tion, and came upon the congregation just as they were going to commence worship. On the approach of the troopers, the people fled in all directions; and Mr Renwick, accompanied by John M'Millan and David Ferguson, fled towards the winding Ken. It was the design of Mr Renwick to escape to the house of a friend, in the parish of Penningham, and there to conceal himself for a season. The place where they attempted to ford the stream was at a considerable distance above the village of Dairy. The river was greatly swollen by the heavy rains that had fallen among the hills during the morning; and before they entered into its turbid waters, they agreed to engage in prayer among the thick bushes that grew on its margin. When they rose from their knees, and were about to step into the dark rolling tide, they observed, to their amazement, a party of dragoons landing on the opposite bank. They had reached the place in pursuit during the time the three men were at prayer, and without noticing them, or hearing their voice, they rushed into the ford, in haste to cross before the waters became deeper. This occurrence seemed to the party to be a providential interference in their favour, for it was at the moment they were employed in devotion that their enemies arrived and missed them; and there is every likelihood, had they not lingered for a space to implore the divine protection, that they would have been toiling in the midst of the stream at the very time the horsemen reached the place. John M'Millan, from whose lips this tradition has been transmitted to posterity, used to say that he was never so much impressed, either before or after, with anything he ever heard, as by the remarks made by Mr Renwick on this occasion; and that, moreover, they were the means of directing his attention more particularly to providential occurrences during the after period of his life.

As his two friends were to accompany Mr Renwick no farther than the ford, they resolved not to leave him till they should see him in safety on the other side. As the current was powerful, they resorted to the following means to assist him in crossing: They provided themselves with the long branches of the mountain ash, which were grasped by the three at equal distances, so that if one should be carried off his feet by the strength of the current, the others, standing firm, should accomplish his rescue. Mr Renwick entered the stream first, and the three proceeded in a line as steadily as they could, till he reached the bank in safety; the other two then returned to the place they left. No sooner, however, had they stepped from the channel of the river, than

the flood descended with great violence, covering the banks on both sides, and sweeping every obstacle before it. Such an occurrence is not unfrequent in the upland districts, where the thunder-clouds discharge themselves with great impetuosity among the hills.

Mr Renwick, now alone on the south side of the stream, began to seek a place of shelter in which to pass the night, which was now fast approaching. He entered the mouth of a narrow glen, along which he proceeded in quest of a restingplace, and having found a hollow under a projecting rock, he crept into it and fell fast asleep. After a short repose he awoke, and, ruminating on his uncomfortable couch, he heard distinctly the sound of singing at no great distance. The idea naturally occurred to him that there might be other fugitives in the ravine besides himself, who, seeking refuge from their foes, were engaged in the midnight hour, like Paul and Silas, in singing praises to God in their hiding-place. He rose to search them out, and, following the sound through the thickets of the underwood, discovered a light proceeding from a hut at a short distance before him. He advanced with cautious step, and in the full expectation of finding a company of friends, with whom he should spend the remaining hours of the night in security and comfort. The night was very dark, and his footing along the narrow pass precarious, at the bottom of which the foaming streamlet, which leapt from linn to linn as it dashed over its rugged bed, was the only object which was visible, and by it he attempted to guide his way. At length he reached the house, and stood still to listen, but, to his disappointment, the sounds which he heard were those of mirth and revelry. It was a shepherd's cot, and a party had convened within for the purpose of jollity and drinking.

Mr Renwick hesitated for a moment whether to seek admission or to retreat to his hiding-place; but being drenched in rain, and shivering with cold, he resolved to attempt an entrance. He knocked at the door, which was immediately opened, and he was forthwith conducted into the midst of the apartment. The master of the cottage, whose name was James M'Culloch, a rude, blustering person, and no friend to the Covenanters, received the stranger graciously on this hilarious evening. He advanced him to a seat near to a rousing fire of peats, and ordered a repast to be immediately set before him. The demeanour of Mr Renwick formed a complete contrast to that of the party among whom he was now placed, and seemed to excite some suspicion on the part of

M'Culloch, who now and then muttered something about rebels and conventicles, and so forth. M'Culloch's wife, however, was a woman of a different description; she was humane, seriously disposed, and a friend to the sufferers. She had some guess of the party to whom the stranger belonged; and, dreading a disclosure in the progress of the evening, she hurried Mr Renwick to bed in an adjoining apartment.

As she conducted him to his dormitory, she requested him to be on his guard before her husband, who had no warm side to the persecuted people, informing him at the same time, that he was in perfect safety under her roof during the night. She made a comfortable fire in the little chamber, before which she suspended his dripping clothes, that they might be ready for him in the morning. Mr Renwick having committed himself to the guardianship of Him who watches over all, crept under the soft and warm bed-clothes, and slept soundly till the early morning. Awaking about the break of day, and groping about the obscure apartment for his clothes, he could not find them. Uneasy suspicions began to arise in his mind, and he dreaded some mishap, when the mistress of the cottage entered, and informed him that his garments having been so very wet, she had not succeeded in getting them sufficiently dried; but that she had brought part of her husband's apparel, which she requested him to put on for a few hours. Mr Renwick complied, and the circumstance was the means of saving his life. M'Culloch had gone out before Mr Renwick rose, to drive his sheep from the low grounds, which were flooded with the rain that had descended so copiously during the night. After the devotions of the morning, in which M'Culloch's wife cordially joined, he walked out to the fields to breathe the early refreshing air. Previously to his leaving the house, he had thrown over his shoulders a shepherd's plaid, which action being observed by one of the dogs that lay near the fire, the sagacious animal rose and followed him. Mr Renwick ascended a gentle eminence near the dwelling, and, as he stood on its summit, his attention was directed, by the barking of the dog, to a company of dragoons that were newly come in sight, and were very near. Mr Renwick, forgetting that he was now attired in a shepherd's dress, expected to be instantly seized. The troopers rode up to him, and asked if he was the master of the cottage; he replied he was not, and informed them where he was to be found. After some further conversation about rebels and fugitives, they concluded that there would be none ou this side of the river, as the stream had been so greatly

swollen since the dispersion of the conventicle; and accordingly they departed without further inquiry.

When the soldiers were gone, Mr Renwick returned with all speed to the house; and having put on his own clothes, and breakfasted, he set out without delay for Penningham. Thus Providence delivered, within a few hours, this helpless man twice from imminent danger by the simplest means, and preserved him for further service in the cause of Christ. John M'Millan and David Ferguson, who returned to the north bank of the Ken, after they parted from Mr Renwick, were hastening along the margin of the river, when they were met by a company of horsemen. They turned to flee; David Ferguson concealed himself under a brow by the water's edge, and John M'Millan retreated to a thicket at a short distance from the place. The soldiers observing the flight of M'Millan, pursued him, but he escaped. Ferguson, however, was never more heard of; it is supposed that he was swept away by the strength of the stream, and found a watery grave, and thus he died a martyr, though not by the immediate hand of his persecutors.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

Andrew Hamilton of Drumclog-George Henry.

ANDREW HAMILTON of Drumclog was a noted Covenanter, and took a prominent part in the memorable transactions that preceded the Revolution. The descendants of this worthy man retain the following traditions respecting him :

After the disastrous conflict at Bothwell Bridge, the severities of the persecution were greatly heightened. The infamous Claverhouse, with his troopers, scoured the country in all directions, for the purpose of apprehending the insurgents, and of bereaving them of their life. This cruel-hearted Cavalier rioted in the murder of the helpless people of God, who were crushed to the dust under the mad despotism of vindictive rulers. He was their legalized slaughter-man, the ready executioner of their will, and he delighted in acts of savageness from which common humanity recoils.

"Then, worthy of his master, came

The despot's champion-bloody Graham;
He stained for aye a warrior's sword,
And led a fierce, though fawning horde,
The human bloodhounds of the earth,
To hunt the peasant from his hearth.
Tyrants! could not misfortune teach
That man has rights beyond your reach?
Thought ye the torture and the stake
Could that intrepid spirit break,

Which even in woman's breast withstood
The terrors of the fire and flood?"

The troopers were frequently sent out to apprehend the laird of Drumclog, where they might perchance find him. On one occasion the soldiers, who had been sent in quest of him, were so near the house before he was aware of their approach, that he found it impossible to flee from the place without being discovered. In his perplexity he ran into the