BY THE REV. DONALD GRAHAM, SHIELDAIG, LOCHCARRON.
DEAR MR. EDITOR,—It falls to my lot now to send a brief report of my visit to the Naval Forces in England. I am afraid that our reports are now so monotonous that our readers may think them stale.
I left Shieldaig on the 12th of July, and arrived in Glasgow on the evening of the same day about 10 p.m. I left Glasgow at 10 a.m. on Friday the 14th, and arrived in London at 6.30 p.m. Our dear friend, Mr. MacLeod, student, met me at Euston Station and conveyed me to 8 Wellington Square, where I put up for the night. On Saturday morning I left for Portsmouth for the weekend. On Sabbath we had two services, the morning service beginning at 9.45 in Miss Weston’s hall, which is in connection with the Royal Sailor’s Rest, a commodious hall, seated, I should think, for about 300 or more. Miss Weston, who is a noble and pious lady, and who has devoted the best part of her life to the comfort of sailors, has kindly given the use of this hall for the morning services in connection with the Mission to the Naval men.
To this hall the men come every Sabbath morning on parade, accompanied by an officer or officers as the case may be, punctually at the very moment appointed. The number present at these services during my time there varied from 107 to 132. The evening services were held in the Barracks, where the numbers in attendance were much less. This may be accounted for by the fact that to the morning services they came from Whale Island, the Barracks, etc.; but at the evening services there were exclusively, with few exceptions, those residing within the Barracks. Among them there are some God-fearing men, and it was a pleasure to see how attentively they sat, listening to the Word of God read and preached. At these services we never lacked a precentor to lead the singing, and it was truly gratifying to see and hear how harmoniously they all joined together in singing the psalms. Good singing is characteristic of the Lewis men and women. The same can be said of the men in Chatham, only the numbers were less during my time, owing to so many of them being drafted away to ships.
On my return from Portsmouth on Monday, after my first weekend there, I took up my headquarters in London at 1 Montagu Street, Montagu Square, in the house then occupied by our late dear friend, Superintendent Robert Mackay, where I was com-
modiously entertained by Mr. and Mrs. Mackay, in company with Mr. MacLeod, student. We were all happy together for a short time until, suddenly, it pleased the Lord to visit us with a very sore dispensation in the death of our dear friend, Mr. Mackay.
As some of the readers of the Magazine know, he was in indifferent health for some years back, but no one anticipated so sudden a change. He left home on Friday evening, the 21st July, for a few days’ holidays for the benefit of his health, and went to Margate, a beautiful health resort at the seaside, about 74 miles from London, and on Monday the 31st, he died. Before leaving he remarked to a friend, while speaking about his health, that it was his impression that he would not live long; but he added, “The question with me is not ‘When will death come, or where?’, but ‘How will death find me when it comes?'” On another occasion, while speaking of the certainty of death and how suddenly some are called away, he said, “Well, I hope and trust that the Lord will not call me away until He prepares me for dying.” We do hope that this desire, which was not surface, but deep and from the heart, was heard and answered by Him who came “to seek and to save that which was lost.” “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” We would seek to extend our profound sympathy to Mrs. Mackay and relatives. And may the Lord be pleased to enable us all to make choice of the good part which shall not be taken away from us!
During my time in London I had occasion to visit several hospitals where some dear lads belonging to my own congregation, and others whom I knew, were lying wounded. I visited Tooting, Brighton, Epsom, and Gosport hospitals, and met with several young boys whom I knew, and they were glad to see me. May the Lord bless to the dear boys the terrible horrors of war which they have gone through! These days are fearful days, in which the Lord is visiting us as a generation with fearful judgments on account of our national and individual sins, and still we are not laying it to heart, nor turning to the Lord with penitent hearts. Oh, that it would please the Lord to pour out upon us, as a nation the Spirit of Grace, and supplication, that we may be found turning unto Him, imploring His mercy!
It is heart-rending to see the extent to which the desecration of the Lord’s day is carried on in the large cities, and among our soldiers and sailors too. But I am glad to be able to say that there are some among them who are truly God-fearing men, and are grieved in their hearts for what they see and hear. I remember an anecdote of the eminent Mr. Lachlan Mackenzie, late of Lochcarron, in regard to Sabbath desecration. While warning his congregation, he said, “I hear the Sabbath crying, ‘Murder! murder! murder!'” But then he said, “I hear the Lord of the Sabbath saying, ‘Have patience, Sabbath; have patience, Sabbath. I will be avenged upon your murderers.'” This is true, and should be a warning to all Sabbath breakers at home, and throughout our cities.
But I must not continue. I was four Sabbaths in Portsmouth and three in Chatham, and I must say that, although there were
many things seen and heard to grieve to the heart, yet I enjoyed my visit, and met with some who had the fear of the Most High in their hearts. I took part in the prayer meetings in our hall in London while I was there, and was pleased to meet with dear friends. I left London on Wednesday the 30th of August, and arrived in Edinburgh the same evening, where I stayed over Sabbath, and met with dear friends there also. May the Lord bless them all!—Yours, etc.,
D. G.