172 QUARRRLWOOD ChURCH AND ITS MINISTERS. 



was incurring. He bade them not be concerned about that, 

 for the " sword of the Lord and of Gideon ' ' would avenge His 

 cause and defend His servant. Next Sabbath three men did 

 appear, one having a fiddle, another a fife, and a third a haut- 

 boy, to annoy and disturb him. Overawed by the grave dignity 

 of the man and the solemnity and sacred nature of what they 

 had heard, they sat down and listened with deep interest to the 

 sermon. Two of them called upon him when he returned to 

 the place, thanking him for what they had heard, and informing 

 him that a great change had taken place from that time. 



At another time, in the north of Ireland, Mr Fairley spoke 

 strongly against prelacy, and in his strictures on " non-preaching 

 Bishops" said: — "His lordship of Bangor was worse than 

 Balaam's ass, for she, though a dumb animal, once speaking with 

 man's voice, forbade the madness of the prophet, but he never 

 preached any." On afterwards returning to Donaghadee he 

 was advised to take a by-road, for some friends of the Bishop 

 were resolved to lay wait and stone him as he passed a certain 

 village. His reply was that he never fled from the King's 

 highway in his life, and would not desert it now. Forward he 

 came to the ambuscade, when someone cried out : " Hallo ! there 

 he is." " No, never a bit of him. Who ever saw a mountain 

 minister ride such a horse?" was vociferated by them, and 

 while they discussed the question of identitv he got off unscathed. 



He very much disliked people wandering from place to 

 place, as he said, like birds flying from bush to bush, and 

 especially without good reason their going out of the bounds of 

 the congregation and reach of public ordinances. When with 

 this view a man who stood not high in his esteem applied for a 

 certificate of church membership, he wrote down inier alia that 

 for so many years he had been a member of the congregation, 

 during all which time he seldom attended sermon, performed anv 

 duty he could avoid, or give anything to support Gospel ordi- 

 nances." On looking at the certificate the person indignantly 

 said: "Do you give me such a testimonial ! I will not take it." 

 Mr Fairley replied: "I can give you no other; take it or want 

 it, just as you please." 



He followed the old plan of congregational examination in 



