and yet there remaines, a man very favourable to the Book, and a great reafoner for it.

The matter, as ye heard the 20th of September, grew much hotter, where the four poor Minifters were converted to 24 Noblemen, a number of Barrons, near a hundreth Minifters, many Towns, Commiffioners from 66 parishes, all together appearing in the street, at the Counfell-house doore, and everywhere in the eye of my Lord Duke of Lennox. The fupplications and the Counsell's act ye have before; take now alfo the Counsell's letter to the King, at (D.), wherein they promife to doe their endeavour for the Booke; bot withall profeffed grief for his Majefties hard construction of their former diligence. By what meanes the people of Edinburgh did extort from their Proveft, a fupplication to the Committee, which fatt ftill, for finding meanes to have the Booke yet read in their town, ye heard, and so I closed my last.

Wee expected not a Counfell day againe before the firft of November, at fooneft; yet St. Andrews did advertise the towne of Edinburgh to expect the answer of their fupplication the 18th of October. We were informed that their fupplication was fuppreffed, and never fent to Court; only the Proveft wrote to Canterburie, that that confluence of innumerable people the two laft Counsell dayes, had fuggefted fuch things to the poor ignorant people, that had razed the good refolutions, which, by their continuall paines, had been before imprinted in their minde; and however they had affured of their ready obedience and obfequioufnefs, upon the confident affureance which from tyme to tyme they had taken of the greatest and best part of their citizens, yet they were forced to fupplicat the Counfell, that they might be continued in the fame estate with the rest of the kingdome; promiseing, that they would not forbear to do their master service to their power, and would stryve to reimprint in their people their former good refolutions, that for the prefent were taken away. To the fame purpose they wrote to my Lord Stirling. The appointment of the 18th of October, for the towne of Edinburgh, was keeped long fecret; but when it drew near, our neighbour hearing of it, took it for a deepe policie to separate Edinburgh, who now was joyn'd with the rest of the kingdome: fo we are all advertised to keep that 18th day, who otherways were not minded to appear before the first of November. That dyett I keeped, at my Lord Montgomerie's defyre, and my Lord Rothus intreaty by

VOL. I.

E

letter to him. The noblemen, gentlemen, and minifters of the Weft and South, did meet in frequent number; bot, at the beginning, were verie forrie of their voyage. St. Andrews had not come over; none of Fyfe to count of were prefent. We expected no Counfell day we took our advertisement to be a falfe alarme, and our warner, [Mr. Johnstone] befide his cuftome, to have been too rafh we began to be afhamed, and feared that meeting of ours fhould be mocked by the adverse partie; bot at once we fand our felf farr mistaken: A Counfell meets; we hear a dumb rumor that hard letters were come from Court; that St. Andrews of purpofe had abfented himself to deceave and withdraw Fife from that meeting; or rather, as I thinke, because he defyred to be absent from the ungracious employments of that day. However, the commiffioners of parishes, above two hundreth, gives in their fupplications to James Primrose, the clerk, together with a dollor at leift the peece. This done, all goes to confultation; the noblemen to one house, the gentry to another, we to a third. Mr. Andrew Ramfay is our moderator; he enquires of every man, if he diffented from the Book: all did, both for matter and manner of impofeing it. I was pofed fomewhat more narrowly, because they fufpected my minde in these things. I replyed, with fome peice of blushing in fuch ane auditory, the like whereof I had never spoken, That albeit I thought myself obleidged, in charitie, to construct all that cause from authoritie in the best sense that any veritie would permitt, yet I behooved to disapprove the Book, both for matter and manner; upon these reafons, which at more length I had to fhew. I was not minded to speak any more in publick; yet after I heard tyme spent by many in their poor and foone anfuered objections, I was the more content to yield to the importunitie of fundrie, who drew me with their hands forward, to speak fome of my reafons. I had thought on a way of oppofeing the Book, by God's providence, which had come in the minde of none of that company, fo farr as I yet know, to prove the errors that were apparent, or might be deduced by confequence from the Book, to be the minde and avowed doctrine of the book-makers, by testimonies of these books which Canterburie of late had printed. A number of thir paffages I had perquire; fo I was heard with very great applaufe, and ere even was too famous a man in all the toune, and intreated that what I had faid, or could fay more to that purpose, I would put it in write; for that way of proceeding was counted to be verie advantagious to our cause. This I did; and fince hes, from manie hands, gotten manie thanks,

and expects from the Bishops, if ever they gett up their heads againe, manie ftroakes readily I fhall fend yow a double of it. It is after the order of Vedelii Arcana, and Fefti Hommii Specimen, et Socini Remonftrantifmus.

While we were thus occupied, fome of our number, who had been abroad, comes in and fhowes us, that by found of trumpett we were all difcharged the toune within 24 houres: the tenor of the Proclamation ye have, and the King's letter, whereupon it was founded, at the letter (E). A little thereafter, the fame day, by another Proclamation, as I remember, the Seffion and Counfell was indicted at Lithgow, the firft of November, for the firft Seffion, and thereafter at Dundie. All thir things were feared and foretold by fome of the Bishops. The beft policy that could be used to break the combination of the land, was to delay them, that, being wearied with tyme, they might fall off. The Proveift's information, that their people's good refolutions was altered by the confluence of strangers to the Counfell, did, as feems, procure their discharge to remaine longer in toune; and it was thought that the Counsell and Seffion was that toune's god, fo that the fearing to want thefe, would draw that people any where. To counterpofe this policy, the other party, after a little aftonishment and rage, refolved, in the fhort tyme was given them to ftay, to draw up a formall complaint against the Bishops, as authors of the Book and all the troubles that had and was like to follow on it. This is done very secretlie; to the gentry and ministrie is letten fall only a fmall generall. We are all defyred by the nobilitie, to stay till they sent to us to communicat their refolution to-morrow. In the mean tyme, they committ the penning of that complaint to Mr. Alexander Henderson and my Lord Balmerinoch, on the one hand; to Mr. D. D. and my Lord Loudon on the other: that night these four did not fleep much. Tomorrow two formes were prefented to the Nobles. Our weftland one was receaved, and incontinent fubfcryved by fome 24 Earles and Lords, fome two three hundred gentlemen of quality: all did flee upon it without much advyfement. It was done very shortly and fecretly; for tyme ftraited. About four afternoone it came to the minifters roume. At that tyme I was abroad : when I came in it was going faft through the hands of breither. I fpeared at one or two what they had fubfcryved, who could not informe. It feems too many went on fide implicita. I defyred the write to be read over to us who new come in. When I heard the piece, I was putt in great doubts

what to doe : fome hard paffages were in it; it had neither been reasoned nor voted, but only read, and after all the nobles and gentries fubfcriptions, prefented to our hands. If I had refufed my hand to it, I had been as infamous that day, for marring, by my example, a good caufe, as yesterday I was famous for furthering it with my difcourfe. After a little filence and advyfement, I got my minde extended to fubfcription, upon thir two grounds: 1. That the words "Seeds of Idolatry and Superftition, and the Maffe," without thrawing, might reach farre; and indeed, according to my minde in the Book, after the Englishmen's late commentares, fuch feeds truely were sowen. 2. That who fubfcryved a complaint upon the narrative of many wrongs, it was enough to bide by the conclufion, and fo many of the premises as truelie did justifie it. It was declared by the penners and chief hands in that write, that they intended no farder then to obleidge all the fubfcryvers to complaine against the Bishops, who had been the authors of a Booke fo many wayes faultie; but not that every fubfcryver should be tyed to believe all the parts of the narrative. Upon thir two grounds I got my hand to that write, which here ye have at the letter (F,) and did never repent of that fubfcription; for after tryal, and much study, I thinke there is no word into it bot I could defend it in reason. However, I thought then, and yet does thinke, that the penners were much more happie then wife. I thinke they were very imprudent to make that piece fo hard, fo rigorous, fo fharpe, that they minded to prefent to fo many thousand ftomacks of diverfe temper. Had they been to require the hands of none bot men who were of their faith of Bishops and ceremonies, they had not been rash; bot their ftrength confifting in the union of a multitude, the greatest part whereof was farre otherwayes, and still are, of ceremonies and fundry things in that Booke, then they are, they fhould have attempered their words in more generall termes; which they might have done, without hurting their maine intention, and ventureing to loffe the hands of the most, and most confiderable of all the Cleargy of Scotland. For this their ventorious rafhnefs, I much chyded the authors of that write. They gave contentment by this, among other fpeeches, that hereafter, if the lyke fervice were put upon them, they should be loath bot to take more of our advyce, who in fome things were otherways minded then they. However, the goodness of God has covered their infirmity, as ftill I take it. Of men who are oppofit to the Book, I know very few at all, yea none of any

confideration, who hes refused their hands to [this] write, except our brethren in Glasgow; for they all, except old Mr. John Bell and Mr. Robert Wilkie who are both very forward in all this caufe, have yet refused to fubfcryve upon their own reafones; bot they are not thought of in fo great a number. There are at it now above 38 nobles, gentlemen without number. I heare [of] none away bot Craigie, and Pollok Maxwell, and the Conftable of Dundie. All the townes have fubfcryved, except Aberdeen, whom they fufpect.

While this write is in fubferyveing, the burgeffes of Edinburgh are putt in a high rage. They finde their fupplication had never been presented to the King: they see the Counfell and Seffion removed, the greatest evill that they did feare execute upon them: they understand, by the former letters, that promises were made to work them to the embraceing of the Booke: they feared that the nobles and gentry were put off the towne, that they, being left alone, might, by threats and allurements, be brought by their Proveft whereto he would. Thir reafones make the multitude in a high moode to flock to the Counsell-house, where their magiftrates did fitt, and fent in to require that the Provest and Counsell would appoint Commiffioners for to joyne in fupplications and complaints, with the rest of the countrey; alfo to affure them of their ministers and readers reftitution to their places; with denuntiation, reall and intelligible enough, that except all were prefently granted, they needed not to expect to come out of that house with their lives. Upon these fears all was granted. James Cochrane, John Smith, and a third of their old bailiffs, in whom they had moft confidence, were chofen for Commiffioners; ane Act in write, fubfcryved by all the Magistrates hands, was given out to them, for their minifters and readers; fo the most of the people went away in triumph. While thir things are in doing, the Bishop of Galloway comes up the streets towards the Tolbuith, for the examination of fome witnes, in the cause of Francis Stewart, Lord Bothwell, and Roxburgh. While he is near the doore, the women, after fome quarrelling of him for his crucifixe and clamours, begins to pluck at him, and fo affrayes him that he cryes to the gentlemen for helpe; who, prefently, with their fwords and good words, holds the people off him, and carries him to the Laigh Counsel-house. It was not much from ane dangerous uproare; bot the diligence of the gentry, whom the people did respect, and the obtaining of all their defyres, held all in: yet durft not the Proveift or the Bishop either stirr out of doores till the Thefaurer