when, in certain perilous circumstances, all hope appears to be cut off, even then, in our very extremity, a deliverance unexpectedly comes; and so was it with the worshippers in the glen. Those who are acquainted with the mountainous tracts of the country are no strangers to the sudden falling of the mist on the summits of the lofty heights. Sometimes, instead of descending in a body like a large snowy cloud spreading itself along the ridges and adown the slopes of the hills, it comes edgewise trailing along, and like a thin white veil, extending from the clouds to the earth. On the present occasion the vapour that had been encircling the brow of the mountain, and occasionally stretching out in long defiles into the narrow glens beneath, came like a lofty and impervious wall between the worshippers and the dragoons. This covering, which was thus thrown from the clouds, screened from the view of the soldiers the little conventicle, and they marched past beyond the misty curtain, not more, it is said, than a hundred and fifty yards distant. Thus did this small flock of God's worshippers, that had convened in the wilderness to gather the manna that might be rained from his hand, experience his special care, and were protected by him behind a wall of secure defence, when the foe, like the rushing of the tempest, swept past them on the other side. We may easily conceive the grateful emotions that must have stirred within them when they thought on the kindness that shielded them from so great a danger. It is said that this and similar deliverances emboldened the shepherd and his friends to persist in holding frequent meetings for spiritual edification, notwithstanding the hazards to which they were exposed. Their confidence in God's providential care was greatly strengthened when, in answer to prayer, they found protection.

On another occasion William Moffat was surprised by the dragoons, and narrowly escaped, twice on the same day. He fled towards Evan Water to hide himself in its woods, or in some friendly house whose door might perchance be open to receive him. In his flight he passed near a place called Raecleuch, and in crossing a streamlet in the view of the house, he observed a hollow place close by the margin of the brook, in which, like Peden in Glendyne, he resolved to conceal himself. The dragoons came onward, and passed the stream without perceiving him, and pursued their course along the track that led up the Evan. The farmer of Raecleuch had observed the pursuit, and saw Moffat hide himself in the hollow among the bushes by the burn; and when the troopers

were past, and the fugitive had crept from his hiding-place, the honest farmer congratulated him on his escape. The soldiers, however, perceiving that they had missed their object, and standing still to look around them, observed Moffat and the gudeman of Raecleuch conversing together. They instantly retraced their steps, and commenced the pursuit. Moffat perceiving the movement of the horsemen, again betook himself to flight; and having passed the Evan, hied to the heights in the direction of Elvanfoot, in the neighbourhood of which lived a friend of his own, in whose house he hoped to find shelter. With this intention he proceeded onward, and far outstripped the troopers, who could not wend their way through moss and moor with the same celerity and safety. When he came near Elvanfoot he hid himself in the hollow places among the dark heather on the waste, and finally eluded the search of his pursuers. The brown heath was to him doubtless a sweet and soft bed, after the long and perilous chase. The feeling of safety is never so delightfully intense as immediately after escape from imminent danger, nor does the heart ever swell with warmer emotions of grateful acknowledgments to the Preserver of our life. And happy must he have been when, prostrate in concealment and prayer on the bent, he poured out his heart into "the bosom of his Father and his God." The upland solitudes, near the source of the Clyde, in the vicinity of the ancient Roman station at Gadenica-the long sought-for town of the Damnii-were much frequented in the times of the Church's tribulation, many a houseless wanderer for conscience' sake seeking there an asylum from the fury of the oppressor.

CHAPTER VIII.

Durisdeer-Elias Wilson-Adam Clark of Glenim-Muncie the Informer-Mitchelslacks-Michael Smith of Quarrelwood.

THE parish of Durisdeer, in Nithsdale, occupies a very romantic locality. The name signifies "the door of the forest," and plainly indicates, what was the fact, that in ancient times it was mostly covered with wood. The hills by which it is walled in on the east and on the north, present a scene of indescribable beauty; and in walking along the margin of the Carron, towards the far-famed pass of Dalveen, in the balmy softness of a summer's eve, one would almost imagine that he was transported to the enchanting scenes of the fabled fairy land. This parish is not without its antiquities and antiquities, too, of considerable interest. On the farm of Castlehill there stood an old baronial stronghold, the residence, no doubt, of some renowned chieftain, whose name and exploits have long since been forgotten; and the fields which were anciently the battle-ground of rival clans, are now subjected to the peaceful hand of agriculture. In this locality are the remains of an ancient Roman station, near the church of Durisdeer, and a branch of the Roman road, which went off to the west, and passed through this parish. "This road," says the author of the "Caledonia," "went up Nithsdale on the east side of the Nith, passing by the village of Thornhill, and crossing Carron Water, a little above its influx into the Nith. From this passage the road continued its course, in a northerly direction, past a Roman fort, in a remarkable pass above the kirk of Durisdeer; from this pass it pushed through the hill by the defile called the Wall-path, and went down the east side of Powtrail Water, to its confluence with the Dair." It is interesting to think, that in the days of Lollius Urbicus, above seventeen centuries ago, and for ages after, a detachment of

Roman soldiers was located in the forest of Durisdeer, speaking the Latin language, and keeping in subjection to the power of Rome the ancient Selgova, who occupied the upper part of Nithsdale.

Alexander Strang was minister of Durisdeer at the Restoration, and was one of those worthy men who, because he would not submit to lordly Prelacy, was banished from his charge. This good man, along with Thomas Shields, minister of the neighbouring parish of Kirkbride, took joyfully the spoiling of his goods, that he might maintain the doctrine of Christ, and a pure conscience. It is to be regretted that so little is preserved of those pious men who, for their nonconformity, were ejected by hundreds from their churches, by the unrighteous edicts of unprincipled rulers. Their remembrance, however, is with God, and their labours and their sufferings have long since terminated in the heavenly rest. In more recent times, this upland parish was blessed with the ministrations of an eminently godly man of the name of M‘Kill. The memory of this heavenly man is still warmly cherished by the older people, who in their youth were under his pastoral care. His great diligence in his ministerial labours, his homely and affectionate manners, his fervent and unctuous preaching, and the great gatherings on sacramental occasions, are still spoken of with rapture by the worthy inhabitants of the district. There is a fragrance in piety which embalms the memorial of holy men, and which, like odours wafted afar on the breeze, accompanies their names even to a distant posterity. Godly men, even in obscure stations, are held in grateful remembrance, while heroes and statesmen, and men of great earthly renown in their day, are in a short time forgotten.

There lived in a cottage, on the farm of Dalveen, in the parish of Durisdeer, a Covenanter of the name of Elias Wilson. This man, though occupying the humbler walks of life, was noted for his piety and honesty of principle; and was therefore an individual who could not long be concealed from the observant eye of the persecutors. He was one day informed, that, being regarded with suspicion, his enemies at some distance were on their way to apprehend him. He communicated the news to his wife, who was a person in all respects of a kindred spirit with himself, and equally ready to suffer with him in the cause of righteousness and truth. They arranged the affairs of their little dwelling the best way they could, knowing that the unprincipled soldiery would seize everything they could lay their hands on; and having driven their cow to the bent, they departed, with their infant child,

to seek a hiding-place in some lonely cave among the mountains. The cave in which they found a refuge was in one of the dark linns of Enterkin, the entrance to which was very difficult and dangerous. The dragoons, as was anticipated, arrived at the cottage at a time when they hoped to capture its inhabitants without much trouble to themselves. In the hut, however, they found matters in a very different situation from what they expected, and being defeated in their object, they were greatly enraged. The cavern, it would appear, to which Wilson and his wife had fled for refuge, was not unknown to some of the dragoons, who proposed to search it, and for this purpose conducted the party to the rocky precipice, in the face of which the dark recess was situated. The approach of the soldiers was perceived by the fugitives, and Wilson accoutred himself for defence. He had brought with him a musket, and with this he was prepared to face his enemies, in case of attack. The passage to the hiding-place being precarious, the troopers did not seem much inclined to force an entrance, but having posted themselves on all sides, they were determined to annoy the inmates by shooting over the rock and into the mouth of the cave. The manly spirit of Wilson was roused, and the strong affection of the husband and the parent took possession of his whole soul, and urged him fearlessly forward in the defence of his wife and child, against a band of armed ruffians and legalized murderers, whom the spirit of evil had let loose on an unoffending peasantry. A dragoon, more audacious than the rest, had approached near the mouth of the retreat, and, leaning over a rock, was peeping into the cave, for the purpose of taking his aim at those who were within. This was observed by Wilson, who instinctively stood on the defensive, and fired on the hostile intruder. The shot reached its victim, and the man tumbled from his station into the deep bottom of the ravine below. The commander of the party, who is said to have been a Captain Greir, when he saw the man fall by the firing which for a moment illuminated the dark interior of the cavern, was transported with rage, and, breathing a fearful oath, threatened ample vengeance on the detestable Covenanter who, in endeavouring to defend himself, had killed one of the king's troopers. In uttering this threat, however, he reckoned without his host, and forgot that, in certain favourable circumstances, one man is as good as ten. The captain, then, with two of the most daring of his followers, attempted to scramble to the mouth of the cave. Wilson observed their