Note 15 — Part III.

The Church rule on the point here brought out by Mess John may be illustrated by an enactment passed by the Kirk Session of Glasgow in 1591, which bore that those desirous of entering the conjugal state had to repeat the ten commandments, the articles of faith, and the Lord’s prayer. If the candidates could not pass the examination they were declared unworthy of being joined in marriage, and were liable to censure. A few days after this decree had been issued, the Session prohibited a marriage until the bridegroom had learned his task. The Presbytery of Glasgow, in 1594, prohibited a marriage because the bridegroom was ‘in greit debt.’