they abode during the night, under the open canopy of the firmament, but under the covert of Him, the shield of whose protection is ever thrown over those who put their trust in Him.

When the morning sun had risen upon the earth, and when the little company of wanderers had offered up their devotions to the Preserver of their lives, it was agreed that some of their number should undertake to procure some food to satisfy the cravings of their hunger. As they were deliberating on what was best to be done, and how to proceed with the greatest caution, as there were so many spies and informers all around them, they observed a man in the garb of a solitary shepherd wandering on the hill, and apparently directing his steps accidentally toward their retreat in the scar. As he drew near they discovered themselves to him, thinking that probably Providence might send them relief by his means; but the man was a spy in the guise of a friend, who had come to seek out their hiding-place; and knowing that they were concealed somewhere on the hill, and being pretty confident that he would find them, he brought a company of troopers at his back to seize them. The soldiers, however, remained at a considerable distance behind to prevent, on the part of the fugitives, any suspicion that they were connected with the strolling shepherd. The shepherd congratulated the friends on their escape from the enemy, informing them at the same time that several of the dragoons, in attempting to cross the river, had been swept away by the impetuosity of the current. When Mr Renwick heard this he lifted up his hands to heaven, and expressed his gratitude to God for the deliverance vouchsafed

them, and spoke in such a strain as completely overawed and melted the emissary who had been sent out to entrap them. By this time the soldiers made their appearance, and were marching slowly along the foot of the hill, but they did not observe the fugitives in the concealment of the scar. The

shepherd now fell on his knees, and with tears confessed that he was an informer, who had come for the express purpose of delivering them up to the persecutors, but that since he came among them, God had touched his heart by means of what he had seen and heard, and that he was now determined to renounce his infamous vocation, and henceforth to espouse the cause in which they were suffering. The little company was struck mute with astonishment, and the truth of what the man stated was obvious, for there were the troopers wending their way slowly about the hill, and apparently looking out for their guide to direct their further movements. The poor man, whose name, it is said, was Reid, a native of Lanarkshire, became a true penitent, and abandoned the party in whose service he had been engaged. Mr Renwick and his friends escaped at this time, and kept themselves close in the scar till the soldiers left the hill.

These incidents plainly show the Saviour's watchful care over his servant in preserving him for the work assigned him. It is obvious, at the same time, that notwithstanding the affected contempt expressed of him by his enemies, that Mr Renwick was in their view a man of no small importance; the price which they set on his head was a hundred pounds

sterling, no trifling sum in those days truly, and a whole army was employed to make war against him, and to hunt him down. Had Mr Renwick been a common man, or a man of little influence in the land, we would have heard of no such preparations, on the part of the Government, for the purpose of crushing his cause. The truth is, there was no man more dreaded by the council than he, for he seemed to be a host in himself, and his name was in every person's mouth. He was a man to whom the attention of friends and foes alike was directed for several years, a sort of prodigy that had appeared in the land; and the amazing influence he possessed not only proved that he was a person of rare godliness, but also of no inferior talents. His enemies feared that he would revolutionize the country in their very face; and indeed his labours were rapidly tending to this, and hence their solicitude to get him into their power. Argyle and Monmouth were much more easily defeated than Mr Renwick; his enemies might indeed defeat the man, but they could not defeat the cause that was daily gaining ground, and in its civil aspect it in a few months accomplished the memorable Revolution.

In his wanderings Mr Renwick came to Lochgoin, in the parish of Fenwick, in Ayrshire. Lochgoin is the noted residence of the Howies, who have occupied the spot for several centuries. This place, in the very heart of the lonely moors, was the resort of the worthies in the times of persecution. Gentlemen and ministers, as well as those in the humbler ranks of life, were all welcome to Lochgoin, as sufferers in the good cause. When Mr

Renwick, in his journeyings through the desert, came to this friendly house, he was in a state of considerable destitution, as it respected his habiliments, and James Howie furnished him with a pair of good shoes, and otherwise assisted him for his Master's sake.

CHAPTER XI.

Protestation against the Toleration-Escape at Peebles-Apprehension in Edinburgh-His Indictment-Interview with his Mother-His Trial-His Situation and Conduct in Prison.

We now advance to the closing year of the persecution, the famous 1688, when the tyrant was chased from the throne amidst the just execrations of an insulted and indignant people, and when the rights of the nation, civil and religious, were restored, and their future possession secured to the subjects. The great Revolution which so distinguished this period, after the endurance of a persecution of no less than eight-and-twenty years' continuance, amply justified the principles generally maintained by the sufferers in Scotland, and which were more specifically bodied forth in the various declarations and apologies emitted by them at different junctures.

This was the last year of Mr Renwick's eventful life, for in a few weeks after its commencement he gained the martyr's crown. His godly sincerity and zeal in his Master's service seemed to increase more and more as he approached the end of his course.