began with Noblemen, Gentlemen and Ministers, who had been eminent for the caufe of God; beheading fome, and placing their heads upon the ports of Edinburgh, in token of the higheft contempt, banifhing others, ejecting all from their charges, but fuch as would fubject to Prelacy, and the blafphemous fupremacy; and vitiating all the fprings and feminaries of learning: Next, they fell to compel the common people to hear Curates, by vast and exorbitant fines, extorted by troops of foldiers, plundering, quartering, beating, wounding, binding men like beafts, chafing them away from their houfes, compelling them, tho' fick, to go to chuich, confuming and wafting. their provific with dogs, and promifcuously abufing, as well thofe that comformed, as them that refused; and if any teftified their refentment at thefe vermine of ignorant and fcandulous curates, or refufed to give them their title, they were imprifoned, fcourged, ftigmatized and banifhed to Barbadoes, or other foreign parts. Any that were hearing their own minifters in private houfes, were feiz'd, dragged to prisons, and clofs kept there in great hardship, and that of every age and fex. : Thefe were their tender mercies, and but the beginnings of forrows for after the defeat at Pentland-hills, befide what were killed upon the spot, fuch as furrendered upon quarter and upon folemn parole to have their life, were contrary to the law of nature and nations, treacherously and bloodily murdered, to the number of forty, one of them, a much reverenced young Minifter, had his leg fqueezed to pieces in the Boots, and was afterwards hanged, tho' he was not in the fight, but had only a fword about him. Soldiers were ordered to take free quarters in the country to examine men by tortures, to compel women and children to discover their husbands and fathers, by threatening death, wounding, ftripping, torturing by fire matches, etc. Crouding into prifons fo thick, that they could fcarce ftand together, in cold, hunger, and nakednefs; and all this, because they would not, or could not discover who were at that expedition. Likewife many enfnaring bonds, oaths and tefts were framed, and impofed with rigour and horrid feverity; people obliged to have paffes declaring they had taken them, or to fwear before common foldiers, under pain of being presently fhot dead. Severe laws were made against ministers that that came to Edinburgh for fhelter, they and their wives. were fearched for, by public fearch, crouded into prisons, fent to foreign plantations to be fold as flaves. Dragoons were fent to purfue people that attended field preaching's, to fearch them out in moffes, moors, mountains and dens. of the earth. Savage hofts of Highlanders were fent down to depopulate the weftern fhires to the number of ten or eleven thousand who acted most outrageous barbarities even almoft to the laying fome countries defolate. After the overthrow of the Lord's people at Bothwel, they doubled thefe feverities, iffued out more foldiers, impofed cefs, localities, and other new exactions, forced people to fwear fuper inquirendis, and delate upon oath all that went to field-preachings, fet up extraordinary circuit courts, enlarged their Porteous rolls, preffed bonds of compearance to keep the peace, to attend the church, refrain from field-meetings, &c. Examining country people upon feveral queftions which they had no occafion to underftand, as concerning the death of King Charles I. and the Archbishop of St Andrew's ; and condemning them to death for not anfwering, quartering fome alive, cropping their ears, cutting off the hands of fome, and then hanging them, cutting their bodies in pieces after they were dead, and fixing them upon poles in chains, and upon fteeples and ports of cities, beating drums at their executions that they might not be heard speak, detaining others long in prifon loaden with chains and fetters of iron, and expofed to greater tortures than death itself, and after all fent to be fold as flaves, to empty the prisons, exercifing all thefe bloody deaths and cruelties upon poor country people, which had no influence to do hurt to their government though they had been willing, yea, upon women of tender age whom they hanged and drowned for refufing their oaths and bonds, and refetting the Lord's fuffering people. It would be éndlefs to enumerate all their barbarities. exercifed upon particular perfons. Only for a swatch take thefe inflicted on that excellent gentleman David Hacktoun of Rathillet. He was taken out from the place of judgment to his execution, and his body, which was already wounded, was tortured while he was alive, by the cutting off both his hands, which was done upon a high scaffold prepared for the purpose, thereafter being b3 drawn drawn up by a pulley to the top of the high gallows by the rope which was about his neck, and fuffered to fall down a very confiderable way upon the lower scaffold three times with his whole weight; then he was fixed at the top of the gallows, and the executioner with a big knife cutting open his breaft pulled out his heart, while. he was yet alive, as appeared both by the body's contracting itself, when it was pulled out, and by the violent motion of the heart when it dropt upon the scaffold, which the executioner taking up upon the knife fhewed it to the people upon the feveral corners of the stage, crying, "Here is the heart of a traitor," and then threw it into a fire prepared for the purpose upon the stage, together also with his other inwards and noble parts; and having quartered his body, fixed his head and hands on a port at Edinburgh, and the other quarters at Leith, Couper of Fife, and other places. Such was the fize and proportion of their perfecutions, while yet they pretended to bring them to the knowledge of affizes and colour of law. But being now weary with these perfecutions, according to the tenor of their own laws; the counsellors, to rid themselves of this trouble, gave out an edict for killing them, wherever they might be found, immediately upon the spot, unless they would take the oaths and fhew their pass, which they behoved to swear that it was not forged, and if they found any arms or ammunition upon them of any fort. By means of which edict, many were fuddenly furprised and fhot dead by the brutish and mercilefs foldiers, who were either peaceably living at home, following their lawful employments, or wandering in mountains to hide themselves from their bloody enemies, not being allowed time to recommend their fouls to God; and the country was engaged by oath to raise the hue and cry against them, in order to deliver them up to the hands of these burriors. The chief contrivers and framers of this horrid murdering edict, were the Earl of Perth chancellor, duke of Queensberry, Marquis of Athol, and particularly the Viscount of Tarbet, now Earl of Cromerty, who invented this murdering device, wherein yet he carried fo cunningly, that he procured the dispatch of the act to the king with fuch fuddenefs, that he found a way to fhift his own fubfcrib. ing it; and though he wants power now to practise such bloody bloody mischief, yet it is evident he has not repented thereof, but is as yet a contriver of the prefent encroachments made upon the established church, by the late mischievous acts of parliament. But I must not launch any further into the relation of thefe cruelties, the true history of which would commence into a volume. I own indeed that a fuller narration of these things, with pertinent obfervations thereupon, would have been proper enough for the intended work; but hoping that the Lord may yet raise up fome of better abilities for fuch an undertaking, to fet thefe fufferings in a true light, and give an impartial recital thereof; this fhort hint, together with fome account of thefe cold blood murderers, in the appendix, may fuffice at present. Let us next view a little, with fome attention and concern, with what undaunted courage, holy refolution and greatness of mind, with what unfhaken ftedfaftness and conftancy thofe worthy fufferers underwent all these bloody feverities. Thofe Difciples of Jefus had been fo trained up in his fchool, and learned the great Christian doctrines of bearing the Crofs, mortifying the flesh, and contemning the world, they had been fo throughly inftructed by this great Master of affemblies, who teaches to profit, and leads the blind in a way they know not, to difcern the exceeding preciouinefs of truth, and excellency of the knowledge of Chrift, that they were made willing; yea, cheerfully willing to forego riches, honours, pleasures, liberty and life itself, when they came in competition, with a fteady adherence to the truth, and honour of their lovely Lord. Love to Jefus Christ, was the great spring which fet all the wheels of their affections in motion, to do and fuffer for him, whatever he called them to. Every one of them could fay to their profecutors, What Chryfoftom faid to the Empress Eudoxia, who fent him a threatening meffage, Nil nifi peccatum timeo, I fear nothing but fin. They faw fo much of the evil of fin, and beauty of holiness, that they would rather undergo the fevereft of fuffering than stain their confciences with the leaft fin, or lose the smallest filing of this fine gold of truth. Many of the things for which they fuffered, were reckoned small by the indifferent world, but to them they appeared in their just magnitude. Tertullian in his book, De Corona Militis, tells us, That when a certain Chriftian soldier, in the Emperor's peror's army, refufed to wear a crown of bays upon his head, as all the rest of the foldiers did, upon a day facred to one of the heathen idols, he was not only mocked at by the infidels for his nicety, but even by many of the Chriftians, conceiving it a folly that this one man, for fuch a small and indifferent thing, fhould endanger both himself, and other Chriftians; but Tertullian defends him, and fays, "This foldier was more God's foldier, and more conftant than the rest of his brethren, who prefumed they might ferve two Lords, and for avoiding perfecution, comply with the heathen in their fuperftitious rites." And when fome Chriftians who like our indulged people, would rather comply, than endure the hazard, objected, "where is it written in all the word of God, that we fhould not wear bays upon our heads?" Tertullian anfwers, "Where is it written that we may do it? We must look into the Scriptures, to fee what we may do; and not think it enough, that the Scripture. doth not forbid directly this, or that very particular. They knew,. with the fame Tertullian, in the forecited book, "That the ftate of Chriftianity doth not admit the excufe of neceflity: There is no neceffity of finning, to them, to whom it is only neceffary not to fin." And hence they would not fo much as feem to call in question any of the truths of Chrift: when the enemies would have given them time to deliberate and advife anent them, they were fo confirmed in the prefent truth, that they answered their adverfaries, as Cyprian once did his, In materia tam jufta non eft deliberanaum, in so just a caufe there needs no deliberation. When they were urged with the example of other Prefbyterians, Minifters and Profeffors, who had complied, and were far wifer and better than they; this did not fhake them, but rather heighten their zeal. As Chryfoftom tells us, these two holy martyrs, Juventius and Maximus, when they were urged by their perfecutors with this argument, "Do not you fee others of your rank do thus ? Answered, for this very reason we will manfully ftand and offer ourselves as a facrifice for the breach that they have made: So the fad defections of their brethren, made them the more emulous to witness for Chrift, when fo many Demas-like had forfaken him, having loved this prefent world. These martyrs had fuch large difcoveries of Christ's love, especially under the Crofs, that their hardest trials were |