(Continued from page 265.)
Many years afterwards one of Mr. Haldane’s sons was travelling to Dundee on the outside of a stage coach when a respectable, but weather-beaten seaman, having heard his name, mentioned that he had been piloting a Greenlander from Shetland to Leith and very respectfully inquired if his fellow-traveller was related to the celebrated Captain Haldane. On hearing that he was a son of that gentleman the pilot said, with much feeling, “Then, Sir, it was from your father I first heard the Gospel more than thirty years ago, in the Shetlands.” He added some interesting details as to the sensation produced amongst the people, the alarm felt by the Moderate ministers and the good results that followed.
After preaching in various places in Orkney they crossed the Pentland Firth in safety and once more were welcomed by their friends in Caithness. They saw there many pleasing fruits of their labours on a former tour. They held services in many country places during the week as well as in Thurso and Wick. On his way south Mr. Haldane preached in many places and arrived safely in Edinburgh after an absence of four months and a half. He had now preached the Gospel in many parts of Scotland and abundantly distributed religious tracts from the Solway Firth in the south round about to the Clyde and thence beyond Caithness and the clustering islands of the Orkneys and Shetlands. Much good was effected at the time and down to the close of his life instances of the blessing that had attended his preaching were often unexpectedly brought under his notice.
On the 9th June, 1800, Mr. Haldane set out on his fourth summer campaign accompanied by Mr John Campbell. They passed through Peebles, Biggar and Douglas to Ayr preaching every day in the intervening town and villages. On a former occasion in Ayr they met magisterial opposition but now they were recognised and welcomed by one of the magistrates whilst the people flocked in crowds to hear so that congregations in the open air amounting to 3,000 and even 5,000 souls heard the word with much attention.
It might be said of every place to which they came that “the common people heard them gladly,” but sometimes they met with fierce opposition. At Sanquhar in Dumfries-shire a collier having deserted them in their route begged that they would excuse his accompanying them and earnestly entreated them not to mention it, as it might bring himself into trouble.
After visiting the little island of Cumbrae and the beautiful shores of Bute they sailed over to Arran and preached in all its villages. The ignorance of the people was great and in one of the churches on a sacramental occasion he saw an astonishing sight. There was a pause in the service and none of the people seemed disposed to approach the tables. On a sudden he heard the crack of sticks and looking round saw one descend on the bald head of a Highlander behind him. It was the ruling elders driving the poor people forward to the tables much in the same manner as they were accustomed to pen their cattle at a market. He remarks, “Had this happened in a remote corner of Popish Ireland it would have been less wonderful but the Gaelic population of Presbyterian Arran seemed accustomed to submit to this rough discipline without a murmur.” From Arran they crossed to Kintyre and proceeded to Campbelton where they stopped for several days preaching mornings and evenings on the green slope of a hill to about 1,000 people in the morning, and about 1,500 in the evening, and twice in the neighbouring villages during the day. But they soon discovered that they were to meet with opposition. By the advice of friends at Campbelton they had employed a messenger to go down to Kintyre and intimate four sermons each at the different villages. The clergy were all Moderate. They were for the most part deeply immersed in farming, fishing or trading in sheep and cattle. Their official duties if performed at all were performed in the most careless manner and many of them were Socinians*. At their instigation the Highland chiefs combined to put a stop to the services in their neighbourhood. One of the gentlemen, more zealous than the rest, a military man who afterwards succeeded to a baronetcy, encountered the missionaries at a place where he had intended to stop them had he arrived in time. It was there that he gave notice that the magistrates had resolved to allow of no more field preaching. Mr. Haldane plainly told the Major as he had told the magistrates at Ayr that the justices were exceeding their powers, that so illegal a mandate should not be obeyed and that he would certainly preach at the places where intimated. The Major although somewhat taken aback by the calm determination with which he was met repeated his prohibition and said he should be at their next place of meeting before them. He was, but ultimately faltered in his purpose. He sat on horseback during Mr. Haldane’s Sermon in a scarlet hunting-coat, witnessed tracts distributed amongst the people, but he seemed powerless to offer any interruption and saw both of the speakers mount their horses and depart. Soon after the Major attended by his groom, passed them at a hand gallop and then pulling up turned round once more determined this time on putting in force the arrest which he contemplated. But as soon as his eye encountered Mr. Haldane’s unflinching glance, his courage seemed to fail and he again and again faltered and passed on. Arriving at Whitehouse which was the next preaching station the Major was joined by the parish minister and several magistrates, all on horseback and full of excitement. These little chieftains seemed to think it a great affront to their dignity to oppose them. It was evident that a great blow was meditated. Mr. Haldane in sight of the assembled magistrates left the inn to preach in the centre of the town, and strange to say none of the party mustered courage to arrest him. The people were, however, so much in dread of their chiefs and of the magistrates that for the most part they stood and listened at a distance. Mr. Campbell was to preach at an adjoining village but was followed by the person in the red coat and ordered by him as a justice of the peace to return to Whitehouse which he did and put his horse into a stable until Mr. Haldane should return from preaching. When the latter did return he was surprised to find Mr. Campbell a prisoner at large and he advised him to inquire of the gentlemen who were assembled in the adjoining room along with the parish ministers by what authority he was ordered to return to Whitehouse. They replied pointing to a sealed paper, “There is a warrant to send you to the Sheriff of Argyll; and the volunteers who are to attend you will be ready in a few minutes.” The parish minister had on the previous Sabbath silenced their messenger, when announcing the services to the people as they were coming out of church. Standing with a heavy leaded whip in his hand, he uttered the outrageous and terrible threat, “If you repeat that notice with one stroke of my whip I’ll send you into the eternal world!”
*Socinians don’t believe in the divinity of Christ.
In due course they appeared before the Sheriff and as he had not a printed copy of the oaths of allegiance to the government he said they would have to go to Inverary to take them. A Glasgow merchant who was with them said the Toleration Act demanded that the oaths were to be administered by the nearest Magistrate. Now Mr. Haldane said, you are the nearest Magistrate, and to Inverary we will not go except as your prisoners. The Sheriff tried to avoid his responsibility but at last had to give way and said, “Gentlemen, you are at liberty.” The consequences were important. A great right had been vindicated and the lawfulness of field-preaching admitted by the highest judicial authority of the county.
The result was that people who had been before intimidated from attending now flocked in crowds to listen. When Mr. Haldane returned to Whitehouse, the whole town seemed to have turned out to hear him.
A lady who was present in the parish church on the preceding Sabbath mentioned to Mr. Campbell a curious intimation made by the parish minister. “I have to inform you that those preachers who have for some time been disturbing the peace of the country are expected here also, but I hope you will give them no encouragement. It is possible they may preach and pray better than I do, but sure I am, they have not a better heart.”
The arrest was clearly illegal and the Magistrates concerned in it might have been prosecuted, more especially the Major who acted more like a constable than a Justice of the Peace. It is believed that they were informed of their mistake by the then Lord Justice Clerk who had met the party on the road and on enquiring the meaning of the formidable escort was no doubt much surprised. But there was no desire to have them punished. It was, however, a remarkable coincidence that when Mr. Campbell next met the fox-hunting Magistrate who acted so harshly towards him it was in the precincts of Holyrood Abbey, Edinburgh, where the Major was himself a prisoner at large within the bounds then allowed as an asylum for debtors.
The Kintyre tour was not fruitless. On their return to Edinburgh they persuaded a worthy preacher who was a native of the place to go and labour there. He had finished his studies at Mr. Haldane’s seminary in Glasgow and he keenly felt the spiritual destitution and ignorance of his countrymen. Kintyre had been regarded as a kind of heathen part of Scotland but now the fallow ground had been broken up and the labours of Mr. MacCallum, the young preacher sent there were after a few months abundantly blessed. There are some interesting anecdotes told in connection with his ministry which show how the Holy Spirit was leading sinners from darkness to light. When he began to preach the minister’s man was prohibited from ever going to hear him, but one evening Mr. MacCallum preached in a barn adjoining the minister’s stable, separated from it only by an old gable. The man being in the stable when Mr. MacCallum was preaching and observing a hole in the gable, he naturally put his ear to it—for stolen waters are sweet. The Gospel passed through this hole to his ear up to his understanding and down to his heart, so he became a new man and his soul not being able to live without food he was obliged to attend the ministry of Mr. MacCallum and consequently lost his situation at the manse.
The people had been very anxious to build a place of worship but no proprietor could be found willing to part with a piece of ground for that purpose, but in a singular way their work was accomplished. There happened to be a contested election in which the minister took a different side from the landed proprietor in his immediate neighbourhood which so displeased that gentleman that to be avenged on him, he gave to Mr. MacCallum an acre of ground to build a chapel and a house for himself upon it and assisted the people to erect them. There was also room on the ground for a garden. So thus God can make even the wrath of man to praise Him. A young man who heard Mr. Haldane preach became greatly alarmed about the state of his soul. He could neither sleep nor work; his poor friends did not know how to deal with him but recommended one medicine after another, all failing they were advised to take him to the parish minister of a town a few miles off. His mother did so and he enquired of her what was the matter with him. She said she could not tell but he could neither sleep nor work for fear of the day of judgment and of Hell. The minister advised her to put him under the tuition of a dancing master in the town for a month; he thought this would soon relieve him. His mother did as suggested and about the second day’s tuition he got tired of the foolish work, jumped out of the window of the dancing room, ran home to his mother declaring it made him worse instead of better; so he gave up the dancing.
Not long after this the young man heard Mr. MacCallum preach in the neighbourhood and was greatly relieved under the first sermon. His mind was soon at peace and he became eager to study for the ministry. A number of people told Mr. Campbell who was Mr. Haldane’s companion what miserable creatures they were when he first visited their country. One said he then acted as fiddler at all the dancing weddings round about which he immediately gave up when his eyes were opened. An aged grey-headed man then said, I was at that time chairman of a whisky-toddy meeting that regularly met for the purpose of drinking whisky and water in the evenings. After Mr. MacCallum came amongst us one ceased to attend then another and another did the same till I was left alone in the chair. I began to wonder what it could be that they liked better than good Highland whisky. This determined me to go and see; so I went and attended the ministry of our friend, and also found that which I liked better than whisky-toddy.
Thus the chair was vacated, and the meeting dissolved by the force of Gospel truth and by what Dr. Chalmers called “the expulsive power of a new affection!”
Mr. Campbell remarks, “What was rather a novelty to me was that I found the conversions as numerous among those who might be called the aged as among the young which is seldom the case where the Gospel has long been preached. But in that part of the country I did not hear of any Gospel preacher having been there in that generation or that of their fathers consequently it was a kind of heathen part of Scotland. So it was as among the heathen abroad under our missionaries, conversions are as frequent among the old as the young; for if the Gospel does not soften it hardens; it is either the savour of life or death.”
It is related, that one of the parish ministers having, after this itinerancy vainly tried to oppose the preaching of the Gospel and to counteract its effects, became so miserable on witnessing its success, that in a fit of despair, he threw up his living and emigrated to America. This was not a solitary case. Mr. Haldane, on another occasion addressed a letter containing a solemn warning to the minister of a parish south of Edinburgh whose preaching was misleading the people. The letter so affected his conscience that he resigned his charge and betook himself exclusively to farming.
Such were the direct or collateral results of Mr. Haldane’s first visit to Kintyre with his excellent friend, Mr. Campbell, for whose earnest faith, practical usefulness, and amiable qualities he always had great admiration.
(To be continued.)