other, passing on their way Mr.
Dishart and his elders, who dispensed "tokens" at the foot of the
pulpit. Without a token, which was a metal lozenge, no one could take
the sacrament on the coming Sabbath, and many a member has Mr. Dishart
made miserable by refusing him his token for gathering wild flowers,
say, on a Lord's Day (as testified to by another member). Women were
lost who cooked dinners on the Sabbath, or took to coloured ribbons, or
absented themselves from church without sufficient cause. On the Fast
Day fists were shaken at Mr. Dishart as he walked sternly homewards,
but he was undismayed. Next day there were no services in the kirk,
for Auld Lichts could not afford many holidays, but they weaved
solemnly, with Saturday and the Sabbath and Monday to think of. On
Saturday service began at two and lasted until nearly seven. Two
sermons were preached, but there was no interval. The sacrament was
dispensed on the Sabbath. Nowadays the "tables" in the Auld Licht kirk
are soon "served," for the attendance has decayed, and most of the pews
in the body of the church are made use of. In the days of which I
speak, however, the front pews alone were hung with white, and it was
in them only that the sacrament was administered. As many members as
could get into them delivered up their tokens and took the first table.
Then they made room for others, who sat in their pews awaiting their
turn. What with tables, the preaching, and unusually long prayers, the
service lasted from eleven to six. At half-past six a two hours'
service began, either in the kirk or on the common, from which no one
who thought much about his immortal soul would have dared (or cared) to
absent himself. A four hours' service on the Monday, which, like that
of the Saturday, consisted of two services in one, but began at eleven
instead of two, completed the programme.

On those days, if you were a poor creature and wanted to acknowledge
it, you could leave the church for a few minutes and return to it, but
the creditable thing was to sit on. Even among the children there was
a keen competition, fostered by their parents, to sit each other out,
and be in at the death.

The other Thrums kirks held the sacrament at the same time, but not
with the same vehemence. As far north from the schoolhouse as Thrums
is south of it, nestles the little village of Quharity, and there the
Fast Day was not a day of fasting. In most cases the people had