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especially Sergeant Warrock, who apprehended me.

My blood is on the Justiciary, who subscribed* to my sentence; and on the fifteen assizers, James Glen, stationer, being clerk; and on the Chancellor, and on Mr George Mackenzie, who pleaded for my condemnation; and Thomas Dalziel, who ordered my taking; and upon Andrew Cunningham, who condemned me; and upon all the rest who are accessory in the least thereto; yea, the Privy Council are to be accountable for my blood; and my blood is on the head of Mr J[ohn] C[arstairs], who condemned my testimony against these bloody tyrants, asserting me to be a Jesuit. ['In charity, I shall believe that Mr Skene was informed that the Rev. Mr Carstairs had said so; but the same charity, and Mr Carstairs' known tenderness and temper, forbid me to believe that he said so.'—Wodrow.]

"I leave my testimony against the receiving that accursed traitor, James Duke of York, and all Papists, Quakers, prelates, curates, latitudinarians, indulged ministers, and their favourers, the Hamilton Declaration, and other papers and actings, directly or indirectly against the truth. I leave my testimony against the lukewarm professors, who write and speak grievous things to reproach the truly godly, and who keep silence when God calls them to give a free and full testimony for His despised Covenant and whole work of Reformation, against a traitorous, backsliding, and adulterous generation; and as in this place, or any other of my papers, I could not have designed God's enemies any otherwise, than by their pretended offices. Thus far, dear people, I crave your liberty, and let none think that thereby I own them in the least point.

"Likewise, whereas my sufferings were delayed; the Lord, in whose presence I must appear erelong, knows what a soul-grief it is to me to remember it. When the day I was sentenced to die for my dear Lord's interest came, I expected vainly that my relations, that were great in court, who had seen me, should have procured a reprieval for me; but being disappointed, a fear of death surprised me, hearing that all were presently making ready for my execution; and

* These and the like sentences, which may possibly be met with in some other testimonies, ought not to be mistaken as the effects of a revengeful ungospel Spirit, but rather as a simple declaration of their being guilty of blood in condemning them; to serve as a warning to the persecutors, not to proceed further in these wicked courses, and to waken them to repentance (if possible) for what they had already done; and is much parallel in its nature with that of Jeremiah, in his apology before the princes, chap. xxvi. 15. [Note by the original compilers of the "Cloud."]

then my carnal relations, almost weeping on me, engaged me by their insinuations to supplicate that bloody crew for it myself. A carnal well-wisher drew it up in these terms: 'James Skene, prisoner, earnestly desires your lordships to grant him a reprieval for some days, till he canvass these things he was sentenced for with learned and godly men; and your lordships answer.'

"After I subscribed it, a great confusion and horror of spirit fell on me. I went to prayer, wishing in my heart it were not granted; but such was my trouble, I could not say anything but nonsense. My heart was afflicted sore with this straitening, and the more when the reprieval was granted. I thought, I, having shifted the cross, my Lord might deny me that credit again, and put a worse on me in requital of my slighting Him. I judge, the Lord left me thus to slip, to humble me, and that He hid His face to make me exemplarily punished for untender carrying under His cross, which He had chosen for me; to warn others under the cross, that they would be circumspect and zealous for keeping from being polluted with any compliance with the defections of the times, that they may have a cleanly suffering. From this backsliding I recovered not for two days after; but found it sad for my soul; the Lord hid His face from me. now my God has had compassion on me; and, this time of the eight days' reprieval, He has preserved me from such a backsliding, when the devil by his emissaries has had much artifice to turn me aside from the way of the Lord. Yet I will say this far; all I have done was not in order to own that wicked Council as lawful rulers; but my life being in their tyrannous hands, I thought then I might desire as much favour of them as of a robber that had the dagger at my breast; and I truly look on all their actings in courts, either higher or lower judicatories, in matters civil or ecclesiastic, that they act as murderers, oppressors, and tyrants only.

But

"And now these bloody oppressors say, because I will not sinfully renounce my Lord and His interest, and look on them as magistrates, and say I spake rashly what I did (on which terms, craving them pardon, I would soon get remission and be at liberty,) that they look on me as guilty of my own blood. But I hope my God will not account me guilty, who knows I dare not so sinfully disown Him, for all the hazard of my poor life. There being a dilemma in my case, either I must sin or suffer; I have found it my only peace with my Lord, to choose suffering, and hate the way of sinning. And this I thought good to insert in my dying testimony, that others may

beware of an untender walk with God, 'who is a consuming fire to all impenitent sinners.' Now, my Lord has sealed my remission for this extravagance, and has entered into a new covenant with me, and I have resigned myself wholly to Him, to be at His disposal; and it is my rejoicing, that He is calling me out to honour me so much as to suffer for His sake. A poor countryman with us, would think it bis credit to be called to signify his loyalty to a nobleman, who was his master, whose courage obliges him to fight for his safety to the loss of his life. But oh! what a disparity is in my case! I am but a base, wretched, sinful worm, and I am called to signify my love and loyalty to the King of Glory, before these treacherous and perfidious powers that sit at ease, and disown, yea, declare against my Lord, that He is not our covenanted King and Lord. And the two despised Covenants are not despicable, but our glory. I will first declare they are traitors, and ought to be disowned as magistrates or lawful rulers; and so many of them as have imbrued their hands in the blood of the saints, either by commissions, or votes in councils, or other courts; or have lived, oppressing God's people, in adultery, uncleanness, wickedness, and witchcraft; they are guilty of death. And when there are no other magistrates who will duly punish these impieties, it is my duty, out of zeal to the Lord (I say it again), if the Lord would employ me, to cut them off; as that zeal of Phineas, though mocked at by them in their proclamation, is a good example.

"Thus I end, wishing that what I have here penned for a testimony to the Lord's despised interest, may have weight with any who consider, that, what I have written, I must erelong reckon for; and so I have laboured to be single-hearted before the Lord in it.

"Now, I have touched everything I can remember concerning my judgment of things controverted, as also some reasons of my principles, asserted in face of a great council, and twice before the Justiciaries; which I gladly sign with my subscription, glorying in the Lord who owned me, so that I was not ashamed, but judged it my glory to give my full and free testimony for my blessed Lord's despised interest, against that wicked and treacherous pack of my God's declared enemies.

"Now, farewell, all dear friends! I hope the Lord will have a glorious Church in Scotland, and that He will raise His glory out of the ashes of a burnt Covenant. Now, farewell sun, moon, and stars! Farewell, holy Scriptures! Oh! I am going to a life where I shall no more be troubled with a body of sin or death. Oh! I am

going to a mansion of glory that my Lord has prepared for me. I shall have a crown of life; because I have been, by my blessed Lord's assistance though I slipped aside-made faithful to the death.

"Now, welcome Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, thou hast redeemed me by thy price, and by thy power. Oh! Lord God of Hosts, into thy hands I commit my Spirit!

"Sic subscribitur,

"JA. SKENE.

"In the close prison of Edinburgh, November 30, 1680; being the day before my execution, according to the unjust sentence of a perfidious court.”

Archibald Stewart.

RCHIBALD STEWART belonged to Borrowstounness.

T

He

had been in Holland, where, as well as at home, he had heard the Gospel, and it had been blessed to his conversion. He was several times before the Privy Council. On November 15th, the commissioners reported that they had examined him by torture. "A confession of his being at Airsmoss was extorted, and he likewise discovered a great many of Mr Cargill's haunts and places of hiding."

The Government fancied that a conspiracy had been formed to take away the lives of the king, the Duke of York, and their counsellors. To obtain some grounds for their fancy, John Sproul, apothecary, Glasgow; Robert Hamilton, son of the chamberlain of Kenneil; and Archibald Stewart, were each put to the torture. We have no record of Stewart's torture further than the fact. Sproul, however, lived to tell of his sufferings at the hands of his enemies. What is told of him is no doubt similar to what could have been told of Archibald Stewart :

"Lord Hatton was preses of the committee to examine the said

persons by torture, and the Duke of York and many others were present. The preses told Mr Sproul, that if he would not make a more ample confession than he had done, and sign it, he behoved to underlie the torture. Mr Sproul said that he had been very ingenuous before the Council, and would go no further; that they could not subject him to torture according to law; but, if they would go on, he protested that his torture was without, yea, against all law; that what was extorted from him under the torture against himself, or any others, he would resile from it, and it ought not to militate against him, or any others; and he declared his hopes, that God would not leave him so far as to accuse himself, or others, under the extremity of pain.

"Then the hangman put his foot in the instrument called the Boot, and at every query put to him, gave five strokes or thereby upon the wedges. The queries were-Whether he knew anything of a plot to blow up the Abbey [i.e., of Holyrood] and the Duke of York? who was in the plot, and where Mr Cargill was? and if he would subscribe his confession before the Council? To these he declared his absolute and utter ignorance, and adhered to his refusing to subscribe.

"When nothing could be expiscated by this, they ordered the old Boot to be brought, alleging this new one used by the hangman was not so good as the old; and accordingly it was brought, and he underwent the torture a second time, and adhered to what he had before said. General Dalziel complained at the second torture, that the hangman did not strike strongly enough upon the wedges. The hangman said he struck with all his strength, and offered the general the mall to do it himself.

"Mr Sproul was very firm, and wonderfully supported, to his own teeling, in body and spirit during the torture. When it was over, he was carried to prison on a soldier's back, where he was refused the benefit of a surgeon. But the Lord blessed so the means he used himself, that in a little time he recovered pretty well.”

No specimen of the Boot is known to exist in this country. It is now only known from the pictures of the period. Burnet's description of it is: "They put a kind of iron boot close on the leg, and drive wedges between this and the leg. The common torture was only to drive these in the calf of the leg; but I have been told they were sometimes driven upon the shin bone." The Boot seems originally to have been brought from France, where it was known under the name of Le Brodequin.

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