d."

The quaint and original humour of the old Scottish minister came out
occasionally in the more private services of his vocation as well as in
church. As the whole service, whether for baptisms or marriages, is
supplied by the clergyman officiating, there is more scope for scenes
between the parties present than at similar ministrations by a
prescribed form. Thus, a late minister of Caithness, when examining a
member of his flock, who was a butcher, in reference to the baptism of
his child, found him so deficient in what he considered the needful
theological knowledge, that he said to him, "Ah, Sandy, I doubt ye're
no fit to haud up the bairn." Sandy, conceiving that reference was made
not to spiritual but to physical incapacity, answered indignantly,
"Hout, minister, I could haud him up an he were a twa-year-auld
stirk[23]." A late humorous old minister, near Peebles, who had strong
feelings on the subject of matrimonial happiness, thus prefaced the
ceremony by an address to the parties who came to him:--"My friends,
marriage is a blessing to a few, a curse to many, and a great
uncertainty to all. Do ye venture?" After a pause, he repeated with
great emphasis, "Do ye venture?" No objection being made to the venture,
he then said, "Let's proceed."

The old Scottish hearers were very particular on the subject of their
minister's preaching old sermons; and to repeat a discourse which they
could recollect was always made a subject of animadversion by those who
heard it. A beadle, who was a good deal of a wit in his way, gave a sly
hit in his pretended defence of his minister on the question. As they
were proceeding from church, the minister observed the beadle had been
laughing as if he had triumphed over some of the parishioners with whom
he had been in conversation. On asking the cause of this, he received
for answer, "Dod, sir, they were saying ye had preached an auld sermon
to-day, but I tackled them, for I tauld them it was no an auld sermon,
for the minister had preached it no sax months syne."

I remember the minister of Banchory, Mr. Gregory, availed himself of the
feelings of his people on this subject for the purpose of accomplishing
a particular object. During the building of the new church the service
had to be performed in a schoolroom, which did not nearly hold the
congregation. The object was to get part of the parish to attend in the
morning, and part in the afternoon. Mr. Gregory prevented those who h