Page:Account of the dreadful accident and great loss of lives which occurred at Kirkcaldy, on Sunday the 15th June, 1828.pdf/19

19 small park adjoining the church-yard; and there was a sermon in the evening at Abbotshall. The object of this arrangement was, that, as some might be unwilling or unable to attend divine worship in the open air, all might be accommodated; Mr Martin took for his text the words in Luke, xii.—40 "Be ye therefore ready also." The other clergymen of the town also embraced the occasion to dwell on the uncertain tenure of human life, and the mysterious dispensations of Providence. One chose as the subject of his discourse, "Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it;" and another, the fall of the tower of Siloam.

The number of new-made graves in the church-yard was an impressive spectacle. This spot is invested with a deep and melancholy interest, and the large mound raised above the sisters Mathewsons, arrests the attention of all. Here may be seen nearly twenty "brown hillocks" where last Sunday grew the green sward. The awful stilness of the scene is an eloquent picture of death, and the frailty of man ; and cold indeed must be the heart that can withstand its monitory impulses. The most of the people appeared in mourning ; a solemnity was marked in almost every face; an awe, as if all were sensible that some dire convulsion had bereaved them of some of their dearest relatives. It may be worthy of notice, that several, particularly females, who were carried home in a state of stupor, on coming to their senses, had not the slightest recollection of the tragic scene in which they had been sharers.