Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 06
General
Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 06
Scottish Borders (Scotland) -- Fiction
It was an inspiriting task to serve at the altar among a people who,
though humble, cherished with fondness the memory of their godly
forefathers; and was, indeed, a labour of love, in which the teacher and
the taught found mutual comfort and advantage. Nor were the exercises
of the pulpit the only parts of pastoral duty to which Mr. Douglas
directed his attention and his heart. He visited and soon became
acquainted with all his flock--not formally and pompously, but frankly
and in unaffected kindness; and ere long became the friend and trusted
counsellor of his parishioners, not merely in spiritual, but in their
temporal concerns. And, as a proof of the impression which such a truly
evangelical course of conduct made among his people, I may state that,
within these few years, after the lapse of nearly fifty, I had a call
from a respectable old man, who, having heard I was in Edinburgh, had
found me out, and announced himself to be Mr. ----, who had taught
me the alphabet, and first guided my hand to wield the pen which now
records this incident. I have rarely met with an occurrence more
gratifying to my feelings, than when the old gentleman (for he was a
gentleman in the best sense of the term, though a country schoolmaster)
told me that years had not effaced from his heart and his memory the
kindly affection which he bore to my father and all his children, who
were the objects of his careful tuition, and that he had sought and
found me to give utterance to that feeling. I need not say he got a warm
welcome. He had then retired from the laborious duties of his office,
with a moderate competency, and in a green old age. He has since paid
the debt of nature. Peace to his ashes! It would be well if our
parochial clergy would thus cultivate, not the vulgar arts of wordly
popularity, but, by acts of real kindness, the confidence and the
respect of their flocks. It is thus that the human heart is to be won;
and it is thus that a Christian pastor most effectually
"Allures to brighter realms, and leads the way."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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