A SUPRA-LAPSARIAN.
Jeremiah Saunderson had remained in the low estate of a "probationer"
for twelve years after he left the Divinity Hall, where he was reported
so great a scholar that the Professor of Apologetics spoke to him
deprecatingly, and the Professor of Dogmatics openly consulted him on
obscure writers. He had wooed twenty-three congregations in vain, from
churches in the black country where the colliers rose in squares of
twenty and went out without ceremony, to suburban places of worship
where the beadle, after due consideration of the sermon, would take up
the afternoon notices and ask that they be read at once for purposes of
utility, which that unflinching functionary stated to the minister with
accuracy and much faithfulness. Vacant congregations desiring a list
of candidates made one exception, and prayed that Jeremiah should not
be let loose upon them, till at last it came home to the unfortunate
scholar himself that he was an offence and a byeword. He began to
dread the ordeal of giving his name, and, as is still told, declared to
a household, living in the fat wheat lands and without any imagination,
that he was called Magor Missabib. When a stranger makes a statement
of this kind with a sad seriousness, no one judges it expedient to
offer any remark, but it was skilfully arranged that Missabib's door
should be locked from the outside, and one member of the household sat
up all night. The sermon next day did not tend to confidence--having
seven quotations in unknown tongues--and the attitude of the
congregation was one of alert vigilance; but no one gave any outward
sign of uneasiness, and six able-bodied men collected in a pew below
the pulpit knew their duty in an emergency.
Saunderson's election to the Free Church of Kilbogie was therefore an
event in the ecclesiastical world, and a consistent tradition in the
parish explained its inwardness on certain grounds, complimentary both
to the judgment of Kilbogie and the gifts of Mr. Saunderson. On
Saturday evening he was removed from the train by the merest accident,
and left the railway station in such a maze of meditation that he
ignored the road to Kilbogie altogether, although its sign post was
staring him in the face, and continued his way to Drumtochty. It was
half-past nine when Jamie Soutar met him on the high road through our
Glen, still travelling steadily west, and being arrested by his
appearance, beguiled him into conversation, till he elicited that
Saunderson was minded to reach Kilbogie. For an hour did the wanderer
rest in Jamie's kitchen, during which he put Jamie's ecclesiastical
history into a state of thorough repair--making seven distinct
parallels between the errors that had afflicted the Scottish Church and
the early heretical sects--and then Jamie gave him in charge of a
ploughman who was courting in Kilbogie and was not averse to a journey
that seemed to illustrate the double meaning of charity. Jeremiah was
handed over to his anxious hosts at a quarter to one in the morning,
covered with mud, somewhat fatigued, but in great peace of soul, having
settled the place of election in the prophecy of Habakkuk as he came
down with his silent companion through Tochty woods.
Nor was that all he had done. When they came out from the shadow and
struck into the parish of Kilbogie--whose fields, now yellow unto
harvest, shone in the moonlight--his guide broke silence and enlarged
on a plague of field-mice which had quite suddenly appeared and had
sadly devastated the grain of Kilbogie, Saunderson awoke from study and
became exceedingly curious, first of all demanding a particular account
of the coming of the mice, their multitude, their habits, and their
determination. Then he asked many questions about the moral conduct
and godliness of the inhabitants of Kilbogie, which his companion, as a
native of Drumtochty, painted in gloomy colours, although indicating
that even in Kilbogie there was a remnant. Next morning the minister
rose at daybreak, and was found wandering through the fields in such a
state of excitement that he could hardly be induced to look at
breakfast. When the "books" were placed before him, he turned promptly
to the ten plagues of Egypt, which he expounded in order as preliminary
to a full treatment of the visitations of Providence.
"He cowes (beats) a' ye ever saw or heard," the farmer of Mains
explained to the elders at the gate. "He gaed tae bed at half twa and
wes oot in the fields by four, an' a 'm dootin' he never saw his bed.
He 's lifted abune the body a'thegither, an' can hardly keep himsel'
awa' frae the Hebrew at his breakfast. Ye 'll get a sermon the day, or
ma name is no Peter Pitillo." Mains also declared his conviction that
the invasion of mice would be dealt with after a Scriptural and
satisfying fashion. The people went in full of expectation, and to
this day old people recall Jeremiah Saunderson's trial sermon with
lively admiration. Experienced critics were suspicious of candidates
who read lengthy chapters from both Testaments and prayed at length for
the Houses of Parliament, for it was justly held that no man would take
refuge in such obvious devices for filling up the time unless he was
short of sermon material. One unfortunate, indeed, ruined his chances
at once by a long petition for those in danger on the sea--availing
himself with some eloquence of the sympathetic imagery of the 107th
Psalm--for this effort was regarded as not only the most barefaced
padding, but also as evidence of an almost incredible blindness to
circumstances. "Did he think Kilbogie wes a fishing village?" Mains
inquired of the elders afterwards, with pointed sarcasm. Kilbogie was
not indifferent to a well-ordered prayer--although its palate was
coarser in the appreciation of felicitous terms and allusions than that
of Drumtochty--and would have been scandalised if the Queen had been
omitted; but it was by the sermon the young man must stand or fall, and
Kilbogie despised a man who postponed the ordeal.
Saunderson gave double pledges of capacity and fulness before he opened
his mouth in the sermon, for he read no Scripture at all that day, and
had only one prayer, which was mainly a statement of the Divine Decrees
and a careful confession of the sins of Kilbogie; and then, having
given out his text from the prophecy of Joel, he reverently closed the
Bible and placed it on the seat behind him. His own reason for this
proceeding was a desire for absolute security in enforcing his subject,
and a painful remembrance of the disturbance in a south country church
when he landed a Bible--with clasps--on the head of the precentor in
the heat of a discourse defending the rejection of Esau. Our best and
simplest actions--and Jeremiah was as simple as a babe--can be
misconstrued, and the only dissentient from Saunderson's election
insisted that the Bible had been deposited on the floor, and asserted
that the object of this profanity was to give the preacher a higher
standing in the pulpit. This malignant reading of circumstances might
have wrought mischief--for Saunderson's gaunt figure did seem to grow
in the pulpit--had it not been for the bold line of defence taken up by
Mains.
"Gin he wanted tae stand high, wes it no tae preach the word? an' gin
he wanted a soond foundation for his feet, what better could he get
than the twa Testaments? Answer me that."
It was seen at once that no one could answer that, and the captious
objector never quite recovered his position in the parish, while it is
not the least of Kilbogie's boasting, in which the Auld Kirk will even
join against Drumtochty, that they have a minister who not only does
not read his sermons and does not need to quote his texts, but carries
the whole book in at least three languages in his head, and once, as a
proof thereof, preached with it below his feet.
Much was to be looked for from such a man, but even Mains, whetted by
intercourse with Saunderson, was astonished at the sermon. It was a
happy beginning to draw a parallel between the locusts of Joel and the
mice of Kilbogie, and gave the preacher an opportunity of describing
the appearance, habits, and destruction of the locusts, which he did
solely from Holy Scripture, translating various passages afresh and
combining lights with marvellous ingenuity. This brief preface of half
an hour, which was merely a stimulant for the Kilbogie appetite, led up
to a thorough examination of physical judgments, during which both
Bible and Church history were laid under liberal contribution. At this
point the minister halted, and complimented the congregation on the
attention they had given to the facts of the case, which were his first
head, and suggested that before approaching the doctrine of visitations
they might refresh themselves with a Psalm. The congregation were
visibly impressed, and many made up their minds while singing:
"That man hath perfect blessedness;"
and while others thought it due to themselves to suspend judgment till
they had tasted the doctrine, they afterwards confessed their
confidence. It goes without saying that he was immediately beyond the
reach of the ordinary people on the second head, and even veterans in
theology panted after him in vain, so that one of the elders, nodding
assent to an exposure of the Manichaean heresy, suddenly blushed as one
who had played the hypocrite. Some professed to have noticed a
doctrine that had not been touched upon, but they never could give it a
name, and it excited just admiration that a preacher, starting from a
plague of mice, should have made a way by strictly scientific methods
into the secret places of theology. Saunderson allowed his hearers a
brief rest after the second head, and cheered them with the assurance
that what was still before them would be easy to follow. It was the
application of all that had gone before to the life of Kilbogie, and
the preacher proceeded to convict the parish under each of the ten
commandments--with the plague of mice ever in reserve to silence
excuses--till the delighted congregation could have risen in a body and
taken Saunderson by the hand for his fearlessness and faithfulness.
Perhaps the extent and thoroughness of this monumental sermon can be
best estimated by the fact that Claypots, father of the present tenant,
who always timed his rest to fifty minutes exactly, thus overseeing
both the introduction and application of the sermon, had a double
portion, and even a series of supplementary dozes, till at last he sat
upright through sheer satiety. It may also be offered as evidence that
the reserve of peppermint held by mothers for their bairns was pooled,
doles being furtively passed across pews to conspicuously needy
families, and yet the last had gone before Saunderson finished.
Mains reported to the congregational meeting that the minister had been
quiet for the rest of the day, but had offered to say something about
Habakkuk to any evening gathering, and had cleared up at family worship
some obscure points in the morning discourse. He also informed the
neighbours that he had driven his guest all the way to Muirtown, and
put him in an Edinburgh carriage with his own hands, since it had
emerged that Saunderson, through absence of mind, had made his down
journey by the triangular route of Dundee. It was quite impossible for
Kilbogie to conceal their pride in electing such a miracle of learning,
and their bearing in Muirtown was distinctly changed; but indeed they
did not boast vainly about Jeremiah Saunderson, for his career was
throughout on the level of that monumental sermon. When the Presbytery
in the gaiety of their heart examined Saunderson to ascertain whether
he was fully equipped for the work of the ministry, he professed the
whole Old Testament in Hebrew, and MacWheep of Pitscowrie, who always
asked the candidate to read the twenty-third Psalm, was beguiled by
Jeremiah into the Book of Job, and reduced to the necessity of asking
questions by indicating verbs with his finger. His Greek examination
led to an argument between Jeremiah and Dr. Dowbiggin on the use of the
aorist, from which the minister-elect of Kilbogie came out an easy
first; and his sermons were heard to within measurable distance of the
second head by an exact quorum of the exhausted court, who were kept by
the clerk sitting at the door, and preventing MacWheep escaping. His
position in the court was assured from the beginning, and fulfilled the
function of an Encyclopaedia with occasional amazing results, as when
information was asked about some Eastern sect for whose necessities the
Presbytery were asked to collect, and to whose warm piety affecting
allusion was made, and Jeremiah showed clearly, with the reporters
present, that the Cappadocians were guilty of a heresy beside
which Morisonianism was an unsullied whiteness. His work as
examiner-in-general for the court was a merciful failure, and
encouraged the students of the district to return to their district
court, who on the rumour of him had transferred themselves in a body to
a Highland Presbytery, where the standard question in Philosophy used
to be, "How many horns has a dilemma, and distinguish the one from the
other." No man knew what the minister of Kilbogie might not ask--he
was only perfectly certain that it would be beyond his knowledge; but
as Saunderson always gave the answer himself in the end, and imputed it
to the student, anxiety was reduced to a minimum. Saunderson, indeed,
was in the custom of passing all candidates and reporting them as
marvels of erudition, whose only fault was a becoming modesty--which,
however, had not concealed from his keen eye hidden treasures of
learning. Beyond this sphere the good man's services were not used by
a body of shrewd ecclesiastics, as the inordinate length of an
ordination sermon had ruined a dinner prepared for the court by "one of
our intelligent and large-hearted laymen," and it is still pleasantly
told how Saunderson was invited to a congregational _soirée_--an
ancient meeting where the people ate oranges and the speaker rallied
the minister on being still unmarried--and discoursed---as a carefully
chosen subject--on the Jewish feasts, with illustrations from the
Talmud, till some one burst a paper bag and allowed the feelings of the
people to escape. When this history was passed round Muirtown Market,
Kilbogie thought still more highly of their minister, and indicated
their opinion of the other parish in severely theological language.
Saunderson's reputation for unfathomable learning and saintly
simplicity was built up out of many incidents, and grew with the lapse
of years to a solitary height in the big strath, so that no man would
have dared to smile had the Free Kirk minister of Kilbogie appeared in
Muirtown in his shirt sleeves, and Kilbogie would only have been a
trifle more conceited. Truly he was an amazing man, and, now that he
is dead and gone, the last of his race, I wish some man of his
profession had written his life, for the doctrine he taught and the way
he lived will not be believed by the new generation. The arrival of
his goods was more than many sermons to Kilbogie, and I had it from
Mains's own lips. It was the kindly fashion of those days that the
farmers carted the new minister's furniture from the nearest railway
station, and as the railway to Kildrummie was not yet open, they had to
go to Stormont Station on the north line; and a pleasant procession
they made passing through Pitscowrie, ten carts in their best array,
and drivers with a semi-festive air. Mr. Saunderson was at the
station, having reached it by some miracle without mistake, and was in
a condition of abject nervousness about the handling and conveyance of
his belongings.
"You will be careful--exceeding careful," he implored; "if one of the
boxes were allowed to descend hurriedly to the ground, the result to
what is within would be disastrous. I am much afraid that the weight
is considerable, but I am ready to assist;" and he got ready.
"Dinna pit yirsel' intae a ferry tarry (commotion)," but Mains was
distinctly pleased to see a little touch of worldliness, just enough to
keep the new minister in touch with humanity. "It 'll be queer stuff
oor lads canna lift, an' a 'll gie ye a warranty that the' 'll no be a
cup o' the cheeny broken," and then Saunderson conducted his
congregation to the siding.
"Dod, man," remarked Mains to the station-master, examining a truck
with eight boxes; "the manse 'll no want for dishes at ony rate; but
let's start on the furniture; whar hae ye got the rest o' the
plenishing?
"Naething mair? havers, man, ye dinna mean tae say they pack beds an'
tables in boxes; a' doot there 's a truck missin'." Then Mains went
over where the minister was fidgeting beside his possessions.
"No, no," said Saunderson, when the situation was put before him, "it's
all here. I counted the boxes, and I packed every box myself. That
top one contains the fathers--deal gently with it; and the Reformation
divines are just below it. Books are easily injured, and they feel it.
I do believe there is a certain life in them, and . . . and . . . they
don't like being ill-used," and Jeremiah looked wistfully at the
ploughmen.
"Div ye mean tae say," as soon as Mains had recovered, "that ye 've
brocht naethin' for the manse but bukes, naither bed nor bedding?
Keep's a'," as the situation grew upon him, "whar are ye tae sleep, and
what are ye to sit on? An' div ye never eat? This croons a';" and
Mains gazed at his new minister as one who supposed that he had taken
Jeremiah's measure and had failed utterly.
"_Mea culpa_--it's . . . my blame," and Saunderson was evidently
humbled at this public exposure of his incapacity; "some slight
furnishing will be expedient, even necessary, and I have a plan for
book-shelves in my head; it is ingenious and convenient, and if there
is a worker in wood . . ."
"Come awa' tae the dog-cart, sir," said Mains, realising that even
Kilbogie did not know what a singular gift they had obtained, and that
discussion on such sublunary matters as pots and pans was useless, not
to say profane. So eight carts got a box each; one, Jeremiah's ancient
kist of moderate dimensions; and the tenth--that none might be left
unrecognised--a handbag that had been on the twelve years' probation
with its master. The story grew as it passed westwards, and when it
reached us we were given to understand that the Free Kirk minister of
Kilbogie had come to his parish with his clothing in a paper parcel and
twenty-four packing cases filled with books, in as many languages--half
of them dating from the introduction of printing, and fastened by
silver clasps--and that if Drumtochty seriously desired to hear an
intellectual sermon at a time, we must take our way through Tochty
woods.
Mrs. Pitillo took the minister into her hands, and compelled him to
accompany her to Muirtown, where she had him at her will for some time,
so that she equipped the kitchen (fully), a dining-room (fairly), a
spare bedroom (amply), Mr. Saunderson's own bedroom (miserably), and
secured a table and two chairs for the study. This success turned her
head. Full of motherly forethought, and having a keen remembrance that
probationers always retired in the afternoon at Mains to think over the
evening's address, and left an impress of the human form on the bed
when they came down to tea, Mrs. Pitillo suggested that a sofa would be
an admirable addition to the study. As soon as this piece of
furniture, of a size suitable for his six feet, was pointed out to the
minister, he took fright, and became quite unmanageable. He would not
have such an article in his study on any account, partly because it
would only feed a tendency to sloth--which, he explained, was one of
his besetting sins--and partly because it would curtail the space
available for books, which, he indicated, were the proper furniture of
any room, but chiefly of a study. So great was his alarm that he
repented of too early concessions about the other rooms, and explained
to Mrs. Pitillo that every inch of space must be rigidly kept for the
overflow from the study, which he expected--if he were spared--would
reach the garrets. Several times on their way back to Kilbogie,
Saunderson looked wistfully at Mrs. Pitillo, and once opened his mouth
as if to speak, from which she gathered that he was grateful for her
kindness, but dared not yield any farther to the luxuries of the flesh.
What this worthy woman endured in securing a succession of reliable
housekeepers for Mr. Saunderson and overseeing the interior of that
remarkable home, she was never able to explain to her own satisfaction,
though she made many honest efforts, and one of her last intelligible
utterances was a lamentable prophecy of the final estate of the Free
Church manse of Kilbogie. Mr. Saunderson himself seemed at times to
have some vague idea of her painful services, and once mentioned her
name to Carmichael in feeling terms. There had been some delay in
providing for the bodily wants of the visitor after his eight miles'
walk from Drumtochty, and it seemed likely that he would be obliged to
take his meal standing for want of a chair.
"While Mrs. Pitillo lived, I have a strong impression, almost amounting
to certainty, that the domestic arrangements of the manse were better
ordered; she had the episcopal faculty in quite a conspicuous degree,
and was, I have often thought, a woman of sound judgment.
"We were not able at all times to see eye to eye, as she had an
unfortunate tendency to meddle with my books and papers, and to arrange
them after an artificial fashion. This she called tidying, and, in its
most extreme form, cleaning."
[Illustration: "She had an unfortunate tendency to meddle with my
books."]
"With all her excellencies, there was also in her what I have noticed
in most women, a certain flavour of guile, and on one occasion, when I
was making a brief journey through Holland and France in search of
comely editions of the fathers, she had the books carried out to the
garden and dusted. It was the space of two years before I regained
mastery of my library again, and unto this day I cannot lay my hands on
the service book of King Henry VIII., which I had in the second
edition, to say nothing of an original edition of Rutherford's _Lex
Rex_.
"It does not become me, however, to reflect on the efforts of that
worthy matron, for she was by nature a good woman, and if any one could
be saved by good works, her place is assured. I was with her before
she died, and her last words to me were, 'Tell Jean tae dust yir bukes
aince in the sax months, and for ony sake keep ae chair for sittin'
on.' It was not the testimony one would have desired in the
circumstances, but yet, Mr. Carmichael, I have often thought that there
was a spirit of . . . of unselfishness, in fact, that showed the
working of grace." Later in the same evening Mr. Saunderson's mind
returned to his friend's spiritual state, for he entered into a long
argument to show that while Mary was more spiritual, Martha must also
have been within the Divine Election.