DR. MACGREGOR.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1037, 28 January 1911, Page 9

DR. MACGREGOR.

AN ASSISTANT'S REMINISCENCES. j

Probably there have been more stories j j put in circulation about Dr. MacGregorj j than about any other Scotsman of his-, i time.. Most of these have been wdrni j threadbare, and many of them are apo-j I cryphal. Sometimes,' when- a new j would be told me, I would ask the doctor j ; atout its authenticity, and often as not] j his reply was, "It's a good story, but, I j unfortunately, it's a lie." It was with J ; this epithet that he characterised tho j almost classic anecdote of how cue day j ho was preaching in a Perthshire churon, 1 and, as tho usual stool to prop him up in j the pulpit had been forgotten, only tLa I top of his head was visible to the ongro- , gation. Ho then, to the amusement of tho j people, announced, as .the first psalm, j that beginning, "Lord, .'from the depths j lo t& I cried." Dr. MaeGregor used to j deny with vehement indignation that ho j could ever have been guilty of such irre- .. j verenco as to make a joke of one of tho . j sacred psalms. ■'.'•!

• "Dichtin'" ,the Pulp.it. j Dr. MacGrcgor's physical .vehemence in j preaching was well known; and many of, . ,j the congregation judged tho power of tho! •■'•' sermon by the bodily exertion expended! . in its delivery. In the course of .my visitation I- called for .an old man who had! j besn hearing Dr. MaeGregor preach tho' ! previous Sunday, when ho was even more j vigorous than usual. The estimate of his- j worthy old admirer-was,- "Aye, it was a. I graun' sermon;, an' says I.: to, .the; wifo j as wo cam' oot, says I, thon pospit's got, , a dichtin* this day that'll serve it for a, 1 j gov long while." '" ■ ' i This is reminiscent of-Dean Ramsay 9 j 'story of the two beadles disputing over . ! the preaching-power of their respective ] ministers. "I think our minister, did. - j weel; aye,-he gars the stour flee, out o'\ ' • the cushion." To which camo the crush- I ing reply, "Stoor ottt o' the cushion!! J Hout, our minister, since ho came wi' us,, j has dung the guts out o' twa Bibles."' -j Whilst great in the pulpit, many felt i that he was still greater in the. prayer- | desk.. He had a wonderful command of • ; devotional language, and behindit there. : was the warm heart full of others' sor-i i rows; and the result was that countless!■ j weary, troubled sonls' were uplifted toj i heaven by his prayers. Seedless to say,: .- ■:■, there was nothing commonplace about l j them, and sometimes they were mora m-, I formative than is customary. His favour- ] ite petition for members of Parliament j > was, "Mav they speak less, and do mora < for tho welfare of their country.". Once,; \j in his intercessory prayer,' he was oflermgj . i a petition for the closer union of the color mes with the "donr old motherland,"- andJ .-. then added the justification, "This.is not , a selfish prayer, 0 Father, for wo ask it -j not onlv for our own good, but for, tho ] welfare "of tho whole world." „ i

When the. Prettinoss Gees. Dr. MacGregor was a grand talker, but rather an impatient, listener. ■He told ■_ me that he remembered only one sentence of a sermon not his own. It was from l one of'Caird's:—"lt is a delightful thing, to hear sweet nonsense from pretty lips; but, oh, how'different when .the prethnessgoes and the nonsense remains." ' >' 'He was full of the martial spirit, and. his patriotic sermons on the occasion oftho annual church parade : of the Mid-j Lothian Volunteer 'Artillery were soul-, stirring orations. He then appeared mi the pulpit in full chaplain's uniform, with medals on Ijreast and cap in hand, and probably round his neck the black shawl! which had been knitted for him by Queen; Victoria. A little.girl from a West End! ladies' school, who was present on suchj an ocasion, quite failed to.recognise heri minister in his unaccustomed:-dress. On; returning from church she, was asked: <■ "Who preached to-day?" "I don't know, ;: was tho reply.' "Oh, yes, you do. • Wasn't it Dr. MacGrcgci-? iNo, iti wasn't him, anyway. I .think it was aj policeman." ■ . . - ... . : It was tho above-mentioned youiur ad-; "inirer of Dr. MacGregor, who was.' being,i examined at hcr'-'scliool one day/.aM was: asked, "Who is fife'patron ■ hain't of bcot-i lend?" To which the little girl, who, was evidently, as. .the.doctor .said with;. glee, of a : . discriminating, turn- of rmnd,. answered" unhesitatingly, "Dr. Macbre-, gor." . ' "Good Night,"; Tho following are specimens of some oj' these anecdotes, given as nearly as possiblo : in his own words. Dr. Lindsay Alexander, of Edinburgh, was not what .could bo called a lively preacher." A gentleman who had been long troubled with insomnia came to hear him, sat in a front seat, and soon fell fast asleep. This continued for two or thrco Sundays; until one day Dr. Alexander could staud.it no longer, and, just as his hearer was closing his. eyes, for his customary,snooze,. the.' preacher, leaned over tho pulpit, and gently said,: "Good night, my friend, good nigh,.. - . Another old minister, this tiino m life-., shire, whose people often fell asleep under! him tried this method. He stopped his. sermon, and remarked: "I wonder, my; brethren, if ve ken what hyperbole (pronounced byperbol) means ? If s a gey long, word; but it means jnst-.this. If I were, to say that a' the folk in this lurk were asleep, that would be a-hyperbol. If Iwere, to say that a good halt c, ye .were,, that-would be God's, truth.' , It was the.same minister who once explained what-;, it meant to "walk circumspectly.- *»'■ did it in this original way. 1e ve seen a bi" tom-cat walkin galong the top o < a wall covered wi' broken glass; and-yevo seen how he lifts une-o" .his. paws, and looks weel before besets it doon. again. That, my friends, is walking circum--sl>Butrono■ more of ■ the Doctor's." stories, about sleeping congregations. In a certain! church' tho minister- was, not. very eloquent. It might have been said ot hni. as was said of old Dr. Baxter, that wheul he preached the very flies went to sleep, on the window-panes. One day, in themiddlo of his sermon, an elder poked bis head through the vestry door■.and wi a low, tremulous voice, said- Minister, tho lark's on fire'." ; "Very well, Mr. So-and- - so" calmlv replied the preacher, I will, retire; and perhaps you had g9 round and wako up tho congregation. -

An Assspibly incident,

It was on tho floor of the Assembly, that certain of his greatest and mostthrilling speeches were made. ;1 havo but to close my eyes. to. seo'agam that small yet commanding figure standing by, the table, with flashing eyes and clenched fist beating the air. He is .defying thc=e who would touch with destructive, hands the bulwarks of his •dear old Church. Tho Assembly is held spell, bound by tho torrent of passionate .eloquence, when all at once there is a pause, and the spell is broken. -■ •■ ■ .\ It is bnlv that .the. doctor needs his., glasses to read some, note, and for tho, life of him ho cannot get hold of them. They are hanging by a cord from his neck, but so is his .watch (tor he always; despised the "foppery" of a watch chain),, and these two cords have got inextricably-.' entangled. He wrestles desperately with, the refractorv strings, making confusion, worse confounded, whilst a ripple of. laiM'ter runs over the house. But soon his°somowhat meagre-stock of patience is exhausted: one vehement wrench, and the cord is snapped, and the .glasses are. free; and imperturbably albeit with a gleam of fun in his eye,- Dr. -MacGrcjjor-. takes up the other broken thread—thati o'r his speech. And why did the Assembly, the most impatient audience m the world, take this interruption so calmly' Simply because it was Dr. AlacGregor, who had license accorded to none; other, and from whom one somehow, al-. ways - expected tho unexpected. ' Dear, brave, seniil, loving, and- much beloved soul. Let it not be thought by. those who did not know him that his little eccentricities and his irrespressiblp • humour were the man himself. Those were but the exuberance of a joyful, bocause a truly Christian, heart. And, after 1 all, -it is not.as a wit or as a raconteur' that Dr. Jla'eGregor's memory will live, but as a faithful minister and as apreacher of the Gospel'.almost unrivalled' in his day and generation.—W. Fitcairp Craig, in the "Weekly Scotsman."-'-.