DUNCAN Fraser was born on the 14th day of November, 1838, at Ellan, Carrbridge, Inverness-shire. His parents were prudent and industrious, and careful as to the religious upbringing of their children. Their family consisted of five sons and one daughter. The father died when Duncan was only fourteen years. Before he departed this life, he expressed his wish that Duncan should continue to hold family worship after he should be taken away. This he did notwithstanding he was by ten or twelve years younger than the oldest son. This goes to prove that there was, at the age of fourteen years, some seriousness and concern of his soul noticeable about Duncan.
It seems that he never mixed up with other boys in anything that could be called sinful, or wicked. Even at this early age, he began to follow the godly men of Strathspey, and to be always as near them as he could venture, whether on the public road, in meetings kept for prayer, or in their own private homes. He had the marks the late Rev. John Kennedy, Redcastle, gave of one in whom the Holy Spirit works effectually:—”A sharp ear towards God’s word; a closed mouth and bowed head; and a warm eye towards the Lord’s people.” This continued for some time before the men took any particular notice of him, so far as they revealed it to himself; but we may rest assured that they had many thoughts and earnest prayers about and on behalf of their follower.
One day, during a communion season in a certain place the men, who were William Grant, Slochd; Donald Cattanach, Newtonmore; Alexander Cattanach, Laggan, Badenoch; and Duncan Cameron, Aviemore, were standing together, and Duncan a little distance from them, William Grant called him to them and laid his hand on his head, and said to him:—”Duncan, be watchful, and keep close to God’s word; for you will have to bear witness to God’s truth by holding meetings among the people of these glens, when we are dust in the grave.” This came to pass as we shall see.
Duncan learned to be a house carpenter. He served a part of his apprenticeship in Glasgow, and he continued in the city several years after he became a journeyman. During this period he visited the graves of the most of the martyrs in Ayrshire, Lanarkshire, etc., and also the places where they were in the habit of holding conventicles or field-preaching. The late Mr. Alexander Macdougall, banker, Kingussie, accompanied him in all his travels in these counties. The friendship formed then between him and Mr. Macdougall continued unabated, until Mr. Macdougall was taken away to his everlasting rest some years ago. They were in many ways of a kindred mind, and in no other thing was this more conspicuous than in the abhorrence with which they contemplated what is called “Higher Criticism.” The idea of men, called Christians, whose aim and work was to cavil at the inspiration of the Bible, was preposterous to them both, and neither of them hid his light under a bushel as to how they abhorred such hypocrisy and daring profanity.
Duncan married a daughter of Alexander Cattanach, Laggan, Badenoch, a man well known throughout the north of Scotland as an eminently pious man. This took place on the 19th day of December, 1880. The Lord blessed them with a family of four sons and two daughters, all of whom are still spared.
The first time we had the privilege of meeting him was in 1890 at the Free Church Manse, Laggan, Badenoch. His wife was with him on that occasion. The next time we met him was at Inverness in June of 1892 at a meeting held by the so-called “Constitutional Party” of the Free Church after the passing of the infamous Declaratory Act. The first hall in which they met that day proved too small to contain the number of men, ministers, and students, who gathered to hear what the ministers intended to do. Another larger hall was got to which all present removed. The writer met Duncan in the crowd while passing to that hall, and asked him concerning his own health, and that of Mrs. Fraser. He noticed at once, by the expression of his face, that she was taken from him, and begged his pardon, letting him know that he did not hear of his painful bereavement. Duncan said: “I have lost a wife who, I am fully persuaded, was given me by the Lord, and who was an helpmeet for me in every way. I was deprived of her, and left with an infant of a few days old, and five other helpless little children; but I can conscientiously say that the condition into which men have brought the cause of Christ in Scotland to-day, causes me deeper and more poignant grief than the loss of my beloved wife has done.” From that moment the writer felt bound in spirit to him.
That bond continued unabated to the last. He was a man who was possessed of a very tender and loving disposition towards all men, but especially the household of faith; but he loved Christ Himself and His cause more than he loved any of His creatures. Such as came to Inverness that day, expecting that a stand was to be made for the vindication of the truth of God and the principles of the Free Church of Scotland, left the town convinced that the “Constitutional Party” meant to do nothing. This caused much grief to many. Duncan Fraser felt it very bitterly. He, John Rose, and Alexander Fraser met often to confer as to what they should do. John Rose and he gave expression, on many occasions in these meetings, to the painfulness of being in a Church which made a new creed so contrary to God’s word, but Alexander Fraser did not, for a long time, say a word as to what they should do. This caused Duncan and John to doubt whether Alexander meant to take any steps to fulfil his vows and defend God’s word. But as they were meditating one night together, Alexander said, “I will tell you plainly what I feel bound in my conscience to do: I will have nothing to do with the present Free Church after the coming Assembly, unless they will repeal that God-dishonouring and soul-destroying Act. You may act as you like, but that is my position.” The other two expressed their wholehearted concurrence in his decision. Duncan said to the writer: “I never felt more ashamed of my own thoughts than I did that night; for I felt that my thoughts were so unjust in this matter towards honest Alexander Fraser.”
As is so well known, Rev. D. Macfarlane protested at the Assembly of 1893 against the conduct of the Free Church, inasmuch as she had violated her own Creed and Constitution, and took steps immediately to set up the Free Church of Scotland in her original purity and position. This step brought great relief to these men, who felt that they were bound by their oath to assert, maintain, and defend her Creed and Constitution. None rejoiced in this relief more than Duncan Fraser. He immediately began to hold services on successive Sabbaths at Tomatin, Kingussie, Aviemore, and Drumuillie, to all the people in these districts who separated from the Declaratory Act Church. When the Tomatin congregation got a missionary of their own, he gave up going there, except that he went every year to catechise the people, while he had strength left him to do so. He continued to hold meetings on the Sabbath-days, and some times through the week in the other three places, and also to catechise in these districts while he was enabled to do it. We never saw any man so unsparing of himself; for it was seldom that he walked less than twelve miles on a Sabbath-day, and spoke twice. While he had strength, he would be up on Monday morning at five o’clock and wrought at his trade all day. The writer told him often that he should take complete rest on Monday after such exertions, but he would not be advised. He was such an active man both in mind and body that he did not feel any deterioration at the time, but he regretted at last that he was so unsparing of his body, not in going to speak to the people, but in the employment of the world. For all this labour of love he refused repeatedly to accept of any salary from the Church. He took the Apostle Paul for his example in preaching the word of God for naught to poor sinners.
Four years next spring he had a severe attack of influenza. It impaired his good and robust constitution so severely that he never got back his strength again. Not long after that his memory became very bad, so that he had a very great difficulty in expressing his mind. At the same time his other mental faculties remained quite sound and active to the end. Even then he was as keen as ever on going to hold meetings among the people. He said once to the writer: “I think it is my duty to go among them should I not be enabled to say one word to them, but—’Repent.'” And, indeed, there is nothing that is more needful in our poor generation than repentance. But he had to give up these meetings for more than two years before the end came. He continued to the last to hold a meeting in his own house.
David Fraser, his brother, who was ten years older than he, was also a man of undoubted piety. He lived also in Carrbridge, and assisted Duncan in the meetings. The admiration he had for David was boundless. He looked upon himself as not worthy of being compared to him. Indeed, David was a rare man in intelligence, grace, and wisdom, which made him to be respected very highly by the Lord’s people, and also by all who knew him. He was one of the men who thought much, but spoke sparingly. Visitors to the place sought his company and his opinions about science, theology, and worldly affairs. One day a man who considered himself a scientist met him on the road and said to him, “These mountains,” pointing to Grampian mountains, “are as old as any in the known world; for their formation prove that they were in existence long before the rest of the mountains of Scotland.” David answered: “I believe that God created them when He created all the other mountains.” Another of the visitors used to sit and have a talk with David. He said to him one day: “Do you not feel that there are parts of the Bible which should not be read in public, or in the family, even in private?” David said: “I never met any man who had the least holiness of heart who had any such difficulty.” He died in 1907, and so Duncan was left like a sparrow on the housetop alone.
Duncan’s great and strong fort was prayer. The writer was present in his house one morning at family worship. Duncan was prevailed upon to conclude with prayer. In that prayer, he wrestled, like Jacob of old, with the Lord for the low condition of His cause in the world and especially in Scotland, that He would revive it, pour His Spirit forth upon families and individuals, and that He would raise up faithful men to rule in the State, and God-sent ministers to declare His whole counsel to poor, lost sinners, and to His own people. There was something in that prayer which caused one to feel that he was in the secret place of the Most High under the shadow of the Almighty. Heaven and earth seemed so near one another, and the feeling was: “Master, it is good to be here.”
He had a very active mind which was always meditating upon the word of God. This enabled him to draw water continually from the fountain of life. He spoke to the question at Dingwall often, but one day he gave an interpretation of a passage of God’s word which fixed itself on our mind. The words were:—”These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down to the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. And it shall come to pass that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live. . . . But the miry places thereof and the marshes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt” (Ezek. xlvii. 8, 11). Duncan, after quoting the above said:—”We believe this river, which Ezekiel saw, meant the gospel of Christ going forth with the power of the Holy Ghost accompanying it; so that the living were revived, and the dead brought to life. But what puzzled my mind for some time was, what could be meant by the miry places and the marshes that were not to be healed; but given to salt. After thinking seriously of this, I have come to the conclusion, that it means places that were saturated with the gospel, but that it had been despised by the people. Their heads were filled with knowledge, but the effects of it never reached their hearts and consciences. We have an example of this in Dingwall, where the gospel was preached in its purity and power by the late Dr. Kennedy. The people are gospel proof to-day, and are given to the curse of gospel despisers. The same thing is true of Lochalsh where the Rev. Alexander M’Coll preached the pure gospel. Let us beware of despising the gospel while we have it, and of being fruitless under it.”
He was one of the sweetest singers of the psalms of David we had the privilege of hearing. His voice was weak, but very sweet, distinct, and penetrating. His favourite stanza was:—
“O that men to the Lord would give
Praise for his goodness then,
And for his works of wonder done
Unto the sons of men” (PSALMS cvii. 8).
On a Communion Sabbath outside in the wood, when the psalm was being sung by him after the sermon was finished, the birds in the trees round about the congregation started their own songs, so that the effect was most solemn. It reminded the writer of the words in Isaiah: “The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.” Duncan himself, as he was singing, did not observe the chorus of birds that assisted him. A few years afterwards, he told us that a young girl, who was present that day, told him on her deathbed that she enjoyed so much of the Lord’s presence in her soul during the sermon, and that when the singing began, she felt that the birds came to her assistance in praising the Lord. One of our missionaries wrote us from London, that he was longing to get north to hear Duncan Fraser singing once more: “O that men to the Lord would give praise for his goodness then.” He might be called “The sweet singer of Israel” without exaggeration.
Duncan Fraser was a true and constant friend. He was not a flatterer. He would in a gentle manner warn his friend when he saw or heard anything that should be reproved, and he would show his appreciation of reproof from a friend with true humility. But he had no quarters for such as held the truth in unrighteousness. On this account some looked on him as narrow or bigoted, but the opinions of such men did not move him. He was a true friend to all his fellow-sinners, and many a long walk he had, even when tired after speaking and walking long distances, to go to visit the sick and the dying. Every one in distress had a friend in him. When in Glasgow at Communion seasons, he would visit every one whom he knew of the Lord’s people, and especially the sick, the aged and infirm. He did the same wherever he went, so that the poor and needy will miss him in more ways than one.
In February of last year he spent three weeks with us in Glasgow. He spent the most of the days reading his Bible. There were truths from which he drew honey in past years, and when he would fail to find them, we had to come to his assistance. One of these was: “It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.” On one occasion we noticed that he was in ecstasies over the open Bible. We asked him what did he find now? He lifted his two hands above his head, and exclaimed: “Wonderful, O, how wonderful!” When we went to look, he placed his finger on the words: “And hast loved them, as thou hast loved me,” and repeated, “Isn’t that wonderful!” He was filled with amazement at the love of God. All that day he was rejoicing with joy unspeakable and full of glory. He was ripening fast for the glory which he now enjoys.
The disturbance made in our Church for union with the Free Church caused him much grief and anxiety. He expressed to us often the mental trouble this gave him. He could not understand what moved these brethren, but he repeatedly said: “It comes not from love to God, nor His Word.” We could not tell him why they were doing it; because the reasons they gave to justify their actions were very far from convincing us that they were in the right.
The evening his end came, he sent his daughter, who dutifully attended him, to enquire about a friend who had undergone an operation, and who lived about six miles away. She left the house about four o’clock in the evening, and was back after seeing the woman, about six. When she arrived the whole house was burning vehemently. He was in the house. His poor daughter would have sprang into the burning building in her agony, were it not that the neighbours prevented her. They had previously noticed the fire, and had forced the door and broken a window to get in, but had found it impossible to enter. After they got into the house, he was found in the passage not far from the front door. How the house took fire is and will be a mystery. There is this consolation in the appalling mystery, that it was free from the hand of any creature, and that it was an act of divine providence. No one who knew Duncan Fraser can have any doubt but that he went, if by a chariot of fire, to be for ever with Christ whom he loved and served faithfully in the world. We believe that he is now singing the praises of Him who loved him and washed him from his sins in His own blood. His body was laid to rest in Duthil churchyard, to await a glorious resurrection.
He will stand in his place at the end of days.
We desire to express our deepest sympathy with each one of his sons and daughters, also with his brother and sister, and all other relatives and friends.
N. C.