is my Record, whom I ferve in the Spirit; I speak the Truth, and lie not; I do not bring a revengeful Heart unto the Scaffold. This Day, before I came here, upon my bended Knees I have beg'd Mercy for them that denied Mercy to me, and I have prayed God to forgive them who would not forgive me; I have forgiven from my Heart the worst Enemy I have in all the World; and this is the worst that I wifh to my Accufers and Profecutors, who have purfued my Blood, that I might meet their Souls in Heaven.

I fhall divide my Speech into three Parts: I fhall speak fomething concerning my Charge, and a Word concerning my Accufers and touching my Judges, without any Animofity at all; and then fomething concerning myfelf, for my own Vindication, and then a Word of Exhortation, and fo I fhall commit my Soul to God.

Concerning my Charge, it is black and hideous, many things falfly fuggefted, hardly a Line of it true, and nothing Capital fufficiently prov'd against me by any one A&t that I am confcious to myself I did. The Charge is high and full, but the Proof empty and low; tho' there were eight Witneffes that came in against me, yet none of them did prove that ever I writ any Letter, or directed any Man to write a Letter into Scotland, or into foreign Parts; no Man did prove that I fent away any Letter, that I received any Letter, that I collected or gave, or lent any Money to affift or promote the Scotifh War: This is all that is fworn against me, that I was prefent where Letters were read, and that I made a Motion for Money to give to Maffey; fo that (Beloved) my Prefence at, and Concealment of Letters that were receiv'd and fent from foreign Parts, is that for which I must die.

As concerning my Accufers, I fhall not fay much; I do forgive them with all my Heart, and I pray God forgive them alfo. Yet what the Evangelift faid concerning Chrift's Accufers, I may (without Vanity or Falfhood) fay of mine, That they did not agree amongst themselves: One Witnefs fwears one thing, and another the quite contrary; yea, not only did they contradict one another, but fometimes a fingle Witness contradicted himfelf. And tho their Teftimony did condemn my Perfon, yet I have condemned their Teftimony. And truly there are many remarkable Circumftances that I might take notice of, either in, or before, or fince the Trial, that might be worthy Obfervation; but I will not infift upon it, only in the general (for I fhall name none of my Accusers) fome of them have fent to me, to pray me to forgive them the Wrong they have done me : And one of them hath written to me under his own Hand, to pray me to forgive him the Wrong that he hath done me; and told me withal, that that Day I fhould die a violent Death, his Life would be no Comfort to him, because he was an Inftrument in taking away of mine. Others of the Witneffes were fome terrified before they would teftify; fome were hired, fome fined before they would bear Witness against me. But I will be off of this. As concerning my Judges, I will not judge them, and yet I will not justify them I will fay but this of them, I believe that what moved Herod to cut off John Baptift's Head, that moved them to cut off mine; and that was for his Oath's fake: Herod, to avoid Perjury, world commit Murder; whereas if John's Head had been upon his Shoulders, he would have been guilty of neither.

:

I have fomething in the fecond Place to fpeak concerning myfelf, and then I fhall come briefly to a Conclufion. Concerning myfelf, I have gone thro' various Reports; there are many Sons of Slander, whofe Mouths are as open Sepulchres, in which they would bury my Name, before my Friends can bury my Body; but my Comfort is, there will be a Refurrection of Names as well as Bodies at the laft Day God will not only wipe off all Tears from my Eyes this Day, but he will alfo wipe off all Blots and Reproaches from my Name before many Days be over; and tho' my Body will foon rot under Ground, yet my Hope is, my Name will not rot above it. I am not ig norant what Calumnies are caft upon me, and more likely to be after I am dead and gone. The very Night before my intended Execution, the laft Month, there was an infulting Letter written to me, to tell me, that after my Death there fhould be fomething publifh'd againft me to my Shame. I hope you will have fo much Charity as not to believe Reproaches caft upon a dead Man, who will be filent in the Grave, and not able to fpeak a Word in his own Juftification. I am afperfed both as to my Practice, and as to my Principles. I fhall begin with the firft. There are five Afperfions, as to my Practice, that are laid upon me, That I am a Liar, an Extortioner, an Adulterer, a Murderer, and a turbulent Perfon: Crimes fcandalous in any Man, but much more abominable in a Minifter. Now I hope you will believe a dying Man, who dares not look God in the Face with a Lie in his Mouth: I am accus'd of lying, that what I denied before the High Court of Juftice, that that afterwards I fhould confefs, or elfe was proved against me. Now in the Prefence of God I tell you, as I would confefs nothing that was criminal, fo I did deny no

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thing

thing that was true; and that I may feal it to you with my Blood, the fame Proteftations I made before the High Court, I fhall make briefly now. 1. That I never writ Letter to the King, Queen, Church or State of Scotland, or to any particular Perfon of the Scotish Nation, fince the Wars began, to this Day. 2. That I never received any Letter writ to me, either from the King, or from the Queen, or from the Church or State of Scotland, or from any particular Perfon of the Scotif Nation, fince the Wars began, to this Day. 3. That I never collected, gave or lent one Penny of Money, either to the King, Queen, Church or State of Scotland, or to any particular Person to send into Scotland, to any Perfon of the Scotish Nation, to this Day. It is true, I did confefs, tho' it was not prov'd (and haply upon that Ground the Miftake might arife) I did give Money to Maffey, and I did alfo write a Letter to him; but he is of the English, not of the Scotish Nation. That for which I come here, is only for moving for Money for him, and that not upon a military Account, but merely to relieve his perfonal Neceffities, and for being prefent where Letters were read from him and others. And altho' Man hath condemned me, yet I am fo far from thinking that either God or my own Confcience condemns me, as finning in what I am condemn'd for, that both God and my own Confcience doth acquit me: And what I faid at the Bar, when I receiv'd my Sentence, that I fhall fay upon the Scaffold, That for those things for which I am condemned, neither God nor my own Confcience condemn's me.

ཎྜ་ཎ་

Again, I am accufed to be an Extortioner; and this is in the Mouths I am loth to name them, because I will avoid all Rancor: But I am charged as if I fhould be a grievous Extortioner, to receive thirty Pounds for the Loan of three

hundred

hundred Pounds, befides eight Pounds per Cent. for Intereft, which in the Prefence of God, and of you all, I do declare to you, is a moft notorious and abominable Falfhood.

I am accufed likewife to be an Adulterer, and this Report is not in the Mouths of mean Men, but in the Mouths' of thofe that fit at the Stern: As if I were a debauched Perfon, and were guilty of Uncleannefs. Now I tell you, as Luther faid of himself in another Cafe, that he was not tempted to Covetoufnefs; fo thro' the Grace of God I can fay, I have not been tempted in all my Life to Uncleannefs. It doth not much grieve me, tho' thefe Slanders be caft upon me: I know my Betters have been worfe accufed before me: Athanafius was accufed by two Harlots, that he had committed Folly with them; and yet the Man was chaft and innocent. Beza was charged not only with Drunkennefs, but with Lafcivioufness alfo; and many others have been accufed with the fame, if not with worfe Slanders than I have been.

But (that which goeth nearest my Heart). I am accus'd to be a Murderer alfo ; and this is a Charge high indeed; I am charged with the Guilt of all the Blood of Scotland; whereas, did I lie under the Guilt of one Drop of Blood, I could not look upon God with fo chearful a Countenance, and I could not be fill'd with fo peaceable a Heart and Confcience as I have at this Day. I blefs my God, I am free from the Blood of all Men: Those who lay this to my Charge, they do to me as Nero did to the Chriftians: He fet Rome on fire, and then charged the Chriftians with it So they put England and Scotland into a Flame, and yet charge me with the Guilt of that Blood, who have poured forth Tears to God Night and Day, to quench the Burning which N 4 thefe