Page:A Companion and Useful Guide to the Beauties of Scotland.djvu/197

Rh ; I perceived a multitude not far from the road's side, with a wooden stand raised in the midst of the throng; some of the congregation were standing, others sitting, forming altogether an amazing concourse of men, women, and children. It was a field-preaching day. It is impossible for all to hear the sermon:—but, good souls, if they are only within the holy sough (or sound), that perfectly satisfies them. As often as the sacrament is administered, there is preaching all day on the Thursday preceding, as well as on the Sunday and the Monday after, attended by hundreds flocking from every quarter, and from a very great distance. In the small towns, as well as in large ones, this practice too is kept up; and on the sacrament Sunday, one minister is preaching in the church, and another in the adjacent field; the congregation continually going from one to the other. In the country, in the Highlands, the proprietors of the land in each parish pay the stipend of the minister, build the kirk, and the manse (the parsonage), and keep them in repair; they also pay the stipend of the master, or masters, of the public schools, and generally there are two schools in a parish; one English, the other Galic. At these schools the