never a look to go back, and never any wrong thoughts. Some said Bothwell was an ill contrived business; but I loathed all such constructions, of not only enemies, but also pretended friends,—which was a great grief always as I heard it. I see many that would have said, Am I a dog to do such a thing,' that run with the bulk, but let them mind that If any man draw back, My soul shall have no pleasure in him.' You that are Christians should not be idle, when they are undoing religion at this rate. And yet I think some pretended friends are as great enemies as the church has. Labour to mourn for broken vows, promises, slighted offers and opportunities, and a broken covenant. For when I take a back-look, I wonder at the Lord's long-suffering patience, considering a despised gospel, and considering his dealing with other rations. O mourn while he may be in terms of agreement with you, and pray that the Lord may return to his covenanted land, though your carcasses should fall in the wilderness; and that he would be pleased to return to the following generation, who has not had the opportunity we have had. We have enough to account for, though we have not that posterity's blood on us. I have solid faith, though the world should turn upside down, it will be well with them that are at their duty. And I die in the faith that he will return again, for the Lord is most wise in his dealings; he can bring things about for his own glory and the good of his people; however difficult it may seem now. But I think, the Lord, for innocent blood, and other acts, shall sweep away the most part of the generation. I adhere to the Confession of Faith, to the Larger and Shorter Catechisms, to the National and Solemn League and Covenant; and I leave my testimony against hearing of Curates, paying cess, and against the indulgence. now I bless him who made me see the odiousness of my sin, and nakedness, and a white raiment from himself for a covering, and made me accept and close with him on his own terms. My soul shall bless him through all the ages of eternity.*

And

DAVID M.MILLAN.”

XXVIII. JOHN WHARRY.

[The case of this and the following Witness is somewhat singular for the injustice and cruelty displayed in it,-even in the persecuting period to which it belongs. With respect to their personal history, not even a hint has come down to us. It appears, however, that about the beginning of June, 1683, they had been journeying together, (each having a walking staff,) and had sat down to rest themselves near Inchbelly-bridge, a few miles to the north-east of Glasgow, when they were discovered by some soldiers, who were in quest of a band of country people, by whom a prisoner had been violently

For this short Testimony, (which he believes has never before been published) the Editor is indebted to one of the Wodrow manuscripts in the Advccates' Library, from which it was n'ed expressly for this work. The title of the MS. is, Jac. V. i. 25, No.49

rescued from them, on the previous part of the day. They were immediately apprehended as having been of the said party-brought to Glasgow-tried-and without the least evidence as to the identity of their persons,-on the mere presumption arising from their being in the neighbourhood,-condemned as guilty of relieving the prisoner, and executed on the 13th of the said month. John Wharry's testimony is contained in the following letter, addressed to his near relatives, shortly before his death.]

"DEAR MOTHER, Brother and Sisters,-I beseech you, in the name of my sweet and altogether lovely, incomprehensible, matchless, precious, beautiful, and glorious Redeemer, captain and conqueror over all his enemies, be not discouraged; for, through his free love cast on me in black nature, who was born an heir of sin and wrath, I am now, by his blessed purchase, made free, by the laying down of his sweet life for poor sinners, of which I was one of the chiefest in the world, that I might get life eternal,-which is his own gift bestowed on me : and now, through his blessed hand of providence, has made choice of poor unworthy me to be his prisoner; who ordereth all things well to those whom he sets his love on; and those whom he loves, he loves unto the end.' I do not question his all-sufficiency: dear mother, do not you question it, but that he is sufficient to make me conqueror over my inward and outward enemies. O mother, bless the Lord that ever he gave you a son, and flesh and bones, to be honoured to be a sufferer for his precious name, truths, and interest, cause, covenant, and concerns, according to his own rule in his blessed word, which is contained in the Old and New Testaments, agreeable to all truths contained therein. O mother, will ye be entreated for his love's sake, to give me back again to him in a free-will offering! O I am persuaded, that it would please my matchless Lord, and then it would fare better with me, and you both. O if ye knew what of the kisses of love and kindness I got, since I was brought to carts, stocks, and irons! O unworthy I, that should be honoured with this! O mother, I beseech you for his love's sake, that you do not repine, and thereby provoke the Lord to anger. O bless him, for making all things pleasant and delightsome, refreshful and comfortable to my soul, and my brother's. I cannot express what love I have met with, since they apprehended me, and my brother. O bless him for dealing so with me. I beseech you, mother, be serious with the Lord, that what he hath begun, he may also perfect in us to his own glory, and for his own work in the souls of all that are within the compass of the decree of election of free grace. I cannot describe him, he is incomprehensible, and he is without compare. O he is beautiful and glorious, strong and almighty,— powerful to break through difficulties, and to bring through his own elect all which is necessary, and nothing less, that his own being cast in the furnace for the trial of their faith and patience, may be helped to endure; for he knows well enough to purge away the dross and the scum of his own elect. O! but some souls he plunges over and over; to others he limits and permits their winnowing by Satan. O! but true faith, believing and casting all the weight upon the promises,

will bring you to the accomplishment; if ye endure with patience, he is the same always to poor sinners, to make them to conquer over all their inward and outward enemies, to those that have received him in the precious offers of the gospel, held out to poor sinners freely, and to poor me: and he hath engaged my heart to fall in love with him, and to follow the blessed persecuted gospel, through good report and ill report, upon all hazards whatsoever, through his strength. O! bless him, all that is within me, that ever he made me to act faith on his great and precious promises, and also to trust to the faithful outmaking of them to his own in particular straits, and also to the church in general, in his due season, against all oppositions that can come from a tempting devil, and a wicked, conspiring, and desperate heart, and the wicked, flattering, deceiving, and bewitching world. O! but these be three strong, arch, cunning, and subtle enemies! I fear, if this question were asked at professors in the land, If they knew these? they would answer, They knew them very well; though I fear the contrary; and it appears much in our day and generation. Woe is to us! where is this married land gone to, judge ye? I bless him that he has made me his prisoner, though I be unworthy; he has stooped low, and with his delicates has come to me in my irons and cords, in that chamber in Glasgow, with his own wine, apples, and flagons. O! if ye knew what a life we have here; if ye knew the want of him ye would have longed for him, and would not have thought a prison, cords, stocks, irons, hard to bear, for his comely presence, and refreshing of our souls. O glory to his blessed and everlasting name, whose loving-kindness lasts for aye! O friends! give all the praise to precious and lovely Christ. O friends! wrestle and hold on; use importunity with him for your bleeding mother-church; for it is not time to be slack. O pray for us, that we may get more and more of his support, that we may be strong in our Almighty God, who has done great things for his church, and is beginning to do great things for us in our prison. O! praise him all ye people; it may be nearer to the breaking of the day of our King Royal, than ye are aware. God has long been silent and conscience dumb amongst people. O be ye aware, that ye have not these two, when he arises to make war for all the wrongs he has sustained. We beseech you, in his own name, try whose ye are, what ye are, and in whose list ye are: know ye not, that true faith is the substance of things not seen, but hoped for' in him, and will be made forthcoming to the sensible feeling of his own elect?

JOHN WHARRY."*

XXIX. JAMES SMITH.

[After what is said in the foregoing article, as referring equally to both sufferers, it is only necessary to add here-that the scuffle at relieving the prisoner having been severe, and one of the soldiers

• Cloud of Witnesses, pp. 267–270.

killed in it, the crime alleged against these two men, was no less than murder; but so far from this being brought home to them, there was not a single witness adduced to prove, that they had even been in the affray. The sentence, too, which was passed against them and executed accordingly, was in the last degree ignominious and severe. After being hanged at the Cross of Glasgow, they were carried in a cart to Inchbelly-bridge, and there hung in chains. "It is worth recording to the praise of His grace, for whose royal dignities they witnessed, that they endured all these hardships with a great deal of Christian magnanimity-even to the conviction of enemies." The Testimony of James Smith is also in the form of a letter, and is as follows.]

“DEAR FATHER and Mother,-I beseech you to forgive me all the offences I have done to you, for ye know it is natural to children to offend and grieve their parents. Now this I seek in His name, and for His sake, and I heartily forgive any provocations that my father has given me, as I am of myself; and desire the Lord may take a dealing with your heart, O my father. Now, my dear father, seek the Lord, that your soul may live; and make religion your main work, and let it not be a bye-business to you, but strive and wrestle to get time spent rightly in the fear of the Lord, minding always and at all times, that the eye of a holy and just God is upon you; and be serious with God, and deal in earnest with Him, that He would help you to self-denial, -to be denied to all things beneath the clouds; and study to get at mortification, and let your affections follow nothing further than ye can be mortified to it; and be submissive to his holy will. Now the Lord himself persuade you to fall in love with lovely Christ: and I desire the Lord may give you unfeigned repentance, and faith in Jesus Christ, and strength to stand out and resist these ensnaring courses, viz. locality paying, and the compearing at courts, and hearing of curates, and the like. Dear father, mother, brethren, and sisters, quit with me, and give me up to the Lord, who gave me to you. Give me up freely without any hankering and repining; for he loveth a cheerful giver. I dare not say but he has been kind to me; O matchless love! O praise, praise him that ever he honoured the like of me with cords on my arms, and stocks on my legs;-irons have been sweet and easy to me, and no trouble. Now hold up my case to the Lord, and doubt not of his faithfulness and all-sufficiency, for he is both able and willing, and he has said, 'In all your afflictions I am afflicted; and he carries his and their cross both, and he sends none a warfare on their own charges.' John xii. 24. Verily verily I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.' And ver. 25. He that loveth his life, shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world, shall keep it unto life eternal.' And I can say upon good grounds, I am well helped of my lovely Master in all that I have been trysted with. I desire with all my heart and soul to bless and praise the holy name of my God for his love, and that ever he looked on the like of me, a poor sinful thing. O praise him, and rejoice with me,

that it is so well with me. Now, the manner of my taking, was not surprising to me: I was not afraid, for I dare not question but the place, and also the time was come: glory to His name in so ordering it. No more at present, but have my love remembered to you, and desire you to take up yourselves with your duty. Now I quit you all to him who is able to save to the utmost.' Be much taken up with the church's condition, and be not at ease in the time of Zion's trouble. My brethren, my advice to you is, to join yourselves in a society or fellowship meeting, in the strength of the Lord. Now my lovely Lord, give thy blessing to all thine, and pardon the sins of all

the elect.

Sic sub.-JAMES SMITH."*

XXX. ANDREW GUILLAN.

[This, according to Wodrow, was the only individual of those really present at it, who suffered, "precisely on account of the Archbishop's death;" and even he was not actually engaged in compassing that event. He was by trade a weaver, and living in the neighbourhood of Magus-Muir,-was called out on the occasion, to hold the horses of those by whom the deed was perpetrated. He seems to have been a serious, and for his station, a wellinformed man. He was apprehended as a nonconformist, by the Curate of the parish, in which for some time, by way of concealing himself, he had resided in the capacity of a farm-servant; and refusing to drink the king's health, he was first put into prison at Dalkeith, and afterwards removed to Edinburgh. As yet, nothing could be alleged against him, till he was artfully drawn into something like a confession of having been present at the Archbishop's death. He was tried, brought in guilty, and condemned to have both his hands cut off at the foot of the gallows, hanged at Edinburgh, his head fixed at Coupar, and his body hung in chains at Magus Muir a sentence which was executed on the 20th of July, 1683.+]

"MY DEAR FRIENDS,-Being here to die for my dearest Lord's precious truths, I thought fit to leave this with you, as my last advice. Seek to do good to all in your day. Let your moderation be known unto all men. Study to be imploring your God, for there is sudden wrath pronounced from heaven against all that have been doing, or continue to do evil: for he hath said, Jer. x. 25. Pour out thy fury

• Cloud of Witnesses, pp. 270-271.

6

↑ "After his body," says Wodrow, "had hung in chains for some time some people came and took it down, for which the country about was put to no small trouble. I find that in May, 1684, the council granted a commission to the earl of Balcarras, to pass sentence of banishment against the persons who took it down, as being owners of the Archbishop's murder." Wodrow, vol. II. p. 304.