Letters

Myself and ----- are anxious to express to you the interest we feel in your welfare and progress. We had our share of the unfavourable impression produced by certain rumours, and we are thankful we were not suffered to listen to the voice of the “accuser of our brethren,” who is at the bottom of all mischief. Having seen and heard for ourselves, we can now bid you “God speed,” and hope you will not be discouraged, either by the craft of designing men, or the mistakes and short-sight of ignorant ones; bur pursue steadily the path you have marked out for yourself, “despising the shame,” and “overcoming evil with good;” so that when your course is finished, you may say with Paul, “I have kept the faith.”

We will esteem it a favour if you will accept a pencil case as a memorial of your visit here, and specially of our personal regard and esteem. I wish I had been so circumstanced that I could have exercised a greater degree of hospitality towards you: ----- joins with me in wishing you health, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit; while for myself, I remain your brother in the faith and hope of the gospel.

The writer of this letter and his friend, both members of South Bridge Hall congregation, were not the only persons whom our discourses had dispossessed of the evil which had been created in them by the enemy of all righteousness. A desire was created in many to give a public testimony in our favour as an expounder of the prophets and apostles. They proposed to hold a soiree, or evening, at the Waterloo Assembly Room. Although I do not like to be the subject of public demonstrations I acquiesced, as it seemed to be much desired; and on the ground also that it would give no aid or comfort to the accuser and adversary in America and Britain, who was doing all he could to close the ear of the people against me as an utterly worthless fellow. A very considerable and respectable company of the odds and ends of Edinburgh society assembled on the occasion to express their gratitude and good will towards us for our work of faith and labour of love in their behalf; and to bid us “God speed” in our future enterprises connected with the interpretation and defence of “the Testimony of God.” The business of the evening was very well and orderly conducted under the auspices of Alexander Melville Bell, Esq., who presided as chairman of the soiree. Speeches were made appropriate to the occasion, and in the intervals the audience was charmed into the blandest disposition by the sweet strains of instrumental and vocal music furnished con amore for the evening. It was “a quiet tea party” on a large scale, at which music, refreshments, speeches, and the questioning of our humble self for the resolution of doubts and difficulties, were the entertainment of the friends. There was a little bit of display, however, which as far as my feelings were concerned, would have been more satisfactory in the breach than the observance. It was the unexpected presentation to me of a purse of six sovereigns, with a complimentary speech by the chairman. A man cannot travel in Britain without money, and as I was “running to and fro” for the benefit of the public, and not of myself, * I had no hesitation in accepting it; but then, I had rather it had been given in a more private and business-like way. All who are acquainted with me know that I do not labour for gold and silver, or present reward. I can neither live nor get along without it any more than other people; not having discovered the art of paying printers, steam companies, and domestic necessities with air and ether, however pure and abundant the supply. But, though it is indispensable as a means of operating, a public presentation of gold to a labourer in the gospel has an unseemly appearance. It looks as though he had been labouring for that as his reward; a semblance, which, although it might not be observed by others, the practice being familiar, was perceived by myself, and made the acceptance of it, under the circumstances, more painful than agreeable. The intention was kind, though its expression was not the happiest; I therefore made the best acknowledgment I could, in hope that it would be the last time my friends, in being “at charges with me,” would give it the appearance of a reward conferred, rather than a contribution to a common enterprise, in which the only persons advantaged were themselves. * See next page.

* This is proved by the fact that my receipts did not cover my return voyage to America, &c., having not received more than four shillings over travelling expenses in the island. Much money was raised, but it was necessarily expended in printing, hiring assembly rooms, and paying board for me during my sojourn in divers cities: the surplus just accomplished what I have said.

About 11 P.M. the soiree was brought to a close by the chairman proposing a vote of thanks to me, for the instruction and edification they had received in the interesting lectures they had heard; and at the same time suggesting that a committee of gentlemen be formed, whose business it should be to get subscribers for the publication of the book I had promised to write at the request of many of the citizens of Glasgow, setting forth the great and important truths they had listened to with so much delight. The proposal for a committee was adopted, and fourteen of the audience were named, who agreed to serve. But before the vote of thanks was put, a very zealous philanthropist arose in the midst, and objected to the vote being taken until I defined my position in regard to American slavery; as though the favours conferred on the modern Athenians were lessened or increased by the complexion of my opinions upon that exciting topic of the day. Zeal without discretion has but one idea, which it obtrudes under whatever circumstances, without regard to time, place, or fitness. This was the case with the objector, and the chairman perceived it. He therefore pronounced the objection irrelevant, and not to be entertained at that crisis. Dr. Thomas had laid the audience under obligation by his disinterested endeavours to enlighten them in the scriptures of truth. They appreciated his services, and did not at all conceive it necessary to ascertain what were his opinions upon all the debatable questions of the day, before they expressed their heartfelt thanks for what had been accomplished in their midst. He should therefore submit the motion, which had been seconded, to the company, which would doubtless respond to it unanimously. The motion was agreed to nem. ‘con. Save the philanthropist, who persisted in withholding his thanks, which, of course, left us a prey to the most poignant grief! Our friend then vacated his seat, and his able conduct in the chair being testified and approved in due form, the evening was closed, and the company retired to their respective abodes.

During my sojourn in Edinburgh I visited some of the lions of the place, such as Holyrood House, the Castle, the Regalia there, &c. I shall not occupy space with a description of these things, which is amply detailed in the popular guide-books of the day. Holyrood is a gloomy looking place, with the ruin of the old Abbey attached. To one acquainted with its history it is an object of disgust and abhorrence. It was the royal residence in past ages of ignorance, superstition, barbarism, and crime, incarnate in the kings, queens, and courts of Scotland. It was once a very splendid abode of royalty, when men’s ideas of greatness and magnificence, could soar no higher than the barbaric pomp of a Faustin, or the rich vulgarity of a country town. It is an object of national veneration, which is considerably heightened in the popish mind of the country as being the occasional residence of that lady of easy virtue, Mary Queen of Scots. The blood-stain is still shown on the floor where Rizzio, her Italian favourite and musician, was murdered in her presence by Darnley and his associates, who afterwards buried him under the floor off the passage leading from the palace to the Abbey. Tourists look upon these relics of former ages with a sort of superstitious worship; but to a mind accustomed to contemplate the glories of the Age to Come, they are but the mementos of human wretchedness and vanity, which the sooner they perish the better, with the recollection of all the viciosities they memorialise. We have said enough in a former notice about the Castle of Edinburgh, standing on

These precious, but useless, baubles are deposited in the Crown-Room of the Castle. They rest on a marble slab in a dark place, enclosed, beyond the reach of the longest arm, by a circular iron palisade extending from the floor to the ceiling, and illuminated by a lamp so placed as to bring them into view. Besides the sceptre, sword, and crown, are four ancient jewels, bequeathed to George IV by the late Cardinal York, the last male descendant of James VII of Scotland. These jewels are “the St. George,” “the St. Andrew,” a Sapphire Ring set round with diamonds, and a golden collar of the Order of the Garter. The St. George is a badge off the order off the Garter, of gold, richly enamelled and set with diamonds. On one side of the St. Andrew is the image of Scotland’s patron Saint, or mahoz, finely cut on an onyx, set round with diamonds; on the other, a secret opening under which is placed a fine miniature of the Queen of Denmark. The Sapphire Ring is the coronation ring of Charles I; and the Collar that presented to James VI by Queen Elizabeth.

The Crown, supposed to have been made in the reign of Robert the Bruce, is of a remarkably elegant form. The lower part consists of two circles, the undermost much broader than that which rises over it, both are composed off the purest gold, and the uppermost is surmounted or relieved by a range of lily flowers, interchanged with flowered crosses, and with knobs or pinnacles of gold, topped with large pearls, which produces a very rich effect. The under and broader circle is adorned with twenty-two precious stones, betwixt each of which is interposed an oriental pearl; the stones are topazes, amethysts, emeralds, rubies, and iacinths, set plain in the ancient style of jeweller’s work. The smaller circle, which surmounts this under one, is adorned with small diamonds and sapphires alternately, and its upper verge terminates in a range of the crosses, lilies, and knobs topped with pearls. James V surmounted these circles with two imperial arches crossing each other, and closing at the top in a mound of gold, which again is surmounted by a large cross patee, ornamented with pearls. The bonnet, or tiara, worn under the crown, is of crimson velvet, turned up with ermine. The tiara is adorned with four superb pearls set in gold, and fastened in the velvet, which appear between the arches. The crown measures about nine inches in diameter, twenty-seven in circumference, and about six inches and a half in height from the bottom of the lower circle to the top of the cross. The whole appearance of this ancient type of sovereignty does great credit to the skill and taste of the age in which it was formed.

The Sceptre is a slender and elegant rod of silver, about thirty-nine inches in length, the stalk being of hexagon form, divided by three ornamented rings, and surrounded by an antique capital of embossed leaves, supporting three small figures, representing the Virgin Mary, Saint Andrew, and Saint James. The ornamented niches, in which these Mahuzzim are placed, are again surmounted by a crystal globe of two inches and a quarter in diameter, and yet again by a small oval globe topped with an oriental pearl. When laws were passed in the Scottish Parliament, they were presented by the chancellor to the king, who ratified them by touching them with the Sceptre, in token of the royal assent.

These Honours of Scotland’s kingdom have passed through many vicissitudes of an interesting kind. They were in the custody of George Ogilvy, lieutenant-governor of the castle of Dunnottar in 1652, when it was besieged and closely blockaded by the Cromwellians under General Dean. There was every prospect of their falling into the hands of the English republicans; and would have done so, but for the ingenuity of Mrs. Ogilvy and others. Christian Fletcher Granger, the wife of the minister of Kinneff, some five miles from the castle, obtained permission from the English general to visit the governor’s lady in the fortress. The crown was given to her, and the sword and sceptre, concealed in bundles of lint to her maid, to take home. She took the crown in her lap, and on arriving at the camp where she had left her horse, the English general himself assisted her to mount. Her maid followed her on foot, both clearing the army without any discovery being made. They buried them in the kirk of Kinneff, where they remained undisturbed till the restoration. Such is the information in the Description of Scotland’s Regalia, published in 1848.

I left Edinburgh November 11^th, 1848, and arrived at Harrowgate, a celebrated inland, fashionable, watering-place in England, about 8 P.M., where, at Prospect House, I enjoyed the hospitality, and intelligent society of the sisters Carter, for about a week. The waters here are very sulphurous and saline; and exceedingly nauseous to the taste. The “season” was over; so that the population was reduced to the ordinary residents of the place, whose admiration of the waters is in proportion to their power of attracting affluent invalids to their vicinity. The country around is well adapted to pedestrian rambles, and drives for the infirm. The roads and side-walks are good, and picturesque. I visited Knaresboro and its castle, some three miles distant, in company with my friends. The castle is in ruins. It is celebrated as the fortress where the slayers of Thomas-a-Becket took refuge. Not far off is the dropping well, which I also visited. The water of this well holds a great quantity of calcareous matter in solution; so that birds and small animals suspended under the dropping are petrified in a comparatively short time. Fort Montague is hard by. This is an abode hewn out of the rock by a labourer, where he is permitted by the proprietor to live rent free for his pains. From this spot is seen in the distance the place where Eugene Aram, the hero of a novel of that name, was hung in chains for a murder committed in the neighbourhood. These, with St. Robert’s chapel, a hermit’s abode in the rock, and other notabilia which have slipped my memory, are the curiosities of the vicinity, or the shrines to which the fashionable pilgrims of Harrowgate resort, in seeking the recovery of the health they have lost in the violation of the laws of their physical and moral being, which is the rule of their existence in “good society!”

I spoke once or twice to a private collection of a few friends. I found the scriptural intelligence, and astuteness, all on the side of the ladies in Harrowgate, whose interest in the things presented to them became lively and abiding, as the following note from one of them, who is now numbered among the dead, will sufficiently evince.

Now that we have become acquainted, and seen you face to face, need I tell you, (or must our characters prove) that we are deeply interested in the Heavenly Truths you are so indefatigably engaged in promulgating, both orally and through the press. There are numerous rumours current in this place arising from your presence here, which seems to have excited considerable curiosity in various quarters. Some say you are “a Joanite,” (I don’t know whether the word is spelt correctly) others a Latter Day Saint! I wish we had more copies of the Lincoln lectures, or some tracts, to give the people; they would prepare the way for another visit.

We have read “The Two Hopes,” and “The Things Elaborated from the Word.” They are most welcome to my reason so far. They have drawn my attention more closely to the scriptures. We feel greatly obliged to you for leaving us so valuable a legacy. If it please the Lord we should meet again, we shall rejoice to elicit more information on the things of the kingdom. Till then I remain,

Before leaving Harrowgate, the following information off the effect of my lectures in Edinburgh came to hand from a South-Bridgian now in Wisconsin, U. S.

I am anxious to hear how you are getting on. Several persons have been inquiring for you since you left. The committee appointed at the Soiree meets on Monday night for the first time. I have seen no notice yet in the newspapers of the evening. They are all tied to party, and priest-ridden. There is not an independent paper published in Edinburgh. Since you left the clergy have commenced lecturing on prophecy. Some of them make but a poor hand of it. In the first lecture that was delivered only one reference was made to the scriptures during the whole discourse. If it is not too much trouble let me have a few lines from you respecting your future course. Trusting this will find you and our friends in Harrowgate all well, I remain,