THE HAMILTON ASSOCIATION. 131 
to many, and a curious one noted, remarks a writer, is that un- 
til the eleventh century Saturday was observed as Sabbath and 
not the Lord’s day, and until the early years of the seventeenth 
century Sunday was a day of light work and amusement, 
christenings, weddings, athletics, sports and boisterous mirth. 
This was in Scotland, remember, whose modern degeneracy 
one of our city pastors recently deplored, while asserting that 
here in Ontario (Canada) we had a higher moral conception 
of the Christian life than any they possess there. It is not the 
Scotland of John Knox. Certainly not. One can perceive 
considerable improvement since then. ‘The churches there can 
ne longer enjoy the pleasure of roasting or boiling old people 
as witches. Is the reverend gentleman aware that torture ex- 
sited there even in the time of King William 111, or does he 
possess even the slightest acquaintance with what Wright, for 
instance, a Protestant historian, an avowed opponent of the 
Queen of the Scots, admits that one or more of the clergy were 
implicated in the conspiracy of the brutal murder of the un- 
fortunate poor deformed minstrel, known to us now by the 
name of Rizzio? We all know how bitterly the late Dr. Nor- 
man Mcleod was assailed by his more narrow-minded breth- 
ren for stating he could see no harm to religion in a person 
taking exercise or a walk on Sunday, and he could not con- 
demn young members of his congregation irom enjoying a 
dance either. The land of the heather never stood so high in 
public estimation as in our own day. Look to her statesmen, 
soldiers and scientists, her Murchison, lyall, Geikie, for n- 
stance, and last, but not least, Professor H. Drummond. Now 
if the Anglican Bishop is right in stating that Sunday observ- 
ance was without direct scriptural authority, and simply an or-— 
dinance of the primitive church, the writer feels inclined to be- 
lieve*reverend gentleman may be reckoned as belonging to the 
following class, referred to in the New Testament: ‘ But in 
vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the command- 
ments of men.” I know in England many of the English 
clergy have not the slightest objection to join their parishion- 
res in games after Divine service. There is much ignorance 
