a man sitting on a rock: when we advanced near him, leaving our prisoners in the keeping of my friend, I ran up towards the man, who fled down on the other side. As soon as I had reached the top of the rock, there appeared a great number of people assembled in a glen, to hear the preaching of Mas John King, as I understood afterward; whose voice was so loud, that it reached the ears of those who were at the greatest distance, which could not, I think, be less than a quarter of a mile; they all standing before him, and the wind favouring the strength of his lungs. When my friend had brought the three prisoners to the top of the rock, where I waited for him, they all broke loose, and ran down to the conventicle: but my friend, advancing within about forty yards of that rabble, commanded them in his majesty's name to depart to their own homes. Whereupon forty of their number, with poles in their hands, drew out from the rest, and advanced against us two, who had the courage, or rather the temerity, to face so great a company, which could not be fewer than a thousand. As this party of theirs were preparing with their long poles to attack me and my friend, it happened very luckily that a fine gelding, saddled and bridled, with a pillion likewise upon him, came up near us, in search for better grass; I caught the horse, and immediately mounted him, which the rest of the conventiclers observing, they broke up and followed as fast as they could, some on horseback, and the rest on foot, to prevent me from going off with the horse; but I put him to the gallop, and suffering him to chuse his way through the mountain, which was full of bogs and hags, got out of reach. My friend kept up with me as long as he could, but having run a mile through such difficult places, he was quite spent, and the conventiclers hard at his heels; whereupon he called to me for assistance; and I alighting put him upon the horse, bidding him to make the best of his way to the laird of Pod

dishaw's, about two miles off. By this time we saw twelve covenanters on horseback, who advanced towards us by a shorter cut, and blocked up a gap, through which we were of necessity to pass. I undertook to clear the gap for my friend, and running towards the rogues, with my broadsword and pistol, soon forced them to open to the right and the left: my comrade got through, and was pursued a good way; but he so laid about him with his broadsword, that the pursuers, being unarmed, durst not seize him. In the meantime, I, who was left on foot, kept the covenanters, who followed me, at a proper distance; but they pelted me with clods, which I sometimes returned, till at last, after chasing me above a mile, they saw a party of troopers in red passing by at some distance, and then they gave over their pursuit.

The troopers, observing my friend galloping and pursued, imagined he was some fanatic preacher, till they came to an old woman on a hill, whom my friend had desired to deny his being gone that way; upon which they went off to their quarters, and he got safe to Poddishaw's, whither I soon after arrived. The laird of Poddishaw had been that day at church; from whence, returning with the laird of Pocammock, who lived about a mile off, they both wondered how the horse got thither; for Pocammock was the owner of the horse, and his lady had rode on it that day to the conventicle, without her husband's knowledge, having been seduced thither by some fanatic neighbours, for she had never been at their meetings before. My friend and I acquainted the two lairds with the whole adventure of that day: and, after dinner, Pocammock requested to let him have the horse home, thereby to stifle any reflection his lady might bring upon him or herself, by going to a conventicle; he likewise invited us to dine next day at his house, where the horse should again be delivered to me, as justly forfeited by the folly of his wife. We went accordingly

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with the laird of Poddishaw, and dined at Pocammock's, where the horse was ordered to be led out into the court, in the same accoutrements as I found him the day before: but observing the lady in tears, I told her that if she would give me her promise never to go to a conventicle again, I would bestow her the horse, and conceal what had passed; she readily complied, and so the matter was made up. However, the laird her husband assured me, that no horse in Scotland should be better paid for; and, being a leading man in the country, and his lady discovering the names of those who had been at the conventicle, he sent for them, and persuaded them, as they valued their quiet, to make up a purse for me and my friend, which they accordingly did; and we both lived plentifully, a twelvemontli after, on the price of that horse.

This adventure, making much noise at Edinburgh, was the occasion of my being sent for up thither by the marquis of Athol, my colonel, who, in a very friendly manner, expostulated with me upon my rashness; as indeed he had too much reason to do; neither was I able to say anything in my own justification. However, since what I had done discovered my loyalty for my prince, my zeal for the church, and my detestation of all rebellious principles, his lordship ever after gave me many marks of his friendship.

Accordingly, these services gave me such credit with the general, that he promised to apply to the government in my favour, for some preferment in the army upon the first opportunity, which happened about a year afterwards. For the seditious humours in the west still encreasing, it was thought proper, that three independent troops of horse, and as many dragoons, should be raised to suppress the rebels. Whereupon Mr Francis Stuart, grandson to the earl of Bothwell, a private gentleman in the horse guards like myself, and my intimate acquaintance, was sent for in haste by the general, because the council of

Scotland was then writing to the king, that his_majesty would please to grant commissions to those persons, whose names were to be sent up to London that very night. Mr Stuart gave me notice of this: whereupon, although I was not sent for, I resolved to go up with him to Edinburgh, and solicit for myself. When I arrived there, and attended the general, his first question was in a humourous manner, "Wha the deel sent for you up?" I answered, that I hoped his excellency would now make good his promise of preferring me, since so fair an opportunity offered at present. On this occasion the general stood my firm friend, and although the sons and brothers of lords and baronets, and other persons of quality, solicited to be made lieutenants and cornets in these new raised troops, yet the general, in regard to my services, prevailed with the council, that I might be appointed lieutenant to Mr Stuart, who was then made captain of dragoons.

Soon after this, the archbishop of St Andrews was murdered by the laird of Hackston and Balfour, assisted by four poor weavers. Hackston, before this horrid action, was reputed an honest and gallant man ; but his friendship for his brother-in-law Balfour drew him in to commit this inhuman murder. Balfour, who had been the archbishop's chamberlain (for so in Scotland we call a great man's steward) whether by negligence or dishonesty, was short in his payments to his lord; and the fear of being called to an account was a principal motive to assassinate his master: however, he pretended likewise a great zeal for the kirk, whereof he looked upon the archbishop as the greatest oppressor. It is certain, that the lower people mortally hated the archbishop, on pretence that his grace had deserted their communion: and the weavers, who were accomplices of Balfour, believed they did God service in destroying an enemy of the kirk; and, accordingly, all the murderers were esteemed and styled saints by that rebellious faction.

After the murder of the archbishop, several parties in the west took up arms, under the leading of Robert Hamilton, second son to sir William Hamilton of Preston, the unworthy son of a most worthy father: whereupon the council met, and sent for Graham, then laird of Clavers, afterwards created viscount Dundee by king James the seventh. This noble person was, at that time, captain of one of those independent troops of horse, which, as I have already mentioned, were raised before the murder of the archbishop. The council therefore ordered him to march with a detachment of one hundred and twenty dragoons, and a lieutenant, with his own troop, in pursuit of the rebels. Clavers was obliged not to open his commission until he came in sight of them. In his march he took Mas John King, one of their principal preachers. Clavers carried King along, until he came in sight of the enemy at Drumclog, eight miles from Hamilton. There the preacher was guarded by a dragoon-sentry, at a little cabin on the top of the hill, while Clavers, opening his commission, found himself commanded to fight the rebels, let their number be ever so great, with those hundred and twenty dragoons.

But before I proceed to tell the issue of this affair, I must digress a little upon the subject of Mas John King, above-mentioned. When I was in the guards, some time after I had missed Williamson at lady Cherrytree's house, the government hearing that this John King was beginning to hold his conventicles not far from Stirling, where the troop of horse then lay, ordered the commanding officer there to send a party out to take him, and bring him up to the council. I was pitched upon with a small detachment to perform this service. I went to my lord Cardross's house, to whose lady King was chaplain; there I took him, and delivered him to the council. This preacher had gotten the lady's woman with child, about four or five months before, and, it is supposed, had promised