:

of the parochiners great, and univerfall, and most just dislyke, he did not compeir at all fo fentence went against him in all was alleadged. Since, he hes lurked, and carried himself farr more cannilie then any of that syde; yet without any remorfe for any error, as if in any doctrine he had truelie finned. There fell, in this day, a moft pitiful conteft: the toun of St. Andrewes fupplicat for Mr. Robert Blair to be their minister; the toun of Aire, with tears, deprecated that oppreffion : Mr. Robert himself moft earnestlie oppofed it; for befide the great burden would fall on him in that toun, and the fatall unhappinefs of that miniftrie, he was as farr engaged in affection with Aire, by the fuccefs of his ministrie, and the largeness of their charities, as any minister could be: yet St. Andrewes earnestness, and the noblemen of Fyfe their importunitie, the publick good in provyding that feminarie toun with a good man, militated much against the proveft John Stewart's teares, and Mr. Robert's prayers: It was referred to a committee, that night in my chamber, Caffills, Lindefay, the Moderator, and a number of other noblemen and minifters. However, my heart pitied much the cafe, (and if it went through, it was a moft dangerous preparative to rent any man from the flock his foul was bound to, and others to him, to be fastened to the unhappie people of our great tounes,) yet I could not bot teftifie my old experience of Mr. Blair's great dexteritie; yea greater than any man I know living, to infinuate the fear of God in the hearts of young fchollars. This my teftimonie, out of experience, furthered much, both that night in the committee, and the morne in the Affemblie, the man's tranfportation. It went hardlie; for the pitifull complaints of John Stewart, craveing at leift a delay till Aire might be acquainted with this motion, and prepared to give in their reasons against it, did move manie, yet not the half; fo the same Affemblie pleafed and greived exceedingly that toun by taking from them at once two minifters: yet they have keeped ftill Mr. Blair, almost by force; elfe, how unwilling foever, he had gone away, for he makes conscience to obey the Affemblie in all their commandements.

That day, after fome reasoning, ane act was made, which ye fee in print, against the civill power of churchmen, and of their incapacitie of any place in Parliament; to which I heartilie, without any scruple, did condefcend: yet we appointed a number of minifters and young noblemen and barrons, not commiffioners for Parliament, to wait on the next Parliament, as the Affemblie's agents, to petition in the name of the Church, a number of things, wherein I

wifh them good fpeed. A draught of a fupplication from the Affemblie to the King, was prefented and approven, and to-morrow ane act made for the perfection, and presenting of it. The thing that among others did offend the King, as was faid, in that excellentlie well-penned fupplication, was the fubfcryveing of it by the hand of none of our Nobles, bot onlie the Moderator and the Clerk: yet this was bot like all the reft, a meer mistaking in our Prince; for our Affemblie acts are fubfcryved by no moe hands: and these two alone are better than a thousand others; for all others are bot for them felves, bot yond two reprefents all in law and reafon.

26. This was our laft day, Thursday, 20th of December; a blyth day to all, onlie to me in one thing forrowfull. Haveing foreseen yesterday that this day the naill would be called to the head, a ground would be laid of great difputt and needless trouble by ane ordinance to fubfcryve needleflie the one part of our long difputts; to witt, that all Episcopacie and the Articles of Perth were abjured in our Confeffion of Faith the [15]80 year of God, I would have gladlie, without dinn, have had these evills preveened, which then I thought I forefaw. The night before the Committee mett in my chamber, I could that night get none studied; to-morrow, at seven hours, I had a meeting with Argyle and Eglinton, for a bufinefs of a dear friend; onlie after in the morning, I drew up, by way of letter to the Clerk, my mynde, to be communicat with the Moderator and my Lord Lowdon, as ye may fee at (K.'): This they could not have tyme to confider; onlie, I think, for my motion's caufe, my Lord Lowdon, in the act of fubfcryveing the Covenant with the Affemblie's declaration, caufed put in exprefslie, that these onlie should be required to fubfcryve of new, who had not before fubfcryved: yet this was to me bot a cold comfort, to goe free myself, and others to be oppreffed who were in my minde. In voyceing of this act, whereunto all did yeild, I was readie to have diffented; which, for my good allanerlie, left I alone should so oft be found contradicting the fynod, my Lord Lowdon preveened, by moveing the Clerk paffe by my name in calling the catalogue. This paffage, fome parts of it, came to Balquanquall's eares, by fome of his buffie fleas, who were still creeping among us; which prefentlie he related to the King, difguifed with a number of untruths: yea that unhappie man, to prove thankfull to his late patron, my Lord of Canterburie,

(1) The letter addressed to Johnstone of Wariston, which is here referred to, is printed immediately after this, at page 176.

for his last great benefice, hes made the King believe, upon his trust, and putt in print in his own name, in a large book in folio of 430 pages, (2) a number of fillie fables, invented for our difgrace; which, I think, long ere now his Majeftie knows to be much otherwayes, and will fee to his honour, in taking order with thefe men's infinite and continued ingratitude, who will never ceafe to lay on the innocent back of our Prince, the burthen of all their crymes.

Diverse other acts paffed that day; the chief whereof ye have in print. Our meaning in the act of printing is, to give to our Clerk the inspection alone of fuch treatifes as concerns the church regifters: how foever, fome words of the act sounds farder; yet I thinke the youth understands no more; and if he did take ane univerfall fuperintendencie of our preffes, it would foone be remedied. We choose our Clerk to be Advocat for the Church, and Mr. William Doglishe [Dalgleish] to be our Agent. We appointed our nixt Affemblie to be at Edinburgh. In the end, the Moderator acknowledged the great goodness of God and of the King; thanked much the town of Glasgow, and gave them a fair commendation for care and paynes to give the Affemblie all contentment; alfo my Lord of Argyle, for the comfort of his affiftance from the beginning to the end. Mr. John Row took up the 133d Pfalme, and the bleffing being faid, we all departed with great comfort; with humble joy cafting ourself and our poor church in the arms of our good God.

Thir things I have drawn up for your use and contentment, at my leifure, coming from Dunce-hill (3): fo I hope I have defrayed that debt long agoe contracted by promife, if fo be thir papers come to your hands. hands. Dispense with the evill wryte; readilie ye may like better my own evill hand than the better hand of another. Thir are for yourself alone; for the putting of them abroad might work me prejudice; but I doubt nought of your difcretion, elfe I would be loath fo oft to truft yow with my greatest fecreits. Yours,

[ROBERT BAILLIE.]

(2) The King's " Large Declaration," &c. Vide page 140, note 3.

(3) From this it appears that Baillie's account of the Assembly at Glasgow was written in June 1639.

FOR THE RIGHT WorshipFULL HIS ASSURED FREIND, MR. ARCHIBALD Johnston, Clerk to THE GENERALL ASSEMBLIE. (*)

DEARE AND Loving Brother,

[December 20th, 1638.]

Old acquaintance maks me bold to impart to yow my meditation this morning. Ye, among many, have been witness of my heartie affent to all the determinations of this fynod, from the beginning to this laft day, fave onlie to a pairt of two, concerning Epifcopacie, and the Articles of Perth: that all thir ought to be removed out of our Church for ever, as things which, by lamentable experience, we have found fo hurtfull thir years bygone, and fo apparentlie dangerous for tyme to come, I did never question; onlie my fear was, that the Acts of their removeall should be conceaved in fuch terms, and grounded on fuch reafons, which could not be fubfcryved by manie, who were in these things of that judgement. Ye know thir my feares, oft I did communicat to fundrie whofe hand feemed to be among the chief in the fynod, bot I was ever by all made fecure that no fuch thing fhould be, that no fuch thing was ever intended: yet now it is otherwayes fallen forth; the lawfulness of Epifcopacie, and of these unhappie Articles, were, in the voteing of these acts, exprefslie denyed to be called in question; for all that, the voyces of the houfe did inferre that conclufion, and, as I thought, fomewhat more, the Abjuration of all thefe by our Church, and that of old by the verie Confef fion of Faith. I thought enough for me, in my publick voyceing, to declare my minde; to make any long reafoning it was not expedient: I was alone in this oppofition; my reasons were not prepared, for I did not expect the agitation of these questions; I was put in hope, that in the framing of the Acts, ere they were booked, a temper might be used for the satisfaction of these fcrupulous mindes, as mine was; and, however, while the common enemie was greedilie gapeing for all occafions of difcord among us, I refolved, for my part, to contend for nothing, bot in all modeftie to tell my minde where I differed, without difputation; especiallie being put in full hope, that thir fynodick conclufions should never be preffed on our confciences; that our fubfcription to

(4) This letter is referred to by Baillie, at page 174, in his account of the Assembly at Glasgow.

them, under the great paines of depofition and excommunication, fhould never be required. Bot now, while the Confeffion of Faith is to be given out with ane explanation, containing the Abjuration, as it is conceaved in our fynodick Act, what either to say or to doe I cannot tell! Who ever in any tyme hereafter will refuse to subscryve the Confeffion of Faith, as it is now fett down, will be lyable to the hyest paines the Church can inflict. No man can subscryve a write fimplie without limitation, as every Confeffion must be subfcryved, wherein there is any the least clause which croffes his minde. While ye put in the Confeffion of Faith that our Church did abjure all other Epifcopacie bot that of Saint Paul's, and all the five Articles of Perth, what shall become of us who are perfuaded in our mindes, for all that we have yet heard, that fome Epifcopacie diverfe from that of St. Paul's, to witt, that of the constant Moderator in the Ancient, and of the Superintendents in the Reformed church, was never abjured by our Church; that, however in 1580 year Epifcopacie, as it was commonly used and taken, be condemned, as having no warrand in the word of God, and Epifcopacie, as this day used and taken in the Church of Scotland and England, and defended in our Prelates late declinature, yea, in the Commiffioner his Grace's declaration, be to be condemned as popish, and contrare to God's word, and directlie repugnant to our Confeffion; yet all other Episcopacie than St. Paul's, as our Act speaks, seems to us not onlie not unlawfull, but also never condemned by any church, albeit rejected by diverse churches, and ours among the reft, as a policie inexpedient for them. It is one thing to paffe by a policie as inexpedient, and another to abjure it as contrare to fome article of the Confeffion of Faith. This fame we think of Perth Articles: the reafons of our judgement ye have no tyme to take now, nor we to give them. Onlie I humblie fupplicat yow, in the name of God, that ye would confider advyfedlie with the Moderator and my Lord Lowdon at leist, Whether it be expedient at this tyme to conclude a subscription of the Confeffion of Faith with the abjuration of Epifcopacie and Perth Articles, as is expreffed in the fynodick Act? If ye make fuch a conclufion, in my poore judgement, ye lay a ground to keep these unhappie difputations on foot in our Church for ever, which we hoped might have for ever hereafter been buried; ye lay on yourself a neceffitie of perfecuting manie a good man, whose minde will not be able to agree to that conclufion, at this time verie needleflie; ye will make a divifion for the strengthening of the common ene

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