The Sacrament. 83 



to the minister to receive a stamped piece of lead as 

 a token that we were sufficiently instructed to be 

 admitted to Christ's table. This ticket was given 

 to the Elder on the following Sunday. On Saturday 

 there was a morning service, and on Sunday such 

 multitudes came to receive the sacrament that the 

 devotions continued till late in the evening. The 

 ceremony was very strikingly and solemnly con- 

 ducted. The communicants sat on each side of long 

 narrow tables covered with white linen, in imitation 

 of the last supper of Christ, and the Elders handed 

 the bread and wine. After a short exhortation from 

 one of the ministers the first set retired, and were 

 succeeded by others. When the weather was fine a 

 sermon, prayers, and psalm-singing took place either 

 in the churchyard or on a grassy bank at the Links 

 for such as were waiting to communicate. On the 

 Monday morning there was the same long service as 

 on the Thursday. It w as too much for me ; I always 

 came home with a headache, and took a dislike to 

 sermons. 



Our minister was a rigid Calvinist. His sermons 

 were gloomy, and so long that he occasionally would 

 startle the congregation by calling out to some cul- 

 prit, " Sit up there, how daur ye sleep i' the kirk." 

 Some saw-mills in the neighbourhood were burnt 

 down, so the following Sunday we had a sermon on 



