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In October 1883 Dr Bruce delivered the Rhind Lectures in the Masonic Hall, Edinburgh. The first lecture dealt with the two campaigns of Julius Cæsar. The second lecture dealt with the campaigns of Agricola, the advent of Hadrian to Britain, and the coming of Severus and his sons. The third lecture spoke of the motives for the occupation of Britain by the Romans and the works of the Romans in Britain. The fourth lecture was devoted to a description of the wall from the Tyne to the Solway, and discussed the question, "Who built it?" In the fifth lecture the wall of the Upper Isthmus was described, and the mythology of the Romans considered, and the question discussed whether there were any signs in Britain of the reception of Christianity. The sixth lecture spoke of military inscriptions, diplomas of citizenship, and the results of Roman occupation. Dr Bruce was much gratified with his reception and by the interest exhibited by the audiences.

CHAPTER XX.

1884, DR BRUCE'S RIGHT TO TAKE THE MARRIAGE SERVICE IN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES DULY LICENSED FOR MARRIAGES AFFIRMED-1885, THE CIRCULATION BY THE LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF BOOKS HAVING AN INFIDEL TENDENCY OBJECTED TO BY DR BRUCELETTER TO HIS SON AFTER TYNESIDE ELECTION-1888, PREACHES IN BLACKETT STREET CHURCH A SERMON ON THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MINISTRY OF MR LEITCH-KEEPS UP INTEREST IN NORTHUMBERLAND SMALL-PIPES-LETTER TO HIS ELDEST SON ON HIS ENTERING THE HOUSE OF COMMONS AS MEMBER FOR HOLBORN-1890, READS BEFORE THE SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF NEWCASTLE OBITUARY NOTICE OF MR CLAYTON STEPS TAKEN TO COMPLETE HODGSON'S HISTORY OF NORTHUMBERLAND-1891, SPEAKS AT A MEETING OF THE SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES IN SUPPORT OF A MOTION OF CONDOLENCE WITH THE DUKE OF NORTHUMBERLAND ON THE DEATH OF THE DUCHESS-TEMPORARY ILLNESS OF DR BRUCE.

IT frequently happened that friends who had been engaged with Dr Bruce in religious or philanthropic work asked him to take the service at their weddings in Presbyterian churches, and this he was pleased to do. After he had followed this practice for more than twenty years without any objection having been made, the Rev. J. B. Meharry (now Dr Meharry), without giving any notice to Dr Bruce, brought forward a motion in the Newcastle Presbytery on the 7th of October 1884, asking the Presbytery to disapprove of Dr Bruce's action, solely because he was not the ordained minister of a charge. The motion was rejected by the Presbytery, and their action

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was promptly affirmed by the Synod, to which the mover unadvisedly appealed. Although Dr Bruce took no public notice of the matter, he shortly afterwards expressed his views to one of the ministers of the Presbytery in the letter which follows:

"I have long wished to thank you for your kindness in defending me in the Presbytery when Mr Meharry proposed that I should be censured for presuming to perform the marriage service, but I have lacked opportunity. It might be supposed that the occasion to which Mr Meharry referred was the only occasion on which I had officiated at a marriage service. For at least twenty years, probably thirty, I have done so whenever there was occasion for it. No one ever hinted to me that I was acting unbecomingly.

"I do not aspire to the dignity of being the minister of a particular congregation. It is enough for me that half a century ago I was commissioned by the Newcastle Presbytery to preach the everlasting Gospel, and that at fitting times and in multitudes of places I have by God's grace done so.

"I wish it to be distinctly understood that in conducting the marriage service I had no idea of assuming rights which do not belong to a humble preacher of the Gospel.

"The way in which Mr Meharry introduced the business strikes me as strange. To this hour he has had no communication with me

upon the subject. The evening newspaper of the day on which he first introduced the subject

before the public had been brought to my house, containing a report of the proceedings of the Presbytery headed with a notice in large letters, 'Proposal to censure Dr Bruce,' before I had the least idea that I was to be made the subject of attack. Mr Meharry is a young man,-long may it be before he experiences the infirmities of age, but if he had thought of the claims. of age he would have lessened the shock occasioned me by giving me some notice of his intention to bring my conduct under the review of the Presbytery and thus under the notice of the public at large.

"I come now to the question more immediately under discussion-May an elder or may a licensed preacher who has not been set apart to the charge of a particular congregation perform the marriage service? And here we must consider the nature of the service as it is performed in our Nonconformist places of worship. When I was married (in the year 1833), marriages could only be lawfully performed in the parish churches of the land. Shortly afterwards, however, the present law was passed enabling nonconforming ministers to perform the marriage ceremony in licensed places of worship in the presence of a registrar appointed by the State.

"Some ministers chafe at the idea of the registrar being present when they conduct the marriage service. For my part, I do not object to the presence of a registrar. It is the bounden duty of the State to see to the legal performance of the marriages which take place in the land and to keep a careful register of

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them. But it may be asked, Why is a registrar not required when a marriage is performed in a parish church? The ministers of the Established Church are, as far as marriages are concerned, regarded as State officials, and they are subject to penalties if they conduct a marriage in an improper way.

Since, then, in our Nonconformist Churches the State takes upon itself the charge of seeing that the marriage is conducted in accordance with the laws of the land, all that the Church has to do is to see that so important a step is not taken in a light and thoughtless manner and without seeking the blessing of Almighty God. The Church enjoins upon persons entering on the contract of marriage the duty of publicly seeking the blessing of God upon their new and interesting relationship.

"In most cases the contracting parties will desire the services of their own minister, but there seems to be no reason in the nature of things why any Christian man of good repute should not officiate on the occasion. The truth is, the bride and the bridegroom are married not by the officiating minister but by themselves: they say the words which constitute the contract."

In September 1885 a question arose respecting the circulation by the Literary and Philosophical Society of books having an infidel tendency, which gave great concern to Dr Bruce. He regarded the library of the Literary and Philosophical Society as a great educational agency, where young men might resort to instruct their minds with pure and