mr. Miller's son, Capt. Miller, had given instructions that unless it brought 3 it was to be bought in, and as only 2 were offered it accordingly came back to him. There was a young- man present, of very great intelligence, Mr. William Wallace, now farmer of Kirktonfield, Kirkmahoe, who had the shrewdness to scrape through the blacking, and so discovered the metal was copper. He had been one of the bidders, and was afterwards introduced to Captain REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 159 Miller, who allowed him to have it, after a deal of haggling, for the sum of fifty shillings! A few days afterwards Mr. Wallace removed the numerous bolts with which it was constructed, broke the whole up into small pieces, which filled two sacks, and sold them the following week to an English dealer in old metal at 7^d. per lb., realizing upwards of 7 on the whole con- cern. A day or two afterwards he was called upon by a gentleman, commissioned by some antiquarian society in Scotland or England, who was authorized to go as far as 40 for the relic, but it was too late. Such was the invention of steam navigation, in which Mr. Taylor was entitled to a very considerable share; and though the whole circumstances of the case were represented to the Government, in the hope that some suitable pension might be assigned him, no notice was taken of the application made in his favour, and he was allowed to pass the remainder of his days, with a wife and children, as we have already said, in poverty and neglect. It is a mistake to imagine, as many have done, that this was the first attempt in the application of steam power to the propulsion of sailing vessels in all kinds of weather, against head winds, running tides, or through dead calms, although there is no ground for supposing that either of the parties here concerned were aware of the manner in which it had been proposed to be applied. Mr. Miller's own expression, on the proposal being made, that he dreaded the danger of fire on board, showed that he was not yet acquainted with the fact of its em- ployment; and Mr. Taylor racking his brains to dis- cover some substitute for the exhausting labour at the capstan was an equal evidence on his part of his ignor- ICO LIFE AND TIMES OF THE ance in the matter. So far, then, as regarded themselves, it was entirely new. Upwards of fifty years previous to the great event on Dalswinton Loch one Jonathan Hulls, an Englishman, took out a patent for constructing a steamboat, and published a full description of it, with diagrams and drawings, in pamphlet form, under the title, "A Description and Draught of a new-invented Machine for Carrying Vessels or Ships out of, or into, any Harbour, Port, or River, against Wind or Tides." The pamphlet is very rare, but an account of it is given in the ninth volume of the " Edinburgh Philosophical Journal." Hulls' proposed steam-tug, for such it seems to have been, from some cause or another was never built, and the contrivance was forgotten in the public mind. In 1782 a Frenchman, the Marquis de Jouffrey, took up the subject, and with more means at command than poor Hulls possessed, he constructed a steamboat 140 feet long and 15 feet wide, which he sailed on the Saone, at Lyons, for a considerable time, but only in an experi- menting character, and it soon passed into oblivion. Some three years afterwards, while Mr. Miller was busy paddling his double canoe on his own loch, two Americans, James Ramsey of Virginia and John Fitch of Phila- delphia, under the patronage of General Washington, experimented with steam propulsion at sea., but, like the others who preceded them, their novelty lost its attrac- tion, and want of success caused it to be abandoned. The Dalswinton affair, however, three years afterwards, gave a new impetus to the invention, and henceforth it took a firm hold of the public mind, eventuating, through many modifications, in its present form, of equal import- ance, as has been said, with the introduction of cannon, REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 161 though many will be of opinion that, in every respect, it is superior beyond comparison in point of humanity and civilization. As Mr. Miller declined to take out a patent for the invention, though strongly and repeatedly urged to do so by Mr. Taylor, all the machinery was open to inspection, and, as was to be expected, the utmost advantage was soon taken of the omission. Parties came, saw, examined, pirated,* and retired, and the result was that other men and other nations claimed the honour of the invention, ay, and reaped its reward. As the merit of the invention has b'een claimed on behalf of Mr. Symington, who constructed the engine which first did duty in opening up the world to com- mercial enterprise by steam, it may not be out of place to state what is the real position of the matter, so far as he was concerned, which, to a certain extent, has been already done, and this we can do, supported by letters of Mr. Symington himself. The ground of this claim is, that he " constructed the engine," but this he did from plans and drawings made by Mr. Taylor, under the superintendence of Mr. Miller. But though he con- structed the engine, he made no claim then to the invention, for, in writing to Mr. Taylor regarding it, he calls it " your invention" Here is his own letter, addressed to Mr. Taylor, at Dalswinton, dated Wan- lockhead, 20th August, 1787 : " But I believe neither this sheet nor my time will allow me to expatiate at any length on this subject, seeing I must make some remarks on your summer s invention, which, if made to perform what its author gives it out for, will un- doubtedly be one of the greatest wonders hitherto presented to the world, besides being of considerable emolument to the 1G2 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE projector! Great success to yon, though overturning my schemes ; but take care we do not come upon you back, and run away with them by some improvement. Your brother John gives a kind of credit to your report, which, for some reasons, I did not discourage. I must now conclude, &c., (Signed) " WILLIAM SYMINGTON." It is evident from this that Mr. Symington was not by any means hopeful of the success of his friend, and distinctly warned him of the possibility of himself making improvements upon the invention. But this is away from the origin of the matter; and that he did make impixwements, and did take out a patent in his own name, surreptitiously, about 1802 or 1803, there is no room for doubt, though his conscience seems to have checked him for so doing, as the following letter shows, written nearly twenty years afterwards: " GLASGOW, 9th Feb., 1821. " Sir, In terms of our former agreement, when making experiments of sailing by the steam-engine, 1 hereby bind and oblige myself to convey to you, by a regular assignation, the one-half of the interest and proceeds of the patent taken out by me upon that invention when an opportunity occurs of executing the deed, and when required. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, (Signed) " WILLIAM SYMINGTON.'' "To Mr. James Taylor, Cumnock." The following extracts from private letters are also corroborative of the fact. Mr. Patrick Miller, in a published narrative of the whole case, some years after the death of his father, says, in a letter to Mr. Taylor, addressed "Kinmount House, by Annan, 20th April, REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 163 1824 My impression is, that no human being, except yourself and me, can have any claim to either public consideration or remuneration; and I think my memoir will make that clear enough, be the result what it may." In another letter to the same gentleman, written about a month afterwards, he says: "By circumstances, the origin of which I am not yet acquainted with, I have hitherto been disappointed of an opportunity of having the honour of waiting upon his Royal Highness the Duke of Clarence, to lay before him the history of Steam Navigation, in which I assigned you the place of suggestor of, and sole coadjutor of my father in, this important improvement." Sir Charles Menteath of Closeburn, in a letter of date 5th April, 1834, says: " I am old enough to have seen the first boat driven by steam in this or any other country. Mr. Miller of Dal- swinton, in the county of Dumfries, after his retirement from business as a banker in Edinburgh, continued his favourite pursuit of making experiments with boats of a variety of constructions, and having constructed a twin boat, with a wheel between them, he employed manual power to drive the wheel, which being found inefficient, Mr. James Taylor, at that time tutor to Mr. Miller's sons, I have always understood suggested the notion of employing a steam-engine to put the wheel in motion." The late Principal Forbes, in a letter to Mrs. Taylor, of date 3rd May, 1842, says: " Your statements and proofs served entirely to confirm and recall my former impressions namely, that the merit of the invention of steam navigation is due to Mr. James Taylor and to Mr. Miller of Dalswinton jointly. That the actual suggestion was Mr. Taylor's, there seems no 104- LIFE AND TIMES OF THE reason to doubt," Another eminent gentleman, John Geddes, Esq., writing to Mrs. Taylor on the same subject in 1842, says: "I think it may be safely said that the first steamboat voyage was made on Dalswinton Loch; and that your husband, in originating the four-inch cylinder-engine there employed, laid the foundation of the immense extent and power of steamboats that now ply on every sea, river, and loch." Extracts from the letters of other distinguished personages might be ad- duced, but the above may be considered sufficient. In the face of these letters, we cannot see how the merit of the invention can be claimed on Mr. Syming- ton's behalf, and how the engine of the Dalswinton boat was the one patented by him, except in the sense of piracy, seeing the patent was not taken out for fourteen years after the experiment on Dalswinton Loch. How could he propose to give Mr. Taylor "one-half of the interest and proceeds" of a patent whose merit belonged solely and entirely to himself? We believe that Mr. Symington, who was a most ingenious engineer, im- proved upon the invention, which is all the merit that can be claimed on his behalf. We may observe, parenthetically, with regard to that famous loch, which will ever be associated with steam navigation, and which Mr. Miller had originally formed out of a swamp, that, in 1825, when in the possession of Mr. Macalpine Leny, it was thought the pike were destroying the other fish, and the loch was drained, when there were found only two pike, but a great number of perch and very fine large eels. Taking advantage of the drainage, Mr. Leny caused the mossy sludge at the bottom, about eighteen inches deep, to be removed and REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 165 spread on the adjoining meadow, for the purpose of im- proving the soil. Below the moss was a firm bed of clay. The workmen, in the course of their operations, came upon an oak tree lying across in the soundest state of preservation, from which the sideboard in Dalswintou House was afterwards manufactured, as well as other articles, while underneath and around this prostrate monarch of the woods was found an immense quantity of parched grain adhering in large masses, the corns of which were quite distinguishable, but having been burned, could not be expected to be so prolific as the wheat found in Egyptian mummies. Doubtless these were the remains of the old Romans in their raid upon Nithsdale, as, when suddenly forced to decamp, they usually set fire to their stores, so that the enemy might not profit from the plunder they obtained. It is under- stood that large quantities of that parched grain may still be found there, as nothing like the whole was taken when the loch was restored. The loch, though small, is very picturesquely situated, being surrounded with scenery of diversified character, and looked down upon by the hospitable mansion of the lord of the manor. It is the usual resort of curlers in the winter season, through the kindness of the proprietor, and many a victory and defeat it has seen, when contending parishes challenged each other to a " spiel." The scenery has been faithfully transferred to canvas by the artist Nasyinth, of landscape renown. Two years prior to the invention of the steamboat, when Mr. Miller was entirely absorbed in working out his paddle-wheel idea, he constructed a vessel with five masts, fitted up with paddle-wheels driven by a capstan, 166 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE and armed with carronades, which he had also invented a kind of "un he so named from its being cast at the o o Carron Foundry and which, in the pride of his heart, he considered altogether a matchless production. This he generously, loyally, and patriotically offered to his own Government, as he thought himself in duty bound to do so; but the beauty and the benefit of the work not being appreciated by that stoical body, the proffered boon was coldly declined, and he accordingly presented it to the King of Sweden, Gustavus III., who gratefully acknow- ledged the gift in an autograph letter enclosed in a magnificent golden box, which on gala days at Dalswin- ton was always produced for the delectation of the visitors, and perhaps as much for the delectation of the worthy possessor himself. But, along with the letter of thanks, the box contained also a very small packet of turnip seed, sent out of compliment to the recipient as an enterprising agriculturist. The seed was carefully sown, preserved, and sown again, many times in succession, and hence came the first Swedish turnips produced in the land, which are now so plentiful and considered so essentially necessary for the support of stock. To Mr. Miller's ingenuity the country is much in- debted for several inventions besides that of propelling vessels by steam, such as the drill plough, the iron plough, the horse thrashing mill, and others, which doubtless have been greatly improved upon in many respects since his day. He was an enthusiastic agricul- turist, and one of the great objects in this line to which he devoted particular attention was the introduction and cultivation of fiorin grass-hay. The inhabitants gene- rally, and the farmers in particular, of Kirkmahoc, REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 167 greatly appreciated his labours and the interest he took in the welfare of all around him, and to show their estimation of his worth as a gentleman, and especially as an enlightened agriculturist, they agreed to present him with two handsome silver cups or vases of the Etrurian form, which might remain as heirlooms in his family, and show to posterity the high estimation in which their ancestor had been held. Mr. Wightman, as minister of the parish, and Mr. Thomson, minister of the Cameronian body at Quarrelwood, were appointed a deputation to present the gift and to express the senti- ments of the subscribers. Accordingly, on the 12th April, 1801, these gentlemen waited upon Mr. Miller at Dalswinton House, and performed the honourable task entrusted to their care. Mr. Wightman, as principal speaker, addressed Mr. Miller in the following terms: " SIR, When you retired from other useful and honour- able stations, and fixed your residence in this parish, you formed an era in its prosperity. You devoted your talents to improvements in agriculture, a science well worthy of your attention, and which you conducted on the most en- lightened and liberal plans. Your neighbours and others saw, admired, and imitated the judicious methods you adopted in the cultivation of the soil, and the various branches of rural economy. They not only saw your im- provements, but occasionally learned from yourself many particulars which they could not have obtained had you been less accessible in your person, or less condescending in your manners. The inhabitants of this parish, impressed with a sense of these things, have agreed, in one collective body, to present you with a small testimonial of their respect for the patriotism as well as the benevolence of your character, and 1G8 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE especially for your eminence in rural science, and your liberal viesvs as a landed proprietor. They have honoured us, the ministers of religion in this parish, who they knew had a place in your regard, with a commission to express to you in the most respectful manner their sentiments towards you, and to solicit you in their name to accept this mark of their respect. We do this most cheerfully, because we ourselves feel those sentiments which we are deputed to express. We are convinced that your character does not depend upon our humble voice. The name of Mr. Miller will be known and dear to posterity. It will continue fresh as the beauty of his fields, and fragrant as their flowers, when we shall have been gathered to our fathers.'' Mr. Miller with much generous feeling expressed the high satisfaction he had in receiving such an unexpected and unequivocal mark of esteem from so respectable a body of men, and invited the gentlemen of the deputa- tion to stay and dine with him, which they did, spending the day in the cheerful expression of those sentiments of patriotism, benevolence, and affection which link society in the firmest bonds, and render man the im- prover and the friend of his fellow-man. On leaving the house Mr. Wightman put his arm in that of Mr. Thomson, and went down the steps together, which Mr. Miller seeing, he bade them good evening in the beau- tiful words of the 133rd Psalm : ' ' Behold how good a thing it is, And how becoming well, Together such as brethren are lu unity to dwell !" In the year following his steamboat success Mr. Miller had the honour of being admitted a burgess of Dumfries, as the following minute of the election shows : " 29th REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 169 September, 1789. The said day, Patrick Miller, Esq. of Dalswinton, one of the four new Merchant Council- lors, before being sworn in, was admitted a burgess in the usual manner, and accepted and gave his oath of burgess-ship in the ordinary way, and promised to keep a sufficient gun and sword for the defence of the town when called for; and the Council, for good services done and to be done by the said Patrick Miller, remit the burgess composition payable by him." It is rather amusing to read that an oath was exacted to keep a sufficient gun and sword for defence of the town from a man who shortly afterwards, as we have already seen, offered to give the produce of his estate, and to equip a hundred men for the defence of his country; but we suppose the minute was drawn out in the usual stereo- typed form, and, besides, the authorities of the Queen of the South were not to know the generous outburst of patriotism and benevolence to be evolved afterwards by the highly esteemed laird of Dalswinton. Some idea may be formed of the difficulties he had to encounter on entering upon his estate, from what he says in a letter of date 24th September, 1810, published in the " General View of the Agriculture, &c., of Dumfriesshire : " " When I purchased this estate (Dalswinton) about five- and-twenty years ago, I had not seen it. It was in the most miserable state of exhaustion, and all the tenants in poverty. Judge of the first when I inform you, that oats ready to be cut were sold at 25s. per acre upon the holm grounds. When I went to view my purchase, I was so much disgusted for eight or ten days, I then meant never to return to this country." Fifteen years afterwards these same poverty-stricken lands, under the L 170 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE improvements of the proprietor, brought 40 per acre, though it is but right to mention that 1800 was known O o as the famine year. After having spent upwards of 30,000 upon his inventions, experiments, and agricultural improvements, Mr. Miller died a poor man, almost landless., and with- out any Government acknowledgment of the great services he had rendered to the cause of civilization and the cultivation of the soil. His death took place at Dalswinton, on the morning of Saturday, 9th Decem- ber, 1815, in the eighty-fourth year of his age, and his remains were interred in the family burying-ground, in Grey friars' Churchyard, Edinburgh, on the third of the following month. Mr. Wightman, in an obituary notice of him in the Dumfries Courier, says: "Mr. Miller was well-known for his enterprising and public spirit, and his unabating ardour in endeavouring to promote the welfare of society and the prosperity of his country. The powers of his mind were capacious, vigorous, and active, and were cultivated by an extensive inter- course with men of all ranks, and by a frequent and intense application of thought to almost every branch of political and rural economy. His moral character was sustained by the most respectable and amiable qualities. He was guided by inflexible integ- rity in his diversified transactions with mankind, and a warm benevolence and generosity of heart rendered him the friend of the afflicted, and a father to the poor. He was a man, and nothing which concerned the happi- ness of man was uninteresting to him. These estimable and gentle qualities made Mr. Miller the object of general respect and esteem, and have rendered his REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 171 death a cause of deep regret to his numerous friends and acquaintances, in whose affection his memory is embalmed, and will be cherished with a lasting remem- brance." An anecdote is told of Mr. Miller's experience as a sailor, on the occasion of a shipwreck. He, along with a number of the crew, had escaped from the sinking ship in the long-boat, and had been out at sea for a considerable time, when their scanty store of provisions became exhausted, and it was resolved to have recourse to the terrible expedient of putting one of their number to death, in order to supply food for the rest, till relief should providentially arrive. The lots were drawn out of Mr. Miller's cap, in respect for his being the only officer in the boat, and the carpenter was found to be the victim doomed to die. Mr. Miller was exceedingly sorry that such an exigency had arisen, and such a proposal had been decided on ; but in the circumstances it was vain to rebel, and he gave his portion of a very small quantum of wine to the unhappy carpenter in com- miseration of his fate. Turning away from the poor fellow's death-stricken countenance, and looking into the far horizon, he immediately cried out, " I see a sail! I see a sail!" All eyes were turned in the same direction, but they could see nothing. Still he persisted in saying that he saw a sail, and soon, to their joy, the sail came within the vision of all, so that the carpenter was saved, and they were all relieved. We may here reproduce another anecdote in connec- tion with this family, but communicated elsewhere, which can bear repetition. Bowing from the pulpit to the principal heritor in church, after the blessing was 172 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE pronounced, was very common in rural parishes down to a comparatively recent period. Mr. Wightman once made a ready and complimentary reply, on being rallied for his neglecting this usual act of courtesy one Sab- bath in his own church. The heritor who was entitled to, and always received, this token of respect was Mr. Miller of Dalswinton. On the Sabbath referred to the Dalswiuton pew contained a bevy of ladies, but no gentleman, and Mr. Wightman, perhaps because he was a bachelor and felt a delicacy in the circumstances, omitted the usual salaam in their direction. A few days after, meeting Miss Miller, who was widely famed for her great beauty, and who afterwards became Countess of Mar, she rallied him, in presence of her companions, for not bowing to her from the pulpit on the preceding Sunday, and requested an explanation, when Mr. Wightman immediately replied, " I beg your pardon, Miss Miller, but you surely know that angel worship is not allowed in the Church of Scotland," and, lifting his hat, he made a low bow, and passed on. REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 173 CHAPTER IX. REV. JOHN CROCKET CORRESPONDENCE TUTOR IN DUNRAGIT REV. GEORGE COULTER SETTLEMENT IN KIRKGUNZEON CHARACTER AS A PREACHER EXAMPLES OF READY AJN T D TENACIOUS MEMORY ANECDOTES OF HIM AND THE REV. WALTER DUNLOP HIS DEATH HANNAH MORE'S FEMALE EDUCATION CRITICISED SACRED DRAMAS CCELEBS IN SEARCH OF A WIFE DR. THOMAS TUDOR DUNCAN ORDINATION AT APPLEGARTH. WE have now to introduce to the reader one of Mr. Wightman's warmest friends, Mr. John Crocket, who afterwards became his co-presbyter, as minister of Kirk- gunzeon, and was widely known for his genial humour and interesting traditions of the times of old. He was born at Lochhill, in the parish of Newabbey, in Febru- ary, 1778, and when a boy at school there he Avas noted by the minister as being, physically and mentally, pecu- liarly active. His grandfather, with whom he lived, was advised to send him to the Grammar-School of Dumfries as a more fitting sphere for his aptitude in learning, and thither he was accordingly sent, going and returning on foot every day, a distance of some dozen miles. At the age of fifteen he was sent to the University of Edin- burgh, where he went through the curriculum for the Church, taking three sessions in Greek under the dis- tinguished Professor Dalzell. Like others of his class, he engaged to a considerable extent in private tuition, as a source of subsistence and financial treasury for the pro- secution of his university studies. A vacancy in the 174 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE domestic tutorship at Dunragit having occurred, Mr. Wightman was applied to by his old friends Sir John and Lady Dalrymple Hay to find them a suitable person for the important situation. He at once recommended Mr. Crocket, who then filled a similar office in Inveraray, and who was well known as an accomplished and elegant scholar, without being vain of his attainments, or osten- tatious in their display. The following correspondence on the Dunragit tutorship is interesting for various reasons: Mr.. JOHN CROCKET TO KEV. MR. WIGHTMAN. " INYERAUAY, 24lh Man, 1S01. " DEAR SIR, After despatching your last letter I waited on tlie Colonel and informed him that I had got an offer of a very eligible situation, which I intended to accept of. I told him that several weighty reasons concurred to induce me to accept of it; and that T had given him the earliest informa- tion, so that he might provide himself with another before my departure, which must take place in the course of a month. I said that my time with him expired on the 25th of this month, but that I was willing to stay with him for a fortnight longer, so that he might receive no inconvenience from my departure, and that I hoped he would have no objections to what I had stated. He answered me in the most friendly manner by saying that I was certainly in the right to accept a preferable situation, that it was the duty of every man to look to his own interest in preference to that of any other person's, that he would be very glad if I would remain for a fortnight in the family after my time expired, and that I had done nothing but what was very proper. He added that I had given him great satisfaction, that there was no comparison between me and either of my REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 175 predecessors, but that I was infinitely superior to both. I could not with a safe conscience pocket that compliment, for I am sensible that Mr. Paul, my ingenious predecessor, and author of the Epistles to the ' Dearly Beloved Disciples,' was infinitely my superior in abilities, and at least my equal in classical knowledge. The truth is, that he would have been, and was, caressed in many families for his facetious- ness, good humour, and obliging disposition, but his frank, affable manner gave offence to the sober people of this family, who are always on the reserve, and who do not wish any young man in the family to take even reasonable liberties. My other predecessor was a humdrum, melancholy, stupid, slovenly fellow, so that I am not in the least surprised that he gave great umbrage. I was, however, very glad to find that I had given satisfaction, and that I came off with flying colours. " Your letter of the 20th I received yesterday, and in the joy of my heart I could not refrain from immediately inform- ing you of the foregoing pai'ticulars. I am heartily glad to find that there is a probability of our sojourning for a few weeks with you occasionally. Nothing could give me greater pleasure, and I will be exceedingly happy if Sir John adopts that plan. "With regard to the salary I do not care what it is, as that is a matter just now entirely below my consideration. Only let it be sufficient to maintain me decently, and that is all I will require. I am sure I \vill find no obstacles in the way respecting it. I entirely agree with you that the teacher of youth is worthy of his reward, for it is a laborious and irksome employment. From your ticcount I believe that mine will be more agreeable than what I have hitherto experienced. How old is the boy, and how far is he advanced in learning? How many young ladies are there in the family? From your account they . seem to be very agreeable ones. In what parish will we be 176 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE situated, and what is the name of the minister? I think I shall leave this place about the 8th or 9th of June, and either go to Dumfries or Dunragit as you may think best. I will go by Greenock and Ayr, where I hope to see Mr. Paul, who is now a steady pillar of the Church. I should like very much to see you before entering on my charge, but you will be the best judge whether I should go to Dumfries or not. Mr. Gillespie and his sister present you with their best compliments, and he bids me say that your letter enclosed in the bag would be in Dumfries on Wednesday last. I shall be very happy to hear from you the first leisure hour you can find, as my stay in this place will now be so very short. Begging pardon for the great trouble I give you, Believe me to be, dear Sir, yours very sincerely, " JOHN CROCKET. ' ' Rev. John Wiglitnian, " Minister of Kirkmahoe, Dumfries." E,EV. MR. "WlGHTMAN TO LADY DALRYMPLE HAY. " KIRKMAHOE MANSE, 16th June, 1801. " MADAM, I have delayed writing your Ladyship till I could say when Mr. Crocket would be able to enter upon his charge. He is under my roof at this moment, will be all night with me, and is going to visit some of his friends in this district for a few days. He will be in Dunragit this day fortnight, which will be, I believe, the last day of this month, and will begin the auspicious task on "Wednesday, the first day of July, which is the time I mentioned to your Ladyship at Dumfries. In my letter I wrote him to be here a week at least before that time, as I thought the vacation long enough. But I find Mr. Crocket wishes to see his friends here, and as I know that all will go on well when lie comes, I am less afraid of any inconvenience from a REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 177 week's more vacation to my young friend, and assure your Ladyship you may depend on Mr. Crocket on Tuesday, the 30th instant. He has sent his trunk by Glasgow, as I directed him, and it will be at Dunragit before him. Your Ladyship is too well acquainted with the good effects of regular and sfcited hours of attending school not to be convinced that hours of teaching must be fixed, and steadily adhered to. I would venture to suggest, from the confidence you repose in me, that on Wednesday Mr. Crocket begin teaching my old pupil at ten o'clock fore- noon, and continue till twelve, and that no more lessons be required that day. On Thursday, 2nd July, an additional hour be given between two and three, or between three and four no more that day. On Friday the same, if not another hour in the forenoon. On Monday next, teaching to begin at eight o'clock, the hour before breakfast being, I would think, very profitable. There should be five hours' work every day. I believe four might do, if none of the ladies attend, which I hope they will at times. But whether any of these should be after dinner, or all over before dinner, I reckon not of great importance. Many teachers, I know, prefer the latter. Mr. Crocket will consider it rather a pleasure than a task to assist Miss Elizabeth and Miss Susan in any aiithmetic, or book-keeping, or geography, &c., that they may choose to study. I had forgot, it seems, to mention the pecuniary matter, but Mr. Crocket is well satisfied with 25 per annum. He said he had the same from Colonel Graham, and 5 as a gratuity, but he does not seem to be a man who considers money as the leading object. He will be happy, I am sure, with the emoluments and privileges I enjoyed at Dunragit, and I am not affecting modesty when I say that he seems to me at least equally deserving of them. I do not mean that he may have just all the preceptorial iotas and dogmas so rigidly arranged as I had, but he has 178 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE liberal information, good temper, and adequate experience. Mr. Crocket does not know any of tlie contents of this. I will speak to him about regular hours, which I reckon necessary. I am, my Lady, yours respectfully, " JOHN WlGHTMAN. " Lady Dalryniple Hay, Dunragit." Mr. Crocket had been scarcely five weeks engaged with his new charge, and was going on swimmingly, when he received the following letter from his patron in Kirkmahoe: REV. MB. WIGHT/MAX TO MR. CROCKET. "KIEKMAIIOK MANSE, 5th A ijnxt, 1801. " DEAR SIR, I was poring over a part of Dr. Wilson's Hebrew Grammar, with a Parkhurst's Lexicon open beside me, and trying if I could plant a few ' Hebrew roots in the barren ground,' as Hudibras somewhere says, when I re- ceived your letter. Though I thought I was agreeably employed, I soon laid aside my books. Wilson, quoting ;i part of Scripture, closes his preface with ' the letter killeth,' &c., but if I may turn his words to a temporal sense, from so beautiful an. application as he makes, I may say, the letter gave life to me! Your letter gave more pleasure than I have enjoyed this whole day, and that is not a small portion. I am truly happy that you find everything so pleasing, and even beyond your happy fancy's stretch. Indeed, I knew you would be happy. The scene of Castle Kennedy rose to my view, and if I had known the day when so much beauty and virtiie were regaling in that inspiring ground, I would have sympathized much with the pleasure they enjoyed. Nature there reposes in one of her most magnificent and favourite retreats. The errand ranse of mountains on the one KEY. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 179 side, and the variety on all sides, not to speak of the inter- esting spot itself, would not escape your eye. I was there once, too, but some wet day, or some worse thing, I remem- ber, marred considerably the enjoyment which I saw the place was well suited to give to one who is born, as Hume says, to see the bright and not the dark side of things. And the pile of stones there is still standing ! How many ideas now sweep through my mind ! Many a time we brushed the dews away to meet the sun on Challoch. The view from the top of this hill is really grand, and if Sir John plant it, I know not by what name to express the pleasure which one would feel in looking from a vista open towards the sea. And the plantation will make a fine object to travellers, and be seen at a great distance. I will never forget that when we staid at Park, one of the young ladies, then a very child ^and now no more!), asked me to take her to the top of Challoch, and I carried her almost all the way up the hill, while some of the others attended, nee me labor iste gravabat! ""Well, Mr. Crocket, you have undertaken really an important charge, and on your acquitting yourself with diligence, prudence, and, consequently, I hope, with success, depends the happiness of two worthy parents, your own comfort, and if after such motives I might mention another, I would say my happiness. But I need not expatiate to one who knows the matter experimentally already, and who tastes the first fruits of a harvest of enjoyment. You are perfectly right in your idea of the Academy. Literature was not the leading object there. Commerce was the reigning genius. I feared that our pupil had not profited in proportion to his itime there, and this was the reason why I did not examine him when I was there, for I did not like to throw one shade on the sunshine of his joy at seeing me, as I might have done -had I expressed the smallest disapprobation of anything ;about him, or his studies. He is truly an amiable boy, and 180 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE I am glad you have already gained his confidence. This is all in some sense. Without this all is uphill, but with this all is easy, like the path of wisdom. This very day I met with some lines I had written on his birth-day, the first stanza of which was in the following dull, prosaic strain, but it shows how much I was always thinking about him, and in no other light does it give me any pleasure on review. I think it was in descending from Challoch about seven or eight o'clock I put the words into my pocket-book with a pencil. Here they are : While yet fresh roses deck yon gates of light, And feathered songsters welcome rising day: The willing muse attempts her feeble flight, And joyful hails the natal morn of Hay ! I leave you to finish the ode, and hope you will rise to a higher strain of poetry. I think I had not written the lines on the top of Challoch, otherwise they would have been better, with the grand view before me. But I forget that Challoch is not Parnassus! " You have not been correct about the Sacraments here. I was at Lochmaben last Saturday, and am to be at Keir on Monday. I really fear I cannot get away soon, but I cannot resist the invitation of Sir John and Lady Hay. They never speak words of course, on such occasions, and, to be sure, my own inclinations second the invitation very much. I have been from home several days this summer, and am to be away first Sunday, though my own church will be supplied, so I cannot come immediately, but will do my best to come before September be over. If sooner I can, you may be sure I will. Present my respectful compliments to Sir John and Lady Hay, and thank them in your best manner for their kind invitation. Mr. Heron, the minister of Kirkgunzeon, died last Friday, and is to be buried to-morrow. If I could REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 181 set Mr. Selkirk into my native parish I would do it. I would have preferred it to this, though the emolument is less, if it had been vacant at the time I came here. Mrs. Heron and family are a sight which I can scarcely bear to see in such distress. I preached for Mr. H. lately. She antici- pated the event, and afflicted me much, and the very children cried when I went away ! " I had a more pleasing task at the examination of the Grammar-School of Dumfries. I was Moderator of the Committee, and as Mr. Wait, the late Rector, said, I rode my hobby-horse well. I say agreeably, for Rosinante was in good spirits, and went almost beyond herself. The boys all started to their feet when I bade them love their country, and mentioned Abercrombie. I am ever, dear Sir, yours very sincerely, " JOHN WIGHTMAN. "Mr. John Crocket, Dunragit." ME. CROCKET TO REV. MB. WIGHTMAN. " DUNRAGIT, 14th October, 1801. " MY DEAR SIR, An opportunity of conveying this to you free of expense presents itself which I willingly embrace. My Lord of Galloway is here just now, and Lady Hay has very kindly promised to procure me a frank. " Since I wrote you last I have been at Portpatrick, and spent a part of two days and a night with my good friend Dr. Mackenzie. He is one of the best companions I ever met with, for he abounds with humour and anecdote, and has something amusing or instructive to say on every sub- ject. On the Sunday I went to church and heard the doctor preach, who pleased me greatly. I have likewise been visiting the ' little, round, fat, oily man of God' at the Inch, and heard him preach. He is far inferior to Dr. M., but his discourses are well adapted to a country congregation. I had 182 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE almost lost myself as I was going to the manse of Inch, by taking a near cut, as I thought, through the fields. To use an expression of Sancho's, ' I wandered through roadless roads and pathless paths,' till I fairly lost myself, but luckily arrived at the manse about an hour after it was dark. Mr. Ferguson has got a tall, stout young woman for a wife, and he seems quite a boy beside her. I was wishing that my good friend Mr. Wightman had such another, and I think he will be very much to blame if he does not soon furnish him- self with a helpmeet for him. Mr. Ferguson I found a very sprightly, entertaining man, and we spent the evening veiy merrily. I received many invitations to come back whenever I could find it convenient. His wife, I think, is a very good woman. On Saturday first I am going to spend the after- noon and night of that day with my laughing friend Mr. Learmout, and on the Sunday I have promised to visit Mr. Kennedy of New Luce. I saw him on Wednesday last, and faithfully promised to be there on Sunday, to bear away a part of his preaching and dinner. " By-the-by, I spent the evening of last Saturday at Mr. Learmont's, and who was there but George Coulter, whom you very probably know. He regaled our ears by playing on the fiddle, but I'll be hanged if I could tell what tunes he aimed at, for we had to ask him at the conclusion of every tune what he had been playing. I found that the man was actually a little cracked, and was astonished to hear him give a sermon on the Sunday replete with good sense, but delivered in a sjtrange manner. He preached upon the ' fear of man bringing a snare,' and though he sometimes wandered from the point, yet his discourse discovered a good deal of original thought. He was very severe on the missionaries, and some of these gentry, terming them a parcel of hypo- critical fanatics, who artfully flattered the prejudices of the people in order to gain popularity to themselves. In short,. HEV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 18& lie far surpassed my expectation, and I wish that you had heard him. The missionaries have been preaching for nearly a fortnight past at Glenluce, but one of them is as mad as a March hare. " Sir John has taken out a deputation (commission) for me to shoot, and for some weeks past we have been very busy at that amusement. We have got a most excellent grey- hound, and we have had admirable sport at coursing. The hares are remarkably plenty, and one day, about a week ago, we caught four of them in the course of three hours. The dog and gun will be fine amusement to us during winter. James and I are going on in the same manner as when you were here, slowly but surely. We never lose sight of patience and perseverance, and with these two I think we will be able to do something So you are turned farmer; but I think you pay an enormous rent for your land. I will help away with some of the produce when I come to Kirk- niahoe. The family are talking of going to Edinburgh in spring, but whether Hay and I go I cannot say. I suppose Lady Hay will not like to want him out of her sight. I always am, my dear Sir, yours very sincerely, " JOHN CEOCKET. " The Rev. John Wightman, Kirkmahoe." With regard to the Rev. George Coulter referred to above, it was universally believed that he was " cracked," but a good man notwithstanding. He was passionately fond of the violin, and appreciated his own perform- ances on that instrument more highly than Mr. Crocket and his friends seem to have done. It was bis favour- ite amusement, and after playing for some time, in an ecstacy of delight he would stride across the room, ex- claiming, " Exquisite, exquisite, it makes me almost cry 184 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE out!" He died in 1817, in the village of Kirkmichael, Ayrshire, without having got a church, but he possessed independent means, and was never in straits. Through- out his last illness he was attended by the village innkeeper, William Christy, who was considered a "skilly person," and who acted as doctor, barber, and apothecary, without charge or any remuneration. Mr. Coulter left a will, in which he directed that his funeral should be conducted on the " old plan," and that there should be a handsome draigie to those attending it, given in Christy's, that the profits might in some mea- sure remunerate him for his gratuitous services and the kindness he had shown. The minister and schoolmaster were the executors, and the draigie bill handed in to them amounted to the sum of 25. Mr. Coulter, we think, was not the only one " cracked" in the concern. Mr. Crocket was licensed as a preacher of the Gospel in 1803 by the Presbytery of Dumfries, and the charac- ter of his pulpit discourses attracted public attention. His preaching was earnest and impressive, his exposi- tions of Scripture clear and practical, and his sermons especially were characterized by elegance of composition, simplicity of language, aptness of illustration, and pointed enforcement of divine truth. Mr. Wightman said of him, among his first appearances, after preach- ing in Kirkmahoe " Mr. Crocket was heard with great attention, and I hope with profit, by the congregation. The style was rich, strong, and animated, and, in many instances, splendid and sublime." Through the influ- ence of the Eev. Dr. M'Morine, of Carlaverock, he was presented to the church and parish of Kirkgunzeon in 1809, on the translation of the Rev. Mr. Rae to KEV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 185 another charge, and there he lived till his death, fifty- eight years afterwards, dwelling among his own people, and with no desire to leave them. He ever cherished the warmest affection for them, and went continually amongst them, sympathizing, comforting, and instructing, as their cases required. He was known pre-eminently as a man of peace. His voice was never heard hastily in the stormiest debate on Church politics, but, on the contrary, he always endeavoured to throw oil on the troubled waters. Gentle and 'forbearing to all, he was still steadfast and immovable when duty called. His memory was remarkable both for facility and retentive- ness. A single reading of a sermon or a poem, even not his own, was enough for him to deliver it in public. As an example of this we shall mention an instance of each. When he was a preacher he arrived unexpectedly one Sunday morning at Kirkmahoe manse as Mr. Wight- man was about to dress for church. Though in travelling guise, and not intending to take part in pulpit duty, he was strenuously urged to take the day's service, and told that no refusal would be accepted. " The thing is im- possible!" said Mr. Crocket; "I have not been thinking of preaching for a month, and I have no sermon with me. I have been engaged with the gun, and I could not preach though I got a kingdom for it. I have preached all my sermons in your church already." " You must preach," was the reply; "there must be no refusal." "Well, well, then, be it so; give me a volume of sermons for half-an-hour, and I'll try what can be done." This was complied with, and at the stated hour he went into the pulpit, and delivered memoriter what he had just recently read. M 186 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE The other instance was of this kind. The first time we were introduced to him in his own manse we had driven a distance of fourteen miles through a heavy rain for the purpose of preaching, it being his Fast-day. Every outer garment was dripping, and some of the under ones soaked through, when we arrived; and before sitting down, while some dry habiliments were being sought out, he entertained us by repeating a consider- able portion of " Tarn o' Shanter," saying that he had never read the poem but once in his life, and that he could repeat it from beginning to end. This little bit of welcome was out of compliment to our having been brought up on the Banks 6* Doon, and in the vicinity of Alloway Kirk. A few Sundays after his settlement in Kirkgunzeon, the Session, in name of the congregation, called upon him, and said that as they had all along been accus- tomed to hear the sermons read, he need not trouble himself by committing them to memory, thus showing how rational and considerate a people they were. He did not, however, adopt their suggestion, though kindly intended, but thanked them cordially for their proffered kindness. In 1812 he was presented with the freedom of the burgh of Kirkcudbright, " with liberty to him to exercise and enjoy the whole immunities and privileges thereof, as amply and freely as any other does or may enjoy" an honour which he highly appreciated, but did not take advantage of. As no man is complete without a wife, or a manse without one to look after its internal arrangements, so he resolved to supply the deficiency, and married Miss Goldie, eldest daughter of Mr. Goldie, of Stenhouse, Dumfriesshire, then residing at Isle, in the REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 187 parish of Kirkmahoe, and connected with some of the best families in the county. It is worthy of notice that Mr. Wright, parish minister of Newabbey, baptized him, licensed him, introduced him at his ordination, and mar- ried him. In addition to his glebe he held a farm of considerable extent which lay contiguous, and so highly was he esteemed by the proprietor that the factor re- ceived instructions that Mr. Crocket's rent for the farm was not to be raised so long as he chose to keep it. As we have already hinted, he was a practised hand at the gun, and an admirable marksman a qualification he had cultivated at Dunragit. For many years after his settlement twenty, we think he shot over the parish with a success envied by many who had nothing else to engage their attention. An anecdote is told of him having reference to his ability as a sportsman. On one occasion he and the Rev. Walter Dunlop met acci- dentally in the Herald Office, Dumfries, and in the course of some clerical conversation, Mr. Dunlop, who was rather corpulent, said, with characteristic humour, " I hae the better o' you ministers o' the Establish- ment, for I attended baith your Divinity Hall and our ain, so, ye see, I'm like a calf that has suckit twa kye.' "Ay, that ye are," said Mr. Crocket, "and a braw stirk they hae made ye." Mr. Dunlop felt himself foiled with his own weapon, but jocosely answered, " That's no sae bad, my freen Crocket, but I'll pay ye back for't some day." Not long afterwards, one Sun- day morning, the two met again accidentally on the High Street of Dumfries, as the bells were being rung for public worship, when the following colloquy took place: "How are ye the day, Mr. Crocket? I hope 188 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE ye're wcel; ye' re gauri to preach in St. Mary's, I be- lieve?" "I am; but who told you that?" " Weel, ye see, Mr. Crocket, I was just coming alang the street, behint twa mason lads, when I heard one o' them say, ' Whaur'll we gang the day, think ye ? will we try St. Mary's?' 'Wha's to preach there?' said the ither. ' O, it's Crocket o' Kirkgunzeon,' was the reply. ' O, it's him; he's nae great gun.' Weel, I didna like to hear you made licht o', and so I stepped up, and touching them 011 the shouther, I said, 'Lads, gang to St. Mary's and hear Mr. Crocket; if he is nae great gun, I can assure ye he's a capital shot.' Gude day wi' ye." After walking a few paces, he turned round, and calling Mr. Crocket, he said, "I hae now paid ye back for the stirk." He died in the eighty-ninth year of his age, and the fifty-eighth of his ministry. Scarcely had any one- such an immunity from the "ills that flesh is heir to" as he enjoyed. A short time before his death he remarked to us, when requesting us to preach his funeral sermon, that he had never had a day's sick- ness in his life, had never paid a farthing for medicine or a doctor, having never required either, and had never been absent from his pulpit during the whole of that period from illness of any kind. A more acceptable minister a more genial, hospitable, and generous- hearted man did not exist; this was every where acknow- ledged, and the parishioners of Kirkgunzeon found, to their great grief, that they had lost a loving and sincere friend when they consigned his remains to the grave. While Mr. Wightman was a devoted student of the learned treasures of antiquity, he also kept pace with the REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 189 current literature of the day, whenever he could com- mand leisure in the discharge of parochial duty, and he freely made notes of merits and demerits as he passed along. Poetry was his great resort after the labours of the pulpit, and he declared himself thoroughly reinvigo- rated after a couple of hours' luxuriating among the beauties of Milton's " Paradise Lost." Hannah More's " Strictures on Female Education " excited considerable interest on its appearance, and called forth a variety of opinions from the press. Mr. Wightman immediately procured the work, and the following criticism shows the interest he took in it: " The authoress lifts a warning voice to the females of the present age, and gives very excellent advice respecting education, both as regards the heart and understanding. Her manner is bold and energetic, and she appears as an Amazon to fight the battles of virtue and religion. The air of smartness and irony she assumes rather injures than promotes the great cause of which, in general, she is an able advocate. She frequently speaks of the high and low tone of morals, and the Bishop of London says she writes in a strain of high-toned morality, or some such words, which has afforded Peter Pindar an opportunity of being witty on the subject. Several writers have thought this book too strict, and in some parts there may be ground for the remark. Nor does she always avoid the faults she reproves. She censures the clergy and moralists for too much squeatnishness in avoiding certain words, as sin, calling it vice. She herself avoids the word adulterers, and calls them the persons whom ' God will judge.' She speaks euphemistically of the devil, the world; and the flesh, as 'the enemies of man.' In a word, she writes 190 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE with all the elegance of a delicate novelist, while she is treating on religious and moral subjects, and affecting to rescue the age from a weak compliance with the tide of custom in avoiding words which may offend the ears of the falsely refined, as the prophet says, ( speaking smooth things.' As a specimen of her manner, the beginning of the tenth chapter of the first volume seems to be one of the most favourable ' It has been the fashion of our late innovators in philosophy who have written the most brilliant popular treatises on education, to decry the practice of early instilling religious knowledge into the minds of children. They have, &c.' "As an instance of her smartness already mentioned, when she is cautioning her readers against sending their children to any other source than the Gospel for their Christianity, or letting them set up any act of self-denial as the procuring cause of their salvation, she says, ' this would be to send them to Peter the Hermit and not to Peter the Apostle.' She urges the folly of striving to engage the attention of a dying person to the influence of religion in some such words as these ' Can he be supposed to listen to the voice of this charmer, when he cannot listen to the voice of singing men and singing women?' This kind of opposition or conceit occurs very frequently, as well as a combination of the serious and ludicrous, thus 'Shall they become Christians by acci- dent ? Is not this acting on the principle of Dogberry, that reading and writing come by nature ?' Such writing as this would tempt one sometimes to think that she is more skilful in the faults and weaknesses of others, and able to expose and blazon them forth to view, than earnest in her wish to reform them or to take the beam REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 191 out of her own eye. She pleads strongly for the strict and appropriate use of terms, and censures using ' proud day,' ' proud success,' and such like, in the speeches in Parliament, as being more suitable to the panegyrists of the battle of Cannae, or some Roman or Carthaginian victory, than to a Christian orator. But she blunders in this very thing; she says a 'worldly Christian,' and apologizes for using the term. This is, then, only to argue about terms, not things, for Christian means either a real or professing disciple of Jesus Christ, and a ' proud day,' means a joyful day, so that the word ' proud' is sometimes used in one sense and sometimes in another, which is also the case with other terms, as righteous, perfect, and good, " But while these remarks are made, it must be owned that a great many beauties and excellencies are to be found in the work. The cutting and satirical power which sometimes appears may be seen from such parts as the following, when she is censuring the rage for novel writing, which seems insatiable : ' As Alexander, on reading the Iliad, found, by congenial sympathy, the image of Achilles stamped on his own ardent soul, and felt himself the hero he was studying; and as Correggio, on first beholding a picture which exhibited the perfec- tion of the graphic art, prophetically felt all his own future greatness, and cried out in rapture, ' I, too, am a painter!' so a thorough-paced reading Miss, at the close of every tissue of hackneyed adventures, feels within herself the stirring impulse of corresponding genius, and triumphantly exclaims, 'And I, too, am an author!' The part of her book where she describes the attempts to destroy female delicacy and principle, the tendency 192 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE of the German writings, is admirably well managed. The effect produced is not like that of floods, or cataracts, or volcanoes, where, though the crops are destroyed, yet the seeds are not so, and there is hope they may spring again; but the effects of this newly-medicated venom are subtle though sluggish in their operations, like what travellers relate of the Dead Sea, a stagnant lake of putrifying waters. No wholesome blade shoots up on its shore, and no living thiDg can exist within its influence. Near the sulphurous pool the principle of life is extinguished. We may justly say of this authoress, in the words of her motto from Lord Halifax, that she has 'raised her character that she may help to make the next age better, and leave posterity in her debt for the advantage it has received by her waitings.' Upon the whole, I have received both pleasure and instruction from this production, and hope I shall profit by some of her hints." With the same author's " Sacred Dramas" he was greatly pleased, especially with the speeches of David and Daniel, though he took exception to certain epithets and phrases employed, and thought some parts of the work not easily reconcileable with the strict rules of grammar. On the last leaf of the book he wrote in, pencil the following lines: "Borne on the breeze from wild Carnarvon's steep, Proceeds this minstrelsy? or Deva's stream? Does Nature's bard, awoke from death's cold sleep, Warble on Avon's banks ? or do I dream ? " No ! from where Severn rolls his ample flood, In rival grandeur to the mantling mam, These notes proceed, and stir my mounting blood, While admiration thrills in every vein. REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 19& ' ' 'Tis, or a Zion's harp, or Anna's lyre, 'Tis Harmony's own child that sweeps the strings, The Song's enflamed with heaven's own living fire 'Tis Milton's muse 'tis More herself who sings !" Of another work by the same authoress, " Coelebs in Search of a Wife," he thus writes: " It is replete with useful remarks and observations, showing a great knowledge of the world. I cannot account for the fine variety of poetical and historical allusion with which the work is embellished in any other way than her having a commonplace-book, where all the quotations are stored under their proper heads. I have admired this before, when reading her 'Strictures on Female Education.' Her style is vigorous and flowing, and indicates a habit of composi- tion. She generally uses nor after neither, and indeed after negatives in general, but pn some occasions she forgets, or seems to forget her usual way. I do not admire the dialogue between Miss Lucilla and Lord Staunton at the summer- house, and her refusal of him on the grounds of religious difference of opinion. She is right, but the colloquy intended to do honour to the doctrines of religion I think has not the effect, at least to that degree the author intended, fieligious Courtships do not sound well. It might have been the real cause of Lucilla's disliking him, but she was under no neces- sity to attack his religious principles on the subject. It afforded Staunton an opportunity of acting the hypocrite of pretending he had not been sincere before. I observe allit- erations very frequent in this work, such as Shakespeare and Sophocles, Juvenal and Johnson, soup and sauce, odd and opposite, bent and bias, compassion and compunction, &c. She sometimes introduces different allusions in the same sentence, thus ' The part of the Arcadian nymph, the read- ing lady, the lover of retirement, was each acted in succession, 194 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE but so skilfully touched that the shades of each melted in the other without any of those violent transitions which ;t less experienced actress would have exhibited.' Here the actress and the painter are employed in too close proximity; they are elbowing each other in the same sentence. She uses Providence as equivalent to the term God. The best writers have it after this term and its, but she uses him and his. 11 It is somewhat pleasant to find the sage Miss More, who in other works speaks so lightly, and with even contempt, of the novel-reading and novel-writing Misses, hitting off all the brilliances of romance in this religious work. She speaks of wiping fine eyes, of starts and confusions, of celestial rosy red blushes, and timid glances, with as much address as if she had used this kind of phraseology all her life. The book is rather useful than otherwise, especially with regard to politics and domestic economy, but in religion, though she says some excellent things against the Antinomian scheme, yet she has such a charity for such weak brethren and sisters that one cannot help thinking she is verging that way herself. She unsays in some measure what she has said, and leaves the reader to infer that she has either been persecuted for supposed Methodism, or that she has a leaning that way, so difficult is it for a female theologian to steer that manly course between the Scylla of self-confidence and the Charybdis of Antinomianism. There are several little blemishes in the tone and morality of the work, but, on the whole, I should like my daughter, if I had one, rather to read this than ' Clarissa Harlowe.' " These specimens are given to show Mr. Wightman's abilities as a critic, and not for any special merit the works under review now possess. But young preachers are rising up in the district, and REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 195 AS one by one receives the Presbytery's imprimatur, he makes his way to Kirkmahoe manse. The following is noted with respect to the late Dr. Duncan of the New Church (Greyfriars), Dumfries, who had recently received license as a preacher: " 4th March, 1804. Dr. Thomas Tudor Duncan, pre- sentee to Applegarth, preached. Lecture, John xiv. 1-5. Sermon, Matt. v. 43. Dr. Duncan is a young man about twenty-four years of age, son of the Rev. George Duncan of Lochrutton. His lecture was masterly, showing great know- ledge of human character, and a happy talent of applying the consolations of religion to the wounds of the heart. His style was neat, and his delivery animated. His sermon also showed a great acquaintance with the principles of the human mind. Under the first head, he pointed out some of the offices which evince the duty ; under the second, in which he showed that it was Christian, he gave a very animated explanation of resentment as far as it is justifiable, and applied his remarks to the invasion threatened by the French. His prayers exhi- bited a good heart, and much reverence of the Deity." Dr. Duncan was a young clergyman of most prepos- sessing manners, and of refined taste. He had travelled for a considerable time on the Continent, especially in Italy, and was a perfect master of the language of that country. His ordination took place in the ensuing month, at which Mr. Wightman was present as a friend, and who afterwards made the following note of the day's proceedings : ''Thursday, 12th April, 1804. Was at Applegarth, at the ordination of the Rev. Thomas Tudor Duncan, M.D. He was ordained by the Rev. Andrew Jameson, minister of 190 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE St. Mungo, who preached from Luke xxiv. 2G, ' Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his- glory !' Mr. Jameson was two years at an Academy in the sou tli of England. He has a great partiality for the English form of worship, and in his prayers and preaching exhibited the mixed character of an Episcopalian Presbyter. He was sufficiently orthodox in the ordinary sense of the term. He said his text was suitable in ordaining a minister of the Gospel, whose only business was to preach and make known among his people Christ crucified. I expected to have heard the sufferings of our Lord described, and the consequent glory, or some such thing, but our young champion for the truth iTished headlong into the depths of controversial disputations respecting the cause of moral evil, and the efficacy of repent- ance to salvation of itself. On these subjects he descanted at great length, and threw around some detached fragments of the answers which the soundest divines had given to the cavils of sceptics and infidels. After he had waded a consid- erable time in the midst of a chaotic and heterogeneous jumble of discordant matter, he preferred a prayer to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, to assist, illumine, and direct him, and to cany home his subject with effect to the hearts and lives of his hearers, which seemed to be like the prayer of Jonah from the whale's belly (for his subject had swallowed him outright); and letting fall some good things, and some very unguai'ded things, he flounced on to the end of his discourse. He sang a pai'aphrase, and then proceeded to ordain Dr. Duncan his consecration prayer consisting of a very pious and suitable address to God, and was seemingly closed with an address to Dr. Duncan ' We set thee apart, constructed more than one barometer, and even at- tempted a thrashing-machine to be driven by hand. But these things were not at all appreciated by his people, and though he preached to them sermons of two hours' duration, yet they thought that he often spent his time otherwise than for the edification of his flock. He died suddenly at Quarrelwood on the 18th of April, 1810, in the fiftieth year of his age, and the sixteenth of his ministry. He was buried in Kirkmahoe churchyard, where a gravestone records that "he was a man of distinguished talents, of profound theological knowledge, and of eminent piety. In private he maintained an REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 253 unblemished character. He was a powerful aud faithful preacher, and his discourses always showed deep thought and extensive research. He was a diligent, affectionate, and most exemplary pastor, although his flock was widely scattered, and his congregational duties were, therefore, peculiarly laborious." Mr. Thomson was succeeded by the Eev. Mr. Jeffray, a clergyman of great ability and varied talent; but preachers began to be more plentiful, and new stations being appointed for the greater convenience of worship- pers, the congregation began to decline, the minister resigned his charge, and henceforth the famous Quarrel- wood meeting-house was entirely deserted, the worship there having run the prescribed term of human exist- ence threescore and ten years. If these were not sin- cere and earnest men in their religious principles, we know not who are ; they went ten, fifteen, and twenty miles, every Sabbath-day, to worship the Lord their Maker, and did not consider it any hardship to do so. No doubt some may say that such things partook largely of fanaticism or bigotry, but such harsh judgment ought not to be so readily expressed. True, they might have worshipped God as acceptably in their several parish churches as at Quarrelwood or anywhere else, but they had a principle to carry out on which it may be said their denominational existence depended, and they deserve credit for the sternness of attitude, the singleness of purpose, and the devotedness of heart with which that principle was maintained. They seemed to keep con- stantly before them that saying of Scripture, " No man having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." 254 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE Along with this respected body of Christians we would notice a sect of a far different description, a sort of Latter-day Saints, who invaded Nithsdale towards the close of the last century, but who did not succeed in attaching followers, except, to our astonishment, a few from our friends the Cameronians. They are known in history, for they are otherwise extinct, as the Buchanites, whose head was an illiterate and immoral woman, who, by her volubility of speech, hypocrisy, and assumption of divine origin, imposed upon a small knot of persons whose gullibility only equalled in greatness the impious daring of their female founder. Their whole story is. ridiculous in the extreme, in some points painful, and in others important in an ethical view; but as the last of the sect in this country lived till far on in the present century, and was the custodier of all their documents, the information regarding them may be relied on as authentic. From these documents, and a pretty full narrative drawn up by the only survivor, the late Mr. Joseph Train produced a very interesting volume, entitled " The Buchanites," to which we are indebted for much of our knowledge with respect to that peculiar and self- deluded body of religious fanatics. Elspath Simpson, or "Luckie Buchan," as she was familiarly called, was the daughter of a wayside alehouse- keeper in Banffshire, and was born in 1738. Before she was three years old her mother died, and her father having again married, she was put out to the /remit? where, as soon as she could herd a cow, she was assigned the duty. A distant relation, after whom she had been named, gave her a little instruction in reading and sew- ing, but at an early age she gave evidence of vicious REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 255 propensities, which she maintained on principle till the time of her death. At Ayr she inveigled into marriage a working potter, called Robert Buchan, who soon had cause to repent of his indiscretion, as her vows of fidelity were cast to the winds, and, ashamed of her licentious- ness, he removed to Banff, where he afterwards left her, with one son and two daughters, to shift for themselves. She opened a sewing and reading school for girls, and might have succeeded tolerably well had her conduct been in keeping with the office she assumed, which, unfortunately, it was not, and so the children were with- drawn. Strangely inconsistent, she pretended to be very pious, read the Scriptures, attended fellowship meetings, at which she debated on religious subjects, and had frequent discourse about Heaven and the soul with certain female acquaintances, whom she deluded with her hypocrisy and cant. She had been divorced from her husband, and became enamoured of a Relief minister in Irvine, the Rev. Hugh White, whom she heard preach in Glasgow, and whose vanity she flattered in a fulsome letter she sent him, declaring, " I have been more stumbled and grieved by ministers than by all the men in the world or by all the devils in hell; but I have rejoiced many times, by the eye of Faith, to see you before I saw you with the eyes of my body." The result was that, by invitation, she took up her abode in Mr. White's house in Irvine, with Mrs. White's consent, and henceforth had him as her main supporter in the faith she held. By-and-by she became loftier in her pretensions and bolder in her speech. She declared that she was the Third Person in the Godhead that she was the woman 256 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE described in the Revelation as clothed with the sun, and Mr. White was the man-child she had brought forth, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron that she had the power of conferring immortality on whom she breathed and that all her followers in a body would be translated to Heaven without tasting death. She further held that marriage was abolished at the termination of the bestial sacrifices, and that free- love was now the universal command. Maintaining such views and principles, it is astonishing that any one was weak enough to give her a listening ear, but still a number, comparatively small, became her followers. The Presbytery deposed Mr. White from the ministry as being heterodox, and dangerous to the morals of society. The inhabitants of the town became infuriated that such a pest should be allowed to remain amongst them, and insisted upon the immediate expulsion of the whole body, which was carried out under the protection of the magistrates, as otherwise it was almost certain that summary vengeance would be taken upon the delinquents. As it was, when the bounds of the burgh were passed, and the magisterial jurisdiction ceased, the mob with execrations proceeded to maltreat the leaders with the utmost persecution. Mrs. Buchan was thrown to the ground, kicked and tossed, and hair torn from her head. Others were thrown into the ditch, and every indignity and reproach cast upon them. At last, how- ever, they got clear of their tormentors, and directed their steps towards the rising sun, from which quarter they expected the agents of their ascension to come. They made their way by easy stages through Mauchline j Cumnock, Kirkconnell, and Sanquhar, when the journey REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 257 seemed to become too painful for them. Compared with the exodus of the Israelites they were a small body, only forty-six in number men, women, and children but they had higher aims than the land of Canaan, and they cheered one another along. By some unaccount- able instinct, such as influences certain animals, they lighted on the farm of Cample, near Closeburn, where the tenant gave the use of his barn till he should need it for his strain; but offering them a site on which to o o rect a habitation for themselves. This offer they gratefully accepted; and as the barn was soon required, they set about the construction of their own abode, as several artisans were in the body. This is the descrip- tion of the edifice given by one of their number, Andrew Innes : " The house was only one story high, and covered with heather it was thirty-six feet in length, and sixteen feet wide. There was a loft in it, made of poles from a neighbouring plantation, and these were covered with green turf, instead of boards. Something like a bedstead was formed by four boards being nailed together at each end ; these were laid flat on the loft, and filled with straw, as soon as we could procure it. We had now two blankets for each bed one below, and the other as a coverlet. The beds, now more numerous than when in the barn, were required to be placed so close together, that a person could hardly move between them. To the bedroom we ascended by a trap-ladder in the middle of the house. There were only two beds below, in a small closet adjoining the kitchen. Our furniture consisted of two long tables, or deals, sur- rounded by binks or cutty-stools. In the kitchen was A dresser, a meal-chest, and a few stools. In Mr. 258 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE White's closet was a table and a few chairs, intended for strangers." Such was " Buchan Ha'," the name by which it was universally called, even long after the departure of the inmates. But here no more than in Irvine were they allowed to remain in peace, though extremely obliging to all they met, and working to the farmers gratuitously, refusing even thanks. The community were indignant at their presence, and resolved to expel them, vi et armis, some seven months after their arrival, which was done with fell destruction, though no lives were lost. Choosing a moonless night in December, when the ground was deeply covered with snow, about a hundred men ruthlessly attacked the dwelling with bludgeons of various kinds, threatening to set fire to the whole place unless Mrs. Buchan and Mr. White were delivered up to their rage. Seeing these worthies were not forthcoming,, they battered in the doors and the windows, ransacked the whole premises, and when the objects of their search were not to be found they drove out all the inmates to the highway, ordering them to return whence they came. After the infliction of much harsh treatment and rude insult, the assailants, as if satisfied with what they had done, retired, whereupon the persecuted victims wan- dered back to their house, and were no more similarly molested there. Apprehensive of injury, Mrs. Buchan and Mr. White had been previously removed to a place of safety till the riot was over. Getting somewhat settled down after this disastrous attack, their minds were more and more directed by Friend Mother, as Mrs. Buchan preferred being called, to their glorious ascent at the coming of Christ, which REV. JOHN WIGHTMAX, D.D. 259 was declared to be fast approachiDg. Mr. White com- posed doggrel hymns for the exercise of their vocal aspirations, which were constantly sung with the greatest enthusiasm, as being more divine even than the Psalms of David. These were generally chanted to the air of " The Beds of Sweet Roses," then a popular song. As a necessary preparation for the joyful event, it was decreed that the whole body should undergo a fast of forty days, that they might thereby be purified from all earthly pollution. This was actually carried out to a certain extent, when the legal authorities found it necessary to- interfere and put an end to the absurdity. All were reduced to the merest skeletons, except Mrs. Buchan and Mr. White, who, it was known, took their usual food, lest they should become too transparent and shining, so as not to be looked upon as Moses was on coming down from the mount. This was a sad blow to their arrangements, but the arm of the law was stronger than theirs, and they were obliged to submit. At last the anticipated day of ascension was at hand,, and all was activity, and bustle, and joy, in full expec- tancy of the grand translation to the realms above. Layard tells us, in his story of Nineveh, with regard to a sect of devil-worshippers, called the Yezidis, that on the eve of one of their great religious festivals at which he was present, the devotees washed their robes and their bodies in a stream contiguous to the scene of the solemnity, and next morning they all appeared in white raiment, spotless and pure. So also here, on the eve of the expected ascension, there was rubbing and scrub- bing in the Cample Burn, that on the following day the 260 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE " saints" might appear in comely garments for entering the mansions of the blest. Of course these were white, or what was meant for such. It may well be supposed that there was little or no sleep in the Ha' that night, and by daybreak the surrounding eminences were occu- pied as situations of ascension. On a particular height three platforms were erected, as if so many spring- boards, for the more distinguished of the body, the centre one being several feet higher than the others, and allotted to the special use of Mrs. Buchan, so that she might gain a somewhat earlier ascent, leading the way, and the flock following in promiscuous order. The whole fraternity, in full expectation of immediate ascent, had had their heads closely shaved, with the exception of a little tuft on the top by which the angels might grasp them and waft them to glory. All were in readiness by an early hour the platforms were occupied the floor of the Ha' was strewn with watches and jewellery of all descriptions, as no longer of use the high grounds were covered, the neighbourhood having turned out its won- dering spectators and the sound of hymn-singing in all its ecstacy rose and floated far away among the hills, the refrain, as usual, lilted to "The Beds of Sweet Roses :" "Oh! hasten translation, and come resurrection! Oh! hasten the coming of Christ in the air!" By-and-by the sun came forth in magnificent splen- dour, as if conscious of the glorious event just about to happen. All eyes of the " saints" were turned towards the heavens, and every moment it was expected the sky would be darkened by a cloud of angels on their visit REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 261' to the plains of Cample. The sun shone on with in- creasing lustre, the "saints" gazed with increasing expectation, and the crowd watched with increasing wonderment. A slight breeze sprung up, and this was construed as heralding the angelic approach, the cause being the action of celestial wings through the air. "Still they gazed, and still the wonder grew." The breeze not only continued but increased, though not a single angel wafted into sight. All at once a sudden blast swept over the scene ; the platforms, with their occupants, were violently overturned, and an igno- minious fall put an end to the ascension. Shortly afterwards Mrs. Buchan was found quietly smoking her pipe by the fireside, as if no mishap or disappointment had occurred, and alleging for the failure of the ascen- sion that they Avere not all sufficiently ready. This was indeed the downfall of the Buchanites. The dupes came now somewhat to reason, and a great many of them went away. Mrs. Buchan and her remanent family were compelled to leave the locality, as certain rumours, not without foundation, of the fruits of their free-love doctrine roused the indignation of the inhabitants, and we next find them settled on a piece of ground at Auchengibbert, in the parish of Urr. Their day, however, was done; the faith they inspired was exhausted, and it was hopeless to expect any new recruits, or even to retain the adherence of old ones. After imprisonment for debt in Dumfries, and other vicissitudes, Mrs. Buchan died in 1791, and her remains, after being clandestinely buried in Kirkgunzeon church- yard, were secretly disinterred, placed in a box, and preserved as a household relic, every now and again 262 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE receiving an airing, and a covering of hot flannels, which were afterwards used as a sort of charm when they came to be changed. At last the box for it could not be called a coffin with its cherished treasure, was transferred to the earth in the kailyard of Aucben- oibbert, alons? with the remains of her only surviving O I contend, on the other hand, that the disposition I complain of does indeed exist, and that it is very incon- sistent with the notions which I, at least, entertain of the laws and practice of the Established Church of Scot- land. I move, therefore, that this resolution, or one framed on the same principle and in the same spirit, be adopted, as a testimony of our fidelity to our ecclesiastical establishment, and of our aversion to any innovations, which, to say the least of them, are of doubtful issue. Sensibus JICKC imis, res est non parva, reponas." This speech w T as delivered with great energy and emotion, and produced a very solemn effect. The reso- lution was adopted at the time unanimously, but after- wards two of the members dissented and gave in their names at a subsequent meeting, a proceeding entirely irregular. After this mental strain we may now follow Mr. "Wightman's example and seek relief in poetry. We shall take one of his own pieces : REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 271 THE NITH. "O gentle Nith, or by whatever name Thou hast iu former epochs been known, An humble muse, scarce recognized by fame, Would add a single floweret to thy crown. "In vain through dusky ages, long gone by, Thy rise and shifting channels would she trace; Thick clouds and darkness meet her aching eye, And bid her not by rashness seek disgrace. "Yet would she ask, in meek and modest tone, At what dark era rose thy winding stream? Where Corsoncon now rears his towering cone, To meet at early hour the morning beam. ' ' In what direction was thy current led, When first it issued from its ancient urn ? How did it form its parent pebbled bed, And when to other channels did it turn ? ' ' Say, if thy course did always thus extend In lengthened beauty to the Solway sands ? Or, with the tide, did once thy waters blend Where now Dalswinton's princely mansion stands ? "Didst thou not once pursue thy devious way Below where Tinwald's verdant ridges rise, And through Torthorwald and through Mouswald stray To join the firth where Ruthwell's border lies ? "Eastward and westward, say, how wide thy range, Where still thy polished stones are frequent found, In every spreading plain, and, far more strange, On every shelving bank and rising ground. "Can hoary time the wondrous record show Where thy eventful history is contained? Or tell us where thy margin, high or low, In lapse of years has either lost or gained. 272 LIFE AND TIMES OF THE "How rose the hills which guard thy long-drawn vale, And lean their wavy summits 'gainst the sky? What formed the varied surface of thy dale Which now with such delight transports the eye ? ' ' Who built these circles, and who raised these doons Which yet are seen on many a neighbouring height ? How many golden suns and silver moons Have gilt or silvered them with varied light? "Did o'er thy strath once spread the swelling deep Beneath whose surges sea-born monsters played, And in its darksome caverns soundly sleep, When other fish their hunger had allayed ? "Or was it one dark forest, through whose glades In quivered pride the savage archer ran, While furious tigers crouched within its shades, Watching to seize their hated rival man? "Beneath thy spreading oaks have Druids taught, And scholars listened to the British lore? Have trembling captives to the altar brought The standing-stone distained with human gore? "Have Saxon rites in thy domain prevailed? And Woden's race adorned the sun's bright beam, Or moon's pale ray, when his effulgence failed, And seen their gods reflected in thy stream ? "0 Nith! in gentle whispers kindly tell, What motley tribes along thy frighted flood, Once met, and mixed, and fought, and stood or fell, While thy green margin reddened with their blood ? "What fur-clad chiefs concerted war or truce, Smiled in the feast, or in the battle frowned, Ere yet the rivals, Baliol and Bruce, Were in historic page so much renowned? REV. JOHN WIGHTMAN, D.D. 273 " Where did the Roman legions o'er thee pass, When through thy warlike bands they urged their way, Where stood their tents, where lodged they on the grass, Or did they ever in thy precincts stay? * ' The muse, disgusted, turns her crimsoned wing, From savage ire, and deeds of deadly strife Her voice she tunes of peaceful scenes to sing, Of what adorns and blesses human life. 4 'When did thy tribes their dens and caves forsake, Their wicker shelters, and their huts of clay, And with a skilful hand commodious make The handsome cottage, and the mansion gay?