chains, and restored him to liberty, his country, and his family. His dwelling-house, which, during his banishment, had fallen into decay, was rebuilt by him, and stands in the village of Douglas till this day. It is a thatched tenement of a single story, and the emblems of the handicraft of honest James Gavin are to be seen carved on the stone above the door, with the date A.D. 1695. It cannot now be ascertained how long he lived after his return to his native place; but tradition affirms, that he enjoyed many years of peace and prosperity, and saw his children grow up around him. The descendants of this good man are numerous and respectable.

CHAPTER XVIII.

John Frazer of Carsphairn-Remarkable Deliverances.

THE wilds of Carsphairn, in the upper parts of Galloway, were, in the days of Prelatic persecution, the scene of much oppression and suffering. The labours of the good John Semple, minister of the parish, one of the holiest and most devoted men of his time, were uncommonly blessed for the conversion and edification of many souls. Under his ministry "the wilderness rejoiced and blossomed as the rose," and a race of men arose whose eminence in spiritual gifts and graces attracted general notice, and which made the worthy Mr Peden often say "that they had moyen at the court of heaven beyond many Christian professors of religion he knew."

The gatherings on sacramental occasions at Carsphairn were extraordinary; the people flocked from all parts of the surrounding country, and even from a great distance. At these seasons the Saviour was present, bearing testimony to the word of his own grace; and copious and sweet was the hallowed influence which came over many hearts. Mr Semple was minister in Carsphairn several years prior to the Restoration, at which period he was cast into prison, where he lay nine or ten months; and being afterwards dismissed by the council, he returned to his parish, where he continued, under the wing of the Indulgence, to preach the Gospel with great fervour and efficacy till the end of his life. After his death, which took place in 1677, in the seventy-second year of his age, no less than two garrisons were stationed in Carsphairn; by means of which, and the vengeful officiousness of Peter Pearson the curate, the Christian people, who were numerously scattered throughout the district, were greatly harassed and afflicted.

In the farm of the upper Holm of Dalquhairn, in the parish

of Carsphairn, lived John Frazer with his wife Marion Howatson. John Frazer had for many precious years enjoyed the ministry of Mr Semple; by means of which he had profited much. He was a man, it would appear, of eminent piety; and this was enough to insure the hatred, and to bring upon him the vengeance, of those whose oppressive measures were chiefly directed against those whose worth rendered them in any way conspicuous.

Canning, the laird of Muirdrogat, resided in the vicinity of John Frazer, and, being an underling of the persecutors, caused him no small trouble. This Canning was originally a Covenanter, but, having deserted his profession, he became an infamous informer, and was made collector of the cess and excise in Carsphairn. He is mentioned by Wodrow in the following words: "Robert Cannon of Mardrogat, who once had a profession of zeal and seriousness, was singularly useful to the soldiers in discovering the haunts and hidingplaces of the wanderers. This man was at Pentland, but was lately gained by the managers, and now turned profane and wicked. His lewdness, blasphemy, cursing, swearing, cruelty, and dissimulation, were notour in that country; and, as apostates generally are, he was very bloody. He got money at Edinburgh, and undertook to lead the soldiers to Mr Richard Cameron."

When Canning and John Frazer were young men they were very intimate, and sat in the same church, listening to the sermons of their venerated pastor, Mr Semple. Canning, however, never displayed much seriousness, even in the days of his greatest religious profession, so that, even during the time of public worship, he caused his honest companion, John Frazer, no small uneasiness, by means of his light and irreligious manner. While Frazer was hearkening with the deepest attention to the blessed truths of the Gospel, Canning was making signs to him, and using various means to withdraw his mind from the solemn subjects on which the man of God dwelt with a holy earnestness and pathos, when he urged on the immediate acceptance of his audience the great salvation. Everything tended to show that Canning's religion amounted to a mere formality, and that he had never felt the transforming power of the Gospel on his heart. was not so with his neighbour; he saw the truth, and felt its power, and became a decided follower of the Saviour, and as such exposed himself to no small degree of persecution.

It

John Frazer now found that Canning, his former acquaintance, was become his enemy, and that he sought on all occa

sions to circumvent him. Wodrow, alluding to the general circumstances of Carsphairn and its vicinity at this time, says: "In the parish of Carsphairn, I find Inglis, with his men, persecuting violently in September. Parties were continually searching by night and day in that and the neighbouring parish of Dalry, for such who had been hearers of Mr Cameron. The soldiers were particularly set upon the finding out of John Frazer and John Clark, two pious, worthy countrymen, who, they alleged, had been very intimate with Mr Cameron. Frequently the soldiers missed them very narrowly; and those two, as well as many others, were trysted with very remarkable and providential deliverances from those who were hunting after their life."

John Frazer now found it necessary to be more especially upon his guard, and to withdraw occasionally from his home, when danger was apprehended. Muirdrogat, the informer, watched every opportunity to get him into his power, and uniformly sent the soldiers to his house when he thought there was any likelihood of his being at home. On every occasion, when any work was to be done on the farm which required Frazer's superintendence, the dragoons were sure to make their appearance. At one time, when he was directing the operations of his servants, who were employed in some work which needed his oversight, a company of horsemen was seen approaching. Frazer saw it would be in vain to betake himself to the fields, as in that case discovery and pursuit would be unavoidable; and, being at loss what to do, he sought a place of concealment in the interior of the house. He had little expectation of securing himself from observation, and therefore, in his perplexity, ran into a small closet, and crept into a bed which formed a part of its homely furniture. In order to prevent, as far as possible, the mischief which was thought likely to ensue, one of the domestics, with all celerity, heaped a quantity of wet turfs on the grate, which, as was common in those times, stood exactly in the middle of the kitchen, or chief apartment of the ancient farm-houses in Scotland. The powerful heat below quickly disengaged the moisture with which the new load of fuel was saturated, and filled the place with a dense blue smoke, which rolled its lazy volumes from the floor to the roof, and from the gable to the door, in cloudy masses, so impenetrable to the sight, that one human being could scarcely discern the face of another. The soldiers entered, but the murky atmosphere of the chamber prevented their seeing what was within. In the meantime, the master of the house, who had

M

retreated to the adjoining closet, into which the smoke had also found its way, was enveloped in the bed-clothes, and lay in trembling anxiety awaiting the result. In the search, one of the soldiers entered the ante-chamber, and found Frazer in the concealment of the bed. The soldier supposed that he stumbled on the object in quest of whom they had come, and, in order to make the matter sure, he applied what he imagined would be a test of his character, and requested him to sing a certain song which he named-probably one of the profane songs which were common among the troopers. To this Frazer objected, and, instead of complying with the dragoon's request, he began to chant, in a low and solemn tone, an old and forgotten hymn, which commenced with the following lines:

"For all the babes in Bethlehem town
King Herod sent and slew."

The dragoon interrupted him, and at the same time remarked, that he would certainly bring himself to an untimely end, if he persisted in his nonconformist practices. From whatever motive, however, it might proceed, the soldier did not injure him, nor did he inform the party of the discovery he had made; and while the uproarious troopers were searching all the places about the dwelling-house and out-buildings, Frazer remained safe in his concealment. The worthy man whom God had thus shielded, even in the presence of his enemies, watched his opportunity, and, leaving the house with all expedition, betook himself to the moorlands, with his shepherd's plaid thrown across his shoulders, and his dog trudging by his side.

At another time he experienced a deliverance equally providential. His restless enemies, bent on his destruction, having watched an opportunity, sent a company of dragoons to his house, with strict injunctions to seize his person. Accordingly, having set out at a convenient time, the troopers arrived at the upper Holm of Dalquhairn at an hour when they thought themselves secure of their object. The approach of the soldiers, it would appear, was not observed by any individual belonging to the household, so that the dwelling was invested before the inmates were aware of the circumstance. In order to secure their prey, the soldiers placed themselves at every door and window, so that none could possibly escape without their notice. It happened at the time that John Frazer was within, and his escape seemed to be impracticable. Finding it in vain to attempt to dart out at