Part 7 (1/2)

Meanwhile the apologetic of his own life was beco ever more impressive In the years 1886 and 1887 he lost by death several of his dearest friends In the former year died Dr WB Robertson of Irvine; and, later, Dr John Ker, who had been his fellow-student at the University and at the Divinity Hall, his neighbour at Alnwick in the early Berwick days, and at last his colleague as a professor in the United Presbyterian College In the early part of the following year his youngest sister, Agnes, ith her husband, the Rev JC

Meiklejohn, had coh two years before for the better treatment of what proved to be a mortal disease, passed away

And in the autumn he lost the last and the dearest of the friends that had been left to hiht him yet closer than he had been before to the unseen and eternal world

He was habitually reticent about his inner life and his habits of devotion No one knew his ti they lasted

Once, indeed, his siard to this e ithout a key, and he would not give so ht be quite undisturbed, he piled up so entirely that the upper part of it was obscure glass and that his barricade was perfectly visible from without It need not be said that no one interrupted him or interfered with his belief that he had been unobserved by any human eye But it did not require an accidental disclosure like this to reveal the fact that he spent much time in prayer No one who knew him ever so little could doubt this, and no one could hear hi sure that he had learned how to do it by long experience in the school of private devotion

Purified thus by trial and nourished by prayer, his character went on developing and deepening His hu else about hi to take the lowest room, but far happiest when he was allowed to take it In one of his classes there was a blind student, and, when a written examination came on, the question arose, Hoas he to take part in it? Principal Cairns offered to write down the answers to the examination questions to his student's dictation, and it was only after lengthened argument and extreme reluctance on his part that he was led to see that the authorities would not consent to this arrangement

It was the sa favourable constructions on people's s of theround for doing so

In all sincerity he would carry this soths

Reference has beenfurther illustration of it may be added here One day, when in co at which Dr Cairns had recently been present At this e array of speakers, and a time limit had to be imposed to allow all of them to be heard One of the speakers, however, when arrested by the chair on extreed by their applause, he went on and finished his speech, with the result that so distances to address thewere crushed into a corner, if not crowded out Dr Cairns so strong about this speaker's conduct, and, before a word could be spoken, rushed to his defence ”He couldn't help hi audience--athat he had rather overshot the mark, he added in a parenthetic murmur, ”Excellent Christian people they were, no doubt!”

But not the least noticeable thing about him remains to be mentioned--the persistent hopefulness of his outlook This becarew older Others, when they saw the advancing forces of evil, ht tremble for the Ark of God; but he saw no occasion for trereat struggle that was going on was bound sooner or later, and rather sooner than later, to issue in victory for the cause he loved

And although his great knowledge of the past, and his enthusiasht have been expected to draw his eyes to it with regretful longing, he likedas he did so the words of a favourite motto; ”The best is yet to be”

All these qualities found expression in a speech he delivered on the occasion of the presentation of his portrait to the United Presbyterian Synod in May 1888 This portrait had been subscribed for by the ministers and laymen of the Church, and painted by Mr WE

Lockhart, RSA The presentation took place in a crowded house, and amid a scene of enthusiaset Principal Cairns concluded a brief address thus: ”I have now preached for forty-three years and have been a Professor of Theology for ospel of the grace of God becomes, and how much deeper, vaster, and more unsearchable the riches of Christ, which it is the function of theology to explore I have had in this and in other churches a band of er, hoe to be associated; and in the professors a body of colleagues so generous and loving that greater harations to which I have preached have far overpaid iven me more lessons thanwith Christians of other lands, and have learned, I trust, so more of the unity in diversity of the creed, 'I believe in the Holy Catholic Church' In that true Church, founded on Christ's sacrifice and washed in His blood, cheered by its glorious memories and filled with its immortal hopes, I desire to live and die Life and labour cannot last long with me; but I would seek to work to the end for Christian truth, for Christian missions, and for Christian union Amidst so many undeserved favours, I would still thank God and take courage, and under the weight of all anxieties and failures, and the shadows of separation from loved friends, I would repeat the confession, which, by the grace of God, time only confirms: '_In Te, Domine, speravi; non confundar in aeternum_'”

CHAPTER XI

THE END OF THE DAY

In May 1891 the report of an inquiry which had been instituted in the previous year into the working of the United Presbyterian College was submitted to the Synod The portion of it which referred to Principal Cairns's department, and which was enthusiastically approved, concluded as follows: ”The Committee would only add that the whole present inquiry has deepened its sense of the ie, both as Professor and as Principal, and expresses the hope that hespared to adorn the institution of which he is the honoured head, and the Church of which he is so distinguished a representative” The hope thus expressed was not to be fulfilled

The specially heavy work of the preceding session--the session in which, as already described, he had undertaken part of the work of the Church History class in addition to the full tale of his own--had overtaxed his strength, and, acting on the advice of Dr Maclagan and his Edinburgh ements for the summer Almost immediately after the close of the Synod an old ail a holiday tour in Wales reappeared, and yielded only partially to surgical treatment