BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF THE LATE REV. DR CHALMERS. 515 



children could do. On one occasion I recollect his describing, with much interest, 

 a Sunday he passed at Winchester, when a guest of the Bishop, and dilating on 

 the services and " staff of the Cathedral," as he called them ; the question was 

 put, evidently expecting an unfavourable reply, " But, Doctor, what did you think 

 of the chanting 7" His immediate answer was, " Very grand, Sir !" He could dis- 

 cern what was good, and exercise kindness and forbearance towards those from 

 whom he differed far more widely than he did from the Church of England. 

 Thus, when told of a pui-pose on the part of Roman Catholics to estabUsh in the 

 old town a system of visiting the poor by Sisters of Charity, similar to the visiting 

 in Paris and other continental cities, he exclaimed he was glad to hear it, as it might 

 induce a similar plan of visits from Protestant Sisters of Charity. In his examina- 

 tion before the Committee of the House of Commons respecting his management 

 of St John's, Glasgow, the question was put, " Did you meet with any contradic- 

 tion on the part of the Roman Catholic clergy of Glasgow ?" He replied, " Not 

 in the least ; for the clergyman was a party in the negotiation. He attended our 

 meetings, and there was mutual understanding between the clergyman and the 

 members of the committee." (This mutual understanding was, that there should 

 be no attempts on either side at proselytizing, but simply to give education with 

 reading of Scripture. There was this compromise made regarding schools with 

 Roman Catholic children : The Roman Catholic clergyman consented to the use 

 of the Bible as a school-book, according to the authorised version ; the Protestants 

 consenting to have Roman Catholic teachers). He had before said to the Com- 

 mittee that he attended at a Roman Catholic school from the delight he had in 

 witnessing the display of native talent among the young Irish, and that he was re- 

 ceived with welcome and respect by the Roman Catholic master, who asked him to 

 address the children. Having done so freely, and according to his views, the master 

 thanked liim most cordially — and then he added, " This convinced me that a vast 

 deal might be done by kindness, and by discreet and friendly personal intercourse 

 with the Roman Cathohcs. I may also observe that, whereas it has been alleged 

 that, under the superintendence of a Roman Catholic teacher, there might be a 

 danger of only certain passages of Scripture being read to the exclusion of others, 

 so far as my observation extended, he read quite indiscriminately and impartially 

 over Scripture." 



Dr Chalmers going to the Roman Catholic schools to witness " display of 

 native talent amongst the young Irish," reminds me of a trait in his character not 

 generally perhaps understood, but which was on occasions very marked ; I mean 

 his turn for humour and keen sense of the ridiculous. At times he could not 

 control his merriment at ludicrous and grotesque combinations ; and I can easily 

 imagine his exquisite enjoyment of answers from the half-naked little Irish urchins. 

 Their odd mixtm'e of acuteness and self-possession, with random confusion of 

 ideas, would be to him irresistibly comic. He had an instinctive sense of the 



