History of the Fife Pitcairns

306 THE FIFE PITCAIRNS.
from God, the good Duke, who has gone to his rest, and whose
loss we this day so very deeply deplore, would have been a man
to be loved, respected, and imitated in whatever sphere in life it
had been his fate to be born. My brethren, whilst we mourn
deeply the loss of the departed, let us remember also the sorrow-
stricken hearts he has left in the deepest loneliness behind, and let
us send up our united prayer to the Great Consoler that they all
may be abundantly comforted by Him who alone in such circum-
stances can comfort. Especially let us remember the utterly pros-
trate partner of his lot through life — one of the very noblest, truest,
purest, and most tender of women — one whose unnumbered deeds
of charity are known wherever her name is known — one who, on
account of her many graces, stands high in the esteem of our
beloved Queen, and also high in the affections of simple peasant
girls. Let us hope and pray that she may be sustained and
strengthened in her unspeakable bereavement, and enabled, with
all the sorrow - stricken members of her family, to feel that He
who holds us all in the hollow of His hand is bringing about all
things — even the dark things — not only in irresistible power, but
also in wisdom, mercy, and unspeakable love.
Funeral of the Duke of Roxburghe.
Last Saturday afternoon the sad and solemn ceremonies of burial
were performed over the body of the late Duke of Roxburghe, and
he was consigned to that vault in Bowden Church, where sleep
that " sleep which knows no waking " the ancestors of the ducal
house for the last three hundred years. There, in that dark and
dismal vault, in the quiet and picturesque little church, now rest
twenty-five members of the ducal family, many of them men who
have played a prominent part in the history of their country,
and who have adorned the high honours they had achieved ;
but none of them more beloved and respected, more admired
and honoured, than the last tenant of that little aisle. Few
who have occupied the exalted position which the late Duke
held for so many years, or who have been so early left without
paternal guardianship and advice, can point back for more than
half a century to a career unsullied by even one dishonourable
action, or upon whom the breath of scandal has not dared to make
itself felt. Yet such has been the career of the departed noble-
man. It is adorned by many an act of princely munificence and
Christian benevolence, while at the same time honourable and
just, simple yet dignified. Although taking no prominent part in
public matters — although living comparatively retired and secluded
— still did his noble virtues shine forth, and shed a lustre upon his