vening people at such occasions, whereby much idle discourse and sin be evited." Penny weddings were also common, when the guests raised a sum to assist in giving the young couple a start in life, and in defraying the expense of the wedding. In order, therefore, to prevent abuse on these occasions, the Session enacted that "if any hereafter married persons have at their marriage above eight meases' of people on both sides, and use promiscuous dancing, they shall lose their consignation, and this be intimate to them at the booking. Likewise these married persons are to guard against any other kind of abuse by excess in drinking or revellings."

2

In Greenock, as may be supposed, no water was introduced into any of the houses, but public wells with pump handles were

1 MEASE. A herring measure, varying in size in different localities. The size of the Greenock mease is unknown. 2 Bail-money lodged when proclamations given in.

distributed throughout the town, besides which there were several deep draw-wells, the water from which was raised by means of a windlass and buckets. Neither were there any newspapers, or ladies' clubs, in those days, but the kirkyard before the church service, and the various wells, served as most efficient substitutes. These spots were dear to the female population, for there all the gossip of the place could be discussed-the births, the marriages, and the deaths-and probably, also, all the scandal too, for that, alas! is not a perquisite of our more advanced civilization alone. You may remember the reply of the country lass, when remonstrated with for this apparent waste of time, "I wadna gie the half-hour's cleck in the kirkyard for a' the psalms and sermons put thegither." On one occasion, early in last century, when the dames and girls were assembled waiting their morning turn at one of the wells in town, a well-known

dissenting Minister passed, and noticing among the gossips a recently-married young wife connected with his congregation, without either shoes or stockings, gently rebuked her by saying, "Janet, you are neither wifelike nor wiselike this morning," at which she blushed, and mended her ways for the time

to come.

But inculpated parties did not always take the rebukes of their ecclesiastical superiors in such good part, as we read of one John M'Farland (his wife Isobel M'Cun being absent through indisposition), who, on being censured by the Session for contracting what was deemed an irregular marriage, the proceedings not having been graced with the presence of the Minister of the Parish, when the sentence of the Presbytery having been read over, "expressed a great deal of insolence, by upbraiding the Session, and telling them if ever he had another opportunity of

marriage, he would not marry with any Minister now established, and that he would live with the said Isobel M'Cun, let the Devil and the sons of Belial do what they pleased." The Session, astounded at this outburst, agreed to hand this audacious rebel over to the Magistrates, to be dealt with in due course of law.

Another contumacious person James M'Adam by name-who was charged with being "guiltie of horrid cursing and imprecation," while admitting the offence, seemed very "unsensible" of his sin. He was, accordingly, admonished "to forbear his drunkenness and tipplin', to which he is too much given, beside his horrid cursing and swearing," on hearing which, he had the temerity to excuse himself as being free from the same on the Sabbath day, and shamelessly insinuated that the same could not be said of some of the members of the reverend Court!

F

It is, however, to the lasting credit of these old worthies that, while strenuously looking after the morals and manners of their fellowparishioners, they had a custom, at each Communion season, of carrying out a regular course of "privie censures" on themselves, each member being asked to retire in turn from the meeting, while the remaining members of Session investigated concerning the uprightness of his walk and conversation.

Owing to abundance of employment on sea and land, there were, in the town, very few dependent poor. The relief of the widows and orphans of seafaring men, and others left destitute, was met by church door collections, donations from ships' crews, Mariners' Societies, and Trades' Boxes, as well as from the hire of mortcloths, also marriage fees, and other small occasional sources of income. The "mortcloths" referred to were black biercloths hired out