MRS ROSS, who passed away about the middle of July, was well known in religious circles in the north. She was a daughter of the late Mr William Sinclair, Pulteneytown, one of the ablest and best known of the Caithness “Men” in his day. Alike in her mother and father Mrs Ross had parents who set before her from earliest youth a noble example—both of them being true followers of the Lord Jesus. Careful parental training, however, though a priceless boon, is not sufficient to turn a sinner from the error of his or her ways, and no one would be readier to acknowledge this than the departed, though holding her godly parents in the highest esteem. The turning of a sinner from drakness to light is a divine work, and requires omnipotent power. It is a work that leaves its impress on those who underwent it, and the Lord’s people in a more or less degree give evidence of this good work being done in them. We are not in a position to say when or how the change came that made Mrs Ross think, as she never did before, of the things of heaven, but one thing is certain, she throughout her life became deeply interested in spiritual things and a follower of those like-minded. In 1877 she was married to Captain Hugh Ross, a son of the well-known Captain Ross, Wick, whose honest piety and fine Christian character are still a cherished memory by all those who were privileged to know him. Mrs Ross sailed on more than one occasion on her husband’s ship to distant lands. She was early left a widow, and took up housekeeping for her brothers, who looked up to her with brotherly devotion.
From her early training she came into contact with some of the most outstanding of the Lord’s people in the north, and her acquaintanceship with the Lord’s heritage was further extended by her visits to the great Communion gatherings at Creich, Dingwall, Inverness, etc. She possessed talents above the ordinary, and was an appreciative hearer of such noted preachers as Drs Kennedy, Duncan, and Martin. Gifted with poetic talent, she occasionally made use of it in composing elegies on some of “the men.” As a specimen the following verses from her elegy on George Munro, Strath-halladale, may be quoted:—
The moonlight falls on a new made grave,
Near Halladale’s fair river,
A soldier has passed o’er Death’s dark wave
To reign with his King for ever.
We shall miss his manly, massive form,
From hillside and house of prayer,
As Truth’s fair pillar midst error’s storm,
Was his faithful presence there.
We shall miss the tones of his deep-set voice
For the Master set apart,
And the words that cheered us, sweet and choice,
From his broad, sympathetic heart.
In the Spirit-taught ways of holy truth,
He was ever our faithful guide,
Through miry places in days of youth,
On Doubt’s dark mountain side.
We knew not how painful it was to part,
Nor how tender were the ties
That bound us so near to his loving heart,
Till the death sleep closed his eyes.
She was a generous friend to the poor, and for a considerable number of years she conducted a Sabbath school for some of the poorer children of Pulteneytown. Mrs Ross was a most regular attender at the means of grace, but for a number of years she was unable to be in her accustomed place in the house of God, though on occasions she made an effort beyond her strength to be there. She had a peaceful and hopeful end.
She left a widowed sister and five brothers to mourn the loss of a devoted sister, who was like a mother in the home. We extend our respectful sympathy to them all in their great loss.
They that will have heaven, must run for it; I say, they that will have heaven, they must run for it. I beseech you to heed it well.—Bunyan’s Heavenly Footman.
There is never a poor soul that is going to heaven, but the devil, the law, sin, death, and hell make after that soul.—Bunyan’s Heavenly Footman.