BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 281
In 1824 Dr. Hall assisted at the dispensation of the Lord‘s Supper in his
old place of worship in Cumnock. As this was his first and only visit, from
the time of his removal to Edinburgh in 1786-a period of thirty-eight yearsthe
occasion was one of no ordinary interest. For the following particulars
we are indebted to the communication of a friend :-
“ I met him at the Coach-office, on his arrival from Edinburgh, and walked with him tb my
house. On reaching the bridge over the far-famed Lugar, he stood entranced, as it were, and
would not move, till, in thoughtful silence, he enjoyed for a time the scene on which, as he said,
his eye in youth had so often rested with delight He abode with me a week, nearly the whole
of which, excepting the time devoted to religious services, we spent in visiting scenes with
which he had been formerly familiar. In our walks he
seemed keenly to recall former associations. On one occasion, as we walked along the banks
of the Lugar, in a very lovely dell, he exclaimed-‘ Oh, I remember that stone ! (alluding to a
large stone in the bed of the river). Time has produced no change on it ; but (turning round,
he added) these trees have grown beyond my knowledge.’ We called on such of the old people
as had been members of his congregation, and on the descendants of others. He seemed to feel,
and, in tones which were peculiar to his manner, expressed a deep interest in them. The
daughter of a valued friend, who had long ago descended into the grave, we found lying on a
bed of sickness. He prayed ; and, on takiug leave, affectionately kissed her, as he said, for her
father’s sake. In-the course of our conversations, he told me that during his residence here he
had made himself master of the theology of the Cromwellian age; from which, as it seems to
me, his style of preaching, in all probability, derived much of that raciness for which he was so
much distinguished.
Nor
was the exercise of this esteem confined to the beople who enjoyed the benefit of his ministry.
Among others who sought and cultivated his friendship, may be mentioned the late Lord and
Lady Dumfries, who often entertained him at their table, and in return visited him-a circumstance
not common between dissenting ministers and persons of their rank
A few of these are very picturesque.
“ Dr. Hall was a highly popular and much esteemed miniiter while he laboured here.
Dr. Hall died on the morning of November 28, 1826, in the seventy-first
year of his age, and fiftieth of his ministry. He suffered much during the continuance
of his trouble; but he bore his affliction with exemplary fortitude
aod resignation. The interest it excited was
obvious at his funeral, and especially at the appropriate sermon preached in his
church on the subsequent Sabbath, by the Rev. John Brown (who had succeeded
him in Rose Street), when at least two-thirds of the vast multitude that
appeared solicitous to hear it were unable to gain admission.
Among other affairs of moment affecting the prosperity of the church that
deeply engaged the attention of the Doctor, was the long-wished-for union of
the two great dissenting bodies in Scotland ; and no one rejoiced more than he
did at its accomplishment. At his death he was father of his Presbytery,
and had the satisfaction of being Convener of the Committee of the United
Synod for preparing the “Testimony,” which has since been issued by that
body.
In Broughton Place Church a handsome tablet is erected to his memory.
His death was deeply regretted.
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