INSCRIPTIONS ON THE TOMBSTONES AND MONUMENTS ERECTED IN MEMORY OF THE COVENANTERS, WITH HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION AND NOTES. BY JAMES GIBSON, EDITOR OF THE " B U R N S ' C A L E N D A R , " ETC., " B U R N S ' BIRTH-DAY BOOK," ETC. " Suffering for Truth's sake, Is fortitude to highest victory, And, to the faithful, death the gate of life." GLASGOW: DUNN & WRIGHT, 176 BUCHANAN STREET. LONDON: 15 AVE MARIA LANE, PREFACE. | H E following Sketches, illustrating " Inscriptions on the Tombstones and Monuments erected in Memory of the Covenanters," were written for the Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald^ and appeared in that paper during the spring and summer of 1875. Since then, they have been carefully revised and extended, and in this more convenient and permanent form the Author trusts they may be considered worthy of filling a special chapter in the Churchyard records of Scotland. The purpose of this work is to interpret the story of the Covenanters with particular reference to the Inscriptions on the Gravestones and Monuments, to bring these memorials of a bygone age into a connected series, and re-set them in a slight ii Preface. framework of history. The only merit they assume is that of strict fidelity to well-authenticated facts; there is no pretension made to independent research or originality, but every available source of information has been consulted which could throw light upon the names of the Martyrs. If our authorities are not quoted in footnotes of reference, the weight of obligation is not less sincere in making a general acknowledgment of indebtedness to such Historians of the Sufferings of the Church of Scotland as Wodrow, De Foe, Crookshank, M'Crie, and others; not forgetting those valuable chapters of the persecuting times preserved in Local Histories, as well as to numerous works published on the Traditions of the Covenanters. When these Sketches were first projected, the only collection of Epitaphs on the Tombstones of the Covenanters was to be found as Addenda to " The Cloud of Witnesses," but presented in such a bald and meagre style as to excite a long-cherished wish to give them a separate and more distinctive character. No sooner had these plans been arranged and considerable progress made to supply a weekly column for the Ardrossan Herald, extending over a Preface. iii period of six months, than the First Series of " The Martyr Graves of Scotland," by the Rev. John H. Thomson, made its appearance. As a work of great merit and authority, it seemed to fulfil every requirement, and nearly frustrated our intention of adding a stone to the Covenanters' Cairn; but the prospect of finishing the whole of our journey long before " A Country Minister" started on his further travels, encouraged us to carry out our original intent. If this garland is made up with a less skilful hand, let us hope it may meet with a kindly welcome from that numerous class of readers whose hearts warm to the memory of the Covenanters, but who have neither time nor inclination to study an elaborate history, and may be more easily satisfied with this attempt to set forth a concise summary of these " Records left Of persecution and the Covenant times, Whose echo rings through Scotland to this hour." CONTENTS. PAGE HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION 7 AIRSMOSS, . 180 ANWOTH, . 250 AYR, , • 159 . 272 PAGE . CUMNOCK, CUPAR-FIFE, . 171 • 54 DAILLY, . 201 DALGARNOCK, . 230 DALRY, BALMAGHIE, BALMACLELLAN, 268 . • DRON, . . DRUMCLOG, BARRHILL, 204 BATHGATE, 69 DUNNOTTAR, CAMBUSNETHAN, 94 71 EAGLE SHAM, CAMPSIE, . • CATHCART, • CLOSEBURN, • 102 112 207 , 57 226 . ECCLESMAGIRDLE, . 114 62 34 235 COLMONELL, . 206 CRAIGHAUGH, . CRAIGMODIE, . 237 278 CROSSMICHAEL, DUMFRIES, EDINBURGH, 64 29 DUR2SDEER, CARLUKE, 265 264 FENWICK, FORGANDENNY, GALSTON, GIRTHON, 118 60 155 254 Contents. VI PAGE 84 GLASSFORD, GLASGOW, 74 GLENCAIRN, 214 HAMILTON, 80 INCHBELLY BRIDGE, 104 . PAGE MAUCHLINE, . . .168 MAYBOLE, . ,65 MINNYHIVE, . 220 MUIRKIRK, . 188 NEWMILNS, . 146 41 NORTH BERWICK, IRVINE, . J KELLS,, . 275 PAISLEY, , 132 PRIESTHILL, KILMARNOCK, • 39 KIRK ANDREWS 263 KlRKCONNEL, . 108 192 252 KIRKCUDBRIGHT, . . KIRK OF SHOTTS, S T ANDREWS, . 199 KIRKPATRICK-IRONGRAY, 25 246 KIRKMICHAEL, . RULLION GREEN, SORN, 45 166 239 67 STONEHOUSE, , 100 STONE PARK, , 177 196 82 LANARK, . LESMAHAGOW, . , LOCHENKIT, . • LOCH SKERROW, . » 88 STRATHAVEN, 97 TARBOLTON, 163 243 256 TWEED SMUIR, . 72 261 LOCH TROOL, . TWYNHOLM, . 260 LONGFORGAN, . . S5 LOUDON, . . 143 MAGUS M U I R , . STRAITON, TYNRON, WELLWOOD, . 49 WIGTOWN, . 28c) VALEDIC rioN, . 218 . 190 . 280 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. MARTYR'S MONUMENT, GREYFRIARS, EDINBURGH, Frontispiece. BLACKADDER'S TOMBSTONE, NORTH BERWICK, . . . 42 TOMBSTONE OF THE SEVEN MARTYRS, A Y R , . . .160 PEDEN'S GRAVE, OLD CUMNOCK, . . . . 174 MARTYRS' MONUMENT, DUMFRIES, . . . . . 2 0 8 HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. " T h e lover of freedom can never forget T h e glorious peasant band— His sires—that on Scotia's moorlands m e t ; Each name like a seal on the heart is set, T h e pride of his Fatherland." HE twenty-eight years' persecution of the Scottish Covenanters, from the Restoration of Charles II. to the Revolution of 1688, is a memorable chapter in the history of civil and religious freedom, and to no passage in her history do genuine Scotsmen look back with such national pride as to this brave protest and resistance against foreign control and aggression. We can neither forget their sufferings nor underrate their services, and as the years roll past, the memory of the Covenanters is regarded, with deeper gratitude and reverence. The Covenant is now a feeble sound, and is only 8 Tombstones of the Covenanters. curious as a historical document, whose bond of union ceased when the conflict ended; for, like all popular standards, it had something local and special, narrow and one-sided, and with the imperfection of the age which inspired it, but it had also something universal and perpetual, adapted for a better life. The motive power was a temporary and insufficient instrument, but the principle involved, and the results to be wrought out, were of lasting benefit to mankind, as the seeds of a more expansive life were being sown in the free, pure exercise of religious belief and worship. It is only fair to admit that along with a terrible earnestness there mingled many elements of blindness and bigotry among the Covenanters; but the power of suffering and adversity developed a rare moral courage, aroused a burning zeal and devotion, and awakened Scotland to a spiritual consciousness which has never since been permitted to die away. From that day forward the current set in, slowly but surely, toward a truer recognition of and a larger concession to the rights of conscience; and in these days, when all men are free to exercise the right of private judgment in matters of faith, and the support of a State church, like religion itself, must be accepted as a purely personal responsibility, accountable to no earthly tribunal, we cannot but feel thankful to the men whose stem unyielding determination was remarkable, who suffered, bled, and triumphed in a struggle which not Historical Introduction. 9 only saved Scotland, but really secured the religious freedom of England. The history of the Covenanters has been frequently written, and their lives and times very differently estimated; but for many years past the tone of Scottish literature in reference to them has been in general sound and healthy. Scotland's great son, Sir Walter Scott, had imbibed strong prejudices against the Covenanters, which found utterance in his celebrated novel of " Old Mortality," a work that excited a profound sensation on its appearance in the year 1816, and did more than any other publication, either before or since, |o throw an air of ridicule on. the sayings and doings of the Covenanters, and to picture their deeds in the Igar^b of fanaticism. It provoked numerous reviews and pamphlets, and created a thorough discussion of the whole history—not the least important of which was Dr M'Crie's masterly "Vindication of the Covenanters, "a defence which produced a deep and lasting impression on the public and told with tremendous effect, so much so that Scott, then the Great Unknown, had to defend his own book by the singular method of a review of it in " The Quarterly;" but it failed most signally in shaking the popular belief that those men who had suffered so bravely for conscience sake were worthy of the highest esteem. Our intention, however, is not to review the controversy, but to content ourselves at present with the records to be gleaned from the tombstones in the io Tombstones of the Covenanters. Auld Kirkyard, on the hill-side, among the moss, or far away in the solitary dell. These recall to our mind the men and their deeds with a simple, touching pathos, which appeals to the understanding, and thrills the heart. Very rude and unlettered the inscriptions mostly are,—" like the voice of one crying in the wilderness,"—but their very simplicity is more in keeping with the characters of the unassuming, long-suffering men than a more stately structure with an elaborate dedication. No inscriptions throughout the land seem to tell so much in so few, plain, unadorned lines. There is a severe truthfulness about them which strikes home, and they differ from all others in this particular distinction, that they are a memorial of glory and of infamy—the names of the martyr and the persecutor in conjunction on the same stone—" the weary at rest," with a nation's blessing as the remembrance of the " killing times," as they were aptly designated, and a nation's execration on the chief actors in an age of savage cruelty. The name for ever associated as the leading spirit in the history of these ruthless campaigns, was Graham of Claverhouse, best known in Scotland as "Bloody Claverhouse," who, for his zeal in hunting down the Covenanters, was created Viscount Dundee, and made a Privy Councillor. Another not less notorious, whose name is found on many a gravestone, was Sir Thomas Dalzell, of Binns, a ferocious ruffian, worse in some respects, if that were possible, than Claverhouse him- Historical Introdttction. 11 self. The military apostle of the persecution was Sir James Turner, who, savage by nature, and usually half drunk, swept like a whirlwind over Nithsdale and Galloway, at the head of his " lambs " (as in bitter iro'ny they were termed), dragging people to church, devouring the substance of families, binding prisoners with iron chains, applying thumbscrews and instruments of torture, and carrying ruin and desolation in his train. Turner was a soldier of fortune, who had once fought for the Covenants. He was fierce and imperious, and when drunk (which was a common thing) his fury amounted to madness. Another name on some of the gravestones is familiar to every Scotsman, the notorious Sir Robert Grierson, the Laird of Lagg, whose wanton cruelties and savage manners will never be uprooted from the Galloway traditions. No deed of ruffianism was too daring, and no atrocity too revolting for him and his troopers, who brought terror and ruin to many a family. Lagg lived forty-five years after the Revolution a dreaded and hated object, after his power of mischief was taken from him. There are other names connected with the inscriptions :—Captain Bruce was as ruthless a tool of the Privy Council as could be wished; Captain Inelis. was cruel and remorseless y Strachan, Sir James Johnston, and Colonel James Douglas (brother of the Duke of Queensberry) were active and zealous against the Covenanters, and proved worthy of the commissions 12 Tombstones of the Covenanters. entrusted to them ; although there is in the character of Douglas the redeeming feature that he forsook his party, served with distinction under William III., and bitterly lamented the cruelties of which he had been the agent. In addition to the names of the persecutors on the gravestones, some mention is recorded of the memorable scenes of conflict, the rising at Pentland, Drumclog, and the battle of Bothwell Bridge. The references will be better understood by giving a brief outline of the history. Charles the Second had scarcely been restored to the throne, when he utterly repudiated the engagements into which he had entered in the days of his adversity to uphold and maintain the Presbyterian form of Church Government, and the Covenanted work of Reformation. H e resolved to overturn the whole fabric of Presbyterianism, and to set up Prelacy in its stead, which the great majority of the Scottish people hated as much as Popery itself. The Covenants were declared unlawful, and the Acts of Assembly approving of them abrogated as seditious; the opposition to Episcopal Church government was denounced as seditious ; the clergy who had been admitted to livings subsequent to the abolition of patronage were declared to have no title to them, and were required within four months to obtain presentations from the patrons and collation from the bishop, with assurance that if they did not comply they would be ejected by military force. The consequence of this Historical Introduction. 13 edict was that about the end of 1662, no fewer than 400 clergymen threw up their livings, rather than do violence to their convictions; hence arose the practice of holding meetings for public worship in the fields, which became so obnoxious to Government that an Act was passed prohibiting the ejected ministers from approaching within twenty miles- of their former parishes, and declaring it seditious for any person to contribute to their support. The people disregarded the edict of the drunken and infuriated Earl of Middleton, the' King's Commissioner, who at that time swayed the destinies of Scotland, and whose chief colleague in the administration was Archbishop Sharp, between whom a despotism was set up such as Scotland had never suffered from before. Sharp was the moving power of the persecution, he was formerly parish minister of Crail, had sworn to uphold the Covenant, and was chosen confidential commissioner to plead the Presbyterian cause in London, instead of which he acted with treacherous duplicity, assuring his friends that the rumoured intention of the King to set up Prelacy in Scotland was " a malicious lie? while it is more than probable its attempted restoration took place at his suggestion. H e received the reward of his apostacy in being raised to the Archiepiscopal See of St Andrews, and Primate of Scotland, but his countrymen canonised him as " Judas Sharp." Notwithstanding the unrelenting severity of the 14 Tombstones of the Covenanters. times, the great body of the people remained faithful; they refused to abandon their old pastors and wait on the ministrations of the ignorant curates who occupied their pulpits. Hence fines, imprisonments, tortures, and death were resorted to, and the people on several occasions were goaded to repel aggression, and assert their rights and liberties with arms in their hands. Bishop Burnet writes of the curates generally, " That they were the worst preachers he ever heard; they were ignorant to a reproach, and many of them openly vicious; they were a disgrace to their order, and to the sacred function, and were indeed the dregs and refuse of the northern parts." Armed conventicles now began to spring up, as the people were forced to carry arms for safety and selfdefence. The Government determined to crush them; and for this purpose a standing army of 3000 infantry, and 8 troops of cavalry, were sent to the insubordinate districts, with orders to maintain their forces by free quarters from Nonconformists. General Dalziel assumed the chief command, his congenial subordinate being Sir James Turner. As time rolled on it brought new rigour, and by the year 1666 the reign of terror instituted by the Privy Council had reached a stage of refinement and perfection not previously attained. On the 13th November of that year the flames of insurrection broke out without any premeditation or concert, and were purely accidental, but ultimately led to serious consequences. A party of Turner's soldiers, Historical Introduction. 15 stationed at St John's clachan of Dairy, in Galloway, confiscated a patch of corn belonging to a poor old man, and threatened him with personal vengeance unless he paid the balance of Church fines charged against him. At this juncture four covenanting refugees entered the village in search of food. One of these had suffered much persecution, and felt sympathy for his fellow-sufferer; but they smothered their feelings and withdrew. Soon after, tidings reached them that the soldiers had stripped the poor man naked in his own house, with the intention of subjecting him to torture. They could remain patient no longer, but hastened to remonstrate with the soldiers, who told them- not to interfere. After a brief altercation, several countrymen entered the house. A general fight of short duration ensued, and the troopers were made prisoners and disarmed. A council of war was held, a march was resolved upon, and the day after the council a force of 200 infantry and 50 horsemen mustered at Irongray Church, the place of rendezvous. Sir James Turner was taken prisoner at Dumfries on the 15th November, the Government troops captured and disarmed, without injury to any of them, except one man who offered resistance and was severely wounded. They afterwards went to the Cross and drank the King's health. When the Edinburgh Covenanters heard of the rising at Dairy, many thought it premature, but since it had occurred that it ought to be supported. 16 Tombstones of the Covenanters. A resolution was adopted to march towards the capital. The irregular force gained accessions as they passed through Cumnock and Muirkirk, and had increased to 2000 men as they reached Lanark; but when they came near Edinburgh had fallen off, and suffered from numerous desertions. In this dilemma, they learned that General Dalziel was following on their track, and in the dead of night the wandering host, faint with hunger and fatigue, retreated to the Pentland Hills, and encamped on the celebrated table land of Rullion Green, where they were encountered on the 28th November by Dalziel, at the head of 3000 soldiers, and after a gallant resistance were put to flight. About 50 were killed on the field, and some 130 taken prisoners, the half of whom were afterwards executed as traitors, and the rest banished. Of those who escaped, the greater number refused to take the oath of indemnity, and were thenceforth pursued as fugitives and outlaws. Those who spared Sir James Turner's life had no such mercy meted out to them. The scaffold was set up, and Archbishop Sharp was determined that it should not be cheated of its victims. "Pentland's dark day was victory for Dalzell, Gospel for Sharp, and law for Lauderdale." The King's Advocate was ordered to proceed against 11 prisoners, when qukk despatch was made. They were found guilty and hanged, their heads and right Historical Introduction. ly hands to be cut off—the latter because they had been raised up in renewing the covenant at Lanark. No information could be obtained which showed the rebellion other than a sudden rising, unconcerted and unprepared; yet, notwithstanding, they were determined, to extract a confession from some prisoners to suit their purpose, and selected two for torture with the " Boots." These were Neilson Corsack and Hugh M'Kail—the latter a young man 26 years of age, the ousted minister of BothwelL At this time the Earl of Rothes had supplanted Middleton as King's Commissioner. H e had some kindliness in his nature, but his education had been neglected and his habits were dissipated and licentious; and he was compelled against his better sense to continue the system of violence and oppression to which he succeeded; for with Sharp as his colleague there was no hope of mercy. M'Kail was found guilty of treason, vand sentenced to be executed at Edinburgh Market Cross, on the 22nd December. After this Rothes made a progress through the west, and many persons were executed. A gleam of hope came to Scotland in 1667, when the Earls of Lauderdale, Tweedale, and Kincardine, with Sir Robert Murray, were placed at the head of affairs; Sharp disgraced for proven duplicity; the Earl of Rothes removed from office as Commissioner, and the gentle-minded Leighton, Bishop of Dunblane, taken into confidence, while Turner was dismissed, and u 18 Tombstones of the Covenanters. an indemnity proclaimed to those who had fought at Rullion Green. A searching examination was made into military excesses. Dalziel, the hoary old ruffian, was screened, and the storm descended upon subordinates. Turner admitted the charges, but he pleaded the authority of letters from Rothes and Sharp. The calm, however, was treacherous, and soon broken. The Indulg ence Act was passed, which reappointed to their parishes those ousted ministers who had not been guilty of any breach of the peace ; permitted them to meet in Presbytery; put them under strict surveillance, and enjoined them to keep to the bounds of their own parishes. Some accepted the conditions, but a far larger number contended for the Covenant. Field meetings became more common, and were watched with peculiar jealousy. An edict was passed prohibiting conventicles, and making a preacher's attendance a capital crime. Notwithstanding, they grew and multiplied, and for nearly ten years the authorities durst only proceed against those who frequented them by the occasional exaction of a heavy fine. But fiercer elements began soon to mingle with and embitter those comparatively peaceful scenes. Lauderdale had climbed the summit of glory of which his sordid nature was capable, entered the English Cabinet, and been created a Duke; married that notorious profligate, the Countess of Dysart, his first wife having died neglected and forsaken in Paris. He Historical Introduction. 19 visited Scotland with his Duchess in such pomp and state as were never before witnessed in the kingdom. Sharp, the Primate, was conspicuous for his fawning attendance. The Duchess was a common huckster— places, posts, and offices were sold to the highest bidder. The accession of Lord Danby as head of the English Ministry changed affairs for Scotland; but Lauderdale determined to retain power at any price—made terms with the Scottish Prelatists, and the all-powerful Governor of Scotland was in reality a bond slave in the hands of the crafty Sharp. Lauderdale had not only signed the Covenant, but had been a representative of the Church at the Westminster Assembly; of whom it was said, at a later period of his life, that he swore by Jehovah, at the Council table, that he would crush the Westland shires into submission to Episcopacy by still greater severities than those under which they groaned. Can it be wondered at that such a reign of terror should create bitter hatred and recrimination, and that the country soon began to assume the appearance it had before the insurrection at Pentland ? The sword of persecution was turned against armed conventicles—a "secret committee" was formed for short, sharp practice. The soldiers were again let loose on the people, in garrison parties; hailstorms of proclamations were showered upon the devoted heads of the Covenanters, who staggered under these merciless blows. The assassination of Archbishop Sharp, on the 3rd 20 Tombstones of the Covenanters. May, 1679, furnished the Government with a new test to be applied to all suspected persons—" Is Sharp's death murder or not ? J ' The persecution waxed hotter and hotter. To Sharp, in the council and court, succeeded the celebrated advocate, Sir George Mackenzie, a distinguished lawyer and law reformer, appointed Lord Advocate in 1674, and promoted to the Privy Council in 1677. He was a fierce despot in his persecution of the Covenanters, and unscrupulous in his disregard of the laws to answer the purpose of the Government, which he carried out with such a peculiar energy of hatred as to become best known in Scotland as the " Bluidye Mackenzie." It was soon after this time that Graham of Claverhouse appeared in the field: a man fitted for gathering up the gleanings of a harvest of confiscation and blood. Garrisons were placed in the west and south-west of Scotland to scour the country in search of fieldmeetings, and summarily to put to death all that offered resistance. On the wild district between Lanark and Ayr a series of meetings had been held from the beginning of February for no less than twenty weeks in succession. Oftener than once they were approached by the soldiers, but their numbers and armed condition kept them at bay. At, last it was determined to take steps to vindicate their conduct. On the 25th May a conventicle was held on a moor in Avondale. After the sermon, it was resolved that something further should be done as a testimony Historical Introduction. 21 against the iniquity of the times. Two days after the declaration was published, Graham of Claverhouse, armed with full powers, set off in search of its publishers. His first service in Scotland was to surprise a conventicle at Galashiels; his next exploit was at Drumclog. H e had heard of a conventicle to be held at Loudon Hill, and was determined to suppress it. Robert Hamilton, of Preston, as leader of the Covenanters, with 250 horse and foot, set out to meet him. At the swamps of Drumclog they met face to face with Claverhouse and his dragoons. The troops fired first; the Covenanters accepted the challenge, splashed across the swamp, and grappled with the enemy hand to hand and foot to foot, fighting for all that man holds dear. The dragoons wavered and broke, and Claverhouse fled with the shattered remains of his troopers. There were about forty killed, and a considerable number wounded and taken prisoners. The loss to the Covenanters was probably ten or twelve men. It was the first and last battle ever lost by Claverhouse. The success at Drumclog took the Covenanters as well as the public by surprise, but it soon became evident they were not equal to the crisis they had created. Thousands joined their ranks, but they were mostly undisciplined. They had some able officers, but no leading mind. Discord and disputed points of controversy weakened their councils, they were a force of badly armed men, had made no preparation 22 Tombstones of the Covenanters. in providing ammunition or procuring provisions for the dreadful contest in which they were engaged, but wasted their opportunity in furious discussions on Church polemics, and galling recriminations. Only three weeks elapsed and the Royalists improved their forces to the best advantage. They turned out of the way and recruited their ranks to 15,000 men, with four pieces of artillery, under the Duke of Monmouth. With the Covenanters the three weeks had been spent in the worst possible manner. They were weary and chafed, and dissension sprung up among them as bitter as against the common foe. Alasfor that doomed host! The leader, Robert Hamilton, appointed by his own presumption, was a brave, welldisposed, but narrow-minded man, entirely wanting in the qualifications necessary for a prudent commander ; a panic spreading decimated their numbers^ as it turned out, ill provided with ammunition; and in this sad state they had to meet a disciplined army at Bothwell Bridge on the 22nd June. For an hour they defended the Bridge bravely, but they were overpowered by numbers and driven off. After that they yielded like snow to the charge of the Life Guards. It soon ceased to be a battle, and became a butchery. Claverhouse encouraged his men to excess of cruelty. 1200 men threw down their arms. They were stripped nearly naked and forced to lie on the ground. If one raised his head he was instantly shot. About 400 perished in all; some of whom had no Historical Introduction. 23 arms, but had come to the camp to hear a sermon. The victory was complete, and but for Monmouth's interference the carnage would have been frightful. The results of the battle were most disastrous. It led to a more severe and systematic oppression on the part of the Government It drove the persecuted into deeper seclusion, and produced extravagance of action and language, which can only be excused by the barbarous treatment. The execution of the laws was committed wholly and absolutely to soldiers. They had no limited instructions, but had power and express orders to go through the country and kill, with full indemnity against consequences. These dark days are still known in Scotland as " The Killing Times." Some of the incidents will appear in notes to the Gravestone Inscriptions, and need not be repeated here. Suffice it to say that nearly twenty thousand is the number estimated to have perished by fire, or sword, or water, or on the scaffold, or to have been banished. Many died from hunger and exposure within the caves and dens in which they secreted themselves. It seemed as if some plague had passed over the country, so great was the sacrifice of life, and so deep and bitter the desolation. The storms of a long night passed when James II. fled to St Germains at the Revolution of 1688, and William, Prince of Orange, reigned in his stead. Scotland's reign of terror was over. Presbyterianism was restored, Episcopacy abolished, the hateful curates, 24 Tombstones of the Covenanters. had fled, and many of the ejected pastors were reinstated in their parishes. The moors and kirkyards were visited only for the purpose of planting stones of remembrance, and to them we now turn, as not the least interesting chapter of the history : ** Read our Covenant fathers' faith In the Auld Kirkyard ; On the chronicles o' death, In the Auld Kirkyard. See the Bible and the sword, O'er the persecuting horde ; Tell the triumphs of the Lord, In the Auld Kirkyard." TOMBSTONES OF T H E COVENANTERS. RULLION GREEN. '-•' T h e Pilgrim's feet here oft will tread O'er this sequestered scene, T o mark where Scotland's martyrs lie In lonely Rullion Green." H E battle of Pentland was fought at Rullion Green, a little to the south of Turnhouse Hill, on the slope of the Pentlands, about seven miles and a half from Edinburgh, in the parish of Glencorse. The place where the conflict took place is a gentlyrising ground, separated from the higher ridge of the Pentlands, and commands an extensive view of the richly wooded and cultivated country around. A plantation of firs now covers the more immediate scene of the engagement, in the centre of which is (25) 26 Tombstones of the Covenanters. erected the Covenanters' Stone. It is small in size, carefully enclosed with -a substantial iron railing, some fLVQ or six feet high, put up by the proprietor, the Right Hon. John Inglis, President of the Court of Session. The battle was fought on the 28th Nov., 1666, and proved disastrous for the Covenanters. About fifty were slain, and as many more taken prisoners. Several are reported to have been shot in their flight, and were buried in Penicuik and Glencorse churchyards. The Covenanters were under the command of Colonel James Wallace, an experienced soldier, his men were a handful of worn-out, undisciplined, and badly armed countrymen, ill fitted to stand against an overwhelming number of regular troops; yet, notwithstanding his disadvantage, he fought a wellcontested fight, and for a time the struggle seemed likely to favour the Covenanters, who held their ground in three several contests which lasted some hours, but were forced to give way to superior forces. Were you at Pentland? became henceforth a test for all suspected persons, and the pretext for many a dark deed of blood. The bodies of those killed in battle lay for a night and a day on the ground unburied, after being stripped of their clothes by the soldiers and barbarians of the district. Most of them were buried where the gravestone now stands. Rullion Green. 27 The two names recorded on the memorial stone are those of Irish Presbyterian ministers who fled to Scotland on account of joining Thomas Blood's plot to overturn the state of Bishops, and endeavour to secure liberty of conscience similar to what they had in Cromwell's time: the plotters were surprised on the 22nd May, 1663, but Blood, the chief conspirator, who had for some time been an officer in the King's army, escaped with Crookshank and M'Cormick, who, not expecting or seeking pardon in Ireland, joined with the party in Scotland. John Crookshank was son of the Rev. John Crookshank, minister of Redgorton, Perthshire. He was some time Regent of Humanity in Edinburgh University, and ordained minister at Raphoe, Ireland, before 1661. Andrew M'Cormick was bred a tailor, but subsequently qualifying himself for the ministry, obtained a living in the Irish Presbyterian Church. Two days previous to the battle of Rullion Green, when the Covenanters were at Lanark, Gabriel Semple and John Crookshank preached. The same day was issued a public proclamation, in which they stated the object of their rising in arms—the redress of grievances. The memorial stone is noted in the (i Cloud of Witnesses/* as " the epitaph upon the gravestone of the noble patriots who fell at Pentland Hills." The inscriptions are, in front— 28 Tombstones of the Covenanters. Here And near to this place lyes the Reverend M r John crookshank and mr Andrew mceormick ministers of the Gospel and About fifty other true covenanted Presbyterians who were killed in this place in their own Inocent self defence and deffence of the c o v e n a n t e d work of R e f o r m a t i o n By Thomas Dalzeel of Bins upon The 28 of november 1666. Rev. 12-11. Erected Sept. 28 1738. On the other side— A Cloud of Witnesses lyes here, Who for Christ's Interest did appear, For to Restore true Liberty Overturned them by tyrrany. And by proud Prelats who did Rage Against the Lord's own heritage. They sacrificed were for the laws Of Christ their king, his noble cause. These heroes fought with great renown By falling got the martyrs crown. DRUM CLOG. * W h e n the clang of the conflict rung on the heath, « And the watchword of freedom rose, Like the tones of heaven, on the saint's last breath, Far, far o'er the battle notes of death, As he soared to his last repose." [JWO miles east of Loudon Hill, on an extensive heathy and verdant fell, upon a piece of ground between .the farms of High Drumclog and Stoboside, was fought the Battle of Drumclog, on ist June, 1679. The royal troops were commanded by Graham of Claverhouse, who.had earned high distinction in the armies of France and Holland, and was marked out for favour in being appointed captain of one of the three troops of horse which the Government were then raising. From this time down to the Revolution, Claverhouse continued to be chief military commissioner in the west country, to keep in check, and ultimately his object was to exterminate, the Covenanters, whom he hated with a violence of hatred (29) 30 Tombstones of the Covenanters. worthy of a Grand Inquisitor, and spared no toil or labour to execute his fell purpose. This was the first time of meeting them face to face, and the first and last battle ever lost by Claverhouse. Had he succeeded in gaining a victory, a fearful butchery would have crimsoned the swamp of Drumclog, as his watchword on that day was " No quarter." Those of the Covenanters who were killed on the field, or died afterwards of their wounds, were buried in the churchyards of Loudon, Newmilns, Strathaven, Stonehouse, and Lesmahagow, and will be remembered as we pass through the " Covenanting Land." It was not till 1839 that any memorial was erected on the field in remembrance of the Battle of Drumclog. In that year a number of gentlemen formed a committee to raise funds for a suitable commemoration, but dissensions sprung up as to what form it should take. Some wished it to be useful, and suggested a school-room for the district around; others that it should be simply a monument; and the result was that both were erected. The school-room is a plain two-storey house close to the monument. On a stone slab over the entrance are the words— 1839. On the battle field of Drumclog, This seminary of education was, Erected in memory of those Christian heroes, who on Drurnclog. 3* Sabbath, the 1st of June, 1679, Nobly fought in defence of Civil and religious liberty. Dieu et mon droit. The names of the Committee who built the schoolhouse are appended to the inscription. The monument was a Gothic structure, 23 feet high, designed by Robert Thorn, architect and builder, Glasgow. The stone was not durable, and soon began to decay, and finally crumbled into ruins. The inscription, written by the Rev. A. M. Rogerson, Darvel, a Reformed Presbyterian minister, who took a prominent part in its erection, was a ponderous effusion, sufficient to have crushed a tower of more weighty and durable material. It ran as follows :— Erected In commemoration of the glorious triumph Gained by a party of Scottish Covenanters, Over the ferocious Graham of Claverhouse, And his bloody dragoons, on 1st June, 1679. The grand results, civil and ecclesiastic, of the Reformation attained to, between 1638 and 1649, Were highly valued By the heroes of the Covenant. Rather than be involved in the apostacy Of the perjured Charles And his Prelatic Counsellors, they endured his Persecuting rage, they resisted unto blood Striving against sin, they rejoiced that they were Counted worthy to suffer shame for his name, Who is King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. Tombstones of the Covenanters. Attacked by the Royal Mercenaries On the Holy Sabbath, although neither Trained to war, nor well supplied with arms, They trusted in Jacob's God, In whose name they had displayed their banners. Animated by the Divine Spirit, and by feelings of The purest patriotism, and zeal for the Glory of God, "They waxed valiant in fight," And routed their vaunting assailants, The enemies of God and of their country. Stern inflexible men ! They imprinted the image of their character On the destinies of the nation ; They bore the burden and heat of the day: We have entered into their labours. The Lord is a man of war. The Lord is his name. Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power. Thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy. Exodus xv. 3, 6. The inscription occupied the four sides, and celebrated the name of the minister who preached a sermon from Hebrews xi. and 34—" Waxed valiant in fight," when a collection was made to assist its erection; and the names of others who had taken an active interest in the building. In 1866 a movement was set on foot to build a new monument with a more simple and suitable inscription, which resulted in the beautiful granite obelisk 25 feet high, a few yards to the east of the school-house. On the south face is inscribed— Drumclog. IN COMMEMORATION OF THE VICTORY OBTAINED ON THIS BATTLE FIELD ON SABBATH THE 1ST OF JUNE 1 6 7 9 BY OUR COVENANTING FOREFATHERS OVER GRAHAM OF CLAVERHOUSE AND HIS DRAGOONS. On the north face— ERECTED IN 1839. REBUILT IN 1867. C 33 EDINBURGH. ' T h e Auld Greyfriers ! come, raise we the song T o the martyrs of old who in battle were strong; W h o aft, wi' the headsman's wild voice in their ears, Blew the trump o' the Lord in the Auld Greyfriers." i H E most memorable event associated with the history of Greyfriars' Church, Edinburgh, was^the great public act in signing the National Confession and Covenant on the 28th February, 1638. This memorable deed was prepared by Alexander Henderson, leader of the clergy, and Archibald Johnston, afterwards of Warriston, an advocate in whom the suppliants chiefly confided, and revised by Balmerino, Loudon, and Rothes. It was sworn with uplifted hands, and subscribed in the church by thousands of the nobility, gentry, burgesses, ministers of the Gospel, and commons assembled from all parts of Scotland. After it had gone the round of the whole church, it was taken out to be signed by the crowd in the churchyard. It was spread upon a flat stone to be read and subscribed by all who could get near it. No monument within the ground attracts so much attention as the martyrs' gravestone,, erected at the (34) Edinburgh. 35 north-east corner, to commemorate those who had suffered for their adherence to the Covenants. The original stone was erected in 1706, by James Currie, Pentland, who had suffered much during the persecution, and more than once narrowly escaped capture. The memorial was erected according to instructions granted by the Town Council of Edinburgh, 28 th August, 1706, "there being no inscription to heput upon the 'tomb hut the sixth chapter of Revelation, verses 9, 10, and 11." The carved stone, containing the representation of an open Bible, with the verses cut in full, forms the under part of the present more stately monument, which was substituted in 1771, when the original slab was removed. The old inscription, with some verbal changes, was transferred to it as it now stands. The ground nearly opposite was enclosed with an iron gate till the year 1705, when the first application was made for a burial place. It was shown as the Covenanters' Prison. Here were confined the prisoners taken at the Battle of Bothwell Bridge, on 22nd June, 1679, where it was reckoned 800 were slain, 1100 taken prisoners, and all who had been present were denounced as traitors. About 1200 or 1300 prisoners were brought from the field of action to Edinburgh, and about 200 more afterwards followed from Stirling. They were kept in the churchyard, with guards to wait upon them day and night, for five months. They were in a great measure without 36 Tombstones of the Covenanters, shelter, and supported on a miserable allowance of bread and water; the inhabitants being prohibited from supplying their wants, either as to meal, money, or clothing. On the 15th November, 256 were taken to Leith and put on board a vessel to be carried to the plantations in America. The vessel sailed on the 27th, but was wrecked on the coast of Orkney on the 10th December, when upwards of 200 perished. Some of the remaining prisoners were tried, condemned, and executed; the remainder, upon signing bonds, obtained their liberty. The monument is erected near to the place of interment of those who suffered during the persecution, and were buried in Greyfriars' Churchyard, in that portion of ground where the bodies of criminals were interred, allusion to which is made in the inscription as follows:— Halt, passenger, take heed what you do see—This tomb doth shew for what some men did die : Here lies interr'd the dust of those who stood 'Gainst perjury, resisting unto blood; Adhering to the Covenants and laws; Establishing the same; which was the cause Their lives were sacrinc'd unto the lust Of Prelatists abjur'd : Though here their dust Lies mixt with murderers and other crew, Whom justice justly did to death pursue. But as for them no cause was to be found Worthy of death ; but only they were found Constant and steadfast, zealous, witnessing For the Prerogatives of Christ their King; Edinburgh. zl Which truths were seal'd by famous Guthrie's head, And all along to Mr Renwick's blood ; They did endure the wrath of enemies, Reproaches, torments, deaths, and injuries. But yet they're those who from such troubles came And now triumph in glory with the Lamb. From May 27, 1661, that the Most Noble Marquis of Argyle was beheaded, to the 17th February, 1688, that Mr James Renwick suffered, were one way or other murdered and destroyed for the same cause about eighteen thousand, of whom were executed at Edinburgh about one hundred of noblemen, gentlemen, ministers, and others, noble martyrs for Jesus Christ. The most of them lie here. On a carved stone, representing an open Bible, is inscribed— Rev. 6-9. 10. 11. And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the Word of God, and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth ? And white robes were given to every one of them : and it was said unto them that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow-servants also and 38 Tombstones of the Covenanters. their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. Chap. vii. 14. These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Chap. ii. 1 o. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. The above monument was first erected by James Currie, merchant, Pentland, and others, in 1706; renewed in 1771. As you enter the churchyard from Greyfriars' Place, going north along the east side, a few steps bring you to the burial place of one of the persecuted ministers who survived the Revolution—John Law, ordained minister of Campsie in 1656, but driven from his charge in 1662, by Act of the Council at Glasgow, for refusing to conform to Prelacy on the establishment of that form of Church government. H e continued to preach about Kippen, Gargunnock, and Monteith, although exposed to constant trouble and suffering. H e was apprehended for field preaching, and committed to the tolbooth, but was not long confined. In February, 1679, troops were distributed over the country for executing the laws against house and field conventicles, and strict search was made for intercommuned ministers and field preachers. In one of these searches, Law was arrested in the house of Edinburgh. 39 the Laird of Kincaid, where he had come to see his wife, who was dangerously ill; and although her recovery was pronounced hopeless by her medical attendants, he was not allowed to see her, but was sent direct to Edinburgh by a guard of soldiers, where he was sentenced by the Council to imprisonment in the Bass, but was liberated in July, with other prisoners, upon giving security to appear when called upon. After the third indulgence of June 7th was published, in July, 1687, a meeting of ministers from different parts of the country who had agreed to accept the indulgence was held in Edinburgh, arid Law, with three other ministers, was called to take the pastoral charge of the Presbyterians of Edinburgh. After the Revolution, when the Church emerged from persecution, he and other three ministers were appointed by the Town Council, ministers of the City, on 24th July, 1689, although he was not settled in any particular church till the 20th of April, 1692, when the Town Council appointed him to the New Church, being the North Church. Here he laboured till 1707, when, through age and infirmity, he demitted his charge into the hands of the Presbytery. H e died 26th December, 1712, aged 8o,and was buried in the Greyfriars', where his son William erected a monument to his memory, which bears the following inscription in Latin, and is translated in " T h e Epitaphs and Monumental Inscriptions in Greyfriars' Churchyard," 40 Tombstones of the Covenanters. collected by James Brown, 1867. We give the translation as preferable for general readers :— To the memory of his most excellent parents, Mr JOHN LAW, a most prudent and vigilant pastor of the Church at Edinburgh, distinguished by his zeal for pure religion, and his unfeigned piety; and ISABELLA CUNINGHAME, his affectionate Wife, noted for true holiness, and the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, who, pressing towards the joys'of eternal life, laid aside mortality: the former on the 26th December, A.D., 1712, in his 80th year; the latter on the 8th November, A.D., 1703, in her 70th year. This Monument was dedicated by William Law, their Son. NORTH BERWICK. "Dread rock! thy life is two eternities— T h e last in air—the former in the deep ; First with the whales—last with the eagle skies: Drowned wast thou till an earthquake made thee steep ! Another cannot bow thy giant size." H E Bass Rock, rising abruptly to the height of four hundred and twenty feet above the level of the sea, about two miles from the shore, and three miles east from the ancient royal burgh of North Berwick, is one of the most striking objects on entering the mouth of the Forth. It would appear that this island at one time formed a parish, and that the "parish kirk in the Craig of the Bass " was consecrated in honour of St Baldred, and may have been occasionally frequented as a place of worship up to the Reformation. It was used as a "strength" or fortified place so early as 1405, when it afforded a temporary retreat to James, youngest son of Robert III., before embarking on his ill-fated expedition, capture, and nineteen years' (41) 42 Tombstones of the Covenanters. imprisonment; and continued so during the sixteenth century, when it occurred to Lauderdale that the rock would be an admirable place for the confinement of nonconforming ministers, and through his advice it was purchased for this purpose by the King in October, 1671, from Sir Andrew Ramsay of Abbotshall, Provost of Edinburgh, at the extravagant price of ^ 4 0 0 0 sterling. During the reign of Prelatic domination, the Bass had for' its inmates almost exclusively men of piety and prayer, whom a wise Government, instead of condemning, should have protected and honoured. One of the most distinguished prisoners was the Rev. John Blackadder, lineal descendant and representative of the ancient family of Tulliallan, from whom he inherited the title of knight baronet, which he never assumed. H e was appointed minister of Traquair, in the Presbytery of Dumfries, in 1652, where he laboured till November, 1662, when, by the Act of Council at Glasgow, he was compelled to abandon his charge for his conscientious adherence to Presbyterian principles. H e continued to preach, and great multitudes flocked to hear him. On 25th January, 1666, letters of Council were directed against him and other ministers for presuming to preach, pray, baptize, and perform other acts of ministerial function. H e went to Holland, where he placed his eldest son at Leyden, to study for a physician. Some time after his return to Scotland, he was BLACKADDER'S TOMBSTONE, NORTH BERWICK. Page 43 North Berwick. 43 apprehended on 5th April, 1681, when in bed in his own house at Edinburgh, taken before the Council, and sentenced to be imprisoned in the Bass. The cell in which he was confined is still pointed out, with its three small iron-barred windows to the west. Being now advanced in years, with a constitution enfeebled by fatigue and labour, his health became seriously impaired. After four years' incarceration, a petition was presented for his removal, which was refused. A second application was more successful, but before it could be carried into effect, death came to him as a messenger of peace. H e had thus completed his threescore years and three. His remains were carried from the Bass and buried in the churchyard of North Berwick, where a large table stone marks the place of interment. The stone was repaired and re-lettered in July, 1821, at the expense of several gentlemen in the neighbourhood. The inscription is as follows :— Here lies the body of Mr John of the gospel at Troqueer, in on the Bass, after five years' Dom. 1685, and of his age sixty Blackadder, minister Galloway, who died imprisonment, Anno three years. Blest John, for Jesus' sake, in Patmos bound, His prison Bethel, Patmos Pisgah found, So the bless'd John, on yonder rock confined,— His body suffer'd, but no chains could bind His heaven-aspiring soul; while day by day, 44 Tombstones of the Covenanters, As from Mount Pisgah's top, he did survey The promised land, and view'd the crown by faith, Laid up for those who faithful are till death. Grace formed him in the Christian Hero's mould— Meek in his own concerns—in's Master's bold; Passions to Reason chained, Prudence did lead— Zeal warmed his breast, and Reason cool'd his head. Five years on the lone rock, yet sweet abode, H e Enoch-like' enjoyed, and walk'd with God; Till, by long living on this heavenly food, His soul by love grew up too great, too good To be confined to jail, or flesh and blood. Death broke his fetters off, then swift he fled From sin and sorrow, and by angels led, Enter'd the mansions of eternal joy;— Blest soul, thy warfare's done, praise, love, enjoy. His dust here rests, till Jesus come again,— Even so, blest Jesus, come—come, Lord—Amen. ST ANDREWS. " They give his writings to the flames, they brand his grave with shame— A hissing in the mouth of fools becomes his honoured name— And darkness wraps awhile the' land, for which he prayed and strove, But blessed in the Lord his death—and blest his rest above." jAMUEL R U T H E R F O R D was one of the most distinguished Presbyterian ministers of the' Covenant. H e was settled at Anwoth, in the Presbytery of Kirkcudbright, in 1627, where he exhibited in the exercise of his functions a degree of industry and zeal almost incredible. Accustomed to rise every morning at three o'clock, he spent those early hours in prayer, meditation, and study. The remainder of the day he devoted to his public duties—to visiting the sick, and to the examination and encouragement of the different members of his congregation. His fame brought many people from neighbouring parishes to hear his preaching. H e took a deep interest in ecclesiastical affairs, and maintained a correspondence with Presbyterian (45) 46 Tombstones of the Covenanters., leaders in. different parts of the country. He was regarded as the organ of the Church in the county in which he resided, and was duly apprised of every measure affecting the Presbyterian cause. Episcopacy having long been predominant, severe means were used to eradicate Presbyterianism, and Rutherford was too famous to be overlooked. The Bishop of Galloway had erected a High Court of Commission in his diocese, before which Rutherford was summoned in 1636, deprived of his pastoral office, prohibited from, officiating in his ministerial capacity in any part of Scotland, and sentenced to be confined within the town of Aberdeen during the King's pleasure. He was a member of the famous Assembly which met at Glasgow in 1638, and which abolished Prelacy and erected Presbyterianism in its stead. H e was appointed Professor of Divinity at St Andrews in 1639, and at his own request, ministerial colleague to Mr Robert Blair. One of eight Commissioners selected in 1643 to represent Scotland in the Westminster Assembly of Divines, where he was absent four years, and was regarded as one of the most able and eminent members of that Assembly, which added much to his celebrity. At the Restoration, when the divine right of kings and passive obedience of subjects became predominant, he brought out his most celebrated work " Lex Rex, the Law and the Prince, a Discourse for 6V Andrews. 47 the Just Prerogative of King and People." It excited deep and general interest, and became obnoxious to the Government, who passed an official order, 22nd October, 1660, confining him to his chamber, depriving him of his office as Principal of the University, sequestrating his benefits, and ordering his book to be burned in the market place by the common hangman. He was in feeble health, and died just in time to avoid an ignominious death; for he was summoned to appear before the Council at Edinburgh on a charge of high treason. When the summons came, he returned for answer—" Tell them I have got a summons already before a superior Judge and judicatory, and I behove to answer my first summons, and ere your day arrive I will be where few kings and great folks come/' And so he passed away. H e was buried in the churchyard of the cathedral at St Andrews, at the boundary wall opposite the door of St Regulus Tower, where a very simple, unpretending stone marks his grave. The inscription is said to have been written by William Wilson, some time schoolmaster in the parish of Douglas, and author of "Some Select Meditations in Spiritual Songs," 1759. M S . R Here lyes the Reverend M r . Samuell Rutherfoord Professor of Divinity in the University of S*Andreus who Died March the 20 1661. Tombstones of the Covenanters. What tongu what Pen or Skill of Men Can Famous Rutherfoord Commend His Learning justly rasid his Fame True GODliness Adornd HiS Name H e did converse with things Above Acquainted with Emmanuels Love Most orthodox H e was And sound And Many Errors Did Confound For Zions King and Zions Cause And Scotlands Covenanted LAws Most constantly he Did Contend Until his Time was At An End Than He wan To the Full Fruition Of That which H e Had seen in vision. The memory of Rutherford is cherished as a sacred tradition in the history of Anwoth, the scene of his early labours in the ministry. In 1839 a meeting attended by 5000 people from that and the neighbouring parishes, gathered together to promote a public subscription for a memorial. On the 2nd April, 1842, the foundation-stone was laid of a granite pyramid, called " The Rutherford Monument." It is erected on the farm of Boreland, in the parish of Anwoth, about half a mile from where he used to preach, and about the same distance from the Bush of Bield, where his manse stood. The site is upon an eminence about half a mile from Gatehouse, and from the surface to the apex of the monument is 60 feet. The square of the pedestal is 7 feet, with three rows of steps. MAGUS M U I R. " N o deed too dark, no torture too severe, No law to check them in their wild career; T h e cordon of a fatal spell was cast Around the throne, oblivious of the past." IAGUS M U I R is within three miles of St ' Andrews, and is memorable as the place where Archbishop Sharp was assassinated on 3rd May, 1679, by nine zealous Presbyterians goaded to madness by the oppression of the times. This was a deed solely and entirely the unpremeditated act of those who committed it, and who seemed to have been moved by a sudden, singular, and mistaken interposition of Providence, an act which the Presbyterian body neither instigated nor approved. They had gone for the purpose of waylaying William Carmichael, Sheriff-Depute of Fife, a worthless tool in the hands of the Archbishop, who had made himself notorious by his inhumanity. Their intention was to have given him a severe castigation, and perhaps terrified him into leaving the country; but he was apprised of their design, eluded observation, and got safe home from a day's hunting. Disappointed of (49) D ,50 Tombstones of the Covenanters. meeting the object of their search, they were about to separate, when suddenly the information came that Sharp, who had been attending a Council, would soon pass. They all agreed that the time had come for ridding the world of a blood-thirsty tyrant, and the Church of an implacable foe; it seemed to them, in their superstitious enthusiasm, that they were the chosen instruments for carrying out this fell purpose. Sharp had only a few days previous brought before the Council the draft of a new edict, which would give power to kill every man going armed to or from a conventicle; he thought there was no security for Episcopacy in Scotland while an armed Covenanter was allowed to go at large. It was tantamount to a declaration that the preaching and hearing the Gospel was treasonable and punishable by death, for the great majority of the people would not attend the curates. This, of course, was no justification that the Archbishop's life should be taken; but so far as intention stamps the character of crime, they believed they were inflicting just punishment upon a wretch worthy of death, and who could not be brought to justice in the ordinary way. The spot where the murder took place is near the village of Strathkinnes, and known as the " Bishop's woods." Within an enclosure, a plain stone is erected to the memory of Andrew Guillbn, a weaver, who lived on Magus Muir, and when the Archbishop was attacked Magus Muir. 51 was called out of his house to hold the horses of those engaged, but further he had no hand in it. Only a witness of the deed, he was obliged to leave his home and seek shelter elsewhere, as the slightest pretext was sufficient to avenge on some one a speedy retribution, and strike terror among the people. For four years he eluded observation, but was seized in June, 1683, for his refusal to drink the King's health, but with no suspicion that he knew anything of the murder of Sharp; he was entrapped into an involuntary and indirect confession, which formed the ground of his indictment. H e was declared guilty of the Archbishop's death, and a sentence of great severity passed upon him—" That he be taken to the Cross of Edinburgh, have both his hands cut off at the foot of the gallows, and then hanged; his head to be cut off and fixed at Cupar, and his body to be carried to Magus Muir and hung up in chains." After his body had hung some time, it was taken down by some of his friends and buried on this spot, about half-a-mile to the south-east of Magus Muir. An upright stone marks the grave, on which is inscribed— The Grave Ston of Andreu Gullin who Suffred At the Gallowlee of Edinburgh July 1683 & Afterwards was hung upon a pol in Magus Muir and lyeth hiar. Tombstones of the Covenanters. A FAITHFWL MARTYR HER DOTH LY A WITNESS AGAINST PERJURY WHO CRUELY WAS PUT TO DEATH TO GRATIFY PROUD PRELATES WRATH THEY CUT HIS HANDS ERE HE WAS DEAD AND AFTER THAT STRUCK OFF HIS HEAD TO MAGUS MUIR THEY DID HIM BRING HIS BODY ON A POLE DID HING HIS BLOOD UNDER THE ALTAR CRIES FOR VENGEANCE ON CHRIST'S ENEMIES. A few hundred yards to the west of Guillon's gravestone, in an open field, lie buried five men who were taken at the Battle of Bothwell Bridge, with some twenty-five other prisoners. These five refused all compromise, were tried at Edinburgh 15th November, 1679, and condemned to death. The sentence was " that they be carried to the Muir of Magus, and there be hanged till they be dead, and their bodies to be hung in chains till they rot, and.all their lands, goods and gear, to fall to His Majesty's use." Twenty-five complied with a bond never to take up arms against the King's authority, and were acquitted. Thomas Brown was a shoemaker in Edinburgh, James Wood belonged to Newmilns, Andrew Sword was a weaver in Galloway, John Waddell belonged to New Monkland, and John Clyde to East Kilbride. They had no connection with the death of Archbishop Sharp, but were doubtless executed here to strike terror and as some retaliation for, the Prelate's assassination. Magus- Muir. 53 A tombstone was erected in 1728, but it got broken, and was carried away piece by piece by visitors, and has now disappeared. The inscription is preserved in the Local Records of St Andrews as follows:— Here Lye Thomas Brown, James Wood, Andrew Sword, John Waddel, and John Clyd, who suffered Martyrdom on Magus Muir, for their adherence to the Word of God and Scotland's Covenanted Work of Reformation. November 25. 1679, ' / ^ A U S E we at Bothwel did appear V-^ Perjurious Oaths refus'd to swear 'Cause we Christ's Cause would not condemn We were sentenc'd to Death by Men Who rag'd against us in such Fury Our dead Bodies they did not bury; But upon Poles did hing us high Triumphs of Babels Victory. Our Lives we fear'd not to the Death But constant prov'd to the last Breath. "When the Grave-stone was set up in Octobe?' 1728 the Chains were taken out of their Graves, and some of their Bones and Cloaths were found unconsumed, now forty-nine Years after their death." CUPAR-FIFE. ' Peace to their memory ! let no impious breath Sell their fair fame, or triumph o'er their death, Let Scotia's grateful sons their tear-drops shed, Where low they lie in honour's gory bed." l A U R E N C E HAY and ANDREW PITTIL- LOCH were members of a society in Fife for prayer and conference. The former was a weaver, and the latter a land-labourer in the parish of Largo. The society had agreed to a paper, entitled, u A Testimony against the Evils of the Times." This paper was produced at their trial, and reference made to it in their testimonies printed in the " Cloud of Witnesses." They were found guilty of treason, and sentenced to be hanged at the Grassmarket, Edinburgh, on the 30th July, 1680, their heads to be severed from their bodies and affixed to the tolbooth at Cupar. David Hackston, of Rathillet, in the parish of Kilmany, Fifeshire, was a gentleman of good family. H e was present at the assassination of Archbishop (54) Cupar-Fife. 55 Sharp, but took no part in it. H e fought with the Covenanters at Drumclog and Bothwell Bridge. A reward being offered for his -apprehension, he was taken prisoner at Airsmoss on the 22nd July, 1680, where he had fought with great valour against Bruce of Earlshall's regiment of one hundred and twenty men, well equipped and in good conditionH e was assailed on all sides, and, being wounded on the head, he fell to the ground, and surrendered himself prisoner. He was first brought to Lanark, before Dalziel, who threatened to roast him alive. H e was then bound, and taken to Edinburgh, where he was tried, and executed in the most horrible manner. His right arm and left were cut off, then his body was drawn to the top of the gallows three times, and suffered to fall down again with his whole weight. Ere he was dead his breast was opened with a large knife, and his heart pulled out, and held up to the crowd by the executioner, who exclaimed, " This is the heart of a traitor." His body was quartered, and distributed; his head being fixed to the Netherbow, Edinburgh, while other parts of his body figured in Leith, Glasgow, Burntisland, and Cupar-Fife. A tombstone in the old churchyard of Cupar was erected to the memory of the martyrs. It was renewed in 1792, and since then has been raised upon a new base, and is in a good state of preservation. The inscription is as follows :— 56 Tombstones of the Covenanters. On the east side— A HEAD. AN OPEN HAND. A HEAD IN RELIEVO. Here lyes Interred the Heads of LA URCE HA Y and ANDRE W PITULLOCH who Suffered martyrdom at EBINR July i$tk 16S1 for adhering to the word of GOD 6° Scotland's covenanted work of Reformation, And also one of the Hands of DA VID HACKSTON of Rathillot who was most cruelly murdered atEDINRJuly 30* J 680— for the same cause. On the west side— 1680 ^ Our persecutors filld with rage Their brutish fury to aswage Took heads and hands of martyrs off That they might be the peoples scoff, They Hackstons body cutt asunder And set it up a worlds wonder In several places to proclaim These monsters gloryd in their shame. R E ERECTED July 13 th 1792. DUNNOTTAR. ' For the sunless cave was the martyr's home, And the damp, cold earth his bed; And the thousand lights of the starry dome Were the suns of his path, while doomed to roam O'er the wilds where his brothers bled! " U N N O T T A R CASTLE, lies near the pleasant town of Stonehaven, on the east coast of Scotland, about 16 miles south of Aberdeen. On one of the bold, bare cliffs overhanging the ocean may be seen the ruins of this celebrated castle. It was a magnificent fortress, and counted such a place of security that in 1650, at the approach of the English army under Cromwell, the Regalia of Scotland was placed there for safety. It became infamous as a State prison for the Covenanters after the unsuccessful invasion of the Earl of Argyle, at the time of the accession of James the Seventh. The Whigs' vault was a dark and miry cellar, where horrid sufferings were borne by the persecuted. One hundred and sixty-seven prisoners, refusing to (57) 58 Tombstones of the Covenanters, take the Oath of Supremacy, were bound and driven like cattle across Fife, and, at last, on the 24th May, 1685, thrown promiscuously into the larger vault, where they were pent up for a whole summer. Many died of disease, or fell victims to the inhuman tortures introduced to shake the faith of the prisoners, and subdue them to an acknowledgment of the usurped authority of the King; but all refused the oath as embodied with the supremacy. Twenty-five made their escape down the rocks; but of these fifteen were betrayed by the people in the neighbourhood, were again taken, and subjected to cruel tortures. Others were banished to His Majesty's plantations; some lived to return to their native land after the Revolution, and perpetuate the memory of those whose lives were sacrificed for the cause of the Covenant in Dunnottar Castle, and whose remains were interred in the modern burying ground. It is worthy of record that it was here Sir Walter Scott first became acquainted with " Old Mortality," having found him cleaning and repairing the stone which marks the grave of the martyrs. The great novelist was then on a visit to Mr Walker, parish minister of Dunnottar. The grave-stone in the churchyard is on the east side of the church, and has recently been set in an iron frame, to protect it from acquisitive relic-hunters. It bears this inscription— Dunnottar. 59 HERE . LYES . IOHN . STOT . IAMES . ATCHI SON . IAMES . RUSSELL . & WILLIAM BRO UN . AND . ONE . WHOSE . NAME . WEE . HAVE NOT . GOTTEN . AND . TWO ..WOMEN « WHOSE NAMES . ALSO . WEE . KNOW . NOT . AND . TWO WHO . PERISHED . COMEING . DOUNE . THE . ROCK ONE . WHOSE . NAME . WAS . IAMES • WATSON THE . OTHER . NOT . KNOWN . W H O . ALL . DIED PRISONERS . IN • DUNNOTTAR . CASTLE ANNO . 1 6 8 5 . FOR . THEIR • ADHERENCE TO . THE . WORD . OF . GOD . AND . SCOTLANDS COVENANTED . WORK . OF . REFORM A TION. REV . II CH . 12 VERSE. Tradition attributes the following prophecy to Thomas the Rhymer, who flourished five hundred years ago— AND JOHN < ™% ^3 § H g * 3H l i S H X o x ONi^aHay ^ I S H X H O J HXVSQ OX xong On the pedestal of the stone :— Renewed by the Reformers of Avondale at the passing of the Reform Bill—ANNO D O M I N I . 1832. Strathaven. 99 Another gravestone in the churchyard of Strath aven preserves the memory of one who died of wounds received at the Battle of Drumclog, and was buried here:— Erected in the year 1732, and renewed 1833. On one side is the following inscription :— Heare LYS The CORPS O F WILLIAM Dingwall who was shot in a Rancounter at Drumclog. Jun. 1st 1679, By BLOOdy Graham OF CLaverhouse. For adhearing To The Word of God, And Scotland's Covenanted W O R K O F ReFormation. On the other:— This Hero Brave, who Here doth lye Was Persecute By Tyrrany. Yet To The Truth He Firmly StooD Gainst Foes Resisting To The BLOOD HimSeLF & Th' GOSPEL did deFenD, T I L L FOR Christ's cause H I S LIFe D I D enD— STONEHOUSE. I H E churchyard of Stonehouse contains an old and a new stone in memory of one of the Covenanters shot at the Battle of Drumclog. The modern memorial intimates that the monument has been " Renewed by the descendants of the Thomsons, late in Tannahill,. Lesmahagow, 1832." The old inscription, as follows, has been transcribed on the new stone :— Here lays or near This Jas Thomson Who was shot in a Rancounter at Drumclog, June Ist 1679 By Bloody Graham of Clavers House for his adherence to the Word of God and Scotland's Covenanted Work of Reform ation.—Rev. xii. 11. On the other side— This hero brave who doth lye here In truth's defence did he appear, (100) Stonehouse. And to Christ's cause he firmly stood Until he seal'd it with his blood. With Sword in hand upon the field He lost his life, yet did not yield. His days did End in Great Renown, And he obtained the Martyrs Crown. 101 CARLUKE. "Live on, live on, ye bright immortal band! Embalmed in fame, the glory of our land : Stars glowing in the' darkness of the past, Which still shall burn while time's career shall last." E T E R K I D , a native of Fifeshire, and student of St Andrews, was settled minister at Douglas, in the Presbytery of Lanark, but was ejected from his parish by Act of the Privy Council at Glasgow in 1662. H e afterwards became indulged minister at Carluke. In October, 1684, he was brought before the Council for breaking several of his instructions, particularly for neglecting to observe the anniversary of His Majesty's birth and restoration, and for not reading from his pulpit the proclamation enjoining the thanksgiving for the King's and the Duke of York's deliverance from the Rye House Plot. The indulgence was declared null and void; and afterwards, for refusing not to preach without permission from the Government, he was sent a prisoner to the Bass in May, 1685, where he continued about a year. Being (102) Carluke. 103 then advanced in life, and his health suffering, he was released on condition that he lived privately at his own house. H e was accordingly set at liberty on 21st September, 1686. H e died in 1694, and lies buried in the churchyard of Carluke. His tombstone bears the following inscription :— A faithful, holy pastor here lies hid, One of a thousand, Mr Peter Kid, Firm as a stone, but of a heart contrite, A wrestling, praying, weeping Israelite; A powerful preacher, far from ostentation, A son of thunder, and of consolation. His face, his speech, and humble walk might tell That he was in the Mount and Peniel. H e was in Patmos, and did far surpass In fixed stedfastness the rocky Bass. His love to Christ made his life to be spent In feeding flocks and kids beside his tent. His frail flesh could not equal paces keep With his most willing sp'rit, but fell asleep. His soul's in heaven, where it was much before, His flesh rests here in hopes of future glore. Passenger ! ere thou go, sigh, weep, and pray, Help, Lord, because the godly do decay. INCHBELLY BRIDGE. " We bless the hands that tear awayDark weeds from martyr graves, And carving o'er their mossy urns Faith's witness—story saves.. M I L E east from Kirkintilloch, in a field adjoining the highway, is a large slab used to mark the spot where the martyrs of Inchbelly Bridge suffered. This stone has been removed nearer the road for the convenience of the public, and along with a new slab, on which the original inscription has been copied, is now enclosed with a neat iron railing. John Wharry was the younger brother of the Laird of Scorryholm, a small property on the Logan Water, about three miles to the south-west of Lesmahagow. H e and James Smith, his companion in martyrdom, were discovered sitting in a lonely part of a wood at Inchbelly Bridge, by a party of soldiers in search of some country people who had rescued a prisoner they were taking to Edinburgh. In the scuffle some on both sides were wounded and one soldier killed; but (104) Inchbelly Bridge. 105 the countrymen having accomplished their object, dispersed. The soldiers rallied, and being enraged at their defeat, searched the places around in the hope of recovering their victim. In this way they came upon Wharry and Smith not far from where they were attacked. They had no arms, but only a walking-stick in their possession. On the assumption that they belonged to the party who had rescued the prisoner, they were seized and taken to Glasgow. On their trial no witnesses could be found to prove that they were among those who had assailed the soldiers, but it was sufficient evidence they were found near the spot In the absence of all proof, they were condemned to have their right hands cut off, then to be executed, and their dead bodies afterwards to be carried to Inchbelly Bridge, and there suspended in chains. They were ultimately buried on the spot where they were taken, and a monument erected with an inscription as follows, according to the " Cloud of Witnesses," 1st edition, 1714:— Halt, passenger, read here upon this stone A tragedy, our bodies done upon. At Glasgow cross we lost both our right hands, To fright beholders, th' en'my so commands, Then put to death, and that most cruelly, Yet where we're slain, even there we must not ly; From Glasgow town we're brought unto this place, On gallow-tree hung up for certain space ; Yet thence ta'en down, interred here we ly 106 Tombstones of the Covenanters. Beneath this stone : our blood to heaven doth cry. Had foreign foes, Turks or Mahometans, Had Scythian Tartars, Arabian Caravans, H a d cruel Spaniards, the pope's bloody seed, Commenced the same, had been less strange their deed; But Protestants, once covenanters too, Our countrymen, this cruel deed could d o ; Yet notwithstanding this their hellish rage, The noble Wharrie leapt upon the stage, With courage bold, he said, and heart not faint, This blood shall now seal up our c o v e n a n t Ending, They who would follow Christ should take Their cross upon their back, the world forsake. The probability is that what is called on the new stone " the old tombstone," is the successor of an older one, of which the above is the original inscription. The present stone was erected in 1865, when a sermon was preached by the Rev. Dr Blakely, of Kirkintilloch, on behalf of the fund for its renewal. It is inscribed as follows :— 'Twas Martyr's Blood Bought Scotland's Liberty. Erected February, 1865. In room of the old tombstone, by the people of Kirkintilloch and Neighbourhood. Original Inscription. In this field lies the corps of John Wharry, and James Smith, who suffered in Glasgow, 13 June 1683, for their adherence to the Word of God and Scotland's Covenanted Work of Reformation. Inchbelly Bridge. 107 And they overcame them by the blood of the lamb, And by the word of their testimony; and they Loved not their lives unto the death.—Rev. xii. 11. Halt courteous passenger, and look on Our bodies dead, & lying under this stone. Altho' we did commit no deed, nor fact That was against the Bridegroom's contract, Yet we to Glasgow were as prisoners brought, And against us false witness they sought. Their sentence cruel and unjust they past, And then our corps on scaffold they did cast. There we our lives and right hands also lost. From Glasgow we were brought unto this place In chains of iron hung up for certain space, Then taken down interred here we ly— From 'neath this stone our blood to heaven doth cry. Had foreign foes, Turks, or Mahometans, Had Scythians, Tartars, Arabian Caravans, H a d cruel Spaniards, the Popes blood seed, Commenced the same, less strange had been the deed, But Protestants, profest our Covenants to, Our countrymen this bloody deed could do. Yet notwithstanding of their hellish rage The noble Wharry stepping on the stage With courage bold and with a heart not faint, Exclaims, This blood now seals our covenant— Ending, They who would follow Christ should take Their cross upon their back, the world forsake. PAISLEY. " N o tear was heeded, and no wrong redrest, While deeds of death were matter for a j e s t ; A thousand wrongs the rising spirit crushed, And all to whispered tones and looks were hushed." AMES ALGIE and JOHN PARK were two young men, joint occupants of a small farm at Kenniswood, a village four miles south-west of Glasgow. They were apprehended on the Lord's-day, while engaged in family worship. Information had been lodged against them as nonconformists, as men of rebellious principles, disowning the King's authority, and defending the Declaration of the Society people. They were taken to Paisley, examined on the usual topics, and then committed to prison. A few days after, the Commission met for further enquiry, and being invested with Justiciary power, they passed sentence of death, and appointed the afternoon of the same day for carrying it into effect. Their bodies were buried at the Gallow Green, then the place of execution. (108) Paisley. 109 The gravestone, also part of the bones and dust of the martyrs, were removed from the common place of execution to Broomlands, by order of John Stone, John Patison, and John Cochran, magistrates of Paisley, in the year 1799. The Paisley Cemetery was formed in the immediate neighbourhood of the martyrs' monument, which is now included in the grounds. The original gravestone that stood on the Gallow Green is preserved, and lies on the east side of the monument. It bears this inscription :— Here lyes James Algie and John Park, in the Parroch of Eastwood, who suffered for the Oath of Abjuratione, 1685. Stay, passenger, as thou goest by, And take ane look qr they doe ly; Who for the love they bore to truth, Depryved were of yr life and youth. The Lawes made then caused many dye, Yett Judges and Sysers were not free. H e yt to them did these delate, The greater count he has to make; Yett nae excuse to them can be. Att ten condemned, and two to dye, Soe cruel did yr rage become, To stop yr speech by took of drum, There's cause to murne forgt was done; For guiltless blood doeth cry to Heaven This may ane standing witness be Betwixt Presbytrie and Prelacy. no Tombstones of the Covenanters. In 1835 a handsome monument, twenty feet in height, was erected by public subscription, in place of the old stone, on which is a modern version of the original inscription on one side of its base, as follows:— Here Lie The Corpses of James Algie and John Park Who Suffered at The Cross of Paisley For Refusing The Oath of Abjuration February 3, 1685. Stay, passenger, as thou goest by And take a look where these do lie Who for the love they bore to truth Were deprived of their life and youth Though laws made then caused many die Judges and 'Sizers were not free He that to them did these delate The greater count he hath to make Yet no excuse to them can be At ten condemned, at two to die So cruel did their rage become To stop their speech caused beat the drum This may a standing witness be 'Twixt Presbytry and Prelacy. On another side— "Erected by the contributions of Christians of different denominations in and about Paisley to renew and perpetuate a Memorial of the respect and gratitude with which posterity still cherish the memory of the Martyrs of Scotland. 1835/' Paisley. 111 A third side bears this record— " The stone containing the epitaph transcribed on this Monument was erected over the grave on the Gallowgreen, the place of common execution; and on the occasion of the ground being built upon it was removed near to this spot along with the remains of the martyrs by order of the Magistrates, John Stone, John Patison, John Cochran, etc. MDCCLXXIX." The west side of the obelisk has the following beautiful and appropriate quotation from Cowper :— " Their blood was shed In confirmation of the noblest claim, Our claim to feed upon immortal truth, To walk with God, to be divinely free, To soar, and to anticipate the skies. Yet few remember them. They lived unknown Till persecution dragg'd them into fame And chas'd them up to heaven." CATHCART. St In solitudes like these T h y persecuted children, Scotia, foiled A tyrant's and a bigot's bloody laws ; There, leaning on his spear." OLMADIE is about a mile south of Glasgow, and was the scene of as tragical an occurrence as any recorded in the history of the " killing times," On the n t h May, 1685, Major Balfour, Captain Maitland, and other troopers, came to Polmadie, and apprehended Thomas Cook, John Urie, and Robert Thorn. The first two were weavers, and at the loom when the persecutors came to the house; the other a land labourer. They were questioned, " Would they pray for King James 7th ? " to which they replied, " They would pray for all within the election of grace." " Do you question the King's election ? " They answered, " Sometimes they questioned their own." Balfour swore dreadfully, and said they should die presently, because they would not pray for God's vicegerent. (112) Cathcart. 113 All the men were shot within an hour of being taken. Cook desired that he might live two days, which was denied. Three musketeers were then drawn out, the prisoners were blindfolded, and knelt down to pray, when they were shot. A number of other men in Polmadie were taken at the same time, first to Glasgow and afterwards imprisoned at Dunnottar. The three martyrs were buried in the churchyard of the village of Old Cathcart, near the entrance to the church. A single fiat stone marks the place, on which is inscribed :— « W £ co ^ g^S T H E : BLOODY : MURDERERS : OF ; THESE : MEN : WERE : MAGOR : BALFOUR . AND : CAPTAIN .' METLAND : * b ' a § S AND : UITH : THEM : OTHERS : UERE : NOT : FREE : "-*i?.§s CAUSED : THEM : TO : SEARCH : IN : POLMADIE : %•& o " & AS : SOON : AS : THEY : HAD : THEM : OUT : FOUND : H O .. g " w mS S THEY : MURTHERED : THEM : UITH : SHOTS : OF : GUNS : SCARCE : TIME : DID .• THEY : TO : THEM ; ALLOU ; ® S % % *" B E F 0 R f. § d ^ 3 S t! " ^ H §I ^o S & to n tl MANY : LIKE : IN : THIS : LAND : HAVE : BEEN : WHOS : BLOOD : FOR : WINGANCE : CRYES : TO : HEAVN : THIS : CRUELL : WICKEDNESS : YOW : SEE : WAS : DON : IN : LON : OF : POLMADE ; •S H§ HI : THER : MAKER : THER : KNIES : TO : BOW : THIS : MAY : A : STAND1NG £ i 2 S 2 • TU1XT • WITNESS : BE : : PRISBYTRIE : A N D : PRELACIE : H EAGLESHAM. u T h e persecutor's deeds, their frenzied rage, Live in the light of truth's historic page ; Their lidless coffin infamy displays, W i t h treasured deeds for mankind's scornful praise." H E moors to the south of Eaglesham were a favourite place for preaching during the persecution. In the churchyard, at the north-west corner, is the grave of two martyrs for the Covenant, who were shot by a party of Highlandmen and dragoons, under the command of Ardencaple, on i st May, 1685. The tradition of the place is that they had been attending a conventicle, and were on their way home when they were apprehended. One was shot at Cowplie, a farm-house which stood at the foot of Mellowther Hill, about three miles south-west of Eaglesham village ; the other escaped, but was overtaken about a mile further on the road. They were buried in the churchyard, and a flat stone was put over their grave, which has been re("4) Eaglesham. 115 placed by a monument erected about thirty years ago, on which is the old inscription, and the text of a sermon preached on the occasion of its removal:— PSA. CXII. & VI. T H E RIGHTEOUS SHALL BE IN EVERLASTING REMEMBRANCE. HERE LIE GABRIEL THOMSON AND ROBERT LOCKHART WHO WERE KILLED FOR OUNING THE COVENANTED TESTIMONY BY A PARTY OF HIGHLANDMEN AND DRAGOONS UNDER THE COMMAND OF ARDENCAPLE I S T MAY 1 6 8 5 . THESE MEN DID SEARCH THROUGH MOOR AND MOSS, TO FIND OUT ALL THAT HAD NO PASS— THESE FAITHFUL WITNESSES WERE FOUND, AND MURDERED UPON THE GROUND THEIR BODIES IN THIS GRAVE DO LIE, THEIR BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE YET DOTH CRY THIS MAY A STANDING WITNESS BE FOR PRESBYTRY GAINST PRELACY— James Wodrow, father of the historian of the sufferings of the Church of Scotland, was born at the hill of Eaglesham, January 2,1637, and was educated for the ministry; he was intercommuned, and had often to conceal himself to escape capture. When his son was born, he was obliged to leave his place of concealment, and being recognised, had a narrow escape. 116 Tombstones of the Covenanters. In 1687, when the law was suspended against long proscribed Presbyterians, the Synod of Glasgow and Ayr took advantage of it to recommend James Wodrow "to take care of the youth who had their eye to the ministry." He left Eaglesham for Glasgow, where, four years after, he was appointeci Professor of Divinity. His son, Robert, the future historian, studied under him, and while a student was chosen Librarian of the College, which position he held for four years. In 1703, he was licensed to preach the Gospel, and the following year was chosen minister of Eastwood, a parish which lies three miles south of Glasgow, where he laboured till his death in 1734. He seems to have early commenced collecting materials for his history, but it was not till May, 1721, that the first volume appeared, and the second the following year. It is a very rugged outline of the history of the persecution, faithful and honest in its statement of literal truth, but devoid of any graces of composition; notwithstanding which, it is a valuable record of the times, interesting for its very simplicity. The historian was buried in the churchyard of Eastwood, which lies nearly in the centre of the parish, midway between Thornliebank and Pollokshaws, where a monument marks his grave, on which is inscribed— Eaglesham. Erected To The Memory of the R E V . ROBERT WODROW, Minister of Eastwood, The Faithful Historian of the sufferings of the Church of Scotland From the year 1660 to 1688. H e died 21st March, 1734, in the 55 th year of his age, and 31st of his ministry. " He being dead yet speaketh." 117 FENWICK. " O n Fenwick's mist-o'er-mantled moor, Rises the lowly cot Lochgoin, A refuge for the pious poor In persecuting times. i|HE farm-house of Lochgoin occupies an elevated situation in the very heart of the moors of Fenwick, and was a place ot common resort to many a wanderer in the " killing times." No spot in the West of Scotland recalls so many t associations in connection with the days of Scotland's troubles. Here many a weary spirit found an asylum when unrelenting persecution darkened the land; and it has an additional charm as the homestead of the Howies, whose family name is a household word through association with the writer of " The Scots Worthies," which, next to the Bible, has been the best read book in Scotland. Many a pilgrim finds his way across the moor to visit the residence of Lochgoin, and inspect the (118) Fenwick. 119 various relics of the Covenanting times which are there sacredly treasured. The antiquary will feel interested in a curious collection of old silver coins, twenty-two in number, the earliest dated 1597, and inscribed—" Deus fortitude et spes nostra"—God is our strength and hope; also a well-furnished library containing many volumes of antiquity, and a collection of manuscripts. Among the relics of Covenanting celebrities is the Bible of .Captain John Paton, " which he gave to his wife from off the scaffold when he was executed for the'cause of Jesus Christ, at Edinburgh, 8th May, 1 6 8 4 ; " a l s o Captain Paton's sword, a drum said to have been at Drumclog, a Covenanters' flag, and other curiosities. The flag is supposed to have been unfurled at Drumclog, it bears the device of an open Bible, Crown, and Thistle, and inscribed, "Phinick for God, Country, and Covenanted work of Reformation." The family of Lochgoin had resided on the spot for nearly seven hundred years, as no fewer than twenty-nine persons of the name of John Howie have occupied the farm in successive generations. James Howie, the leading spirit of the suffering band of Covenanters, was not a native of Lochgoin . but belonged to the Mearns branch of the family, and married Isabel, eldest daughter of John Howie, with whom he resided after his marriage at Lochgoin. After the rising at Pentland, many of the fugitives 120 Tombstones of the Covenanters. sought refuge in the wilds near \ the residence of the Howies becoming in a manner their sanctuary, notwithstanding its being under the special surveillance of the soldiers, whose head-quarters were at Kilmarnock. Many a hair-breadth escape the Howies had from the dragoons, and great were the hardships and privations they endured. Isabel Howie had to leave her house, and seek shelter on the moors, and many cold nights she passed in the moss. In this precarious way they lived till the fury had abated. James Howie and his son were placed on the fugitive roll, and treated as outlaws, but both survived the Revolution. James died in 1691, and his son John reached the great age of 91, and breathed his last in 1755. Their ashes repose in the same grave in the churchyard of Fenwick. The old inscription on the gravestone was as follows. It has been obliterated, and is now replaced by a different memorial of the Howie family :— The dust here lies under this stone Of James Howie, and his Son John These two both lived in Lochgoin, And by Deaths power were call'd to join This place. The first, November twenty-one, Years sixteen hundred ninety one The second, aged ninety year The first of July was brought here Years seventeen hundred and fifty-five, For owning truth made fugitive Fenwick. 121 Their house twelve times, and cattle all Once robb'd, and fam'ly brought to thrall Ail these, before the Revolution Outlived Zion's friends 'gainst opposition And he said unto me, these are they which came out of great tribulation Rev. vii. 14. The voice said cry, What shall I cry ? All flesh is grass, and so must ly As flow'r in field with'reth away So the goodliness of man decay. Alongside James Howie's grave is that of his descendants. Four lines record the name of him who gave fame to the name :— Also of his son John, Who lived in Lochgoin, Author of the Scots Worthies, and other publications, Who died Jan. 5. A.D. 1793, Aged 57 years. The parish of Kilmarnock being large, and many of those belonging to it having to come six or seven miles to worship, the heritors and others procured a disjunction, and called the new parish Fenwick, or New Kilmarnock. Fenwick Church was erected in 1643, and with the exception of the under part being seated, has much of the primitive simplicity which marked it when William Guthrie, as first minister, gave it a name and fame which it still retains. H e was born in 1620, and was eldest son of the 122 Tombstones of the Covenanters. Laird of Pitforthy, in Angus. He had four brothers, three of whom gave themselves to the ministry— John, the youngest, being minister of Tarbolton till the Restoration of 1662, when he was ejected by the infamous Act of Glasgow. William studied at St Andrews under his cousin, James Guthrie, afterwards minister of Stirling, and a martyr of the first Reformation, executed at Edinburgh, June 1, 1661. He was also a student under the djrection of the celebrated Samuel Rutherford, and was licensed to preach at St Andrews; was tutor to Lord Mauchline, eldest son of the Earl of Loudon, where he continued till he entered upon a parochial charge. He was engaged to preach at Galston on a preparation day before the Communion, where several members of the newly-erected parish of Fenwick were present, who being greatly edified by his sermons, he was immediately chosen as their minister. With some parishioners he made choice of the ground upon which the church is built, and preached within its walls before it was completed. He was ordained 7th November, 1644, and had great difficulties to contend with, as many of the people were rude and barbarous, and rarely attended a place of worship; but so celebrated was his preaching and devotion to his pastoral duties, that his church was soon crowded. Many came from distant parishes, such as Glasgow, Paisley, Hamilton, Lanark, Strathaven, Newmilns, and Fenwick. 123 other places. It was their practice to come to Fenwick on Saturday, and spend the night in preparation for the services of the following day, and then return home on Monday. His great usefulness and popularity provoked the jealousy of the angry Prelates, who attacked him, and by a Commission was suspended from preaching. On a day appointed the curate came to Fenwick with a party of twelve soldiers, declared the church vacant, and prohibited him from the exercise of his ministry. Guthrie continued at Fenwick till the year 1665, when his brother's death necessitated his presence in Angus. Here he was seized with a fatal illness, which ended in eight or ten days, at the house of his brother-in-law, Mr Lewis Skinner, Brechin, on 10th October, 1665, in the 45th year of his age. His remains were buried in the church of Brechin. In the year 1854, when Captain Paton's monument was renewed in the churchyard of Fenwick, a memorial was raised to the first minister against the south side of the church, facing the entrance to the churchyard. The inscription is as follows :— In memory of The Rev. WILLIAM GUTHRIE, first minister of this parish, and Author of the Christian's Great Interest. Born 1620, Ordained 1644. 124 Tombstones of the Covenanters. Ejected by Prelatic persecution 1664. Worn out by labours and sufferings he died 1665, and was interred in the Church of Brechin. His active and self denying ministry, through the Divine blessing, produced a deep and lasting impression. This stone is erected, 1854, as a token of gratitude by the Christian public. With heavenly weapons I have fought The battles of the Lord : Finish'd my course, and kept the faith, Depending on his word. There are many martyr memories associated with the church and graveyard of Fenwick, not the least interesting of which is the history of that brave soldier for the Covenant, Captain John Paton, of Meadowhead, in the parish of Fenwick. In early life he worked on the farm, but left it for a soldier's life, and served with distinction under Gustavus Adolphus, and afterwards at Marston Moor. H e then returned home, but was called out with the militia of his native parish to resist Montrose, and was present at the Battle of Kilsyth, 15th August, 1645. H e was also at the Battle of Worcester, September 3, 1651, where he fought for King Charles I I . with his usual ardour against Cromwell. At the close of the War he returned to Scotland, and resumed the pursuits of his youth by taking the farm of Meadow- Fenwick. 125 head, where he continued to reside for the rest of his days. He attended the ministry of William Guthrie in Fenwick Church, and was chosen one of his elders. When, in 1666, the Covenanters took up arms in self-defence, he could not resist the invitation of his friends to join them, and commanded a party of horse from Loudon, Fenwick, and other places. He was at the rising at Pentland, and was among the last to quit the field. He became ever after that day a marked man; in the winter following Pentland, he and twenty others had a narrow escape at Lochgoin. He was not at the Battle of Drumclog, but very soon after joined the Covenanters with a number of horsemen, and was present at the fatal defeat of Bothwell Bridge, after which he was proclaimed a rebel, and a price put upon his head. Many a narrow escape he had before his final capture. He was then an old man, and a soldier's life, with its vicissitudes and hardships, had told upon his constitution; he was surprised by a party of soldiers in the house of Robert Howie, at Floak, in the parish of Mearns, and being unarmed, and unable to cope with them single-handed, he was easily secured. He was first taken to Kilmarnock, supposing him to be some aged minister, and on the way thither the soldiers found out the prize they had captured; he was removed to Edinburgh,where he 12 6 Tombstones of the Covenanters. was tried on the 16th April, 1684, and condemned on his own confession of being at Bothweil, then sentenced to be hanged at the Grassmarket on the 23rd, but reprieved till the 9th May. H e was buried in the corner of Greyfriars' Churchyard, Edinburgh, where the dust of so many martyrs lies. In Fenwick Churchyard his fellow parishioners erected a monument to his memory after the Revolution. This memorial having fallen down some years ago, a more imposing structure has been raised, on which is inscribed :— Sacred To the memory of Captain JOHN PATON, late in Meadowhead, of this parish, who suffered martyrdom in the Grassmarket, Edinburgh, May 9th, 1684. H e was an honour to his country: On the Continent, at Pentland, Drumclog, and Bothweil, His heroic conduct truly evinced the gallant officer, Brave soldier, and true patriot. In social and domestic life he was an ornament, A pious Christian, and a faithful witness for truth, In opposition to the encroachments of tyrannical and despotic power in Church and State. The mortal remains of Captain Paton sleep amid the dust of kindred martyrs in the Greyfriars' Churchyard, Edinburgh. Near this is the burying place of his family and descendants. Fenwick. 127 Who Antichrist do thus oppose, And for truth's cause their lives lay down; Will get the victory o'er their foes, And gain life's everlasting crown. On the west side of the churchyard lie the remains of John Fergushill and George Woodburn, who were taken prisoners at Midland, near Fenwick, where they had gone to meet John Nisbet, of Hardhill, and Peter Gemmel, who had assembled for prayer and other religious exercises on a Saturday night in November, 1685. They had not been long together when they heard that Lieut. Nisbet, a cousin of HardhhTs, and a party of dragoons, were in search of them. The enemy soon came in sight, and spent an hour in a vain attempt to discover their place of concealment The search was renewed the following morning, and proved successful. When discovered, they fired the only three charges they had, and kept the soldiers at bay by using their empty guns as clubs. Nisbet of -Hardhill received six shots, while the others were seized and shot dead upon the spot without trial; the wounded Nisbet was pinioned and taken to Edinburgh, where he was executed on the 4th December, 1685. Woodburn's representatives still live in the neighbouring parish of Loudon, at the farm-house of Mains, where the Covenanter's sword is preserved as a family treasure. 128 Tombstones of the Covenanters. A simple gravestone preserves the memory of these two confessors, on which is inscribed :— Here lies The dust of JOHN FERGUSHILL, and GEORE WOODBURN, who were shot at Midland by Nisbet and his party, 1685. When bloody prelates Once these nations pest Contrived that cursed Self-contradicting test These men for Christ Did suffer martyrdom. And here their dust lies Waiting till he come. Renewed by ^Subscription. 1829. Near the grave of Woodburn and Fergushill lies Peter Gemmel, their associate in martyrdom, an ancestor of the mother of Robert Pollok, author of " The Course of Time." The memory of this martyr may have suggested the title to one of his Tales of the Covenanters—" Ralph Gemmel." The stone bears this inscription :— Here lies the Corps of Peter Gemmel who was Shot to death by Nisbet & his party 1685 for bearing his faithful Testimony to the Cause of Christ, aged 21 years. Fenwick. 129 This man like holy Anchorits of old For conscience sake was thrust from house and hold [short Blood thirsty Redcoats cut his prayers And ev'n his dying groans were made their sport Ah Scotland breach of solemn vows repent Or blood thy crime will be thy punishment. The churchyard has a farther witness for the Covenant in James White, whose gravestone is near to Peter Gemmers. H e was one of twelve who had met for prayer at Little Blackwood,, a farm-house in the parish of Kilmarnock. White was the only man who had fire-arms, he sprung to his feet when he heard footsteps approaching, and, seizing his muskeg stepped along the passage to ascertain what might be stirring without. Patrick Inglis, the commander of a company of troopers from the garrison at Newmilns, had surrounded the house, stationing a soldier at each door to prevent escape; in the tumult James White drew the trigger of his musket, which flashed in the pan, and revealed his person to the troopers, enabling them to take aim, which they did, and he fell dead in the passage. The ruffian in command lifted an axe and cut off White's head* carried it to Newmilns, and played with it next day as a football. 130 Tombstones of the Covenanters. The gravestone bears this inscription :— HERE LIES THE BODY OF JAMES W H I T E WHO WAS SHOT TO DEATH AT LITTLE BLACKWOOD BY P E T E R INGLES AND H I S PARTY. 1685. RENEWED BY SUBSCRIPTION. 1822. This Martyr was By P E T E R INGLES Shot. By birth a Tyger rather than a Scot Who that his monstrous Extract might be Seen Cut off his head & kick't it O'er the Green Thus was that head which Was to wear a Crown A foot ball made by a profane Dragoun. In addition to these memorials in Fen wick Churchyard, is a stone indented in the wall at the entrance gate to the memory of two natives of Fenwick, namely, Robert Buntine and James Blackwood, the former executed at Glasgow, 19th December, 1666, the latter at Irvine, on the 31st December of the same year. Fenwick. The stone has the following inscription :— Erected In memory of EOBERT BUNTINE, who was executed at Glasgow, 19 D e c , 1666 and of JAMES BLACKWOOD who was executed at Irvine 31 D e c , 1666, (both natives of Fenwick) for their attachment to the Covenanted Work of Reformation and their share in the struggle of Pentland 28 Nov., of the same year. 131 KILMARNOCK. " Those men of old, who shed around Lov'd mem'ries, precious, pure, and grand; Who, Coila, make thee holy ground, T h e Covenanting Land." F T E R the defeat of the Covenanters at Rullion Green, the Government followed their success by severe measures against any one suspected of being concerned in the rising at Pentland. For this purpose, troops were stationed at various towns in the West of Scotland, and Kilmarnock was selected as the head-quarters for Ayrshire of General Dalziel and his ruthless soldiers. For years after a dark shadow was cast over the district, and many a dismal story of exaction and atrocity was left to fill the local annals; the wanton cruelties of Dalziel being an outrage on humanity. The old prison-house, which stood west of the Cross, was a loathsome dungeon, called the " Thieves' H o l e / ' and used for incarcerating the helpless victims (J32) Kilmarnock. 133 of the persecution. Crowded in this unwholesome den the prisoners could scarcely move themselves night or day, but were obliged to stand upright. No respect was shown to persons; all ranks and grades were subjected to the same inhuman treatment, and many put to torture to extort confession. Such a scourge had the General become, that the house in which he lodged, and from the windows of which he frequently gave orders to his soldiers, was long looked upon with dread, and became best known as the house of bloody Dalziel. To those of our readers who are curious in such matters, the excellent local historian informs us that " it stood upon the south bank of the water at the end of the Old Bridge, behind what is now called Victoria Place." At a later period in the history of the persecution the town was again severely oppressed by the Highland host, the most heartless wretches of the whole campaign; and shortly after this time came another party of soldiers under the command of Captain Inglis, whose name is infamous in the local history by his wolfish eagerness in hunting up the followers of the Covenant; these had their head-quarters at Dean Castle, about a mile north-east of Kilmarnock, and from thence prowled like blood-hounds round the suspected districts. Deeds of the darkest character were enacted throughout those troublous times; exactions and confiscations were put in force on the 134 Tombstones of the Covenanters. slightest pretence, and some were condemned to be shot without even the mockery of a trial. In 1683, Major White was fully empowered to fine and imprison all those who refused to acknowledge the Episcopal rule, or were supposed to sympathise with the Covenanters. It was in this year the Council granted him Justiciary power upon his apprehending John Nisbet —the younger, as he was styled, to distinguish him from John Nisbet of Hardhill—to prosecute him on the spot on the charge of being at Bothwell Bridge. He was accordingly tried at Kilmarnock, and sentenced to be hanged at the Cross. The spot where the gallows stood at the south corner is still marked by a circle of small white stones, and the initials of his name, J. N. Wodrow says "he had a grave courage and staidness when he came to the place of execution; he prayed, and sang Psalm xvi. 5, to the close, with a great deal of affection and joy." Nisbet belonged to the parish of Loudon. His execution was the only one which took place at Kilmarnock. His remains were buried in the Low Church burying-ground; an upright stone marks his grave, on which is carved a pistol, cross swords, and flags, and on a sculptured scroll the words, Solemn League and Covenant, God and our Country, Kilmarnock. 135 and underneath is inscribed:— HERE LIES JOHN NISBET w h o was T a k e n by Major Balfour's Party & Suffered at K i l m a r n o c k 4 th A p r i l 1 6 8 3 for a d h e r i n g To the Word of GOD and our Covenants. Rev. xii. & 11 Renewed by Public Contribution A.D. 1823. On the other side— Come, Reader, see, here pleasant NISBET lies : Whose Blood doth pierce the high and lofty Skies* Kilmarnock did his latter Hour perceive; And Christ his Soul to, Heaven did receive. Yet bloody Torrans did his Body raise And bury'd it into another place: Saying, Shall Rebels ly in Grave with me ? We'll bury him where Evil-doers be. See Cloud of Witnesses. Near the grave of Nisbet is a martyr-stone of remembrance to John Ross and John Shields, who suffered at Edinburgh, and had their heads set up at Kilmarnock. The former belonged to Mauchline, and joined the Covenanters at the rising of Pentland, but was taken prisoner a week previous to the battle. 136 Tombstones of the Covenanters. The latter was a tenant of Sir George Maxwell of Nether Pollock. They were accused and found guilty of carrying arms, and of being at Kilmarnock for the purpose of bringing intelligence of the movements of the soldiers. They were tried at the same time with the four martyrs whose heads were set up at Hamilton, and received a similar sentence. '* Naphtali" contains a testimony of John Shields. An upright stone, on the north of the Low Church, bears ,the record:— H E R E LIE the Heads of JOHN ROSS and JOHN S H I E L D S who suffered a t Edinburgh Dec. 27th 1666 and had their Heads set up at Kilmarnock Our Persecutors mad with wrath & Ire; In Edinh members Some do lie, Some here. Yet instantly united they Shall be, & witness 'gainst this Nation's perjury See Cloud of Witnesses. The Low Churchyard has a third memorial of those natives of Kilmarnock who were sentenced to transportation for being engaged in the Battle of Bothwell Bridge, and who formed part of those who suffered such cruel misery during their confinement Kilmarnock. 137 in Greyfriars' Churchyard, Edinburgh, and were afterwards wrecked during a violent storm near.the Orkney Isles. On the same stone of remembrance is the name of John Findlay, of Muirside, in the parish of Kilmarnock, whose testimony is in the " Cloud of Witnesses." He was present at Drumclog, but without arms. An illiterate man, who declares he could not write, for refusing to answer properly the questions put to him, confessing they were kittle questions, his life was taken away. On the head of the stone is a representation of an open Bible, on each side of which is inscribed :— Psalm 44, 17. All this is come upon us, yet have we not forgotten thee, neither have we dealt falsely in Thy Covenant. Rev. 2, 10. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life, SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF THOMAS FINLAY JOHN CUTHBERTSON WILLIAM BROWN, ROBERT & JAMES ANDERSON Natives of this Parish Who were taken Prisoners at Bothwell 22nd June 1679, sentenced to Transportation for Life, & drowned on their passage near the Orkney Isles. 138 Tombstones of the Covenanters. ALSO JOHN FINLAY who suffered martyrdom 15 Dec. 1682 in the Grassmarket, Edinburgh Peace to the Church, her peace no friends invade; Peace to each Noble Martyr's honour'd shade; They, with undaunted courage, truth and zeal Contended for the Church and Country's weal, We share the fruits, we drop the grateful tear And. peaceful altars o'er their ashes rear. IRVINE. " By baron's hall and kirkyard grey T h y murm'ring rivers roll along, O'er heathy hill, through valley gay, Romantic, rich in song." |N 1662, after the establishment of Episcopacy in Scotland, and for its greater security, an Act was passed ordaining all persons in public trust to sign a declaration affirming it unlawful to enter into leagues and covenants, and that all gatherings and protestations in their favour were unlawful and seditious. Some royal burghs gave their adhesion to the proclamation, and others refused. Many magistrates throughout the West demitted their offices rather than subscribe the test. On November 3rd, 1664, a petition was presented to the Council at Edinburgh by Robert Cunningham, Provost of the burgh of Irvine, and Henry Lynn, one of the bailies, in name of themselves and of the burgh, setting forth that of six councillors elected to serve in the burgh, all refuse to accept, because they ( J 39) 140 Tombstones of the Covenanters. were not clear to subscribe the declaration appointed by law, and in consequence the burgh is likely to be disappointed of magistrates for the coming year. At a later period in the history of the town, the same spirit prevailed. On the 27th Feb., 1678, a Committee of the Council was appointed to intimate to the town of Irvine 4t that they must find persons to serve the magistracy who are willing to take the allegiance, declaration, and sign the bond, otherwise lose their privileges, and that against a prefixed day." The principles of the Reformation had been firmly rooted among the parishioners under the ministry of the Rev. David Dickson, minister of Irvine, whose fame spread far beyond the bounds of his Presbytery, with a zeal which exposed him to the rage of the bishops, who summoned him before the High Court of Commission, and succeeded in getting him banished to Turriff, in the North of Scotland. By the intercession of the Earl of Eglinton, whose Countess was an ornament to her Christian profession, and whose influence protected many faithful ministers, he was restored to his beloved people at Irvine, many families settled in the neighbourhood to have the benefit of his ministrations; and on Monday, being market-day, when country people assembled, he commenced the delivery of a weekly lecture. He was afterwards translated to Glasgow and Edinburgh, in both cities as Professor of Divinity; he was author of various commentaries on passages Irvine. 141 of Scripture, and other theological works; the wellknown hymn, u O mother dear, Jerusalem," was adapted by him from an old version. In the churchyard of the Parish Church is a memorial to two sufferers of the persecution, James Blackwood and John M'Coul, two of the prisoners tried at Ayr on the 24th December, 1666, for being implicated in the rising of Pentland. The Irvine hangman, William Sutherland, refused to execute any of the Covenanters, for which he was put in the stocks, and threatened to be shot, but no threats had any influence on his conscience. H e was imprisoned at Ayr for many weeks, and while there wrote out a declaration of his previous life, and steadfast hope in the work of Reformation. It is an interesting document, printed in Wodrow's History. The man who officiated at the execution was the liberated prisoner who did the same office at Ayr, but after his liberation he suffered such remorse for the course he had taken, that he died in great misery a few days after. On the gravestone of the martyrs is the following record:— STOP PASSENGER THOU TREADEST NEAR TWO MARTYRS JAMES BLACKWOOD & J O H N M'COUL who suffered at I R V I N E on the 3 1 s t of December 1666 REVxii nth 142 Tombstones of the Covenanters: These honest Country-men whose Bones here lie A Victim fell to Prelates Cruelty; Condemn'd by bloody and unrighteous Laws They died Martyrs for the good old cause Which Balaams wicked Race in vain assail For no Inchantments 'gainst Israel prevail Life and this evil World they did contemn And dy'd for Christ who died first for them ' They liv'd unknown Till Persecution dragged them into fame And chas'd them up to Heaven' Erected by Friends to Religious Liberty 31st Dec. 1823. LOU DON. ( On Irvine's braes—a dreary bog— Hard by the forest-mantled hill, Slumbers the sacred field Dnimclog, T h e home of brave Hardhill." | H E Loudon family occupy a conspicuous place in the annals of Scotland, and did good service in their day to the cause of liberty of conscience. In 1633, when Baron Loudon was raised to the dignity of an Earl, his patent was suspended for eight years owing to his opposition to Court measures. H e resisted, in 1637, the attempt of Charles L to force Episcopacy on Scotland; was a member of the General Assembly of 1638; and the following year he garrisoned for the Covenanters the castles of Strathaven, Douglas, and Tantallam In 1640, having gone to London as Commissioner of Estates, he was arrested on a charge of high treason and committed to the Tower, but regained his liberty, and was permitted to kiss the King's hand. H e was (H3) 144 Tombstones of the Covenanters. appointed Lord High Chancellor and First Commissioner of the Treasury in 1641; but at the Restoration was deprived of his Chancellorship, and fined £12,000 Scots. He died in Edinburgh 13th March, 1663, and was taken to Loudon, where a vault in the old Parish Kirk of Loudon constitutes the burial place of the family. Nothing now remains but the gable walls. Attached to the east gable is a square tower, on the north side of which a small grating looks into the vault below. On the south side a flat stone marks where other members of the family lie. The Battle of Drumclog was fought within two miles and a half, and is as often called, " The Battle of Loudon Hill;" and the district around is full of Covenant traditions, while the graveyards of Loudon, Newmilns, and Galston preserve the memories of the sufferers. To the east of the Tower of Loudon lies buried one of those who died of wounds received on the battle-field of Drumclog. His tombstone has a crown carved over the inscription, which is as follows :— HERE LIES THOMAS FLEMMING OF LOUDON HILL. Who for His Appearing in ARMS In his Own Defence & in Defence OF THE GOSPEL. Loudon. According to the Obligations of Our National Covenants And Agreeable to the WORD of GOD [clog Was Shot in a Rencounter at Drum June 1 st 1679 by bloody GRAHAM of Claverhouse. K 145 NEWMILNS. " Where the long grass rankly waves, O'er the holy martyrs' graves, Pour the solemn meed it craves In the Auld Kirkyard." H E Church of Newmilns is a more central meeting place for the parishioners of the district, and superseded the old church of Loudon some time last century. It is a place of considerable antiquity, and many distinguished ministers filled its pulpit during the stirring times of the persecution. The Old Tower, at no great distance from the Parish Church, was the head-quarters of Captain Inglis and his troops; whose memory is still remembered in abhorrence as a savage scourge of the " hill folk." The churchyard has its martyr memories. On the east wall is a monument to five sufferers for the cause of liberty of conscience, Matthew Paton, David Findlay, James Wood, John Nisbet, and James Nisbet Paton was a shoemaker at Newmilns, who (i46) Newmilns. 147 was taken prisoner after the rising at Pentland.; it was pleaded on his behalf, that as quarter had been given on the field of battle, he could not be put to death, a plea which was rejected; so he was condemned to be executed along with three others taken at the same time—Robert Buntine, of Fenwick .; John Hart, of Glasford; and Robert Scott, of Dalserf. David Findlay belonged also to Newmilns, but was at Lanark when he witnessed the Covenanting party under Colonel Wallace pass through, but had not then joined their ranks. His story is a fearful example of the reign of terror under Dalziel. When asked what he saw at Lanark he could say very little, being a stranger; so without further trial the General ordered him immediately to be shot. Findlay pleaded for one night's preparation, but in vain; the ruffian was immovable, and, says Wodrow, " the man was shot dead, stripped naked, and left upon the spot." James Wood was present at Bothwell Bridge, and when taken had no weapon of any kind; but because he would not call the rising rebellion, and Sharp's death murder, he was sentenced to be executed at Magus Muir. John Nisbet, the younger, has already been remembered in the Kilmarnock records. James Nisbet has also been referred to in our notice of the Glasgow martyrs. 148 Tombstones of the Covenanters. The inscription on the monument is as follows :—• ERECTED Sept. 1829. By the Parishioners of Loudon in testimony of their deep admiration of the noble struggle, in defence of the civil and religious liberties of their country, against the despotic and persecuting measures of the House of Stuart, maintained by the under named martyrs belonging to this Parish, who suffered and died for their devotedness to the Covenanted Work of Reformation. MATTHEW PATON, shoemaker in Newmilns who was taken in the Rencounter at Pentland & executed at Glasgow. Dec. 19th 1666. DAVID FINDLAY. who was shot at Newmilns, by order of Dakiel 1666 JAMES WOOD taken at the battle of Bothwell Bridge & executed at Magusmuir Nov. 25th 1679. JOHN NISBET in Glen executed at Kilmarnock. April 14th 1683. and JAMES NISBET in Highside executed at Glasgow. June n t h 1684 These are they who came out of great tribulation. Rev. vii. n Near the monument to Paton and the other sufferers, is one to the memory of John Nisbet of Newmilns. 149 Hardhill, one of the most interesting heroes of the Covenant during the whole period of the persecution. His ancestors were attached to the -precursors of the Reformation in Scotland, and the same devoted spirit inspired his troubled life. Like his friend and neighbour Captain Paton, in the parish of Fenwick, he passed his early life in military service abroad, returned to his native country after the close of the Thirty Years' War in 1648, and settled at Hardhill, in the parish of Loudon. About the year 1664, having a child baptised by John Blackadder, one of the outed ministers, he was denounced from the pulpit and threatened with excommunication, but the sudden death of the curate on the following day prevented this being carried out. When the Covenants were renewed at Lanark, previous to the rising at Pentland, he joined their forces, and was present at the Battle of Rullion Green, where he was so severely wounded as to be left for dead on the field, but fortunately revived, and escaped under cover of night, although it was twelve months before his wounds were entirely healed. The soldiers came to his house in quest of him, and holding a sword to his wife's breast, threatened to run her through unless she would discover her husband; but she, supposing he had been killed in the battle, told them that for anything she knew it was s o ; not being satisfied, they returned and seized his goods. At the Battle of Drumclog he was sent for after the 150 Tombstones of the Covenanters. fighting had begun, and came sword in hand, in time to lead the successful attack upon Claverhouse and his dragoons. Being a strong, bold, powerful man, he went on resolutely to all parts of the action, and released the Rev. John King, a prisoner of the soldiers, whose orders were to shoot him if overcome. The report of the battle, afterwards published by his son, in a brief memoir, says, " My father killed seven men with his own hand, which much exposed him and all his to their after avenging fury." At the Battle of Bothwell Bridge, according to Wodrow, he was a Captain, and occupied the post of honour at the Bridge, maintaining his position as long as any man would stand by him. After this he was denounced as a rebel, a price set upon his head, his property confiscated, and his wife and four children expelled from their home, They had to wander about in secrecy, and find shelter in many a solitary place; and after four years' hardship his devoted wife died on a bed of straw in a sheepcot, without light or fire. It was some time before Hardhill heard of his wife's death ; and she had been buried some days when he reached the place, where fresh calamities awaited him. His daughter had died a few hours before his arrival, and two sons lay ill of fever. Under cover of night his daughter was buried in Stonehouse Churchyard; next day the troopers were on his track, but he escaped out of their clutches. Newmilns. 151 He was at last taken at Midland, a farm-house about half a mile from Fen wick, where he, with Peter Gemmel, George Woodburn, and an old man named John Fergushill, had met for prayer and religious exercises in the beginning of November, 1685. They had not been long assembled when Lieut. Nisbet, a cousin of Hardhill's, with a party of soldiers, came in quest of fugitives. Nisbet got his back to the wall, and defended himself; he maintained his ground, but received seven wounds, and would have been despatched by the troopers, but the commander recognised him, and cried, " Ho I it is Hardhill, spare his life, for the Council has offered 3000 merks for him." His three companions were shot dead, while he was taken to Edinburgh, where he was tried, found guilty, and sentenced to be hanged at the Grassmarket, December 4, 1685. So died this valiant Christian and faithful martyr of the Covenant The inscription on the monument erected by his fellow parishioners, is a laboured composition, wanting the stern simplicity and ruggedness of the early memorial stones :— To the Memory of JOHN NISBET of HARDHILL who suffered martyrdom at the Grassmarket EDINBURGH . 4th December, 1685. Animated by a Spirit To which Genuine Religion alone could give Birth, 152 Tombstones of the Covenanters. the pure flame of civil & Religious Liberty alone could keep alive, H e manfully struggled for a Series of YEARS To stem the Tide of National Degeneracy, And Hberatehis Country from the tyrannical Aggressions Of the perjured House of STUART His conduct in arms at PENTLAND, DRUMCLOG- and BOTHWELL BRIDGE In opposition to Prelatic Encroachments & in defence of Scotland's Covenanted Reformation, Is recorded in the annals of Those oppressive Times. His remains lie at E D I N B U R G H , But the inhabitants of this his N A T I V E P A R I S H And Friends to the Cause for which he Fought and Died, Have caused this stone TO BE ERECTED On the west side of the churchyard is a gravestone to the memory of John Morton in Broomhill, a wellknown Covenanter, and the only one shot dead on the field at the Battle of Drumclog. Another stone on the east side remembers John Gebbie in Feoch, who was wounded at Drumclog, and died some time after the battle. Both stones are similar in size and inscription to the one in Loudon Churchyard to Thomas Fleming. Morton's is as follows :— Here lies JOHN MORTON in Broomhill who, for appearing in arms in his own defence, and in defence of the Gospel Newmilns. 153 according to the obligations of our National Covenant, and agreeable to the Word of God was shot in a rencounter at Drumclog, June 1st, 1679, By bloody Graham of Claverhouse. Newmilns has another memorial stone to the memory of John Law, brother-in-law of John Nisbet of Hardhill. He was one of a party who attempted the rescue of eight men taken prisoners at Little Blackwood, where they had assembled for prayer, and were surprised by Captain Inglis and a party of soldiers, who brought them to the Old Tower of Newmilns, and secured an order for shooting them the following morning; this report raised a party of friends to attempt their liberation, among whom was John Law, who was shot in the struggle. His body was buried in the garden of the old farm adjoining, where a stone marked his grave, which is now removed, and fixed in the gable of an old thatched house, opposite the entrance to the United Presbyterian Church. It is thus inscribed:— RENEWED IN 1822 Here LIES JOHN LAW, Who was shot at NEWMILLS, AT The relieving of 8 of CHRIST'S— Prisoners, Who were taken at A meet? For Prayer at Little Blackwood, in the 154 Tombstones of the Covenanters. Parish of KILM* in April 1685, By CAPT INGLIS and his PARTY, For Their Adherence to the Word of GOD And Scotland's Covenanted Work of Reformation. Cause I CHRIST'S Prisoners reliev'd I of my life was soon beriev'cL By c r u e l E n e m i e s w i t h r a g e In that Rencounter did engage. The Martyr's honour & his Crown Bestowed on me O high Renown That I Should not only believe, But For CHRIST'S cause my life should give GALSTON. " Their blood is shed In confirmation of the noblest claim— Our claim to feed upon immortal truth, T o walk with God, to be divinely free." |JHE village of Galston lies in a finelysheltered hollow on the south side of the Irvine, and about half-a-mile from Loudon Churchyard. The Parish Church is a spacious modern building, and the burying-ground has its martyr stones. One of these to the memory of Andrew Richmond was renewed in 1823. On the upper part of the stone is cut a representation of " Galston Covenanters' Flag," inscribed " For God and State, Kirk and Covenants, and the work of Reformation. Galston. God is ever the same." On the other side, an open Bible, with Rev. xii. 11, cut on its pages, and in basso-relievo a figure of a soldier pointing a gun at a man, between them a sand-glass, and underneath the following inscription :— (15s) 156 Tombstones of the Covenanters. H E R E L I E S ANDREW R I C H M O N D Who was killed by bloody GRAHAM of Claver-House J u n e . 1679. For his Adherence to the W O R D of GOD & Scotland's Covenanted Work of Reformation When bloody Tyrants here did rage Over the LORD'S O WN Heritage To persecute His noble Cause By Mischief Framed into Laws Cause I the Gospel did defend By Martyrdom my life did end. In another part of the churchyard is a monument to the memory of John Richmond, 6f Knowe, a farm between Galston and Hurlford, who has been already referred to among those who suffered at Glasgow. James Smith is on the list of fugitives in the proclamation of 1684. H e lived on the farm of Threepwood, in Galston parish; and having had a child baptised at a conventicle, became a marked man. H e sought a hiding place in the fields, but was discovered by the soldiers, made a bold defence, but was overpowered by numbers, and shot. He was buried where he fell. James Young and George Campbell were among the prisoners confined in Greyfriars' Churchyard, and afterwards shipwrecked off the Orkney Isles, when both perished. The Rev. Alex. Blair was minister of Galston, and Galston. 157 imprisoned four months for refusing to recognise the right of the Crown to make changes in the Church, he was deprived of his charge, and forbidden to live within the bounds of his Presbytery, or in Edinburgh, or Glasgow. In the Act anent indulgence, Sept. 3, 1672, Blair's name occurs as confined in the exercise of his ministerial functions to the parish of Galston. For refusing to observe the day of Restoration, he was, with other indulged ministers, cited to appear before the Council where, by his bold outspoken words, he offended the Chancellor, refusing to receive any instructions from him for regulating the exercise of his ministry; for which offence he was taken to the Tolbooth, Edinburgh, where the confinement from July to December brought on serious illness, and he died shortly after his removal from prison, from which he was released in consequence of his severe sufferings, and after giving security that he would re-enter it in a month. The inscription on the monument is modern :— In memory of JOHN RICHMOND younger of Knowe who was executed at the Cross of Glasgow March 19th 1684 and interred in the High Churchyard there, and JAMES SMITH East Threepwood 158 Tombstones of the Covenanters. who was shot near Bank of Burn Ann by Captain Inglis and his dragoons and buried there, also JAMES YOUNG & GEORGE CAMPBELL who were banished in 1679, and the Rev. ALEXANDER BLAIR who suffered imprisonment 1673. On the other side of the monument is a pompous dedication to the glory and honour of Galston, and those who assisted in erecting the memorial:— This stone is erected by public contributions in the parish of Galston, in honour of those belonging to it who suffered at the glorious era of Scotland's Covenanted Reformation. May it stand for ages as a monument of abhorrence at tyranny in Church and State, as a grateful and well-merited tribute to those illustrious men who successfully struggled to resist it. May it excite in the breasts of posterity an attachment to the noble cause of Religious and Civil Liberty, and if ever circumstances should require it, an ardour to imitate the noble deeds of their ancestors. — AYR. *' Cradle of Wallace, Bruce and Burns! W h a t child of Scotia, fair and free, Can e'er forget, where'er he turns, T o think of them and thee ! " Y a Royal Commission, dated 5th December, 1666, a number of noblemen and gentlemen were appointed to proceed at once to different parts of the country to try the prisoners taken at Pentland, with power to hold courts, cite parties, examine witnesses, and take all other methods to discover authors, aiders, and abettors of the said rising, and with authority to seize upon their persons, and incarcerate them till they be tried j also to search their houses and other suspected places. For the more speedy carrying out of their commission, they were to divide themselves into parties, any three of them together, that they might go to several places at one time, to hold assizes, and pass sentence upon those found guilty. On the 22nd December, the Earl of Kellie, (159) 160 Tombstones of the Covenanters. Lieutenant-General Drummond, Charles Maitland of Hatton, and James Creighton, brother of the Earl of Dumfries, proceeded as part of this Commission to Ayr, to try twelve prisoners indicted for treason, for being at Pentland. They were found guilty, and ordered to be executed at Ayr, Irvine, and Dumfries. Eight were condemned to be hanged at Ayr, but the hangman refused to perform the hateful office, and went out of the way. The Irvine hangman was brought to supply his place, but he also resolutely declined to act, and was committed to prison. In this predicament, Cornelius Anderson, one of the prisoners, was prevailed upon to become executioner, on condition of his life being spared. Even then the Provost of Ayr had to make him half drunk with brandy before he was sufficiently callous for the work. The bodies were afterwards buried in the churchyard, where a plain upright stone serves as a memorial. The inscription is as follows :— Here lies the Corpse of James Smith, Alexr McMillan, James M c Millan John Short, George M c Kertny, Jn° Graham, a n d J o h n INIuirhead who Suffered Martyrdom at A I R 27th IS SMITH. AltoM?MnPAN|| JAMES MCMILLAN, JOHN SHOBT, ||| [GEORGE M?KE]\TNY,JN°GRAI-I and JOHNT MDHIHEAI)-wLo Sufrred Martyrdom at AIR 27'J Dec^l666 Far their adherance |||| to the Word of COD and Scotland Coveaimited wo£Fi of Reformation I I This imallTnWfce to the Abovejjj wag done Ly the Incorporate [Trades of A^Aov^w^omrnm^dM For the Bigixt eoxts jQiallb e Keept || MARTYRS' GRAVE, AYR. (Front View.) Page 160. MARTYRS' GRAVE, AYR. (Back View.) Ayr 161 br Dec 1666 For their Adherance to the Word of GOD and Scotlands Covenanted work of Reformation. This Small Tribute to the Above was done by the Incorporate Trades of AIR Anno Domonie 1814 For the Righteous shall be keept in everlasting rememberance. On the other side— Here lie seven Martyrs for our Covenants A sacred number of triumphiant Saints Pontius McAdam th' unjust Sentence past. What is his oun the world will know at last And Herod Drummond caused their Heads affix Heav'n keeps a record of the sixty six. Boots, thumbkins, gibbets were in fashon then. L O R D let us never see such Days again. The gallows at Ayr was placed near the present railway station, and had a martyr stone erected there upon the body of Andrew MfcGill, who suffered November, 1684. H e was apprehended on the information of Andrew Thorn, but we have no particulars of his history. The inscription is preserved in the "Cloud of Witnesses," and was as follows :— " Upon a stone lying beside the Gallows of Air; upon the Body of Andrew M'gill, who was apprehended by the information of Andrew Tom, who suffered there November 1684. L 162 Tombstones of the Covenanters. Near this abhorred Tree a Sufferer lyes, Who chus'd to fall, that falling Truth might rise His Station could advance no costly deed, Save giving of a Life, the LORD did need. When Christ shall vindicate his Way, he'll cast The Doom that was pronounced in such a haste, And Incorruption shall forget Disgrace Design'd by the Interment in this Place." TARBOLTON. U R I N G the year 1684, Wodrow writes: " No small severities were exercised this year upon the account of house conventicles, and none was kept in the fields except by Mr Renwick." Soldiers were everywhere on the watch, who made short, sharp practice with those found in the fields. About July, 1685, Lieutenant Lauder, a subaltern officer from the garrison of Sorn, was riding out in search of fugitives, and at the wood head of Tarbolton met William Shillilaw of Stairhead, a young man scarcely eighteen years of age—too young to have had any concern with either Pentland, Drumclog, or Bothwell, but whose name had been given by the curate of Sorn to the soldiers, as one who refused to acknowledge Episcopacy. This was quite sufficient for effecting their purpose. The officer commanded one of the Ayr dragoons to seize him, and after a lew simple questions were asked, ordered him to be shot on the spot. (163) 164 Tombstones of the Covenanters. His remains were buried in the churchyard, close to the east side of the steeple, where an upright stone preserves his memory, on which is inscribed :•— W.S. H E R E LYS W i l l i a m S h i l l i l a u , who was shot at Woodhead by Lieu* Lauder for his adherence to the Word of GOD and Scotland's covenanted work of REFORMATION 1685. Erected in 1727, Renewed 1812 by Wm Drinnan. A new stone has been erected to which the old inscription was transferred, with this addition— This stone was erected by subscription in the year 1824. MAYBOLE. N the old churchyard a gravestone preserves I the memory of John M'Lymont and his wife, who lived in Achaltown. H e suffered much persecution during the troublous times for his adherence to the cause of the Covenanters, but survived the Revolution, and died ist November, 1714, aged 69. The inscription on the stone is as follows :— Under these neighbouring monuments lys The golden dust of man and wife, Of pious line both soon shall rise To long expected glorious life. They for their constancy and zeal, Still to the back did prove good steel For our Lord's royal truths and laws, The ancient Covenanted cause Of Scotland's famous Reformation Declining laws of usurpation. (165) SORN. H E beautifully-situated village of Sorn was an obscure hamlet in the days of the persecution, but the centre of a troubled district. A curate was settled in the church, in opposition to the people, who were exceedingly hostile to him, and were not slow in showing their resentment. A party of soldiers had a garrison in the place, and a noted persecutor resided in the neighbourhood, whose name lives in the traditions of the district as " bloody Reid of Daldilling." The site of his castle is still pointed out to the curious, as also the spot where his victims were hanged. The last sufferer previous to the Revolution has his memorial in the churchyard—George Wood, a youth about sixteen years of age, shot by one of Craigie's troopers, without question or accusation. The murderer, on being challenged for what he had done, replied he knew him " to be one of the Whigs, and they ought to be shot wherever they were found.'? (166) Sorn. The original martyr-stone was inserted in basement of the renewed monument, and bears inscription :— HeRE LYeS GORG WOOD WHO WAS SHOT AT TINKHORNHILL BY BL OODY JOHN R e i D TRVPeR FOR HIS ADHeRANCE TO THE WORD OF GOD AND THE COVeNANTeD WORK OF ReFORMATION 1688 On a panel surmounted by a pediment is the lowing inscription on the new stone:— TO PRESERVE FROM OBLIVION THE FATE OF GEORGE WOOD WHO WAS SHOT AT TINKHORNHILL MDCLXXXVIII FOR HIS ADHERENCE TO THE WORD OF GOD AND THE COVENANTED WORK OF REFORMATION AND TO MANIFEST GRATITUDE FOR THE INVALUABLE RELIGIOUS PRIVILEGES NOW ENJOYED. THIS STONE WAS ERECTED BY SUBSCRIPTION. MAUCHLINE. " These altar stones of sacrifice Incarnate truth have stored, Where faith, in love-drawn characters, Her red libation poured." N a small Common which skirts the town of Mauchline, on the side furthest from the Railway Station, a large flat stone, renewed in 1830, marks the martyrs' grave. It commemorates five victims of the furious rage which crimsoned the land in that dreadful year of suffering and death—1685—" the killing year." Peter Gillies belonged to Skirling, in Peeblesshire, and was by trade a bleacher of cloth. So early as 1674 his troubles began with entertaining a Presbyterian minister, and encouraging him to preach in his house, a crime which gave great offence to the Prelatic incumbent, and led to his being turned out of his house. H e again fell under the displeasure of Andrew Ure, the curate, while residing in the parish of Muiravonside, Stirlingshire, in 1685, who ordered a party of (168) Mauchline. 169 soldiers to seize him for his nonconformity. Having made his escape, he continued his trade as a cloth dresser, but had to keep moving from place to place to escape persecution. At last he was captured on the 30th April, in company with John Bryce, a weaver in West Calder, who had come about some cloth which Gillies was bleaching for him. The soldiers plundered his house, threatening him with instant death before his wife, who was in a weak and delicate state of health, having become a mother a few days previous. The two men were tied together and driven off like cattle. They were taken to Mauchline, and, with several others, examined before Lieut.-General Drummond. They all met the same rough cruelty, and shared a common fate, being condemned to be hanged at the town end of Mauchline on the 6th May. No coffins were allowed, but a trench being dug near the gallows they were cast into it. The inscription on the memorial stone is as follows:— Here lies the Bodies of Peter Gillies, John Bryce, Thomas Young William Fiddison, & John Bruning, Who Were Apprehended & Hanged Without Trial at Mauchline, Anno 1685, according to the then Wicked's Laws for their Adhearance to the . C o v e n a n t e d Work of Reformation Rev. xii. 11. 170 Tombstones of the Covenanters. Bloody Dumbarton, Douglas, & Dundee Moved by the Devil & the Laird of Lee Dragged these five men to Death with gun and suord Not Suffering them to Pray nor Read God's Word. Ouning the Work of God was all their Crime. The Eighty Five Was a Saint Killing Time Erected by subscription in 1830. The old decayed tombstone From which the above inscription is copied lies below. OLD CUMNOCK. " U p o n the lone and wild Airsmoss down sank the twilight grey— In storm and cloud the evening closed upon that cheerless day; But Peden went his way refreshed, for peace and joy were given, And Cameron's grave had proved to him the very gate of heaven ! " EDEN'S P R O P H E C I E S " used to be one of the most popular Chap Books in the literature of fifty years ago. The strange weird-like stories and predictions of the Prophet of the Covenanters were accepted as veritable facts which were believed to be literally fulfilled, and his name came to be associated in the romance of history with the wizards of a previous age. Alexander Peden has an individuality all his own in the history of the persecution. H e was a grand old enthusiast, with a marvellous insight, and a burning zeal for the work of the Reformation. As the storms of persecution gathered around him, and he was driven into the wilderness for safety, he became more contemplative in his inward communings, (171) 172 Tombstones of the Covenanters. and when the opportunity occurred his outpourings were like visions from Patmos, which came upon eager listeners as the inspired utterances of a prophet. Peden was born about the year 1626, in the parish of Sorn. On completing his education for the ministry, he was sometime school-master, precentor, and session-clerk to the Rev. John Guthrie at Tarbolton, and was first settled at New Glenluce, in Galloway, a short time before the Restoration of Charles II., but was not allowed to remain long in the discharge of his pastoral duties. He was one of the 400 ministers who in 1662 refused compliance with the Act of Parliament, requiring all ministers to receive collation from the bishop of the diocese in which they resided before the 20th of September. In the following month an Act was passed discharging all ministers who had not accepted the conditions, and on the 24th February, 1663, letters were directed against Peden and other ministers in Galloway, commanding them to remove themselves and families from their manses, and retire beyond the bounds of the Presbytery. His farewell sermons were preached under exciting circumstances, and continued till night. On leaving the pulpit, he closed the door, knocking hard upon it three times with his Bible, saying, " I arrest thee in my Master's name, that none ever enter thee but such as come in by the door as I did." It so Old Cumnock. 173 happened that neither curate nor indulged minister ever entered the pulpit during the persecution, and not till after the Revolution was it again filled by a Presbyterian minister. Notwithstanding his ejection, Peden had the courage to preach wherever he had opportunity; but this only involved him in fresh troubles. He joined the movement of the Covenanters in the west, which ended in the Battle of Pentland, but was not among the number engaged in the conflict. His name, however, was included in the proclamation against harbouring all concerned in the rising; and when the general pardon and indemnity was issued on 1st October, 1667, Peden, among others, was expressly excepted. He was arrested in June, 1672, and condemned to imprisonment on the Bass Rock, where he was confined four years. On praying to be liberated, his petition was refused, and he with sixty more prisoners was ordered to be banished to the plantations in America. On the vessel arriving at Gravesend, the captain of the ship finding no preparations made for their further voyage to Virginia, sent them ashore to shift for themselves, when the greater part returned to their homes after an absence of nine months. After the Battle of Bothwell, Peden went to Ireland for a short time. During the years which followed, he had many a narrow escape for his life, wandering from place to 174 Tombstones of the Covenanters. place, with which haunts and tracts of the moors and mosses he was well acquainted, and succeeded in eluding the vigilance of the soldiers. At length his bodily infirmities increased so much as to render him unable to travel. H e came to his brother's house in the parish of Sorn, the place of his birth, where he caused a cave to be dug, where a willow bush covered its mouth. His persecutors getting information made many searches for him; but he died peacefully in. bed on the 26th January, 1686, being upwards of sixty years of age, and was privately buried in the church of Auchinleck, and in the aisle of David Boswell, Esq., of Auchinleck. His body was not allowed to remain there, for though he had never been condemned by a jury, a troop of dragoons were sent to remove his corpse, after being buried six weeks. It was taken to the gallows' foot at Cumnock, two miles distant, and buried there. The intention of the savage commander of the soldiers was to hang it in chains on the gallows; but the intercession of the Countess of Eglinton and Lady Affleck prevented such an outrage. The ground where the gallows stood became consecrated in the sympathies of the parishioners, and was appropriated as a burial ground for the parish of Cumnock. A gravestone was afterwards erected with this inscription— PEDEN'S CRAVE, OLD CUMNOCK. Page 175. Old Cumnock. 175 HERE LIES Mr ALEXANDER PEDEN A Faithful Minister of the Gospel sometime of Glenluce who departed this life 26th of January 1686, And was raised after six weeks out of the grauf, and buried here, out of Contempt. MEMENTO MORI. Alongside Peden's monument, a memorial stone marks the grave of Thomas Richard, farmer, Greenockmains, a farm to the west of Muirkirk; he was betrayed and taken by Peter Inglis, cornet, son of Captain Inglis. He was an old man, nearly eighty years of age, and had been in hiding for some time. A party in the guise of Covenanters came upon him in his concealment, and requested him to read the Bible and pray with them. Suspecting nothing, and rejoicing to meet devout friends, he gladly complied, when, instead of finding fellow worshippers, he was seized by them, and taken to Cumnock before Colonel Douglas, who without trial or jury ordered him to be executed next day. The inscription on the tombstone is as follows:— 176 Tombstones of the Covenanters. HERE LIES the Corpse of THOMAS R I C H A R D who was shot by Colonel James Douglas for his adherence to the Covenanted work of Reformation on the 5 th day of April ANNO 1685. Halt Passenger! this stone doth shew to thee For what, by whom, and how I here did die. Because I always in my station Adhered to Scotland's Reformation And to our Sacred Covenants and Laws Establishing the same which was the Cause In time of Prayer I was by Douglas shot. Ah! cruelty never to be forgot. Another martyr memorial in the churchyard commemorates two names, included in this roll of the "killing year," 1685—David Dun and. Simon Paterson, the former related to an Ayrshire family who suffered much during the persecution. H e had been attending a conventicle held by James Renwick, at Kilmein, a moorland district four miles north-east of Dalmellington, and was returning home, when a party of horsemen pursued him, and succeeded in his capture. Paterson had been at the same meeting. This was the only charge brought against them. They were taken to the gallows of Old Cumnock, and without trial, witness, or jury, condemned the same day. Wodrow writes of this year—" In summer these Old Cumnock. ijj executions in the fields slackened a little, so many had been butchered that subjects began to fail them;" thus giving force to the inscription—"The Eightyfive was a saint-killing time." The record on the grave-stone reads as follows :— On the west side— HeRe. Lyes . DAVID . DVN AND . SIMON . PATeRS ON . WHO . WAS . SHOT IN . THIS . PLACE . BY . A . PARTY . OF . HIGHL ANDeRS . FOR . THEIR On the east side™ADHeRANCe . TO . THC WORD . OF . GOD AND T H e COVeNANTeD WORK OF ReFORMA TION 1685. About a mile and a half east of Cumnock, at Stone Park, in the middle of a field, with a grass plot of three or four yards around it is a memorial stone to the memory of John M'Geachan of Auchingibbert, in the parish of Cumnock, who was killed at Bellow Path, at the successful rescue of the Rev. David Houston, who had been apprehended in Ireland, and was being conveyed by a party of soldiers M 178 Tombstones of the Covenanters. to be tried for field preaching, in defiance of the law. In the scuffle several soldiers were killed, and others wounded. M'Geachan was the only one of the country people killed, but some were wounded. The original gravestone is still preserved on the ground close to the monument erected in 1836, and has the following quaint inscription :— On one side :— HeRe LYes JOHN MAC GeAGHAN WHO FOR HIS CONSTANT ADHeRANCe TO T H e WORD OF GOD PROSeCUTING T H e eNDS OF OUR NATIONAL AND SOLEMN LeAGUe AND COUe NANTS AND APPeARING FOR THe Rescue OF Mr DAVID HOUSTON ONe OF On the other side :— THe peRsecuTeD MINIS TeRS OF THe GOSPeL SHOT AT BELLO PATH BY A PARTY OF THe BLOODY DRAGOONS JULY 28 1688 eRecTeD A N N O 1728. Old Cumnock, 179 The modern memorial bears this remembrance— On one side:— J O H N M'GEACHAN who for his constant Adherence to the Word of God Prosecuting the ends of our National League and Covenant and appearing for the rescue of the REV. DAVID HOUSTON, One of the persecuted Ministers of the Gospe\ was shot at Bellow Path by a party of Bloody Dragoons xxvmth July, MDCLXXXVIII On the other side :— This stone was erected from the proceeds of a Sermon preached by the Rev. Mr James Currie, of Catrine, 28 August 1836. AIRSMOSS.' " I n a dream of the night I was wafted away T o the moorland of mist, where the martyrs lay ; Where Cameron's sword and his Bible are seen ' Engraved on the stone where the heather grows green." H E skirmish at Airsmoss, which closed the life of Richard Cameron, is a dark page in the gloomy annals of the persecution. The wild moorland of Airsmoss extends several miles in every direction between Cumnock, Mauchline, and Muirkirk. About a quarter of a mile from the public road, between Cumnock and Muirkirk, a large flat stone marks the scene of action, and is well-known as "Cameron's Stone," to which pilgrimages are occasionally made in remembrance of the famous preacher, and leader of a small section of Covenanters, who, long after his time, were distinguished by the name of "Cameronians." Richard Cameron was born at Falkland, in Fife, where he was brought up as an Episcopalian, and (180) Airsmoss. 181 was for some time schoolmaster under the curate— but from attending field Conventicles, and hearing Presbyterian ministers, his opinions underwent a complete change to the opposite extreme. H e was from the first opposed to those who accepted the indulgence, which, he insisted, brought nothing but ruin upon the Old Covenanting Church; and refused a license to preach from an indulged minister, as he would feel himself bound to bear public witness against that party, and would counsel separation from them. H e retired to Holland, and received ordination in the Scotch Church, Rotterdam, in 1679, at the hands of the Rev. Robert M'Ward, and the Rev. John Brown, two of the most learned, eloquent, and eminent Scottish ministers of the day, the former of whom gave utterance to a prediction which, in its fulfilment, seemed prophetic, on lifting his hands from Cameron's head—" Behold, all ye spectators! here is the head of a faithful minister and servant of Jesus Christ, who shall lose the same for his Master's interest, and it shall be set up before sun and moon in the view of the world." With this fate looming in the future, Cameron returned to Scotland early in 1680, and, as was foretold, very speedily after his arrival came the martyrdom. He had a fiery zeal in carrying out his convictions, which a calmer judgment would have pursued by wiser methods. With him there was no halting, 18 2 Tombstones of the Covenanters. what to his judgment was wrong must be cast out regardless of consequences. As an illustration of this directness of purpose, he was the first to proclaim that the House of Stuart had forfeited the British throne. On the 22nd June, 1680, twenty armed men on horseback rode slowly up the main street of Sanquhar, halting at the Market-place. Richard Cameron and his brother Michael dismounted, a psalm was sung, a prayer offered, and Michael proceeded to read a paper, which is well known in the ecclesiastical history of Scotland as "The Sanquhar Declaration." It began by disowning Charles Stuart as King, he having forfeited his crown by perjury and breach of faith to God and his Covenanted Kirk of Scotland, and declaring war with such a tyrant and usurper, and all the men of such practice. A concluding prayer followed the reading, and Cameron felt his work was done. The declaration was treason then, but eight years after, it became the Revolution Settlement. It sent a new current through Scotland, and was the first public testimony against the Stuart race. It roused a fearful revenge on the part of the Government. Now that the declaration had gone forth, the deliverance from bondage was sure to follow, but not before the masterspirit fell, leaving a small band of faithful followers to uphold the standard. On the 30th June, a proclamation was issued against Richard Cameron and those engaged in the Airsmoss. 183 declaration, offering a reward of 5000 merks " for the better encouragement of such as shall apprehend and bring in the said traitors dead or alive," and of 3000 merks for his brother Michael, the proclamation 6i to be printed and published at the Market Cross, Edinburgh, and Market Crosses of the remanent head burghs of the several shires of this kingdom, on the north side of the water Tay." Jointly with this proclamation, orders were given for standing forces to be sent west and south. Oaths were multiplied, and the land mourned because of continual swearing. Many were forced to hide who were in no way concerned in the declaration, such was the reign of vexation and terror. After the Sanquhar Declaration, Richard Cameron, his brother, and about thirty others entered into a league for mutual defence. It was similar in temper to the declaration, and declared war against all ministers accepting the indulgence, " a n d such as drive a sinful union with them/' Meantime great numbers of soldiers were quartered upon country families, and dreadful were the ravages made — cattle killed and taken without payment, horses seized, houses spoiled, and incredible losses sustained throughout all the country round about. Escape was almost impossible. For more than a week previous to his death, Cameron had been escorted b>y a body-guard of upwards of sixty persons, twenty-three of them horse- 184 Tombstones of the Covenanters. men, the others on foot, but very indifferently armed. The last night of his life he was in the house of William Mitchell of Meadowhead, at the Water of Ayr. That morning a woman gave him water to wash his hands and face; having done so, he laid his hands on his face saying, " This is their last washing, I have need to make them clean, for there are many to see them." At this the woman's mother wept, but he said, "Weep not for me, but for yourself and yours, and for the sins of a sinful land, for ye have many melancholy, sorrowful, and weary days before you." The people who remained with him were in some hesitation whether they should keep together for their own defence, or disperse and . shift for themselves. They heard that a party of soldiers were in search of them, and they lay all night in Airsmoss. Next afternoon a troop of Bruce of EarlshalFs dragoons came suddenly and unexpectedly upon them, about one hundred and twenty-one men, well equipped, and in good condition. It was a hopeless defence, but as there was no means of escape, they resolved to fight it out. Cameron uttered a short prayer, one passage of which has ever since thrilled through many a Scottish heart—"Lord, spare the green and take the ripe,'' then turning to his brother Michael, he gave him a fraternal pressure of the hand, saying, " Now, let us fight it out to the last; for this is the day I have longed for, and the day I have prayed for, to die Airsmoss. 185 fighting against our Lord's avowed enemies. This is the day for the Crown ! " Then turning to the devoted band—" Be encouraged, all of you, to fight it out valiantly, for all of you that fall this day I see heaven's gates open to receive you." They fought desperately, neither giving nor taking quarter, and in the thick of the combat Cameron fell; the few horse of the Covenanters were killed or scattered; but most of the foot, when they saw the day against them, retreated into the Moss, where the dragoons could not follow. Hackston of Rathillet, who had been a military director since Bothwell, was taken prisoner, and was conveyed to Edinburgh. The head and hands of Richard Cameron were cut off by Robert Murray, who delivered them to the Council at Edinburgh, saying, " These are the head and hands of a man who lived praying and preaching, and died praying and fighting." Cameron's Stone lies a short distance to the north of the line of railway, on a sandy knoll that rises out of the Moss. His body, with eight others who fell, were all buried upon the spot. One of these was his brother Michael, who had been preparing for the ministry. Robert Paterson belonged to Kirkhill, in the parish of Cambusnethan. James Gray was the eldest son of Gray of Chryston, a worthy man, who suffered much persecution for the cause of the Covenant. 186 Tombstones of the Covenanters, The original gravestone is placed upon four high pillars, with Cameron's name on the head of it, the form of an open Bible, with the other names round the sides of the stone, and the following inscription :— Here Lyes the Corps of that famous and faithful *o Halt, curious passenger, come here and read Our souls triumph with Christ our glorious head In self defence we murder'd here do Ly To wittness against this Nations perjury. M R. C. Michael Cameron John Hamilton John Gemmel James Gray Robert Dick Cap. John Fuller Robert Paterson Thomas Watson CO t4H 0 S3IUI3U3 O 3 , ApOOjq »» 9tp IpT-dA. i34UnOOU3 UB ITI 3J3l| [L In the year 1832, the gravestone was set up on a platform, three feet high by ten feet square; in the Airsmoss. 187 centre an obelisk was erected, which may be seen from the railway. The date of its erection, 1832, is cut on one of the sides; the other has the inscription as follows:— SACRED To The Memory of The Rev. RICHARD CAMERON MICHAEL CAMERON JOHN GEMMEL JOHN HAMILTON TAMES GRAY ROBERT DICK CAPT JOHN FOWLER THOMAS WATSON ROBERT PATERSON. MUIRKIRK. l( Among the heathy hills of Kyle, Where murmurs Ayr with gentle moan, The pilgrim kneels by PriesthilFs pile And pious Cameron's Stone." N the days of the persecution, Muirkirk was a small hamlet, the solitudes surrounding which were crowded by the scattered flock of the Covenanters, and many a deed of cruelty was perpetrated in the neighbourhood. It formed part of the parish of Mauchline till about the middle of the seventeenth century, at which period a place of worship was erected for the use of the rural population, which was called " The kirk of the muir," hence its abbreviated name of Muirkirk. For many years past the iron furnaces have changed the appearance of the district, and given it a very different celebrity; but many precious memories of the Covenanters are handed down from generation to generation, and are cherished by the devout heart as the most priceless inheritance of the dreary locality in the midst of which Muirkirk is situated. The churchyard has its martyr shrine on the face of the brae behind the church. (188) Muirkirk. 189 An upright stone of simple pretensions marks the jrave of John Smith, who had been attending a conventicle in the fields, and, falling sick, sat down to est; a party of soldiers coming that way, without any >robation, process, or ceremony, shot him in the field rfiere they found him. The inscription on the stone is as follows :— H E R E LYES J O H N S M I T H W H O WAS SHOT BY COL BUCHAN AN' T H E LAIRD OF LEE FEB 1685 F O R H I S A D H E R E N C E TO T H E W O R D O F GOD AND SCOTLANDS COVENANTED W ORK OF REFORMATION REV. 12. 11. E R E C T E D I N T H E YEAR 1731. On the other side :— EPITAPH W H E N P R O U D APOSTA DID ABJURE SCOTLANDS— REFORMATION PURE AND F I L L E D T H E LAND W I T H P E R J U R Y AND ALL SORTS OF INI Q U I T Y SUCH AS WOULD NOT W I T H T H E M COMPLY T H E Y P E RSECUTE WITH HUE AND CRY. I IN THE FIGHT WAS OVERTANE AND FO R THE TRUTH BY T H E M WAS SLAIN. WELLWOOD. " T h e auld cairn where the plover wails And fern or thistle waves— T h e green spots in the wilderness,— There seek the martyr graves." EW districts in Ayrshire afforded better concealment for the persecuted people than this part of Old Kyle. It was much frequented by the wanderers in seeking a retreat from the fury of the oppressor. It was here John Brown of Priesthill, the Steels of Lesmahagow, and others like-minded, met to pray and read God's Word, as well as to strengthen each other in maintaining the cause of the Covenant The Campbells of Wellwood House were subjected to great persecution for conscience' sake ; their mansion was plundered, and everything valuable removed; two sons were captured and brought before the Council; but their father survived his trials and troubles, and lived long after the Revolution. A short distance from Middle Wellwood, in a quiet and sequestered spot, skirting a wood, an upright (190) Wellwood. 191 stone, of small size, marks the place where a martyr fell—William Adam—who, according to Wodrow, was in no way chargeable, but while thrashing in his barn, and seeing Sir John Dalziel's company of dragoons coming, he went out by the back-door to escape being questioned. Seeing him flee, he was pursued, and on being captured was instantly killed. The inscription on the stone bears the record :—• Here lyes WILLIAM ADAM who was shot in this place by CAP* DALZEAL and his party for his adhearance to the Word of God and Scotlands Covenanted work of reformation March 1685. List to the tale of one who faultless fell, Whose humble tombstone decks the moorland dell ; Far on the moor his lonely cot was placed— A rude, unpolished gem upon the waste." NE of the most touching and tragic incidents of the persecuting times was the cold-blooded murder of John Brown, who is familiarly known in history as the " Christian carrier." H e lived at the farm-steading of Priesthill, a few miles from Muirkirk. The house was situated on the summit of a gently rising ground, fronting the east. He was the Ayrshire carrier, a man of blameless life, who had taken no part in the rising or public demonstrations of the Covenanters. His only crime was non-attendance on the curate of the parish, and retiring with others like-minded with himself to the moors for prayer and praise. This was quite sufficient to make him a marked man, and his name was on the list of fugitives in the Royal Proclamation, 5th May, 1684. (192) Priest hill. 193 When the persecution became darker around his homestead, John could no longer be allowed to remain at peace, but was compelled to leave his house, and seek shelter in the remoter, solitudes of the country,, On the ist May, 1685, he w a s a t l a s t captured in his own home, where he had been unmolested for some time. He had risen early and performed family worship. The chapter read that morning was the 16th of John, which closes with the remarkable words — " In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." He then went out to prepare some peat ground. Meanwhile Claverhouse had heard of John, and arrived early from a neighbouring garrison. He tracked him to the moss, and surrounded him with his troopers. Leading him down to the door of his own house, his brave, heroic wife, warned of his approach, with one boy in her arms and a girl in her hand, came out to meet him, and calmly play her part in the frightful tragedy. Claverhouse asked John why he did not attend the curate, and if he would pray for the King. John gave the usual Covenanting answer, on which Claverhouse exclaimed, " G o to your knees, you shall immediately die." John prayed so fervently that the dragoons' hard eyes began to moisten, then turning to his wife, he reminded her of having said that this time might come when he first proposed marriage, and asked her if she was willing to part with him. N 194 Tombstones of the Covenanters. a Heartily willing," was her reply. " This," he said, " is all I desire. I have nothing more to do but die." H e then kissed his children, and said, "May all purchased and promised blessings be multiplied to you." u N o more of this," roared the savage Claverhouse, and ordered six dragoons to fire; but they stood motionless. Fearing a mutiny, he snatched a pistol from his belt, and shot the good man through the head. Then turning to the wife, he said, "What do you think of your husband now ? " to which she replied,." I aye thocht muckle o' him, but never sae muckle as I do this day." On the spot where John Brown was shot, a flat stone was placed many years ago. This has been enclosed with a wall, and in the interior a square pillar has been erected. The original portion is simple in design and has inscribed:— B R O W N martyr who was murdered in this place by G R A H A M of ^ ^ S ^ ? ' § I n deaths cold bed the dusty part here lies Q Q ** Of one who did the earth as dust despise < *"* 5 J: S H ere in this place from earth he took departure £* *g £ people in the moorland; both outlived the persecution, returning to their home in gladness. Nivison was accidentally killed by a kick from one of his own horses, after weathering the storms of persecution, and passing through much tribulation ; he was thus, when no danger was apprehended, called to finish his work on earth, in the year 1704, and was buried in the churchyard. CLOSEBURN. | H E curate of Closeburn was a determined opponent of the Covenanters, and used every occasion for opposing and vexing those who refused to attend his ministry; he had much in his power, and could bring the military to his assistance at any time. Large numbers of parishioners refused to attend his services, or have their children baptized by him; in consequence of which, he brought them to the test by ordering them to be presented within the church on a given day, or information would be lodged against them as Nonconformists and rebels. Among other recusants in the parish, was Peter Stranger, a farmer of some importance in the place, who had a child unbaptized; he and the curate could never agree, and he was also a warm friend to the persecuted people, who found his influence a protection and relief. With great reluctance Peter was persuaded to submit, and come to church on the day appointed. The curate made his appearance, while the people stood in groups in the churchyard, but just as he (235) 236 Tombstones of the Covenanters. approached he fell down on the grassy graves and expired. It was a sudden relief to many a burdened conscience, and being near the close of the persecution no other curate was appointed. Peter Stranger survived the Revolution settlement, and was buried in Closeburn Churchyard, exactly at the curate's feet. The contiguity of the graves attracted attention, and inspired the following rustic rhyme :— Peter Stranger, strangely placed At the Auld Curate's feet, And surely they that placed him there Were very indiscreet. For Prelates and for Prelacy H e held as mortal foes, Nor did he spare to clip their wings Whene'er occasion rose. CRAIGHAUGH. M O N U M E N T at Craighaugh, Eskdale Moor, marks the place where Andrew Hyslop, a young man, was shot by order of Claverhouse. He and his brother and sister lived with their mother, at whose house one of the wanderers had died after a few days' illness. The family, dreading punishment, buried the corpse in a neighbouring field during the night, which being found out, Sir James Johnston, with a party of men, came and lifted the body, stripped the widow's house, rased it to the ground, and inflicted a loss upon the poor woman computed at six hundred and fifty pound Scots. She and her family were forced to wander, while her son Andrew was captured in the fields, and taken prisoner to Eskdale, where sentence was passed upon him. Claverhouse ordered a Highland captain, who accompanied him with some of his men, to shoot him, but they refused to obey, threatening to fight the dragoons rather than do it, whereupon Claverhouse commanded three of his own men to perform the service. (237) 238 Tombstones of the Covenanters, Hyslop was buried on the spot where he fell, at Craighaugh. The inscription on the gravestone is as follows :— Here lies And. Hyslop, Martyr, shot dead upon this place by Sir James Johnstone of Westerhall, and John Graham of Claverhouse, for adhering to the Word of God, Christ's Kingly Government, in His house, and the Covenanted Work of Reformation, against tyranny, perjury, and prelacy. M a y 12. 1685. R e v . 12. 1 1 . Halt, passenger, one word with thee or two, Why I ly here wouldst thou truly know ? By wicked hands, hands cruel and unjust, Without all law my life from me they thrust, And being dead they left me on this spot, And for burial this same place I got, Truth's friends in Eskdale now triumph their lot To wit, the faithful, for my seal that got. 1702. Repaired by Subscription, 1825. KIRKPATRICK-IRONGRAY. " T h e mossy cave their hed, Where the waving fern, o'erspread, Only canopied their head, Near the Auld Kirkyard." FEW miles north-west of Dumfries, in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright, is Irongray, a place of historical interest in connection with the Covenanters. The " Communion Stones " used by the persequted people are at Skeoch Hill, the highest land on the moors of Irongray, where they are visited with great reverence, and have suffered no dilapidation or change after the lapse of nearly two centuries. Each stone lies in the exact spot, and in the order originally placed, and though the moors have been enclosed, and fences erected, no sacrilegious hand has ventured to remove or alter the stones. They consist of four rows of flat, irregular blocks of stone, resembling long tables. Each row contains about 30 seats, so that 120 people could communicate at the same time. The place lies ( 2 39) 240 Tombstones of the Covenanters, in a valley, or bosom of the hill. They are a remarkable memorial of the old conventicles which drew together the suffering wanderers, and inspired them with fresh life and courage to " fight the good fight of faith." The churchyard, too, has its romantic history as the burial place of Helen Walker, the prototype of Jeanie Deans in Sir Walter Scott's well-known novel of " The Heart of Midlothian," where a tombstone with an inscription written by the great novelist marks her grave. Near the kirk of Irongray is a hill with a grove of oaks, hazels, and wild apples, within which the memory of two martyrs is preserved—Edward Gordon, and Alexander M'Cubbin, who, with four others, were surprised and secured by Capt. Bruce, on Lochenkit or Larghill Moor, in the parish of Urr. Four were shot on the spot at the time of their capture; but Gordon and M'Cubbin were taken before the Laird of Lagg, at the Bridge of Urr, where he was occupied in forcing the abjuration oath upon the people. On their refusing to accept the test he pronounced sentence of death upon them. Captain Bruce having taken upon himself to despatch the others, was anxious these two should receive a fair trial at the assize, but Lagg, with his usual remorseless cruelty, stormed and swore he would have no Court. They were conveyed to Irongray on the following day, and when near the church were sus- Kirkpatrick-Irongray. 241 pended on an oak tree, at the foot of which they were buried. A flat altar stone was erected as a memorial. In 1832, a sermon was preached on the spot by the Rev. G. Burnside, when a collection was made to erect a handsome enclosure of stone, and an iron railing. The inscription is as follows :— H E R E LIES EDWARD GO R D O N AND ALEXANDER M c C U B I N E MARTYRES HANGED WITHOUT LAW BY LAG AND CAPT BRUCE FOR ADHERING T O T H E WORD O F GOD CHRIST'S KINGLY G O I R E R U N N E N T I N H I S HOUSE AND T H E COVENANTED WORK OF REFORMATION AGAINST TYRANNY P E R J U R Y AND PRELACY R E V 12 . 11. MAR 3 . 1685. AS LAG AND BLOODIE B R U C E COMMAND WE W E R E H U N G U P BY HELLISH HAND AND T H U S T H E F U R I E S US RAGE TO STAY WE D I E D NEAR K I R K O F IRONGRAY. H E R E NOW I N PEACE SWEET R E S T WE TAKE ONCE M U R D E R E D FOR R E L I G I O N S SAKE. Q 242 Tombstones of the Covenanters. In the year 1857 another monument was erected to the martyrs, inscribed as Designed to express the respect cherished by the present generation for the Memory and Principles of the Martyrs whose ashes repose on this spot. LOCHENKIT. " Their home was oft the mountain cave, Their couch the waving fern, Their pillow oft the grey moss stone In moorlands dark and stern." S H O R T distance from Dalbeattie—the granite city of the South—on Larghill Moor, about a mile and a half to the north of Brooklands House, is the grave of four martyrs, who were surprised and taken prisoners by Captain Bruce, and without any ceremony shot where they were captured. They were a party of wanderers in hiding from the fury of the persecutors, who swept like blood hounds through the district, showing no mercy, and even exceeding the strict orders given by the Council. The early part of 1685 was the most terrible period of the persecution for field murders by the troopers, who were utterly callous to human life. Edward Gordon and Alexander M'Cubbin were taken prisoners, and hanged the following day near the kirk ( 2 43) 244 Tombstones of the Covenanters, of Irongray. William Heron belonged to Glencairn : the other three men were from Galloway. Their bodies were buried at the place where they fell, and a monument, enclosed within a wall, was erected to preserve their memory, on which is inscribed :— Here lyes John Gordon, William Stuart, William Heron, and John Wallace, Martyrs Shot by Captain Bruce. Behold here in this wilderness we ly, Four witnesses of hellish cruelty. Our lives and blood could not their ire asswage, But when we're dead, they did against us rage; That match the like, we think, we scarcely can, Except the Turks, or Duke de Alva's men. Repaired by the friends of civil and religious liberty in 1823. On a rising knoll near the gravestone, a granite monument was erected in 1843, on the top of which is a hand pointing upward, and on one of the sides is inscribed:— Yonder lie William Heron, from Glencairn, John Gordon, William Stewart, John Wallace, Galloway men. Lochenkit. 245 who were found out and shot dead here, 2nd March 1685 by Captain Bruce for their adherence to Scotland's Covenant and Reformation. To commemorate the principles for which these martyrs suffered This monument is erected by subscription After services preached here by Messrs M'Lachlan and M'Gill. "843. KIRKCUDBRIGHT. " Those martyrs who for conscience died— Though modish history blight their fame, And sneering courtiers hoot the name Of men who dared above be free Amidst a nation's slavery.5' H E ancient royal burgh of Kirkcudbright is rich in historical events. The town is believed, to have existed before the invasion of the Romans. Agricola with his victorious army penetrated into the parish in the year 82, and the Romans held possession of forts in the neighbourhood for three hundred years. Sir William Wallace, after his defeat at Falkirk, took shipping at Kirkcudbright for France, and Edward I. remained at the Castle with his Queen and Court in the course of his career of conquest, and from this port sent into England and Ireland large quantities of wheat to be made into flour. James IV, visited the town in 1501, and again in 1508, when he granted to the burgh the Castle and its lands. ( 2 4 6) Kirkcudbright. 247 The old church, as its name implies, was dedicated to St Cuthbert, and still retains its old designation, Kirk-Cuthbert, which can be easily transposed into its present form. It was situated about half a mile to the east of the burgh, and its site is still indicated by the ancient burial ground on which it stood—a beautiful and sequestered1 spot, surrounded by fine old trees, and containing some, interesting monuments, especially those of the Covenanters. A large flat stone preserves the memory of William Hunter and Robert Smith, who with four others in hiding at Auchincloy, were taken prisoners by Claverhouse and his band of troopers while ranging through Galloway in search of fugitives. According to instructions from the Council, giving him absolute power over his helpless victims, he ordered four out of the six to be shot on the spot Hunter and Smith were respited, and taken to Kirkcudbright, where an assize was called, and a form of trial gone through; but the fate of the prisoners was certain death. They were not permitted to write to their friends, and when brought to the scaffold the drums were beat to prevent their being heard by the assembled people. After being hanged, they were beheaded. The inscription upon their gravestone is as follows:— 248 Tombstones of the Covenanters. William Huntre—Robert Smith—1684. This monument will show posterity Two headless martyres under it doth ly, By bloody Grahame were taken and surpris'd. Brought to this toune, and afterwards were saiz'd, By unjust law were sentenced to die; Them first they hang'd, then headed cruelly. Captains Douglas, Bruce, Grahame of Claverhouse Were those that caus'd them to be handled thus; And when they were unto the jibbet come To stop their speech they did beat up the drum, And all because that they would not comply With indulgen and b>loody prelacie. In face of cruel Bruce, Douglas, and Grahame, They did maintain that Christ was Lord supream, And boldly owned both the Covenants. At Kirkcudbright thus ended these two saints. Another memorial stone, in the middle of the Churchyard, shows the burial-place of John Hallume, a young man, eighteen years of age. Seeing the soldiers coming he stepped out of the road he was travelling, and was followed on, suspicion by Lieut. Livingstone and a party of dragoons; he was pursued and shot, as well as wounded with a sword, but not mortally; he was then taken to Kirkcudbiight. On refusing the abjuration oath, an assize was held, composed of soldiers, when he was condemned and executed. An upright stone marks his grave, on which is inscribed :— Kirkcudbright. 249 MEMENTO-MORI HERE LYES JOHN HALLUME, WHO WAS WOUNDED IN HIS TAKEING, AND BY UNJUST LAW SENTENCED TO BE HANGED. ALL THIS DONE BY CAPTAIN DOUGLAS FOR HIS ADHERENCE TO SCOTLAND'S REFORMATION COVENANTS, NATIONAL AND SOLEMN LEAGUE. 1685. 1 ANWOTH. " 'Tis heard beside the rude gray stones, where oft, in days of old, The holy convocation met, the sacred feast to hold : Green Anwoth's heights have heard afar the same triumphant song, And all the echoing rocks around, the hallowed strain prolong." H E old church of Anwoth is celebrated as the scene of the early labours of Samuel Rutherford. It was a very small and humble edifice, eighteen feet broad by sixty-four feet long, while the walls were not more than ten feet high. The ruins of the venerable fabric are only a short distance from the present church, built about fifty years ago. One of the most staunch supporters of the Covenant in the time of the persecution was John Bell of Whiteside, in the parish of Anwoth, son of the heiress of Whiteside, who, after his father's death, was married to the Viscount Kenmuir. H e was a man of great piety and worth, highly esteemed by all classes in his neighbourhood, but being implicated in the battle of Bothwell Bridge, he was too prominent a man to be (250) AnwothJ 251 allowed freedom. His house was pillaged, and his best horses taken away. For some time in 1681, Claverhouse made Whiteside a garrison for his troopers till all the provisions were consumed, and the grass from the meadow eaten up. For several years Mr Bell was forced to wander and hide in remote places, not venturing to reside on his estate, and many were the hair-breadth escapes he passed through before his final capture. H e had a hiding place in the fields—a cave in a retired spot within his own grounds, where he secreted himself in time of danger. The soldiers knew of such a retreat, and were determined to discover it, which they at last accomplished by deception; being in the fields when the soldiers were advancing, he took to flight and again escaped, but he came at last to a hasty and bloody death by the hand of the infamous Laird of Lagg and a party of dragoons, who surprised him and four others in Kirkconnel moor, in the parish of Tongland, in February, 1685, where they were all most barbarously shot on the spot, without being allowed a few moments for prayer. Lagg knew Mr Bell well enough, and on his desiring a quarter of an hour for preparation, he resolutely refused, cursing and swearing, and saying, " What the devil! have you not had time enough to prepare since Bothwell ? " The names of the other four sufferers were, David Halliday, Andrew M'Robert, James Clement, and Robert Lennox. 252 Tombstones of the Covenanters. The remains of John Bell were buried in the churchyard of Anwoth, where a flat stone, supported on six small square pillars, close to the south-west corner of the old church, marks his grave, on which is inscribed :— of Whitesyde, who was barbourously shot This monument shall tell posterity That blessed Bell of Whitesyde here doth ly, Who at command of bloody Lag was shot A murther strange which should not be forgot, Douglas ©f Morton did him quarters give, Yet cruel Lag would not let him survive This martyre sought some time to recomend His soul to God before his dayes did end T h e tyrant said What dev'l ye've prayed eneugh This long seven yeare on mountains and in cleugh So instantly caus'd him with other four, Be shot to death upon Kirfeconnel moor. Thus did end the lives of these dear sants For their adherence to the covenants £$91 ouu'B S^q jo Jauf) jo pu^tuuiOD aip -ye. 'puEfSuoj, jo The people of Anwoth hold the memory of Samuel Rutherford, the first minister of their church, in the deepest veneration. In our notice of his gravestone at St Andrews, reference is made to the " Rutherford Monument" erected by his old parishioners on the farm of Boreland, Anwoth, about half a mile from the church. It is a granite obelisk, 56 feet high, and is conspicuous for miles around. It bears the following inscription:— Anwoth. 253 To the Memory of the Rev. Samuel Rutherford, Minister of the parish of Anwoth from 1627 to 1639, when he was appointed Professor of Divinity in the University of St Andrews, where he died 1661. This monument was erected A.D. 1842 in admiration of his eminent talents, extensive learning, ardent piety, Ministerial faithfulness, and distinguished public labours in the cause of civil and religious liberty. The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. Ps. 112. 6. GIRT HON. I K E Parishioners of Girthon suffered manysevere exactions during the persecution, for their devotion to the Presbyterian form of Church Government. In 1663 they were deprived of the valuable services of their minister, the Rev. William Erskine, who refused to conform to Prelacy, and was therefore ejected; he was sentenced to confine himself within the parish of Carsphairn, but having taken refuge in Teviotdale, in 1671, he was declared a fugitive, and in the following year, letters of intercommuning having been issued against him, he was apprehended and lodged in Stirling Castle. At the end of four years he was removed to Dumbarton Castle, from which he was liberated in 1679, but was again apprehended and confined in Blackness Castle, but happily survived the Revolution. Many of his parishioners were exposed to heavy pecuniary penalties and sufferings, while several forfeited their lives for their adherence to the Covenanters. (254) Girthon. 2 55 In the churchyard of Girthon, against the east gable of the Old Church, is the tomb, formerly of the Lennoxes of Cully, and now of the family of Broughton. A small upright stone at the mouth of the vault is dedicated to Robert Lennox, of Drumruck, a martyr for the Covenant, who, with Bell of Whiteside and four others was captured by Sir Robert Grierson, of Lagg, and a party of dragoons, in the parish of Tongland, Galloway, and shot on the spot. Four were buried in their family burying-grounds of Anwoth, Balmaghie, Twynholm, and Girthon, and one on Kirkconnel Hill. The inscription at Girthon is as follows :— Within this tomb lyes the corpse of Robert Lennox, sometime in Irelandtoun, who was shot to death by Grier of Lagg, in the paroch of Tongland, for his adherence to Scotland's Reformation, Covenants, National and Solemn League, 1685. LOCH SKERROW. EAR Loch Skerrow is the Auchencloy monument, to commemorate six martyrs who, with two others who escaped, were discovered concealing themselves from persecution, and were seized by Graham of Claverhouse, who ordered four to be instantly shot, at the water of Dee, in Galloway, 18th December, 1684. Robert Fergusson, a Nithsdale man, was buried on the spot where he fell; the others were taken to Dairy (Galloway) and buried there. A flat tombstone of humble pretensions marks the grave of Fergusson, on which is inscribed :— Memento Mori. Here Lyes Robert Fergusson, who was surprised and instantly shot to death on this place by Graham of Claverhouse, for his adherence to Scotland's Reformation Covenants, National and Solemn League, 1684. (256) Loch Skerrow. 257 A more suitable memorial has since been erected the "place where they fell, a stately square granite nument, 30 feet high, on which is inscribed :— Erected In Memory of the Martyrs R. Fergusson, J. M'Michan, R. Stuart, and J. Grierson, who fell on this spot, 18 Dec. i684. From a Collection made here, On the 18th August, 1835, and the profits of a sermon, afterwards published, preached on that day. By the Rev. R. Jeffrey of Girthon. Daniel 3 . 17 . 18. K I R K C O N N E L HILL. | M O N U M E N T A L pillar in the moor of Tongland marks the place where James Clement, who, with Bell of Whiteside, and others, was taken and immediately shot. Clement was buried where he fell, and a memorial stone preserves his memory, on which is inscribed :— Here lyes. James Clement, who was surprised and instantly shot to death on this place by Grier of Lagg, for his adherence to Scotland's Reformation, Covenants, National and Solemn League, The monumental pillar, erected from the proceeds of a sermon preached in 1831, bears the following fulsome dedication :— (253) Kirkconnel Hill. 259 In testimony Of the feelings of the present generation On the n t h September, 1831. about ten thousand persons assembled here, and after hearing an excellent sermon, preached by the Revd John Osborne. from Psalm 74, verse 22nd Contributed a fund, for the erection of this monument To the memory of these martyrs. (Alexander Murray Esqr of Broughton having handsomely given the ground) Four of whom were carried to their respective burial places, but James Clement, being a stranger, was interred on this spot. Death broke their fetters, off then straight they fled, From sin and sorrow; and by angels led, Enter'd the mansions of eternal joy; Blest souls your warfare's done, praise, love, enjoy. T W Y N H O L M . N the churchyard of Twynham, the old and proper name of the place, lie buried the remains of Andrew M'Robert, one of those shot in company with Bell of Whiteside and others in the parish of Tongland, Galloway. The inscription on his gravestone is as follows :—. Memento Mori. Here lyes Andrew M'Robert, who was surprised and shot to death in the parish of Tongueland, by Grier of Lagg, for his adherence to Scotland's Reformation Covenants, National and Solemn League, 1685. (260) LOCH TROOL. " When the barbarous hordes as they onward rode, By the wild and rocky glen, Have heard, when away from man's abode, A voice that awed like the voice of God,— 'Twas the hymn of fearless men I " N a Sabbath morning in January, 1685, in spite of the rigour of a severe winter, a few faithful followers of the Covenant, part of that scattered remnant who were forced to seek shelter in the lonely glen or solitary moor, assembled to worship God according to their conscience, at the Caldons, in the parish of Minniegaff. They had scarcely begun when a sudden surprise came upon them at the appearance of Colonel Douglas and a party of dragoons. After a brief resistance, six persons were killed—James and Robert Dun, Andrew Macaulay, John M'Clude, Thomas and John Stevenson; one dragoon was killed; also Captain Urquhart, who was shot by a countryman. The scene of the conflict was in the glen of Trool; the martyrs were interred near the place where they fell. The site of the old farmhouse of Caldons is supposed (261) 262 Tombstones of the Covenanters. to be marked by a shapeless heap of stones, which had once been a cairn. A low stone wall encompasses the resting-place of the sufferers, which stands in a lonely marsh near the little water of Trool shortly after it leaves the loch—a very wild and romantic spot. The monument consists of a strong plain wall, about four feet high, forming a square enclosure, within- which stands the little grey tombstone. The modern enclosing wall has a slab of red sandstone let into its inner side, on which is the inscription of 182 7:— Here lyes James and Robert Duns, Thomas and John Stevenson, James M'Clude, Andrew M'Call, who were surprised at prayer in this house By Colonel Douglas, Lieutenant Livingstone, and Cornet James Douglas, and by them most impiously and cruelly murther'd for their adherence to Scotland's Reformation Covenants, National and Solemn League. 1685. In memory of Six Martyrs who suffered at this spot for their attachment to the Covenanted Cause of Christ in Scotland, January 23, 1685. Erected by the Voluntary Contributions of a Congregation who waited on the ministrations of the Rev. Gavin Rowatt of Whitehorn, Lord's Day, 19 August, 1827. K I R K A N D R E W S . N the churchyard of Kirk Andrews, parish of Borgue, a memorial stone preserves the memory of Robert M'Whae, a martyr for the Covenant, who was shot in his own garden, in the parish of Borgue, by order of Colonel James Douglas, then passing through the district like a destroying angel. His body was buried in the churchyard of Kirk Andrews. The original stone having been broken, a facsimile of it was erected in 1855 by the inhabitants of the parish. It bears this inscription :— Memento-Mori Here lyes Robert M'Whae, who was barbarously shot to death by Captain Douglas, in this paroch for his adherence to Scotland's Reformation, Covenants, National and Solemn League, 1685. (263) CROSS-MICHAEL. H E parish church of Crossmichael is surrounded by the churchyard, in which are several very handsome monuments. An ancient tombstone preserves the memory of a sufferer for the Covenant, on which is inscribed :— Memento Mori. Here lyes William Graham, Who, making his escape from his Mother's house, was pursued and taken, and instantly shot dead by a party of Claverhouse's troops, for his adherence to Scotland's Reformation, Covenants, National and Solemn League, 1682. (264) DALRY. '* T h e deer, faint and falling, a covert had found But slough hounds, like vultures, were prowling around ; And the flower in the morning, all weary, he pressed, A t eve may be watered wi' blood o' his breast. | T JOHN'S Town of Dairy, or as it is called by the residents, the Clachan of Dairy, has a special niche in the history of the 2 8 years' persecution. In this small village the first collision took place between a few countrymen and the soldiers, occasioned by an act of humanity in rescuing an old man from the troopers who were about to inflict punishment upon him for refusing to pay fines imposed for non-attendance on the parish church. Compassion for a fellow-sufferer prompted their interference, which was construed into rebellion, and forced the Covenanters into a course of action neither foreseen nor desired, and caused the first deadly struggle a few weeks after this skirmish in the rising at Pentland. The churchyard, which is situated close to the village, on a grassy mound near the margin of the (265) 266 Tombstones of the Covenanters. river, has its martyr memorial, where a monument is erected to Robert Stewart and John Grierson, who with two others were killed by Claverhouse at the water of Dee, in 1684. The former was a youth of great promise, son of Major Robert Stewart of Ardoch, in the parish of Dairy, a staunch adherent to the cause of the Covenant. H e and Grierson, with six others, were surprised by the dragoons at Auchencloy, and soon overpowered; one James M'Michael, fought single, handed with Claverhouse, and tradition says he had the best of the fight, till a dragoon came behind and clave his skull in two; some friends buried his body, but Claverhouse ordered it to be taken out of the grave and hung on a tree. Two escaped, and the other two were executed at Kirkcudbright. The bodies of Stewart and Grierson were brought to Dairy, and buried by their relations. The inscription on the gravestone runs thus :—• Memento Mori. Here lyeth Robert Stewart (Son to Major Stewart, of Ardoch) and John Grierson, who were murthered by Graham, of Claverhouse, Anno 1684, for their adherence to Scotland's Reformation and Covenants, National and Solemn League, Behold ! Behold ! a stone's here forced to cry, Come see two martyrs under me that ly. At Water of Dee they ta'en were by the hands of Cruel Claverhouse and's bloody bands, Dairy. 267 No sooner had he done this horrid thing, But's forced to cry, " Stewart's soul in Heaven doth sing;" Yet, strange! his rage pursued even such when dead, And in the tombs of their ancestors laid-— Causing their Corpse to be raised out of the same, Discharging in Churchyard to bury them: All this they did;—Cause they would not perjure Our Covenants and Reformation pure; Because, like faithful Martyrs, for to die They rather chose, than treacherously comply With Cursed Prelacie, the Nation's bane,— And with indulgencie on Churches Stain,— Perjured intelligence were so rife,— Shew'd their cursed loyalty—to take their life. Young Stewart sustained a character so unimpeachable that his very enemies applauded him; even Claverhouse, after he had shot him, exclaimed, " Stewart's soul now sings in heaven !" a tradition recorded in the inscription on the tombstone. BALMACLELLAN. " Like the gleaning o' grapes when the vintage is o'er, This lone little cluster, like water must pour The " red rain " of carnage, like dew on the sod, For the martyrs are cast in the wine press of God. | | H E churchyard of Balmaclellan is in close proximity to the village, which is situated on a high rising ground, and commands a fine view of trie surrounding country; it contains several very ancient tombstones with quaint inscriptions. One of these preserves the memory of the Rev. Thomas Verner, a minister of the parish, for fifty-nine years, who died in 1716, in the 89th year of his age, and, as stated on the gravestone, "the last of the Presbyterian ministers who survived the Revolution." One of five martyrs surprised in a cave at Ingliston, in Glencairn parish, lies buried here—Robert Grierson, a Galloway man, was in hiding with other sufferers, when Colonel Douglas and Lieut. Livingstone were led by an informer to their retreat. The soldiers shot into the cave, wounded one man, rushed upon the (268) Balmaclellan. 269 others, and shot them on the spot, only one being allowed a few minutes' respite for prayer. This was John Gibson, who was buried at Glencairn, as previously noticed. A monument was erected to the memory of Robert Grierson, which has been recently repaired by order of the parish minister, and raised a foot from the ground. It is inscribed as follows :— Here lyeth ROBERT GRIERSON, who was shot to death by command of Colonel James Douglas, at Inglestoun, in the parish of Glencairn, anno., 1685. This monument to passengers shall cry, That goodly Grierson under it doth ly, Betrayed by Knavish Watson to his foes, Which made this Martyr's days by murther close, If ye would know the nature of his crime, Then read the story of that killing time, When Babel's brats with hellish plots conceal'd, Design'd to make our South their hunting-field, Here's one of five at once were laid in dust, To gratify Rome's execrable lust, If carabines with molten bullets could Have reached their souls, these mighty Nimrods would Them have cut of; for there could no request Three minutes get, to pray for future rest. Near the martyr's gravestone is a monument to the memory of a Old Mortality," who deserves a niche in any record of the Covenanters. 270 Tombstones of the Covenanters. There are few churchyards in Ayrshire, Galloway, or Dumfriesshire, where the work of his chisel is not yet to be seen, a labour to which, without fee or reward, he devoted forty years of his life; not only repairing and deepening the inscriptions, but erecting stones at his own expense. The village of Balmaclellan was the place where the wife and family of " Old Mortality " lived. The inscription on the monument is as follows :— To the memory of ROBERT PATERSON, Stone engraver, well known, as " Old Mortality," who died at Bankend of Caerlaverock 14th February 1801, aged %%. The venerable renovator of the tombstones of the Covenanters, in the last of his peregrinations at his hallowed work, was in the neighbourhood of Bankend, about eight miles from Dumfries, when he was seized with illness, and found on the road-side; he was removed to a friendly house, where he died in a few days, and was buried in the church yard of Caerlaverock. A few years ago, the celebrated publishers of the " Waverley Novels," Messrs Adam and Charles Black, Edinburgh, did a very kindly act in erecting a memorial over " Old Mortality's " grave; it is of red freestone, simple, but tasteful in design. Near the upper part of the stone, a mallet and chisel, Balmaclellan. 271 crossed, are cut in relief, and underneath is the following inscription:— Erected To the Memory of ROBERT PATERSON, the Old Mortality of Sir Walter Scott, who was buried here, February, 1801. " Why seeks he, with unwearied toil, Through death's dim walls to urge his way,, Reclaim his long arrested spoil, And lead oblivion into day." BALMAGHIE. " But the bluidy, bluidy sword, For their Auld Kirk-yard ; ' L i k e water poured their blood,' In that Auld Kirk-yard." N the churchyard of Balmaghie are two martyr memorials, one in honour of David Halliday, portioner of Mayfield, and David Halliday in Glencayre, whose memories are preserved on the same gravestone. The former was shot with Bell of Whiteside and others on Kirkconnel muir, the latter was, a few months after, captured with George Short, by Lord Annandale and Grierson of Lagg, who were then searching the district for Nonconformists and all who refused to take the oaths. Halliday, on his surrender to Lord Annandale, received quarter, and was offered to be tried on the following day; but the merciless Lagg swore he should have no respite, and ordered his men to shoot him at once. The soldiers at first refused, (272) Balmaghie. 273 till Lagg threatened to do it himself; and Short and Halliday were shot as they lay bound together on the ground, where their dead bodies were left till the following day, when they were taken and buried in the Churchyard of Balmaghie. The inscriptions on the tombstones are as follows— Here lyes David Halliday, portioner of Mayfield, who was shot upon the 21 st February 1685, and of David Halliday, once in Glenape, who was likewise shot upon the n t h of July 1685, for their adherence to the principles of Scotland's Covenanted Reformation. Beneath this stone two David Hallidays , Do ly, whose souls now sing their Master's praise. To know, if curious passengers desire, For what, by whome, and how they did expire ? They did oppose this nation's perjury, Nor could they join with lordly Prelacy, Indulging favours from Christ's enemies, Quench'd not their zeal: This monument then erys5 These were the causes not to be forgot, Why they by Lagg so wickedly were shot, One Name, one Cause, one grave, one heaven to tye Their souls to that one God eternally. An upright stone, three feet high, by two feet wide, marks the grave of George Short, ,on which is inscribed— s 274 Tombstones of the Covenanters. Memento Mori. Here lies George Short, who was pursued and taken, and instantly shot to death under cloud of night, in the paroch of Tongueland, by Grier of Lag, and the Earle of Annandale, because of his adherence to Scotland's Reformation, Covenants, National and Solemn League, 1685. KELLS. " Through years of oppression, and blood, and shame T h e earth as a wine press trod— That silent witness abides the same, In its mute appeal to G o d / ' ;NE of the most striking monuments in the centre of the churchyard of Kells is that erected in memory of Adam MacQwhan, one of the martyred Covenanters; the frame is of granite, and the old tombstone is so placed in it that it can be read on both sides. W6drow calls this martyr Andrew, and Crookshank in his History gives the same Christian name, and says, " h e suffered on the hill of Knockdavie, in the vicinity of New Galloway, which is confirmed by tradition; some people pretend to show his blood on the rock." This memorial commemorates one of those atrocities which outraged all human sympathy. The victim ( 2 75) 276 Tombstones of the Covenanters. of the remorseless soldiers, under the command of Colonel Douglas, was lying ill of a fever when they entered his house; he was either unable or unwilling to answer questions put to him; but in his helpless condition, was taken out of bed and carried to the Newtown of Galloway, where, next morning, without any process or assize, he was shot; his body was buried in the churchyard of Kells. The original inscription is as follows:— Here lyes ADAM MACQWHAN, who, being sick of a fever, was taken out of his bed and carried to Newtown of Galloway, and the next day most cruelly and unjustly shot to death by the command of Lieutenant General James Douglas, brother to the Duke of Queensberry, for his adherence to Scotland's Reformation, Covenants, National and Solemn League, 1685. The above stone, erected to the memory of ADAM MACQWHAN, was placed in this granite monument, A.D. 1832. The expense defrayed by the inhabitants of Kells, after sermon by the Rev. James Maitland, minister of the parish. The churchyard of Kells has another memorial stone to the memory of one of the men wounded at the battle of Rullion Green, and buried here. Kelts. Here lyes the corpse of Roger Gordon of Largmore, who dyed March 2, 1662 aged 72 years, and of John Gordon of Largmore, his grandchild, who dyed January 6, 1667, of his wounds got at Pentland in defence of the Covenanted Reformation. CRAIGMODIE. N a bleak romantic spot at Craigmodie, in the parish of Kirkcowan, Wigtownshire, was shot Alexander Lin, by order of Lieut-General Drummond in his progress through Galloway in 1685, that year of blood and assassination. A memorial stone marks the place of his burial, on which is inscribed— Here lyes the body ot Alexander Linn Who was surprised arid instantly shot to death on this place, by Lieutenant General Drummond for his adherence to Scotland's Reformation Covenants, National and Solemn league 1685. In 1827 a new stone was erected, containing the old inscription with this addition— (278) Craigmodze. 279 Erected in 1827, In consequence of a sermon preached on this spot, by the Rev. William Symington of Stranraer "Contend for the Faith." It was a surprise that a congregation could be gathered on the Sabbath morning in such a secluded spot; the minister had some difficulty in finding his way to the place; the people came from long distances, and formed a large assemblage. A temporary pulpit was erected near the Martyr's grave; the text of the sermon was from Jude 3rd; an old elder from Ayrshire acted as precentor, and " plaintive Martyrs, worthy of the name " was sung in as great perfection as in the days of other years. WIGTOWN. " A grave—a grave is by the sea—in a place of ancient tombs— A restless murmuring of waves, for ever o'er it comes— A pleasant sound in summer tide—a requiem low and clear, But O h ! when storms are on the hill—it hath a voice of fear." U R closing record of the tombstone inscriptions brings under notice one of the darkest pages in the history of the persecution. The story of the "Wigtown Martyrs " is full of tragic interest, and the publication of a recent work by Mark Napier, Sheriff of Dumfriesshire, attempting to prove the received history a "fable" and a "calumny" has only brought out the facts of the case with a fulness of detail which completely confirms the accuracy of Wodrow as a faithful historian. The story of the martyrdom was given to the world just thirty-seven years after the event is said to have taken place, and while there were many people living who were perfectly acquainted with all the facts (280) Wigtown. 281 of the case; but instead of being contradicted and disproved, it has been repeated by all respectable historians down to our own time. Tradition is strong, clear, and unwavering on the chief points of the story, and it would have been a welcome chapter in our national history if the learned Sheriff had been able to detach this black page from the record of the persecution. The minutes of the Kirk Session of Kirkinner and Penninghame, the parishes to which the women respectively belonged, are fortunately preserved, and have been printed as the most satisfactory testimony which could be produced; the question in dispute is one of fact and not of opinion, and the ministers and elders of the district who certified to the event in their Session records, must have known what had taken place within their own church boundary only twenty-six years previous; and we can scarcely imagine such a body of men guilty of placing on the page of history a story of martyrdom to which the terms " false" and " calumnious,'' could in any degree be applied. For more minute details of the controversy, our readers are referred to Napier's " Case for the Crown," and " History Vindicated in the Case of the Wigtown Martyrs," by the Rev. Alexander Stewart, minister of Glasserton. The part of the minute relating to the Wilson family in the books of the Kirk Session of Penninghame may be noticed— 282 Tombstones of the Covenanters. " Gilbert Wilson of Glenvernock, in Castlestewart's land, being a man to ane excesse conform to the guise of the tymes, and his wife without challenge for her religion, in good condition as to worldly things, with a great stock on a large ground (fitt to be a prey) was harassed for his children, who would not conform. They being required to take the test, and hear the curates, refused both, were searched for, fled, and lived in the wild mountains, bogs, and caves. Their parents were charged, on their highest peril, that they should neither harbour them, speak to them, supply them, nor see them; and the country people were obliged by the terror of the law to pursue them, as well as the soldiers, with hue and cry." In February, 1685, Thomas Wilson, sixteen years of age; Margaret Wilson, eighteen years; Agnes Wilson, thirteen years, children of Gilbert Wilson, —the said Thomas keeping the mountains—his two sisters, Margaret and Agnes, went secretly to Wigtown to see some friends, were there discovered, and taken prisoners, thrust into the thieves' hole as malefactors, and after a time brought up to the tolbooth with several other prisoners, particularly one Margaret M'Lachland, of Kirkinner parish, a woman 63 years of age. After being imprisoned for some time they were brought before the Sheriff, the Laird of Lagg, Major Winram, and Captain Strachan, who were holding an assize. They were charged with being guilty of rebellion at Bothwell Bridge, Airsmoss, twenty field conventicles, and twenty house conven- Wigtown. 283 t i d e s ; yet it was well known that none of the three women were ever within twenty miles of either Bothwell or Airsmoss, and the Wilsons were only children at the time these battles were fought. They were, nevertheless,found guilty, and sentenced " t o be tyed to palisadoes fixed in the sand, within the flood mark, at the mouth of the Blednoch stream, and there to stand till the flood overflowed them and drowned them." Gilbert Wilson got his younger daughter, Agnes, out of prison, upon his bond for one hundred pounds, to produce her when called upon; but no persuasion could prevail upon Margaret to take the oath, or hear the curates, and she remained condemned and in prison. On the n t h of May, 1685, Margaret M'Lachland and Margaret Wilson were brought forth to execution. The old woman was placed nearer the advancing tide, that the sight of her sufferings might overcome the scruples of the young martyr; but in vain. Some of her relations being on the spot called out, "She is willing to conform;" when Major Winram offered the oath of abjuration, which she again refused; they then returned her into the water, where she finished her warfare at the age of eighteen years. The bodies were taken out of the water at low tide, and buried in the churchyard of Wigtown, where two gravestones were erected during the life-time of 284 Tombstones of the Covenanters. many who were witnesses of the drowning. The inscriptions are as follows :— § J2 d 5 jg£ m !J £ $ O °° H £ § Ww t3 o ®,* §'w tf ^ H S § ° § S A ^ O < § «j > * $ § LET EARTH AND STONE STILL WITNES BEARE THEIR LYES A VIRGINE MARTYR HERE MURTHER ? D FOR OUNING CHRIST SUPREAME HEAD OF HIS CHURCH AND NO MORE CRIME M BUT N 0 T A B U R I N G ^ J PRESBYTRY, A N D H E R N 0 T § 06 OWNING PRELACY ^ M T H E Y H E R CONDEM'D BY UNJUST LAW fl ^ 0 F H E A V E N N 0 R H E L L T H E Y STOOD NO AW g ^ WITHIN THE SEA T Y ' D TO A STAKE ID SHE SUFFERED FOR CHRIST JESUS SAKE § THE ACTORS OF THIS CRUEL CRIME ft WAS LAGG, STRACHAN, W1NRAM AND GRHAME, NEITHER YOUNG YEARES, NOR YET OLD AGE COULD STOP THE FURY OF THERE RAGE The second tombstone has inscribed in front— HERE LIES MARGARAT LACHLANE WHO WAS BY UNJUST LAW SENTENCED TO DYE BY LAGG STRACHANE WINRAME w 3 AND GRAME AND TYED TO A STAKE V WITH g > IN THE FLOOD FOR HER* Back of tombstone— S ME MENTO MORI Q *ADHERENCETo S SCOTLANDS REFORMATION COVENANTS S NATIONAL AND SOLEMN LEAGUE • AGED 63. 1685. Wigtown. 285 A modern monument has been erected by public subscription at Windyhill, an eminence adjoining the burgh of Wigtown. It is a handsome obelisk, costing ^ 2 0 0 , and commands a magnificent view of the town and surrounding country. It can be seen for many miles around. On the east side, facing Wigtown Bay, there is the following inscription :— MARGARET WILSON, aged 18, daughter of a farmer in Glenvernock, AND MARGARET M'LAUCHLAN, aged 6& tenant in the farm of Drumjargan, BOTH IN THIS COUNTY, Were Drowned by sentence of the Public Authorities, in the waters of the Bladrioch, near this place, on The n t h of MAY, 1685, Because they refused to forsake the principles of the Scottish Reformation, and to take the Government Oath, abjuring the right of the people to resist the tyranny of their rulers. ALSO, WILLIAM JOHNSTONE, gardener, and JOHN M I L - ROY, chapman in Fintilloch, and GILBERT WALKER, servant in Kirkala, all in this County, Were similarly executed in the town of Wigtown, In the same Year, And for the same cause. The western tablet bears the following :— This Monument has been erected In memory of the noble army of Martyrs in Galloway 286 Tombstones of the Covenanters. and other parts of Scotland, by whom, during the age of persecution, our religion and liberties, as now established, were secured; and As a lesson to their posterity never to lose or abuse those glorious principles, planted by their labours, rooted in their sufferings, and watered with their blood. On the south side is inscribed a copy of the record on the tombstone of Margaret Wilson, in the churchyard, Wigtown. And on the north side, the following dedication :— A general desire having been manifested to commemorate, by some suitable monument, the piety, constancy, and courage of the Scottish Martyrs, especially those whose ashes repose in the Churchyard of Wigtown, a Committee of Gentlemen of the district was appointed to carry out this object, and a considerable fund having been raised by public subscription and otherwise, the present memorial was Erected in the year 1858. An elegant marble allegorical group of statuary, surmounted by a glass cupola, representing Margaret Wilson, with her younger sister, Agnes, has been erected in the picturesque and romantic churchyard of Stirling, by the late William Drummond of that Wigtown. 287 place, as a memorial of his veneration for the memory of the Wigtown martyrs, and a testimony of his faith in the cause for which they suffered. The inscription on the pedestal is symbolic and peculiar :— MARGARET. Virgin Martyr of the Ocean Wave, with her like-minded sister AGNES, Love many waters cannot quench—God saves His chaste impearled one in Covenant true. Oh Scotia's daughters P earnest scan the page, And prize this flower of grace, blood-bought for you. Psalm 9. 19. It is interesting to narrate that Thomas Wilson, who escaped capture by a keeping the mountains/' endeavoured to relieve his sisters from confinement, but did not succeed. H e kept in concealment till the Revolution, when he entered the army, and served King William in Flanders. On returning to Scotland he had saved sufficient money to enable him to take the farm which his father formerly possessed; and in 1704, such was the estimation in which he was held, that he was unanimously recommended as a fit person for the office of elder in Penninghame Church, to which, after repeated refusals, he was ordained on ist November, 1719. His name appears on the minute book as a member of Penninghame Kirk Session down to ist April, 1734, so that twenty years after the story of his sister's martyrdom was recorded 288 Tombstones of the Covenanters, in "the Session book, and twelve years after it was published in Wodrow's History, Thomas Wilson was living to certify to its truth, and the monument in Wigtown churchyard was erected some years before his death. Another gravestone in Wigtown churchyard commemorates three men belonging to the parish of Penninghame, who were taken by Major Winram, and v,ery summarily executed. William Johnston was gardener to the Laird of Fintilloch; George Walker, servant in Kinkauly, and John Milroy, chapman, living in Fintilloch. They had refused to conform, and were forced to wander from place to place; after many remarkable escapes, they were captured and brought to Wigtown. On declining to answer some questions* and refusing to hear the Episcopal minister, they were hanged without the trouble of an assize, the day after they were apprehended. An upright stone marks the place of interment, on which is inscribed :— M E M E N T O MORI. H E R E LYSE WILLIAM J O H N S T O N J O H N MILROY G E O R G E WALKER W H O WAS W I T H O U T SENTENCE OF LAW HANGED BY MAJOR WINRAM FOR T H E I R A D H E R E N C E TO SCOT LAND'S REFORMATION COVENANTS NATION AL AND SOLAM LEAGWE. 1685. V A L E D I C T I O N . E have now finished our pilgrimage to the Shrines of the Covenanters, and trust those of our readers who have followed our footsteps are not weary of the journey: These memorial stones are only representative of the desolation which swept over Scotland during " the killing t i m e s / ' it was a dismal period of suffering, cruel in action, and calamitous in results, but it developed the national character and laid the foundation of freedom for a coming age. The number of people murdered in the fields was very great; hundreds were killed in the moorlands whose names are not retained in tradition, and many graves are pointed out in the wilds of which no account can be given, except that handed down in family history, that they are burial places of martyrs for the covenant* and as such have ever been preserved and held sacred. The fires of persecution have long since and for ever burned out, and in the changed conditions of citizenship the present generation are too apt to look upon (289) T 290 Tombstones of the Covenanters, the gallant struggle of their forefathers as simply a matter of history, often forgetting how much they owe to those brave pioneers who fought the battle of civil and religious liberty. While these pages are passing through the press, the fiftieth anniversary of the Repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts is being celebrated, these Acts which formed part of the baneful legislation of the age which roused the defiant spirit of the Covenanters. The Test Act was passed in 1672 j among other penalties it enacted— " That every person that shall be admitted to any office, civil or military, or shall receive any pay by reason of any patent or grant, or shall have command of place or trust, or shall be admitted into any service in the Royal Household, shall receive the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper according to the usuage of the Church of England, within three months after his admittance, in some public church upon some Lord'sday, immediately after divine service and sermon. Any person taking office without this qualification, and being thereon lawfully convicted, is disabled from suing, or using any action at law, for being guardian of any child, or executor, or capable of any legacy or deed of gift, and forfeit the s-um of ^500, to be received by him or them that shall sue for the same." The repeal of these unrighteous laws on the 9th May 1828, was the dawn of a brighter day for liberty of conscience, and the right of private judgment; and in the half-century just passed, other disabilities, civil and Valediction. &g i religious, have been removed from the statute book, as the wisest safeguard for the well-being and authority of the State, and the loyalty of the subject. "Look forth again, oh, watcher of the tower— T h e people wake, and languish for the hour, Long have they dwelt in darkness, and they pine For the full daylight, that they know must shine." FINIS. D U N N AND WRIGHT, PRINTERS, GLASGOW. WORKS PUBLISHED BY DUNN & W R I G H T ; G L A s G o w. GLASGOW: 176 BUCHANAN STREET AND 102 STIRLING ROAJ>. LONDON: 15 AVE MARIA LANE. 2 D U N N A N D W R I G H T , GLASGOW A N D LONDON. NEW WORKS. Crown 8vo, 258 'pages, with frontispiece, cloth, gilt title, 3/6. K N O X AND THE REFORMATION TIMES I N SCOTLAND. B Y J E A N L. W A T S O N , EDINBURGH. P R E F A C E B Y R E V . R O B E R T M U I R , HAWICK. "Knox was the life and soul of the great Reformation in Scotland."--. Preface. 0 — Foolscap 8vo, 320 pp., cloth, gilt title, 5j-. G R E Y C L I F F H A L L , A N D OTHER POEMS. B Y A L I C E P R I N G L E , AUCHTERARDER. Foolscap 8vo, cloth, gilt title, Sj6. I N S C R I P T I O N S ON T H E TOMBSTONES AND MONUMENTS ERECTED IN MEMORY OF T H E COVENANTEES. BY J A M E S GIBSON, LIVERPOOL, Editor of "Bums' Calendar" "Btvrrts1 Birthday Boole" etc.. etc. OTHER W O R K S I N P R E P A R A T I O N . •DUNN A N D W R I G H T , GLASGOW A N D LONDON. 3 NEW EDITIONS. Foolscap Svo, 534 PP-> cloth, gilt title, 3j6. THE SOOTS WORTHIES. o Crown 8vo, 434 VP>> cloth, gilt title, Illustrated, 3]6. RAMBLES BOUND BY HUGH GLASGOW. MACDONALD. o Companion Volume, by same Author, DAYS WITH AT T H E COAST, INTERESTING MEMOIR. -o Croion 8vo, printed on fine toned paper, with Illustrated Cover, 11-; Cloth, gilt title, Engraved Frontispiece, and bevelled boards, 21-; Fine ThickPaper Edition, Cloth, gilt edges, Engraved Frontispiece, bevelled boards, 3I-. BROWNIE OF BODSBECK, AND O T H E R TALES, BY THE "ETTRICK SHEPHERD," WITH BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH BY LAURENCE ANDERSOK ESQ., MOFFAT. " Hogg gave himself up to the genius of romance, and luxuriated in fairy visions. If, as has been stated, 'The Queen's "Wake* is his most popular poem, ' T h e Brownie of Bodsheck' is his favourite story."—L. Anderson, Moffat. SOLD BY ALL BOOKSELLERS. 4 DUNN AND WRIGHT, GLASGOW AND LONDON. Crown 8vo, Paper Cover, 1\-; Cloth, gilt title, bevelled boards, Fine Thich Paper Edition, Cloth, gilt edges, bevelled boards, 2j-; 3j-f Rev. ALEX. PEDEN (the Prophet), AND Rev. J A M E S . . . E'ENWICK: THEIR LIFE AND TIMES, BY JEAN L. WATSON, EDINBURGH. INTRODUCTORY ESSAY By R e v . ON SCOTTISH JOHN KER, NATIONALITY D.D., SYDNEY PLACE IT.P. CHURCH, GLASGOW. " The incidents of the long years of persecution, and the characters of the men who respectively inflicted and endured the cruel wrongs of the dark period of Scottish history are delineated in a spirited manner, and cannot fail to engage the interest of young readers, to whom we strongly recoinniend the book. Young men who are forming libraries of their own cannot do better than add this volume to their collection. The essay of the Rev. Dr Ker on Scottish Nationality is a noble introduction to the book."— Glasgoio Young Men's Magazine. u In this volume we have beauty, utility, and cheapness combined. The introduction by Dr John Ker is a piece of as fine and just historical writing as we have anywhere seen. We heartily commend this handsome volume."— \ Advance. I "Our readers will be glad to make the acquaintance of this very attractive j and interesting volume, containing memoirs of Alexander Peden and James Eenwick. We hail with pleasure the biographies of Peden and Eenwick— names which will be held in everlasting remembrance—and trust that this | volume will have a large circulation. Dr Ker's introductory chapter examines » into the origin and development of Scottish Nationality, and is highly in', structive and suggestive. We strongly recommend the book."—Glasgow Sabbath School Magazine. I " I have read this book with much interest and satisfaction. The Preface OTHER WORKS IN PREPARATION. DUINN AND WEIGHT, GLASGOW AND LONDON. 5 by Dr Ker is very admirable, and will do much good. I trust it may be widely circulated and carefully pondered."—Eev. JAMES BEGG-,D.D., Edinburgh. " We welcome the volume before us. Perhaps two better specimens of our covenanting forefathers could not have been selected."—League Journal. " Very complete and concise, written in a graphic style, and shows thorough appreciation of Peden's character and principles."—Kelso Chronicle. " Much care has been bestowed on the revision of those portions of the writings of Peden and Eenwick that are given in this volume."—Eev. JOHN KER, D.D. " The story is well told by one who is in deepest sympathy with it, but with a scrupulous regard for truth, and for its clearness and feeling it will be read with interest even by those who are familiar with the original sources. . . We very earnestly commend this very neat and cheap edition to our readers, and earnestly wish it a very wide circulation among Irish Presbyterians, by whom, as well as by the Scotch, the names of Peden and Renwick, both of whom vMted our island in the ' killing times,' are held in veneration."— Belfast Witness. Crown 8vo, Paper Cover, 1\-; Cloth, gilt title, levelled hoards, #/-, Fine Thick Paper Edition, Cloth, gilt edges, bevelled boards, S\-; THE TWO GUTHRIES: THEIR LIFE AND TIMES; OR, S K E T C H E S OF T H E COVENANTS. BY JEAN L. WATSON, EDINBURGH. " The author's sketch of the Covenants is simply a great literary treat, as interesting as the most fascinating of our Scottish tales, yet breathing throughout the hallowed and ennobling spirit of these heroic, patriotic, and eminently pious men,' The Scottish Worthies.' We very heartily.commend this volume to our readers, especially to the young."—The People's Journal. OTHER WORKS IN PREPARATION. I 6 DUNN AND WRIGHT, GLASGOW AND LONDON. Grown Svo, Paper &ove?\ 1\-; Cloth, gilt title, bevelled boards, 2\-% Fine Thick Paver Edition, Clot\ gilt edges, bevelled boards, S\-> COTTAGERS OF GLENBTJUNXE, BY MRS ELIZABETH HAMILTON, AND SELECTIONS PROM L I G H T S A N D S H A D O W S OF SCOTTISH PREFATORY LIFE, NOTE BY J E A N L. WATSON, EDINBURGH. " We are gratified to notice a new edition of this- original and well-told tale, which has perhaps done more to improve the dwellings and habits of our villagers than all our sanitary inspectors. The sarcastic style in which the Mrs M'Clartys are exposed to ridicule has operated most effectually in diminishing the number of such characters, and thus tended to promote the cleanliness and comfort of Scottish homes. It is one of those books that will hold its place, and its graphic descriptions of village life will always be read with pleasure. A brief but interesting sketch of the 'Life of the Authoress' is given, including the well-known song; 'My Ain Fireside.'"—League Journal. " As a picture of Scottish village life in the last century, the book is unequalled and inimitable. Infinite amusement, and no little instruction, may le derived from a perusal of this work, which, with the addition of some sketches from Professor "Wilson's 'Lights and Shadows of Scottish Life,' is now issued in a Shilling volume."—Kelso Chronicle. " This is an interesting story, which conveys lessons that many housewives iu our large towns, as well as in rural districts, need."—Scottish Congregational Magazine. " For the long winter nights or summer evenings this is most useful and healthy literature. A large circulation in every parish throughout Scotland would be one means of doing much to entertain and instruct a vast number who have few books. "We cordially thank the enterprising publishers for this beautiful and cheap edition."—The Advance. ')THRR WORKS IN PREPARATION. DUNN AND WRIGHT, GLASGOW AND LONDON. J Crown8vo, Paper Cover, If-; Cloth, gilt title, bevelled boards, %\~; Fine Thick Paper Edition, Cloth, gilt edges, bevelled boards, Sj-, THE DISRUPTION": A TALE OF TRYING TIMES. BY WILLIAM THIRD EDITION. CROSS, GLASGOW. REVISED BY THE AUTHOR. " It will interest many of our readers to learn that this deservedly popular story is now issued in a cheap but tastefully got-up volume One admirable quality of the work is, that while it deals so largely with matters clerical, and while many of the incidents are related with genuine Scottish humour, the author throughout shows a respect for the sacredness of religion, and for the tender susceptibilities of Churchmen and Dissenters alike, which cannot fail to raise him in the estimation of our readers. The book is well printed and handsomely bound."—Renfrewshire Independent. " Not only as an entertaining narrative, but as containing many reliable references to the quick-spreading events of the Disruption era, served up in a thorough attractive form. Around the great events of Disruption history, which to the popular mind are as rough and barren of interest as a boulder on a hill side, the author has planted the fresh and attractive blossoms of literary gracefulness, power of description, and knowledge of human nature, so that at each successive step one is tempted to linger and ponder over the great things that]were done in those days. We would particularly recommend this book to the youths of the country."—Daily Mail. " A very clear and interesting story. We can remember the eagerness with Which it was read when it was originally published. The tale will always be read with pleasure, as a faithful description of the times of the Disruption, and as providing graphic delineations of Scottish character in its many phases. There is in it capital specimens of genuine Scottish humour. Many of the scenes are given with great vividness of expression. The book is handsomely got up, both in binding and letterpress."—League Journal. " Mr Cross manages his story exceedingly well, and shows abundantly that he was intimate with the events he seeks to describe, while his insight into Scottish character and modes of thought, and his very racy humour, give a piquancy and point to his dialogues, and a sense of reality to his descriptions." —Border Advertiser. " The characteristic features of the work is the holding up of truth and OTHER WORKS IN PREPARATION. 8 DUNN AND WEIGHT, GLASGOW AND LONDON. genuine morality, and laying bare the hideous form of moral corruption, in a manner that cannot fail in causing the former to be loved and the latter despised. The work is interspersed with very humorous and laughter-stirring incidents. It deserves an extensive circulation, and we have no doubt it will find its way into thousands of Scottish homes. It is a book for a]l times."—* The Alderman. 0 Crown 8vo, Paper Cover, 1\; Cloth, gilt title, bevelled boards, Fine Thick Paper Edition, Cloth, gilt edges, bevelled boards, ANNALS OF T H E 2\-; S[-, PAUXSH, AND THE AYRSHIRE LEGATEES. BY JOHN GALT. W I T H L I F E OF T H E AUTHOR BY JEAN L. WATSON, EDINBURGH. " Mr Gait, who was a native of Irvine, Ayrshire, chose that district as the scene of the stories which form the present volume. ' The Annals of the Parish' may be considered to be in relation to Scotland what the Vicar of "Wakefield is to England. These * Annals of the Parish' present the simple manners and homely ways of the villagers of a century ago, and their relations to the parish minister, in a most interesting way, and introduces phases of thought and peculiarities of expression which have almost become extinct."—Daily Review. " Miss Watson's ' Life of the Author' is interesting and well told. The Tolume is carefully got up, and is worthy a place on the drawing-room table." —Border Advertiser. OTHER WORKS IN PREPARATION. DUNN" A N D W R I G H T , GLASGOW A N D LONDON. 9 •Crown 8vo, Paper Cover, 1\-; Cloth, gilt title, bevelled boards, 2\-; Fine Thick Paper Edition, Cloth, gilt edges, bevelled boards, 3\-, \ TALES OF THE COVEN AHTEKS•; I COMPRISING H E L E N O F T H E G L E N , R A L P H GEMMELL, A N D T H E r PERSECUTED FAMILY. •WITH LIFE OF T H E BY AUTHOR . I [ J E A N L. WATSON, EDINBURGH. ! I j j j " This covenanting story has had a wide popularity."—L. Anderson, Esq. "An interesting 'Life of the Author' is given in four chapters, headed 'Childhood, College Days, Divinity Hall Career, and His Death.' In these days of light literature a perusal of Pollok's Tales may furnish a pleasant antidote to much that is frivolous and pernicious."—League Journal. " Pollok's ' Tales of the Covenanters ' have long been favourite reading with young people in Scotland. Older people will find them not unworthy of their perusal in their more mature years. Pollok's views of Gospel truths are wonderfully full and correct. Miss Watson's ' Life' tells with much interest the story of the poet's career."—Reformed Presbyterian Magazine. . " There is no need to specify the contents and nature of these ' Tales.' The book is so well known and so universally read that nothing further is required than to mention that a new edition has appeared. This is a class of literature *hat the rising generation should know."—Advance. " Thirty or forty years ago there was hardly a more popular book among intelligent boys than a little volume containing ' Helen of the Glen,' ' Ealph Oemmell,' and ' The Persecuted Family.' If any juvenile library does, not contain these Tales this volume should be at once secured. It is sure to furnish beneficial mental food for the young."—Kelso Chronicle. " W e welcome the reprint of such works as these. Pollok's 'Tales' and his grand poem ought to be in every house in Scotland. This edition is a marvel of cheapness."— Scottish Congregational Magazine. OTHER WORKS I N PREPARATION, ' \ ! j j i i | j | ; j I ! I '• j ' j j 10 DUNN AND WEIGHT, GLASGOW AND LONDON-. Croim 8vo, Paper Cover, 1/-; Cloth, gilt title, bevelled boards, #/-; Fine Thick Paper Edition, Cloth, gilt edges, bevelled boards, 31-, THE ftUEEI'S WAKE, AND OTHER POEMS. BY THE « ETTRICK SHEPHERD." PREFATORY NOTE BY JEAN L. WATSON, EDINBURGH. " A nice edition for the pocket."—Sheriff Veitch. "As a lyric poet, James Hogg is second to Eobert Burns. His humorous songs have kept the famous meetings at Ambrose's in a roar; his pastoral lyrics, popular in the drawing-room and at the cottar's fireside, have given a poetical beauty to the rural pastimes and loves of our peasantry; his Jacobite lays have excited and kept up a sympathy with the misfortunes of the Royal house of Stuart, whose history has a melancholy interest; and his patriotic songs, if sung on the eve of a battle, would be more effective than ten thousand men."—L. Anderson, Esq. " Most great works have an interesting history; ' The Queen's W a k e ' has a particularly rich one. It was not only the author's most successful work r but it was his only great work that could have securely established his literary position in the world."—Moffat Times. . o Crown 8vo, Paper Cover, If-; Cloth, gilt title, bevelled boards, 2\- ;• Fine Thick Paper Edition, Cloth, gilt edges, bevelled boards, S\-, A STUDENT'S ADVENTURES IN TURKEY A3STD T H E EAST. BY ALEXANDER MACDONALD. " The student who is the hero has been compelled, by the pressure of circumstances, to enlist in the French Zouave regiment, in which he has won his way to a captaincy, and had some startling experiences in the Crimean war. These and some other ' Adventures' Mr Macdonald recounts with a dash and spirit which reminds the reader of Lever's earlier novels. There is not a dull page in this volume, which will be found full of interest to all who relish, stories of intrigue and adventure."—The Scotsman. OTHER WORKS IN PREPARATION. DUNN AND WRIGHT, GLASGOW AND LONDON. 11 Grown 8vo> Paper Cover, If-; cloth, gilt title, bevelled boards, %\-; \ Fine Thick Paper Edition, cloth gilt edges, bevelled boards, SJ-, I THE COURSE BY ROBERT OF TIME, POLLOK, A.M., WITH PREFATORY NOTE I I J ! j I j I I 1 BY JEAN L. W A T S O N , EDINBURGH. " We comniend the book for Sunday reading."—Daily Review. "This new issue is an evidence of the continued appreciation in which this 'noble poem' is held. A neat edition, tastefully finished. It also contains a ' Prefatory Note ' of great interest."—Advance. " We welcome the reprint of such works as these Scottish Classics, which we should like to be read by every succeeding generation of Scotsmen."—. Scottish Congregational Magazine. ' " The Course of Time ' will remain a standing monument to the intellectual power and sanctified genius of one who passed away at the early age of 26 years. The present edition will make a handsome gift-book."—League Journal. " Pollok's ' Course of Time' has taken its place in the literature of our country, and needs no commendation. Miss Watson's Preface is well and gracefully written, and sketches the leading events in the poet's life. This edition is a marvel of cheapness.''—Reformed Presbyterian Magazine. " The ' Course of Time' is one of the poems that posterity will not willingly let die, and we cordially welcome this edition of Pollok's immortal poem, it is a handsome volume. Headers of the poem will be all the better for reading Miss Watson's excellent Prefatory Note."—Kelso Chronicle. Uniform R I I G A N with tlie above. G I L H A I Z E ; OR, T H E TIMES OF T H E COVENANTEES. BY JOHN GALT. o Grown Svo, 240 pp., cloth, gilt title, 1J6. PHINOE OP T H E HOUSE OF DAVID. OTHER WORKS IN PREPARATION. J 12 DUNN AND WRIGHT, GLASGOW AND LONDON. Crown 8vo, Paper Cover, If-; cloth, gilt title, bevelled boards, #/•-; Fine Thick Paper Edition, cloth, gilt edges, bevelled boards, 3\-, T H E STORY OF A DISPUTED SETTLEMENT AFTEE THE DISKUPTION; OR, LOVE, LAW, AND THEOLOGY. BY ALEXANDER MACDONALD. V Large Type Library Edition, 608 pages, with 14 full-page Illustrations, gilt edges, 5J-; plain, 416. " Very lively and interesting."—Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone. " A very appropriate study at the present time."—Earl of Stair. " This is substantially a good as it is a clever hook. The author's style is always clear and vigorous; sometimes eloquent, never dull. "We will not attempt an epitome of the story itself, but content ourselves with recommending its perusal to all who are interested in the working of Ecclesiastical Courts. There is not a dull page in the whole volume."-—Scotsman. "Here is an eminently amusing and clever hook. To say so is to award high praise. It is wonderfully rich in good materials. Many of the characters are capitally drawn, with clear, bold, vivid touches, presenting a rare lucidness of outline, great force of colour, and graphic precision, which is really remarkable."—North British Daily Mail. " M r Macdonald treats the subject with great cleverness, and with an amount of racy and farcical humour that reminds one of Irish novelists of the type of Lover and Lever."—Inverness Courier. " Mr Macdonald is intimately conversant with the forms of law that ruled in cases of Disputed Settlements, and these he faithfully reproduces throughout the various steps of the process. We have read the story with combined interest and amusement. The general get-up of the book is admirable."— Border Advertiser. OTHER WORKS IN PREPARATION. DUNN AND WRIGHT, GLASGOW AND LONDON. 13 Chili, gilt title, bevelled hoards, 1/6. GEAIDFATHEE'S LEGACY; On, T H E B R E W E R ' S F O R T U N E . B Y MARY D. CHELLIS. o •' Uniform with the above. ORATIONS, LECTURES, and ESSAYS. B Y R A L P H WALDO E M E R S O K Uniform with the above. CRABBE'S TALES AND POEMS. Two Vols. 0. Uniform with the above. T H E YOUNG CHRISTIAN, B Y JACOB ABBOTT, o (Jroimi 8vo, Paper Cover, 1/-; With Eight Full-page Illustrations, Cloth, gilt title, bevelled hoards, #/-, DOINGS IN DANBURY. B Y THE D A N B U R Y - N E W S MAN. OTHER WORKS IN PREPARATION. 14: DUNN AND WEIGHT, GLASGOW AND LONDON. New and Popular Edition of the Poets. Foolscap Svo, 240 or 288 pages, printed on Fine Toned Paper, in New Clear Type, Illustrated Covers, Sixpence. No. 1. LONGFELLOW'S POETICAL WORKS. " 2. MOORE'S POETICAL WORKS. " 3. BURNS'S POETICAL WORKS. " " " " " 4 BYRON'S POETICAL WORKS. . 5 SCOTT'S POETICAL WORKS. . 6 COWPER'S POETICAL WORKS. . 7 CAMPBELL'S POETICAL WORKS. . 8 MILTON'S POETICAL WORKS. . o BOYS' POPULAR TALES. Foolscap Svo, 240 pages, printed on Fine Paper, in Neiv Clear Type, Illustrated Covers, Sixpence. No. 1. ROBINSON C R U S O E ; by DANIEL DEFOE. " Complete. 2. GULLIVER'S T R A V E L S ; by D E A N SWIFT. « 3. SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON. Complete. Complete. « 4. TALES FROM T H E ARABIAN NIGHTS. « 5. WILLIS T H E P I L O T ; or, the Further Adventures of the Swiss Crusoe Family. « 6. L I F E AND GARLAND OF ROBIN HOOD. " 7. L I F E OF SIR W I L L I A M WALLACE. » 8. SANDFORD A N D MERTON. OTHER WORKS IN PREPARATION. D U N N AND W R I G H T , GLASGOW AND LONDON. 15 New and Popular Edition of the Poets. Foolscap 8vo, 2Jfi or 288 pages, printed on Fine Toned Paper, in New Clear Type, Cloth, gilt title, One Shilling. No. « " " " " " " 1. LONGFELLOW'S POETICAL WORKS. 2. MOORE'S POETICAL WORKS. 3. BURNS'S POETICAL WORKS. 4. BYRON'S POETICAL WORKS. 5. SCOTT'S POETICAL WORKS. 6 COWPER'S POETICAL WORKS. . 7. CAMPBELL'S POETICAL WORKS. 8. MILTON'S POETICAL WORKS. o BOYS5 POPULAR TALES. Foolscap 8vo, 24-0 pages, printed on Fine Paper, in JVeio Clear Type, Cloth, gilt title, One Shilling. No. 1. ROBINSON CRUSOE; by DANIEL DEFOE. " Complete. 2. GULLIVER'S T R A V E L S ; by DEAN SWIFT. Complete. « 3. SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON. Complete. « 4. TALES FROM THE ARABIAN NIGHTS. « 5. WILLIS T H E P I L O T ; or, the Further Adventures of the Swiss Crusoe Family. " 6. L I F E AND GARLAND OF ROBIN HOOD, " 7. LIFE OF SIR WILLIAM WALLACE. « 8. SANDFORD AND MERTON. OTHER W O R K S I N P R E P A R A T I O N . 16 D U N N AND W R I G H T , GLASGOW AND LONDON. Cloth, gilt title, bevelled boards, 1\6. \ Helen's Babies & Other People's Children. i i B Y HABBERTON. Popular Editions. Illustrated Covers, Price Sixpence each. HELEN'S BABIES. OTHER PEOPLE'S CHILDREN. MY MOTHER-IN-LAW. HIS GRANDMOTHERS. THAT HUSBAND OF MINE. T H A T W I F E OF MINE. These interesting Works have met with immense success, many thousands of them having already been sold. 256 pp., Boyal 32mot Illustrated Paper Cover, M; PILGRIM'S Cloth, 6d. PROGRESS. Within a few months Seventy Thousand copies of this Edition were sold. A very suitable book to put into the hands of Sabbath School and other children. Hew Works always in progress,. SOLD B Y ALL BOOKSELLERS.