rlorn battle. The distant outlook was hopeful and the final
success was assured; but the present struggle must be sanguinary and the
sacrifice of life dreadful. Every man that enlists in the army at this
stage must expect to die on the field. This bold position of the
Covenanters will surely be met by all the powers of darkness that can be
massed against them. They now unfurl the Banner for Christ's Crown and
Covenant on the very highest grounds; the persecution will therefore be
waged, if possible, with tenfold greater fierceness. The king with all
his engines of destruction will fight them most desperately; Satan with
all his hosts will assail them ferociously. How can the noble band
escape annihilation?

But who will lead the Covenanters in such a struggle? Who will command
these "little flocks of kids," when the hosts of Syria fill all the
country round about? Where are the ministers now, when the trumpet blast
proclaims a revolutionary war against the king? While the dread notes
echo from mountain to mountain, the most of them are in caves,
hidden--like Obadiah's prophets. Three, only three, step forward. These
lions of the Covenant are Cameron, Cargill, and Douglass. They grasp the
old battle-banner, and carrying it to the new position call upon the
Covenanted sons of freedom to rally under its floating folds. The
"remnant" gave a noble response.

This self-sacrificing band was merely the advance guard of a great army
that was now mustering in the providence of God for the restoration of
civil and religious liberty. Little did they expect to win under
existing conditions, but they could hold the hordes of darkness back,
till the Lord Jesus would bring up His mighty forces for the decisive
battle. They could throw themselves upon the enemy, and with the impact
stay their progress. They laid down principles and began action that
eight years later resulted in the Revolution under the Prince of Orange.
Cameron, Cargill, and Douglass began the Revolution, and William, Prince
of Orange, finished it.

The Covenanters engaged in this forward movement were henceforth called
Cameronians. Richard Cameron was the leader. On the first anniversary of
the battle of Bothwell Bridge, June 22, 1680, he with 21 mounted men
rode into the quiet town of Sanquhar. They came in a martial spirit;
each horse carried a Christian swordsman; they were armed for war.
Reaching the heart of the town, they dismounted and reverently offered
pra