um of which came to this, That they required him to
subscribe or take the oath of allegiance, which he, upon several solid
grounds and reasons, refused; and sentence was pronounced, that in
forty-eight hours he should depart Edinburgh, and go to the north side
of Tay, and within two months depart out of all the king's dominions.
Accordingly he went from Edinburgh to Leith, and thereafter, upon a
petition in regard of his infirmity, he obtained liberty to stay there
until he should remove. He petitioned also for a few days to go home to
see his wife and children, but was refused; as also for an extract of
his sentence, but could not obtain it. _Anno_ 1663, he went aboard,
accompanied by several friends to the ship; they set sail, and in eight
days came to Rotterdam, where he found the rest of the banished
ministers there before him. Here he got frequent occasion of preaching
to the Scots congregation at Rotterdam; and in Dec. following, his wife,
with two of his children, came over to him, and the other five were left
in Scotland.

Here, upon a retrograde view of his life, he (in the foresaid historical
account) observes, that the Lord had given him a body not very strong,
and yet not weak; for he could hardly remember himself wearied in
reading and studying, although he had continued some seven or eight
hours without rising, and also that there was but two recreations that
he was in danger to be taken with; the first was hunting on horseback,
but this he had very little occasion of, yet he found it very inticing;
the other was, singing in concerts of music, wherein he had some skill,
and in which he took great delight. He says further, That he was always
short-sighted, and could not discern any person or thing afar off, but
hitherto he had found no occasion for spectacles, and could read small
print as long and with as little light almost as any other. And, as to
his inclination, he was generally soft and amorous, averse to debates,
rather given to laziness than rashness, and too easy to be wrought upon.
And, although he could not say what Luther affirmed of himself
concerning covetousness, yet he could say, that he had been less
troubled with covetousness and cares than many other evils, and rather
inclined to solitariness than company, and was much troubled with
wandering of mind and idle thoughts; and for outward things, he was
never rich (and although when in Killinchie he had not above four pounds
sterling of stipe