ularly whereby the Lord at first wrought upon his heart,
only when he was but very young, he would sometimes pray with some
feeling, and read the word with some delight; but thereafter did often
intermit such exercise, and then would have some challenges, and begin
and intermit again, &c. He says, He had no inclination to the
ministry, till a year or more after he had passed his course in the
college, upon which he bent his desires to the knowledge and practice of
medicine, and to go to France for that end: but when proposed to his
Father, he refused to comply. About this time his father, having
purchased some land in the parish of Monybroch, took the rights in his
son's name, proposing that he should marry and live there; but this he
refused, thinking it would divert him from his studies, and, in the
midst of these straits, he resolved to set apart a day by himself before
God, for more special direction; which he did near Cleghorn wood, where,
after much confusion anent the state of his soul, at last he thought it
was made out to him, that he behoved to preach Jesus Christ, which if he
did not, he should have no assurance of salvation: upon which, laying
aside all thoughts of other things, he betook himself to the study of
divinity. He continued a year and a half in his father's house, where he
studied and sometimes preached; during which time he wrote all his
sermons before he preached them, until one day, being to preach after
the communion of Quodgen, and having in readiness a sermon which he had
preached at another place one day before, but perceiving severals there
who had heard him preach that sermon formerly, he resolved to choose a
new text, and wrote only some notes of the heads he was to deliver; yet,
he says, he found, at that time, more assistance in enlarging upon these
points, and more motion in his own heart than ever he had found before,
which made him afterwards never write any more sermons, excepting only
some notes for the help of his memory.

About April 1626, he was sent for by lord Kenmuir to Galloway, in
reference to a call to the parish of Anwoth, but some hindrance coming
in the way, this design was laid aside. In the harvest following, he
hearkened to another call to Torphichen, but this proved also
unsuccessful.

After this he went to the earl of Wigton's, where he stayed some time;
the most part of this summer he travelled from place to place, according
as he got invitations to preach, and