the days of mutual respect and attachment between landlords and tenants are gone, never more to return. The enormous and rapid changes which have taken place within the space of a single generation-means of transit, education, the press, and now the extension of the franchise -all point to the necessity of a readjustment of the old relations in every community. It is not by any means. unnatural that in a country like the Highlands of Scotland, where the press has as yet but a limited influence, the pace at which that readjustment proceeds should be slower than it is elsewhere, or that it should prove too slow for some of the more eager and restless spirits of our time. But I entertain the firm conviction that the land question has only to be approached in a spirit of Christian self-restraint and forbearance on both sides, to find a happy settlement.

A good many years later, when present at the opening of the Mineral Waters Hospital, Strathpeffer, by Lady Cromartie, he told how enormous had been the progress in the district during his connection with it, and added:

It will probably be a surprise to you to learn that when we came here, and for some time after, there was no resident doctor, and that the first one was brought here by me. It is true we were able to have the advice of a very eminent surgeon, when we could get hold of him, for his diocese extended from the Moray Firth on the one side to the Minch on the other. I refer to Dr. Ross. He was my valued personal friend, and a kinder man never lived.

The securing of the first resident doctor was only

one of many benefactions to the strath. In every effort for the good of the district, whether temporal or spiritual, Mr. Matheson took a leading part.

About the year 1860 a Sabbath School was begun at Elsick during the summer months, and was for some years the only one held in the district. Every year, in connection with this, there was a tea and missionary meeting, to which the parents were also invited. A missionary from China was usually the speaker on these occasions, and the people became interested in the work so dear to Mr. Matheson. He sometimes addressed the children himself. On one such occasion, when speaking to them, he said :

Now, when you come to Jesus, you believe in Him, you trust Him, and, young as you may be, you put your hand into His hand, just to be led by Him every step. And this implies not only your personal salvation-" Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved"—but it means also a Christ-like life and a Christ-like love. Oh, what a change there will be in your conduct! Once when I was in Spain, and visiting a school there in which I take a deep interest, I found that several of the mothers had been to the teacher, and had asked him, "What is it you have been doing to my boy? He does not now mix with the naughty boys in the town, and he is so sweet and good at home; he is not like the same boy. What is it you have been doing to him?" And one mother came and said, “I want you to tell me what it is that my boy does when he gets up in the morning and before he goes to bed. He kneels down on his knees and stays there some minutes; what is

he doing?" You may believe that the teacher was only too glad to tell them.

In the course of an address he gave in Strathpeffer, he thus referred to the preaching of former days in the Highlands :

I am old enough to remember days of the right hand of God's power in this north country, so dear to me. Under the preaching of Dr. Macdonald, of Charles Mackintosh, of Stewart of Cromarty, there were days of the right hand of God's power in this land, and many were brought to give up the world and follow Christ. "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." I have known them hardly able to get home, so deep and overwhelming was the sense. of sin and of their need.

Mr. Matheson was in full sympathy with the Free Church principles with which the vast majority of the Highland people identified themselves; and he took a deep and helpful interest in many of the ministers and congregations throughout the north. He was the means of having the Free Church Monthly Record translated into Gaelic, and circulated very widely for many years. He had most pleasant personal intercourse with many Highland ministers during their visits to the strath to drink the waters.

The following was kindly contributed by Rev. Principal Rainy :

I should like to offer a few sentences in regard to the interest which Mr. Matheson took in the Highlands. His

and rivers, where he built a lodge, and used occasionally to go for fishing and quiet rest.

When staying there he used to gather the neighbours into the Lodge for a Sabbath evening service, as many of them were unable to walk the six miles to the nearest church. In recent years the minister has arranged to hold services twice a month in that district, which are much valued.

For a number of years he assisted in the management of the estate of Coul for his cousins, the Mackenzies; and handed over the estate in a much improved condition to the present baronet, Sir Arthur Mackenzie, on his attaining his majority, in 1886. On that joyful occasion, when the tenantry and neighbours were met to welcome the young laird, Mr. Matheson said, in the course of his speech :

It was a singular fortune to be trusted by the three brothers who successively inherited the estate of Coul after the death of their father, Sir George. Blood is thicker than water, and it was a real pleasure to me to do anything that was in my power for the family. The memory of their mother, a daughter of Mr. Macleod, of Geanies, must be ever fragrant with those who had the privilege of knowing her. The singular gentleness of her demeanour will long, I trust, remain a characteristic of her descendants.

In another speech on that same occasion he said :

I am not one of those who believe for a moment that