persons, as well as revolters; they are become ravening wolves; so I cannot see, how they have not unministered themselves. If Abiathar was turned out of the priest's office for leaving David, and following Adonijah; how much more ought the ministers of Scotland, for leaving of him, who is the true head of the church, and choosing Charles Stuart for their head? It is not long since they were preaching that to be sin, which they are now practising. I have no doubt, but ere long there shall come out fire from Abimelech, and destroy the men of Shechem, and fire from them, and devour him. And ere long, Mr. Donald Cargill, and Mr. Richard Cameron, their names that now stink, among ministers and professors, shall have a sweet smell; and those that calumniate and asperse them, their names shall go away with a stink, and fly away with a smoke; but I am sure, that that now glorified martyr Mr. Donald Cargill's name shall last from generation to generation; and he shall have cause to rejoice in his king, head, and Master, who is Jesus Christ,-when those who condemned him, shall not know where to flee for shelter, and shall be weary of their head, king, and master,-who is Charles Stuart; and what, brethren (disaffected as they were) did cast upon him as a shame, was his glory and decorement. He was of a high heroic spirit, and was free of a base and Simonian carriage. He was a man hated of his brethren; but the great Elijah in his time was so. Time and tongue would fail me to speak his commendation. carried the standard, without the help of any visible: but he had the help and assistance of his Master, at whose command he was aye wandering here without residence, yet knew of one above, and had full assurance of his dwelling-place.

He was the man who

"I leave my testimony against uplifting, or causing uplift, cess or excise, or any thing, for the maintaining that tyrant, or any of his emissaries ;-it being for nothing, but maintaining these ruffian troopers and soldiers, who are kept for nothing, but to suppress and bear down the gospel, and banish it out of the land. I leave my testimony against all declaration-takers and bonders, especially the taking that bond of liberation as they call it, of the date of August 5, 1680, as far as they were convinced it was sin,-as some of themselves said it was. I leave my testimony against that test, and all the rest of their proceedings, and acts of parliament. I leave my testimony against jailor-fee paying; it being an acknowledgment of their tyranny to be lawful, which how unjust it is, I have a proof among others; for that night I was before York, and the rest, being October 1, 1681,-I being examined by Sir George M'Kenzie,-York and Mr. William Paterson coming unto me, when I was silent, and would not answer to some things they asked at me,—he threatened to take out my tongue with a pair of pincers, if I would not: and he held him as a witness against me. And though I told him, that he was a judge the other night, and -"would ye hold him as a witness against us before your justiciary !” yet they did it; which was neither according to law nor reason.If there were no more but that passage, it proves them to be unjust judges, as there are many worse than that is. I leave my testimony against the mounting of militia, and uplifting of money for his service,

I leave my testimony against every thing that may strengthen his hands, or weaken the hands of the people of the Lord.

"Now I desire you, (as a dying man, who am within forty-eight hours, or little more, of eternity), to disown Charles Stuart to be your king and sovereign. I charge you so to do, as you would have peace with God; for I never knew what true peace was till I did it, and took Jesus Christ for my king and lawgiver. This is not-that I disown kings or kingly government, for I own both; but when their actions are such as his are, and a covenanted king as he was, we cannot in conscience yield to him; for he hath murdered the Lord's people our brethren and when we acknowledge even his civil authority, I cannot see what way we are clean of their blood, it being by a shadow of law and authority that he takes away their lives, and so we cannot own him in that; and to own him in ecclesiastic matters, I think there will be none so absurd, as to say, we should do that, he having nothing to do in church matters: he only received the sceptre in his hand, to be a hedge about, and to defend her against all opposition; and now ye may see how he hath destroyed her, instead of defending her. I give you it in short, and desire you to ponder and consider it, and ye will not find me so mad, as many of you say I am; for I am not prodigal of my life, neither have I a hand in my own death; for I love my life as well as my neighbours, and it is as dear to me as any of yours is to you; but, when it comes in competition with my Lord's truths, I dare not seek to save my life with prejudice thereunto. Neither am I wearied of my life, though it is true indeed, there is nothing here to be coveted, that is not enough to weary one, neither am I wearied of it; therefore I charge you, that ye do not brand me with aspersions when I am gone. I leave my blood on all the assizers, who after we had given in our protestation against all their proceedings, both in their council and justiciary, and told them, That it was for no action that we were suffering, but only on the matters of conscience and judgment that we were pannelled; yet notwithstanding our charging them with our blood, they most unjustly took away our lives. Do not think this flows from a spirit of malice, spite, bitterness, or revenge; for I desire to bless the Lord, I am free from the spirit of bitterness or revenge: but they take away my life without and against any just law; I cannot get it passed. Do not think that I am an enthusiast, and take on me a bare impulse of the spirit for a call to suffer on,or the word as it lies literally, for a call,-for it is not so ;---I having desired and used some endeavours, (though it has been in great weakness I confess, yet I dare say, in some respect, my desire to the Lord about it hath been sincere,) that he would help me to get his word and my own conscience consulted, and try the word by the spirit, and the spirit by the word;—for it is but a dead letter without the spirit. And likewise my blood is lying, and will be heavy on that popish Duke. And I will not say but the Lord will permit him to asurp the crown of Scotland, but the blood that he hath got to welcome him home to it, and to satisfy his own lust,-will weigh him down from the throne; but indeed, I fear, that he get his design drawn to a great longth, and get the ark carried away, even to your apprehension, ont of

Scotland; but remember the Philistines carrying away the ark, and the men of Bethshemesh looking into it, how the Lord smote them: and so I think, when they have got the kirk banished and destroyed, and the witnesses all killed, when they will look on the church as carried clean away, and thereupon shall turn secure,—will not the Lord be avenged on them, and charge them with all the blood they have sc heinously shed? But indeed we have deserved no less than the Lord's leaving of this land, and to give them into the hands of our enemies but as long as there is no appearance of a better church it the whole world, ye need not fear that the Lord will enhance Scotland'o right of a church to any other. He suffered the children of Israel many a time to fall into, and lie under the hands of their enemies; but he never forsook them altogether, until there came a better in their place. Likewise, my blood is on all these parliamenters and counsellors, these of the justiciary, as they call it.

:

"Now, dear friends, I am going to eternity, ere it be long, from whence I cannot return; and as a dying man, I give you warning, and bid you take heed what you are doing. Be tender of the glory of God, and take no unlawful gate to shun suffering, nor sinful shifts to come by the cross. But when there is a cross lying in the way, see that ye seek not to go about it; and venture upon suffering before sinning for he never sent any a warfare upon their own charges. If any knew the sweetness of a prison, they would not be so afraid to enter upon suffering; ye would not join with the Lord's enemies as ye are doing. O dear friends, take warning now, for it is a question if ever ye get any more warnings of this kind: for it is a sad juncture that your lot and mine is fallen into; but now I am going away home. O! the Lord is kind to me, who hath honoured me so highly, and is also taking me away from the evil that is to come: for, indeed I think, there are sad days abiding poor Scotland. O sirs! be busy, and venture all upon him, and put all in his hand; and whatever you have been, let not that scare you; if you have been a great sinner, I say, let not that hinder you from coming to him, and closing with him; for the greater sinner you be, the more free grace is magnified in reclaiming you. I may speak this from my own experience; for I was as a brand plucked out of the fire: and he hath brought me through many difficulties, temptations, and snares, and made my soul escape as a bird out of the cunning fowler's net, and brought me to a prison at length, to suffer bonds for him. He made all things sweet to me, the company sweet to me, even bad company; he made reproaches sweet. I have been made to wonder at his kindness and love to meward; and now he hath brought me this length, without being afraid what enemies can do to me, and that is a great confirmation to me of true love, that perfect love casts out fear. Now, He is faithful, into whose hands I commit my spirit and soul, and he will keep it against that day.

"Now when I am going,-farewell all friends and Christian acquain tances; farewell sweet and holy Scriptures, wherewith my soul hath been refreshed; farewell reading, singing, and praying; farewell sweet Ineditation; farewell sun, moon, and stars; farewell all created

comforts. Welcome death; welcome sweet gallows, for my sweet and lovely Lord; welcome angels; welcome spirits of just men made perfect; welcome eternity; welcome praises; welcome immediate vision of the Sun of righteousness. Sic sub.-JAMES STEWART."*

THERE suffered also at the same time and place, one Alexander Russell, whose testimony differing nothing in substance from the rest, and being in some things not very conveniently expressed,-is not thought necessary to be published at large; only these heads in it are remarkable :-First, He declares, That for the space of fourteen years. while he heard the curates, he was a person given to all manner of licentiousness-keeping company with the profane, drinking, swearing, sabbath-breaking, and reproaching the people of God. 2dly, That at the first field-preaching ever he heard, to which he went merely out of curiosity, it pleased the Lord to convert him. 3dly, That the means of his being called out to the help of the Lord's people at Bothwell, was the death of three of his children within ten days' space, -which extraordinary providence impressed his heart so, that he durst not sit God's call, to that work. 4thly, He confessed his having taken the bond for living orderly (as it was called) and with great remorse acknowledges his failings, in that he took not opportunity to confess that sin publicly. All the other heads do coincide with the testimonies of the other four who suffered with him.-Cloud of Witnesses.

XX. ROBERT GRAY.

[Robert Gray was an Englishman, belonging to Northumberland, and had been apprehended, (upon what pretext is unknown,) about ten months previous to his trial and death. He was executed on the 19th of May, 1682. On the 13th of that month, he was brought before a committee of council, and having acknowledged the following letter to John Anderson,-then prisoner at Dumfries,-as expressing his sentiments with regard to the king and his government,

was forthwith brought to trial on the 17th, and condemned to be executed, as above, on the 19th following, at the Grassmarket of Edinburgh. The injustice of his sentence appears in this :-not only that he was guilty of no overt act of treason, but merely, of holding certain opinions, which his judges, or rather persecutors, were pleased to call treasonable, but also that he was not a Scots subject, and therefore, in justice not amenable to Scots law.t]

Cloud of Witnesses, pp. 210-218.

It may not we think be improper, by way of illustrating this somewhat singular and interesting case, here to insert, Mr. Gray's Confession, Examination, and Indictment, as given in Wodrow :

HIS CONFESSION.

"Edinburgh, May 13th.-I Robert Gray acknowledge, I did write this

1. HIS LETTER TO JOHN ANDERSON.

'DEAR FRIEND,-I received yours, and am much refreshed to hear of any in this day, that is holding by the truth, and is helped to witness against the wrongs done to our Lord and Master, which is the main thing that we are called to at this time, by which God is glorified, and which shall bring peace to us at the end of the day. As in answer to that,—about owning this tyrant in ecclesiastic matters,—I hope, it is without all doubt and debate, with all the zealous exercised letter, but am not acquainted with the man to whom it is directed; only I wrote this, having received one from him.-(Signed) ROBERT GRAY."

HIS EXAMINATION.

"Follows your examination before the committee:-Edinburgh, May 13, 1682. Robert Gray being called before the lord chancellor, and committee of council appointed for public affairs, and interrogate, if he knew John Anderson prisoner in Dumfries, he declared he did not know him, but had writ a letter to him, and that letter being produced, he owned the same as he hath testified by his subscription at the end of it. Being asked, if he thought of the king and government, as is exprest in that letter, he said he did, and he owned that as his judgment; and being asked, if he thought the king a tyrant, he said he had written so, and owned he had writ this letter to John Anderson, as his duty to his brother.-GEORGE GORDON, Chancel."

HIS INDICTMENT.

"Robert Gray, prisoner in the tolbooth of the Canongate, you are indicted and accused, that albeit by the laws of this and all other well governed nations, the crime of treason is punishable by death, and confiscation of all estate, heritable and moveable, and particularly by the 12th act, parl. 8th, Jam. VI.-the declining of the king's authority and royal power in any case whatsomever, either spiritual or temporal,—is treason; but much more, the calling him a tyrant, and declaring that his subjects ought not to obey him, and that he ought not to be owned as king,-is the highest degree of treason and lese-majesty. And by 24 act, 2d sess. 1st parl Char. II. Whoever shall contrive any bodily harm against the king, or endeavour to put any restraint upon his person, or to deprive, depose, or suspend him, from the style, honour, or kingly name of the imperial crown of this realm, and shall by writing, printing, or any advised speaking, declare such their treasonable intentions, they shall be adjudged as traitors. And by 43d act, parl. 2d, Jam. I. and 83d act, parl. 6th, Jam. V. the crime of leasing-making against the king, and his people, and his parliament, is punishable by death. And by the 10th act, 10th parl. Jam. VI. to declaim, or speak, or write, any purpose of reproach or slander of his majesty's person, state, or government, or to deprave his laws and acts of parliament, is punishable by death. Yet true it is, that you the said Robert Gray, having shaken off all fear of God and respect to his majesty's laws, did most treasonably write a letter upon the 18th of April last, to John Anderson, prisoner, also, for treason, in the tolbooth of Dumfries, wherein you did declare our present sovereign, the best and most merciful of kings, to be a tyrant, and that therefore he ought not to be owned as king. Likewise, you did by that letter, incite his majesty's subjects not to obey him, and did deprave the late act of parliament made for taking the test, calling it the black test, and destructive of all the work of reformation. And you being called before the lord chancellor, and a committee of council, upon the 13th of May instant, you did, of new, again not only adhere to the said letter, and all that was in it, but did, of new, commit the foresaid crimes, by declaring that you owned all these principles, and that it was a duty upon you to write so to your brother, who was in prison Of the which treasonable crimes, you, the said Robert Gray are guilty, and actor ;-which being found by an assize, you ought to be punished with the forfeiture of life, lands, and goods, to the terror of others to commit the like hereafter."