ABERDEENSHIRE MINISTERS

A N D

THE IR PEOPLE

BY T H E

J O N DAVIDS ON D . D . RE V. H ,

I E I ON F ROM H I S L IT E R RY E I B E N G SE L CT S A R M A N S, I B I RA PH ICA L N T I E BY H W T H A OG O C I S SON ,

J . D .

A B ER D EEN

D W Y LI E . L SON M D CCC! CV

OUR M OTHE R

W h o u viv r H usband l th an ar i s r ed he ess a ye , th s volume is dedicated by her sons and daughters with love .

N T N T C O E S .

Introduction

The Presbytery of Garioch at the Disruption

Old M inisters

Early Dissent The Laird

The Elder

The Kirk town and its Inhabitants

The Farm Town

The Farmer, The M iller, and The Bailie

Plain M anners and Plain Speech

M iscellaneous A necdotes

D INTRO UCTION.

’ T H E story of a parish minister s life is and should be rarely told in N o i s print . profession more likely to be devoid o f incident than the ministry o f a country I n r o f parish . its quiet outine V preaching , teaching, isiting the i f n s ck , comforting the a flicted , a ma l may live a rich , full life , but se dom furnishes a su bj ect ' fo r the bio grapher . I shall leave it to others to judge W hether the late minister of I nverurie and historian o f the Garioch was a proper exception to the rule thus laid down . This brief memoir o f my father has been pre pared for the sake of friends whose B 2 O O INTR DUCTI N . sorrow at his loss testified to the affection and esteem in Which they held him , and was earnest of a pretty W ide welcome fo r such a memento as is here offered o f a good and wise man , a faithful pastor and a learned antiquary . J ohn D avidson was the son o f a

Oldm ach a r farmer in the parish of , whose early and violent death was to the son but a faint , though

f . pain ul , memory The stock from which he came was the fish er - folk who are believed to have descended upon the north - east coast of Scot land from N orway o r N orthern

Europe . H is mother survived for some years his entrance into the ministry . H e was born the year after Waterloo . An uncle living in Aberdeen took the widow and son into his house , and the mother O C O INTR DU TI N . 3

worked hard for many years , so that her boy might have the best schooling available . J ames Melvin became rector of the Grammar S 1 8 2 6 chool in , and from him , in old S ch oolhill the building in the , L the boy learned his atin , and derived that impress of character which was common to most of ’ Melvin s pupils . I f he had been accustomed to use the quasi

o f - psychological cant to day , he would have said that the men who “ ” formed him were James Melvin and John Cruickshank , Professor of

Mathematics in Marischal College, whose valued friendship he enjoyed so long as their lives ran together . Mathematics was his forte at the

U - h e niversity , and graduated with honours in that subject , and after ’ S wards taught it in Gray s chool . 4 INTRODUCTION .

H is period Of study at the D ivinity H all fell among the “ Ten Years “ O f the Conflict . S tirring as the times were, they developed in the student little of the spirit of com b ative ne ss moderate in disposition , hating his life long what he was wont ‘ ” dis e ace d to call f p , he adhere to o the M derate party in the Church . What it cost a young man to take that line we o f a younger generation can conceive only feebly . My father never spoke Of it but to recall the pain he suffered at being cut by his best friend among the clergy o f

Aberdeen . B ut all wounds were healed by the cordiality Of his reception by the members O f the r P esbytery of Garioch , which he entered in 1 844 as assistant and L ssel r o R . R e successo t the ev obert , minister of I nverurie . O O INTR DUCTI N . 5

I t i s the best praise Of his long ministry Of forty - eight years that a detailed history Of it would be I uninteresting . take it that he sought to make no mark upon his time save the stamp that the H is doing Of duty leaves . life work is written o n the characters Of the people whom he influenced . This sketch must perforce be con fined to a brief account Of what w as characteristic in his manner and tw o methods . He preached sermons every Sunday—discourses whose Moderatism was warmed by a deep personal faith in the Fatherhood

Of God and the Love Of the S on . B Ut it was in his prayers that his simple , unaffected piety was the more closely brought home to the b r r s ea e . The language wa choice and terse probably none who ever 6 T O CT O IN R DU I N . listened to him will ever forget certain of his intercessory phrases , or the deep emotion with which his communion addresses were imbued . I n his prime my father moved much about among his people . For many years he took an annual census Of the parish , covering the o n whole distance foot . He thus kept himself in touch with outlying parishioners , and at the same time Obtained an interesting and valuable record Of the changes that came

- l - over his semi rura , sem i burghal charge . H is knowledge Of the parish , its families and its con

figuration and divisions , became extraordinarily exact and full . S eeking early in his ministry for some additional outlet to his

in ade activity , he one excursion d into the philosophical fiel , and INTRODUCTION . 7 published a solid and well - reasoned “ B ! book , entitled , elief What is it ? ” But taste and inclination immediately led him into what was for him the true and proper sphere

Of literary labour . H e was a born r antiquary, having a natural c aving i to discover the orig ns of things . And as fortune had set him in a district peculiarly rich in memories

O f the past , and given him the spiritual oversight Of a Royal burgh I so ancient as nverurie , it was almost a thing O f course that he should write I nverurie and the E Of arldom the Garioch , a monu mental local history which , as Mr . L S O f eslie tephen said it, erred , if o n l at all , the lines Of the schoo Of “ infinitesimal research . I t was the product Of unwearied and protracted labour . Only by aid of the habit of 8 INTRODUCTION . constant occupation could it have f been written at all . My ather was rarely idle . H e stood to work , and so saved himself from the writer ’ s no t stoop . I do know whether the choice Of that attitude had anything to d O W lth the ease with which he ‘ o n oi c uld drop his writi g at any p nt , n n l a d resume it when ext at eisure . Most o f I nverurie and the E arldom Of the Garioch was written at a breast - high desk in a little study too barely furnished even to be dignified with the n ame Of library and in the picture Of my father which memory most Often recalls o t his family, he is standing there , o between window and do r, compos n his r i g sermons and lectures , o digesti ng with infinite patience the mass o f materials which the research Of years had accumulated for his I NTRODUCTION . 9

historical work . H e wrote rapidly n n ot in a bad hand , a d in a plain , if n n elegant, style . H is i terest i the subject did not lapse with the f publication o his book . H e pur i o a sued , w th nly little less diligence , his inquiri e s into the past Of the I i parish Of nverur e , and constructed what was practically a cadastral survey Of probably unexampled minuteness . B ut age and infirmity fell upon him before he was able to put these later labours into shape ; it has been deemed sufficient to present to the public at present only the selection , which follows , from

S S . the lighter M . he left behind The quantity Of these alone tells of great industry ; and I am fain to believe that the reader Of these

' oézter scr ip ta will endorse my interested judgment Of their truth . 1 0 T O CT O IN R DU I N .

The late minister Of I nverurie was a man Of uncommon shrewd ness and knowledge Of the world . r H e had travelled much in his p ime , and broadened his mind by contact N with men Of other countries . ot his o wn people alone resorted to him f r u o counsel . H e was the val ed Of i a adviser h s clerical colle gues , and also Of the best Of the Garioch

Iairds Of the last generation . I n this respect the mantle O f his father i n - D . B B law, r isset Of ourtie , fell

. D . upon him H e took up , too , r ’ B isset s 76 16 O f constitutional Churchman in Presbytery and S ynod , and was a recognised and respected leader in both Courts . B ut he had only a modest share in public life at any time , the only large matter in which he was ever concerned outside the Church being

I 2 T O CT O IN R DU I N . relations with the numerous dissent ing ministers who passed across the ecclesiastical stage in I nverurie during his long pastorate were friendly, hardly ever intimate ; a natural shrinking from the parade O f emotion and a rooted distrust Of combination as a means to the improvement Of the public morals kept him aloof from most modern

movements . I n the loc al government Of the burgh and parish , he took an active o f part . H e was chairman the Parochial B oard from 1 8 74 till death ; first chairman Of the S chool B oard and president Of the S avings S 1 86 was B ank . O long ago as 9 he made an honorary burgess Of the burgh , the Town Council thus r marking their respect fo him , and their appreciation of the services he INTRODUCTION . 1 3 rendered in connection with the delineation o f the burgh boundaries on the Ordnance Survey maps ; and twenty years later he was presented with his portrait , which now hangs I in the Council Chamber of nverurie , Though he entered the Masonic order comparatively late in life , he rose in it and in the esteem Of the l ‘ ocal brotherhood , who also preserve ’ his portrait in St . Anthony s Lodge . H e was for many years chaplain O f h V B t . . the 4 Gordon H ighlanders , and took a lively interest in volum teering . I refrain purposely from e nlarg n ing upon his public co duct , and from speaking at all O f the manner in which he ordered his home life ; this memorial may be taken as a ’ small tribute Of his family s love and honour ; of his worth as a man O C O I 4 INTR DU TI N . there can be no better monument than the abiding memory o f his fl Of ock and large circle friends . o n 8 th H e died the Of J anuary , 1 8 2 oth his 9 , in his 7 year, robust frame worn away by a painful disease . OLD ABERDEENSHIRE MI I TER N S S.

H A P T C E R I .

THE PRESBYTERY OF GARIOCH A T THE DISR PTION U .

T H E central figure in the memory f R o my early ministry is the ev . R L essel O f obert , minister the parish I n 1 1 of verurie from 7 99 to 8 5 3 . H e had passed his 8 oth year when 1 8 I in 44 was appointed , first r p eaching assistant , and six months later assistant and successor to him . During the ten remaining years O f his life Ou r relations were those Of “ ae father and son . He was an ” r - fauld man , wa m hearted and 1 6 OLD ABERDEENSHIRE MINISTERS .

- I hospitable to a degree . like to think o f him as a type Of the Old M oderate—the diligent teacher and r Of his comforte people , and their wise counsellor in worldly affairs . ’ L essel s r Mr . caree was unquestion ably Characteristic of the clerical generation which planted o ne foot in the E ighteenth Century and stepped over into the N ineteenth . so n o f The a small crofter , he

- was brought up by a step sister, the wife Of the tacksman o f a ferry and croft in the parish Of I nverurie . He entered the world Of learning by the “ ’ ” Of wifie s gate a school , at that time a recognised preparatory n institutio , conducted by a decayed r l spinster o so itary widow , who led the infant mind upwards from the alphabet to reading ” in the “ Testament and “ B ible (Old F OC I PRESBYTERY O GARI H . 7

Testament) . The school furniture so was makeshift , and was the

. S o n o l teaching eated sto ls , b ocks i of wood , the ch ldren picked a halting way through the pages Of

B . I the Holy ook n mature years , r L essel was n M . a adept at the “ ” c his H is Cate . proficiency was dearly won . At the parish school he literally bit his way through the S r horte Catechism , as he relieved the agony Of memorising by gnaw ing his books . I t was told Of him “ ” that he chawed seven pair . o Th ugh a puny lad , devoted by r r his gua dians to lea ning , chiefly becau se he did n ot seem physically fit for the hereditary calling Of tilling the ground , he had energy enough , as the time for entering the U ni to versity approached , walk a number Of miles daily to the school 1 8 O H M T LD ABERDEENS IRE INIS ERS .

o of a neighbouring parish , wh se

c o ~ youthful master , afterwards his r presbyter , was noted fo his proficiency in Latin . H e gained a small bursary at King ’ s College U O A and niversity, ld berdeen , f and graduated M . A . there a ter ’ the customary four years course , through which he was conducted , Of as was the practice the time , by a Single Regent ; during the long vacations he worked on his relative ’ s small holding . Like most poor aspirants to the ministry of that and many a su c L l ceedi n r. e sse o g day , M had t serve an apprenticeship as dominie o r parochial schoolmaster . The generous regulations Of the General Assem bly permitted a dominie to complete his theological curric ulum by six annual attendances Of a week

2 OLD A H M T 0 BERDEENS IRE INIS ERS .

- who rapidly ran up dry stone walls , o topped them with fail or div t , and capped the whole with open rafters overlaid with thatch . The school O f I nverurie was by n o means an

u example to the co ntry round . The burgh . records Show that two years L ss l before M r. e e came to it as dominie a tree , to be cut into seats o o f r the sch lars , was bought for two 2 d T O S . shillings cots ( . sterling) l celebrate his entry , three shil ings was expended on skelfing to the o f school highland wood , and eightpence o n a new sneck to the ” schoolhouse door and putten it on . “ ” A chawmer Off small , boarded from the main building , was the ’ schoolmaster s dwelling . The young dominie pleased his patrons . The Town Council o ne day solemnly minuted their 2 1 PRESBYTERY OF GARIOCH .

unanimous Opinion ‘ to visit l n the public schoo , a d appoint A T h esau rer lexander Forbes , , to expend to the extent o f three shillings to provide paper and pens for the encouragemen t Of the ” best scholars . They made their o o n benev lent visit the morrow, and after it spent in J ohn ’ S angster s house on visiting the ’ public and very flou ri shi ng school d L ss l S . A 6 . Of . e e Mr , 7 ll the municipal business O f I nverurie was ’ conducted in John S angste r s or f some other tavern . I n the ollow ing year the Presbytery condemned the school , and a new one was Of built stone and mortar, with a ” ch awmer plastered o n the walls and roof, the entire estimate 1 to I 1 65 . d . amounting A , 9 3 sterling . The fame Of the “ flourishing ” 2 2 OLD A H M T BERDEENS IRE INIS ERS .

school spread , and soon the parish Of Grange lured the I nve ru rie dominie away with the tempting bait o f a o f salary twelve bolls Of meal , which in collection swelled to sixteen by reason o f the popularity Of the young teacher, who ingratiated himself with the tenants through not being too proud to solicit every o n e L personally for his quota . iving in this quiet kirktown , he finished his divinity course and took licence . Another step up the ladder O f promotion followed quickly . The minister Of I nverurie asked the new - made probationer to become his preaching assistant , and to that end got him elected to the more convenient school o f Chapel

o f . Garioch This was , to o f use a favourite phrase Mr . ’ “ Lessel s r , eal encouragement F 2 PRESBYTERY O GARIOCH . 3

o r tw o to the peer lad . I n a year , I nverurie school was once more

L ssel vacant ; Mr . e was heartily welcomed back to his Old place , and settled down as dominie and help ender ” in the parish where he was to end his days . The schoolmaster probationer was regarded by the parishioners as within the same social pale as the minister, even when he had not ,

L ss l l s i . e e e cc e like Mr , a regular astical function to perform in point Of education he was Of course the ’ A minister s peer . local riddle exactly expresses the parity of their status

m m M The inister and the do inie and r. A ndrew an L g , W ent into the arden where three ears han g p g, k Ever one too one and still two han . y , g

’ The schoolmaster s i ncome was

mi se rabl smal Often y l ; when Mr . 2 OLD A HI E MI I T 4 BERDEENS R N S ERS .

L essel w as earning five bolls of 2 1 5 S o n his meal and £ 4 . c ts i r r i n n fi st school , anothe dom ie i the Presbytery o f Garioch w as still worse Off at four bolls and eleven S was pounds cots , while a third comparatively comfortable in the enjoyment of a stipend of £ 1 0 n his sterli g . I n capacity Of preach i n n I r r g assista t at nve urie, M . L essel read the S criptures and catechised in the church for an hour i before the time Of serv ce, and the o i i practice sto d h m n good stead , fo r all his life- long he w as a marvellously fine and sympathetic

- S . i cripture reader H s prayers , not able always for felicitous quotation B o Of iblical phrases , were the pr duct Of early study Of the best examples that he had access to . The meeting o f the cen 2 PRESBYTERY OF GARIOCH . 5 tu ries was the period Of his advancement from school to kirk . Patronage was in this instance at anyrate exercised fairly and honourably both to patron and E r n . p ese tee The arl of Kintore , “ ” one Of whose livi ngs I nverurie

w as i n . , res ded i the next parish H e had Observed the schoolmaster ’ assistant s faithful fulfilment o f his n Of duty , a d without the pressure —f r influence of any kind o M r. — L essel commanded none gave him the presentation to the vacant r I on cha ge . t was d e with admirable tact The E arl knew that he was to be approached by the parishioners on l Of beha f the popular dominie . But he judged that the new ’ minister s independence would be weakened were any of his flock able to boast Of having helped him 2 6 O H M T LD ABERDEENS IRE INIS ERS .

S O to his position . he summoned “ “ the peer lad to the House , and announced his promotion and l . Le ss e l t Mr , as he eft , ac ually met the parish deputation going o n its n be evolent but futile errand . When I joined the Presbytery O f Garioch in 1 844 as assistant and

L e ssel successor to Mr . , he was a hale Old man . Few and short ail ments interrupted the even tenor f o his remaining years . I n his retirement the chief event Of the secular week was the arrival o n ’ Wednesday Of the A éem em M i r n a! i o ! , wh ch he read aloud fr m title to printer ’ s name in a loud n monotone , asalised by the tight grip Of a large pair Of nose - nippers worn low . H is evenings were occasionally enlivened by a rubber Of whist ; a cloud that rested upon

2 8 I OLD ABERDEENSH RE MINISTE RS . o f oatcake . Death came at the age 6 on Of 9 , but not by natural dissoluti . He died Of an internal inj u ry caused by a fall .

MR . F B S OF M NYM SK OR E O U .

The second Oldest minister Of the Presbytery o f Garioch in 1 844

. R was Mr obert Forbes , who had 1 1 been settled in 8 4 . H e lived till 1 8 5 3 , a widower, helped by two unmarried daughters , both past the O f n days youth but not Of merrime t , to discharge a choice hospitality . The Manse Of Monymusk w as noted for the elegance Of its Old world appointments ; a modern collector would have envied much O f n its genuine antique fur iture , fine

n Of . A upholstery , a d articles vertu so n Al r , exander, who was teache of PRESBYTERY OF GARIOCH . 2 9

’ Lor n l Bl ai rd aff d Culle s schoo at , resided in the manse for some years 8 before 1 44 . H e afterwards took i n o C l ce ce , and went t a harge in U r pper Canada, whe e he was joined ’ by his sisters at their father s demise .

H Y Y . D R . CU S N OF RA NE

The third in seniority among the

h n r . Cu s Presbyters was M y, one o f the most prominent members Of S o the Provincial yn d , as well as Of Of the Presbytery . H e was clerk both Courts and virtual controller o f the business done , being able as a rule so to gau ge the judgment Of either Presbytery o r S ynod as to r r d aw up his minutes befo ehand . Thrown u pon his own resources at r l a ve y ear y age , he came to the 0 OLD H M T 3 ABERDEENS IRE INIS ERS . i ncumbency Of Rayne in 1 8 1 9 with experience gained first as scho ol Of master the same parish , and then as minister, for a few years , Of

. u Strachan on Deeside Mr . C sh ny O f was impressive presence , very tall and erect . H is dress preserved the clerical fashion Of the generation Of clergymen u pon whom he had to model his manner . I t was a last modi fi catio n Of the dignified court dress which the moderator Of Assembly

- still wears . The knee breeches

were retained by, some elderly men ,

Lessel . Of whom Mr . was one The n coat was ample in skirt, a d was only less distinctive than the white f O . N o neckcloth soft , limp fold beard fell over it . Clean chin and i lip , and the minimum Of wh skers

’ were de r zg ueu r in those days . A bearded student appearing for 1 PRESBYTERY OF GARIOCH . 3 licence before the Presbytery Of f B D . S O rechin was told by r mith , n Montrose , to go home a d shave ; and a story used to be told Of an Old Morayshire minister who paused in a speech he was making in the Presbytery and interjected

Moderator, my thoughts have been disturbed in pursuing the line of Observat ion I intended by looking at that thing upon Tam S teven ’ s chin — Tam being a young ’ s o n colleague , a laird s , who sported “ ” - the chin tuft call an imperial .

ush n a Mr . C y w s very loyal to his duties and to the policy he supported . There was something Of awe in the respect paid him in his parish , but the regard in which l he was held was deep and asting . H e was chokefull Of clerical anecdote and an inveterate punster . 2 OLD HI MI T 3 ABERDEENS RE NIS ERS .

D . D l n He was made a . ate i life , and gave up pulpi t work only a r i short time befo e h s death , which

o 1 8 . ccurred in July, 74

W MR . S N OF PR E M Y IL O N A .

n Mr . J ohn Wilson , mi ister Of Premn a f 1 8 2 y rom 4 , survived his i D Cush n sen or , r . y, several years . H e lived for more than half a century in the most Old - world and i decayed manse n the Presbytery, for i n ot o wh ch the heritors , glad t be r to l p essed rebui d , made the easily content incumbent an annual allow ance . H e was trained in farming, and began to study late in youth on the recommendation Of his father’ s

r of r . lai d , the patron several pa ishes A r r faithful parish ministe , he p e r se ved his early liking , and dwelt on n l “ am g his ow peop e , where PRESBYTERY OF GARIOCH . 3 3

’ ” n 0 B e nachie Gadie ri s at the back , able to do more than hold his own with his parishioners in their own f u calling . The tide O agricult ral prosperity rose I n the middle Of his

n n . incumbency , a d rui ed him H e improved o u t Of the waste a great Of n n stretch hill grou d , a d farmed it along with land adjoining his glebe . He passed the whole to his so n without bu rde n mg the transfer o wn n with his outlay, and whe the so n di ed the land passed with the rest into the hands Of the pro ri eto r n p , who took o cognisance Of the family arrangement .

D R . B SS OF B I ET OU RTIE . D B B o r . isset Of urtie (settled 1 8 2 6) was nearly contemporary with

r. o r M Wils n , but p edeceased him 1 8 2 in 7 by several years . H e was D OLD 3 4 ABERDEENSHIRE MINISTERS . the most energetic member Of the

Presbytery . When he came to B 0 ourtie , at the age of 3 , he had already lived an average life Of activity , in work and responsible

o d n U . cares , as schoolmaster f y H is father had raised in that quiet village a widely - known private academy , and , dying suddenly , left both the school and the charge s on Of a big family to his second , n o n J ames , who was the nly seventee f years old . The future minister O B ourtie and Moderator Of Assembly

“ was , however, at that early age , a o f grown man in knowledge life . n S H e had graduated , a d had ince acted as private tutor to that young Fraser Of Strichen who afterwards made good hi s claim to the peerage of L ovat , attainted in the person Of the notorious S imon . H e received

6 O A H M I T 3 LD BERDEENS IRE IN S ERS .

l l io H is who e life be ied the imputat n , as his brethren knew, who were o drawn t him and trusted him , and as many an Aberdonian abroad could l tell , to whom he was ab e , through o ne o Old U d n or ther of his y pupils , to give a helping hand in life . Like

. D . B Mr Wilson , r isset reclaimed a considerable acreage in the vicinity Of his glebe during the second half Of his incumbency ; he sank some money in the enterprise , but , as he took a practical part in the work , he was repaid in health .

V MR. BU RNETT OF DA I OT .

B u Mr . Thomas rnett , inducted n Of D 1 8 2 as mi ister aviot in 9 , is inseparably associated in the mind D rs Cu sh n of the writer w ith . y and B isset ; the trio al ways acted together , and were as brethren . F PRESBYTERY O GARIOCH . 3 7

They were all marked by individu ality o f character . Mr . Burnett was the impersonation of personal and professional orderliness , which in him had attained to something akin to A mechanical perfection . well o in f rmed man , he scarcely varied , public appearance o r in habit of o ’ body, from y uth to age, save that his hair whitened to snowy brilliance . H is m anner in ministerial services was as unchanging as his mode Of

. expression H e , was a nervous so man , but repressed the weakness that it was imperceptible save in the uniformity that characterised his discharge of every public duty . The minister Of Daviot was u n i formly esteemed the most trust f H is worthy O men . parishioners “ were wont to s ay Our minister is a gentleman in the pulpit and out 8 3 OLD ABERDEENSHIRE MINISTERS .

f ” o . the pulpit H e had , during his S active years , gained O much Of the o f o n regard his flock that , three successive occasions , they unani mo u sly joined in petitioning the patron to present, as assistant and successor, the person he had selected . A larger number of Episcopalians dwelt in D aviot than in any other parish Of the Presbytery a re mai n der from the time when a A popular minister, Mr lexander L unan , was deposed for taking part in the J acobite Rebellion O f 1 7 1 5 ; but these parishioners were as friendly to Mr . B urnett as their

. I Presbyterian neighbours t was , however , in his parish that reverence for the sacramental fast - days fixed by the Church was first disregarded by Episcopalian farmers . The Manse Of Daviot is less PRESBYTERY OF GARIOCH . 3 9 changed than most in external appearance since his day . He ornamented the ground with strictly Of formal plantations . Part it had long grown to form a covered walk , commanding the pleasant prospect Of the braes Of S aph och and the

M u ni V o e alley . The finest Of the trees still remain .

MR . PETER OF LESLIE . L The parish of eslie had been , i 1 8 0 e s nce 3 , und r the pastoral f O . charge Mr . James Peter H e was obliged to supplement a small stipend by farming , which he did successfully in a small holding in the fertile valley Of the Gadie . H e o f was a bit a politician , Of the same colour as the neighbouring Whig

Iairds . H is style Of conversation was somewhat didactic , and , in those OLD I I I 40 ABERDEENSH RE M N STERS .

of ol n ro days keen p itical co t versy, he occasionally contributed to the newspapers . An eminently social n w as i or ma , it said of h m that bef e he was married he was never at o n i o l h me , a d after marr age he c u d not be got to leave home . I n was l figure he well ba anced , of n as moderate height, a d erect a soldier ; his seat on horseback was fi rmest the in the neighbourhood . H e died suddenly o n a S unday o nin 2 nd 1 8 0 m r g , May , 7 , aged

MR M DD N OF U S M ND . . I LETO C L AL O

d n . i n i o Mr M d leto , the nnoce t her ” O f the rabblement s o graphically “ n o n was described i J hn y Gibb,

n - i a elderly , gentle look ng man , n n slightly lame , and be t, whe he to on n 1 8 2 came Culsalm d , i 4 , as assistant and successor to Mr . 1 PRESBYTE RY OF GARIOCH . 4

n Elli n n Ferdina d s, a d , unwitti gly, set the torch to the local fire of u N O D isr ption . man could have been less deserving o f the rough was reception he got . H e a i l bright, soc a member of Presbytery, having had ! the advantage of as sociati ng with many characteristic old ministers during a prolonged ” probation . He fell heir, by a ’ brother s death , to a farm , which gave him a sort O f title among his “ ” T itubo utie was familiars . , the es o full d ignati n , but it was cut down to “ Titus by his witty o l clerical c lleagues , who a ready n umbered among them a I . Peter

I I . r . l n and . Peter M Midd eto lived 1 8 r i i till 5 3 , su v v ng his principal a few months . K K T H MR . H OF E I H A LL EIT .

. i M r J ohn Ke th , who succeeded 2 O LD H M T 4 ABERDEENS IRE INIS ERS .

- r D S his widely known fathe , r . kene “ o f - i n Keith , was one the non trusion mi no r1ty of the Presbytery o Of Garioch , but did n t secede, and , o n ff that account, su ered no little Obloquy from the outgoing m 1n 1sters in Aberdeenshire . H e did not attend many meetings Of the church r 1 8 f his court afte 43 , but looked a ter o w n l parish faithfu ly, Though , like his father, exceedingly benevolent , s he was not o Often imposed upon . H e effected a marked improvement in the “ drouth Of his flock by a ’ simple expedient . H is father s habits Of somewhat inconsiderate hospitality included the providing

Of a pailful of small - beer in the manse kitchen on S undays fo r the refreshment Of parishioners tired with a long walk to church . Mr . O f r John substituted a pail wate ,

O A H M T 44 LD BERDEENS IRE INIS ERS . the pretty manse whose embellish ment has been part of his life work of o the best beloved pastors , the m st o f faithful friends .

T - G NG M N S S OU OI I I TER .

M R GA R I OCH OF MELD R U M . .

I M P F KI T OR E . M R . S SON O N

M R H E R Y S I M F H A PEL . . N SON O C

R A VI D I M F E . M . D S SON O OYN

was M r . Garioch Of Meldrum D fifty at the isruption , and had mi n ist r n 1 8 1 been a e si ce 7 . H e was a man Of genial and refined m i Of sy path es , and some literary o A o f p lish . small volume blank verse was printed by him under the title Of “ The Pleasures of ” Association . H aving inherited some property from his father,

f G ario chshead D . O r Garioch , , in F R O PRESBYTERY O GA I CH . 45

r Fo gue , he was able to exercise a specially generous hospitality . The mercantile class in the village Of Old Meldrum for the most part adhered to him when he “ went ou t . Up till a few years before 1 843 he had been o n e Of the stoutest supporters of co nst1tu ti o n a1 policy in the local Presbytery and the only reason he gave for his w i fe- a ce f , when challenged in the “ S no I w as d y d , was Whereas blin , now I see . M r . Garioch never became a bitter Opponent o f the

Mother Church . H e built a large o S Of O h use in the quare ld Meldrum , which he ultI mately bequeathed as a manse for his successors in Office . H i s personal appearance and air suggested the laird rather than the minister . S i o Of o M r . mps n Kint re was a 6 O H MI T 4 LD ABERDEENS IRE NIS ERS . familiar friend in the manse Of I r D i s nve urie , which , after the o ruption , he avoided sensitively t the day Of his death . H is thoughtful face and nervous manner suggested “ ” self- consciousness ; a personal note was an umbrella always carried under “ ’ his arm , reversed , like a soldier s

u rifle at a military f neral . H e studied late in youth in his native town of B fo r rechin , then celebrated classical

i r . teaching , and was a super or schola For some time before being pre

- sented to Kintore, he taught the H ebrew Class in Marischal College D for the famous r . Kidd , then Of professor . H e married a niece the genial Professor Of Greek in D B the same college , r . rown , who was Of the church party that o “ N developed int the ons , and , as he himself was not by nature a F PRESBYTERY O GARIOCH . 4 7

Of dissenter in any sense the word , it was generally believed that his matrimonial relations in some degree at least influenced the decision he ’

. S took in 43 . Mr impson gave up

. the paper in preaching to his new r congregation , but neve acquired

fluency . Wags took to counting how many gaps in his extempore discourse he filled up with the

phrase My Christian friends . 1 8 0 th He died in 7 , in his 79 year,

thirty - six years after he came to

Kintore as parish minister .

. S Mr H enry imson Of Chapel , D and his younger brother, avid , minister Of Oyne for two o r three r f r 1 8 yea s be o e the secession Of 43 , were the only other out - going ministers in the Presbytery Of

. S o Garioch ons Of a c untry manse, they owed to their upbringing an 8 O A HI MI T 4 LD BERDEENS RE NIS ERS . exceptionally easy manner in their ll intercourse with a classes . Henry o r in especial , wh had been ministe Of 1 8 1 Chapel from 7 , was a favourite guest in all the manses Of the r o as n b otherho d , as well i the i w n homes of his par shioners . O i g his to the confidence which frank , o n ir h mely ways i sp ed , he was asked to draw up the wills o f most of the i n heads Of households n Chapel , a d there were some who ascribed the r his o l i la geness Of f l ow ng , when he ” en ou t 1n l w t , part at east to the fact that he had all the last testa n i n me ts Of the par sh i his custody , though personal intimacy was the real bond between him and those he drew after him . S eparation from “ ” the church , from the Moderate o his remnant Of his fl ck , and from

Old l o u i c erical ass ciates , ca sed h m PRESBYTERY OF GARIOCH . 49 deep pain ; he never revisited o n e of the manses where he had once been sure Of the warmest Of l A we comes . church was built for o f H arlaw him on the estate , the proprietor Of which was the only

Free Church heritor in the parish . A fter his death , which occurred in 1 849 (when he was only it was pulled down and re - erected at b fo r Pitcaple . H e uilt a house himself o n the height above his to church , which his heirs sold the the present proprietor, Mr . Collie .

. D S on O Mr avid ims , Of yne , a bachelor , survived his brother a

r . 1 8 1 number Of yea s H e died in 7 , aged 70 . C H A P T E R I I .

OLD MINISTERS .

I ND I VI D U A L I T v Of character was the distinguishing mark Of the race Of ministers that flourished at the end Of last century o r crossed over into this . Literary study was more common among them than it could D n be after the isruption , whe the keen competitive struggle for exist ence robbed most pastors of the

” ’ requisite leisure . Blair s S ermons are the type Of what w as called

Moderate preaching . The term Evangelical was appropri ated to the doctrinal kind Of pulpit exercise , which came in with a school of clergy whose habits were as much Of an innovation in rural life as

2 OLD A H M T S 5 BERDEENS IRE INIS ER . tem eramen t o f o p the individual past r . The Old gentlemen could command something Of learned leisure , and no few Of them used it profitably . Their own a l umn i recruited the staffs Of the Aberdeen Colleges for the most part , and the church generally supplied the demand . B Principal Campbell , eattie of the R Minstrel , and eid , the meta physician , were a respectable con tribu tio n to higher education from one district O f S cotland . Last century numerous Iairds Of d o n small property live their estates , and formed a society which ministers might cultivate if they chose . B rethren Of a social turn Often spent half the week in visits to near or distant mansion - houses and A manses . parishioner approaching o f the house a gadabout minister, to “ ” OLD MINISTERS . 5 3

n consult him o parochial business , was told by a friend whom he passed o n the way , to make haste , as ’ the minister gae d doon th e road to the manse on ’ s horse an ’ Oor ’ l ago . H e ll be hame for a c ean ’ ” sark and awa again . A n o t uncommon type was the recluse bachelor - pastor who had late in life climbed to the social pl atform

Of the manse from the worst - paid Of S O O f cottish professions . ne these solitaries , feeling it to be his duty, Of at a time great scarcity, to give his people counsel in economy , couched his advice in ‘ the following “ ! Y pithy oracle e ken , sirs , wark men and wark nowt maun hae meat , but for ony sake haud in ’ w ’ ” upo the omen an the eel kye . ’ The Old minister was his people s guide in most Of the affairs Of LD A HI M T 54 O BERDEENS RE INIS ERS .

common life . H e gave them legal n n advice , a d was rarely fou d want ing when a leader of the common

Of . action the people was called for . B enjie Mercer, as he was usually m Of styled , inister Kildrummy (d . n 1 8 1 5 ma t. was o e Of many pastors who organised their parish i o ners when the first volunteer movement was got up to meet the threatened invasion Of N apoleon . “ L “ I ’ wi ’ ods , he said , ll gae ye ’ d . O I I mysel , fan was a laddie , was a terrible c raite r for

“ e o n e Of o n Mr . Merc r was those whose habits a hard struggle in straitened circumstances had left its t o mark . When he was promoted

Kildrummy from two out - lying parishes , whose joint stipend was co n ratu utterly insufficient , he was g lated by a friend . H e acknowledged I ) OLD MINISTERS . 55

r n the imp ovement i his position , but I added Fan was at Forbes , and

!

I - n was young, was a clean ski ned , ’ - bl eedi t w i clear lad , gweed teeth ’ ’ an little to them to eat ; noo I ll I n hae eneuch to eat , but hae a the ” teeth . One day a yo ung gentleman from London called at the Manse Of r Kild ummy , giving his name as di . d Mr B rown . The minister not recognise him at first as belonging w to any family that he kne , but , after some talk , he found his man . “ ” “ O ! I s ee h said he , far ye are ’ ’ n oo ; ye re J ee ms B roo n ie s s o n at ’ ” r the Brig O S cu tt y. Leaving the room on hospitable thoughts i n d n an . tent , he did ot shut the door, Mr B rown heard him call downstairs to i B B h s servant awtie , awtie , is ’ ? there o n y flesh mett i the house 6 O A H M T 5 LD BERDEENS IRE INIS ERS .

’ There s a lad here fae Lu n n i n ; he oor mebbe canna ett milkness mett . ’ ’ ’ H e ca s hi msel B roon I kent s ’ B m ” father fine , they ca d him roo ie . The housekeeper replying that she had a fowl ready for cooking, he i o o bade her put t n , and returned t

r . r . B his visito M rown , however, o being engaged t dine elsewhere , B excused himself, and enjie , seeing n it was useless to press him , retur ed

o - t the stair head , and called down “ Y n eedn a n c ooki e e pit o the , ” B awtie .

‘ B rown o f The Mr . the story was himself a person Of some i n dividu A Old B ro o n ie ality . brother of had pushed his fortune in London to so good purpose that he became a partner in the bookselling firm Of

L O B CO . ees , rme , rown , He summoned his nephew to the capital “ OLD MINISTERS . 5 7 and installed him in his counting house , but the lad was bent upon ’ ” wa i n o i OO it gg his p w n a p p , and wilfully declined to show any A capacity for business . pproach ing the desk at which his nephew was o n e day summing up a column

Of figures , the uncle heard him “ ’ counting aloud thus ! Five an ’ ’ ’ s ax s e ven s ane s , sax an y therteen ’ tick an carry three . Three an ’ ’ ’ n twa s five , five an ine s fourteen ; ’ f ” tick an carry ower . The great ’ bookseller s wrath exploded , and to the heart’ s desire Of the youth he exclaimed Tick and carry

. Y four, you blockhead ou shall o wn r tick back to your count y , which young B rown accordingly did . He became in time a parish minister in his native district . The docking of his paternal cognomen 8 O A HI M T 5 LD BERDEENS RE INIS ERS . was once cast in his teeth more

r . r unpleasantly than by M Me cer .

I D . S O f n company with r mith , t Keig (d . 1 8 3 3 w a f. he ventured to imitate the familiarity Of some Of ’

D r. s ri an d the oldest f ends , called “ i h him Sm thie . T e retort was “

. D r . B . sharp Mr rown , said S “ I r mith , am quite awa e that you have ceased to make use o f the last syllable of the name you i n h eri ted f o r I rom y u father, but have to request that yo u will not add it to mine . E ncounters Occasionally took n i r place betwee min ste and laird , and sometimes struck o u t flashes l Of humour . The fol owing story, which has been partially told else n i n where , is traditio al the family

D au n e O f . n r Mr Fra cis y, ministe

Of B anchory - Ternan from 1 7 5 7 to

60 OLD ABERDEENSHIRE MINISTERS .

“ Of appointment a helper might , as it were , be able to force his hand .

The punch was pressed , and when M r D au n e ever . y rose to go , the laird made him sit down again , “ A using the expression , nother ” glass and then . He was at last allowed to go , and disappointed his entertainer ’ s kind intentions by appearing punctually in the pulpit I next day . n those days a sand glass measured to run an hour or half an hour stood at the precentor ’ s right hand , and was turned by him when it had run down . That day the hearers , who could calculate by the number Of turnings the proximity

Of the end of the sermon , were all out in their reckonings . The dominie had never been kept so T ilwhill busy reversing the glass . y began to think that he had undera OLD MINISTERS . estimated the Old gentleman ’ s power, or that the toddy had done I him good . t was high time for

lastly , but the glass was turned “ ” again , and lastly did not come . The laird grew more and more restless , and did not conceal his

. A impatience t length the minister , ’ glancing across to the laird s seat , said , in words which to the congre

atio n g might seem an apology , but which Mr . Douglas understood —“ A well nother glass and then . ou t The laird flung Of the church , pursued by the remark from the O ’ T ilwhill ? pulpit , w, are ye awa , y 7’ Can I i n si st n oo

. S o f Mr Peter tewart , minister Kinneff ( 1 78 1 to was a man Of independent fortune and Of independent behaviour . I n the government of his parish he 6 O A H M T 2 LD BERDEENS IRE INIS ERS . sometimes practised what at a later period was called muscular

Christianity . From the pulpit he occasionally animadverted at the beginning of the service o n the condition Of disrepair in which the part Of the church appropriated to a particular estate was kept . A person coming into church o ne day

o n . stumbled the stair The minister , who had not begun the service; “ ’ called to the beadle , Thomas , ye ll go to the barn and look for a board that ’ ll cover the hole in the Fernie Y ’ flat stair . e ll get a hammer and nails upon a skelf at the heid o ’ the ’ in . B n women s bed ri g them , and ” mend that stair . The order w as duly obeyed , pastor and people waiting in silence the while . When

r . S the hammering ceased , M tewart said , again addressing the beadle, OLD MINISTERS . 3

N OO o , Th mas , the neist time the Fei' n iefl at r r fowk brak thei stai , ’ ’ ’ ” h ms wee s lat them men t t e el s . r S ’ o M . tewart s freed m of speech and manner was perfectly well n r his n w as u de stood by people , a d no cause O f Offence “ The Old Minister could o n occasion administer to forward younger brethren a wholesome n of snub , the pawki ess which drew n its sting . I t was o e Of the Old o o sch ol wh , flabbergasted at seeing a youthful co - presbyter at his side rise to address the General A ssembly, pulled him down by “ C - i S the oat tails , say ng , it doon , ’ George ; t here s naebody allowed to speak here but aul ’ men an ’

B n . d h . D B e oc t feels r arty, Of y, used to tell a good story against himself Of the days Of his youthful 6 LD 4 O ABERDEENSHIRE MINISTERS .

zeal . He became a member Of the presbytery within whose bounds he had grown up . Some usage o f the court displeased him , and he took an early Opportunity Of speaking against it . H e prepared r his case with ca e, and flattered himself that his arguments were unanswerable . The only answer n he got was from a aged member, who clapped him o n the shoulder “ ’ and said , That may be a verra eems B artv I true, J , but kent you when ye was in cotts E xchange of sermons between neighbours was common in the days

Of my grandfather . Repeated delivery Of a discourse was n o t Of course a practice that died o ut with

- r knee breeches , but it was mo e in Old n easily tolerated times , if ot enjoyed . I am not sure to what O MI T 6 LD NIS ERS . 5 date to assign this example of “ parochial wit on the subject . Are ’ ” we getting ‘ The Dog the day ? his asked a man Of neighbour, as

- they wended their way to church . N ” “ fii m a , was the reply , we had ’ a week o r twa syne it ll be the ’ Ten Talons the day . B orrowing discourses was deemed quite con sistent with the public good . A mi n ister could send his man to a co r presbyte with the verbal message , S ay to the Doctor that I would be Obleeged till him fo r twa hunder kail plants and anither lecture on

Matthew . The preaching Of printed sermons was n s n re too a otoriou , if ot a r A i ’ cognised p actice . min ster s wife, who , referring to a volume published by a colleague Of her ’ u n r h sba d s , remarked to he spouse F 6 6 O H M T LD ABERDEENS IRE INIS ERS .

“ ’ I m sure ye could print as good ” n as i s sermo s that, said not to have perceived the hidden meaning Of his reply M aybe some Of my ” s ermons were printed . The following story illustrates the sentiment prevalent at the time in the highest clerical circles in E S ngland , as among the best cottish

. R i n ministers e d , the metaphysicia , his l was , in ear ier days , minister Of N ewmach ar r o n e his , whe e of heritors was S ir William Forbes of n ra Fi t y. When a professor in o Glasgow , he paid a visit t the n n baronet , a d preached i the parish

C r . A n S hu ch fter din er, ir William remarked casually to his guest I suppose you are well acquainted ’ ? ” with Tillotson s writings Dr. Reid disclaimed any knowledge of th e. works of the E nglish divine .

68 O H MI I T S LD ABERDEENS IRE N S ER . probationer engaged by the congre

. r. tion M Paterson , minister Of

L - B o n ogie uchan , officiated a certain S n r unday , a d p eached from the text —“ Jacob was a plain man , dwelling

n n w as o n i te ts . H e succeeded the next S unday by his neighbour

. D of and intimate friend , Mr ouglas E n Of llon , who, being i the habit helping himself from the repository

o f L - B u n in the manse ogie uchan , wittingly borrowed the “ Jacob ”

l . discourse , and du y delivered it The following Sunday fell to the r o p obationer , wh was schoolmaster at E llon . H is stock having run i short , as he had supplied the pulp t o i f r some t me , he went to the

r . manse fo a loan M r. Douglas bade him go to the bing and take s what he liked . A ill luck would

l n r . have it , his hand fel upo M O MI T 6 LD NIS ERS . 9

’ Paterson s sermon , which was n o n and w as aturally the top , it preached in U d ny church for the third Sunday in succession . The probationer was to the end Of h is long life very nervous in his pulpit exercises , which were marked by a serious and dignified manner . He never liked to have his experience o f that Sunday recalled . H e gave out solemnly the text J acob was a

. B plain man , dwelling in tents ut the ears Of the congregation were at once claimed by the village blacksmith audibly protesting to “ ’ ’ — D i dwall im himself e l . Fan s ? ’ he gaun to flit H e s dwalt l ang eneuch here . Loans were not always judiciously negotiated . A rather dull youth amused a congregatio n by gravely quoting I t hath been eloquently 0 OLD HI M ST 7 ABERDEENS RE INI ERS .

ou r said , by a late prelate of Church . The so n Of an eminent minister Of Kinneffcame to grief in a neighbour ing parish by injudicious use Of f ’ M ” o O S S . ne his father s Here , r “ g avely declaimed the lad , here have I been labouring for your good r n fo five a d thirty years , and you are not one bit better than when I ” was appointed over you . Better had it been for him had he borrowed some Of the caution Of the golden mouthed extempore preacher who impressed an audience with the remark I t has been strikingly Observed by a divine of the last i s century, Man mortal . Most Of the Old ministers used a form Of prayers as invariable as if it had been read . Their prayers were generally beautiful , and deeply devo tional . A female admirer Of a new 1 OLD MINISTERS . 7 minister compared his supplications with those of the Old school thus “ Maist ministers pray in a wye

ae that, if ye get bit ye ken aye ’ n ’ n fat s comi neist , but ye din a dee ’ ’ wi é i s that prayers . They re aye ’ ’ sae thro with er n bonny, an , a ith r th row e .

. L li S Mr es e , minister of t . A L d r ndrews , hanbry e , in Mo ay shire ( 1 7 78 to had all the independence and individuality Of was the Older school . H e a capable o f n adviser, a man the world , a d a kind and hospitable friend . H e sometimes came into conflict with the magistrates Of the neighbouring o f E l town lgin , and did not concea fo r a O e his contempt the b ilies . nc when preaching in the parish church of E hi s s the lgin , foe being in f b e n as was O ficial pew, i cluded , 2 LD 7 O ABERDEENSHIRE MINISTERS .

o “ cust mary , in the prayer for all ” r in authority , a petition fo the ” O f magistrates this place , but added n “ S the qualifyi g phrase , ic as they H s are . i aberrations from the conventional o n one occasion drew

n O f e down the ce sure his br thren . o S The Pr vincial ynod , Of which was he clerk , summoned him for

u admonition . As he stood p to r or eceive the rebuke, the hour f l r the dinner , at which al we e to meet, was approaching , and though he received his castigation with due r humility , he at length b oke in h e r upon t speake with the remark, I r beg pardon , Moderator, but a e ye near done ? I promised to tell

M rs . (the landlady) when to ’ put o n the salmon . Mr . Leslie s manse was a favourite and ever n o Of n rn Ope h wff the orthe students , OLD MINISTERS .

n who , till well o in the century , tramped to and from Aberdeen and their homes . The dress Of the Old Minister was not by any means s o distinctive as the clerical outfit Of the present his day . Only the black hue of raiment marked him Off from the H is other gentlemen Of the time . knee - breeches were met by cloth gaiters , and above the knee were overlapped by the pockets Of an ample vest , spreading like an embryo skirt from the buttoned waist . The roomy coat had broad n tails with outside pockets , openi g by vertical slits , into which the flaps f N O were as a rule stuf ed . shirt collar peeped above the loose white

. was neckcloth The hat, which n i n certai to have outlived the fash o , n was generally broke in the brim , I 74 OLD ABERDEENSHIRE M NISTERS . and abraded—the effect of frequent salutations . The staff was Of thick o r o bamboo, some rare wood , t pped i by a s lver capsule , and furnished with a tasselled leather thong . The church Of the Old Minister w as most commonly a survival from the beginning of the eighteenth

i s su century . I t a mistake to p pose that these barns were designed for the repression of sentiment in the national religion . Their severe bareness was a monument of the poverty as much as O f the parsi mony o f the Iairds who built them . The typical form was a simple O f Oblong, built Of squared blocks stone coated within with a skin Of

o r li n r clay rough me, a d made pu p osely narrow to allow Of short o e. wo d (i . cheap wood) being used or r was Of f the afters . The roof

76 OLD ABERDEENSHIRE MIN ISTERS

earth , only the passages being

r h . I as oug ly paved with stone f, sometimes happened , the surround ing ground rose by accumulation of o above the level the church fl or, “ r the pass , in wet weathe , became

w s an open drain . There a a n l o wi dow in each gab e, over the l w

- r flat topped door, and two as a ule pierced the side wall to which the

w a pulpit s attached . The passage ran across the front Of the pre ’ ce n to r s i desk , and beyond t were the square enclosed pews which the country people called p umphals from the penfolds used on grazing

fa rms . C H A P T E R I I I .

E A R L Y D I S S E N T .

’ I T was late in my grandfather s time that a groom driving an E nglish man through a village studded with fre churches , told him that their

u enc q y was due , not to religion , but “ ” to curstness . I n the beginning of the days Of the Old Minister a parish was well furnished if it con tai ned a Roman Catholic o r a S cotch Episcopal chapel in addition to the parish church . The priest of either communion generally lived on amicable and sociable terms with the

. S minister The ecession , originated by the brothers Haldane , preceded the importation o f Methodism and

I ndependency . The preachers Of 8 O A HI M T 7 LD BERDEENS RE INIS ERS . all these sects worked by the same method , making evangelising incur sions into the rural districts . N o n presbyterian dissent gained its first hearing chiefly among the gentler s ex who o ne , , as lady put it , thought themselves in the wye O ’ gweed ’ ’ r reachi n when they we e hearin p , f r aeve it wis fae . The itinerant preachers were hospitably treated n o r after the ma ner of the c unt y . A I n r r as n ve u ie goodwife , noted a constant attender at all preachings n Of and meeti gs church courts , on “ ” o n e occasion took the minister home with her from a missionary i B vis tation . eing more observant o f the amenities o f the table than r sh e rn be he husband , wa ed him forehand that he must no t lay down his spoon before the minister ceased i N o ini r was eat ng . w , the m ste a EARLY DISSENT . 7 9

r of his robust man , as we e most n ki d , with a healthy appetite , developed by hard exercise Of both as limbs and voice . B rose w the r fare , and the p eacher ate of it — heartily and long so long that the o host , more easily satisfied , had t be reminded three several times by ’ the pressure o f his wife s toe o n his shin that civility enjoined upon him t o continue making at least a Show o f eating . Twice the goodman o reluctantly to k up his spoon again , his but at the third reminder, guest S off showing no ign Of easing , he

decl ar threw down the implement , ing that he widna birst himsel ’ for nae minister . A similar vignette of the times i s preserved in a story told by the minister o f a parish on the edge of B i was uchan , wh ch occasionally 80 O A HI M T LD BERDEENS RE INIS ERS . visited by a missionar minister fr A om berdeen , long the deservedly respected pastor of a small Congre ~ a ional g t flock there . The minister was o a man f liberal views . H e threw himself in the way of the “ ” o missionar ne day, and bade n him to the ma se to dinner, jocu larly remarking that it was the rule in co untry parishes that whoever preached for the minister dined with “ ” him . The missionar accepted the invitation and the usual

l A s appendix , a tumb er of toddy . n n the talk flowed freely a d pleasa tly, the tumblers were replenished more than once without remark . When o was o — the f urth out , the h st pro bably already one ahead o f the conventional maximum of the neighbourhood—put the question “ S hall we have another glass ? 1 EARLY DISSENT . 8

The custom o f the day compelled “ ” him to press and his guest not to refuse . But both were relieved when “ l the missionar answered Wee , I S Ob eck hanna j to anither tumbler, ’ ’ but dinna ye thi n k we re app ro achi n ’ the borders 0 moderation S L n tu rk n The eceder kirk of y , i the parish Of Tough , took its origin in popular discontent , not with the parish minister , but with the precentor . The tunes used in congregational singing in Tough were limited to seven, which use and wont had constituted a sort f of canon . A desire o r variety led “ the precentor o ne Sunday to raise a tune n o t included in the S acred

S - a even , whereupon portion of the congregation left the building l straightway , and betook themse ves o n o r r t a eighb u ing knoll , whe e they G 8 2 O H M T LD ABERDEENS IRE INIS ERS . lifted up their voices to one o f the measures which they held to be orthodox . They formed the nucleus o f L n tu rk S the y eceder body, whose was S first standard the even Tunes . Most of the early Congrega t io n alist preachers were artisans i o f n w th a gift utterance , but o ly superficially educated . Their strength commonly lay in their command of homely illustration . The movement grew naturally out o f the healthy revulsion against i nfidelity which marked the begin e ning of the century, and which gav inspiration at the same time to the Evangelical party in the Church of

S cotland .

8 O H M T S 4 LD ABERDEENS IRE INIS ER . w as young the Aberdeenshire laird occupied a happy and benefic e nt position in the social scale . H e dwelt among his people from year ’ s ’ end to year s end , a familiar friend , meeting his tenants at market

at S and kirk , where his ixpence was regularly looked for by the elders , and lay , solitary in its white ness , in the midst Of the brown copper deposit yielded by the ladles . The influence o f both laird and lady was generally for good . Game being scanty and turnips as yet u n

O i known , he had few causes dis n agreeme t with his tenants , and w as far more likely to quarrel with the minister than with them . That laird was certainly an exception who summed up his tenantry thus ! “ ’ ’ They re maybe a kin of illfau rt honest fo r a fo rtn ich t afore the THE LAIRD . 8 5

o r sacrament and a day twa efter, but for ony ither time I w u d n a ’ ” lippen them wi muckle . One of the laird ’ s privileges was that O f scolding his subordinates in A the freest of language . game his o f en keeper, telling master an “ a counter with poacher, said , he w u dna hae cared gin the s co o n rel ” “ im id n hadna been p e t . Was ? ” m he impudent asked the aster . ” I m ide n t ! p was the rejoinder . ’ Gin he had bee n the laird himsel

c ud n a m ai n n r he hae been waur e t . Almost the only dissipation the laird could allow himself w as an occasional jaunt to the county town o r E to dinburgh , on the pretext of

a law plea, a principal attraction being the chance o f an unmeasured boose of claret with the jovial and

witty lawyers Of the time . At home 8 6 O A H M T LD BERDEENS IRE INIS ERS . the laird had Often to live as frugally n h is as n A i fashion the te ant . con ve n ie nt Opportunity fo r the exercise of hospitality was the killing o f the r was winter mart , when the e surety ’ A of a week s supply of fresh meat . n umber of neighbours would arrange “ ” to kill in a definite rotation and n s o entertain i their order, that the dull season was relieved by the pretty prolonged circulation of lairds and leddie s and some of their young ” o n e people from place to another . S tudents of S cott ‘ know that these visits filled up three days—the rest day , the dressed day , and the B r pressed day . ut the te m might of course be indefinitely extended . A story i s told o f a laird whose larder the third day had not ex

hau sted . B eing a nervous man , i ff and magining, after an indi erent THE LAIRD . 8 7

’ n r w as i ight s est, that he str cken , perhaps mortally , he was overheard “ hi s n n hOO asking ma , J oh , muckle ’ ? 0 that beast is there to eat yet J ohn replied that there was “ a big ’ r r t . oun , a fore oas , and a bile or twa Fo r ony sake, John , said the laird , n ’ ’ l ’ roast a boil , an boi an roast, or ’ I ll be deen ere it be deen . A Dr . William lexander has shown how much the revolution in Aberdeenshire agriculture in this century owed to the landlords . f On o r . L l e the best type was M es ie , r o f Little folla proprieto , and after o f wards Warthill , who became the

r u o f hi s leading ag ic lturist district , n a d having an administrative turn , not only gave good example but

saw . A n that it was followed te ant , o o ’ c mplaining to everyb dy s friend , r ’ the local doctor, of the lai d s 8 8 O H M T LD ABERDEENS IRE INIS ERS .

n was stri gency, met with the retort ,

Weel , dinna ye thrive better under — h 1m which wrung from the

D o d whiner the admission , y , he ” gars us thrive . When the laird was his own t fac or and ground officer, the chief ‘ ‘ “ Of cl i em ei e his was his man , who sometimes looked after the small “ ” mains and the garden , and drove

the carriage if one were kept , and if the master occupied a still higher

position in the social scale , attained f the dignity o body servant .

Pitfou r The celebrated , never n o r present at a debate , absent

from a division , who never voted

against Mr . Pitt but once , and even then afterwards admitted Pitt was

right , had a man Of the same breed . o n Mr . Ferguson was terms of close f riendship with the Minister, and THE I 8 LA RD . 9

John loved to speak o f their meet ings , always commencing his talk “ with Pitt and Pi tfou r and me . John ’ s idiosyncrasy was appreciated ’ by his master s friends . J ane , D to uchess of Gordon , once wrote D him ear John , come to Gordon Castle on and bring your

Pitfou r master with you . bade him answer the invitation , and John being dubious as to how to com P M . mence , the wily . recommended him to follow Her Grace ’ s own “ s manner . What way does h e ? begin her letter to you , John ‘ D ? ear J ohn , is it Well , you will

‘ ’ need to begin yours Dear J ean ; ” ye canna do less than that . The old lairds drank a good deal o f whisky toddy at their n was social gatheri gs , but excess in a measure prevented by the 0 OLD H M T 9 ABERDEENS IRE INIS ERS . rigorous custom of associating a toast with every glass . The art Of toasting was studied by every n aspirant to social success , a d the more accomplished came 1n ti me to regard certain toasts as their perquisites .

Mr . H alket of I n v eramsay was a was famous giver of toasts . H e an r n a dent J acobite , and used to dri k to “ The King with a significant movement o f the hand over the

n - o r o r pu ch jug , a glance t wa ds a portrait of the Pretender which hu ng over the fi re - place in the

- o f his - dining room Old manor house , ’ Pu his - lw a s . On death bed he made minute arrangements for the conduct of the funeral dinner . He dictated the names of those to be n i i on i v ted , and d stributed am g them the toasts which were to be drunk .

9 2 OLD ABERDEENSHIRE MINISTERS . levy contributions on her alleged ’ kinsman s good nature . Once when the size of his alms displeased her, she said to the colonel , Weel , laird , I canna deny that ye ’ re a Fraser I but , gweed fegs , think shame o ye . P R C H A T E V .

T H E D E L E R .

T H E small body of elders forming

- l the kirk session , close y representa tive of the diaconate Of the church of

J erusalem , has in all times formed a O f sort Cabinet to the minister , and a recognised aristocracy o f respect i n ability the parish . I n my grand ’ father s time their principal i ndivi dual functions were to distribute parochial alms in the districts allotted ’ to a to them , and exercise general moral oversight over these districts . They represented every class in the

- community . At kirk session meet r o f ings , then as now , the pee the realm might s it beside his humblest

n - te ant , and the college bred man OLD A H M T 94 BERDEENS IRE INIS ERS . might rub shoulders with o ne who o h is could n t sign name . Th e modern development Of lay agency h as introduced among qualifications for the eldership the capacity to conduct devotional exercises in public . That was not common in the north in my grand ’ o o father s day , th ugh in Camer nian districts and among the Men of ’ the H ighlands a layman s prayer was held in something o f the same “ ’ as sma A esteem still whisky . n ’ Aberdeenshire goodwife s tea - party was interrupted by a message from a sick neighbour . I t was n was r Jea who sent fo , but the n messenger bei g misunderstood ,

Sandy himself went . A jocular lo guest , as the door c sed , remarked ’ ’ H e s the nearest elder ; Peter 11 ’ ’ ’ ’ be thi nki n himsel deei n an be

6 O H M T S 9 LD ABERDEENS IRE INIS ER .

’ e amon s , but he was a fre eneuch ’ ’ w as 0 man , an ye aye sure a dram — at the manse . But this d d n or taed naether drinks gies drink .

Public - spirited individuals sometimes twitted the elder with A servility towards the minister . t an ordination dinner a resident laird told a traditional story of an obsequious elder who , when the minister put a question to the I sa s a session , answered y fat ye y, ’ s i r ; fat wis t The result o f the telling of this story w as that an ’ elder, one of the narrator s tenants , s et himself to signalise his inde p en de n ce by opposing every pro posal made by the new minister fo r a long time afterwards .

B A L H A G G A R D Y.

A N elder of the best type was THE ELDER . 9 7

n of Mr . Morriso , the farmer B alhaggardy in the Chapel o f of Garioch , a man warm heart and strongly marked character .

- B an - eing active , quick witted youth at the time whe n the E arl of Findlater was attracting attention in the north - east o f S cotland by his agricultural improvements , Mr . Morrison drank in the spirit o f

r- the farme peer, and turned his Observation and experience to good account o n the farm Of

B alha ard gg y, where he kept in front o f his of the county till the end life ,

- n r n both in crop raisi g and in b eedi g . He had a singular fl a i r/6 M of ex pression and a disposition that might be styled quietism . Ever n im contented , he was amusi gly o f patient discontent in others . One of the strongest things he ever H 8 O H M T 9 LD ABERDEENS IRE INIS ERS .

w as said of Peel , for whom he cherished a liking for some years L after the abolition Of the Corn aws . At last even he came to think with hi s the rest Of aggrieved neighbours , and an old friend asking what he o f thought Peel now, elicited the L maitter response , ittle though his heid had been fower fit aneth the ” s ax green year syne . A favourite and characteristic expression of his w as that Providence had been aye ’ D kin to him . uring a snowstorm that had fairly s wallowed up the o - B alh a ard rdinary seed time, gg y c hecked some lamentations on the “ A disaster with the observation , ’ ’ pu cklie snaw ! F at s the maitter 0 ’ that We ve seen a p u cklie snaw ’ ’ afore noo . Ye ll see it ll brak up ’ ’ o r een about the aucht tent O J , an ’ ’ if r we ll hae a fine spring a te a .

I OO OLD A H M I T BERDEENS IRE IN S ERS .

r D au vit n Maiste , di na ye tell that fo r to nae ither body , they would think ye couldna be aboot ony gweed ’ 0 at that time nicht . H e had a ’ r his great espect for landlord s wife . A o f sister hers , meeting him in a public conveyance , introduced her “ M ’ ” as rs . self Gordon s sister . S he got an unexpected but n o t “ r - —A udely meant reply weel , gin ’ ’ as ye be gweed an Oman s her . But the most famous example of his “ ” w as a set - n brusquerie ‘ dow he o o gave to a laird f the neighb urhood . n m E This ge tleman , a odern pis co alian p , talking with him about ’ i 1 8 the Church s troubles n 43 , r n O ff- emarked in a hand way, “ You know our family h as always ” belonged to the Church of E ngland . I n B alha ard ke na, answered gg y, I n fat wye that can be , for ke t your T H E ELDER . I O I

l ’ ’ grandfather, au weel , an he ” el er was an y in Kintore .

L H E O C I .

M R ST CH 1 8 - 8 RA AN , farmer till 3 7 at L B ochend , in the parish of ourtie , w as in his way as characteristic an Old

S . n cotch elder as Mr Morriso .

Lo chi e as w as , he was always called , one Of the best farmers in the county , the first among hi s neighbours to S o f how skill in the feeding cattle . B ut , outside his business , he knew little of men and affairs save what he S H is i got from cripture history . g morance of contemporary matters appears to u s of modern times appalling . Though he was in his prime during the last quarter of the n is eightee th century , it doubtful if he ever heard o f the French Revo lu n tio . S n r itting ext his ministe , 1 2 LD E 0 O ABERDE NSHIRE MINISTERS .

D B o ne n r . isset, at dinner day whe “ the toast of The Duke OI l n n w as We li gto proposed , he asked “ i s ? in a whisper Fa he that , no O n his farm was a sepulchral r cairn , about which the ministe sought a few facts from the ’ Old farmer . After getting Lochie s r o f n eminiscences the monume t ,

D r . B isset proceeded to give him

some information about its origin , telling him it had been the grave “ w as of some one Of rank . I “ L ochie said , that it ’ wu d na be ony ordinar body like ”

. N 0 me , it has been some great o r man , a ruler, remarkable highly ” “ his was honoured in time . That

my tho ucht . Wad it hae been ’ D au vid o r o n o , noo , y the apostle ’ ’ or prophet fouk that we read 0 i the Scripters

1 OLD H M T 04 ABERDEENS IRE INIS ERS . t o have been greatly wronged , and w hen he got the answer, pressing it “ A ’ home with ye , aye , min ye that , my cockie . Lo chie liked muscular Chris t i ani t A y“ quiet preacher, having B succeeded a oanerges , took his place also o n o n e o f the communion preaching days at B ourtie . On the first opportunity L o chi e said to the ’ Y su ld n a minister, e tak back that ’ sweir falla ; the aul man wad hae ’ sw ea i n been t like a horse . An elder from ‘ another parish

- o f B joined the kirk session ourtie , and displeased Lo chi e by his fertility ’ Old in suggestion . The man s wrath “ c Y ulminated in the rebuke , e widna need to pit in yer word s ae freely ; ’ ye ken ye re nae j ist like ane O ’ ’ ’ oo rsel s ; ye cam in amon s like a slung stane . T 1 HE ELDER . 0 5

H is habit o f referring all things to the supposed authority o f Scripture came o u t curiously at a n l p resbyte a school examination . He had been struck by the novel

ro nu nc i at10n —ae p of the vowels ,

bee , cee , etc . , instead of aw, bay , as to cay, he had been taught

mouth them . When the chairman of examiners afterwards asked his colleagues for their opinion s o n the “ o L ochie S I sch ol , remarked , ir ’ ’ think it s the hicht o p resumpt10n to change the pronunciation O ’ the letters that gweed A lmichty ” gied them . THE KI RKTOW N A N D I T S NH B N S I A ITA T .

T H E kirktown now commemorate d in most parishes only in the name was of a farm near the church , ori i n all g y a cluster of small holdings , the buildings belonging to which made up the “ town ” (village being unknown in S cottish nomenclature . ) These holdings included the li n o estab shme ts f the blacksmith , an d r S wright , suto (classic cotch o n r as f r shoemaker, or cordi e , T h he was once called) . e tailor was a peripatetic craftsman , and worked in the homes o f his custo n mers . The cottage a d croft of the l l n parochia p uralist who was bellma ,

i - Officer n k rk , and gravedigger all i

1 0 8 O H M T LD ABERDEENS IRE INIS ERS . wood guided the smoke up from the

- fi r Fo r - hearth e . chimney pot a wooden cylinder bound together

- with straw rope served , and if a

- cowl were needed , a shovel like ’ instrument , called a win skew projected , and could be moved to catch the wind by means o f its handle , which hung down the chimney . These wigwams looked cosier at all events than their white

- walled , grey slated supplanters .

I - nside , the peat smoke , which did not all escape , toned the roof into a o r rich brown lustrous black , but did not suffocate the best hens which sometimes used the crossbars as a roost . o f The inhabitants the kirktown , coming into contact with a number o f people , were generally the wits or characters Of the rural population . K K THE IR TOW N . 1 0 9

The tailor, in particular, tramping the country under the burden o f so goose , board and scissors , and

o u rn i n n j g with all and su dry , was a dull man indeed if he did not develop some sort Of talent in conversation hence he is the hero of most of the country tales bearing o n the r es

a ng usm domi . Weavers were a

caste, the loom being handed down so n from father to ; they were , as l e sewhere , the independent thinkers o f A the community, and in berdeen S o f hire , at the end last century , the principal sympathisers with the

French Revolution . The esteem in which they were held by the ’ sex i s indicated in the maiden s song

0 mith er on bod on b od on b od , y y, y y, y y, mi ther n bod but a creeshie e e o w av r. 0 , y y

w as The blacksmith , whose smiddy the common social meeting place Of I OLD I O ABERDEENSHIRE MINISTERS .

the farming class , was with the weaver the most likely of the kirktown craftsmen to make a com “ ’ fortable living, and mak a happy i W . fireside clime , tae weens and fe I t was a thrifty smith who on the o f —a o n e i e eve his wedding siller ( . . one to which all the guests con tributed something) —was heard “ ’ soliloquising thus ! Mains 11bring ’ ’ Lu mmi e ll hens , an fesh a cheese , n ’ D ’ ’ a am s is killin a sheep , but n ’ Jea nie , my lass , an it hadna been ’ ou for y an your twa bonnie een , ye widna gotten that tartan plaid for a’ ” that .

The wright , a carpenter capable of doing both square and wheel wright work , was an important n R B r perso age , described in oyal u gh registers asf ewer Zig zza r i us . He was undertaker as well , and sometimes

C H A P T E R V I I .

T H E F M W N A R T O .

F M wer AR towns e towns (Scot . ) in the eighteenth century . At a time no when there were enclosures , and the patches Of arable land were scattered all over a small l s ea estate , ike islands in the of u l past re , which al possessed in n w as commo , it convenient that the tenants o f . one laird should herd together in a conglomerate of

- dwelling houses and farm buildings , which w as as worthy of the name of town as the hamlet at the kirk . When agriculture took a spurt at the beginning of the present century , and the pasture lands were “ riven “ ” n o n - l i with the wse p euch , the W T H E FARM TO N . name of town was transferred to Of the steadings the new farms , with the distinguishing prefixes of N S E U orth , outh , ast , West, pper n L “ ” a d ower . The Mains indicates that the farm so called h as been a separate estate swallowed up in the l o ne n arger , of which it ow forms “ one holding . Ferm originally mean t the annual payment i n f m o r for oney , victual , labour made “ ” the town ; rent is the modern

French equivalent . At the end of la st century , when both words were was n descriptive , there a time whe the land could be cultivated only under a co - partnery between laird was and tenant . I t a period of r o o n great dep essi n, c mprehe ding some exceptionally unfortunate “ ”

n as . seasons , k own the dear years Proprietors in many cases could not I I OLD A H M T 4 BERDEENS IRE INIS ERS . get tenants except by supplying n them with seeds , a d partly with implements and stock also ; the rent was a certain proportion of the n produce , a d the system was called

- b steel ow .

- The old farm town , like the n i l l o kirktow , nc uded a smal col ny of tradesmen . A halloo from the heid O ’ the toon could bring out a considerable population to help at any operation requiring a “ pull all r ” togethe . The families bred in the town and i ts adjuncts furnished a con stant supply of agricultural labour .

I n a corner of the stOb - th ac kit square was frequently to be found r ’ in the me chan , occupy g a small , r b c owded shop , lighted y a little window of two or three panes of l r r o was glass , the owe pa t f which probably obscured by a green bottle

1 1 6 O H M ST LD ABERDEENS IRE INI ERS .

shire shop , less than a century ago, “ was a clyte o f saip to the reid h eidit u llo n a h D deem fae C c . ebts were recorded only in the memory a small dealer , probably in the habit Of nibbling at his loose stock in o f moments perplexity , once capped an attempt to recall a purchase to a short - memoried customer by “ ’ C o bidding him hat a stane barley , an ’ min ’ I 1 6 6 n n n 9 , whe the ames and Occupations o f the population were b ascertained y national authority, and their means estimated as a Of basis taxation , the stocks of merchants in villages and royal burghs were found to vary in value

2 2 0 from £ 5 to £ 5 , the smaller amount being held equal in taxation liability to the income Of a female i domest c servant , whose annual wag e was 1 2 p ounds Scots . C H A P T E R V I I I .

A D THE FARMER, THE MILLER, N

THE BAILIE .

’ T H E goodman s week - day outfit contained none o f the home - made

- o n O f broad cloth , the weaving which w f o wn the good ife , a ter all her labour of shearing , cleaning , carding and spinning, made the first outlay of a money , fterwards superintending the making of the garments by the

- tailor . The broad cloth raiment lay , ’ with the goodwife s church - going S n to S n attire , from u day unday o ” the table , chair or bed in the ben

- end . On week days the farmer laboured at the intown in sleeved “ h i s vest, if anything covered harden sark , corduroy breeches , rough S ribbed hose and stout leather hoes , 1 8 I OLD ABERDEENSHIRE MINISTERS .

’ which in my grandfather s t 1me had superseded brogues of untanned “ leather . Patching and making down ” were institutions in those days . The goodman had a Sunday hat ; on week - days he wore a blue worsted bonnet , and at home perhaps a Kilmarnock cowl , striped and double . Such was the common o n c untry habit , i farm and in burgh , not abandoned by the seniors when the present century w as a quarter Old

‘ ” S ic mannie S I C horsie is a ’ i A br om m s gnificant berdeenshire . The diminutive horse was harnessed

- to the wooden axled , noisy cart with ropes of twisted heather r leather was sca ce, and the goodwife had something better to do with her ’ lint than to mak tows . Last century Aberdeenshire

1 2 0 OLD H M T ABERDEENS IRE INIS ERS .

headed and bare - footed on week d sh e as ays , made pleasing an appearance on Sundays as could be

- . A wished dress tailor made , and to made outlive changing fashions ,

was draped with a bright - coloured

w - plaid . A sno white muslin kerchief peeped out of the bosom . The bonnet had not yet come to stay ; but a bright linen cap , perhaps l trimmed with ace , made a pleasing frame to a comely face ; the stockings

o f o were fine worsted or white cott n , though cotton made but slow way into rural esteem o n account Of its poor wearing qualities . Young women who could afford it wore a black silk mantilla, edged with black lace , which , covering the shoulders, f l el down in front to near the feet , o ver a white gown either a cap or

fo r - a neat ribbon served head dress . T A M I 2 I H E F R ER .

l n The packman , a notab e figure i

the rural economy of these days , supplied the town with millinery and many household requisites which a could not be m de at home , or H is w as bought at the shop . trade

a profitable o n e . Many a thriving ’ burgh merchan bore in his person evidence Of having laid the found ation o f his fortune on a pack the

ex - packman having invariably one

Shoulder higher than the other . ’ He supplemented the goodman s “ small library with The H istory of S r ” S i William Wallace, ir J ames ” “ ” the R n S ose , The Ge tle hepherd , “ ” Lindie and N orie and such - like f r prints . But o him literary curiosity could not be satisfied without a

A . A visit to berdeen country wife ,

o i en f moderate educat on , once ’ tered George Clark s shop in the I 2 2 OLD A H M T S BERDEENS IRE INIS ER .

B roadgate of Aberdeen to buy a ”

. i Wallace The shopman , siz ng r f N n he up , prof ered a ew Testame t . O n i sh e peni g t , began to read at the

a ou top of page , and spelling t “ a satisfied C h a p, exclaimed with r air, still unde the impression that she had got what sh e asked for ” wi s C h a p , chap aye , he a chap .

THE M ILLER .

T H E mill was the chief centre of superstitious sentiment in a district . The site of a mill in I nverurie parish whose history stretches back at 00 least 7 years , has the Gaelic “ A rdtan nes o f name of , the howe ” th l l . e the itt e devils The locality , depth of a hollow in the angle o f a r n n iver, secluded from ear view, i the days of the Monk o f Kenna qubair might well o n a misty night

1 2 OLD H M T 4 ABERDEENS IRE INIS ERS .

i n by the upper class of tenants , cluding the younger sons of lairds , factors , clerks of burghs , and f notaries public . One O the pic tu resqu e features o f the time was the occasional summoning Of the tenants and others sucken to the e n 1nee ri n mill , to help at the g g and building works , for which they were held bound . The dusty miller w as a personage indeed in old times . Successive tenants of A rdtan n es were able to buy most of a large ’ adjoining farm . A big laird s daughter was not to o proud to be f wife to one o them . H e left her a

- w son well tochered wido , her eldest o f a captain , and a lord one the s h e w as executors , and , after Of some years widowhood , sought , r and married by another mille , a ’ baronet s brother . THE I 2 BAILIE . 5

T H E B A I L I E .

I N a parish which included a burgh “ ’ ” u B was or borrow s to n , the ailie , R A in the days before the eform ct , a person of great importance . The Town Council was not popularly elected . From immemorial date the greatest and best in the bu rgh held office from year to year, and an aspirant to municipal hon ou rs had to lay Siege to those in power by flattery till a vacancy occurring made them think of accepting so n sensible a tow sman , and giving him a place in the lowest room . The system ensured at all events experienced councillors . H onours s went round , and the same burge s passed again and again through the offices of Councillor , Treasurer , and D i n ell D o f yg ( ean Guild) . The 1 2 6 O H M T LD ABERDEENS IRE INIS ERS .

Chief Magistrate or First Bailie (to whom the S econd Bailie was p r ox i ’ mus sea pmx i mus mag n o i n ter va l /0) was practically the uncontrolled ’ o f n dispenser the town s patro age, o its manipulator f funds , and the mouthpiece of its Parliamentary o A v te town clerk , not always a r esident , kept the business of the

- ad burgh in form , but in every day

’ B was ministration the ailie supreme , r and Often arbitrary . A strange passing through I nverurie came upon a man flaying a horse by the A s his roadside . own steed became r n restive at the sight, he th eate ed o B to c mplain to the ailie, but was effectually silenced when the o i his knacker, l ok ng up from task with some unsavoury expression “ ’ o f o r I m c ntempt , emarked the B O ailie n the whole, the

1 2 8 O A H M T LD BERDEENS IRE INIS ERS . which he delivered to the Trea surer on such occasions did not fail to be brought up against him afterwards when it was discovered that the burghal revenues had been improperly managed . The B ailie t ook on added great ness at the time Of a Parliamentary ’ A w s election . royal burgh s vote a often in practice the property of a n n eighbouring territorial mag ate , and the B ailie became the conduit ’ of the Ye rl s benefactions granted for value received . ! C H A P T E R I .

PLAIN MANNERS A N D PLAIN

SPEECH .

I SHOULD hesitate to s ay that the feelings and emotions of the rural population of north - eastern S cotland had suffered a sea - change in respect of delicacy during the present cen Y s tury . et the apparent callousnes often evinced in old days at times o f bereavement appears not a little S u s o f hocking to the present . I myself, in the early days Of my o ne ministry , received winter morn ing at breakfast a printed intimation of the death of a wife, whose long illness had terminated only a few A hours before . still later case w as related to me of a man whose wife K 1 0 OLD A H M T 3 BERDEENS IRE INIS ERS . was pronounced by the doctor S hardly able to survive a week . he saw S o n unday ut , however, a d the man again appealing to the doctor , a n d being told that she could not or live m e than a day or two , replied “ A ! h bit ye said that last week , ’ ’ n I swi it oot n set a p the bar , an ’ seats for the burial , an gin it be l I ’ l o ’ o ang , l hae t tak them o t again , ’ u I beca se ll hae to thrash , for the ’ ” strae s near throw . A dying man s poke to his so n about giving time ous no i to i ri n r t ce the r f e ds , who we e n u r n so me ous a d distant, that they might have sufficient warning of f n o ou the u eral , t neglect which w ld be a family affront . At length he “ ’ ’ i — l l ist r sa d Wil ie , ye l j tak pape , an ’ write oot the burial cairds at ” f ” a n . B i i ll ce t , ather, sa d Wi ie,

we wid need to name a day . Fat

1 2 OLD SH M T 3 ABERDEEN IRE INIS ERS . a o o r H u s boot life thegither . “ ’ N o o wi band , J ean , hae deen ’ that ; gae o n wi yer He had probably never addressed to ’ her a tenderer name than oman . A farmer ’ s sister happened to be ailing at a time when some serious disease affected part o f a valuable farm stock . A female friend who called Often to ask for the patients , o n e day happened to omit an inquiry about the horses , and in r reply to he query about his sister, ’ O n the farmer said , we re nae vera weel , bit gin the horse wid ’ ” live , we wid mak oot . C H A P T E R ! .

MISCELLANEOU S ANECDOTES . W H E N the keeper Of a burgh

C - B hange house was a ailie, some thing o f the magisterial spirit w as a t f p to af ect the servants Katie , the housekeeper and waitress o f a much - frequented Aberdeenshire hostelry , was a strong Conservative l n the exciting times that followed

R B . S B the eform ill ir Michael ruce, L fo r iberal candidate the county , made the inn his headquarters dur ing a canvass of the district , and B its tried hard to get at the ailie, master, but was not permitted by the resourceful Kate to come even within f o . A S sight him he persisted , Kate was at last constrained to 1 OLD I I 34 ABERDEENSH RE M NISTERS .

’ sa Y n s ee i H e s y e ca na h m . n busy , and wa ts to hae naething ’ ’ wi 0 adee the like ye . The little on o f n r bar et t ok of e ce , th eatened to inform her master of her imper ti nence n n , and declared that i a y case he would never enter the inn again . But he made little of it . Kate ’ s rejoinder was prompt and —“ ’ free Ye can please yersel ; the ’ ’ back - seams o yer hose ll be the ’ brawest sicht we ve seen the day . A o l n c mmercial travel er, wishi g to treat some of th e less important townspeople , asked Katie for some s h e she l brandy, but said wou d i br ng whisky , asking Fat wid ye ’ ’ dee geei n brandy to the likes o them ?

An eminent cattle - breeder and r r p incipal cha acter in the market, entered the common room o ne cold

1 6 O H M T 3 LD ABERDEENS IRE INIS ERS .

S ’ Forbes Well , ir John , ye ve g iven me the most economical m i I anse that a min ster could get . t l ’ ets a thing in , and lets naething

o . I ot t lets in the rain and cold , ’ but it won t let oot the smoke . B I Tam arnett , boatman in nver k ei th ne o f y, was at the side the D evero n one day o f spate when I M i n riefold Mr . nnes , the laird of , a nd his brother Tom wished to ’ cross by the ford . I n B arnett s in Op ion it was unsafe, but the laird as d w determine to ride through . “ “ ’ an Weel , said Tam at last , ye l ’ wil gae through , better tak Tom ’ ’ ’ o n ahin ye , an that ll clear the ” f r E di n e ath gate o the g fowk . The I n neses of E di ngight were the ’ laird s n ext heirs after his brother . A wife whose life had been hard , giving an account of her trials to a O O MISCELLANE US ANECD TES . I 3 7

—“ ’ ’ friend , said There s nae eese o ’ ’ ’ n ’ gi en in , an ye ca win throu ’ ’ f r wi t ryi n . I j ist took Moses o ’ ” my motto , an gaed forrit . f . O D r Mr Craigie , minister ee ( 1 7 9 7 preached one Sunday in harvest from the text “ Cast thy bread upon the waters . A day o r two afterwards a sudden U flood on the gie , which traversed his glebe , swept off the entire crop , A . r which was newly , stooked fte

s the spate had pa sed , the minister,

s aw going over the ground , on the other Side o f the stream a l R parishioner cal ed attray , and shouted across to him D id ye ’ see R ? my corn gaen awa , attray “ ’ “

A . D ye did a , sir id ye try ’ ? to kep ony o t Fat wid a ’ tellt s deen that for, efter fat ye ! o n Sunday What was that I 8 O A H M T S 3 LD BERDEENS IRE INIS ER .

Ye said ‘ Cast thy bread upo ’ ' the waters . Oh bit nae the ’ ’

r R . st ae an a , attray

A beadle of King - E dward once made the kirkyard the scene of the close of life’ s account in more senses n a than o e . The minister he rd that he had made a gross overcharge fo r o f n the burial a parishio er , and demanded an explanation . The beadle coolly replied that the “ ’ defunct ance took a nip 0 me ’ ’ ’ wi 0 I the price a calf, an never ’ ’ got the chance 0 gettin my ain . A I n nverurie sexton , twice eject ed from houses he had rented by

the same individual , who happened o t buy the one after the other, found a vengeful comfort in the reflection “ H e ’ s pitten me oot o ’ b I ’ twa ooses , bit ll maybe gie him ’ a hoose that he winna win oo t o

I O LD SH M T 4 O ABERDEEN IRE INIS ERS . the Single - glass tumbler came to “ D ” be known as a onald , and the larger old - fashioned one as a

Donald Macdo n ald . The Original S eceders formed a number o f congregations in the

N I . . orthern slands Mr Gerrard , minister of South R o n aldsh ay

( 1 8 1 5 - 50 ) waged a humorous war upon them . Preaching one day on the duty of living peaceably with all men , he enlarged upon the saving “ as clause , much as lieth in you , “ w as contending that , of course , it never meant that I should live in ’ ’ wi disse nti n peace the deil , or the body ower by there . He w as crossing one day in a ferry boat a r o f ough bit sea , along with several i passengers , ncluding a young S eceder minister, newly come to the islan d . The boat shipped seas MISCELLANEO US ANEGD OTES . I 4 I

repeatedly . As one specially large wave broke over her, Gerrard exclaimed “ We ’ ll all be in heaven ” “ ! in five minutes . God forbid said the young man , not knowing , like Gerrard , that there was really no danger . Gerrard told the story to - his simple minded parishioners , with the corollary Ye s ee where ’ the dissenters want to tak you .

Wherever it is , it is not to heaven , o r they would not be so feart to go there themselves sooner than they ” O f thought . r The college lads whom M . Leslie of Lhanbryde treated so hospitably every October and April A on their way to and from berdeen , were sometimes mischievous enough to play a trick upon the good man . O ne night a band of them , staying n in the manse , conspired to fi d 1 2 OLD A H MI I T 4 BERDEENS IRE N S ERS . f . L ault with the punch Mr. eslie l n ot r his cou d appa ently , for all n r pai s , make the browst to suit thei

. A r r his palates t last, he ang fo n 1v1n i l man , a d g g h m a g ass , asked i f he thought he could drink it . John expressing unqualified appro batio n n o , the mi ister said t him ’ ’ i st Well , j tak it to the kitchie , an ’ rin ersel s n l l o d k it y , a te l the ass t N O bring up the tea . student ever again criticised Lhanbryde toddy . S S i i s l or t . a r s a year y h se A market in the Upper Garioch . i o of R in D r par shi ner ayne , meet g . ’ C u sh ney one S t . S air s Day on the side Of the kirktown nearest the r —“ S ir I o ma ket, said to him , h up ’ ’ ai n ye re nae gy to the market . N “ o , said the doctor, but why ” o ? sir n o n n t Weel , , aeb dy ca

1 O H M T 44 LD ABERDEENS IRE INIS ERS .

friends , is a ravening and a roaring lion going about seeking whom he may devour ; seek unto him , and l he will never leave you , he wil ” never forsake you .

Mr . Garioch , of Meldrum , was interested in the attempted R efo r 1 8 mation of 44 , started by J ohannes R t ouge , which resul ed in the forma tion o f the sect called the German

Catholics . H e gave his new Free Church congregation some informa

b ar r . A e e tion about it of his , employed by a neighbouring minis

w as o n ter, asked by his master the M onday after one of these lecture days what Mr . Garioch had been “ ” . Od on the previous day , “ ’ s eaki n said John , he was p aboot a gryte reamys they ’ re haddin ’ awa’ ” “ ”

. A aboot Germany some wye ye , “ ’ n r an said the mi iste , fat did he C O MIS ELLANE US ANECDOTES . I 45

’ O t ? Od it think , he thocht widna maybe j is t dull doon again .

Among the counsels given to Mr . L o ssel in his youth was this one , not to be too ready offering a prayer A by a sick bed . man , whom he supposed dying , once rejected his f . N of er to pray with him a, sir, ’ he said I m nae come to that yet . ’ L s s l s A . e e neighbour of Mr , who S had a sort Of ritual for the ick , asked a dying man “ Are you ready to meet the King of Terrors ? ” I d ” inna ken aboot that , sir , was the “ ’ ’ reply ; but I ve been livin this f ’ ’ fi ty year w i the queen o terrors . A o f Mr. ndrew Fraser, minister O n D 1 8 y e from the isruption to 74 , w as a quaint H ighlander , the only

Celt in the Presbytery o f Garioch . H e was a scholar and excel r was lent talke , and as he 1 6 O A H M T 4 LD BERDEENS IRE INIS ERS .

I e n m y ecclesiastical father, joyed much familiar and profit A able intercourse with him . f his o r . famous retort to M Peter, L of eslie , at a Presbytery dinner , merits preservation . Mr . Peter,

w as having just become a benedict , ch affi ng the brotherhood of bache r lo s , and singled out for persistent

. n attack Mr Fraser, who was co

firmed in the single state . When

n . r he got an openi g , Mr Fraser ose , a nd with a breadth of accent that f d e made the cut more ef ectual , r live ed himself thus Moderator, I R d used to learn in the u iments ,

‘ u s P ei r us e fi i f e se vi e deems . Peter i n ’ I des res to be a lear ed man . wish I could repeat with equal truth I what read also in the same source ,

’ ‘ S ei F ei r a m esse vi z u m a cmm I o o .

’ i s know Peter a learned man .

1 48 OLD ABERDEENSHIRE MINISTERS .

’ ’ ’ in t . I m nae gaun to mak a Show ’ 0 my new goon . Ye ken fat ’ H ez ek eea gat wi his A L ’ contemporary of ochie s , and o f the same occupation , made an n antiquaria find in his farm , and called the neighbours to see it . Various conjectures as to its origin had been uttered , when he broke in — “ ’ I with Gin ye ll hearken to me , ’ ’ I t s think I can pit ye throu . a thing that had been fan the H ot t ento ts and A n tipods dw alt here ” langsyne . The following answers given i n the witness - box are still repeated with enjoyment by descendants o f the speaker— “ What ’ s your name ? ” “ “ S anny Mull . Where is your ? ” ? ” residence Fat div ye s ay “ ” ’ Whar d o ye bide ? Mull o

Templeton . H ow old are yo u MISCELLANEOUS ANECDOTES . I 49

A ’ m ’ “ A nae bran new . re you a married man have yo u a wife “ ’ ’

A clotch . ye , a kin O a