John Brown captured?

6. Describe the death of this martyr.

7. How could John Brown have saved his life?

XLVIII

LAST, BUT NOT LEAST.--A.D. 1688.

James Renwick was the last martyr publicly executed for adhering to
Scotland's Covenant. He was a child of maternal vows. His mother
dedicated him to the Lord, praying that he might live, and do worthy
service for Christ. She saw her prayer answered; yea, more than
answered; it became, also, a sword that pierced through her own soul.
She had not asked too much; but great prayers always imply
self-immolation.

The Renwick home was beautiful for situation. It was located near the
quiet town of Moniaive. The building is gone, but the place is kept in
remembrance by an attractive monument. The cottage stood on a hillside,
overlooking a charming valley, and beyond the valley, a range of
mountains reaching to the clouds, glistening with snow in the winter,
and purple with heather in the summer. Young Renwick was a passionate
lover of nature. Oft did he sit on this grassy slope, where stands the
monument, and gaze, and ponder, and dream, till filled with amazement.
Well did he know, that all the magnificence of earth and sky was but the
shadow of the glory beyond, the frills of the Creator's robe, the
evidence of a personal God. This boy, like young Samuel, did not yet
know the Lord. He knew his Bible, his prayers, his Catechism, his
Psalm-book, and his church; but he had no personal acquaintance with
God. This he eagerly sought. One day, as he gazed upon valley and
mountain, a wave of melancholy dashed upon his soul, and he exclaimed,
"If these were devouring furnaces of burning brimstone, I would be
content to go through them all, if so I could be assured that there is a
God." Such agonizing for an experimental acquaintance with God is sure
of reward. God revealed Himself. No great light breaking through the sky
fell upon him; but there came an inner illumination by the Holy Spirit,
which increased till his penetrating eyes saw God in everything; every
bush was burning with His glory; every mountain was clothed with His
majesty; all the heavens were speaking His praise; and yet he saw a
thousand-fold more of the beauty of the Lord in the holy Covenant, and
in the poor despised Covenanters who kept the faith, than in all the
grandeur of nature. Renwick in this deep experience had his introduction
to God. Oh, what a life we may expect of such a man! An introduction