Reminiscences of Yarrow Author:James Russell Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. MR RUSSBLL'S CLERICAL NEIGHBOURS: MR HALIBURTON OF ASH- KIRK ; DR DOUGLAS OF GALASHIELS ; MR PATE OF INNER- LEITHEN ; MR BOOTH; MR PATON OF ETTRI... more »CK—MEETINGS OF PRESBYTERY AND SYNOD—SUSPENSION FOR NON-ATTENDANCE —PULPIT-GOWN AND PARAPHRASES. In speaking of some of my father's contemporaries in the Presbytery, I begin with Mr Haliburton,1 Ashkirk. minister of Ashkirk, an old bachelor—his housekeeper being his sister Miss Peggy, as simple- minded as himself. In his latter days Mr Haliburton required an assistant. One of those worthies was an old preacher, Mr John Cockburn, whose habits were very different from his employer's. Mr Cockburn having been a private tutor in Edinburgh, and busied all day long in grinding with one pupil after another, his great delight, when his work was over, was to enjoy himself at a quiet supper and social glass with a friend, and to sit up to a late hour of the night. Mr Haliburton, on the other hand, was most abstemious in his habits, and early in his hours. During this period my father went to dispense the Communion for his co-presbyter, assisted by Mr Robertson from Sel- 1 [Rev. Simon Haliburton, presented to Ashkirk in 1762, and died there in 1797, in his 76th year.] JOHN COCKHUKN. 43 kirk, whose pulpit was supplied by Mr Cockburn. The latter and my father were to conduct the services of the Monday. A little before the bell rang, John arrived from Selkirk, and came to my father, pleading in a very lugubrious tone that, from changing his bed, he had caught a very bad cold, and imploring him to relieve him of the pulpit duty by dividing or extending his own sermon. When after some little persuasion the request was agreed to, John became as blithe as possible, went to the press, produced the bottle, and begged my father, wit...« less