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religious person's house, where we were often weel refreshed with family exercise. Uswally I desyred no more but before I went to bed to make sure of the place of Scripture I was to speak on¹ the next day; and rising in the morning, I had four or five hours myself alone, either in ane chamber or in the fields. After that we went to church, and then dyned, and then rode some four or six myles, more or less, to ane other paroch. Sometimes there would be four or five communions in severall parishes in the three moneths time. I esteemed these visits in Ireland the far best tyme of all the while I was in GaUoway. After the year 1647 or 1648, the Generall Assembly sent no more any² visits to Ireland, because by that time several godly and able ministers were settled in severall parts of the North of Ireland.

Dureing my abode in Stranrawer, the neighbouring ministers with whom I keeped most society, and by whose counsell and company I profited most, were my brother, M'Clellan at Kirkcudbright, Mr Robert Hamilton at Ballantree, Mr George Hutcheson at Calmonell; and in the Presbytery of Stranrawer, Mr Alexander Turnbull at Kirkmaden, Mr John Dick at Inch, and Mr George Dick at Glenluce; and in the Presbytrie of Wigton, Mr Andrew Lauder at Whythorn, and Mr John Park at Mochrum, who also succeeded at Stranrawer. With all these I have been at their communions, and most of them have been at communions with us at Stranrawer.

Period V.

The fifth period of my life I reckon from the time I was settled in the ministrie at Ancrum to this present, February 1666.

In summer 1648, I had ane call from the paroch of Ancrum, and ane invitation from the Presbytery of Jedburgh, and a presentation from the Earle of Lothian, the patron; and, by act of the Generall

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¹    "On which I was to speak."

²    "For."

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Assembly that year, was transported thither. I went thither, and was received by the presbytery. I the rather inclined, because I found they were generally¹ landwart simple people, who for sometime before had not had so much of the gospell as to despise it. In the harvest following, I transported my family thither. I found the transporting very troublesome, being above one hundred myles, and bad way, and ane numerous family,² six children,³ one of them sucking the breast, four or five servants, and some baggage⁴ of books and houshold furniture; yet the Lord brought us all safe⁵ thither. I dwelt a year or two in ane house of the Earle of Lothian's till ane house was built for me. The people were tractable, but very ignorant, and some of them loose in their carriage; and it was ane long time before any competent number of them was brought to such a condition as we might adventure to celebrate the ordinance of the Lord's Supper. But within some time, some of them began to lay religion to heart.

In the year 1649, the Parliament of Scotland, and the Church also, had sent commissioners to treat with the king at the Hague for security to religion and the liberties of the countrey, before his admission to the exercise of the government. These had returned without satisfaction, yet the Parliament sent again in the summer⁶ 1650 the Earle of Castles, the Earle of Lothian, Alexander Brodie of that Ilk, one of the Lords of Session, Mr George Winram of Liberton, ane other of the Lords of Session, Mr⁷ John Smith,⁸ Alexander Japhray, to prosecute the foresaid treaty with the king at Breda. The Commission of the Church⁹ chose Mr James Wood and me, and after that also by my Lord Castles' procurement Mr George Hutcheson; to us was joyned Cassills and Brodie as ruleing elders, that in name of the Church we should present and prosecute their desyres; and because much depended upon that treaty, I will, out of my own private observations, more fully set doun the same.

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¹    "A."

²    "Having."

³    "And."

⁴    "Loggage."

⁵    "Safely."

⁶    "The year."

⁷    "Sir."

⁸    "And."

⁹    "Kirk."