er, who, having heard
both parties, advised him to Stranrawer; and he was received there by
the presbytery upon the 5th of July 1638. Here he remained, in the
faithful discharge of the ministry, until harvest 1648, that he was, by
the sentence of the general assembly, transported to Ancrum in
Teviotdale. When he came to Ancrum, he found the people very tractable,
but very ignorant, and some of them very loose in their carriage; and it
was a long time before any competent number of them were brought to such
a condition, that he could adventure to celebrate the Lord's supper; but
by his diligence, through the grace of God, some of them began to lay
religion to heart.

_Anno_ 1649, the parliament and church of Scotland had sent some
commissioners to treat with the king at the Hague, in order to his
admission; but they returned without satisfaction. Yet the parliament in
summer 1650, sent other commissioners to prosecute the foresaid treaty
at Breda; and the commission of the kirk chose Mr. Livingston and Mr.
Wood, and after that added Mr. Hutcheson to them, with the lords Cassils
and Brody as ruling elders, that in name of the church they should
present and prosecute their desires. Mr. Livingston was very unwilling
to go, and that for several reasons, the chief of which was, he still
suspected the king to be not right at heart in respect of the true
presbyterian religion, and notwithstanding, he saw that many in the
kingdom were ready to receive the king home upon any terms; but he was
prevailed on by Messrs. Dickson, James Guthrie, and Patrick Gillespie,
to go. After much conference and reasoning with the king at Breda, they
were not like to come to any conclusion; here he observed, that the king
still continued the use of the service-book and his chaplains, and was
many a night balling and dancing till near day. This, with many other
things, made him conclude there would be no blessing on that treaty; the
treaty, to his unspeakable grief, was at last concluded, and some time
after the king set sail for Scotland; but Mr. Livingston refused to go
aboard with them; so that when Brody and Mr. Hutcheson saw that they
could not prevail with him to come aboard, they desired him before
parting to come into the ship, to speak of some matters in hand, which
he did, and in the mean while, the boat that should have waited his
return, made straight for shore without him. After this the king agreed
with the commissioners to swear and