CHAPTER II.

_EARLY LIVERPOOL LIFE._

In August 1844, in consequence of the lamentable state of commerce in Dundee at the time, and of the business affairs of his much respected grandfather “the Provost,” Alexander Balfour removed to Liverpool, to push his fortune there. His path at first was by no means a path of roses, as appears from a number of letters written at that period, which he had never found in his heart to destroy. One of his most intimate friends in Dundee writes to him under date 3rd August 1844: “I know it is very hard to keep one’s spirit up in a situation like yours. I scarcely like to speak of equanimity, lest it should seem as if I did not feel for you so deeply as I do. But still I hope you will be able to meet disappointment, if it be before you, manfully, _like yourself_.”

He succeeded, however, in obtaining a situation as clerk, in the office of Mr. Manuel Blandin, a Spanish merchant in the Mexican trade. Under date 30th October 1844, he writes thus: “Getting a good berth here has been an exceedingly difficult matter. I do not know that I should undergo the same ordeal to obtain it again. The anxiety and trouble I had no idea of till I tried. I was struck with the coldness some folks I had letters to, showed, when they knew my errand: ‘Would be glad to do anything that lay in their power, _but_, &c. &c.’ Such was the usual reception; not, however, in the case of Mr. I.”

It can hardly be doubted that the delay, disappointment, and rebuff through which he passed at this time was a valuable discipline, and helped to produce the peculiar interest which he felt through life in young men coming as strangers to our large towns. He was kind and considerate to such youths to an extraordinary degree. His own sufferings turned to the solace of many.

So much did Alexander Balfour commend himself to Mr. Blandin that the latter offered him a partnership before he quitted his office. But he preferred to enter the employ of Messrs. Graham, Kelly, and Co., where his services were highly appreciated, and where it was put in his power to go abroad, charged with responsible duties. Circumstances, however, did not permit him to avail himself of this offer.

One of the closest companions of Mr. Balfour’s Liverpool life from its commencement to its close says that as a youth he was the brightest of the bright; happy, and always trying to make others happy. In his lodgings he was full of generous hospitality. Friends of his youth who survive, still speak of his joyous companionship, in long walks after office-hours on bright summer evenings, to Childwall Abbey and other favourite resorts. He was then in the vigour of his early manhood--a manhood full of enthusiasm for whatsoever things are true, pure, and lovely, and which could not but communicate its influence to his friends and associates. His delight was to have young men about him. His voice was fine and his musical taste delicate: and sometimes at this period he would enliven an evening with a cheerful song.

Two events occurred in his early manhood which much affected him, the illness and death of his father, of which we shall by-and-by speak, and the death of his beloved brother Robert. He grew more serious and thoughtful. “What is life?” he would ask, and “Why are we here?” A visible change came over him. The great issues of our present condition seemed now to weigh upon him. The alteration in his habits grew naturally out of the deep, if almost insensible, change which had taken place within him. There was from that time a marked ripening of character, which was carried further, when troubles and perplexities overtook him some years later. But already he was a different man. His life had taken a new and final direction. He spoke little of his feelings, but his religious convictions were visible in all he did.

The friend by whom these reminiscences are furnished was never separated from him, at that time, for a single day. And he is able to testify that he never heard from Mr. Balfour’s lips, even in his merriest days, a story that was not absolutely pure and unobjectionable; nor would Mr. Balfour ever join in merriment caused by any utterance unbecoming a Christian and a gentleman.

Mr. Stephen Williamson, afterwards his partner in business, writes: “The first time I saw Alexander Balfour was in Fifeshire, at Leven, his native place. I was passing through, and went to Durie Foundry to see my school-fellow, his beloved brother Robert. Alexander was our senior by several years. He had been on the links golfing and had broken his club. His visit to the foundry was to see his brother, then in the moulding shop, and to get him to mend the broken club. I remember most vividly his sunny, joyous manner; but what struck me most of all was the tender affectionate bearing of the elder brother towards the younger. I had often seen a different course of action on the part of elder brothers: and Alexander’s conduct at this first interview left an indelible impression on my mind. At that early age there had begun to flow through his whole being the deep current of tender human sympathy which never ceased during all his life, but which broadened and deepened to the very end.

“I did not meet him again for several years. His brother, my old school-fellow, was learning his profession of engineering in Liverpool. Alexander was in an office in the same town, and the two brothers lived together for a time in lodgings in Wilton Street. I had just come from Scotland to an office in Liverpool. My first visit was to my old school-fellow at his lodgings, when I again met his brother Alexander. From that hour, during my stay in Liverpool before going abroad, he was my dearest and best friend, the one whose society was most congenial to me, and gave me the greatest happiness. To my great satisfaction we seemed to be mutually drawn together, and not many months elapsed before we arrived at an agreement or understanding, that if ever we were permitted to begin business, we should do so as partners. To that understanding we remained faithful; and I cherish with gratitude the recollection of the fact that, on more than one occasion, my dear friend set aside tempting offers, and remained faithful to our unwritten and even dimly conceived pledges to each other. The time arrived when in God’s good providence we were permitted to embark in business together, in Liverpool. It was in February 1851, the late Mr. David Duncan, afterwards M.P. for a Liverpool constituency, being associated with us from that time till 1863.”

A document is still preserved bearing date, Sabbath, 20th October 1850, and signed A. B., which reveals to us some of the deep springs of his unselfish and elevated life. If we sometimes wonder at the unworldly ways and the marvellous self-abnegation of the man, we find the root of these things here. A fine natural character was purified, deepened, sweetened by heavenly influences. Self-sacrifice and devotion to the good of others, fed from such a source, became natural, and, as it were, indispensable to him. In all the relations of life, his desire was to obey his God, and bless his generation; labour, cost, difficulty counted for little with him if these ends could be attained.

The document to which we refer is a solemn covenant which the distinguished Thomas Boston of Etterick made with God “on the 2nd day of December 1729.” This was copied out and apparently adopted as his own by Alexander Balfour. A portion of it is subjoined. The italics are Mr. Balfour’s.

“In obedience to Thy command and call, I, in myself a poor sinner, do now again _take hold_ of that Covenant of life and salvation to _me_, believing in the name of Christ crucified, who is offered to me as the Great High Priest, who by the sacrifice of Himself, hath made atonement, paid the ransom, and brought in everlasting righteousness for sinners.

“I _credit_ His word of grace to me, and trust in Him, that He with His righteousness will be mine, and that in and through Him, God will be my God, and I shall be one of His people, to be made holy and happy for ever.

“My God, I do by Thy grace acquiesce in that Covenant, as all my salvation, and all my desire, with my whole heart and soul. The Son incarnate is my only Priest, my Surety, my Intercessor, and my Redeemer; and in Him, His Father is my Father, the Holy Ghost is my sanctifier, God is my God.

“I resign myself soul and body to Him, renouncing all confidence in my own righteousness, doings, and sufferings. With my whole heart and soul, I take Him to be my very Head, and I am His only, wholly, and for ever, to live by Him, to Him, and for Him.... I am with my whole heart content, (Lord, Thou knowest), to part with and to renounce every known sin, lust, or idol, particularly that sin which most easily besets me, together with my own foolish will, and all other lords besides Him, _without reservation_, and _without exception_, at His cross.

* * * * *

“Let it be recorded in Heaven, O God, that I, though most unworthy, have this day taken hold of and come into Thy Covenant of Grace, offered to me, in Thy gospel, for time and eternity, that Thou art my God, and I am one of Thy people, from henceforth and for ever.”

Thus did Mr. Balfour, with the faith of a little child, accept the offer of the gospel, and cling to the Person of the Redeemer. In every duty he looked up to His loving eye for guidance, and leant on His strong arm for help. In the way of obedience he scarcely knew what difficulty was; he went right onward, and often did the mountain before him become a plain. He found the paths of wisdom, paths of peace, and in them he seems to have been harassed with no doubts.

On getting such glimpses into the inner life of Mr. Balfour, one can understand how it was that, on one occasion, when a busy merchant whom he frequently encountered parted with him in the street, he said of Mr. Balfour to a friend he met, “that man makes me tremble with his religious earnestness.”

In 1854 Mr. Balfour’s father was seized with alarming sickness. During his illness and convalescence, Alexander showed the greatest solicitude on his behalf. A letter to his father which he penned at this time is remarkable as addressed by a son to a parent. It bears date, Grange Lane, Birkenhead, 2nd June 1854. After expressing his joy at the improvement in his father’s health, he says: “I trust, my dear father, you have now been enabled by the help of God’s own good Spirit, renouncing every other confidence or hope, to lay hold on the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour. I sincerely trust that no unbelieving doubts or hesitations keep you from cordially and truly obeying His injunction, ‘Come unto _Me_, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ I am sure that every possible encouragement that could be conceived of is employed to gain the confidence of those who are seeking salvation.” After dwelling at some length on Rev. i. 5, 6, he concludes: “How we are struck dumb at the riches of His grace; not only that He should love us, but should wash us from our sins in His own blood, and should make us kings and priests unto God and His Father! Then let us sing, ‘To Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever, Amen.’ Let us seek that His most precious blood be indeed sprinkled on our souls--that we may be washed, may be clean, may be new creatures, and may have praise in our hearts to Him for ever and ever.”

When he went to Liverpool, Alexander Balfour was furnished with a letter of introduction from his mother to Mr. William Kay Coubrough. Mr. Coubrough thus became his first friend in his new place of abode, and Alexander was much with him, spending his Sunday afternoons regularly in the congenial atmosphere of his family. Alexander never could forget kindnesses, and he retained the warmest regard for Mr. Coubrough, amid striking vicissitudes of prosperity and adversity, to the close of his own life. His aged friend, Mr. Coubrough, was among the truest mourners over his removal. His friendship helped to open the way to many other friends.

Among these was Mr. Robert Gibson, a youth like himself, in lodgings in Liverpool. A warm and life-long friendship grew up between them, of which a few particulars may here be given. In May 1847 they both crossed the Mersey to lodge in Birkenhead. Their opportunities for congenial intercourse were increased by the circumstance that they both belonged to Canning Street Presbyterian Church, Liverpool, then under the care of the Rev. Joseph R. Welsh, and for a considerable time continued to attend his ministry. They used to meet regularly in the Woodside boat on their way to church, and had pleasant converse as they walked up together to the house of God. On one occasion the two young friends visited the Sabbath school of the Rev. James Towers, Grange Lane, Birkenhead, when they were enlisted as teachers, and became greatly interested in the work.

Some years later, the materials for the great Montreal Bridge were being prepared at the Canada Engineering Works, Birkenhead, and a large number of artisans, of whom a considerable proportion were from Scotland, took up their abode in the “Dock Cottages,” near the workshops. The district referred to is at some distance from town, and Mr. Balfour thought it would be of advantage to plant a Sabbath school in the heart of the Dock Cottages. This was done by the two young friends in 1855. A goodly number of children were gathered, and the assistance of several intelligent engineers was secured for the work of teaching. Two or three young gentlemen were also drawn in to give their help. Mr. Balfour and Mr. Gibson for the first year or two, before their engagements were too numerous to admit of such occupation, used to go on week days to visit the parents of the scholars. They also secured for the Dock Cottages, lectures on useful and popular subjects; they gave the children treats in winter, and took them on pleasure excursions in summer. Mr. Balfour, it need not be said, prosecuted this work with all his natural enthusiasm; and while the effort benefited many, it was unquestionably of great value to himself, helping to educate him for the Christian work which lay before him in after life.

In 1860 business arrangements required Mr. Balfour to go abroad, and thus, among other things, to sever his connection with his loved labours in the Dock Cottages, to whose inhabitants he had greatly endeared himself. On the 8th of May 1860 he wrote to his friend Mr. Gibson from on board the S.S. _Europa_, a letter which bears the stamp of his continual tendency to take the lowest place, and to appraise at a high value whatever good was done by others. “For all the instances of your regard I would cherish grateful feelings: I feel how unworthy I am to receive them; but this should not prevent my making acknowledgment to a gracious God who has provided the comfort and blessing I have had by your friendship, and the rich associations I am able to connect with it. How can I ever forget the pleasure, pure and full, which has been received in our walks on the Sabbath afternoons, home from ‘the cottages,’ when pleasant conversation occupied us, and the unveiling to one another of similar thoughts. How do such recollections cause the moments thus enjoyed to sparkle in the retrospect.... I would thank you all for the forbearance which my weakness and thoughtlessness may at any time have called forth. I would desire to offer the prayer that of His mercy God may be pleased to keep us from all evil; that we may cultivate humility and self-denial, and a desire for the welfare of others, and every grace; that He may give us His peace and cause His face to shine on us.” Thus did he school himself and make inquisition of his own heart. The foundations of an energetic, eager, unselfish character were being strengthened in this early sphere of modest but useful effort.

It may be mentioned in this connection that in November 1850, Mr. Balfour, for the first time, sat down at the Lord’s Table. It was a matter upon which the two young friends often had communication with one another. On this subject Mr. Balfour had shown hesitation, which arose from his lowly estimate of his own character and preparedness for the sacred ordinance. When at last he made up his mind to join with the Lord’s people in the open confession of Christ in Canning Street Presbyterian Church, it was a matter of great joy to his comrade, who had some years previously taken this step. Mr. Gibson wrote him a letter of earnest welcome on his decision being taken, and to this letter Mr. Balfour sent the following reply, conceived in his own spirit of lowliness, yet of humble trust in his Redeemer.

“BIRKENHEAD, _2nd November 1850_.

“MY DEAR GIBSON,--I have just received your letter, and I accept, with the most cordial satisfaction, the right hand of fellowship stretched out to me, now that I am on the eve of sitting down with Christ’s people at His Table.... Let us seek with our whole heart to do honour to ‘Him that has loved us;’ oh for firm faith to add, ‘and washed us from our sins in His own blood: to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever.’ Let me entreat you to pray that the services of to-morrow may be blessed to us, and that we may feel individually, that partaking of those elements of bread and wine may be both a sign and a seal of the benefits of Christ’s death to our otherwise ruined souls.

“I am distressed by the prevalence of sin in every one thing. Accordingly I would tell all men, and would tell the Lord Jesus, I am not worthy to appear at this feast. I can only cry, ‘God be merciful to me a sinner.’ Yet I go to Christ’s Table to-morrow with something like joy. I desire to believe the testimony given, Christ came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance! Is there not encouragement to the vilest, if only there be belief in this gracious Saviour? Let our cry then be, ‘Increase our faith,’ ‘Help our unbelief.’

“I hope for your friendly counsel, forbearance, and help, to avoid the danger of walking in a way unworthy of my profession, and that we may go on to more sure acquaintance with the things that belong to our peace. And now, in expectation of the great feast, let Christ, with whom we are to hold communion, be all our salvation and all our desire. And think, think, O my soul! of the sacredness of to-morrow, which is to furnish a foretaste of the eternal joy of having fellowship with the Saviour in heaven.”