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ult) in his tendencies, he is yet deeply skilled in the form of sound doctrine, and his style is terse, vigorous, and polished. There is, perhaps, what not a few would be disposed to term a want of animation in his pulpit utterances. Habitually grave and dignified, he seldom indulges in anything like an ebullition of fancy or of mirth. His sentences are cut, polished, and beautified like a piece of Parian marble. People are so much accustomed now-a-days to hear orators whose hearts (like Coriolanus) are upon their lips, that they have little sympathy with scholarly and erudite prelections, pure and simple, come from whatsoever quarter they may. But it does not therefore follow that calm, dispassionate, logical reasoning, of which Dr. Buchanan is both a master and exponent, is without its merits and admirers. On the contrary, it is impossible to sit under the minister of the Free College Church without being "built up" in all the Christian graces. He is an uncompromising foe to the Scarlet Lady, to the materialistic tendencies of the present day, to looseness and infidelity, of every kind, in religious matters; and some would perhaps object that his sermons are too strongly impregnated with the Confession of Faith, the Deed of Demission, and the Shorter Catechism. But he is on this account all the more entitled to rank as a living embodiment of the principles and practice of the Free Church of Scotland; and when questions on which a little margin of difference may be allowed are brought under consideration, Dr. Buchanan will be found to be tolerant and even liberal in his views. With a presence so commanding and dignified as to be almost leonine, a deep, melodious voice, and a head of snowy whiteness, Dr. Buchanan's appearance, as he ascends to the pulpit, conveys the impression of conscious power. He enters upon the services of the sanctuary with an evident sense of their solemnity and importance. No glimpse of humour, no _outre_ illustration, no divergence from the beaten track is attempted; the heavy and portentous gravity of his manner and matter is unrelieved by a single touch of light--all is sombre, deep, profound. One can fancy that Dr. Buchanan is inclined to think, with Dr. Johnson, that a punster is as bad as a pickpocket. But it would be unfair to estimate Dr. Buchanan from his pulpit appearances only. Listening to his discourses from the pew, one can form but a faint conception of the greatest merits--the s
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