form his defence, he very much surprized them by his
exactness in our Scots laws, and suggested several things to be added
that had escaped his advocate, which made Sir John Nisbet express
himself to this purpose, "If it had been in the reasoning part, or in
consequences from scripture and divinity, I would have wondered the less
if he had given us some help, but even in the matter of our own
profession, our statutes and acts of parliament, he pointed out several
things that had escaped us." And likewise the day before his first
appearance in parliament, it is said he sent a copy of the forementioned
speech to Sir John and the rest of his lawyers of the reasoning and law
part, and they could mend nothing therein.

The advocate's considering his defence, and the giving of it in, took up
some weeks, until April the 11th, when the process against him was read
in the house, upon which he made a speech affecting and close to the
purpose; in which he concludes thus:

"My Lord, in the last place, I humbly beg, that having brought so
pregnant and clear evidence from the word of God, so much divine reason
and human laws, and so much of the common practice of kirk and kingdom
in my defence; and being already cast out of my ministry, out of my
dwelling and maintenance; myself and my family put to live on the
charity of others; having now suffered eight months imprisonment, your
Lordships, would put no other burden upon me. I shall conclude with the
words of the prophet Jeremiah, _Behold, I am in your hands_, saith he,
_do to me what seemeth good to you: I know, for certain, that the Lord
hath commanded me to speak all these things, and that if you put me to
death, you shall bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon the
inhabitants of this city_."

"My Lords, my conscience I cannot submit; but this old crazy body and
mortal flesh I do submit, to do with it whatever ye will, whether by
death, or banishment, or imprisonment, or any thing else; only I beseech
you to ponder well what profit there is in my blood: it is not the
extinguishing of me or many others, that will extinguish the covenant
and work of reformation since the year 1638. My blood, bondage, or
banishment will contribute more for the propagation of these things,
than my life or liberty could do, though I should live many years,
&c."

And though this speech had not that influence that might have been
expected, yet it made such impression upon some of the members