him to come and open it when I pleased, and which was not according to the council's order. Next, he would be frequently drunk, and then was guilty of some extravagancies; he likewise kept back many of my friends from coming to see me, which did pique me at him: and the first night he was so indiscreet, as to put me into a gousty, cold, wide, dark, filthy, smoky room, where I could not have lived six days, if I had therein continued, for smoke, darkness, melancholy, and cold, although at the same time he had better rooms; but his lady, though a child not above fourteen years, and another gentleman that came along with me, prevailed so far with him as to change my room, and then was I very well. Here I continued seven weeks, doing little good, but longing and praying for deliverance out of that sad place, which the Lord thus brought to pass. My brother-in-law, unknown to me, presented a supplication to the council in my behalf, desiring my fine might be remitted, myself ordered to be set at liberty, some competent time allowed me to settle my affairs in Scotland, seeing I was content to submit to their Lordships' sentence of banishment. Which supplication (the Duke of York and bishop with his brother being away and gone to England) was easily granted by the council: an order was sent to the governor of Blackness immediately to set me at liberty; a month was given me to settle my affairs; whereupon I was much sooner than I thought set at liberty, and at a time when I little thought of it, and my liberty burdened with no clog or sinful engagement by my cautioner, who only bound that I should remove out of the kingdom (and not return without king or council's leave) within such a day.

SECTION V.

Of my Banishment.

I did not know any thing of what my friends had done for me, nor could blame them for what they had done. The terms were honest upon which I was to come out; liberty was desirable,

though in a strange country, and preferable to imprisonment at home. I looked upon wicked folk, though Scotsmen, as the greatest aliens, foreigners, and strangers to me; a godly man in England or Ireland is more my countryman than a wicked Scotsman. Besides, by being at liberty, I should be in greater capacity to glorify the Lord than under restraint, where I could not see a godly person, nor be anywise useful save by a few letters. And I saw much of the mercy of God, that without paying a fine, or engaging to any sinful terms, the council should have given orders for my liberation.

But notwithstanding of all this, when I thought upon my case, banishment was grievous and burdensome to me: shall I leave then (said I) my native country? shall I leave, and never see mother, children, brethren, sisters, and kindly friends and relations, and spend the residue of my days among strangers, to whom I will be as a barbarian? What care will they take of me? how shall I be maintained? Will any little thing, that after payment of debts my estate can spare, be sufficient for me to live upon in a place where all things are at a dear rate? Truly all those con

siderations, and such like, did make banishment no light thing to bear, and wish that I never had come out of prison, and in my heart to censure and think hardly of these who procured me my liberty; yea, such thoughts would for some whole nights keep me waking.

But, addressing myself to the Lord, and pouring out my troubled soul (as it was ordinary for me to do in such cases) to the Lord, I found that this storm calmed; and the consideration of God's providence over and propriety in all places, experience of former favours, and especially that word, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life," did sweetly stay my heart. And being made and called of God to wander from my father's house, and land of my nativity, to a land God would show me, I laboured to fit myself for my journey, and to " take up my cross:" and the Lord so blest my endeavours, as in a short time I settled

all fixed.

my

civil affairs, and was ready to come away at the time pre

So as, leaving Scotland and all friends there, I directed my course for London about the latter end of May 1682; and after some stops, and dangers by sea, I safely arrived there June 16th, 1682. My voyage was much alleviated by the company of another countryman who came alongst with me, whose company was much satisfying to me. I brought not above twenty pounds of silver and gold with me to London, but the Lord I found was with me in all places where I was driven; for I had both meat and wages. I did resolve, indeed, as sensible of my own weakness, to forbear preaching, and any public work; as likewise, to settle myself after long and great tossings, to improve, in a private abstract station, my spiritual condition. But God did thwart this; for the more I endeavoured this way, the worse I became : and likewise, at the same time, I had calls to preach at several places, some of which I closed with, and found more of spiritual good and advantage to my soul than in private exercises. Wherefore I resolved to follow that way, and did every night preach and pray in a private family, where some five or six neighbours at night did ordinarily resort; every Lord's day I preached to a gathered church in fellowship with Mr C., from whom I had ten shillings for every sermon; at other times I likewise preached to others, but freely. And truly the Lord gave me to find both great favour and respect from the English, and more than many others did, and whom I found to be as genteel, tender-hearted, and generous people as ever I conversed with. Some of them I found very notional, and much taken up with fancies, dreams, and singular opinions of these I found some favourable at the beginning; but despairing to gain me to their opinion, and finding the aversion of my heart to these fancies, they became my enemies, and did labour to break my reputation as much as they could. I lived the first seven months upon my own charges for all things; but afterwards I had a call from a widow-gentlewoman to stay in her family, to pray, and sometimes exhort and preach. From her I had lodging and diet

free, and in whose house I prayed, read, and expounded Scripture twice a-day; and thus continued till the 21st of July 1683, that I was apprehended, and imprisoned in Newgate for six months, for refusing the Oxford oath,

SECTION VI.

Of my third Imprisonment.

Upon the 20th or 21st July 1683, about the time that a plot against the king's person and government was discovered, and some three or four days after my Lord Russel's execution; at ten o'clock I was expeding a certain business with a gentleman in Cheapside, and one Mr A., one of the king's messengers, searching for suspected persons in that very house where I was, and particularly for one Mr Sands, meeting me as I came down, and knowing me to be a stranger, and suspecting me as some disaffected person, did presently secure me by a constable, and brought me to his own house, kept me close prisoner some five or six hours, and thereafter brought me before some of the council: there were the king, the Duke of York, L. K., L. S., and some others I know not. After some frivolous immaterial questions relating to my nation, and when I came here, where I lodged, and some others of that nature, I was asked, What I knew or heard of a plot against his majesty at any time? I replied, That I knew nothing of a plot against his majesty's person or government, nor heard any thing but what was discovered since that plot did break out, nor knew nor heard any thing I could make them the wiser by; that I was no public person, nor frequenter of cabals or coffee-houses; that I know not any one person, either accusers or accused, in that plot; that I always lived peaceably, and was never accessory to any plot or insurrection that ever was; that in my judgment (which I declared) I was against all violent attempts against his majesty or government; and that it was not likely any who had such designs, knowing my principles, would communicate ought to

me of it; yea, that I always shunned discourses of that nature. Thereafter I was asked by his majesty, What I judged of the Archbishop of St Andrew's murder, whether I judged it so or not? I answered, That for myself I had no accession thereto, but was very grieved when I heard it; and I would not justify or have had any hand in it for the whole world: so for me to condemn it as (and to declare it) murder, was I not free; for being a doer of the law only, and not a judge of the law, I conceived it as out of my sphere to give judgment of another person's actions, whether they were murderers or not that this I confessed belonged to his majesty and officers of justice, who were judges of the law, but to me it did not; especially being a stranger to the fact, and legal evidences of the nature, manner, and circumstances of the same not being adduced, it was hard for me or any person to give judgment one way or other of the said fact. And for my thoughts of it, that God had appointed a solemn court at the last day for judging of actions, words, and thoughts, before which court alone it was competent (I thought) to give account of thoughts; and, therefore, referring myself as to my thoughts to that court only, I was not free to give account to any human judicatory whatever of them; to whom yet I heartily submitted in the expressions and actions to be judged. And, finally, Though I was not afraid his majesty knew what were my thoughts in the matter, yet would not be a precedent to any of his subjects to be made to give an account of thoughts judicially, especially relating to other persons; and therefore to have me excused. Then the king was pleased to ask me, Whether I judged myself bound by the solemn league and covenant? and whether I thought there was any thing of moral obligation therein? I answered, that for my part, I never took that covenant, nor was it ever tendered to me; but what was of moral import in it, I judged I was bound thereto, although I myself never took it; and that, however the words of the decalogue and the covenant were not the same, yet might the covenant be reduced to it, as materially the same with the decalogue: that I remembered two chief articles of the covenant, the one was "reformation of our