YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY THE LIFE OF MR ROBERT BLAIR, MINISTER OF ST ANDREWS, CONTAINING HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY, FROM 1593 TO 1636, SUPPLEMENT TO HIS LIFE, AND CONTINUATION OF THE HISTORY OF THE TIMES TO 1680, BY HIS SON-IN-LAW, MR WILLIAM EOW, MINISTER OF CERES. EDITED FOR THE WODROW SOCIETY, FROM THE ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT. BY THOMAS M'CRIE, D.D. EDINBURGH: PRINTED FOR THE WODROW SOCIETY. MDCCCXLVIII. W8t JAMES WAI-KER, PRINTER, 6. JAMES'S COURT, EDINBURGH. TABLE OF CONTENTS. Page Preface bt Editor, 6 Life of Robert Blair — I. The Autobiography, 3 II. Supplement bt William Row, containing the History of his Life, which mat be called the History of the Times, especially from the tear 1643, unto the DAY OF his death, ANNO 1666, Ill ni. The Continuation (bt the same Author) of the History OF the Times after Mr Blair's death, Aug. 27. 1666, TO 1680, 500 APPENDIX. No 1. XlioNTINUATION OF THE LiFE OF RoBERT BlAIR, BT HIS SON, James Blair, 585 No. 2. Letters of Robert Blair, 596 Index, 599 Facsimile of Blair's handwriting, .... xiii Woodcut of Blair's Monument in the old church- yard of Aberdodr, xxii ERRATA. Page 113, line 14, after 1677, Dr Lee's MS. supplies the blank on this page as fol lows, " has on his coat of arms the Moor's head." „ 228, line 7, dele Unslodyke. „ 464, line 3, for Mr John M'MiUan, read Mr John M'Michan. „ 471, last line of foot note, for author of " Memoirs of Scotland," read author of " Memoirs of the most material Transactions in England, for the last hundred years preceding the Revolution in 1688." " 517, 4th line from foot, for apparently in the handwriting ofthe transcriber, read in a hand different from that of the transcriber. All the notations on the margin of Dr Lee's MS. are in the same hand, but different from that of the copyist. „ 555, 1st Une from foot, for son to Mr William Carstairs, read son to Mr John Carstairs. PREFACE BY THE EDITOR. In presenting the ample Memoirs of Robert Blair, contained in this volume, it may appear very unnecessary to prefix any prefa tory sketch of his life. Several reasons, however, render this de sirable. The reader, before dipping into the volume, may wish to know something ofthe character and general career ofthe man about whom so much has been written. It is of importance, too, to con nect together, in a few sentences, the main facts of his life, the thread of the narrative being somewhat broken, in consequence of its having been treated by different hands, each of whom has added some incidents omitted by the rest. And we have thus an op portunity of stating a few additional facts gathered frem other sources, which could not, with so much propriety, have been thrown into the shape of scattered notes at the foot of the page. Robert Blair was the youngest of four sons of John Blair, " a gentleman living in the town of Irvine, and grandson of Alexan der Blair of Windyedge, a brother of the Laird of Blair, the ancient and honourable family of that ilk."* (Life, p. 112.) His mother was Bessie Mure, of-the equally " ancient and honourable family of Rowallan."t This venerable relative reached the patriarchsvl age of a hundred years. The precise day of his birth has not been recorded, but he was born in Irvine in the year 1593. He had * The Blairs of Windyedge were connected with the Blairs of Giffordland, a family which, Robertson says, " is generally understood to be a cadet of the family of that ilk." — Robertson's Ayrshire Families, i. 100. t We have not been able to trace this connection between Blair and the fa mily of Rowallan. It appears, however, that the families had intermarriage at an earlier period. Sir William Mure of Rowallan, who died about 1348, had a daughter ¦married to the Laird of Blair. — (^Historie and Descent of the House of Rowallane, by Sir William Mure, 41. Glasgow : 1825.) Jean and Hugh, the names of two of Blair's children, were common in the Rowallan family. His grandson, James, who was pro vost of Irvine, had on his coat of arms the Moor's head, which is the crest of the Mures of Rowallan. (See Life, 112, with the blank supplied in the Errata.') VI preface. three brothers, John, James and William, the two eldest of whom rose to be chief inagistrates of Irvine, while William was first a regent in the University of Glasgow, and afterwards became the minister of Dumbarton. The early years of Robert, the subject of the following memoirs, are graphically described by himself in his Autobiography. It appears from the records of the University of Glasgow, that he entered college in the year 1611* that he was laureated, or took his degree of Master of Arts, in 1614 ; and that, after having taught for two years as £issistant in a public school, he succeeded his brother as one ofthe regents of the college in March 1616.t During the same year in which he was appointed regent, he re ceived license as a preacher of the gospel. And at this period of his life the following anecdote is recorded of him by Robert Fleming, which it is rather strange should have been omitted both by himself and his biographers : — " Upon his first coming forth to preach," says Fleming, " he, by a remarkable providence, had Mr Bruce [Robert Bruce of Edinburgh] to be his hearer; and as I heard himself declare, it was his desire to have the judgment of so great a man upon his discourse, whose censure, he said he would never forget, it had been so much blessed. It was this : ' I found,' said he, ' your sermon very polished and digested,' (which was indeed easy to one of his parts), ' but there is one thing I miss in it, to wit, the spirit of God ; — I found not that.' This grave Mr Blair did often speak to others, which then took a deep impression upon himself, and helped him to see it was something else to be a minister of Jesus Christ, than to be a knowing and eloquent preacher." J * Stevenson, in his printed Memoirs of Blair, (p. 9,) has, in his blundering way, made Blair say that he " entered to the College of Glasgow about the year 1608*" The editor of an Irish edition of Stevenson's Memoirs, (Belfast: 1844,) not aware of this, blames poor Blair for what he never wrote : — " Blair's memory, in re.spect of dates, had failed him in his old age, when compiling these notices of his early life." ' * t Row states, that he was "laureated, anno } 613."— {Life, 112.) This must b|3 a mistake, as we have derived the above facts from the registers, through the kin^^ ness of Dr J. Seaton Reid, Professor of Church History in that university. J Fulfilling ofthe Scripture, 377. Ed. 1681. PREFACE. VU It does not appear what particular branches he taught while regent in the University of Glasgow * ; he usually signed himself professor of moral philosophy. Of his success in the art of teach ing his memoirs afford us little opportunity of judging ; but we have fortunately the gratelul testimony of one of his pupils, from which it may be inferred that it was at this period he laid the foundation of that high celebrity for leaming which he enjoyed among his contemporaries. Robert BaiUie, in dedicating to him one of his treatises in 1646, testifies, in the following warm and enthusiastic terms, his obligations to his old tutor and regent : " When I look back, (as frequently I do, with a delightful remem brance) towards those years of my childhood and youth, wherein I did sit under your discipline, my heart blesses the goodness of God, who, in a very rich mercy to me, did put almost the white and razed tablet of my spirit under your hand, after my domestic instructions which were from mine infancy, to be engraven by your labours and example, with my first most sensible and remain ing impressions, whether of piety or of good letters, or of moral vir tue : What little portion in any of these it hath pleased the Lord, of his high and undeserved favour, to bestow upon me, I were un grateful, if I should not acknowledge you, after my parents, the first and principal instrupent thereof. I cannot deny that since the eleventh year of mine age tq this day, in my inmost sense, I have, always found myself more in your debt than in any other man's upon earth."J In 1623, having been involved in a dispute with Dr Cameron, the learned Principal of the university of Glasgow, and " being now wearied of teaching philosophy," he accepted of a call to the minis try at Bangor in Ireland. The particulars connected with this * Livingstone states, " I was then under the oversight of precious Mr Robert Blair, who, for two years, ^s(as my Regent in that coUege, and having got some ground in logick and metaphysick, and the subtilties of the schoolmen, ane vain desyre to be above my equals set me to great pains." — (Life of John Livingstone. Select Biogra phies, edited for Wodrow Society, i. 132.) t Tabula rasa. X Dedication to Historical Vindication of the Government of the Church of Scot land. London: 1646. vm PREFACE. part of his history are detailed at length in his Autobiography. After an unsuccessful attempt to cross the Atlantic, which the reader of his life will find graphically described, we find him again ' in his native land. He had been invited to become minister of ; the Scottish Church at Campvere, but " his averseness, after so manie sea-crosses, to accept any charge over sea, made him reject that motion without farder enquiry," * and he was admitted as coUeague to Mr William Annand at Ayr, in July 1638. After some scruple as to their commission, he and his Irish brethren were al lowed to take their seats in the famous General Assembly, which was held in Glasgow, Nov. 21, of that year ; and there we find him vindicating himself in what Baillie calls " a brave extemporaU ha rangue," from insinuations v?hich had been thrown out against his loyalty, connected with the causes that led to his leaving the Uni versity. Here too his feelings were subjected to a severe trial, by the proposal which was made to translate him to the more influential town of St Andrews, " Spottiswood, his archdean and doctors having ran away, where there were three colleges very corrupt, and the body of the towo-people addicted to Prelacy and the ceremonies" (Life, p. 156.) His biographer, William Row, has said very little about this " £ict for transportation," but it seems to have cost all the parties concerned in it no little trouble. On the petition being presented by the Commissioner from St Andrews, Blair was called on to express his mind, when he said, " I confess I am in the hands of this Assembly ; but I protest heir, in God's presence, that I had rather lay down my life than be separate from my floch at Air."^ BalUie has preserved the particulars of the case, which we, may give in his own homely but emphatic language : — ¦'¦'¦ There fell in this day a most pitiful contest ; the toim of St Andrews supplicat for Mr Robert Blair to be their minister ; the toune of Aire, with tears, deprecated that oppression : Mr Robert himself most earnestlie opposed it ; for beside the great burden would fall on him in that toun, and the fatall unhappiness of that mini^rie, * Baillie's Letters and Journals, (Bannatyne edition), i. 31, t I'etcrkin's Records ofthe Kirk of Scotland, 187. PREFACE. IX he was so farr engaged in affection with Aire, by the success of his ministrie, and the largeness of their charities, as any minister could be : yet St Andrews' earnestness, and the noblemen of Fife their importunities, the public good in provyding that seminarie toun with a good man, militated much against the provest, John Stewart's tears, and Mr Robert's prayers : It was referred to a committee that night in my chamber, CassiUis, Lindsay, the Moderator, (Henderson), and a number of other noblemen and ministers. However much my heart pitied the case, (and, if it went through, it was a most dangerous preparative to rent any man from the flock his soul was bound to and others to him, to be fastened to the unhappie people of our great tonnes,) yet I could not bot testifie my old experience of Mr Blair's great dexteritie ; yea, greater than any man I know living, to insinuate the fear of God in the hearts of young schollars. Thus my testimonie, out of experience, furthered much," both that night in the committee, and the morne in the Assemblie, the man's transportation." It was carried, however, by a narrow majority of four or five votes, thatiie should be sent to St Andrews. " It went hardlie," says Baillie, " for the pitifuU complaints of John Stewart, craveing at leist a delay tiU Aire might be acquainted with this motion, and prepared to give in their reasons against it, did move manie, yet not the half; so the same Assemblie pleased and grieved exceed ingly that toun by taking from them at once two ministers" (An nan having been deposed) : " jit they have keeped still Mr Blair, almost by force ; else, how u'^willing soever, he had gone away, for he makes conscience m obey the Assemblie in all their commandments."* The pjople of Ayr succeeded in detaining him among them tiU the fo'iowing year, when he was peremptorily ordered by the Assewbly to go to St Andrews. Here he exer cised his ministry with great success, till ejected in 1662. During this period Blair took an active share in all the public movements of the day, and contributed largely, by the sagacity of his counsels, and the moderation of his spirit, to promote the welfare, * Baillie's Letters and Journals, i. 173. X PREFACE. and consolidate the peace of the Church. In 1640 he was sent to London, along with Henderson, BaiUie, and others, to attend to the affairs of the Church during the formation of the treaty of peace. After the death of Henderson, in 1646, he was appointed Domestic Chaplain to the King. " None so fit," says Baillie, " for the educa tion of the King's children, both in piety, learning, and good man ners. The man is so eminent in piety, wisdom, leaming, gravity, and moderation, that I think his employment would bring a bless ing to the royaU family and aU the kingdome.*" An anecdote connected with this portion of his history is recorded on the au thority of Mr William Vilant of St Andrews, who, after stating " that scarcely did he [ever] know a more rare conjunction of these things more eminently shining in any one minister, than in Mr Blair, viz., eminent piety, prudence, and learning, and a most peace able, calm temper of spirit," " teUs us that in Oliver Cromwell's time, when he was caUed before the English CouncU, they intended to take his place and pension from him as King's Chaplain ; but he made such a wise appearance before them, that their preses said to the rest, ' It is well that this man is a minister ; for if he were not a minister, he might vex us all with his great wisdom and policy ; therefore let us not take his pension from him, but let him keep it.' And so they dismissed him with great respect." t In the unhappy quarrel between the Resolutioners and Protesters, Blair — though, from the "moderation" of his character, inclining to the general policy of the Resolutioners — adopted a middle course, and attempted to act as a peace-maker. He and the learned James Durham exerted themselves, unsuccessfully, but with themost praise worthy zeal, to effect a union between the contending parties. As too often happens in such cases, his well-meant efforts at reconci liation only excited jealousy and misconstruction. To use his own homely expression on the subject, he was " cuffed upon both haffets by them." In a letter addressed to BaiUie, March 23. 1652, after an earnest exhortation to peace, and recommending that aU former * Baillie's Letters and Journals, ii. 414. t Wodrow's Analecta, iii. 91. PREFACE. XI debates and determinations be quite laid aside, he adds, " If unlt- Hng on such terms may be had, they are accursed that would hinder the same, by seeking satisfaction for what is passed. For my own part, I think I see evidentUe enough some things amisse utrinque ; bot I would prefer one act of oblivion herein, lest new debating exulcerate our sores." * Baillie, who was a violent par-tisan on the side of the Resolutioners, seems to have taken this letter in very iU part. " Worse hardly can be than an accursed man : I groan at such horrible terms for no cause at all, bot sober dutie in the fear of God." And, with all his love and veneration for Blair, amount ing almost to idolatry, " being sore grieved with this expression," he says, " I wrote sharp back to him a long bitter letter." Dur ham was equally severe on poor BaiUie, for he said, " that who would be against such a union were not worthie to sitt either in Presbyterie or Synods." " To this terrible reflection," says BaUlie, "I said no more, but simplie. Brother, this requires no answer."! It has been justly remarked by a late writer, who has done ample justice to both sides of this sad controversy, that " it is evident that Blair was cordially united with Durham in the honourable work of mediation, and that nothing prevented their success but the obstinate and inveterate animosities of both parties." | On the restoration of Charles IL, the subject of our memoirs, though he had taken an active part with the friends of the mo narchy, and was now in infirm old age, was too honest to his prin ciples as a Presbyterian, to be aUowed to retain his charge^ in peace. He was more especiaUy an eyesore to Sharp, with whose ultimate designs it did not comport to see a leader of the Presby terian Church occupying the town which he hoped soon to caU his archiepiscopal seat. Through the influence of this unhappy man he was subjected to various annoyances, which issued in his being obliged to leave St Andrews in September 1661 ; and, after having been confined, by the orders of Council, first to Mussel- * BaiUie's Letters, iii. 175. t Ibid. iii. 183. % Beattie's History of the Church of Scotland during the Commonwealth, 251. Edin. : Whyte & Co. 1842. XU PREFACE. burgh, and afterwards to Kirkcaldy, where he spent three years and a half in comparative quiet, he removed to the Castle of Cous- ton, in the parish of Aberdour, where he died, August 27, 1666, in the seventy-second year of his age." * Such is a brief outline of the life of a person who was, by his contemporaries, "reckoned one of the wisest men in the nation." f- Unfortunately, few or none of his writings appear to have been committed to the press. It was probably owing to his high repu tation for " wisdom," that, " when the General Assembly resolved upon a new explication of the Holy Bible, among others of the godly and learned in the ministry, Mr Blair had the books of Pro verbs and Ecclesiastes assigned to him for his part." But we are informed, on the same authority, " he neglected that task tiU he was rendered useless for other purposes, and then set about and finished his Commentary on the Proverbs in 1666." J This is confirmed by Row, who informs us under the yeJlr 1663, that when lurking in Earkcaldy, " aU this while by-past he was not idle ; for he was perfecting his Annotations oh the Proverbs." {Life, p. 457.) , His Commentary, though completed and prepared for the press, has, however, never been published : the manuscript may still be extant, and we would fondly hope that the present publi cation may lead to its discovery. (See Life, p. 403.) . BaiUie, writing in 1641, speaks of another work undertaken by Blair: — " Think not we live any of us here to be idle : Mr Hendersone has readie now a short treatise, much caUed for, of our Church Dis- cipliae ; Mr GUlespie has the grounds of Presbyterial govemment well asserted ; Mr Blair, a pertinent answer to Hall's Remonstrance ; aU these are readie for the presse." § Henderson's " Government and Order of the Church of Scotland," and Gillespie's " Assertion of the Government of the Church of Scotland in the Points of * " 1666, Augt.— Mr Robert Blair, leate minister of St Audrous, (being deposed because he did not acquiesce with Episcopacy), depaiited out of this life at Cawston, in the parish of Aberdowre, being living there for the tyme, and was interred Aug*. at Aberdowre, in the day-tyme." — Lamont's Diary, 241. t Wodrow's Analecta, iii. 92. t Howie's Scots Worthies ; Art. Mr Robert Blair. § Baillie's Letters and Journals, i. 303. PREl'ACE. XUl RuUng Elders," &c., are well-known treatises ; but of Blair's " per tinent Answer," if it was ever published, we have not been able to obtain any information. The famous " Answer to a Book entituled an Humble Remonstrance, by Smectymnuus," is known to have been the joint production of five divines, the initial letters of whose names compose the above strange nom de guerre ;* and it is highly probable that the appearance of that treatise, which was published in 1641, and led to a protracted controversy between the Smec- tymnuan divines and Bishop Hall, the author of the Remonstrance, may have induced Blair first to postpone, and finaUy to suppress the Answer which he had prepared. With the exception, there fore, of his Autobiography, now for the first time printed as it was written by himself; a few fugitive pieces of Latin poetry, pre served by Row in his Continuation ; and a Preface to the posthu mous treatise of Durham on Scandal ; the Uterary remains of Ro bert Blair, once so famous for his wisdom and learning, may be paid to have been lost to posterity. In personal appearance, Blair is represented as " a man of a not able constitution, both of body and mind — of a majestick, awful, yet amiable countenance." f We are not aware that any portrait of him exists. The curious reader may be gratified by the foUow ing specimen of his handwriting, taken from the letter given in the Appendix, p. 598. (Q^OCV J-x>\>Mk(\ C-^Xil-fiyCv 4r? C^V^iT- %ft,rtf^^ 4r^ In spirit and in manners, as well as by descent, Robert Blair * Neal's History of the Puritans, vol. ii., ch. viii. t Livingstone's Mem. Characteristics. Select Biographies of Wodrow Soe. i. 324. XIV PREFACE. was, in the true sense of the word, a gentleman. Courteous and polite in his address, calm and moderate in his temper, he took the fancy of Charles I. at the Conference at Newcastle, in 1646, while some of his brethren offended the dignity of the monarch by their rude simplicity. In his later years, he had acquired suffi cient wealth to purchase a property of some value in Fife.* A foolish anecdote has been frequently told of }iim, by writers unfriendly to the Presbyterians, which we notice only to contra dict. It is alleged that when Charles II. paid him a visit at St Andrews, during his brief sojourn in Scotland about the year 1650, Mrs Blair being about to hand him a seat, her husband said, " Hold, my dear, the young man can lift a chair for himself." This piece of wanton rudeness is so totally at variance with Mr Blair's character, and his uniform respect for royalty, that the story bears on its front the evidence of spuriousness. The reader who doubts of this may consult the scene described in the Life, pp. 186-188. An imputation much more injurious has been cast on him by the writer of the Memoirs of Sir Robert Spottiswood, the Lord President, who was executed for high treason at St An drews in 1646. That author charges Blair, " the fanatical minis ter of the place," with having incited the provost to prevent Sir Robert from speaking on the scaffold, and asserts that the Presi dent having taunted him, by saying he would not have his prayers, because " God had sent a lying spirit into the mouth of the prophets," Blair " grew so extremely in passion, that he could not forbear scandalous and contumeUous language against Sir Robert's father, [Archbishop Spottiswood], who had been long dead, and against himself, who was now a-dying, which this mild gentleman took no notice of, having his mind fixed upon higher matters."! The unprejudiced reader wiU find a very different * "1660.— About Witsouday, Mr Robert Blaire, minister of St Androus, bought Clermont, in Fyfe, from one Robertsone, oye to tbe deceassed Robert Taylour, sometime provest of St Andrews : it stood him about eghteine tbousande markes Scots." — Lamont's Diary, 157. t See Memoirs, quoted in Notes to Kirkton's History, by Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe, Esq., p. 26. The same story is repeated, with some variations, in the Spot- tiswoode Miscellany, vol. i. 204, where, however, we arc also informed, that Sir PREFACE. XV version of the story in the plain narrative of Row. So far from Sir Robert being prevented from speaking, it appears, that " in his railing discourse to the people on the scaffold, among other things he said, that the saddest judgment of God upon people at this time was, that the Lord had sent out a lying spirit in the mouths of the prophets, and that their ministers that should lead them to heaven were leading them the high way to hell." And what was the reply made by Blair to " this mild gentleman ?" — " Mr Blair, standing by him (as he was appointed by the Commission of the Kirk), in answer to this only said, ' It's no wonder to hear the son of a false prophet speak so of the faithful and honest servants of Jesus Christ'; which did so enrage the proud and impenitent spirit of Spottiswood, that he died raging and railing against Christ's honest and faithful ministers, and his covenanted people." (Life, p. 179, 180.) With all his gravity and dignity Blair could be occasionaUy facetious ; and one curious sally of his, character istic of the freedom used by ministers in these primitive times, is preserved by Wodrow, who allowed nothing to escape him : — " Mr Blair, after he had been a whUe at St Andrews, observed many people go. out of the church a little before the pronouncing the blessing; and after some pains taken to reform them from this evil, one day after prayer he told them he had but one word to speak to them after the psalms, and desired them to stay. When the psalms were done, he said, ' Now, the prettiest man and woman among you all rin first and fastest from the blessing!' This had, it seems, more influence on them than all his former pains, and they much refrained afterwards."* Blair was twice married. His first wife, to whom he was warmly attached, was Beatrix HamUton, who died in July 1632, at the early age of twenty-seven. In 1635, he contracted a second mar riage with Katherine Montgomerie, daughter to Hugh Montgo merie of Braidstane, who carried over a colony of Protestants to Robert " inveighed much against the Parliament of England," which is not very con sistent with his being prevented from speaking. '* Wodrow's Analecta, vol. ii. 66. xvi PREFACE. Ireland, from the neighbourhood of Beith, and was created Vis count of Ardes in 1620.* By his first wife he had three children, James, Jean, and Robert. The two sons died before their father. His daughter Jean survived him, and was married to Mr William Row, minister of Ceres, to whom we are indebted for the Conti nuation of the Life of his father-in-law, contained in the present volume. By his second wife he left behind him two sons, viz., David and Hugh. David Blair became one of the ministers of Edinburgh, and was father to Mr Robert Blair, minister of Athel- staneford, and author of the weU-known poem entitled, " The Grave," who, again, was father to the late Lord President Blair of Avonton. David was also father to Archibald Blair, who be came minister of Garvald, and was father to Dr Robert Blair, Pro fessor of Practical Astronomy in the University of Edinburgh. Hugh, the other surviving son of Mr Blair, was grandfather to the celebrated Dr Hugh Blair, one of the ministers of Edinburgh, and Professor of Rhetoric and Belles Lettres in the same University.! Thus, the subject of the following memoirs was grandfather of the author of " The Grave," and great-grandfather of Dr Hugh Blair, and Lord President Blair. It may be added, that Blair had a daughter by his second wife, Catharine, who was married to Dr George Campbell, minister of Dumfries at the restoration of Charles IL, and Professor of Divinity in Edinburgh University,. after the Revolution. It now remains to say a few words regarding the present work. Many may be familiar with the "Memoirs bf the Life of Mr Robert Blair, printed for Andrew Stevenson, Writer, Edinburgh, 1754," 12mo, pp. 128. In his Advertisement to this work, Mr Stevenson, who was the author of the well-known " History of the Church and State of Scotland," observes, " that the first and only part of the foUowing Memoirs, wrote by Mr Blair, having been in- * Robertson's Ayrshire Families, iii. 233. Row has called him, apparently by mis take, "Laird of Busbie."— (it/e of Blair, 136.) t Hill's Life of Dr Hugh Blair," 12, 13. PREFACE. XVII tended chiefly for his own family, and made out by him at a time of life when the faculties of the mind use to be on the decline, the same must be supposed to want that correctness and accuracy which it might have had, if the worthy author had prepared the same for the press in his younger years. To prevent, as far as possible, aU misconstruction on this account," he adds, " I have taken the trouble to compare my copy with several others which I have seen of these Memoirs, and particularly with a copy of both Parts, in the hands of Mr Blair's grandson, which he avouches to be genuine ; and, not satisfied with this, I offered mine to be re vised by that gentleman and his friends, who, no doubt, have greater liberty to improve upon the original, than any other. But this they have not thought fit to take the trouble of; so that, — after patient on-waiting, for this purpose, a considerable time, and repeated soUcitations to publish this Life from many to whom I had imparted my design, — I now bring it forth, with these varia tions only : — First, Because what is here written doth not contain a fuU relation of the author's life, but only some of the most mate rial passages thereof, I chuse to give it the additional appeUation of Memoirs. Next, Whereas Mr Blair divides his Part into chap ters, several of which seem only breathing-places, or stops, I follow the writer of the Second Part, who, more naturaUy, divides the same into Periods. And, lastly, I have ventured to make a few alterations in the style, in order, if possible, to adapt the same a little more to the modes of expression used in the present age ; but these alterations are inconsiderable. Doubtless the following Me moirs might have admitted of more amendments ; but, such as they are, I am persuaded that all lovers of piety and useful history wiU reckon them highly acceptable, and a monument due to the me mory of ' precious Mr Robert Blair,' as an eminent divine, — his intimate cotemporary, {Livingstone's Life and Characteristics, pp. 5, - 28,)— did fitly caU him." The pubUc were certainly indebted to. Mr Stevenson for having furnished them with an edition of these Memoirs at a time when, so far as Blair's family at least were concerned, they might other- b XVUl PREFACE. wise have been suppressed or entirely lost. And it must be owned that, whatever liberties this industrious collector may have taken with the driginal manuscript, he has not materially changed the sentiments of those portions of it which he has given. But when we state that he has not only completely altered the phraseology, but in many instances greatly curtailed and abridged the narrative, while, on other occasions, he has interpolated it with pieces of his own, it wiU be admitted that he has overstepped the proper pro vince of an editor, and that his book cannot be regarded as a genuine authority. Even in his " alterations in the style, to adapt the same a Httle more to the modes of expression used in the pre sent age," he has more frequently failed than succeeded in " im proving upon the original." Of this the reader may judge from the foUowing sentences which occur in connection, and may be taken as specimens : * — StevensorCs Edition, p. 8, 9. Present Edition, p. 6, 7. About this time the Lord was phased to About this same time thou wast pleased, visit me with , a deadly-like disease, a 0 Lord, to visit me with a deadly-like bloody flux, of which my father died ; and disease of a bloody flux, whereof my when all prescribed means proved ineffec- father not long before had died ; and when tual, the gracious God was pleased to sug- all prescribed means were to no effect, gest to myself a cure, which, when I had thou wast pleased, 0 gracious God, to sug- used, seemed at first to kiU me outright, gest to me a mean whereof I made use, but having fallen into a deep sleep for with the privacy only of an old servant, above twenty-four hours, I awaked per- which at first seemed outright to kill me; fectly recovered, and called for meat, tho' but being afterwards cast in a deep sleep / had tasted little for twenty-three days /«// twenty-four hours, I wakened perfect- before, ly recovered, and called for meat, which 1 had not before tasted at all twenty-three days. iVeuer/^eZes* the corruption of my nature But after this, the corruption of my [did manifest itself more vigorous than be- nature did break out in contention and fore, andl did break out in contention and unruliness towards my two sisters ; and unruliness toward my two sisters. But then, 0 Lord, then didst cast me into a then the Lord did again cast me suddenly sudden and short sickness, and after the into a bed of affliction, [which produced the recovery from it thou modest me to detest taming of my spirits,'] and a detestation of all strife and contention. all strife and contention. In the twelfth year of my age, the And so growing up to the twelfth year "' The interpolations of Stevenson, in these specimens, are included in brackets; bis omissions and alterations are printed in italics. PREFACE. XIX supper of the Lord having been celebrated of my age, when the time came of cele- [in Irvine,'] ,1 was admirably taken with brating the supper ofthe Lord, I was ad- the sermon ; and my spirit having been mirably taken with the sermon that day, likewise greatly ravished with the first ex- the text being in the Song of Solomon; and bortation at the table, I earnestly desired being appointed to standby the minister with to communicate, &c. my psalm-book in my hand, I was greatly ravished in my spirit v/ith. the first exhorta tion at the table, and desired earnestly to .- communicate, &c. This was the Lo^-d's work to his poor This was thy work, 0 Lord, to thy poor child, to make me his covenanted and child, to make me thy covenanted and sealed servant. sealed servant. Having profited well in my childish stu- In this time, profiting well in my bairnly dies, I was found fit for the University, studies, I was fitted to go to the College of [and entered to the College of Glasgow in Glasgow, where I appeared to be inferior to IGOS, whexe I studied hard,] a,nd. made as none of my fellow-students; and lest I great progress as any of my fellow students ; should be puffed up with my proficiency, but, lest I shbuld have been puffed up tiiou, 0 Lord, wast pleased to visit me -with with my proficiency, the Lord was pleased a tertian fever, which did exercise me full to visit me with a tertian fever for full four months, &c.* four months, &c. Many other examples might have been selected from Steven son's edition, stiU more awkward and corrupt, of this inexcus able mode of dealing with the original ; but these may suf fice to show the necessity that existed for a pure and genuine transcript. It need only be added, that though Stevenson has given part of Row's Supplement, he has candidly stated in his ad vertisement to this part, that " it contains no more of that Supple ment than what doth properly refer to Mr Blair's after Ufe, with some hints of such of the publick occurrences of that time as Mr Blair had some connection with." In point of fact, the greater part of the Supplement has been entirely omitted, and it breaks off at Blair's death, thus leaving the whole of the subsequent por tion of the history unpublished. In preparing the present edition, it was resolved by the CouncU of the Wodrow Society to give the whole manuscript of Blair's Autobiography, and of the Supplement and Continuation by Wil liam Row, entirely and exactly as they stand in the original. The * In these apostrophes, as given by Blair, he appears to have been insensibly led into an imitation of the style of Augustine's Confessions, the early perusal of which, as he tells us, {Life, p. 6.) brought to his recollection the sins of his youth. b2 XX PREFACE. juster taste of modern times forbids aU such " intromissions " with the matter or manner of ancient writings, as was practised, without scruple though with the best intentions, by our worthy fathers ofthe last age. The only alteration, therefore, on which we have ven tured relates to the speUing, which, as we found it to vary in dif ferent MSS., and frequently in the same MS., we have throughout modernized, faithfully retaining, however, all the words of the original, and giving the Scottish terms, where these occurred, in their native guise. The Manuscript which we have adopted as the basis of the pre sent edition, is a quarto volume, written in a very minute hand, preserved in the Signet Library, Edinburgh. In the opinion of Mr David Laing, Keeper of the Library, to whom we are in debted for the free use of the MS., and much valuable assistance in our researches, it is the genuine autograph of WUliam Row, Blair's son-in-law. This is, beyond all doubt, the most authentic, as it is the most accurate and complete, manuscript of Blair's Ufe ; in aU pro bability, it is the copy which Stevenson found " in the hands of Mr Blair's grandson, which he avouches to be genuine." * Various other manuscripts of Blair's life are still extant,_ copied from this, and from one another, which are more or less correct and complete. Some of these have been coUated with the Signet Library copy. More particularly, we have collated the Autobiography of Blair with a MS. formerly in possession of Robert Wodrow, the his torian, and now belonging to the Advocates Library, in Edin burgh. Occasionally, also, this part has been coUated with another MS. in the possession of Robert Pitcaim, Esq., from which we have adopted the headings or contents of the chapters. The con tinuation we have copied from Row's own copy compared with another in the Free Church CoUege Library, and a third be- * Mr Laing has since informed me that the manuscript formed part of a volume sold by Messrs Ballantyne and Co. in the library of the Rev. Dr Blair, in April 1816. According to the sale catalogue, No. 694, the volume contained a printed copy of the Solemn League and Covenant, " with the original MS. subscriptions from the Paeschin of Ceees, in Fife, comprehending the barony of Struther and Craig- hall, &c. ; " but this had been taken out of the volume before it was acquired by the Librarj'. PREFACE. XXI longing to J. T. Gibson Craig, Esq. These two last mentioned MSS. begin only at the second part of the Supplement, and pro ceed no further than Blair's death in 1666. But from these sources we have been enabled to supply the want of a leaf in Row's copy, amounting to nearly a sheet of letterpress. (Life, p. 449.) Finally, we have had the advantage of consulting another MS. in the possession of Dr Lee, Principal of the University of Edinburgh, (formerly belonging to Dr Jamieson of Edin burgh, and to Gordon of Earlstoun), a beautiful copy, appar ently taken from the Signet Library MS. From this we have been enabled to supply several passages in the latter, parti-- cularly at the close, where the writing has been completely worn away. To all these gentlemen, the Wodrow Society stands deeply indebted for the frankness with which they granted the use of their respective manuscripts, in order to carry on and complete the present edition of Blair's Life. And with aU these MSS. at our service, we flatter ourselves that we have succeeded in presenting to our readers a perfect transcript of this valuable work. The first part consists of the Autobiography of Blair. This, though written at a late period of his life, and bearing some evi dence of the garrulity natural to old age and the superstition com mon to the times, must be regarded as a valuable accession to the memoirs of the period. One cannot help regretting, however, that instead of dweUing at such length on some of the minor incidents in his private history, he did not enter more largely into the public events of the period, in which he took such an active share. The Supplement to the Life, beginning at p. Ill, and occupying the greater part of the volume, was written by Mr WiUiam Row, minister of Ceres, and son-in-law to Robert Blair. He was grand son of the famous Dr John Row, the reformer and coadjutor of ' Knox, and son of John Row, minister of Carnock, whose " History of the Kirk of Scotland " forms one of the Wodrow Society's pub Ucations. Several facts in his personal history wiU be found in XXU PREFACE. this volume. After being employed for two years as assistant to his father, he was admitted minister of Ceres in 1 644. Here he continued to labour tiU 1665, when on a sentence of suspension by Archbishop Sharp being intimated to him, he took leave of his congregation. (Life, p. 474.) Subsequently he took advantage of the indulgence granted after the battle of BothweU Bridge, and was allowed to preach in his parish, but not within two mUes of the parish church.* This liberty he did not long enjoy. The in dulgence was recalled, and we find him in June 1680 summoned before the Privy CouncU, chiefly " in regard that the place of his meeting is within a mUe of the parish kirk," and discharged from preaching in that place. To this sentence he "silently submitted," in the hope of being aUowed to preach in his " dweUing-house, or other houses of the parish." (Life, p. 573.) Thus he seems to have been employed tiU the Revolution, when he was restored to his former charge, 19th May 1689. His death appears to have taken place sometime between the years 1697 and 1700, when he was succeeded by Thomas Halyburton. In his sentiments on public questions, WiUiam Row appears to have exactly coincided with his father-in-law, for whom he enter tained the highest veneration. WhUe he approved of the PubHc Resolutions, he was inclined to moderation, being dissatisfied with the violence of both parties. Of this controversy he has given a fiuU account, and it is characterised by singular candour. His opinions of the leading characters of the times wiU, of course, be variously estimated. A devoted royalist, he seems to have never forgiven CromweU for his usurpation; he seldom gives him any other appellation than "that old fox;" and, in our day, when a better opinion of the man at least has come to be entertained, a painful feeling is excited by the remark, — " that old fox died." (Life, p. 335.) Of Archbishop Leighton his estimate seems to have been very low ; and Archbishop Sharp he can never mention without unqualified aversion. His calling him so emphatically " that Sharp," reminds us of Dr ^Colville's compliment to the future Archbishop^ * See Mr Laing's Notices respecting William Row, prefixed to Row's History, Ivi. PREFACE. XXIU when giving him the right hand of fellowship, on his admission as regent to the University of St Andrews, in 1661, — " Satis est te esse Sharpium."* Row's strong Presbyterian leanings appear in his never by any chance giving Sharp or any of his compeers the title of bishop ; it is uniformly " prelate," or " archprelate." At the same time, being an indulged minister, he shews Httle favour towards Cargill and the Cameronian party. But with all these pecuharities, which may by many be deemed blemishes, the Supplement by Row cannot be denied to be a valuable accession to our historical resources. Rude and unpolish ed as it is in style, and pretending to be nothing beyond a plain chronicle of events, it furnishes us with much new information whUe it confirms what is old. This remark appHes particularly to a large portion of the Supplement, embracing the general his tory of the times, which has never before been published. The " Continuation of the History of the Times after Mr Blair's death, 1666, August 27," beginning at p. 500, also written by Row, is entirely new, having never before been printed in any shape. The same may be said of the " Continuation of the Life of Robert Blair, by his son, James Blair," which we have given in the Appendix, p. 585, but which, for the reasons there assigned, we consider to have been written, in part at least, by his son David. We may here observe that this conjecture is confirmed by Stevenson, who states in his advertisement to the second part, that, ^' his youngest son, Mr David Blair, one of the ministers of Edinburgh after the Revolution, had, with the assistance of his mother, and others of his father's acquaintance, added some other things memorable concerning him." In short, whether we consider the comparative obscurity of the period embraced by the present volume, particularly that of the Commonwealth; the curious and interesting facts collected, or rather scattered throughout the narrative ; or the open-hearted candour that pervades the whole, stamping it with the evidence of genuine authenticity ; we have no hesitation in ranking the *¦ Lamont's Diary, 165. xxiv PREFACE. present as one of the most important of those contributions which the Wodrow Society, now brought to a close, has been honoured to make to the historical literature of our country. It only remains to make a parting allusion to the present aspect of the monument erected to the memory of Robert Blair in the old churchyard of Aberdour. The editor can attest, from personal observation, the fideUty of the sketch appended, which has been taken by his friend Mr Rowand of the Free Church CoUege Library. He found the stone exactly as described in the Life, p. 496, " erected upon the side wall of the (old) Kirk of Aberdour ;" but the wall is mouldering away piecemeal, and the monument with its simple inscription is sadly effaced ; so that unless measures are speedily taken for its preservation, even this memorial, which was aU that " was judged fit and convenient to be put upon his tomb, by reason of the iniquity of the time," wUl, in a few short years, be entirely obliterated, and the fragments may soon have to be sought for among the nettles and brambles of the ruined buUd- ing to which it is attached. f