in George Street where you look down the long vista toward Tanfield, and where one unbroken column was seen, stretching, amidst numerous spectators, all the way till lost in the distance. But now we turn to the Disruption Mss. to note what personal reminiscences there may be of a day on which men were sacrificing their all.

Some record little else than the names of the friends with whom they went forth side by side as comrades in the hour of trial. Mr. Flyter, of Alness, says: "I walked down in procession to Tanfield in company with Dr. Smyttan, late of Bombay, and General Munro of Teaninich."* Mr. Dodds, of Humbie, records: "I walked down in procession to Canonmills along with my venerable father-in-law, Dr. Duncan, of Ruthwell, Dr. Henry Grey, of St. Mary's, Edinburgh, and my brother-in-law, Mr. George John Duncan, of Kirkpatrick-Durham."†

"The Rev. Nathaniel Paterson, D.D.; his brother the Rev. Walter Paterson; and Dr. Landsborough (Stevenston) walked arm-in-arm. What noble heads and fine countenances the three presented! Here were original genius; accurate scholarship, with varied accomplishments; and fine taste, with scientific learning. The three had in boyish days wandered together by the banks of the Ken; and now, when time had whitened their heads with the snow of age, they walked together in this memorable procession, being, by God's grace, willing to sacrifice all for the glory of that Saviour who had redeemed them with His blood."+

Dr. Burns, of Kilsyth, goes more fully into detail: "On that memorable day, after hearing the sermon by the lamented Welsh, the writer of this walked over to St. Andrew's Church in company with a faithful man, Mr. Thomson, of Dysart. Ere he was aware, he found himself in what has been called the Moderate side of the Assembly, and was saluted by one of the Evangelicals who remained, as if he had been with them. The countenances of some old Moderates near him were very expressive of mingled astonishment and sorrow. On making egress from the house of bondage among the first, and being on the *Parker Mss., Pres. of Dingwall. + Dis. Mss. xxxiii, Memoir of Dr. Landsborough, p. 176.

side next the street leading down to the new Assembly Hall, he was very near the front of the procession, being joined by [his] brother, Dr. George Burns, of Tweedsmuir, and by [his] son, W. C. Burns. It was doubtless a solemn, yet felt to be a noble and soul-stirring scene. The day was clear, and the path of duty equally so. The Lord was with us, and assuredly the best by far of the Scottish Church. The incubus of Moderatism and secularity seemed to be shaken off; and though legal stipend was now gone, away also went bonds, and horn, and poind. Truly, it has been the exodus from Egypt."

Mr. Kerr, of H.M. Office of Works, being in charge of St. Andrew's Church, remained after Dr. Welsh and his friends had left. He states that "in the course of about twenty minutes there did not remain inside the church above one hundred human beings." Looking at such a sight, what could men think but that it was the Church of Scotland which had gone out?

Of the procession Mr. Dunlop says: "True and great dignity and moral power impressed awe, which spoke in the silent language of respectful observance; and every now and then, as some more venerable father, or some tried champion of the cause, passed down, might be seen a head uncovered and bent in quiet reverence." This struck Mr. Duncan, of Kirkpatrick-Durham, as "the deepest touch of all, showing that earnest solemnity and the spirit of prayer had its place in the gazing throng." "There were hats raised from venerable heads, and words such as these dropped into the ears of the passing ministers: The Lord be with you!' 'God guide you!' May He strengthen you and bear you through !'"

Here and there, as the child or wife of some outgoing minister caught sight of a husband or father's form, accomplishing an act which was to leave his family homeless and unprovided, warm tear-drops formed, which, as if half-ashamed of them, the hand of faith was in haste to wipe away."§

And sometimes, under the impulse of the moment, there were yet more demonstrative expressions of feeling. As Dr. *Dis. Mss. xxix. p. 8. Memoir of Dr. Welsh, p. 110. § Memoirs of Dr. Chalmers, vol. iv.

+ Ibid. lii.

p. 339.

Landsborough moved in the procession, "an aged minister was a little ahead of him. On a sudden the crowd broke, and a young lady sprang forward and caught the hand of the venerable servant of God, raised it up, and kissed it, and then, allowing it to drop, fell back into the crowd; while the old man seemed so much occupied with his own thoughts as scarcely to have noticed what had been done." *

Nor were such feelings confined to those who were out on the street. "Elsewhere in the city, Lord Jeffrey was sitting reading in his quiet room, when one burst in upon him, saying, 'Well, what do you think of it? More than four hundred of them are actually out!' The book was flung aside, and, springing to his feet, Lord Jeffrey exclaimed, 'I am proud of my country. There is not another country upon earth where such a deed could have been done." "+

The hall at Tanfield had, from an early hour, been crowded by an audience bound together by common sympathies, and anxiously waiting the result. Long hours had passed, and when a shout from the outside announced the appearance of the procession, the excitement grew intense. At last they entered-not only the well-known champions of the cause, but rank after rank the ministers and elders came pouring in, till all the allotted space was filled; and when friend after friend was recognised, there came from the audience an irrepressible outburst of feeling which carried all before it, and found expression in acclamations and tears.

The opening prayer of Dr. Welsh was an outpouring of devout and holy feeling, which moved every heart in a way never to be forgotten. In proceeding to elect a Moderator, all eyes turned at once to Dr. Chalmers, and at the mention of his name by Dr. Welsh, the whole Assembly rose and broke forth in enthusiastic applause. When he came in and took the chair a singular incident occurred. A heavy passing cloud had for a time cast a gloom over the Assembly, and when Dr. Chalmers rose to give out the opening Psalm, "O send thy light forth * Memoir of Dr. Landsborough, p. 179.

+ Memoirs of Dr. Chalmers, vol. iv. p. 339.

and thy truth, let them be guides to me," the cloud suddenly broke, the full sunlight came pouring through the windows, brightening the scene, and "there were some who thought of Dr. Chalmers' text but six months before, Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness." The opening address which followed was worthy of the occasion, vindicating the position of the Free Church, and defining the place she was to сссиру.

Thus, with feelings of indescribable relief and thankfulness, the first sederunt of the Free Assembly was brought to a close. Every single step during the anxious hours of that day had been in perfect keeping with the momentous character of the event. Many a heart looked up in gratitude to God for strength in the hour of trial-the feeling which Dr. Landsborough, with expressive abruptness, wrote down at the time in his brief journal of the Disruption day: "Remained till six o'clock. Exceeding order. Halleluiah! I shall never see the like till heaven."*

Such feelings were not confined to Edinburgh. Over all Scotland, far away from the scene of action, there were many thousands of quiet homes in which anxious hearts were eagerly awaiting the tidings. "It was a time," says Mr. Taylor, of Flisk, "of unutterable anxiety, and prayer was the only relief. Eli-like, we watched and thought that they were happiest who were engaged actually in the work. Diligence itself seemed lazy until we got the newspaper which told that the act was done, and, by the blessing of God, nobly done. With a full heart we read the account, and by some of the speeches were affected to tears." +

Thus, also, it was with the aged Dr. Ross, of Lochbroom: "When the papers containing the news of the Disruption arrived, with streams of joyous tears flowing down his cheeks, he, Simeon-like, praised God that he was spared to see the day on which such an event took place, and repeatedly offered his "Nunc dimittis.'"

* Memoir, p. 173.

+ Dis. Mss. xxxvii. pp. 9, 10. Parker Mss., Pres. of Lochcarron.

X. THE FREE ASSEMBLY.

THE deed of the 18th of May having been thus completed, the members of Assembly at once set themselves to arrange for the building of churches, providing ministerial support, and all else that was required in their new position. With what sagacity and business-talent these affairs were adjusted has been shown by the results. But it seems impossible to avoid the conviction that the guidance and blessing of God were specially present with those who in a time of need were seeking the best methods by which to develop the resources of His Church. From the 18th to the 30th of May was a period of earnest work, into the details of which it is not for us here to enter.

Perhaps the most impressive act was the public signing of the Deed of Demission, a formal legal paper by which the emoluments and position of the Establishment were finally surrendered. This was done on Tuesday, the 23rd, in presence of a vast audience who hung in silence on the scene. Dr. M'Farlan, of Greenock, whose living was the richest in Scotland, appropriately led the way. Special interest attached to the appearance of some of the more aged ministers-to Dr. Muirhead, of Cramond, for example, who was ordained in 1788, when Moderatism was in the zenith of its power; and Dr. Sommerville, of Drumelzier, whose few theological writings, apologetical and doctrinal, had been of rare excellence, and who came forward with feeble steps, leaning on the arm of his son, but firm in his determination to give that testimony for Christ. It was altogether a memorable spectacle-ministers in one day signing away more than £100,000 a-year, "a Church disestablishing herself."

H