The book Arran; - Cook Clan

THE CHURCH AFTER THE REFORMATION 153
by a sudden storm they were forced to the mainland to the
hazard of their Uves ; which people look upon as a manifest
token of God's displeasure against them for breach of this
day.' For the defence it is explained (June 25) ' that they
loaded upon Saturday's night, but upon the Sabbath morning
being somewhat stormie, and they rideing at the stern of
the boat from which they got the meall, the boatmen obliged
them to cast loose and betake themselves to some port and
they thought it fittest to come home, being afraid to touch
the shore for fear of waiters (preventive men), the meall
having come from Ireland.' Importation of Irish victual
was apparently still under the ban, and this was clearly
smuggling. The Session is not taken in by such subtleties,
and one offender is rebuked in their presence, the other,
because he ventured to dispute whether actually a breach
had been committed, had to suffer his rebuke in public.
Other instances are of a man who ' transported a horse
from the main to this isle on the Sabbath day,' and of a
M'Kelvie who went, on the forbidden day, to Shisken ' to
bring home an horse.' Some offenders took a very naive
way out. A woman reported to have been ' spinning her
rock on the Sabbath day ' pleaded that ' it was the Sabbath.'
she had forgotten
^
Moreover it was almost as heinous to take liberties with
the Fast Day, for all it was a Thursday. A Clachland
farmer accused of ' putting malt in the kiln the fast day
and drying of it, replyed that the malt would spoil ' (June
3, 1721). Sorrow ' for his sin ' and a promise not to be guilty
again got him off with a private rebuke.
There were other modes of infringing upon the Sabbath
sanctity, which raised the issue on broader lines, such as
the practice of burying and digging graves on that day, a
' Kilbride, July 9, 1710.— 'It is delated to the Session that there were two goats
put on board the packett boat upon the Sabbath day lately and carried to the main-
land that said day, etc'
VOL. II. U