Page:A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen, vol 8.djvu/169

Rh session was over, it brought no such holiday season as might have been expected; for he was obliged to prepare for the great controversy upon the plurality question, which, after having undergone its course in Presbytery and Synod, was finally to be settled in the General Assembly, the opening of which was now at hand. The point at issue, upon which the merits of the case now rested, was, whether in consistency with the laws of the Church, Dr. Macfarlan could hold conjunctly the office of principal of the university of Glasgow, and minister of the Inner High church in the same city? On this occasion, Dr. Chalmers and Dr. Thomson spoke against the connection of offices with their wonted eloquence; but the case was so completely prejudged and settled, that no earthly eloquence could have availed, and the question in favour of the double admission was carried by a majority of twenty-six. In much of the proceedings of this Assembly Dr. Chalmers took a part, among which was the proposal of erecting a new Gaelic church in Glasgow. This measure he ably and successfully advocated, so that it passed by a large majority. Only a fortnight after the Assembly had closed he was in Glasgow, and more busy there if possible than ever, having engaged to preach for six consecutive Sabbaths in the chapel which, at his instigation, had been erected as an auxiliary to the parish church of St. John's. Here, however, he was not to rest; for, while thus occupied with his former flock, he received an urgent invitation to preach at Stockport, for the benefit of the Sabbath-school established there—a very different school from those of Scotland for the same purpose, being built at a great expense, and capable of accommodating 4000 children. He complied; but on reaching England he was mortified, and even disgusted to find, that the whole service was to be one of those half-religious half-theatrical exhibitions, so greatly in vogue in our own day, in which the one-half of the service seems intended to mock the other. He was to conduct the usual solemnities of prayer and preaching, and, so far, the whole affair was to partake of the religious character; but, in addition to himself as principal performer, a hundred instrumental and vocal artistes were engaged for the occasion, who were to rush in at the close of the pulpit ministrations with all the secularities of a concert or oratorio. The doctor was indignant, and remonstrated with the managers of the arrangement, but it was too late. All he could obtain was, that these services should be kept apart from each other, instead of being blended together, as had been originally intended. Accordingly, he entered the pulpit, conducted the solemn services as he was wont, and preached to a congregation of 3500 auditors, after which he retired, and left the managers to their own devices; and before he had fairly escaped from the building, a tremendous volley of bassoons, flutes, violins, bass viols, and serpents, burst upon his ear, and accelerated the speed of his departure. The collection upon this occasion amounted to ₤400,—but might it not be said to have been won too dearly?

The course of next winter at St. Andrews was commenced under the most favourable auspices, and more than double the number of students attended the Moral Philosophy class-room than had been wont in former sessions. Still true, moreover, to his old intellectual predilections, he also opened a separate class for Political Economy, which he found to be still more attractive to the students than the science of Ethics. Nothing throughout could exceed the enthusiasm of the pupils, and their affection for their amiable and distinguished preceptor, who was frequently as ready to walk with them and talk with them as to lecture to them. Thus the course of 1824–25 went onward to