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RENT1EY, DOKSET STREET. 0 a? J^, ^^^ a^-^k- A-**^ sp^f**? f*****" *f?^ jesfofA t MEMOIR OF THE REVEREND ALEXANDER WAUGH, D.D. WITH SELECTIONS FROM HIS EPISTOLARY CORRESPONDENCE, PULPIT RECOLLECTIONS, &c. BY REV. JAMES HAY, A.M. A> I) REV. HENRY BELFRAGE, D.D. THE LAW OF TRUTH WAS IN HIS MOUTH, AND INIQUITY WAS NOT FOUND IN HIS LIPS : HE WALKED WITH ME IN PEACE AND EQUITY, AND DID TURN MANY AWAY FROM INIQUITY." SECOND EDITION. LONDON: PRINTED FOR HAMILTON, ADAMS, AND CO. 33, PATERNOSTER ROW. M.DCCC.XXXI. LONDON: J. MOVES, TOOK'S COURT, CHANCERY LANE. PREFACE THE FIRST EDITION. The Memoir now presented to the public was prepared by two of Dr. Waugh's friends resident in Scotland. Its object is to de- lineate a character richly marked by the image of Christ, to record the leading inci- dents of a life devoted to goodness, and to present an example whose excellence de- mands that imitation to which its beauty allures. The facts detailed are such as fell under the observation of the writers, or were com- municated to them from respectable sources. Among the persons whose valuable commu- nications have enriched this Work, justice and gratitude require that the Rev. George IV PREFACE. Burder of Fetter Lane, the Rev. George Col- lison of Hackney, the Rev. Dr. Morrison of Brompton, the Rev. Dr. Philip of the Cape, and A. Chalmers, Esq. of London, should be especially mentioned. The thanks of the compilers are also due to Thomas Pringle, Esq., Secretary to the Anti-Slavery Society, not only for his able editorial superintend- ence of the Work during its progress through the press, but also for some most judicious alterations and additions which his frequent and recent intercourse with the members of Dr. Waugh's family has enabled him to introduce. The letters inserted in this Memoir will be found peculiarly interesting, from the views which they give of Divine truth and duty, the scenes they describe, the incidents they detail, and the qualities of heart which they so delightfully exhibit. Other speci- mens of Dr. Waugh's talent for letter-writing, fully equal to any of these, could have been given ; but that which charms in friendship PREFACE. V cannot in all cases be rendered interesting or suitable for the public. For the deficiencies of this Work the candid will find an apology in the distance of the writers from the scenes of Dr. Waugh's life, and in the impossibility of doing full justice to services so extensive and to qua- lities so various. To the good of all parties it is affectionately dedicated, for he was the common friend of the pious of every name ; and at the feet of that Saviour it is laid, to whose grace their venerable friend ascribed so piously all that he did and all that he enjoyed, and in whose service he was faithful to the death. JAMES HAY, A.M. Kinross. HENRY BELFRAGE, D.D. Falkirk. March 1, 1830. PREFACE THE SECOND EDITION. In presenting a Second Edition of this Work, the writers cannot repress the expression of their high gratification at the favourable manner in which the public has been pleased to receive the First ; the rapid sale of which evidences the deep interest felt by the wise and good in the memory of Dr. Waugh, and excites the hope of the extending influence of his spirit and example. In this Edition will be found some ad- ditional letters and anecdotes, illustrative of the combined cheerfulness and piety of his character, and some further passages from his pulpit discourses, exhibiting more fully the light, beauty, and fervour of his teaching as a Master in Israel. LINES THE MEMORY OF THE REV. DR. WAUGH. Whoe'er thou art whose eye may hither bend, If thou art human, here behold a friend. Art thou of Christ's disciples ? He was one Like him whose bosom Jesus leant upon. Art thou a sinner burthened with thy grief? His life was spent proclaiming sin's relief. Art thou an unbeliever ? He could feel Much for the patient whom he could not heal. Whate'er thy station, creed, condition be, This man of God has cared and prayed for thee. Do riches, honours, pleasures, smile around ? He would have shewn thee where alone is found Their true enjoyment — on the Christian plan Of holiness to God and love to man. Are poverty, disease, disgrace, despair, The ills, the anguish to which flesh is heir, Thy household inmates? Yea, even such as thee He hailed as brothers of humanity ; And gave his hand and heart, and toiled and pled, Till nakedness was clothed and hunger fed ; Till pain was soothed, and even the fiend Despair Confessed a stronger arm than his was there. And ye far habitants of heathen lands, For you he raised his voice and stretched his hands ; And taught new-wakened sympathy to start With generous throb through many a British heart ; Till wide o'er farthest oceans waved the sail That bade in Jesus' name the nations hail, And Afric's wastes and wildered Hindostan Heard the glad tidings of " good will to man." Vili LINES TO THE MEMORY OF DR. WAUGH. Such was his public ministry. And they Through life who loved him till his latest day, Of many a noble, gentle trait can tell, That as a man, friend, father, marked him well : The frank simplicity ; the cordial flow Of kind affections ; the enthusiast glow That love of Nature or his Native Land Would kindle in those eyes so bright and bland ; The unstudied eloquence, that from his tongue Fell like the fresh dews by the breezes flung From fragrant woodlands ; the benignant look That like a rainbow beamed through his rebuke — Rebuke more dreaded than a despot's frown, For sorrow more than anger called it down ; The winning way, the kindliness of speech, With which he wont the little ones to teach, As round his chair like clustering doves they clung — For, like his Master, much he loved the young. These, and unnumbered traits like these, my verse Could fondly dwell upon ; but o'er his hearse A passing wreath I may but stop to cast, Of love and grateful reverence the last Poor earthly token. Weeping mourners here Perchance may count such frail memorial dear, Though vain and valueless it be to him Who tunes his golden harp amidst the seraphim ! T. P. 1827. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. EARLY LIFE OF DR. WAUGH. Parentage of Alexander Waugh. Character and mode of life of Scottish husbandmen of olden times. Change of manners. His parents and their family. Education of Alexander for the ministry. His early days. Earlstoun. Parochial schools. Stitchell. Rev. George Coventry. Course of University education prescribed by the Secession church. Prosecution of his studies at Edinburgh — at Haddington, under the Rev. John Brown — and at Aberdeen, under Doctors Campbell and Beattie. Misgivings respecting his fitness for the mi- nistry. Receives license, and proves highly acceptable as a preacher. Rise of Wells Street congregation, London. Rev. Arch. Hall. Ordination and settlement of Mr. Waugh at Newtown. Competing calls from London and Edinburgh, and his final appointment to the charge of the Wells Street Congregation Page 1 CHAPTER II. HIS MINISTRY IN WELLS STREET. ^ Mr. Waugh's ministry in London. Visit to Scotland in 1783. Private diary. His marriage. Ordination of Rev. Alexander Easton. Intercourse with Rev. John Newton. Deliverance from danger at sea. Address to the congregation on his ill- ness. Visit to Scotland in 1806, for recovery of health. b CONTENTS. Memorial on the Psalmody. Congregational addresses. Accident at Clapton in 1823. Increasing infirmities. Letters to old friends — youthful reminiscences. Letters from Har- rowgate. Funeral sermon on Rev. Dr. Bogue. Delight in ministerial duties. Kindness and liberality of his congrega- tion. Correspondence respecting an assistant. His last public services. Character of his pulpit ministrations. His lectures in Fetter Lane, &c. Congregational labours. Anecdote. Non-interference in church secularities. Chris- tian liberality Page 100 CHAPTER III. HIS CONNEXION WITH PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS. Remarks on associations for the spread of the Gospel. Dr. Bogue's appeal. Co-operation of Dr. Waugh in establishing the London Missionary Society. His sermon on the second anniversary of that institution. Notices of its proceedings, from his correspondence. Journal of his tour to Paris in 1802. Missionary tours to various parts of England and Ireland ; letters. Interview with the Synod of Ulster. Letters from Rev. Dr. Baird. Tours in Scotland in 1815 and 1819 ; letters. Circular letter to brethren in Scotland. Addresses to Missionaries. Sketch of his character as a director and associate labourer of the Missionary Society. Connexion with the British and Foreign Bible Society. Speech at the formation of an auxiliary association. His support of the Scottish Hospital, and of other philanthropic and charitable institutions. Anecdotes 201 CHAPTER IV. HIS FRIENDSHIPS. Extracts from his correspondence, with remarks, viz. Letters to a youth at college — to a young friend in India — to another, an emigrant to South Africa — to a friend ordained to the ministry. Readiness to assist country ministers. CONTENTS. xi Visitation of the distressed and dying — anecdote. Letters of consolation: — to a mother bereaved of her child — to a father on the death of an only son — to a widowed mourner to the widow of a deceased friend — to a friend on the death of a parent — to a friend distressed — to a friend dyin°\ Address at the funeral of Rev. Mr. Townsend. To a friend under misapprehension of his conduct. A good-humoured hint. Ordinary correspondence. Reminiscences of early days. Miscellaneous extracts. Descriptions of natural scenery. Advice to a young lady. Friendships with the high and the humble : old John Ker. His general character as a friend and companion — urbanity — talent for anecdote — pleasantry — aversion from evil speaking — modesty — letter — cheerfulness. Kindness to his predecessor's widow.. Page 317 CHAPTER V. HIS DOMESTIC CHARACTER. Conjugal happiness. Character as a husband. Letters to his wife. Conduct as a father. Letters to his daughters. Habits of punctuality. His son Alexander: notice of his death: letters to him, and to his widow. Paternal counsel to one of his daughters and her husband on their marriage, and afterwards. Letters to his daughter Jeane Neill, during her illness. Short account of her illness and death. Letters to his sons : counsel to one of them on his entering the Uni- versity. Family gatherings. Letter. Sketch of his domestic character and habits, by one of his daughters : kindness to the poor — hospitality — commissions and correspondence — strict sense of duty — course of Sabbath duties — personal economy — cheerfulness — miscellaneous notices. Sketch by one of his sons : his nationality — description of a tent preaching — Stitchell Brae — recollections of early scenes and friends — patriotism — poetical imagination 396 Xll CONTENTS. CHAPTER VI. HIS CONDUCT IN AFFLICTION AND DEATH. Submission and cheerfulness in distress ; letters. Addresses to his people during his illness. Resignation under increas- ing infirmities and bereavements. Anticipations of approach- ing dissolution ; letters. Last public services. Last iilness. Death-bed scenes. His decease. Resolution of Directors of London Missionary Society on this event. His funeral. Tributes to his memory. Conclusion Page 506 APPENDIX. Pulpit Recollections 555 Account of the Secession Church 610 MEMOIRS, &c. CHAPTER I. Parentage of Alexander Waugh. Character and mode of life of Scottish husbandmen of olden times. Change of manners. His parents and their family. Education of Alexander for the ministry. His early clays. Earlstoun. Parochial schools. Stitchell. Rev. George Coventry. Course of University education prescribed by the Secession church. Prosecution of his studies at Edinburgh — at Haddington, under the Rev. John Brown — and at Aberdeen, under Doctors Campbell and Beattie. Misgivings respecting his fitness for the mi- nistry. Receives license, and proves highly acceptable as a preacher. Rise of Wells Street congregation, London. Rev. Arch. Hall. Ordination and settlement of Mr. Waugh at Newtown. Competing calls from London and Edinburgh, and his final appointment to the charge of the Wells Street congregation. Alexander Waugh was born on the 16th of August, 1754, at East Gordon, a small village in the parish of Gordon, Berwickshire. Thomas Waugh and Margaret Johnstone, his parents, belonged to the class of small farmers, who for some centuries were the cultivators of the soil throughout every part of Scotland ; and who, being generally considered by their landlords as 2 SCOTTISH HUSBANDMEN OF OLDEN TIMES : the hereditary feudatories of their families, were accustomed to succeed each other from father to son, with nearly as little variation as the proprie- tors themselves. This valuable order of husbandmen, who con- stituted a very considerable proportion of the population, was, at this period, of the third ge- neration in descent from the Covenanters, who lived towards the latter end of the seventeenth century ; to whom their country owes a deep debt of gratitude, for their pious zeal, their patient sufferings, and their severe, long-protracted, and ultimately successful struggle with a despotic and persecuting government. Like their ancestors, whose memory they warmly cherished and ve- nerated, besides being zealous Presbyterians, they were distinguished by frugal habits, simple man- ners, and an ardent regard for evangelical doc- trines. In addition to a regular and exemplary attendance on the public ordinances of divine worship, they faithfully performed the exercises of devotion in their families, and laboured, with patriarchal diligence, to instil into the minds of their children and domestics the principles of sound doctrine and a holy life. The strict and regular observance of the duties of family re- ligion, appears to have been one chief cause of the high eminence in scriptural knowledge, in sobriety of manners, as well as in every domestic virtue, for which the northern part of Great Britain was then justly celebrated. The patriarchal simplicity of manners which, about the middle of last century, so especially THEIR MODE OF LIFE. 3 characterised Scottish husbandmen, was calcu- lated, in a high degree, to foster deep affections, and a sober but manly earnestness both of prin- ciple and deportment ; and it may be fairly stated as one of the happy privileges of the Secession church, that so large a number of its ministers have sprung from this virtuous and valuable order of men. On this latter account, as well as with a more immediate reference to the subject of the present memoir, we shall endeavour to give a brief description of the mode of life and household dis- cipline of a Scottish farmer of former days. It is a sketch from early recollections of scenes long- gone by — " When old simplicity was yet in prime; For now among our glens the faithful fail, Forgetful of their sires in olden time : That gray-haired race is gone, of look sublime, Calm in demeanour, courteous, and sincere ; Yet stern when duty called them, as their clime, When it flings off the autumnal foliage sere, And shakes the shuddering woods with solemn voice severe." The habitation of a Scottish husbandman in the southern counties, sixty or seventy years ago, was generally a plain, substantial building, hold- ing a middle rank between the residences of the inferior gentry and the humble cottages of the labouring peasantry. The farm-house, with the small windows of its second story often projecting through the thatched roof, occupied, for the most part, the one side of a quadrangle, in which the young cattle were folded ; the other three sides being enclosed and sheltered by the barns, 4 SCOTTISH HUSBANDMEN OF OLDEN TIMES \ stables, and other farm offices. A kitchen-gar- den, stocked with the common potherbs then in use, and sometimes with a few fruit-trees, ex- tended on one side, sheltered perhaps by a hedge of boortree or elder, and often skirted by a few aged forest-trees ; while the low, thatched dwell- ings of the hinds and cotters stood at a little distance, each with its small cabbage-garden, or kail-yard, behind, and its stack of peat, or turf fuel, in front. An upland farm, of the common average size, extending to about four or five hundred acres, partly arable and partly pastoral, usually employed three or four ploughs; and the master's household, exclusive of his own family, consisted of six or seven unmarried servants, male and female. The married servants, — namely, a head shepherd, and a hind or two (as the married ploughmen were termed), — occupied cottages apart; as likewise did the cotters, who were rather a sort of farm retainers than servants, being bound only to give the master, in lieu of rent, their services in hay- time and harvest, and at other stated periods. The whole, however, especially in remote situations, formed a sort of little independent community in themselves, deriving their subsistence almost exclusively from the produce of the farm. The master's household alone usually amounted to fifteen or twenty souls ; and the whole population of the farm, or onstead, to double or treble that number ; — a number considerably greater, per- haps, than will now be commonly found on a farm of the same extent, — but maintained with much THEIR MODE OF LIFE. 5 frugality, and always industriously occupied, though not oppressed with labour. Little of the jealous distinction of ranks which now subsists between the farming class and their hired servants, was then known. The connexion between master and servant had less of a com- mercial, and more of a patriarchal character. Every household formed but one society. The masters (at that time generally a sober, virtuous, and religious class,) extended a parental care over their servants, and the servants cherished a filial affection for their masters. They sat together, they ate together, they often wrought together ; and after the labours of the day were finished, they assembled together around the blazing fire, in the " farmer's ha','' conversing over the occur- rences of the day, the floating rumours of the country, or " auld warld stories;" and not unfre- quently religious subjects were introduced, or the memory of godly men, and of those who, in evil times, had battled or suffered for the right, was affectionately commemorated. This familiar in- tercourse was equally decorous as it was kindly, — for decent order and due subordination were strictly maintained. It was the great concern of masters and mistresses, when new servants were required, to obtain such as were of sober and re- ligious habits : if any one of a different character got in, his dismissal, at the first term, was certain. Servants in those days never thought of changing masters, unless something occurred which ren- dered the change indispensable. At ordinary meals, the master (or good-man, as 6 SCOTTISH HUSBANDMEN OF OLDEN TIMES I he was termed,) took his seat at the head of the large hall table, the mistress sitting on his right hand, the children on his left, the men-servants next in station, and the maid-servants at the bot- tom,— one of the latter serving. The use of tea was then unknown, except in the houses of the gentry. Porridge was the constant dish at break- fast and supper ; at dinner broth and meat, milk, cheese, and butter. Twice in the year, exclusive of extraordinary occasions, there was a farm fes- tival, in which every inhabitant of the place par- took ; namely, the kirn, or harvest home, at the close of autumn, and the celebration of the new year. On these occasions, an abundant feast of baked and boiled cheered the heart of the hum- blest labourer on the land, and was closed with decent hilarity by a cheerful beaker or two of home-brewed ale. But the religious order of the family was the distinguishing trait. The whole household as- sembled in the hall (or kitchen) in the morning before breakfast, for family worship, and in the evening before supper. The good-man, of course, led their devotions, every one having his Bible in his hand. This was the stated course even in seed-time and harvest : between five and six in the morning was the hour of prayer in these busy seasons. On Sabbath all went to church, however great the distance, except one person, in turn, to take care of the house or younger children, and others to tend the cattle. After a late dinner, on their return, the family assembled around the master, THEIR MODE OF LIFE. 7 who first catechised the children, and then the servants. Each was required to tell what he remembered of the religious services they had joined in at the house of God ; each repeated a portion of the Shorter Catechism ; and all were then examined on heads of divinity, from the mouth of the master. Throughout the whole of the Sabbath, all worldly concerns, except such as necessity or mercy required to be attended to, were strictly laid aside ; and nothing was allowed to enter into conversation save subjects of religion. These homely details may perhaps seem, at first sight, calculated to corroborate, in some re- spects, the exaggerated notions which prevail in England respecting the religious austerity of the old Presbyterians ; and readers, looking exclu- sively to the strictness of their discipline, their alleged " proscription of all amusements," the limited education, the want of books, and, above all, the want of refinement which, according to our modern notions, might be expected to be the necessary result of familiar association with menial servants, — may possibly picture to themselves a state of society altogether clownish, melancholy, and monotonous. Yet this would be a very false estimate of the real character and condition of the old Scottish tenantry. The life of the husbandman and his depend- ents, in those days, was so far from being unen- livened by mirth and enjoyment, that there was in truth much more real enjoyment than is now often to be witnessed. They had more leisure to be merry than their descendants, and there was, 8 SCOTTISH HUSBANDMEN OF OLDEN TIMES : in reality, no proscription of innocent amusements. Spring and autumn were the only seasons that required very arduous labour in the old system of husbandry ; and then those seasons came round with an air of more festivity, had more of a heart- stirring aspect about them, and their toils were encountered with a more grateful alacrity, than in our days of regular rotations and improved ma- chinery. At other seasons of the year the labours were comparatively light. The winning of peats and hay, ewe-milking, sheep-shearing, the dairy, and the tending of the flocks and herds, chiefly occupied the jocund days of summer. In winter their leisure was still greater, and their enjoy- ments not less diversified. Field sports were eagerly followed in the intervals of labour, or when frost and snow had stopped the progress of the plough ; nor were the peasantry then restrained from such hardy amusements by the enforcement of demoralising game laws. At other times, the grave good-man would toss down to his sons and servant-lads the foot-ball or the kitticat, and bid them take a bout to warm their youthful blood. And in the long winter evenings, when seated around the fire, harmless mirth and jocularity pleasantly alternated with more serious and in- structive conversation ; nor did any puritanical sourness forbid the recitation of the old romantic border ballads and legends, or the singing of the sweet pastoral songs, of which both the poetry and the music were, like the broom and birch of the braes around them, the spontaneous and unso- phisticated growth of their own beautiful country. THEIR MODE OF LIFE. 9 And thus, with scared}' any books of amusement, without any games of chance, without stimulating liquors, and without ever seeing a newspaper, our simple ancestors managed to beguile their hours of leisure and relaxation cheerfully and inno- cently ; and, on the whole, perhaps quite as ra- tionally, if not quite so elegantly, as their more bustling and ambitious offspring. Amidst the manifold improvements of more recent times, (the value of which, in some respects, we are far from denying), it may yet be considered very question- able, whether all that has been abandoned of former manners has been equally well replaced, and whether even our progress in knowledge and refinement has not been but too dearly purchased by the sacrifice of qualities still more valuable. This brief outline (for it is nothing more) of a state of rural society which many of our older readers must have witnessed in their youth, though few vestiges of it now remain, may per- haps to some persons seem here unnecessary or misplaced ; but, besides our desire to present to English readers a picture, sketched from real life, of the lovely simplicity of the olden day, we think that it will serve as a key to much of what is most interesting in the subject of this memoir ; for in a household somewhat similar to the one we have described were spent the early years of Alexander Waugh ; and to the influence of such scenes upon a heart of no ordinary sensibility, may be fairly ascribed many of the most valuable, as well as delightful, traits of his character. Towards the latter end of the last century a 10 MODERN CHANGE OF MANNERS. new state of things commenced in Scotland, which has greatly changed both its external condition and the manners of the people. The introduction of manufactures into the towns and villages, by raising the price of labour, greatly ameliorated the outward circumstances and comforts of the operatives ; but this sudden flow of worldly pro- sperity, accompanied, as it necessarily was, by the promiscuous intercourse of numerous bodies of people thus brought into close collision, and intermixed with persons of doubtful or licentious character, produced a baneful effect upon the religious habits and good morals of this class of the population. About the same period, the small farmers were almost entirely superseded in a number of the agricultural counties by an im- proved system of husbandry, which, together with a more considerable capital, and greater economy of labour, required a wider field of operation ; and which, by affording a higher rent, offered a strong- inducement to the landholders to let out their property in more extensive farms. Many of this new class of farmers, who, by their skilful enter- prise, were soon raised to a state of wealth and independence, instead of walking in the steps of their predecessors, by regularly worshipping God in their families, and cultivating sober and pious habits, made it their chief ambition to imitate or outstrip the worst extravagances of their superiors, by indulging in every species of luxury and dissi- pation, of vice and impiety. And if it be true that evil communications corrupt good morals, the examples of such masters must have been IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY RELIGION. 1 1 followed by most injurious consequences, not only to their own families, but also to their servants and dependents, and all who came under their influence. The bitter fruits produced by this new state of things soon began to manifest themselves, parti- cularly in the neglect of the duties of domestic devotion, for the observance of which our fathers had been eminently distinguished. The great disregard of this sacred service, of such vital im- portance for preserving the fear of God in the hearts of the rising generation, has been accom- panied, step by step, by scenes of profaneness and vice, which would have caused the men of a former generation to tremble. Notwithstanding our Sabbath schools, and the numerous and zeal- ous exertions made in every part of the country to communicate salutary and useful instruction to the young, — exertions to which there is nothing parallel in any preceding part of our history, — crimes, instead of being diminished, appear to be still on the increase ; and the calendars of our justiciary courts are stained by a multiplicity of daring and enormous acts of wickedness and de- pravity, committed by young delinquents. In such a discouraging aspect of matters so vitally connected with the best interests of the country, every pious and well-constituted mind will be disposed to ask with anxious alarm, What will the end of these things be ? The following observations, by a celebrated divine, appear to us deserving of most serious consideration, and by no means irrelevant to the 12 IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY RELIGION. objects of the present work: — " The public state of religion in the world must entirely depend on the care bestowed on the cultivation of it in pri- vate families. If the nursery be neglected, how is it possible that the plantation should prosper? Such as the families are of which congregations, churches, and kingdoms, are composed, such will be the flourishing or decayed state of religion in these larger communities ; and consequently it is as clear as noonday, that the disregard shewn to God in our households is the fatal source of that amazing corruption of manners in the present age, which almost every one pretends to lament, but almost none sets himself in earnest to reform. Would you put a stop to abounding iniquity, and promote the cause of God and religion, begin at home, and let your Maker have that honour in your families to which he is entitled."* The subject of this memoir has left an interest- ing account of the moral worth and fervent piety of his parents; and it gives us pleasure to remark, that in those holy and auspicious days of Scottish history, there were few towns, or villages, or glens, in the lowland counties, where persons of similar character were not to be found. " My father was an industrious and kind parent. He was, I believe, an upright Christian before God, as he was confessedly a just and honest man before the world. He had been nominated to be an elder by Mr. Bell, minister of Gordon, in the established church; but declined * The Rev. Mr. Walker, of Edinburgh. DR. WAUGH'S CHARACTER OF HIS FATHER. 13 to accept, both from a modest sense of his in- ability, and from a settled disapprobation of the violent measures in the planting of ministers in vacant parishes by lay patronage, which were at that time employed by the ruling party in the General Assembly. These sentiments led him to countenance the public-spirited steps of the first ministers who stated a secession from that ruling and overbearing party. He united with the con- gregation of Stitchell and Morebattle in calling the Rev. Mr. Hunter to be their pastor. After- wards he joined in the call to the Rev. Mr. Coventry to be minister of Stitchell ; and con- tinued to walk, to the time of his death, with that church, in all the ordinances of the Lord blameless. " He worshipped God in his family regularly morning and evening ; and on the Lord's day ex- amined his children in regard to their acquaint- ance with divine truth. He took them, whenever they were able to go with him, to the house of God, and endeavoured to form their minds to the love of piety. I owe every thing, under God, to his piety and affection : by the former he was led to devote me to God in the service of his Son ; and by the latter, to lay out a considerable part of his substance for my education for that service." In addition to these " short and simple annals," extracted from Dr. Waugh's private diary, we may add, that to the habits of devotion, more par- ticularly, which characterised his father's house, he frequently, in after-life, reverted with the most lively feelings of grateful delight. He was wont 14 FAMILY DEVOTIONS. often to quote the striking expressions used by his father in family prayer, and in expounding the Scriptures to his household, — including, on occasions of special solemnity, the hinds and cot- ters, with their assembled families. He men- tioned, that when his father happened to be from home, the family devotions were conducted by his mother, — as, at that time, indeed, was the practice generally observed by religious mistresses of families. Of the impressions made upon his young heart by these sacred services, and by other congenial scenes of domestic piety, Dr. Waugh would often talk to his own family, in after-years, with tears in his eyes ; and to the purifying and soul-ennobling influence of such scenes, not a little of the simplicity, tenderness, and moral elevation of his own character, may be clearly traced. The most marked peculiarities of his habits of thought and feeling were evidently formed, at a very early age, under his father's hallowed roof, and in the pastoral seclusion of his native moorlands. The substratum of cha- racter (if we may so express ourselves), — at least where it possesses any natural depth, — is laid probably at a much earlier period of life than most persons are aware of; and though the surface may be afterwards moulded and modified, as manners are superinduced, and the mind care- fully cultivated, or allowed to run to waste, " like an unweeded garden," yet the intrinsic qualities of the intellectual soil, and the peculiar flavour of its fruits, are, in most cases, subsequently sus- ceptible of but little substantial alteration. DR. WAUGH'S CHARACTER OF HIS MOTHER. 15 Concerning his mother, Dr. Waugh has left the following account : — " Piety and meekness, and the tenderest regard for the happiness of her children, formed the outline of her character. Born of eminently pious parents, Alexander John- stone, farmer in East Gordon, and Elizabeth Waugh, her mind at an early period was formed to the love of goodness. Through life she main- tained the character of a godly, modest, and inof- fensive woman. Her devotions were reg-ular and fervent : the law of kindness to all was on her lips ; but towards her children her affection was uncommonly strong, and her religious principles directed her affection into the path of tender so- licitude about their eternal welfare. By prayer, by exhortation, by example, and by many tears, did she study to advance our knowledge of the true God, and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent. She had herself experienced the sweetness of unaffected godliness, and was greatly concerned that her children might also taste and see that the Lord is gracious." A warm-hearted and prudent mother will exert almost unlimited influence over her children during the first six or eight years of their life, — a period of all others when the heart is most sus- ceptible of deep and lasting impressions. The divine Author of our frame hath thus, in his in- finite goodness, furnished a pious mother with efficient means of moulding the tempers of her children, and implanting in their tender minds those principles of piety and virtue which will excite them to every thing great and excellent 10 INFLUENCE OF A PIOUS MOTHER. in conduct, and prepare them, as immortal beings, for the high destinies of a never-ending existence. She will lead her tender and interesting charge to the feet of the good Shepherd, and fill their glowing bosoms with high admiration of his con- descension and grace, by reminding them, that when parents brought their children to him whilst he sojourned on earth, he laid his hands on them and blessed them ; and that now, when he is exalted to the skies, he still promises to gather the lambs with his arms, and carry them in his bosom. Solomon frequently adverts, with great tenderness, to the pious counsels of his mother. Timothy appears to have been instructed, when a child, by his mother and grandmother, in the knowledge of the Scriptures ; and it would be difficult to find an instance of children brought up in the fear of God and the love of the Saviour, while their mother shewed no marked solicitude to cherish a life of piety in her family. " Delightful task ! to rear the tender thought, To teach the young idea how to shoot, To pour the fresh instruction o'er the mind, To breathe the enlivening spirit, and to fix The generous purpose in the glowing breast." What an incalculable blessing to the church, — what a glorious prospect of the revival of religion, — to behold our young females, amidst all the amiable and useful accomplishments which adorn their sex, engraving the words of Solomon on the frame and temper of their hearts,— " Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain ; but a woman that INFLUENCE OF A PIOUS MOTHER. 17 feareth the Lord, she shall be praised I" Few men have attained to high eminence, either in science or religion, who have not expressed deep-felt gra- titude for the example, and counsels, and prayers of an affectionate and pious mother ; and in the case of Dr. Waugh, this grateful feeling was strikingly manifested. It were injustice to her memory not to record most prominently the reve- rential affection with which he ever spoke of the character of his mother. It was his delight to breathe into the ears of his own children the story of her piety and kindness ; to her he looked back, even at the age of threescore years and ten, with all the humility and fondness of a child ; and when, nearly forty years after her death, he heard the summons issued that was to gather him to his fathers, his filial tenderness, as will be seen at the closing account of his life, even then prompted the wish, — that his pillow could have been softened by the hand of his mother, and his heart refreshed and strengthened by her prayers ! — thus recom- mending on his death-bed the performance of that duty to which he was ever so anxious to direct the attention of the young, — " Honour thy father and thy mother." The laudable exertions of this excellent parent, in the religious education of her children, were followed by a rich recompense of reward. With a mind constituted like hers, she tasted the sweet- est of all pleasures, in beholding her three chil- dren give satisfactory evidence of fearing God from their youth. Elizabeth, her only daughter, experienced in c 18 THOMAS WAUGH. her childhood the fulfilment of God's gracious pro- mise,— "They that seek me early shall find me." She was equal to her mother in tender sensibility, in ardent piety, and in the faithful discharge of every Christian and domestic duty, as a wife, as a mother, and as a friend. She had a numerous fa- mily of children, towards whom her heart yearned with all the kindly affections ; but her chief and deepest solicitude wras ever occupied about their eternal interests, in her estimation infinitely more important than to see them in possession of thou- sands of gold and silver : they were indeed chil- dren of many pious counsels and fervent prayers. Her dying chamber was like the gate of heaven. The affections of her heart seemed to be altogether overpowered whilst contemplating the unsearch- able riches of sovereign grace, and telling the members of her family, and her Christian friends who came to visit her, what God had done for her soul. So long as she was able to express her feelings, the high praises of redeeming love were continually on her lips. On the evening of the 27th October, 1809, when her articulation had become so indistinct that it was with great dif- ficulty she could make herself to be understood, the last request she made to her family was to sing the twenty-third Psalm. Her lips were per- ceived to move all the time they were singing; and in about ten minutes after, she breathed her last, without a struggle or a groan, and"fell peace- fully asleep in the arms of her God and Saviour. Thomas, the elder son, who succeeded his father in the farm, appears to have been also de- THOMAS WAUGH. 19 cidedly religious in early life. He was a man of acute and vigorous intellect, of simple manners, and of unbending integrity : wedded to old forms and customs, — the only valuable effect of which was, his sturdy attachment to the old-fashioned and scriptural notions of the holiness of God's law, and the strictness of its moral sanctions, — the fixedness of resolution with which he adhered to what he conceived to be the path of duty in his religious concerns, as well as in his intercourse with the world, displayed in high perfection the tenacem propositi virum. His friends sometimes thought that he carried this temper of mind too far ; but he was esteemed and respected by all who knew him, for his pious, upright, benevolent character. The peculiarities of his manner, though numerous, were perfectly inoffensive ; and, under a rough exterior, he possessed much kindness of heart. No two brothers could have evinced, gene- rally, dispositions more striking and contrasted than did Thomas and Alexander Waugh. The former had no strong partiality to the barren moors of East Gordon, or to the recollections of Caldron-brae, any further than as these localities afforded support to his numerous children. Two things he loved to see, — " The fleecy flocks the hills adorn, The valleys rich with waving corn." Imagination formed no element in his mental structure : while to Alexander, on the other hand* the wild heaths, moss-haggs, and gray stones of Gordon, were as Arcadian meads and marble 20 ALEXANDER — HIS EARLY EDUCATION. columns, — replete with beauty and poetry, and pregnant with " thoughts more deep than tears!" His younger brother used to delight in men- tioning the following pleasing instance of fraternal affection. On setting out from home, to attend his usual course of study at the University, after receiving all the money that his father judged necessary, Thomas generally followed him to some short distance, under pretence of taking leave, and thus found an opportunity of putting into his hands an additional sum, in order that his mind might be easy in regard to his future means. In adverting to this matter afterwards, in the pre- sence of some of the near relations of the family, he added, that his brother never kept any account of the money thus advanced, considering it to fall under that Scripture rule — " Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth." Through the blessing of God on his patient industry and frugal habits, Thomas Waugh was enabled to purchase a farm of considerable value on the banks of the Tweed, where, in the bosom of his family, he died, 8th August, 1820, in the full assurance of faith that he should have bold- ness to enter into the holiest of all, by the blood of Jesus. Alexander, who was the youngest of the family, was devoted by his parents, whilst yet a child, to the Christian ministry. With many of the small farmers it was customary, besides edu- cating all their children at the parochial school, to bring up one of their sons to a learned profes- sion. To this honourable parental ambition we EARLSTOUN SCHOOL. 21 are indebted for many of the professors in our different universities, many of our most eminent physicians, and by far the greater part of the clergy, both in and out of the establishment, who flourished in this part of the island during the preceding century. The subject of this memoir continued at the school of his native parish till nearly twelve years of age, occupied in the ordi- nary exercises of reading, writing, and arithmetic. It deserves to be mentioned, that at every Scottish parochial school a portion of the Bible was then daily read by all the scholars, who were also required to commit accurately to memory the Assembly's Shorter Catechism, often with the quotations from Scripture, or proofs, as they were called, attached to each question. In this most perspicuous and comprehensive summary of divine truth it was imperative on the master regularly to examine all the children every Saturday. Through the watchful and parental superintendence of the presbyteries of the established church, these be- neficial regulations are still enforced in most of the parochial schools, each of which is regularly examined by a committee of presbytery every year. As a preparatory step for the University, Alexander Waugh was removed from Gordon school, at the commencement of 1 766, and sent to Earlstoun, a neighbouring parish, the school- master of which had obtained high celebrity as a teacher of Latin and Greek. His parents, for their station of life, were in what might be called easy circumstances ; and they expended with cheerful liberality a very considerable sum during 22 EARLSTOUN SCHOOL. the subsequent thirteen years, in giving him a more finished education than most young men intended for the ministry were then accustomed to receive. The village of Earlstoun, where Alexander Waugh prosecuted his education during the greater part of the succeeding five years, (the important five years from twelve to seventeen), lies in the very centre of that romantic region so long and justly celebrated as the Arcadia of Scotland. The hill of Cowdenknowes, famed in many a Doric lay, overhangs the village on one side, whilst on another the ruins of the Rhymer's Tower, asso- ciated with so much that is interesting both in history and romance, are still to be seen on the " pastoral haughs of Leader." At a short dis- tance, the Tweed, after receiving the subsidiary streams of Ettrick and Gala-water, pursues its stately course through a rich and beautiful coun- try, diversified by the picturesque hills of Eildon, and embellished by the monastic ruins of Melrose and Dryburgh. These, and a hundred other scenes of old renown, to be viewed from the Black Hill of Earlstoun or the neighbouring heights, could not fail to make a vivid impression on the heart and fancy of such a youth as Alexander Waugh ; and doubtless contributed, in no ordinary degree, to foster the national enthusiasm which formed so remarkable a trait in his character, as well as to awaken the slumbering powers of that rich poetical imagination which in after-life so often astonished and delighted his auditors, both in his pulpit discourses, and on more familiar occasions. EARLSTOUN SCHOOL. 23 The pleasing account which he has himself left, in his papers, of the scenes of Earlstoun school, will call to the recollection of many of our readers " the incense-breathing morn" of youth, when " The sooty blackbird Mellowed his pipe and softened every note, The eglantine smelled sweeter, and the rose Assumed a die more deep ; whilst every flower Vied with its fellow plant in luxury Of dress." "January 1, 1766, entered the grammar-school of Earlstoun, in the county of Berwick : John Mill, master. The providence of God directed my worthy father to send me thither, by the good character which the schoolmaster bore, and by its nearness to Gordon. Though the progress we made in the Latin language was slower than what is usually made in the grammar-schools of large towns or cities, yet the simple and innocent manners of the place, the regard to the duties of religion, which was universal, and the wild and pleasing scenery of that part of the country, brought advantages to my heart which in many other places were not to be expected. I cannot recollect the manners of that happy village, and the innocent pursuits of former days, especially when I compare them with the far, far other manners which prevail in London, without sighing and longing for the past. Goldsmith has, in his Deserted Village, touched those days with so happy a pencil, that it needs little more but to change the names, to make his poem a descrip- 24 EARLSTOUN SCHOOL. tion of Earlstoun, with this difference, that it is not yet, and I trust never will be, a ' deserted village.' But Goldsmith's minister, schoolmaster, and publican, were the minister, schoolmaster, and publican of Earlstoun, when I first knew it. " The people of Scotland reap important advantages from the establishment of parochial schools in all parts of the nation. This, depend- ing not on the precarious charity of the times, but on the authority of Parliament, will continue to be a source of knowledge and instruction for youth, I trust, to late ages. By the care that is taken to make them at school acquainted with the doctrines of the Assembly's Catechism, they are prepared for taking a respectable part in the annual parochial examination, and fitted for un- derstanding the public instructions which, on every Lord's day, are given to the people. The cheap- ness of education also brings it within the reach of the poorest labourer. One shilling a quarter for reading ; one shilling and sixpence for reading, writing, and accounts ; and half-a-crown for Latin and Greek, were the stated wages. The care which the worthy master took of us, his joy at our proficiency, and his uneasiness at our sloth, were truly parental. I shall reverence his memory while I live.* * This system owes its existence to the Scottish reformers. The First Book of Discipline, published in 1560, by Knox and his companions, contains the first suggestion : " Seeing that men now-a-days are not miraculously gifted, as in the times of the apostles, for the continuance of knowledge and learning to *he generations following, especially for the profit and comfort of EARLSTOUN SCHOOL. 25 " On one or other of the days of January in 1707 or 1768, it pleased God to visit me with the small-pox. Inoculation was then unknown in that part of the country. My dear father, on being Christ's kirk, it is necessary that care be had of the virtuous and godly education of youth. We judge, therefore, that in every parish there should be a schoolmaster ; such an one as is able at least to teach the grammar and the Latin tongue, where the town is of any reputation." This suggestion, aided by fre- quent resolutions, to the same effect, of the General Assembly of the Kirk, sufficed for a beginning; but the scheme did not take sufficient root till 1616, when it was enforced, with some neces- sary details, by an order of the Scottish council. The order needed a legislative sanction; and this it obtained, in 1633, in a parliament held during one of Charles the First's visits to Scot- land, which added some provisions for the support of the schools and the teachers. By these means the wants of the more po- pulous districts were supplied ; and, during the fervour of " the covenanted work of reformation" which soon followed, these schools concurred with the zealous labours of the presbyters in spreading among high and low a very fair degree of common knowledge suited to their different ranks, and a degree of reli- gious knowledge which would put the attainments of the present generation, in that respect, to the blush. The gravity of cha- racter, the intense regard to duty, the stern zeal of the Scottish people of that age, were primarily owing to religious sentiment ; but their susceptibility to this sentiment was owing to the early and general culture of their minds. The consequences to the civil and religious liberties of Scotland, where the first heave was felt, and, through sympathy and connexion, to England and to Europe, it would be difficult to over-estimate. The atrocious endeavours of Charles the Second to extirpate presbytery had trodden down the system of education so closely connected with it. Where any schools were left, teachers had intruded who were ignorant and worthless ; and after the Revo- lution, it was found necessary, by a Scottish act, passed in 1693, (" for settling the quiet and peace of the church"), to ordain that every parochial teacher should be liable to the Trial-judgment 26 EARLSTOUN SCHOOL, sent for, came himself, and brought me to East Gordon behind him on horseback, in the midst of the snow, which lay a foot deep on the ground. To this circumstance it was probably owing that I had so small a number of pustules, — little more than fifty : they were also of a good kind. I soon recovered, and returned back to school. To thee, the God of my life, and the length of my days, I ascribe praise and glory for my preservation. O that the life saved in thy mercy were ever employed in thy service! and censure of the presbyteries of the bounds for their suffi- ciency, qualifications, and deportment in their office ; and by an act passed in 1696, the whole system was re-established and re- modelled. It required a teacher to be provided in every parish, who was to be appointed by the minister and heritors (land- holders) of the parish, with a fixed salary of not less than 100 merks (51. lis. Id. stg.), nor exceeding 200 merks (11/. 2s. 2c?.) annually, to be paid by the heritors in proportion to their valued rents, in the same manner as the tiends, or stipends, of the ministers. The teacher was, besides, to have a house and a garden, and was permitted to exact moderate fees (subject to the control of the minister and heritors) from the scholars. Under this enactment, the parish schools of Scotland flourished for a century. The scholars were taught reading, writing, and arithmetic, and, if they chose, book-keeping, mathematics, Latin, and Greek. The school was opened and closed with prayer. The books principally used for reading were the Bible and cate- chisms. Each scholar, as soon as he was able, was required, every morning, to repeat a part of the Shorter Catechism, with or without Scripture proofs ; and the Saturday forenoon was appropriated to a review of what had been learned during the week, especially in religious knowledge. The only vacation was for one month during harvest ; and, immediately before this, (sometimes oftener), the school was publicly examined, in presence of the whole presbytery. To eke out his income, the teacher usually held other small parochial offices. He was precentor, EARLSTOUN SCHOOL. 27 " As I believe that a sparrow falls not to the ground without the agency of Divine Providence, I think it right to preserve the memory of the care of that Providence about my life during the period of youthful rashness and inexperience. How often was I in danger of being dashed in pieces while I was climbing the tree, the loose fragments of old towers, and the rugged precipice jutting out over the river ! I almost feel the trembling of my joints while I look back on these dangers at Cowden- knowes, Rhymer's Tower, and particularly the or clerk, session clerk (i. e. he kept the book containing the proceedings of the minister, elders, and heritors, attended their meetings, and kept the parish registers), collector of cess (a sort of poor-rate), and land-surveyor for the parish ; and, for a consi- derable period, men of excellent qualifications were tempted, by these various emoluments, to become candidates for the situa- tion. The male scholars (for boys and girls attended the same school, though in different classes, and seated apart from each other,) were thus fitted for the college at a small expense ; and though few or no great scholars were produced, yet all had enough to give their shrewd perseverance its full play. The perfervidum ingenium Scotorum was attempered down to a firm purpose in a rational pursuit ; and the result may be seen in the vast numbers of Scotchmen who, since the above period of 1696, have risen to wealth, rank, and renown, in every depart- ment of active life. The changes that had taken place in every thing in the course of a century rendered the emoluments of the parochial teacher inadequate, and in the same proportion had lessened the qualifications of the candidates for the office. In 1 803, there- fore, the British parliament passed an act, increasing the salary ; so that, for the twenty-five years next following, it should be not less than 300, nor more than 400 merks, and that at the end of every twenty-five years it should be augmented in proportion to the average price of a chalder of oatmeal. 28 EARLSTOUN SCHOOL. Gaitheugh opposite to Old Melrose. The least slip of my foot, or withdrawment of my hand, might have proved fatal to my existence in this world. I never repeat these beautiful lines of Addison's, but my imagination hurries back to the period I speak of: 1 When in the slippery paths of youth With heedless steps I ran, Thine arm, unseen, conveyed me safe, And led me up to man. Through hidden dangers, snares, and deaths, It gently clear'd my way ;' O that I could add, with equal truth ! ' And through the pleasing scenes of vice, More to be feared than they.' " In the midst, however, of these dangers, I was gathering health, and strengthening my con- stitution. My schoolfellows and I were accus- tomed to rise in the summer mornings sometimes at five o'clock, and, to the number often or twenty, to visit ' The White Cleugh Well,' a kind of mineral spring, about a mile and a half from the village, where, if the waters did us no signal good, we were certainly much indebted, as somebody calls it, to the goddess of the waters. " At the earlier season of the year, we were accustomed to rise very soon also, for the important business of drawing our fishing-lines, which had been set over night in the Leader. " To those and similar excursions, particularly bird-nesting in the country, the most pastoral and sweet that my eyes ever beheld, and where every EARLSTOUN SCHOOL. 29 brae is replenished with bushes, and every bush vocal, — is to be ascribed the good health which our youth generally enjoy, and the enthusiasm with which every native thinks and speaks of Leader haughs and Tweedside — ' Yes! let the rich deride, the proud disdain, These humble blessings of the lowly train ; To me more dear, congenial to my heart, One native charm, than all the gloss of art.' " I recollect the friendships of youth with re- verence. They are the embraces of the heart of man ere vice has polluted, or interest diverted, its operations. In the churchyard of Earlstoun lies the friend of my youth. John Anderson was a young- man of the gentlest manners and of unassumed piety. Often, when the public service of the church was over, have we wandered among the broom of Cowdenknowes, and talked of the power of that Being by whose hands the foundations of the mountains we beheld were laid, and by whose pencil the lovely scene around us was drawn, and by whose breath the flowers among our feet were perfumed. On our knees have we many a time in succession lifted up our hearts to him for know- ledge, for pardon, for the formation of his image in the soul. We looked forward to the days of coming prosperity, and fondly hoped it might please God that, hand in hand, we should pass through life to that world we were taught to love and aspire after. But Heaven thought otherwise, and by a consumption carried my friend to the grave in the bloom of life. I cannot, even at this 30 EARLSTOUX SCHOOL. distance of time, read his letters, but the recollec- tion of the past overcomes my soul with weakness. " John Anderson had a sister : if ever piety and mildness of soul, with most becoming soft- ness, inhabited a female form, it was the form of that excellent young woman. Through solicitude about her brother, she caught his disorder. I hurried to Earlstoun the moment I heard of her danger : she made an effort to rise up to receive me. ' My brother, my brother, he whom you so loved, is gone! I heard the trampling of the horses' feet as his funeral passed by the door. I shall soon be with him. My God will supply all my wants out of his fulness in glory by Christ Jesus.' Her strength was spent; — in four days after, I held the cord which let her down into the grave. She was buried in the grave adjoining to her brother's, and but ten days after his interment. ' They were lovely in their lives, and in their deaths they were not divided.' They were the boast of the village. Their memory is still fra- grant; reproach could not sully their fair charac- ter; I do not remember of an enemy they ever had. Their religion was truly like apples of gold in pictures of silver. Farewell, my earliest friend ! I will hold up your image to my heart, and trace on my own the sincerity, friendship, love, and goodness of yours."* * The above John Anderson was the brother of the late Mr. Anderson, surgeon in Selkirk, the father of Mrs. Mungo Park. With Mr. Park, who was a native of the same part of the country as himself, Mr. VVaugh was on terms of great intimacy ; and when in London in 1805, previous to his setting out on his EARLSTOUN SCHOOL. 31 One of his surviving class-fellows at Earlstoim school, who has attained to honourable distinction in his profession, has kindly favoured us with an account of this interesting period of his life : — " Alexander Waugh was the most active, lively- boy at the school, and the leader of all frolics. It was impossible to detain him at home in the mornings : he was often out before sunrise ; and second journey to Africa, in which he lost his life, Mr. Park, with Mr. Alexander Anderson, his brother-in-law, who accom- panied him on his travels, was in the habit of spending the greatest past of his spare time at Mr, Waugh's. Independent of the interest taken by him in the extension of geographical know- ledge, Mr. Waugh was deeply solicitous for the temporal and eternal interests of the inhabitants of that unhappy country ; and the manner in which they might be best promoted upon the return of those two interesting men from their hazardous under- taking v/as by them all fondly and ardently anticipated. Mr. Anderson had not the appearance of a strong man : he wanted the athletic form and well-braced nerves of Park, whom, how- ever, he was firm in his determination to accompany, notwith- standing an apprehension delicately expressed one evening by Mr. Waugh, that the climate might be more distressing in its effects upon him than upon Mr. Park, who immediately replied, with great animation, " My dear friend, I have no fear of him; he's the very man for the climate. I'll bring him back as touc/h as wire." Poor fellow ! he died a very few months after they set out on their journey. At this time, Mr. Waugh became accpiainted with the late Sir Joseph Banks, who kindly and voluntarily communicated to him any intelligence he received of the travellers ; and when the first report of Mr. Park's death reached this country, Sir Joseph sent Mr. W. immediate word. It may be observed, that Mr. W. thought, from the first, that there was sufficient consistency in the report, not then generally credited, to warrant him in not enter- taining any hope of its being either premature or false. 32 EARLSTOUN SCHOOL. the places he visited were Carrolside, Cowden- knowes, but more generally Gaitheugh, distant about two miles, — a steep ravine opposite Old Melrose, for ages noted as the best cover for foxes in all the country. When asked, on his return at breakfast-time, where he had been, his answer generally was, ' I have been seeing foxy, and hearing the linnets.' His taste for the beauties of nature was born with him, and constituted a leading feature of his mind. It was at Gaitheugh that, one morning, he fell from a tree, when climb- ing for a gled's nest, and lay for some time insen- sible, no one being with him. In the midst of all his rambles and frolics, he was the best scholar at school, especially in Latin, and equal to any of the other boys in Greek. Many a time his class- fellows exerted themselves to excel him, but in general failed. Most of his companions rose in after-life to respectable rank, either in the military or medical department. Here he learned to play on the violin, of which he was very fond." Besides the accident mentioned by his class- fellow, he had nearly lost his life at Gordon, when, during one of his childish rambles, he fell into a peat hagg, where he would have been inevitably drowned but for the efforts of his brother Thomas, who caught him by his clothes, and rescued him. The same watchful eye which saved David, when a stripling, from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear, and preserved him to be the sweet singer of Israel, watched over Alexander Waugh in his childhood and youth, and elevated him to a sphere of distinguished usefulness in the church EARLY PIETY. 33 of Christ. There are few who cannot recollect instances of the signal interposition of a gracious Providence, when there was but a hair's breadth betwixt them and death. " Bless the Lord, O my soul ! who hath redeemed thy life from de- struction, and crowned thee with loving-kindness and tender mercy." It is pleasant, amidst all the youthful spright- liness which characterised this spirited and lively boy, to find the principles of fervent piety deeply rooted in his heart. He read the Scriptures fre- quently and devoutly, delighted in secret prayer, and laboured to imbibe the holy temper of Him " who increased in wisdom and stature, in favour with God and man." It is stated by one of the few surviving companions of his boyhood, that it was their custom, perhaps in the spirit of a very natural desire to imitate their superiors in years, to meet together under the shade of an elder- tree, whose withered trunk still remains, and with much decorum to conduct the ordinary services of a prayer-meeting. On these occasions, Alex- ander Waugh, being the eldest boy, generally offered up the prayers ; and it was from observ- ing the early indications of the opening qualities of his head and heart thus given, (and no doubt most gratefully listened to by his mother, who stood concealed in the vicinity), that her mind was first impressed with the desire of fitting him for the sacred ministry. We are also informed by one of his earliest associates at Gordon, that before he left Earlstoun school, when he was little more than fifteen years of age, he occasionally 34 STITCHELL. REV. GEORGE COVENTRY. attended a religious society which met at East Gordon for fellowship and prayer, in the house of James Spence, an elder of the Secession church ; and that, even at this early period, he was marked, both by the aged and the young, for his singularly appropriate and interesting manner of expressing himself in prayer. Our informant also recollects receiving a letter from him about this time, in commendation of such religious societies, " full of serious thoughts and good advices." In 1770, when sixteen years of age, he joined the Secession congregation of Stitchell, of which he continued a member till 1779, when he was licensed to preach the everlasting Gospel. The holy enthusiasm with which, in after-life, he was wont to speak of the sacramental occasions on Stitchell Brae, will be particularly noticed in a subsequent part of the memoir. The congregation of Stitchell was at that pe- riod under the pastoral charge of the Rev. George Coventry, of whom he never spoke but in terms of affectionate veneration and gratitude. To men- tion, indeed, the name of that most excellent man, is to recall to the minds of all who knew him, every thing in the ministerial character that was pious, kind, peaceable, lovely, and of good report. His conversation, his sermons, his prayers, all breathed the spirit of that Master who was meek and lowly in heart. It seemed to afford him peculiar pleasure to communicate information to the young from his rich stores of knowledge. By the kindly affections of his heart he was given to hospitality, and, being in easy circumstances, his UNIVERSITY EDUCATION. 35 house became the frequent resort of ministers, and of young men during the time of their pre- paratory course for the sacred office. In this latter class he always took a very deep interest, lending them books, directing their studies, giving them salutary counsel, and in urgent cases admi- nistering pecuniary aid. The obscure village where he dwelt acquired importance and interest, as the scene of his pious labours, and works of benevolence and goodness. The writer of these pages, after an interval of thirty-five years, still feels his bosom glow with gratitude for the many profitable and happy days which, during the yearly vacation from college, he was wont to spend in his hospitable mansion, listening to in- structions which have proved more beneficial in his future experience of life, than all the books he has had occasion to peruse. He breathed out his soul at Edinburgh, 30th June, 1795, in lively hope of eternal blessedness ; his wonted heavenly and placid temper still beaming on his counte- nance. The habitual tenour of his life formed a commentary on the words of the apostle, whom he greatly resembled in the leading features of his mind, — *' God is love ; and whosoever dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him." Before adverting to the course of study requi- site to prepare young men for entering on the sacred office, we may remark, that in a national institution for advancing the interests of science and literature, all possible facilities should be given to students of every rank in society, and of every religious denomination; because a govern 36 UNIVERSITY EDUCATION. ment increases its own stability in proportion as it augments the happiness of its subjects by the general diffusion of sound and wholesome know- ledge. It is, therefore, to be regretted, that the two English Universities, which have acquired such honourable celebrity, should, by the exclu- sive system on which they are regulated, seal up their precious treasures of instruction from all who are not members of the established church, however deserving as subjects of the state, or eminent for their rank in society. The conti- nuance of this distinction, so injurious to a con- siderable part of the population, and so invidious and offensive in itself, can only be ascribed to that jealous dislike of innovation, which often retains the customs of a barbarous age for a long- period of years after they have been generally reprobated by every candid and well-informed mind. The Scottish Universities, happily, have no exclusive test to prevent students, whatever be their religious sentiments, from enjoying every literary and scientific privilege. In consequence of this liberal system, the students for the holy ministry, from the different bodies of dissenters in Scotland, pass through the same course of educa- tion as those who are trained up for the national church. This state of things has been of incal- culable advantage in elevating the character of the Secession ministers, and, through them, of the Secession church, which constitutes the great and leading body in a state of separation from the national establishment. No church will main- tain respectability of character, without a learned UNIVERSITY EDUCATION. 37 as well as a pious ministry. " The priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth ; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts." He whose office it is to instruct others, should be careful to have his own mind richly stored with knowledge, that as a scribe well instructed in the kingdom of God, he may bring forth out of his treasures things both new and old. Few men would be willing to employ a person without literature and experience as a physician or a judge ; and shall it be thought that a man destitute of such qualifications is fitted to explain the most obscure passages of Scripture, solve perplexed cases of conscience, or give such a luminous, convincing statement of an abstruse doctrine of theology, as will satisfy the humble inquirer after truth, and impart peace and con- solation to the troubled heart ? There have been, we will admit, exceptions to this ; but these have been extraordinary cases, which serve only to give greater force to the general maxim. No one, indeed, has been more forward to acknow- ledge than those highly-gifted individuals them- selves, the great disadvantage they have suffered by the deficiency of their early life in literary acquirements. How shall he who is a stranger to the learned languages, unfold the mind of the sacred writers, by analysing the phrases of the original, so necessary, in many instances, for elucidating the meaning, and giving energy to the sentiment ? How shall he who is not versed in general knowledge, unravel those subtile and disingenuous sophisms by which men of corrupt 38 COURSE OF STUDY minds labour to ensnare the simple and unin- formed ? or how shall he present such a per- spicuous and well-arranged exhibition of divine truth as will enable the simple-hearted Christian to give a reason of the hope that is in him, with meekness and fear ? There is no branch of know- ledge from which a minister may not derive ad- vantage, and which, if he be a pious man, he will not diligently improve, for furnishing himself with new facilities to unfold the mind of the Spirit in the Holy Scriptures. The presbyteries of the Secession require at- tendance at the University for four years before they take a young man on trial, in order to his admission to the study of theology ; and he is then subjected to a strict examination regarding his knowledge in Latin, Greek, Hebrew, logic, and natural and moral philosophy. By a late arrangement, the Synod have appointed two theological tutors ; the one to give instructions in Biblical literature, and criticism immediately connected with the original languages in which the Scriptures were written ; the other to give lectures on the doctrines and duties of theology, and to hear and remark on the discourses which have been prescribed to the students for fitting them to become public teachers. The students are required to attend the first of these professors two sessions of nine weeks ; and the second, three sessions of the same period. During the space of five years, which this course occupies, the presbyteries in whose bounds they reside are accustomed to assign certain books for their PRESCRIBED BY THE SECESSION CHURCH. 39 perusal, on which they are occasionally ex- amined ; and to appoint one discourse, at least, to be delivered before them every year, to ascer- tain what progress they have made in their studies. Regarding the qualifications of the Secession ministers, we may adduce the testimony of a minister of the church of Scotland, who, during a long public life, of more than half a century, was respected and honoured by men of all parties and denominations, for a sound judgment, a candid mind, a high-toned, incorruptible integrity, and for exerting his great influence in the settle- ment of evangelical ministers throughout the country: — " The candidates for orders in the Secession have at least the means of being as well educated as the ministers of the establish- ment. This fact, whatever additional strength it may give to the Secession, is of no small import- ance to the country at large ; for, from the con- gregations of eight seceding ministers, deposed by the Assembly in 1740, (adding to them the Pres- bytery of Relief, which sprung from the deposition of a single individual, many years later), there have risen up at last nearly three hundred and sixty seceding meetings, which, at a moderate computation, may, in round numbers," contain a fourth or fifth part of the population of Scotland. " When so large a proportion of the inhabit- ants of the kingdom is concerned, it is at least consolatory to believe, that they have access to instructors who are qualified to do them justice. The doctrines now delivered in the seceding meet- 40 STUDIES AT EDINBURGH. ings are in no essential article different from the instruction received in the established churches. Though, by being more numerous, and always well educated, the established clergy can cer- tainly produce a much greater number of con- siderable men ; it cannot be denied that, among the ministers belonging to the Secession, there are individuals not inferior to the most respect- able ministers of the establishment ; and it ought to be in candour admitted, that their people are, by a great proportion of them, as well instructed as those who adhere to the church."* In 1770, Alexander Waugh entered the Uni- versity of Edinburgh, where he continued four sessions prior to his theological studies. He at- tended the Latin class taught by Mr. Stewart; the Greek, by Mr. Hunter ; the logic, by Mr. Stevenson ; the natural philosophy, by Mr. Rus- sel ; the moral philosophy, by Dr. Ferguson ; and in a subsequent year, after he had entered on the study of divinity, he attended Dr. James Robert- son, professor of Hebrew. It is to be regretted, that none of his papers of this period can be found, which might enable us to trace the gradual developement of his mind. We have seen that, during his attendance at the grammar-school, he was greatly distinguished for his proficiency in Latin ; and this language ap- pears to have been always with him a favourite study. He was familiarly acquainted with the * Life of Dr. Erskine, by Sir Henry MoacriefF Wellwood, Burt. D.D. pp. 454, 455. LITERARY ACQUIREMENTS. 41 Latin classics, and particularly with Virgil, whom he was accustomed to quote in a very appropriate and happy manner, and in the illustration of whose rich and glowing imagery, his extensive general knowledge and fine fancy shone eminently forth. When thus engaged in the presence of the young, there was an absence of ostentatious criticism, that removed all fear of the examiner, combined with an exuberance of striking anecdote from ancient and modern history, and of playful illus- tration of ancient manners by those of our own days, which gave an interest and a definite meaning to the text that learned criticism alone generally fails to impart. To his intimate ac- quaintance with the Latin writers we are to ascribe, in no inconsiderable degree, his fine classical taste in composition, that copia fandi, that facility of expressing his sentiments in ele- gant and forcible language, which characterised him in future life. In regard to Greek, he appears to have restricted his study of that beautiful and copious language almost exclusively to the New Testament, which he read with great facility, at the same time analysing the words and phrases, so as to bring forth the meaning and beauty of the sacred writers, when expounding the Scrip- tures, in a manner which never failed to leave a deep impression on his hearers. In Hebrew literature he never attained to eminence. It is perhaps difficult to explain how the Hebrew language, in which so considerable a part of the Scriptures was originally written, has been but little studied in Britain ; and how we should be 42 dr. Ferguson's lectures. so greatly inferior in this department to the Ger- mans, who have devoted themselves to the diligent study of a language highly venerable, not merely for its great antiquity, but for being the first medium in which the God of heaven conde- scended to record the all-important discoveries of his covenant mercy to sinful men. Mr. Waugh discovered a strong predilection for moral philosophy, as it was then taught by Dr. Ferguson ; and it appears, from the college records, that he attended two courses of lectures under that celebrated person, whose vivid elo- quence, and powerful reasoning on the important topics which came under his review, had raised the class to a high degree of celebrity. The great and leading fault of his prelections was, that he did not ground his arguments on Divine revela- tion ; the only competent authority to which the appeal must ever be made in all moral discus- sions regarding the relations which subsist betwixt man and his Creator and Judge. By keeping the Scriptures entirely out of the view of his students, they were led to think too favourably of the capa- bilities of human nature, and less deeply to feel their obligations to that atoning blood which hath appeased the wrath of God for man's transgres- sion, and to that sovereign and almighty grace which can alone change and renovate the faculties of our depraved and fallen nature. To his lec- tures, which were published after he had resigned his chair in the University, he prefixed the follow- ing advertisement : — " It may be asked, perhaps, why the professor should restrict his argument, dr. Ferguson's lectures. 43 as he has done, to the mere topics of natural religion and reason ? This being the foundation of every superstructure, whether in morality or religion, and therefore to be separately treated, he considered as that part of the work which was allotted to him. Farther institutions may improve, but cannot supersede, what the Almighty has revealed in his works, and in the suggestions of reason to man. ' When first we from the teeming womb were brought, With inborn precepts then our souls were fraught.' Rowe's Lucan, book ix. line 984." It is difficult to comprehend how a person of Dr. Ferguson's acknowledged candour should have satisfied his mind with such reasoning ; as if the founders of a class of moral philosophy in a Christian university could have intended that the students should rest contented with the imperfect discoveries of natural reason regarding the per- fections of the Deity, the immortality of the soul, the nature of virtue and true happiness, — the most important discussions which can interest or agitate the human mind; — as if the Scriptures had never been written, and students had been listening to the prelections of Socrates or Cicero, — men, it may be observed, who would have gratefully availed themselves, in illustrating such topics, of the superior light of Divine revelation, had that invaluable boon been communicated to them. Dr. Paley, in his preface to a course of lectures on moral and political philosophy, which he delivered in the University of Cambridge, nearly at the same time, justly reprobates those teachers 44 CORRESPONDENCE WITH GEORGE GRAHAM. who divide too much the law of nature from the precepts of revelation, and industriously decline the mention of Scripture authorities, as belonging to a different province. In support of this opinion, he quotes, with high approbation, the following sentiment of Dr. Johnson's: " When the obliga- tions of morality are taught," says a pious and celebrated writer, " let the sanctions of Chris- tianity never be forgotten, by which it will be shewn that they give strength and lustre to each other ; religion will appear to be the voice of reason, and morality will be the will of God." About this period a confidential correspond- ence commenced betwixt Alexander Waugh and a young man of congenial temper, who then be- longed to a mercantile house in Berwick, and afterwards settled in the West Indies. He appears to have been animated by a spirit of fervent piety, and to have possessed mental accomplishments greatly superior to his station in life. We insert the two following letters as a specimen of the dispositions of mind which characterised both the writer and the individual to whom they are addressed : — " TO MR. ALEXANDER WAUGH, CALDRON-BRAE. " Dear Sir, " As I have not had the pleasure of seeing you at Berwick, will you allow me to request of you, that an epistolary correspondence may take place during the in- tervals of seeing one another? It would of all things be very grateful to me. — Mrs. Johnstone acquaints me that you propose attending the University another season. I flatter myself it is not solely with a view of venerating CORRESPONDENCE WITH GEORGE GRAHAM. 45 the polite arts ; but that you intend dedicating these jewels borrowed from the Egyptians, to the building of the house of the Lord. My dear Sir, see you get inti- mately acquainted with the Lord of the vineyard, previ- ously to your entering as a labourer. It will sweeten the work vastly, both to yourself and others, and render it pleasant and profitable. Being in haste, I conclude with compliments to your father, mother, and brother ; " And am, dear Sir, your sincere well-wisher, " George Graham." " Berwick, August 18, 1773." " TO MR. ALEXANDER WAUGH, EDINBURGH. " My dear Sir, " Berwick, Jan. 1, 1774. " May you enumerate many happy revolutions of this season ! May you long be preserved an ornament to religion, a blessing to friends and connexions, a useful member of society, and, after a few prerequisites, a faithful and successful labourer in the Christian church; and, at last, in a good old age, may you exchange a hoary head for an unfading crown of glory, books and symbols, faith and hope, for palms of victory, immediate vision, and full, satisfactory fruition ! Unseasonable compliments these to our contemporary Lorenzos ! — but what mean our wishing happy new years, unless most part of the above be implied? ' Here is firm footing, here is solid rock ; all is sea besides.' It would certainly be a laudable practice, were we to anti- cipate, in imagination, what Charles Emperor of Germany did really in every circumstance, — I mean the solemnising of our own funeral while in life. We should thus make death familiar to our minds, although he be the king of terrors, and stimulate ourselves to converse with our past hours, and ask them what report they bore to heaven, and how they might have borne more welcome news. But, alas, how epidemical is this distemper! — ' all men think all men mortal but themselves.' I remember (for although 46 REV. JOHN BROWN. very young at the time, I never could eradicate the pre- sumptuous speech out of my mind) that a young gentle- man, when writing, ' Jan. 2, 1762,' thus addressed one Mr. M'Donald of Leith, a surgeon, a young man more than six feet high, and stout in proportion, ' Tammy McDonald, it is probable we shall be in our graves before 1772.' ' Shall we?' said the person addressed ; ' it will be a grievous disappointment if we be !' Disappointed he was ; but whether the event deserved the epithet he bestowed on it, is not my province to determine ; for early in 1769 he gave up the ghost, leaving a young widow. Uncertain is life, and happy they that have nothing to do but to die; therefore, my dear friend, while others are murdering time in unlawful pastimes, let us be inquiring into our state before God, and asking ourselves what pro- gress we have made in our Christian course. As another year, ' that lately smiled, is drowned in that great deep that nothing disembogues;' so let us remember, that ' the spirit walks of every day deceased, and smiles an angel, or a fury frowns.' I do not tender these as admonitions to you, since I have no doubt but your exercise in practice exceeds this theorem considerably. This is only a faint intimation that, for the future, I intend corresponding with you as a Christian, and not as a scholar ; for while you are associated with men of learning and science, I, by reason of the imbecility of my understanding and circumvening mists of ignorance, must stand at the foot of Parnassus friendless." After continuing four years at the University of Edinburgh, Mr. Waugh was examined by the Presbytery regarding his proficiency in philo- sophy and the learned languages, in order to his admission to the study of divinity, which he com- menced in August 1774, under the tuition of the Rev. John Brown of Haddington, the well-known author of " Annotations on the Bible," and many STUDY OF DIVINITY. 47 other theological works, which discover a deep acquaintance with the Scriptures, and a laborious research into the history of the church. The following notices of the mode of theo- logical instruction pursued by this eminent man (with which we have been kindly furnished by two of his sons, who have long been faithful and zealous labourers in the vineyard of Christ), will, we conceive, be found interesting to most of our readers. In the early part of his ministry, he preached catechetical sermons, in the order of the Shorter Catechism and Confession of Faith. From these he formed the first edition of his lectures to his students, which, after writing twice or thrice himself, he caused the students to write also. He composed his " Cases of Conscience," pub- lished some time ago, first for his own use, and then employed them in instructing his students ; also his " Letters on the Behaviour of Ministers, and on Gospel Preaching." The two latter he also caused the students to transcribe. For some time the term of study was four years ; but by order of the Synod it was extended to five years. He was particularly anxious that the students should be present at the commence- ment of the session, and remain all the time. The discourses he assigned them were, a homily for the first year ; a critical discourse on a passage of the Greek Testament, with a lecture, for the second ; for each of the other years a lecture and a popular sermon, the latter being usually deli- vered in public. The students were accustomed 48 REV. JOHN BROWN. to make criticisms on the discourses, after which the professor gave his own remarks. The students carefully committed to memory several pages of the " System of Divinity," and of the " Cases of Conscience," with the Scriptures referred to ; and he examined them on these every forenoon, and made observations on the passages of Scrip- ture. In the evenings he employed an hour in reading his Church History to them. On the Wednesday afternoon the students formed them- selves into a debating society, and maintained an argument regarding orthodox and heterodox doctrines. On the Saturday afternoon a prayer- meeting was held. With regard to personal re- ligion, the professor was particularly urgent in impressing it on their minds, as a matter of the greatest magnitude, and of indispensable neces- sity. He was accustomed to read the practical reflections in the System with peculiar earnest- ness of manner, and took every opportunity, in the class and elsewhere, to exhort them to prac- tical godliness. The " Reflections of a Candidate for the Ministerial Office," now printed in his " Remains," and the " Christian Student and Pastor," were prepared with a particular view to their instruction. He carefully inquired after their private con- duct during the time of the session, and admonished or rebuked as he saw cause. This was done, however, so privately, that none but the offender knew of it. Though his own finances were but small, he assisted those who through poverty would have been unable to continue all the ses- STUDY OF DIVINITY. 40 sion. He was anxious that his students should improve in the Hebrew, and drew up a short Grammar and Vocabulary to aid them in their study of a language of such high importance to the right understanding of the Scriptures. He was among them as a father among his children : he loved them, and studied their good ; and they loved him, and regarded his counsel. No time of the year was so pleasant either to the professor or the students as the two months of their at- tendance at the divinity hall. On the last day of the session his advices were peculiarly solemn and impressive, as will appear from the following specimen, which has been kindly sent us by one of his pupils : — " Thinking this morning on your departure, two passages of Scripture came to my mind, and you would do well to take them into your serious consideration. ' Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?' One may be called to special service, may fill a public station in the church, may be a preacher, may go abroad into the world and address people on things of deep and ever- lasting importance, and yet be a devil ; may be under the power of Satan, in a state of enmity against God, may be a traitor at heart, and act the part of an open traitor at last, may betray the Master he professed to serve, and come to shame and disgrace. Jesus knows all things ; he searches the heart, and tries the reins of the children of men : what state you are in, what are the reigning principles in your breasts, what are the motives you are influenced by, and what the ends you E 50 REV. JOHN BROWN. have in view ; whether you are indeed what you profess, and what your outward appearance would indicate; all is known to him. To commend a Saviour one has no love for ; to preach a Gospel one does not believe ; to point out the way to heaven, and never to have taken one step in that way ; to enforce a saving acquaintance with reli- gion, and to be an entire stranger to it one's-self, how sad, how preposterous! Tremble, O my soul, at the thought, still more at the thing! Better follow the meanest occupation, than enter into the holy ministry solely or chiefly to serve some secular, some selfish design. While I would be far from setting limits to the Divine sovereignty, I am afraid it but seldom happens that a person is converted after he has become a preacher. Was there a Judas, a devil among the twelve? — what if there should be one for every twelve among you ? Lord, is it I ; is it I ; is it I ? " The other passage comes more closely home, and is still more alarming. ' And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.' Is it only one- half of the number here present that are wise, that are truly serious, prudent, and thoughtful, wise unto salvation, that are savingly instructed in the mysteries of salvation, in the mysteries of the kingdom, in whom Christ is found, and in whose hearts he dwells by faith, who have felt his Gospel to be the power of God and the wisdom of God, who have taken him for their only Lord and King, and have given themselves unto him ? Are there so many of an opposite character, foolish, mere nominal Christians, in the same state in which STUDY OF DIVINITY. 51 you were born; who, whatever light you may have in your heads, have no saving grace in your hearts? And is the Bridegroom coming? will he come quickly, come at an hour that ye think not? and shall they that are ready enter in and the door be shut, and you stand without and cry for admittance, but cry in vain? How dreadful the thought, how fearful the issue ! I would be far, very far, from judging uncharitably of you ; but I know the deceitfulness of the human heart. Surely they who propose to undertake an office, the design of which is to win souls, had need to be convinced, deeply convinced, about their own souls." The most profound silence reigned while from these passages he addressed the students : all were dissolved in tears. The language, the tone3 the general manner, every circumstance was cal- culated to make a deep impression. This eminently faithful man, after labouring for twenty years with indefatigable zeal in train- ing up the youth of the Associate Synod for the Christian ministry, died at Haddington, in 1787. With respect to his own ministry, it has been observed, that " though his learning was consider- able, he never shewed it in the pulpit, except by bringing down the great truths of God to the level of common capacities." He sometimes used to repeat to his acquaintances the saying of the great Usher, " it will take all our learning to make things plain." It is the testimony of an English divine, who heard him for some time about the year 1770, that his grave appearance in the pulpit, 52 REV. JOHN BROWN. and his solemn, weighty, and energetic manner of speaking, used to affect him very much. " Cer- tainly," he adds, " his preaching was close, and his address to the conscience pungent. Like his Lord and Master, he spake with authority and hallowed pathos, having tasted the sweetness and felt the power of what he delivered."* In his own congregation, small as it was, a number claimed him for their spiritual father ; and others acknowledged him to be the helper of their faith and joy. Nor was it only at home that he was instrumental in doing good to souls. In various parts of the country, where he had occasion to preach, there were seals of his ministry, who will be his joy and his crown in the day of Christ. We conclude our account of this truly great and good man, with the following extract from his " Select Remains," to which we are indebted for some of the above observations. " Now, after near forty years preaching of Christ, and his great and sweet salvation, I think that I would rather beg my bread all the labouring days of the week, for an opportunity of publishing the Gospel on * Dr. Waugh long afterwards used to mention the following anecdote of his venerable instructor, which had occurred within his own knowledge : — It happened that at some public solem- nity, where " an infidel blade" was one of the audience, Mr. Brown was preceded in ministerial duty by an ambitious young man, who delivered a very eloquent and florid address, — the old divine following in one equally remarkable for its simplicity and earnestness. " The first preacher," said the sceptic to one of his friends, " spoke as if he did not believe what he said : the latter, as if he was conscious that the Son of God stood at his elbow." STUDY OF DIVINITY. 53 the Sabbath to an assembly of sinful men, than, without such a privilege, enjoy the richest pos- sessions on earth. By the Gospel do men live, and in it is the life of my soul." But to revert to the subject of this memoir: The conduct and character of Alexander Waugh, during the period of his studies at the University and divinity hall, are so well described in the following memoranda, with which we have been favoured by some of his most esteemed fellow- students, that we cannot better convey a picture of the moral aspect of his mind at that time than in the words of the writers : — " It was about 1773," says one of his early friends, " that our first acquaintance commenced, being my third year at the University, and his second. It was promoted by his great anxiety to acquire knowledge, by his open and unsuspicious character, and by that kindness of heart which was particularly conspicuous, and was his orna- ment through life. It cannot be supposed that we reasoned with sagacity on each other's cha- racters ; but it has been, and is, a pleasing re- flection, that I then obtained, and I believe never lost, his affections. His amusements were always innocent, though lively ; and if he at any time appeared to display inattention to the feelings of others, this proceeded solely from an exuberant flow of animal spirits, and never from insensibility to what others felt, One feeling- I saw was strong in him : he was evidently actuated by an ardent desire to attain excellence ; not a mere vulgar 54 REV. JOHN BROWN. ambition to make a show, or to exhibit his supe- riority over others, but to advance forward to higher attainments. " After leaving the University, at the vacation, we had no intercourse till about eighteen months after, when we met at Haddington, under Mr. Brown, where we studied divinity for five sessions, of two months each. Then our intimacy was revived and increased : it was my second session, and his first. It was then that I could discern, and I still well recollect, those solid religious principles and solemn views by which he was actuated. With all his flow of animal spirits, he not only shewed a serious mind, but that warm heart, and those unpresuming and pious affections, and open, benevolent feelings, which afterwards so eminently shone in him. " I still recollect the agitation of his mind, under a discouraging criticism of his first discourse, by Mr. Brown : it was a homily on Rom. viii. 2. That agitation was confided to me alone, and I found it difficult to prevail on him to pursue his theological studies, which in the end have been so serviceable to the interests of religion. The circumstance arose from an unfavourable opinion formed by Mr. Brown of the system of moral philosophy taught by Dr. Ferguson, — a system which Mr. Waugh and I had studied with great attention, although our young minds might be incapable of doing full justice to it. By his conti- nuing in attendance on Mr. Brown, (which I soon prevailed on him to persevere in), the suspicion STUDY OF DIVINITY. 55 respecting his theological principles was quickly eradicated from the discerning mind of that emi- nent and judicious instructor. '* After this, our intimacy continued, not only at Haddington, but when we returned to our parents, being kept up by letters. In one of the years of our attendance on Mr. Brown, before leaving Haddington, we agreed to spend the winter in Edinburgh together, for our mutual improvement. The usual course of academical studies was finished, but each feeing a class, we were entitled to the library ; and living in the same house, and having the same parlour, we employed our hours as we thought most useful for ourselves. One portion of our time was occupied in reading one or two chapters of the New Testa- ment, in Greek, daily, and making remarks on the expressive words ; a line of study in which he advanced much farther afterwards under Dr. Campbell, of Aberdeen, whose prelections he attended one season ; and of the advantage of whose instructions he always spoke with much esteem and gratitude. Another of our chief em- ployments was reading and remarking on books of taste, for the purpose of forming the habit of composition. Permit me to remark, that I was struck with an expression used upon his death- bed, to which I had that winter turned his atten- tion, in Ossian's sublime address to the sun, — f Age is dark and unlovely.' That address had left an abiding impression on his mind, although Ossian was no favourite with him." We are informed by another contemporary, 56 REV. JOHN BROWN. " that his first discourse at Haddington was a mere philosophical essay, at which the professor and students were extremely grieved ; but that even then he manifested that amiable disposition for which, in after-life, he was so distinguished. When Mr. Brown said, with much concern, ? I hope I shall never hear such a discourse again in this place,' Mr. Waugh expressed his sorrow at giving him uneasiness. The second year of his attendance, there appeared a remarkable change on his mind, and the professor ever afterwards esteemed him very highly, and was accustomed to use great familiarities with him, both in con- versation and in writing ; and so far was he, on the other hand, from feeling resentment, that he never spoke of Mr. Brown but in terms of venera- tion and gratitude." " Let the righteous smite me," saith David, " it shall be a kindness ; and let him reprove me, it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head." The professor's faithful and well- timed admonition produced most salutary effects. It shook Mr. Waugh's confidence in Dr. Ferguson's speculations on human nature, on which we have taken the liberty to animadvert, and feelingly taught him the deep importance of the apostolic caution, " Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, and the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." He now studied the Scriptures with close attention, and resolved to adopt no theological sentiments but such as were derived from the pure and uncontaminated fountain of STUDIES AT ABERDEEN. 57 Divine truth. Henceforth we behold him, in every subsequent period, sitting at the feet of the great Master of Israel, and listening with meekness and humility to the words of grace and life that fell from his lips. His philosophy, in- stead of leading him again into devious paths, now became subsidiary to the great object which constituted its chief value, by enabling him to illustrate, in a more forcible manner, those all- important truths which the Scriptures alone reveal, and the knowledge of which is necessary to make men wise unto eternal life. In 1777 he repaired to the University of Aber- deen, and attended, for a session, the lectures of Dr. Beattie, professor of moral philosophy, and of Dr. Campbell, professor of divinity, in the Marischal College. Both these eminent men had at this time acquired merited celebrity by their prelections in their college, and by their writings in defence of Christianity against the sophistry of David Hume, who degraded his acuteness of mind and his high powers of style, by abetting principles equally hostile to natural as to revealed religion. Dr. Campbell had distinguished himself in the cause of religion by his ". Essay on Miracles," one of the most acute and convincing treatises on that great and fundamental doctrine of revealed religion that has ever appeared. His prelections were highly esteemed, for the just and original views which they afforded of Divine truth, per- spicuously expressed, and ably illustrated by criticisms on the Greek, Hebrew, and Chaldaic languages, with all of which he was familiarly 58 REV. DR. CAMPBELL. acquainted. The high respect in which he was held as a Biblical scholar, has been amply justified by the publication of his Translation of the Four Gospels, with the accompanying Dissertations, — a work of profound erudition, calculated to raise the fame of his countrymen in this department of literature. We insert the following short speci- men of the manner in which this learned and able divine was accustomed to instruct the theological students who attended his class : — " Gentlemen, the nature of my office has been much misunderstood. It is supposed, that I am to teach you every thing connected with the study of divinity. I tell you honestly that I am to teach you nothing. Ye are not school- boys ; — ye are young men who have finished your courses of phi- losophy, and ye are no longer to be treated as if ye were at school. Therefore, I repeat it, I am to teach you nothing ; but, by the grace of God, I will assist you to teach yourselves every thing. " Begin with studying the Scriptures in the original languages ; attend carefully to the dis- tinction, that should always be made, between classical or pure Greek, and the Greek of the Septuagint and Testament, where the words, taken separately, are pure Greek, but where the idiom of the language, and even the acceptation of many of the words, is derived from the Hebrew, the Chaldaic, or the Syriac. Be acquainted with the civil history, the manners and customs of an- cient times and nations, especially with that of the Jews, where the reading of Josephus will often be useful. But whatever books you read occa- STUDY OF DIVINITY. 59 sionally, read the Scriptures frequently. Mark the different passages which you do not under- stand, read them with patience, not being too anxious to understand every thing at the first reading over : but persevere, and read the Scrip- tures in the original a second and a third time ; and, without consulting any commentator, those difficult passages will always become fewer as your knowledge increases. Read the Scriptures also with modesty, neither being too full of your- self, nor supposing that human reason can always comprehend divine mysteries ; and read them always with fervent prayer to God, the source of wisdom and light, that he would assist and direct you in your researches after truth. Do not com- plain that you want books, when you have the Scriptures themselves in the original languages. If you have a Hebrew Bible, a Septuagint, and a Greek New Testament, you have the most neces- sary and the most useful of all books to a Christian divine. Read carefully all the versions which are given of disputed passages ; make much use of versions, and compare them all carefully with the original. Read the Vulgate, though a translation authorised by the Romish church, as well as the versions of individuals, such as Castalio, Beza, Junius, and Tremellius ; and also Houbigant, if you have access to his translation. You cannot be hurt by reading versions, and comparing them with the original. But put no confidence in com- mentators : consult them sparingly : never use them till the last, and then use them only as dic- tionaries. In this view, however, read commen- 60 DR. BEATTIE. tators of all parties ; and judge of them more from their freedom of thought, abilities, and eru- dition, than from considering to what party they belong."* Dr. Beattie had also, prior to this period, published his " Essay on the Nature and Immu- tability of Truth, in opposition to Sophistry and Scepticism ; " a work exceedingly popular at that time, and still deserving of attention for its argu- ment and most laudable object. Regarding the manner in which, as a professor, he communicated instruction to his students, his amiable biographer observes : " There is one excellence of Dr. Beattie's lectures on moral philosophy, on which I cannot but dwell with peculiar emphasis, and that is, his happy manner of fortifying his arguments from natural religion on the most important points, by the aid of revelation. While he details with pre- cision the proofs which natural reason alone affords, he never omits any proper opportunity of appealing to revelation in support of his doctrine ; sometimes in the very words of Scripture, at other times by a general reference to the subject, as it is to be learned there ; thus making them mutu- ally support and strengthen each other, as ought ever to be the study of every teacher of ethics. Dr. Beattie is, therefore, justly entitled, to the most distinguished of all appellations, that of a Christian moral philosopher. In his second chap- ter of Natural Theology, speaking of the Divine * Life of Dr. Campbell, prefixed to his Lectures on Church History, by Dr. Skene Keith. MORAL PHILOSOPHY. Gl attributes, he says, ' revelation gives such a dis- play of the Divine goodness, as must fill us with most ardent gratitude and adoration ; for in it we find that God has put it in our power, notwith- standing our degeneracy and unworthiness, to be happy both in this world and for ever, — a hope which reason alone could never have permitted us to entertain on any ground of certainty. And here we may repeat, that although the right use of reason supplies our first notions of the Divine nature, yet it is from revelation that we receive those distinct ideas of his attributes and provi- dence, which are the foundation of our dearest hopes. The most enlightened of the heathen had no certain knowledge of his unity, spirituality, eternity, wisdom, justice, or mercy, and, by con- sequence, could never contrive a comfortable system of natural religion, as Socrates, the wisest of them, acknowledged.' " Discoursing on the nature of virtue, Dr. Beattie says : ' these speculations might lead into a labyrinth of perplexity, if it were not for what revelation declares concerning the Divine govern- ment. It declares that man may expect, on the performance of certain conditions, not only par- don, but everlasting happiness, not on account of his own merit, which in the sight of God is nothing, but on account of the infinite merits of the Redeemer, who, descending from the height of glory, voluntarily underwent the punishment due to sin, and thus obtained those high privileges for as many as should comply with the terms announced by him to mankind.' 62 DR. BEATTIE. " On the subject of public worship he says: ' these considerations alone would recommend external worship as a most excellent means of improving our moral nature ; but Christians know farther, that this duty is expressly commanded, and that particular blessings are promised to the devout performance of it. In us, therefore, the neglect of it must be inexcusable, and highly criminal.' " Such was the mode of teaching moral phi- losophy, as appears from his published Lectures, practised by Dr. Beattie, during the long course of upwards of thirty years, in his public lectures at Aberdeen. Let the reader compare those ani- mating and comfortable doctrines inculcated by this excellent writer, with the cold and cheerless speculations of natural reason alone ; and then let him say which method most deserves the prefer- ence, or is most likely to promote the happiness of mankind."* We have been the more particular in our ac- count of these two distinguished persons, as their instructions appear to have had a most beneficial effect in elevating the subject of this memoir to that honourable eminence to which he subse- quently attained as a Christian minister. Of both of them he was accustomed to speak with warm gratitude ; but particularly of Dr. Beattie, whose name he scarcely ever mentioned but with a kind of admiration bordering on enthusiasm, not solely for his intellectual powers, but chiefly for * Life of Dr. Beattie, by Sir William Forbes, Bart. MR. WAUGH'S CHARACTER AT COLLEGE. 63 the amiable temper and affections of his mind, which particularly endeared him to all who were honoured with his intimacy and friendship. We feel deep obligations for the subjoined account of Mr. Waugh by a fellow-student at Aberdeen, who repaired to the metropolis about the same time with himself, where he has attained honourable distinction in the literary world. The friendship thus early formed, continued, notwith- standing their different lines of pursuit, without abatement, for more than half a century, — a rare occurrence, it is to be apprehended, amidst the numerous jealousies and collisions of this anxious and ever-changing life. " My acquaintance with Mr. Waugh began about October 1777, when he came to Aberdeen. Previously to this he had been a student in the Burgher Secession Academy, then superintended by the well-known Rev. John Brown, of Had- dington. I well remember he was much capti- vated, as all young men were at that time, with Blair's Sermons, one volume of which was pub- lished, and was in every body's hands, on account of the style. Mr. Waugh's object in coming to Aberdeen, was to attend the classes, in the Marischal College, of Dr. Beattie, professor of moral philosophy, and of Dr. Campbell, prin- cipal of this college and professor of divinity. He attended likewise, as was usual for students destined for the church, the divinity lectures of Dr. Gerard, King's College. According to the plan of study at Marischal College, these courses of moral philosophy and divinity were usually 64 CHARACTER AT COLLEGE. attended by scholars in the fourth and last years of their regular studies, and were followed by their taking the degree of M.A. if found qualified. On Mr. Waugh's application to Dr. Beattie, he was discovered to be amply qualified, by previous attainments, to take his rank in the fourth class or year, and accordingly he received his degree of M.A. along with the writer and a few other students on April 1st, 1778. " I had many opportunities of knowing that he had a very high esteem for Dr. Beattie ; there were, indeed, many resemblances in their personal temper and disposition. He often repeated, with approbation, the concluding passage of Dr. Beattie's last lecture, which may be given here, as it is not added to the printed copy : — ' Learning, when one applies to it with a sincere purpose of improving his nature, and of rendering himself more useful to his fellow-creatures, is of all earthly possessions the most valuable ; but still let it be remembered, that piety and virtue are the chief principles for which man was made, and the only certain means of happiness. The time is fast approaching, when learning and all the ornaments of human life shall disappear for ever, and nothing be found of any real value but the Divine approbation. If that is secured, all is well ; and without that, all other attainments are nothing.' " Of Dr. Waugh's character at this period of his life, I have rather a general than a minute recollection, but one which I can call up with reverence. It is impossible to forget it ; since, according to all I know, or have been told of him CHARACTER AT COLLEGE. 65 in after-life, it was uniform and consistent. It evidently had been formed on the firm and unal- terable principles of true piety ; it was as evidently adorned by those Christian graces which were prominent throughout his long life. His heart and affections, all were calculated to prepare him for the sacred duties he was about to take upon him. His conversation, when we walked on the banks of the Dee, which was almost every day the weather permitted, turned upon those important subjects which were to engage his thoughts and his prayers for the whole of his future life. " He was, when I first knew him, remarkable for cheerfulness of disposition, mildness of temper, and an utter aversion to every thing harsh and censorious in treating the character of the absent. His mind seemed always bent on forbearance and forgiveness in speaking of such persons as were known to us both : when objections were stated, he was more of the advocate than the judge. It often appeared as if he was suffering for the faults of others ; and when facts were brought forward, which it was impossible to palliate, he was always more inclined to postpone the trial than to give judgment. " His mild, meek, and forbearing temper pre- dominated in all his conversation, as it is well known it did when he was afterwards called to take a more public interest in matters where deci- sion was unavoidable. I know not if Dr. Waugh was cautious in bestowing his friendships, but once bestowed it was difficult to shake them. It seemed to afflict him deeply when compelled to F 66 CHARACTER AT COLLEGE. alter his opinion of any one. This I early ob- served was likely to be the severest trial he would have to encounter when he came in contact with the many varieties of human character; but, whatever might happen, he never could be an enemy ; there was not an atom of fixed animosity in his whole composition. " He left Aberdeen soon after taking the de- gree of M.A. above mentioned. For some time we corresponded ; but I am not able to trace his progress until his being appointed to the congre- gation over which he presided for so many years in London. This occurred in 1782, when our ac- quaintance was renewed, and was continued with- out loss of friendship on either side during his life ; but the great distance betwixt our residences, and the difference of our pursuits, rendered our intercourse less frequent, though not less cordial, than I could have wished. When we did meet, which was sometimes in private and sometimes in public, I recognised the same man, both in heart and spirit, that I had known in my early days ; and those who approached him more closely and frequently, can bear witness to that uniformity of character, and steady adherence to the service of his great Master, which have been universally acknowledged." Another of Mr. Waugh's early associates, who frequently met him in the country, at the houses of their respective relatives in Berwickshire, during the intervals of his academical and theo- logical studies, speaks of him in the following glowing terms : — " He was at this period, on CHARACTER AMONG YOUTHFUL ASSOCIATES. 67 account of his prepossessing appearance, his con- stant cheerfulness, his affability to all, his talents in conversation, and his kindness of heart displayed in innumerable benevolent actions, the most uni- versally beloved person I have ever known. His presence diffused a spirit of gladness ; and all gloom, quarrelling, selfishness, and meanness, were banished wherever he appeared. He had high feelings of honour, far beyond most of his learned as well as unlearned associates ; and in this respect, as well as in demeanour and address, was a perfect gentleman." With all this social cheerfulness, he did not neglect to apply himself with due diligence to those preparatory studies which every young man, whose chief ambition it is to be a faithful and efficient minister in the church of Christ, will deem of incalculable value. We subjoin the following passages of a letter (from his much- esteemed friend of Aberdeen, already referred to) addressed to him at Edinburgh, where he appears to have spent the winter of 1778, previously to his entering on trial for license : — u I have not procured the Septuagint, but I shall endeavour to follow you in the New Testament : I feel many difficulties; but still I would wish to keep in mind ' Nil est tam difficile, quod non solertia vincat.' " You made use of a phrase in your last letter which Mr. Dick would have taken much amiss ; I mean good- hearted: indeed, it is so much abused in common con- versation, that I would wish it avoided altogether. One who, at the expense of his health and character, sacrifices G8 LETTER FROM A FELLOW-STUDENT. every virtuous principle to the love of pleasure or mirth, is called a good-hearted man ; another, who by his excesses has brought himself into such a situation as to be obliged to leave his country, is nevertheless a good-hearted man ; a third, who in companies makes no scruple to ridicule the most sacred things, and whose life is one uninterrupted series of immorality and vice, is a good-hearted man. These and other cases I have observed repeatedly ; but I think it is a shameful prostitution of language ; nay, worse, for this gradually impairs our sense of the deformity of vice. I need not add, that I make no reference from this to what you said. " I hope in a short time to be a humble auditor of my friend, and to be one of his ' my brethren.' I expect and insist upon every qualification of a good, pious, respectable Seceder preacher. By the by, I'll tell you a bit of my mind. I positively won't have any blank-verse sermons ; not a syllable that smells of the Arminian ; don't quote even from Cicero, nor Thomson either. None of your high-flying rant, which people nickname oratory. Beware how you lay your emphasis on the breast of the pulpit, it may break. Be plain and intelligible, and never lose sight of your Bible : consider that the meanest of your audience has as good a right to understand you, as those who have M.A. tagged to their recommendation. You see I take many freedoms with you, and you won't let me make the physic more palatable with a little sweet syrup of duplicity. " Mr. and Mrs. Dick join me in compliments. May you be amply supplied by Him whom giving does not impoverish, nor withholding enrich ! " I am your friend, " Aberdeen, Dec. 11, 1778. A. C." For some time prior to this period, he ap- pears to have laboured under very considerable discouragement, regarding his becoming a public LETTER FROM GEORGE GRAHAM. G9 teacher in the church. He experienced a good deal of difficulty in composition; he was doubtful of his ability to make useful discourses, and ap- prehensive that he should never attain to respect- ability as a preacher ; and the more he reflected on the deep and awful responsibility of the Chris- tian ministry, his mind was involved in deeper uneasiness and perplexity. So far from rushing forward into the sacred office as some have done, without fear or solicitude, it required every en- couragement on the part of his friends, supported by weighty arguments and motives, to prevail with him to receive license as a preacher of the Gospel. On this subject he had laid open his mind to his confidential friend Graham, now settled in the West Indies ; and the following letter is written in reply : — " Tortola, Nov. 14, 1776. " My deakest Friend, " You tell me that I probably shall never hear your declamations : this may be so, but I hope it will not be owing to the impediments you point out, viz. the diffi- culty you find in the composition of your discourses. Follow my advice, and I'll warrant a speedy removal of them. I recommend to you neither to be too vain, nor too diffident, of your own abilities. Of these extremes, inter utr unique tene, medio tutissimus ibis. The attending to the former will induce you at all times to acknowledge your dependence on Divine aid ; and while you reflect on the latter, you will be stimulated, as a rational agent, in the use of means. " Your good opinion generally of the parts and abilities of others, makes you diffident of your own. Your aspiring- genius ardently desires to equal, if not excel, your contem- 70 LETTER FROM GEORGE GRAHAM. poraries; while your generosity of heart, and your favour- able opinion of others, fetter you with the chains of de- spondency and imaginary disappointment. The desire of approbation was implanted by God in the soul of man for excellent and laudable purposes, — one of which is obviously intended to stimulate men to make the Divine approbation their chief and ultimate object : beware, therefore, lest this desire should look no farther than the approbation of men. Satan, though not omniscient, nor yet omnipresent, is well acquainted with our weak side, and watches our unguarded moments, and lays his snares accordingly. Perhaps he is apprised, that, by your instrumentality, many may be con- verted to righteousness, and a great inroad made on his dominions. He is, perhaps, permitted to tempt you with an ardent avidity of human applause, and despondency of ever attaining it. But, my dear Sir, let this be the inscrip- tion on your life, Nee aspera terrent. I therefore adjure you to consider these discouragements as temptations, every one of which is an alarm to you to learn your own exercise before you commence to be a leader of others. Your glorious Captain suffered the same treatment when tabernacling with the sons of men ; and does the servant expect better treatment than the master ? Temptation, meditation, and prayer, were the preparation for his public ministry ; and this is an excellent school for training all his ambassadors, and is often the academy where his most valuable servants acquire the principal part of their educa- tion. This informs them that man's science is the culture of his heart. " You tell me the office of a clergyman is awful and important. I heartily congratulate you on account of being one who thinks so; for too many rush into that sacred office with less premeditation than I open store, or sit down at my desk. I acknowledge it is awful and important; yet it is honourable, advantageous, and, if faithfully executed, receives an exceeding great though gracious reward. Persevere, therefore, my dearest Sir, in the diligent prosecution of your studies ; keep a constant LETTER FROM MR. BLACKHALL. 71 intercourse with Heaven by prayer; and let the awfulness and importance of the ministerial office not intimidate you, but spur you on to double your diligence in preparing you for its faithful discharge : and take this for an encourage- ment, and as an evidence that the Lord has need of you, that, in the course of his providential dispensations, he has revealed to you that the office of a clergyman is awful and important. " The aid of my prayers you may always depend upon, while a serious reflection on the long-suffering patience of God, on the unbounded love of Christ, and the grace of the Holy Spirit, continuing to strive against the corrup- tions of my own heart, incites my attention to the supreme interests of my dearest friend. " Yours ever and unfeignedly, " George Graham." The following letter is from a fellow-student, who, like himself, was now on trial, before the Presbytery, for license. He was afterwards set- tled at Berwick, where he laboured in a large and prosperous and affectionate congregation, with great faithfulness and acceptability, betwixt thirty and forty years : — " My dear Sir, " Your last gave me both pleasure and pain : plea- sure, for I longed to hear from you, and wished to know whether you were disengaged from your secular matters ; pain on account of your continued irresolution about ac- cepting of license. All the grounds of your discourage- ment will, when weighed in the balance of the sanctuary, be found light, and the considerations for your accepting will preponderate. You complain of your powers of com- position ; and will you not endure want of sleep, and painful study, for Him who for you spent many a cold sleepless night on the side of a mountain ; who for you, 72 LETTER FROM MR. BLACKHALL. you, I say, groaned, thirsted, died? You think you will not be acceptable to the vacancies. It is, I am confident, every person's opinion who knows you, that you will be very acceptable. Try three years of it, and then speak of declining; and will not these three years, in your last moments, appear the best spent in your life? And, as you are young enough, three years are neither here nor there. Granting you should not be very acceptable to the people, since you seem to have the call of God by his servants, go on, and you shall by no means lose your reward. ■ Your sins are great and aggravated.' Be it so. Though sin abounds like a flood, grace reigning through Christ's righteousness abounds like an ocean. The chief of Saviours is still on a throne of mercy, founded on justice and judgment. ' You have not the qualifications which make up the character of a young divine, according to the Scriptures.' But where is the man that possesses them all in perfection? and who made you sole judge of your own abilities ? A court of Christ pronounces you qualified ; rest in their verdict as to this, lest you be found fighting against God ; and this rest need not hinder you from using all means for growing in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. " You have attempted, as I too have done, to get away from the Lord's work, but Providence has hitherto frustrated all our designs — so that you appear to be shut up to it ; and were we to try any more schemes, who knows but we might be baulked in them too? Let me ask, dear Sandy, are you content to be reckoned among the meanest, the poorest, and weakest of his servants? Is it your supreme desire that Christ should be glorified by your gifts? Dare you say that God hath given you no suitable furniture for serving him in the Gospel of his Son? If you say so, the Presbytery are liars. Remember what became of the unprofitable servant who hid his Lord's money. Follow the example of the Divine Preacher: ' I must work the work of Him that sent me, while it is day,' said Jesus : ' the night cometh, when no man can work.' LETTER FROM MR. BLACKBALL. 73 " Your resolution not to take license at Musselburgh discourages me greatly. Ah ! Sandy ; can John accept, when you refuse? — you, who, I dare say, are judged by the Presbytery, and every intelligent person who has heard you, better qualified in every respect for preaching the Gospel. I don't flatter, no : Assent atio, vitiorum adjutrix, ab amicitia procul amoveatur. " I design to go to the next Presbytery ; and though I am the chief of sinners, and the weakest of all students in knowledge and utterance, I would fain lay myself down at their feet, to be disposed of as God shall see fit; and should you decline, think how you shall be able to look Jesus in the face, when he calls you to give an account of your stewardship. ' The more weak and sinful you are,' says our professor, in a letter to me, ' have the more recourse to Christ; but never dare to flee from him. If you refuse coming to the help of the Lord against the mighty, I have no manner of doubt but the vengeance of God will pursue you : Judges, v. 23.' " I am sorry I cannot come down to Caldron-brae, and accompany you to Musselburgh. It is quite incon- venient for me to get a horse sooner than Monday. May the Lord God and his Spirit accompany you, give his angels charge concerning you, to keep you in all your ways, and preserve you from doing, in yonder town, what you may perhaps reflect upon with anguish of spirit till the last moment of your life ! " I am, my dearest Sandy, " Yours most affectionately, and while " John Blackhall." " Selkirk, April 27 , 1779." The following letter, from the Professor of Divinity, breathes that tender affection and faith- ful freedom for which that great and good man was so highly distinguished in all his intercourse with his students : — ■ 74 LETTER FROM REV. JOHN BROWN. " Dear Alexander, " The hint I heard concerning Mr. Blackhall vexed me. I have written to him, and I hope he will be up at the Presbytery. I beg you will have all your trials ready. Cast your burdens on the Lord ; but beware of any attempt to slight what in Providence you are called to, otherwise the Lord may avenge it on you while you live. God makes our strength as our days are. Cast all your care on Him. I am far from thinking it a token that a man is not called, that he, when it comes near to the point, is terrified. Christ got forty days of sad temptation, before he was licensed to preach the Gospel, Matt. iv. But if we will sit God's time, the consequences are apt to be dangerous. My advice to you is, to make a solemn surrender of your- self to God, before coming to the Presbytery. I hope the Lord has let some of the wind out of you, that I thought was in you when I first knew you. Beg of him to fill its room with himself and his grace. " Yours affectionately, " John Brown." " Haddington, Feb. 13, 1779." Every pious and considerate man entering into the ministry, when he contemplates the difficulties and temptations which arise out of that sacred office, and the all-important trust of souls, for which he makes himself responsible, will be dis- posed to say with Paul, " Who is sufficient for these things?" And his chief encouragement will be derived from a confidential reliance on the power and faithfulness of that Master who hath kindly promised, " My grace is sufficient for thee ; for my strength is made perfect in weak- ness." After long and mature reflection on the arguments and reasoning employed by his friends, PASSES HIS TRIALS. 75 accompanied with fervent supplications to the Father of Lights for his guidance and blessing, he at last resolved to dedicate his whole heart and soul to the service of God in the Gospel of his Son. When he had completed, in a very honourable manner, the course of trial that had been prescribed to him, he was licensed to preach the Gospel, by the Presbytery of Edinburgh, at Dunse, June 28, 1779; his affectionate and pious minister, Mr. Coventry, presiding as moderator on the occasion. It ought to be noticed here, that, during the intervals of his academical studies, the residence of his parents (latterly removed to the farm of Caldron-brae, a few miles distant from Gordon) had always been Mr. Waugh's ordinary home; and this continued to be the case even after he had assumed a more public character, by becoming a licensed preacher of the Gospel, (or a Probationer, according to the Scottish term), and being of con- sequence frequently deputed to carry on the work of the ministry in different quarters, as need re- quired. And thus the simplicity of his early feelings, his warm domestic affections, and all the delightful associations of his school-boy days, were stamped, as it were, indelibly into his cha- racter, and, in lovely combination with the higher aspirations of his ripened intellect, were carried by him, fresh and unimpaired, into the active scenes of his manhood. After obtaining license, Mr. Waugh justified the sanguine expectations of his friends, by proving both an able and very acceptable preacher. In 76 HIS ACCEPTABILITY AS A PREACHER. every part of the church where he was called to labour, he was esteemed as a workman who needed not to be ashamed. His prayers were distinguished by a copious variety of Scriptural expressions, and a most happy adaptation to the condition and circumstances of every class of the audience, uttered with a gravity of manner and a melting pathos, which solemnised the mind, and warmed the heart with devotional feelings. His discourses were richly stored with evangelical truth, illustrated occasionally by a series of strik- ing imagery, chiefly borrowed from Scripture, expressed in elegant and forcible language, and delivered with tones of voice and an earnestness of manner which manifested to every hearer how deeply the preacher felt in his whole soul that it was the word of life which he was addressing to sinful and perishing men. In his private inter- course with the people, his well-informed mind and prepossessing appearance, his urbanity of manners, his great conversational talents, and the unaffected interest he evinced in all that concerned their welfare, made him a universal favourite. The following congratulatory letter is from his tried and confidential friend, whose affectionate and pious counsels appear to have had no incon- siderable influence in inducing him to get over his scruples and doubtful misgivings regarding his fitness for the Christian ministry : — " Dear Sir, St. Croix, July 30, 1779. " I flatter myself (according to a fashionable mode of speech) that I may wisli you joy. I entertain not the least LETTER FROM GEORGE GRAHAM. 77 doubt of your being now licensed, although you seemed not assured of it when you wrote me last. May you be long preserved, my dear friend, as an ornament to religion, as an able, faithful, and successful minister of the Christian church, and a useful member of society ; so that, after a long and honourably laborious life spent here, you may be welcomed into the mansions of eternal bliss, and peace, and joy, with a ' Well done, good and faithful servant ! ' As to your fears and diffidence, search out the source from whence they flow, I hope you don't mean to court popu- larity. If you administer good and wholesome food and physic to the perishing souls of men, without once attend- ing to their disliking the taste or dress thereof, this will be no restriction to your becoming all things to all men ; not in the least. Again let me advise you to be fully convinced of your own insufficiency for so arduous an undertaking as the drawing of souls to Christ. Paul may plant, and Apollos may water, but the increase is of God. May this drive you to Christ's fulness for a supply of every gift and grace; and may you rejoice in being only an instrument in his hand, if you have been the means of turning one soul from the error of his ways. Above all, let me beseech you to be incessant in prayer. I sincerely am of opinion that many a minister who recommends this duty to his hearers feels but little of its efficacy, and seldom tries the experiment himself. This may seem harsh and uncharitable, but I fear is too true a charge. " You preached your trial sermon at Berwick ; I could wish to have a copy o it. Mr. Blackhall has not de- clined ? I should really be sorry if it were so. " Ever yours, George Graham." In about two months after receiving license, Mr. Waugh was appointed by the Presbytery to supply the Secession congregation of Wells Street, London, recently left vacant by the death of their 78 REV. ARCHIBALD HALL. beloved and highly respected minister, the Rev. Archibald Hall. Providence having chosen this field, as it afterwards appeared, to be the great scene of his future ministrations in the service of the sanctuary, we may here briefly notice the rise of that respectable Christian community, and the valuable labours of his excellent predecessor. In the year 1758, a few pious young men from Scotland, having previously associated for prayer and mutual edification, made application to the Associate Synod for a supply of ministers, which being acceded to by that religious body, they sent to them the Rev. Mr. Pattison of Edinburgh, who preached in a chapel that had been purchased in St. Giles's, and was the means of increasing their numbers, and of forming them into a church, by the ordination of elders. A succession of minis- ters was subsequently sent; and, in 1765, the Rev. Mr. Hall, by appointment of Synod, was placed over them as their stated pastor. Towards the end of the year 1768, the congregation re- moved to another chapel, which they had pur- chased in Wells Street, Oxford Road. It was a merciful interposition of Providence that they left the chapel in St. Giles's at the time they did, as, in about three weeks afterwards, it fell to the ground. Mr. Hall had been previously ordained in 1750, minister of a small congregation in Scotland, at Torphichen in West Lothian. " We have heard little of him," says the author of a short memoir lately published, '* during his residence in that retired situation, which could much interest the REV. ARCHIBALD HALL. 79 public ; only that he laboured in the ministry to the great satisfaction and edification of that people, and that he gained the affections both of his own congregation and others, by his instructive and judicious discourses, his kind and obliging dispo- sition, and his uniformly pious deportment." After his translation to Wells Street, through the grace given him, he laboured with high re- spectability, and, from the superior opportunities he enjoyed, added greatly to his acquirements. To other useful subjects he occasionally turned his attention, but sacred literature was his great delight, and he often perused the oracles of God in the original languages in which they were written. He was diligent in preparation for the pulpit, exemplary in his attention to the duties of visitation from house to house, and never a stranger to his people in the day of distress. During some of his latter years he pursued his studies and exercised his ministry under the disadvantage of a weak and sickly constitution. In October 1773, over exerting himself in preach- ing at the Lord's Supper, his complaints returned in the following winter, and at last issued in his death. " For some weeks, or rather months, before his departure," says one of his attendants, " he talked of death with as much serenity as any one could do of going to sleep. He could take a long and formal farewell of every one that was dear to him ; he was able to do this with a resigned, easy, and calm spirit, which was calculated to soothe the distress of mourning survivors." Near his end, 80 REV. ARCHIBALD HALL. when some, sensible of the great loss the church of Christ would sustain by his removal, were weeping around him, he said, with truly dignified Christian composure : "I go to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God. This God will give you another pastor, who shall feed you with knowledge and understanding." He also addressed them nearly in these words of his Lord and Master : " If ye loved me, ye would not weep because I said, I go to the Father." Soon after, he fell asleep in Jesus, May 6, 1778, in the forty- second year of his age, and nineteenth of his minis- try, and was interred in Bunhill Fields' burying- ground. It may be interesting to add, that, after a lapse of forty-nine years, the same grave re- ceived the mortal remains of his successor. His knowledge was truly extensive, and he thought with uncommon accuracy and precision. His public discourses were well adapted for in- forming the judgment and warming the heart. To the Presbyterian form of church government he was firmly attached, from a conviction that it is the form laid down in the New Testament. In conversation he was easy, instructive, and enter- taining. In the parlour he used to descant upon Gospel truths in a distinct, engaging, and plea- sant manner. He never spent his time in empty, foolish talking, much less in making reflections injurious to the reputation of others ; but in every company it seemed to be his aim either to do good, or get good, or both. The benevolence of his disposition led him to attend to those minute offices of kindness which are so necessary to MR. WAUGH'S RECEPTION IN LONDON. 81 smooth the intercourse of mankind with each other, and have so great an influence on general happiness. His pleasing, generous, and very ac- ceptable attentions were not soon forgotten by those who were the objects of them. He was much in the devout exercises of prayer and praise, giving vent to the grateful emotions of a feeling heart; and used, even in the solitude of the closet, to sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. He published several valuable works : '■* A Treatise on the Government of the Christian Church," and another on " Church Fellowship;" two volumes on "Gospel Worship;" and two sermons, which he entitles " Grace and Holiness." He also left a small work "On the Faith and Influence of the Gospel," in a state of preparation for the press, which was published many years ago. To these may be added a small collec- tion of his letters, which has been very recently edited by one of his surviving friends, who has prefixed to it a short memoir, from which we have extracted the above notices respecting this truly excellent man. Mr. Waugh, after his arrival in London, con- tinued to supply Wells Street congregation for about ten Sabbaths, and met with a most cordial reception from that pious and affectionate people. His public ministrations, and his private inter- course with the members, produced a very fa- vourable and lasting impression ; which afterwards displayed itself by their strenuous exertions to procure his stated services, in which they perse- vered, under great discouragement, till their efforts G 82 NATIONALITY OF CHARACTER. were ultimately crowned with success. The exemplary character of the congregation, the pri- vate worth of such of them as he was acquainted with, and the marked instances of kindness and regard which he received, produced a strong reci- procal affection in his mind. A wise and gracious Providence was thus silently opening his way to that highly important scene of labour and use- fulness to which the subsequent part of his life was devoted, and in which his great Master, at his coming, found him faithfully and zealously occupied. It may here be remarked, that Mr. Waugh was, on many accounts, fitted to make a highly favourable impression upon the Scotch people in London ;• — by his talents in the pulpit ; the affec- tionate earnestness of his ministry, both on public and private occasions ; by his open generosity of disposition and pleasing urbanity of manners; and, more particularly, by the strong nationality of his character and feelings. This latter peculiarity was indeed fitted, in the most eminent degree, to awaken the dormant but deep-rooted sympathies of his countrymen ; and to it we may, without derogating from qualifications of a more conse- crated character, fairly ascribe no slight portion both of his immediate acceptability and his ulte- rior usefulness : for (as will afterwards be ap- parent) the influence of his personal intercourse with his hearers was aided exceedingly by the fervour of his national sympathies, and by the tender, and touching, and pious associations which he possessed the happy art of awakening even in HIS CALL TO NEWTOWN. 83 the most callous bosoms. The effect of this in- fluence in keeping alive, in the heart of London, the most valuable features of the Scottish charac- ter, as manifested in the Wells Street congrega- tion, ought not to be overlooked, though it would be premature here to dwell upon it. On his return to Scotland, he was appointed to supply, on the first and second Sabbaths of November, the congregation of Bristo Street, Edinburgh, recently vacant in consequence of the death of the Rev. John Pattison, who was highly esteemed as an able and faithful minister of Christ, not only in his own congregation, but in every part of the church where he had occasion to labour. Here his ministrations were also highly acceptable, and a very considerable part of that large and respectable congregation felt warmly inclined to call him for their pastor. In the mean time a unanimous call was given to him by the congregation of Newtown, and sustained by the Presbytery at their meeting, December 21, 1779* This was a very small congregation, in the parish of Melrose, Roxburghshire, which had never en- joyed a stated ministry. Although such a situa- tion possessed, for a person of his decidedly national and rural predilections, some peculiar allurements, and had, moreover, the advantage of fixing him in the near vicinity of his family connexions, and of the much-loved scenes of his early years, he yet appears to have hesitated not a little whether it would be prudent on his part to accept the charge. One of his early associates, at this time, writing 84 HIS CALL TO NEWTOWN. to a friend in London, an eminent virtuoso, speaks of Him in the following terms ; which we quote, not only as adverting to his general reputation as a young preacher, but as also evincing the very affectionate regard in which he was held by those to whom he was most intimately known : — "I admire Mr. Waugh as much as any of his acquaint- ance, but not for his taste for antiquity ; for often has he rallied me on the possession, and I him upon the want, of inclination for it. But he has a real genius for the investigation of divinity and morals, and for composition ; he possesses the finest disposition for friendship and for company; and seems to me one who will long be improving in excellence — longer, indeed, than any person I know : so that I expect, if Providence spare him and me, that he will make an eminent clergyman, and that I shall rejoice in such a friend. He has got a call to Newtown, — a poor place. Many of the people in Edinburgh wish to have him : sin- cerely do I desire that they would give him a unanimous call. I hope he will be a blessing to the congregation, and to the Secession in general. But whither am I going? When Waugh is the subject, I can no more get off it than a young lover can get his mistress out of his head." The following letter will shew how another of his most valued friends felt on the subject of his call to Newtown. " My dearest Friexd, St. Croix, Aug. 21, 1780. " Wednesday last being the anniversary of the birth- day of the Rev. Mr. Waugh, it did not pass unnoticed. XETTER FROM GEORGE GRAHAM. 85 May you live, my dear Sir, to see many happy returns of the 16th of August! May you be an able, faithful, and successful labourer, to whatever part of the Lord's vine- yard you maybe appointed ; so that many, by your instru- mentality, being turned from the error of their ways, may bless the day in which your mother forgot her sorrows by being told that a man-child was born ! and may you, after a long, happy, and useful life spent here, enter the gates of the heavenly Zion amidst the joyous acclamations of holy angels, patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, and confessors, exerting themselves afresh in singing praises to Him that was dead, and is now alive; who by means of a helpless infant, sent into the world on the 16th August, 1754, has added many members to the church triumphant ; and hath appointed him, as the gracious re- ward of having turned many to righteousness, to shine with them as stars for ever and ever ! " But let us return to the place of our present sojourn- ing. Pray, my dear solitudinarian, have you really ac- cepted the charge of Newtown ? Were it lawful to repine at any of the dispensations of Providence, at this I would really murmur. I think the Presbytery ought to annul the call. Truly, Sir, one possessing such a share of urba- nity as you do, (I shall say this betwixt ourselves), would be more useful in a town or a city than in such a moorland hermitage, a rural cloister, as I take Newtown to be. What could induce the people to give you the preference ? You will tell me, perhaps, that the election of a minister is providential. I readily grant you that ; but is it not also preceptive ? We ought to make choice of those, when we have a choice, that can become all things to all men in the place they are called to; whose tempers, dispo- sitions, and way of life, adapt them in some measure for their situation, and offer least violence to their natural feelings. However, if my remarks are too late or imper- tinent, may congregation and pastor be happy in one another, is my sincere prayer. ' Whatever is, is right,' 86 HIS ORDINATION. says Alexander Pope ; so must I say relative to the elec- tion of a Seceding minister for Newtown. " Yours for ever, " George Graham." The subject of this memoir, after long deli- beration with himself and his friends, and much fervent prayer for Divine direction in this import- ant step of life, came at last to see that it was the will of Providence that he should take the pastoral care of this infant society. He therefore resolved to go forward in what now appeared the path of duty, devolving all his apprehensions and anxieties on that affectionate and faithful Master who hath kindly promised to his ministers, " As thy day is, so shall thy strength be." His trial for ordination being completed at a preceding meeting of Presbytery, he was set apart to the office of the holy ministry at Newtown, by prayer and the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery, on August 30, 1780. The Rev. Mr. Riddoch, of Coldstream, as moderator, gave the charge to the minister and congregation. On the following Sabbath, September 3, he commenced his ministrations with a lecture on Psalm xlv. 1 — 9 ; and preached, in the afternoon, on verse 2 of the same Psalm. He did not regu- larly lecture in any particular book of Scripture, till a short time before his removal from this charge, when he commenced a course of lectures in Luke. It was a custom with Mr. Brown, soon after the ordination of any of his students, to write the individual ordained a letter of salutary LETTERS OF WARNING AND ENCOURAGEMENT. 87 counsel, regarding the particular duties which had devolved upon him in the new and serious relation into which he had entered. The very solemn admonition which Mr. Waugh received from the worthy professor on this occasion, he published, many years afterwards, in the Evangelical Maga- zine. " HINT TO MINISTERS. " The Rev. J. Brown, of Haddington, tutor in divinity to the Associate Synod, in a letter of paternal counsels and cautions to one of his pupils newly settled in a small congregation, wrote thus: * I know the vanity of your heart, and that you will feel mortified that your congregation is very small in comparison with those of your brethren around you ; but assure yourself, on the word of an old man, that when you come to give an account of them to the Lord Christ, at his judg- ment-seat, you will think you have had enough.' ' It would appear that this short letter had sunk deep into his susceptible mind, so as not only to awaken that salutary anxiety which every minister will feel who watches for souls as one that must give an account, but to cause very considerable dejection regarding his fitness for that sacred trust which had been committed to him. On this matter he had unbosomed his heart to his con- fidential friend, who thus writes : — "St. Croix, June 19, 1781. '{ What is the cause of all this dejection, diffidence, and pusillanimity, so very discernible in my friend's letter? 88 MINISTRY AT NEWTOWN. Really, from your innate benevolence and generosity of disposition, of which 1 have had repeated experience, I imagined that, instead of fearing that your small congre- gation would appear too large at the day of final retri- bution, your exercise would be — studying a perfect resig- nation to the Divine will, that had been pleased to confine your labour and talents to so small a spot, thus preventing you from being more extensively useful in another corner of the Christian vineyard. I hope you are determined, with a humble, steadfast affiance on Divine aid, to act as a faithful watchman upon Zion's walls, to sound the trumpet, and warn the people when danger approaches, or is likely to approach, whether your congregation be large or small. If they take not warning, they shall perish in their iniquity; but you, by your faithfulness, will de- liver your own soul. Our glorious, all-conquering Captain has promulgated a manifesto long ago, and it stands still on record ; it is to this purport, that he sends none of his disciples on warfare at their own charge; and that he will be with his faithful servants at all times, even unto the end of the world. Perhaps old Adam is too strong for my young friend. Consider, my dear Sir, ' no cross, no crown.' You must run before you reach the goal ; you must fight ere you gain the prize. Be of good courage ; He that is for you is stronger than he that is against you." His settlement at Newtown was very agree- able to all his relations except his mother, who felt considerable disappointment that her beloved son, who had received so liberal an education, and had been the object of her unceasing soli- citude, should be stationed for life in such a small and obscure place. The congregation was not in circumstances to give him an adequate support ; and as no convenient house could be procured in MINISTRY AT NEWTOWN. 89 the neighbourhood, he continued to reside at his father's, a distance of about twelve or fourteen miles, and usually rode to Newtown xm the Satur- day afternoon, and returned on the following Monday, unless when detained by ministerial visitation or catechising, or some other clerical duty. His non- residence must have been incon- venient for himself, and very disadvantageous to the interests of the congregation ; and yet never was there a people more warmly attached to a minister. In his public instructions, they hung upon his lips with admiration and delight ; and his private conversation, when he had an oppor- tunity of meeting with them, produced a still deeper impression. We have already adverted to his very marked dislike of every thing bordering on slander or de- famation of character, — a vice so strongly inter- woven with our fallen nature, that many good men, highly distinguished for other excellencies, do not watch with sufficient circumspection against this besetting sin. The following is an illustration of his character in this point: — One of his people had travelled all the way from New- town to his father's, where he usually resided, to communicate to him an unfavourable report concerning another member of the congregation. Some friends being with him, this person was requested to stay and dine with them. After dinner, he took occasion, in a jocular manner, to ask each person, in his turn, how far he had ever known a man travel to tell an evil report of his neighbour ; when some gave one reply, and some 90 MINISTRY AT NEWTOWN. another : he at last came to this individual, but without waiting for his self-condemning reply, or unnecessarily exposing him, Mr. Waugh stated, that he had lately met with a Christian professor, apparently so zealous for the honour of the church, as to walk fourteen miles with no other object than that of making known to his minister the failings of a brother -member. He then, in a warm and impressive manner, enlarged on the praise of that " charity which covers a multitude of sins ; which rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth." At this time, a considerable interest was ex- cited about effecting a union betwixt the two sides of the Secession (the Burghers and Antiburghers), who had been separated for about thirty -five years. Mr. Waugh entered with deep interest into a subject so peculiarly congenial to the temper of his mind, and wrote a paper in recom- mendation of the measure, which was generally circulated through that part of the country. Se- veral meetings were held ; but, from the warmth and jealousy displayed on each side, these termi- nated in no salutary result. " The time to favour Zion was not yet come." But though the lovers of peace were not able then to rear that comely structure which has been since so happily com- pleted at a more auspicious period, it will be said to them, in the great day of account, by Him who weigheth intentions as well as actions, " that they did well that it was in their heart." It was peculiarly gratifying to the subject of this memoir, to find himself, thirty- nine years CALL FROM LONDON. 91 after this period, spared by a kind and gracious Providence to be present at a meeting of the Synod in Edinburgh, September 1819, when ar- rangements were making by both sides of the Secession for effecting that union which now triumphed over every obstruction, and was suc- cessfully concluded on the following year. In those arrangements he took a most deep and lively interest ; and was deputed by his own Synod to offer up their fervent prayers to the exalted Head of the church, to crown that work and labour of love with his divine and efficient blessing. While he was faithfully discharging both the public and private duties of his ministry at New- town, the deep impression his services had pro- duced on the church at Wells Street began to appear. A call to him from that congregation was brought before the Synod which met at Edinburgh, in May, 1781. By the Synod's minutes, it ap- pears that, " after parties were fully heard, he was continued in Newtown by a great majority." He had spoken in favour of his continuance at Newtown before the Synod proceeded to give judgment. We extract from his own papers, written at this date, the following account of his sentiments on a matter to him of no common in- terest : — " The shortness of the time of my minis- trations at Newtown ; the yet unsettled state of that congregation ; the attachment which they have manifested to their pastor ; the struggles which they have made for the settlement of a minister among them ; above all, my unfitness for 92 CALL FROM LONDON. the office in which I now minister; — these are the considerations which moved me to decline ac- cepting of this call. Since that day, insinuations of several of my fathers in the ministry, in regard to that affair, have hurt my mind very much. They are pleased to say, that I have wantonly preferred my own ease before the good of a con- gregation which deserves well of every friend to the Secession ; that by my explicit refusal, I had put it out of the Synod's power to fulfil their engagements in the speedy settlement of a minis- ter among them ; and that by this fresh disap- pointment I had given the congregation a thrust which might be followed by very unhappy con- sequences to the interest of the Secession in London. Though my heart tells me that these charges are not applicable to me, yet I do not recollect many events of my life which have affected me more. The happiness of the congre- gation of Wells Street hath never been to me an indifferent matter : nay, were I assured that by my declining to accept of their call, they shall suffer more than a slight disappointment, or be in danger of applying to any other body of Chris- tians, I am fully persuaded that no considerations, taken from my health, ease, native country, or any other quarter, would deter me from devoting to them my best and continued services in the ministry of the Gospel." In mentioning the following incident, which took place this summer (and which has been com- municated by the venerable ex-secretary of the London Missionary Society, whose praise is in ail SECOND CALL FROM LONDON. 93 our churches), it is to be observed, in explana- tion, that a chapel in connexion with the Se- cession having been recently opened in Carlisle, Mr. Waugh, in his zeal for the cause, had made himself responsible for a considerable debt upon it: — " It was on the 4th of July, 1781, that, by desire of Lady Glenorchy, I went from Lancaster, where I then resided, to Carlisle, to purchase of Mr. Waugh a small chapel, in which he had oc- casionally ministered in connexion with the Seces- sion church. But as the cause was discouraging, he was desirous of parting with the place ; and Lady Glenorchy, who had engaged me and others to preach at various places in the North of Eng- land, authorised me to purchase it for her. I met Mr. Waugh there. I preached in the evening. Before sermon, he baptized a child ; next day I paid him the purchase-money, 120/. ; and he has often told me since, how his heart was lightened from a heavy burden, as he had made himself re- sponsible for the money, and was afraid of the consequences. He used to say it was a warning to him, never more to have to do with money matters in chapel-building. I little thought then, that fourteen years afterwards an intimacy would take place that would last for life." A second call to him from London was on the 27th November, 1781, brought before an interim meeting of Synod, which again decided that he should be continued at Newtown. The commis- sioners from Wells Street, in a letter to their con- stituents, give the following statement regarding the decision : — '" We are exceedingly vexed to 94 THIRD CALL FROM LONDON. inform you, that after all you have already suf- fered, our most arduous endeavours for the happy settlement of your congregation have once more proved abortive, to the universal grief of ministers and spectators, by the unaccountable keenness of the country elders to humble metropolitan con- gregations, as they are termed ; in spite of the plain, manly, and honest declaration made by the worthy object of your regard, that, owing to deaths, and other alterations which had taken place since he was settled in Newtown, he was willing to be removed. The Synod, in testimony of their sincere sympathy, are to send up the Rev. Mr. Dick, of Queensferry, with all conve- nient speed ; and have also appointed some mem- bers to write to you." Matters could not continue for any length of time in such a dubious and painful state, and there was every ground to expect Mr. Waugh's speedy translation from Newtown. The congre- gation of Wells Street had set their hearts most ardently and unanimously on obtaining him for their pastor, and steadfastly persevered, notwith- standing the great discouragements they had ex- perienced, in prosecuting their claims before the Synod. A third call from this congregation was laid before the Presbytery and sustained on the 19th March, 1782. At the same time, a call to him from the congregation of Bristo Street, Edin- burgh, was also brought forward ; but when the two calls came before the Synod, some misma- nagement or informality prevented their being brought into direct and open competition ; and FAREWELL SERMONS. 95 that of Bristo Street was ultimately withdrawn, after sundry discussions, chiefly on points of form, in which the generality of our readers could take but little interest. In the meanwhile, the ques- tion was finally discussed in Synod, whether Mr. Waugh should be translated to London or con- tinued in Newtown ; and the commissioners on each side, and also Mr. Waugh, having previously been fully heard, " after prayer for the Lord's direction and overruling of the decision to his own glory and the good of all concerned," the votes were taken, when it was carried in favour of Wells Street; and the Presbytery of Edinburgh was appointed to admit him, as speedily as pos- sible, to the charge of the said church. This decision was accordingly carried into effect at Dalkeith on 30th May, 1782; on which occasion the Rev. Mr. Lowe, of Biggar, being moderator, preached from Psalm lxxi. 16, " I will go in the strength of the Lord God." There can be no doubt whatever, that the sub- ject of this memoir, with a mind constituted like his, by being translated to London, was raised to a sphere where his exertions have been far more extensively influential in advancing the general interests of the kingdom of Christ, than they could have been had he presided over any church in Scotland, however respectable or numerous. He preached at Newtown for the last time on May 5, 1782, the Sabbath preceding the meeting of Synod at which he was translated to Wells Street : his text was in 1 John, iv. 8. And on 19th May he preached at Stitchell ; and it being 96 MEMORIALS OF HIS MINISTRY AT NEWTOWN. understood that he would not again preach in the country prior to his departure for London, a great number of his old congregation attended, though it was about twelve miles distant. His text that day was from Eph. v. 2. After the lapse of nearly half a century, it is pleasant to find that his memory is still cherished with grateful recollections, and that his name is never mentioned at Newtown, or in the adjacent country, but in terms of high esteem and regard, though few of his congregation, who were at that period church members, now survive. A pious and very aged woman gives the following simple narrative : — " I was under great distress of mind on account of my husband's death, who was suddenly taken from me by a fever, and left me with three help- less children. I went to hear Mr. Waugh, who was then minister of the Burgher congregation of Newtown. He preached on the words : ' These are they that have come out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.' The sermon had such a powerful effect on my mind, that it dis- burdened it of that sadness and gloom which had hung over me since my husband's death : I then became a constant hearer at his meeting-house. His ministrations were greatly blessed at that place. He once preached a very alarming sermon on that text : ' But they made light of it.' These were some of his expressions : ' I take witnesses this day, the stones and the timber of this house, that I have made offer to you of the great salva- MEMORIALS OF HIS MINISTRY AT NEWTOWN. 97 tion purchased for you by Jesus Christ. If it should be asked me on the great day, Did you make offer to these poor sinners of the great sal- vation of the Gospel ? I shall be constrained to say, Yes, Lord ; but they made light of it.' The last sermon he preached at Newtown was on these words: ' God is love.' He once used an expression in prayer about the love of Christ, which," said she, weeping, " I have never for- gotten : ' It is deep as the grave in which he lay, high as the heaven to which he ascended, ancient as eternity, and lasting as the interests of your immortal souls.' " A respectable member of the congregation, now residing in Peebles, has also favoured us with a few notices regarding his ministrations at New- town : — " During the time Mr. Waugh remained there, the church was always full. Many respect- able individuals in the neighbourhood, belonging to the established church, regularly attended his ministry, and would have become connected with the Secession had he continued. There was a general impression on the minds of the people, that he would not be permitted to remain long with them. Each Sabbath he had a new text ; and always finished his subject, not only to the admiration of those who heard it at the time, but even at this distant period his method of preaching is spoken of with delight by those of his hearers who still survive. The Lord's Supper was only dispensed once during his ministry at Newtown : it was attended by a great multitude, from the sur- rounding congregations of Selkirk, Stow, Stitcliell, h 98 MEMORIALS OF HIS MINISTRY AT NEWTOWN. Kelso, and Jedburgh. His action sermon was on Ephesians, i. 7, and made a very deep impression on all who heard it. His directions after the table services were greatly admired. The indi- vidual who furnishes this information was one of the hearers, and distinctly recollects the introduc- tion to the address, which was in the following words : ' My brethren, is there a reality in reli- gion ? Yes, there is : but supposing there were no reality, still we, the professors of it, have the advantage of others. It makes us better members of society, better husbands, better wives, better parents and better children, better servants and better masters, and happier in all our relations in life.' He then entered into a proof and illus- tration of religion, as revealed in the Gospel, and confirmed by the glory of the Lamb in heaven ; and concluded that part of the service in a manner never before witnessed in so young a person. Mr. Coventry, of Stitchell, under whom he was brought up, was assisting at the sacrament, and present when that address was given ; and on retiring to take refreshment, he said to some individuals that were with him, ' O what lofty expressions ! what exalted views of the perfec- tions of the Almighty ! O what a bright star this young man promises to be ! ' " It is worthy of remark, that his addresses to communicants were always singularly impressive ; and it appears from the above details, that the two parts of pulpit services in which he afterwards most peculiarly excelled, namely, prayer and communion addresses, are also the parts most MEMORIALS OF HIS MINISTRY AT NEWTOWN. 99 vividly remembered by those who heard him fifty years ago." " During the opportunities he had of mixing with his people, his conversation was cheerful and always edifying, and particularly soothing to those in distress, when he was called to visit them. And it may be observed, that whenever the name of Mr. Waugh is mentioned to any of the few yet remaining alive who heard him at Newtown, their countenances brighten, and their hearts glow with pleasure, while they recite any circumstance they remember respecting him." a