Extract from The
Scots Worthies by John Howie of Lochgoin
as edited by Rev. W.H.
Carslaw 1870. Pages 479-494
Captain John Paton.
JOHN PATON was born at Meadowhead, in
the parish of
Fenwick, and shire of Ayr. He was brought
up in the art and
occupation of husbandry till near the
state of manhood; but of
the way and manner in which he first
entered upon a military
life, there are various accounts. Some
say he enlisted as a
volunteer, and went abroad to the wars
in Germany, where, for
some heroic achievement, at the taking
of a certain city
(probably by Gustavus Adolphus, King
of Sweden) he was
advanced to a captain's post, and that
when he returned home,
he was so much changed that his parents
scarcely knew him.
Other accounts bear, that he was with
the Scots army who went
to Edinburgh in January, 1643-4, and
was at the battle of
Marston Moor; at which place, it is said,
that by some bad drink
an asthmatical disorder was contracted
in his breast, which
continued ever after. But in either case
he must have returned
home very suddenly; for it is said, that
in 1645, when the
ministers in the western shires called
upon their own parish
militia to oppose Montrose's insurrection,
he was appointed by
Mr. William Guthrie to the post of captain,
and behaved with
much gallantry among the Covenanters,
particularly upon their
defeat by Montrose at Kilsyth.
Montrose having, upon July 2nd, obtained
a victory over the
Covenanters, advanced over the Forth;
upon the 14th he
encamped at Kilsyth, near Stirling, and
upon the 15th,
encountered the Covenanters' army, commanded
by
Lieutenant-General Baillie. At the first
onset, some of
Montrose's Highlanders going too far
up the hill, were
surrounded by the Covenanters, and were
likely to have been
worsted ; but the old Lord Airly being
sent from Montrose with
fresh supplies of men, the Covenanters
were obliged to give
way, and were by the enemy driven back
into a standing marsh
or bog, 'where there was no probability
either of fighting or
escaping. In this emergency one of the
Captain's acquaintance,
when sinking, cried out to him, for God's
sake to help; but when
he got time to look that way, he could
not see him, for he was
gone through the surface of the marsh,
and could never be
found afterwards. After this disaster,
the swiftest of the
Covenanters' horse got to Stirling, but
the foot were mostly
killed on the spot; and in the chase,
which, according to some
historians, continued for the space of
fourteen miles, the
greater part of the Covenanters' army
was either drowned, or
cut off and killed by these cruel savages.
In this extremity, the Captain, as soon
as he could get free of
the bog, made the best of his way sword
in hand through the
enemy, till he had got safe to Colonels
Hacket and Strachan,
when all three rode off together. They
had not gone far till they
were encountered by about fifteen of
the enemy, all of whom
they killed, except two who escaped.
When they had gone a
little farther, they were again attacked
by about thirteen more,
and of these they killed ten. But, upon,
the approach of about
eleven Highlanders more, one of the Colonels
said, in a familiar
dialect, " Johnny, if thou dost not somewhat
now, we are all
dead men;" to whom the Captain answered,
"Fear not, for we
will do what we can before we either
yield or flee before them."
They killed nine of them, and put the
rest to flight.
About this time the Lord began to look
upon the affliction of His
people. For Montrose having defeated
the Covenanters at five
or six different times, the Committee
of Estates began to
bethink themselves, and for that end
saw cause to recall
General David Leslie, with 4000 foot
and 1000 dragoons, from
England. To oppose him, Montrose marched
southward; but
was shamefully routed by Leslie at Philiphaugh,
upon the 13th
of September. Many of his forces were
killed and taken
prisoners, and he .himself escaped with
much difficulty. After
this, Mr. William Guthrie and Captain
Paton returned home to
Fenwick.
Thus matters went on till 1646, when
there arose two factions in
Scotland, headed by the Duke of Hamilton
and the Marquis of
Argyle; the one of which aimed at bringing
down King Charles I.
to Scotland, the other opposed it. However,
the levies went on,
whereby the Duke, with a potent army,
marched to England.
In the meanwhile, Major-General Middleton
came upon a
handful of the Covenanters, assembled
at the celebration of the
Lord's Supper at Mauchline, a small village
in Ayrshire.
At this place were William Adair, William
Guthrie, and John Nevay,
ministers, and theEarl of Loudon, who
solicited Middleton to let the people
dismiss in a peaceable manner, which
he promised to do. But,
in a most perfidious way, he fell upon
them on the Monday
after, which occasioned some bloodshed
on both sides; for
Captain Paton (being still suspicious
of these malignants,
notwithstanding all their fair promises)
caused his people from
Fenwick to take arms with them; and although
they only acted
on the defensive, still it is said that
the captain that day killed
eighteen of the enemy with his own hand.
The Duke of Hamilton and his army being
defeated, and he
himself afterwards beheaded, the English
following up the
victory, Cromwell and his men entered
Scotland, and by them
the Engagers were not only made to yield,
but quite dispersed.
Whereupon some of the stragglers came
to the West for
plunder, and took up their residence
for some time in the muirs
of Loudon, Eaglesham, and Fenwick, which
made the Captain
again bestir himself. Taking a party
of Fenwick men, he went in
quest of them, and found some of them
at a certain house in
that parish called Lochgoin, and there
gave them such a fright,
though without any bloodshed, as made
them give their
promise never to molest or trouble that
house, or any other
place in the bounds again, under pain
of death. And they went
off without any further molestation.
Charles I. having been beheaded, January
30, 1649, and
Charles II. called home from Breda 1650,
the Scotch
Parliament, upon notice of an invasion
from the English,
appointed a levy of 10,000 foot and 3000
horse, to be instantly
raised for the defence of the King and
kingdom; among whom
the Captain again took the field, for
he was now become too
popular to be hid in obscurity.
Accordingly, Cromwell and his army having
entered Scotland in
July 1650, several skirmishes ensued
betwixt the English and
the Scots, when the latter were, upon
the 3d of September,
totally routed at Dunbar. After this,
the Act of Classes being
repealed, both Church and State began
to act in different
capacities, and to look as suspiciously
on one another as on the
common enemy. There were in the army,
on the Protesters'
side, Colonels Ker, Hacket, and Strachan;
and of inferior
officers, Major Stuart, Captain Arnot,
brother to the laird of
Lochridge, Captain Paton, and others.
The contention came to
such a crisis, that Colonels Ker and
Strachan threw up their
commissions, and came to the West with
some other officers;
many of whom were esteemed the most religious
and best
affected in the army. They proceeded
so far as to give battle to
the English at Hamilton, but were worsted;
the Lord's wrath
having gone forth against the whole land,
because Achan was
in the camp of our Scottish Israel.
The King and the Scotch army being no
longer able to hold out
against the English, shifted about, and
went for England; and
about the end of August 1651, Worcester
surrendered to them.
But the Parliamentary army following
hard upon their heels,
totally routed them upon the 3d of September,
which made the
King flee out of the kingdom. After this
the Captain returned
home, when he saw how fruitless and unsuccessful
this
expedition had been.
About this time, he took the farm of
Meadowhead, where he
was born, and married Janet Lindsay,
who only lived a very
short time. Here he no less excelled
in the duties of the
Christian life, in a private station,
than he did while a soldier in
the camp. Being under the ministry of
Mr. William Guthrie, he
was made a member of his session, and
continued so till that
bright and shining light in the Church
was extinguished by
Charles II. That King having been restored,
and the yoke of
supremacy and tyranny wreathed by him
about the neck of both
Church and State, matters grew even worse
till the year 1666,
when, upon the excesses committed in
the South and West by
Sir James Turner, some people rose, under
the command of
Barscob and other gentlemen from Galloway,
for their own
defence. Several parties from the shire
of Ayr joined them,
commanded by Colonel James Wallace from
Auchens. Captain
Arnot came with a party from Mauchline;
Lockhart of Wicket-
shaw, with a party from Carluke ; Major
Lermont, with a party
from above Galston; Neilson of Corsock,
with a party from
Galloway; and Captain Paton, who now
behoved to take the
field again, commanded a party of horse
from Loudon, Fenwick,
and other places.
Being assembled, they went eastward,
and renewed the
Covenants at Lanark ; from thence they
went to Bathgate, then
to Colinton, and so on till they came
to Rullion, near Pentland
Hills, where they were, upon that fatal
day, November 28,
attacked by General Dalziel and the King's
forces. At their first
onset, Captain Arnot, with a party of
horse, fought a party of
Dalziel's men with good success ; and
after him, another party
made the General's men flee; but upon
their last encounter,
about sunset, Dalziel, being repulsed
so often, advanced the
whole left wing of his army upon Colonel
Wallace's right, where
he had scarcely three weak horse to receive
them, and they
were obliged to give way. Here Captain
Paton, who was all
along with Captain Arnot in the first
encounter, behaved with
great courage and gallantry. Dalziel,
knowing him in the former
wars, advanced upon him himself, thinking
to take him prisoner.
Upon his approach, each presented their
pistols. At their first
discharge, Captain Paton, perceiving
the pistol-ball to hop down
upon Dalziel's boots, and knowing what
was the cause (he
having proof armour), put his hand to
his pocket for some small
pieces of silver he had there for the
purpose, and put one of
them into his other pistol. But Dalziel,
having his eye on him in
the meanwhile, retreated behind his own
man, who by that
means was slain. The Colonel's men, being
flanked on all
hands by Dalziel's men, were broken and
overpowered; so that
the Captain and other two horsemen from
Fenwick were
surrounded five men deep, through whom
he and the two men
at his back had to make their way, when
there was almost no
other on the field of battle; having,
in this last rencounter, stood
almost an hour.
Whenever Dalziel perceived him go off,
he commanded three of
his men to follow hard after him, giving
them marks whereby
they should know him. Immediately they
came up with the
Captain, before whom was a great slough,
out of which three
Galloway men had just drawn their horses.
They cried to the
Captain, what would they do now? He answered
them, " What
was the fray? he saw but three men coming
upon them;" and
having caused his horse to jump the ditch,
he faced about, and
with his sword drawn in his hand, stood
still, till the first, coming
up, endeavoured to make his horse jump
over also. Upon this,
he with his sword clave the trooper's
head in two; and the
horse, being injured, fell. into the
bog, with the other two men
and horses. The Captain then told them
to take his
compliments to their master, and tell
him he was not coming
that night; and so came off, and got
safe home at last. This
sword, or short shabble, yet remains.
It was then, by his
progenitors, counted to have twenty-eight
gaps, which made
them afterwards observe, that there were
just as many years of
the persecution as there were steps or
broken pieces in its
edge.
After this, Christ's followers and witnesses
were reduced to
many hardships; particularly such as
had been any way
accessory to the 'rising at Pentland,
so that they were obliged to
resort to the wilderness, and other desolate
and solitary places.
The winter following, he and about twenty
persons had a very
remarkable deliverance from the enemy.
Being assembled at
Lochgoin, upon a certain night, for fellowship
and godly
conversation, they were warned (through
a repeated dream of
the enemy's approach) by the old man
of the house, who had
gone to bed for some rest on account
of his infirmity; and that,
just within as much time as enabled then
to make their escape,
the enemy being within a short distance
of the house. After they
got off, the old man rose up quickly,
and met the soldiers with
an apology for the state the house was
then in (it being but a
little after day-break), and nothing
at that time was discovered.
About this time, the Captain sometimes
remained at home, and
sometimes in those remote places wherein
he could best be
concealed from the fury of his persecutors.
He married a
second wife, Janet Millar from Eaglesham
(whose father fell at
Bothwell Bridge); by whom he had six
children, who continued
to possess the farms of Meadowhead and
Artnock in tack, until
the day of his death.
He frequented the pure preached Gospel
wherever he could
obtain it, and was a great encourager
of the practice of carrying
arms for the defence thereof, which he
took to be a proper
mean in part to restrain the enemy from
violence. But things
growing still worse and worse, new troops
of horse and
companies of foot being poured in upon
the western shires, on
purpose to suppress and search out these
field-meetings
(which occasioned the rising in 1679),
by these unparallelled
seventies, they were, with those of whom
the apostle speaks,
"destitute, afflicted, tormented; (of
whom the world was not
worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and
in mountains, and in
dens and caves of the earth" (Heb. xi,
37, 38).
The persecuted Covenanters, under the
command of Mr.
Robert Hamilton, having got the victory
over Claverhouse on
the 1st of June 1679, at Drumclog in
Evandale, in which
skirmish there were about thirty-six
or forty of that bloody crew
killed, went on the next day towards
Glasgow in pursuit of the
enemy; but that proving unsuccessful,
they returned, and on
June 3, formed themselves into a camp,
and held a council of
war. On the 4th they rendezvoused at
Kyperidge, and on the
5th they went to Commissary Fleming's
park, in the parish of
Kilbride; by which time, Captain Paton,
who all this time had not
been idle, came to them with a body of
horsemen from Fenwick
and Galston; and many others joined them,
so that they were
greatly increased.
They had hitherto been of one heart and
one mind; but a
certain party of horse from Carrick came
to them, with whom
were Mr. Welch and some other ministers
who favoured the
Indulgence; after which they never had
a day to do well, until
they were defeated at Bothwell Bridge,
upon the 22nd of June
following.
The protesting party would not join with
those of the Erastian
side, till they should declare themselves
for God and His cause,
against all and every defection whatever;
but Mr. Welch and his
party found out a way to get rid of such
officers as they feared
most opposition from; for orders were
given to Rathillet,
Haughhead, Carmichael, and Smith, to
go to Glasgow, to meet
with Mr. King and Captain Paton; and
they obeyed. When at
Glasgow, King and Paton led them out
of the town, as they
apprehended for the purpose of preaching,
but upon inquiry
where they were going, it was answered
that according to
orders sent privately to Mr. King and
Captain Paton, they were
to go and disperse a meeting of the enemy
at Campsie. Upon
going there they found no such thing;
which made them believe
it was only a stratagem to get free of
Mr. King and the rest of
the faithful officers.
The faithful officers were Robert Hamilton,
David Hackston of
Rathillet, Hall of Haughhead, Captain
Paton in Meadowhead,
John Balfour of Kinloch, Walter Smith,
William Carmichael,
William Cleland, James Henderson, and
Robert Fleming. Their
ministers were Donald Cargill, Thomas
Douglas, John Kid, and
John King. Richard Cameron was then in
Holland. Henry Hall of
Haughhead, John Paton in Meadowhead,
William Carmichael,
and Andrew Turnbull, were ruling elders
of the Church of
Scotland.
Thus the Protesting party continued to
struggle with the
Erastian party, in which contendings
Captain Paton had no
small share, until that fatal day, June
22, when they were
routed, and made to flee before the enemy.
The Captain at this
time was made a Major; and some accounts
bear, that the day,
preceding he was made a Colonel. Wilson,
in his History of
Bothwell Bridge, says, that he supposes
John Paton, Robert
Fleming, James Henderson, and William
Cleland, were chosen
to be Colonels of regiments. However,
as he did not enjoy this
place long, we find him still afterwards
called by the name of
Captain John Paton.
After the defeat at Bothwell Bridge,
Captain Paton made the
best of his way homeward; and having
had a fine horse, with all
manner of furnishings, from the sheriff
of Ayr, he gave it to one
to take home to his master. However,
it was robbed of all its
fine mounting by an old intelligencer
(of the same name as was
supposed) which very much surprised the
sheriff when he
received the horse, and the Captain when
he got notice thereof.
This was a most base and shameful action,
designing to stain
the character of this honest and good
man.
The sufferers were now exposed to new
hardships, and none
more so than Captain Paton, who was not
only declared rebel
by order of proclamation, but also a
round sum was offered for
his head, which made him be more hotly
pursued, and that
even in his most secret lurking places.
In this time, a little after
Bothwell, he had another most remarkable
escape and
deliverance from his bloodthirsty enemies,
which fell out in this
manner.
The Captain, with a few more, was one
night quartered in the
forementioned house of Lochgoin, with
James Howie, who was
one of his fellow-sufferers. At the same
hour a party, being out
in quest of some of the sufferers, came
to Meadowhead, and
from thence went to another remote place
in the muirs of
Fenwick, called Croilburn, but finding
nothing, they went next to
Lochgoin, as apprehending they would
not miss their design
there; and that they might come upon
this place more securely,
they sent about five men with one Sergeant
Rae, by another
way, by which the main body could not
come so well up
undiscovered.
" This house was always a harbour to
our late sufferers, both
gentlemen, ministers, and private Christians,
for which, and for
their non-conformity to Prelacy, the
family were not only
harassed, pillaged, and plundered ten
or twelve times during
that period, but also both James Howie
the possessor, and
John Howie, his son, were, by virtue
of a proclamation, May 5,
1679, declared rebels, and their names
inserted in the fugitives'
roll. They were so happy as to survive
the Revolution, yet they
never acceded to the Revolution Church.
The said James
Howie, when dying, November 1691, emitted
a latter will or
testament, wherein he not only gave good
and satisfying
evidence of his own wellbeing and saving
interest in Jesus
Christ, but also gave a most faithful
testimony to Scotland's
covenanted work of reformation, and that
in all the parts and
periods thereof.
The sufferers had watched all night,
which was very stormy, by
turns, and about day-break the Captain,
on account of his
asthmatical disorder, went to the far
end of the house for some
rest. In the meanwhile George Woodburn
went out to make
observations, from which he was but a
little time returned, when
on a sudden, ere they were aware, Sergeant
Rae came to the
inner door of the house and cried out,
"Dogs! I have found you
now." The four men took to the spence
- James and John
Howie happening to be then in the byre
among the cattle. The
wife of the house, Isabel Howie, seeing
none but the sergeant,
cried to take to the hills, and not be
killed in the house. She
took hold of Rae, as he was coming boldly
forward to the door
of the place in which they were, and
ran him backward out of
the outer door of the house, giving him
such a hasty turn as
made him fall on the ground. In the meanwhile,
the Captain
being alarmed, got up, put on his shoes,
though not very
hastily, and they all got out, by which
time the rest of the party
was up. The sergeant fired his gun at
them, which John
Kirkland answered with his. The bullet
passed so near the
sergeant that it took off the knot of
hair on the side of his head.
The alarm being now general, the Captain
and the rest took the
way for Eaglesham muirs, and the soldiers
followed. Two of the
men ran with the Captain, and other two
stayed by turns, and
fired back on the enemy, the enemy fired
on them likewise; but
by reason of some wetness their guns
had got in coming
through the water, they were not so ready
to fire, which helped
the others to escape.
After they had pursued them some time,
John Kirkland turned
about, and, stooping down on his knee,
aimed so well that he
shot a Highland sergeant through the
thigh, which made the
foremost stop as they came forward, till
they were again
commanded to run. By this time the sufferers
had gained some
ground, and being come to the muirs of
Eaglesham, the four
men went to the heights, in view of the
enemy, and caused the
Captain, who was old and not able to
run, to take another way
by himself. At last he got a mare upon
the field, and took the
liberty to mount her a little, that he
might be more suddenly out
of their reach. But ere he was aware,
a party of dragoons going
from Newmills was at hand; and what was
more observable, he
wanted his shoes, having cast them off
before, and was riding
on the beast's bare back : but he passed
by them very slowly
and got off undiscovered. At length he
gave the mare her
liberty, and went into another of his
lurking places. All this
happened on a Monday morning; and on
the morrow these per-
secutors returned, and, plundering the
house, drove off the
cattle, and left almost nothing remaining.
About this time the Captain met with
another deliverance, for,
having a child removed by death, the
incumbent of the parish,
knowing the time when the corpse was
to be interred, gave
notice to a party of soldiers at Kilmarnock,
to come up and take
him at the burial of his child. But some
persons present at the
burial persuaded him to return back,
in case the enemy should
come upon them at the churchyard; which
he accordingly did,
when he was but a little distance from
the Church.
He was also a great succourer of those
sufferers himself, in so
far as his circumstances could admit,
several of his
fellow-companions in the tribulation
and patience of Jesus
Christ resorting at certain times. to
him; such as David
Hackston of Rathillet, Balfour of Kinloch,
and Donald Cargill. It
is said, that Mr. Cargill dispensed the
sacrament of baptism to
twenty-two children in his barn at Meadowhead,
some time after
the engagement at Bothwell Bridge.
Being now near the end of his race and
weary pilgrimage, about
the beginning of August 1684, he came
to the house of Robert
Howie in Floack, in the parish of Mearns
(formerly one of his
hiding places), where he was, by five
soldiers, apprehended
before ever he or any in the house were
aware. He had no
arms, yet the indwellers there offered
him their assistance, if he
wanted it. Indeed they were in a condition
to have rescued him;
yea, he himself, once in a day, could
have extricated himself
from double that number. But he said,
it would bring them to
further trouble, and as for himself,
he was now become weary
of his life; being so hunted from place
to place, and being well
stricken in years, his hidings became
the more irksome. He was
not afraid to die, for he knew well,
that whenever he fell into
their hands, this would be the case,
and he had got time to
think thereon for many years; and for
his interest in Christ, of
that he was sure. They took him to Kilmarnock,
but knew not
who he was (taking him for some old minister
or other), till they
came to a place on the highway, called
Moor Yeat, where the
good man of that place, seeing him in
these circumstances,
said, "Alas! Captain Paton, are you there!
" Then to their joy,
they knew whom they had got into their
hands. He was carried
to Kilmarnock (where his eldest daughter,
being about fourteen
years of age, got access to see him)
then to Ayr, then back to
Glasgow, and soon after to Edinburgh.
It is reported as a fact, that General
Dalziel met him here, and
took him in his arms, saying, " John,
I am both glad and sorry to
see you. If I had met you on the way,
before you came hither, I
should have set you at liberty; but now
it is too late. But be not
afraid, I will write to his Majesty for
your life." The Captain
replied, "You will not be heard." Dalziel
said, " Will I not? If he
does not grant me the life of one man,
I shall never draw a
sword for him again." And it is said
that, having spoken some
time together, a man came and said to
the Captain, " You are a
rebel to the King; " to whom he replied,
" Friend, I have done
more for the King than perhaps thou hast
done." Dalziel said, "Yes,
John, that is true" (perhaps meaning
at Worcester) ; and
struck the man on the head with his cane
till he staggered,
saying, he would teach him better manners
than to use such a
prisoner so. After this and more reasoning,
the Captain thanked
him for his courtesy, and they parted.
His trial was not long delayed. Wodrow
says, that in April 16,
the Council ordered a reward of £20
sterling to Cornet Lewis
Lauder, for apprehending John Paton,
who had been a
notorious rebel these eighteen years.
He was brought before
the Justiciary, and indicted for being
with the rebels at Glasgow,
Bothwell, etc. The Advocate passed his
being at Pentland, and
insisted on his being at Bothwell. The
Lords found his libel
relevant, and for probation they referred
to his own confession
before the Council, that he, John Paton,
of Meadowhead in
Fenwick, was taken in the parish of Mearns,
in the house of
Robert Howie, in Floack; that he haunted
ordinarily in the fields
and muirs ; that he was moved by the
country people to go out
in the year 1666, and commanded a party
at Pentland; that he
joined with the rebels at Glasgow, about
eight days before the
engagement at Bothwell, and commanded
a party there, etc.
The assize had no more to cognise upon
but his own
confession, yet brought him in guilty,
and the Lords condemned
him to be hanged at the Grassmarket of
Edinburgh, on the 23rd
of April. But, by other accounts, he
was charged before the
Council for being a rebel since the year
1640; for being an
opposer of Montrose; for being at Mauchline
Muir, etc.
He was prevailed on to petition the Council,
upon which he was
respited to the 30th, and from that to
May 9, when he suffered
according to his sentence. No doubt Dalziel
was as good as his
word; for it is said, that he obtained
a reprieve for him from the
King; but that, coming to the hands of
Bishop Paterson, was
kept up by him till he was executed;
which enraged the General
not a little. It seems that they had
a mind to spare him; but, as
he observed in his last speech, the prelates
put an effectual
stop to that. In the last eight days
that he lived, he got a room
by himself, that he might more conveniently
prepare for death;
which was a favour at that time granted
him above many
others.
What Captain Paton's conduct or deportment
at the place ,of
execution was, we are now at a loss to
know, only it is believed
it was such as well became such a valiant
servant and soldier
of Jesus Christ, an evidence of which
we have in his last
speech and dying testimony, wherein among
other things he
said, "You are come here to look on me
a dying man, and you
need not expect that I shall say much,
for I was never a great
orator, or eloquent of tongue, though
I may say as much to the
commendation of God in Christ Jesus,
as ever a poor sinner
had to say. I bless the Lord I am not
come here as a thief or
murderer, and I am free of the blood
of all men, and hate
bloodshed, directly or indirectly; and
now I am a poor sinner,
and never could merit anything but wrath;
and I have no
righteousness of my own; all is Jesus
Christ's, and His alone.
"Now, as to my interrogations, I was
not clear to deny Pentland
or Bothwell. The Council asked me if
I acknowledged authority?
I said, all authority according to the
word of God. They charged
me with many things as if I had been
a rebel since the year
1640, at Montrose's taking, and at Mauchline
Muir. Lord, forgive
them, for they know not what they do!"
Then after intimating his
adherence to the Scriptures, the Covenants,
and the whole
work of Reformation ; he said, " Now
I leave my testimony as a
dying man against that horrid usurpation
of our Lord's
prerogative and crown-right; I mean that
supremacy established
by law in these lands, which is a manifest
usurpation of His
crown, for He is given by the Father
to be Head of the Church"
(Col. i. 18).
Further, he addressed himself in a few
words to two or three
sorts of people, exhorting them to be
diligent in the exercise of
duty; and then, in the last place, saluted
all his friends in Christ,
whether prisoned, banished, widows, fatherless,
wandering and
cast out for Christ's sake and the Gospel's.
He forgave all his
enemies, in the following words ; " Now,
as to my persecutors, I
forgive all of them; instigators, reproachers,
soldiers, private
council, justiciaries, apprehenders,
in what they have done to
me; but what they have done in despite
against the image of
God in me, who am a poor thing without
that, it is not mine to
forgive them; but I wish they may seek
forgiveness of Him who
hath it to give, and would do no more
wickedly." Then he left his
wife and six small children on the Lord,
took his leave of worldly
enjoyments, and concluded saying, "Farewell,
sweet Scriptures,
preaching, praying, reading, singing,
and all duties. Welcome
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit! I desire
to commit my soul to thee
in well-doing ! Lord, receive my spirit!
"
Thus another gallant soldier of Jesus
Christ came to his end,
the actions of whose life, and demeanour
at death, do fully
indicate that he was of no rugged disposition,
as has been by
some asserted of these our late sufferers;
but rather of a meek,
judicious, and Christian conversation,
tempered with true zeal
and faithfulness for the cause and interest
of Zion's King and
Lord.
He was of a middle stature (as accounts
bear), strong and
robust, somewhat fair of complexion,
with large eye-brows. But
what enhanced him more, was courage and
magnanimity of
mind, which accompanied him upon every
emergent occasion;
and though his extraction was but mean,
it might be truly said of
him, that he lived a hero, and died a
martyr.
----------------
FINIS ----------------
My thanks to Grant Paton for providing this extract to
me.