BY THE REV. MURDO MORRISON, LOCHINVER, SUTHERLAND.
DEAR MR. EDITOR,—I fear that, owing to the unvarying nature of our work in England—now for some time exclusively confined to the Royal Naval Reserve men—and to the fact that the ground covered and the work done are exactly similar to what has been reported on time and again by former deputies, the report which I have to offer will not appear so interesting to the readers of the Magazine. But such as it is I venture to insert it in your pages.
In compliance with the request made to me by the Convener of the Committee charged with supplying divine services in the vernacular to those gallant seamen hailing from all parts, and representative of the various denominations in the Highlands and Islands, I proceeded to London, leaving my home on Wednesday the 14th July, and arriving on Friday the 16th. I was met at the station by one of our friends in London, and henceforth I felt myself quite at home in the heart of this vast and wonderful metropolis. But Chatham and Portsmouth were my main objectives, in common with former ministers. Both places are served in turn every alternate Sabbath. Portsmouth was falling due the Sabbath after my arrival in London. The weekday evenings appropriate for holding services are, in Chatham, Thursday and Saturday evenings, and in Portsmouth, Friday evenings only. For the evening service of Thursday in Chatham the deputy for the time being has to travel from, and make return journey to, London the same evening. But in the case of Portsmouth, the distance from London being nearly three times as great as the distance between London and Chatham, and the Friday evening being so near the Sabbath, the deputy is accustomed to leave shortly after noon to be in time for the evening meeting, and to remain there until Monday morning. Mr. Angus Fraser, Glasgow, who was asked to take charge of the London Mission for a month or two, had arrived a day before me. As I could not reach in time sufficient to allow my being present at the Friday evening meeting at Portsmouth, it was deemed advisable in order that this meeting in Portsmouth should be held that Mr. Fraser should travel thither and remain over Sabbath. It therefore remained for me to take his place in the London Mission the Sabbath after my arrival. A number of the young women attending the Eccleston Hall were away with the people with whom they are employed, at the usual summer resorts, and the congregation present was therefore not so large as it usually is. But in the evening there was a good attendance, which was well maintained afterwards.
On Mr. Fraser’s arrival on Monday he informed me that the average attendance of Royal Naval Reserve men at Portsmouth would be between fifty and sixty, and this percentage continued
very much about the same in Portsmouth during my term of supply. One Sabbath evening in this place, I was told, a number of the men from Skye and the mainland came to the Barracks’ gates to be admitted to the service, but were refused admission. Some of them joined the Naval Reserve last spring, and were either quartered in encampments outside the Barracks or were previously distributed over the various war crafts, some of which had happened to arrive from their cruises towards the week-end. I inquired the reason for their not being allowed in, and I was told it was due to some two or three cases of epidemic which had broken out among the sailors quartering within the Barracks grounds. The authorities are, of course, obviously alive to the necessity of taking every possible precaution against all kinds of diseases, and this would be reckoned a sufficient reason for their non-admittance. I could not but feel sorry that, since they had come so far and were so near us, they were turned away from hearing “the word of life.” Anyone with a drop of saving grace in his soul, and having the spiritual welfare of these men at heart, cannot but deeply sympathise with them in the uncertain situation in which their lives are placed, and no more practical and profitable form can that sympathy take than that we, as a Church, should, since the Most High has granted us the opportunity, do all within our power, by contributing our substance and maintaining a regular ministerial supply, to point out the way of salvation, through the obedience and death of the Saviour, to these men. How one, thus feeling for them, could wish that this awful scourge of war—for the waging of which they were summoned to place their lives in constant jeopardy—would prove a means in the Lord’s hand of making lasting spiritual impressions on their minds, and of leading them to the saving knowledge of Christ! We feel we can confess it as our honest conviction that with no other end or motive are we guided in the conduct of this Mission to the Forces than that of seeking their spiritual wellbeing for time and eternity. Everything else pales into insignificance in comparison with the one thing needful. “What shall it profit a man though he gain the whole world and lose his own soul; or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”
In Chatham, on the other hand, there are a larger number of Naval Reservists who find it convenient to attend. In both naval ports they fluctuate—just as men are drafted on to ships every day and others placed ashore for any indefinite time, short or long. Thus every time one spoke he was speaking to some fresh hearers. Still, in both places there are Reservists who have not been removed from their Barracks quarters since they were called up at the outbreak of war. Those who are thus stationary are as a rule men somewhat up in years, but there are exceptions, no doubt.
The average attendance in Chatham during my time would, I should say, be about a hundred, and perhaps more some Sabbaths,
and between fifty and sixty on Thursday and Saturday evenings. The time to begin each evening is 7-10 p.m., and we required to dismiss about 8-40 p.m., for the Barracks gates closed prompt at nine p.m. Rules and hours are strictly observed, and this reminded us of the proverb, “The king’s business requireth haste.” On this account one does not feel, while engaged in public worship and devotional exercises, so free and unhampered in the matter of time as otherwise one would be. But this is, of course, fully reckoned upon by us all. The men at Chatham are still continuing the week-night meetings in the absence of a deputy. The last Saturday I was there I made the meeting exclusively a prayer meeting, and I was told by the men taking the most public part that I could call on eight or nine men, who were present that evening, to engage. But as the time was so limited only four, or five perhaps, prayed. I must say I was impressed with the exercises of these men, and it was to me real pleasure and profit to hear them. Such things as the following conduce to make these men impressed and exercised, namely, the danger to which they are exposed, so far as their lives are concerned, and the appalling amount of indifference to and ignoring of the spiritual claims of God and of the human soul which they meet with in their surroundings. Their upbringing and religious environments in the past were hallowed by the quiet and holy observance of the Lord’s day, purity of worship, soundness of doctrines, and contact with God-fearing people. The contrast between the two different religious atmospheres and conditions was all the more marked and keen in their view, and the unavoidable comparison could not fail to produce in their minds the thought of the invaluable nature of their former privileges. To this effect we heard some of them speaking or relating their experiences. But our earnest hope and prayer for those who will survive the terrible ordeal of this world-wide war is that, when they are back to their homes, they will never forget the God whose sparing mercy preserved them through it all, and will appreciate as they never did before the priceless privileges they have had in the Word of God, in the holy day of rest, and in God-fearing associates.
They listened with attention and with intelligent appreciation. When they arrived, over a year ago, at these naval ports they never expected to hear God’s word as they were accustomed to, but the Most High—most happily for them—disappointed those expectations and opened up the way for our Church to attend to the spiritual wants of the Naval Reservists who were fortunate to have been left ashore or to have frequented Chatham and Portsmouth. But the vast majority of them were distributed over the different classes of warships or over the different naval units. A good number of them—especially belonging to Lewis—were drowned or killed in naval fighting, or through disasters by coming into contact with German mines or torpedoes. I met a few, whom I personally knew, from Lewis, my native island, also
from Harris and from Skye, and it was a pleasure to me to see them. They all were, though of the various denominations, very appreciative of the efforts put forth on their behalf by our Church, and wish that we should continue these efforts. It is very expensive to maintain a constant supply, and we in Scotland cannot sufficiently realise the unavoidable outlay in finance entailed. I beg therefore to endorse very emphatically the appeal made by Mr. Cameron in the previous issue of the Magazine for funds. It is not only a duty incumbent on us, as commanded by the Lord of the vineyard, but a privilege and an honour to us to support so needful and deserving a cause.
In conclusion, we truly desire and pray that the seed sown by the weak instrumentality of man may not fall altogether on stony ground or on the highways, but on good ground that should bring forth abundant fruit to the glory of a Triune God. We have no doubt but some will eternally benefit by this world-wide commotion, and the varied circumstances attending it, among which we might place that of our own Mission to the Forces. Therefore we are not without hope but the Lord is bringing some among them to the knowledge of Himself in Christ. May the Most High uphold and preserve them in their going out and coming in, and grant to draw them to Himself!
I gave three Sabbaths to Chatham, two Sabbaths to Portsmouth, and two to London—my first and last Sabbaths—which were exchanged with Mr. Fraser. In all, seven Sabbaths were given by me.
The late Mr. Angus MacLeod,
STRATHY POINT, SUTHERLANDSHIRE.
THE July number of this Magazine recorded, in a single paragraph, the decease of three elders to whom the Free Presbyterian Church owed much—Messrs. John Swanson, Hal-kirk; Donald Dunbar, Wick; and Angus MacLeod, Strathy Point. Of Mr. John Swanson and of Mr. Donald Dunbar fuller notices appeared in the August Magazine. Lack of opportunities must be our excuse for delaying so long in the case of the late Mr. Angus MacLeod.
Angus MacLeod was born in or about the year 1820, very shortly after his parents—in consequence of a cruel process of evictions, which affected them and others—had come from Strathnaver to Strathy Point. He was younger by two years than his sister, Jessie MacLeod, a woman of a remarkably spiritual frame of mind, of whose decease notice was taken in the June, 1906, number of this Magazine. Like his sister, Jessie, Angus was early impressed with the piety and godly example of their maternal grandmother, Mary MacBeth. (See Free Presbyterian Magazine, June, 1906, page 59.) This Mary MacBeth lived, a
widow, in Angus Macleod’s father’s house for about twenty-three years after the Strathnaver clearance was effected, and thus Angus himself passed the most impressionable years of his life ere his godly grandmother’s decease. He always spoke of her in a way that suggested that, for his own part, he had not seen godliness exemplified in a more lively or more beautiful way than in her. The work of grace in Angus’s own case did not manifest itself at first in a way to call forth observation on the part of others, but it was a work that arrested him early in life.
He got a fairly-liberal education as a boy and youth, and he benefitted through this privilege to the extent of being able to teach others during the winter months for several years. He was married when comparatively young to Elizabeth Mackay, a godly woman, who predeceased her husband by about four years. They had a large family of four sons and five daughters. Two of the sons predeceased their parents, and of one—Angus, to wit—a notice from the pen of one of our ministers appeared in the August, 1909, number of the Free Presbyterian Magazine. This large family could not, of course, be maintained by the proceeds of a small croft, and Angus had to supplement that means of making a livelihood for himself and those who were dependent upon him, sometimes on sea, but for the most part on land, working as a labourer, in the lowlands of Scotland. The life he lived, if strenuous, was honourable; and we have no doubt that his manifold cares made him more mindful than otherwise he might be of “the throne of grace.”
When he was about forty years of age, he began to identify himself more closely than before with those that feared and followed the Lord, but it was not until he was fully sixty years of age that he came forward to make a public profession, as a member in full communion with the Church, of his living interest in his Lord and Saviour. This public profession he made about a year before the death of his beloved pastor, the Rev. Christopher Munro. Shortly after this, when the Rev. Walter Calder was Free Church minister of Strathy, Angus was appointed a deacon, and some time after that again, an elder.
He always took the liveliest interest in the public news of his day, and especially in those that had respect to the cause of Christ in the land. Having in his own measure, as a gracious person, much of the mind of Jeremiah, whose counsel was “to ask for the old paths, the good way, and to walk therein,” he was grieved exceedingly with the changes for the worse which affected the Free Church during the period 1863-93. On this account, when in the last-mentioned year a remnant stood out for “the old paths,” Angus MacLeod was as decidedly in favour of the movement as any in the country, and although efforts were not spared to make him turn aside from what he regarded as the plain path of duty, Angus stood firm as a rock. From the year 1893 up to his decease in May, 1915, he was the senior elder of the Free
Presbyterian congregation in Strathy, and now that he has been removed the entire congregation mourn his loss. He did not venture to take up the part of a public lecturer, save that he might give a word of exhortation, but he was an excellent reader, both of Gaelic and English sermons, and his power as a pleader with God in public prayer seemed to grow strong with his years. A feature of his character that deserves recognition was the kindly and humble way in which he welcomed, and even honoured, men younger than himself, to whom he gave credit as having experienced a saving change. His end was peace.
“Mark the perfect man and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace.” “These words,” writes one of our ministers who was privileged to be present at Angus MacLeod’s deathbed, “are spoken of God’s people who are always consciously very imperfect in themselves, but nevertheless reckoned perfect in Him who is their righteousness. The words were literally true of Angus MacLeod. No words can describe his end better than those of the Psalm: ‘the end of that man is peace.’
“On the Thursday previous to his death he attended the funeral of his next-door neighbour, Mrs. Mackay—the mother of Rev. Alexander Mackay, Oban—and he engaged in the service held at the house on that day. He had wonderful freedom, and appeared very robust for an old man in his ninety-fifth year. On the next day, Friday, he had a weak turn, and went to bed. On Saturday he was weaker, and those around him knew that the earthly tabernacle was about to be taken down. The writer conducted worship with him on Saturday night, and Angus asked a blessing on the Word in his usual way—orderly, brief, and scriptural. On Sabbath morning, when worship was conducted at his bedside, and he was asked if he could ask a blessing, he replied that he would try to do so; and so he did, but he was not able to conclude. He suddenly stopped short from weakness, but we think that we shall never forget that exercise. His theme was peace. He quoted those words in the twenty-ninth Psalm (verses 10, 11) in Gaelic:—
‘The Lord sits on the floods; the Lord sits King, and ever shall.
The Lord will give his people strength,
and with peace bless them shall.’
He laid special emphasis on the words, ‘and with peace bless them shall,’ quoting them several times. After that, when worship was conducted beside him, he was not asked to take part because of his weakness, but he used to join in the singing till two nights before he died. On Monday he grew weaker, and the end did not seem very far away. Loving hands were about him, and he lacked for nothing that human sympathy and love could supply. He had no pain from the beginning of his illness. His latter hours were peaceful, and when questioned—as he often was—as to whether he had any pain, he always said that he had none and
that he felt comfortable. On Monday night we kept watch beside him, as he was very weak. During the night he wandered sometimes, but whether wandering or conscious of those around him, his mind was occupied with the things that belonged to his everlasting peace. He continued all night praying and quoting passages of Scripture, especially those passages in which the word ‘peace’ appears. One such which he often quoted was, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.’ On Tuesday he was still weaker, and on Tuesday night he became completely unconscious of those about him, and he continued so until he passed peacefully away on Wednesday morning.
“As it is true naturally that every member of the same family is not alike, so is it true of the family of God. Each one has some peculiar trait. If we were asked, ‘What was the trait that marked the life of Angus MacLeod with its particular stamp?’ we would answer unhesitatingly that it was humility. He held a place in connection with the cause of Christ in Strathy which meant that he had to take the leading part, but this did not puff him up or cause him in any way to look upon himself as above even the youngest in grace in the congregation. This, of course, does not imply that he would sit at the feet of everyone who made a profession of religion. By no means. Neither would he countenance those who, by their life, forsook the cause of Christ. It meant, however, that wherever he found evidences of grace and honesty of purpose, he would sit at the feet of such, whether young or old. He had a special love for the young in grace, and having once given them a place in his heart, he ever afterwards treated them as a friend who ‘loveth at all times.'”
To his son, Roderick, who was his chief earthly comfort in his old age, and to the other members of the family who are from home, we extend our deepest sympathy, and pray that the God of their fathers may take them, the children, and make them princes in the land.
J. R. M.
Glaring Sabbath Desecration in Scotland.—Those who love God’s Holy Day cannot help being shocked beyond measure at the daring way in which it is being flouted in a land where it was once highly honoured. The following extract from the Dundee Advertiser will give some idea of what we mean:—”A splendid concert, under the auspices of the Lord Provost and Magistrates, was held” in the Grand Theatre, Broughty-Ferry, on Sunday, 20th June, “the purpose being to raise funds to relieve the distress in Poland. The theatre was crowded. . . . A feature of the vocal part of the programme was the singing of Corporal Hendry, who had quite an ovation, and, on recall, sang finely, ‘Marie, my Girl.’ . . . Apart from the concert, the splendid film, ‘African Lion Hunting,’ was shown by the courtesy of Sir Thomas Dewar.”
The Diary of Dugald Buchanan.
(Continued from page 229.)