shire of Ayr, for Mr. Hugh having died before his father, John, the only
son of Mr. Hugh, was served heir to his grandfather in the lands of
Dalvennan. Alexander, the second son, who died about ten years ago, got
the lands of Machrimore, and was married to a daughter of Alexander
Crawford of Kerse, and is succeeded therein by his son John Binning, at
present a writer in Edinburgh.

The worldly circumstances of the grandfather being so good, he was thereby
enabled to give his son Hugh a liberal education, the good and desirable
effects of which appeared very early upon him; the greatness of his spirit
and capacity gave his parents good ground to conceive the pleasant hope of
his being a promising child. When he was at the grammar school, he made so
great proficiency in the knowledge of the Latin tongue, and Roman authors,
that he outstripped his condisciples, even such as were some years older
than himself. When his fellow schoolboys went to their play and diversion,
he declined their society, and choosed to employ himself, either in secret
duty with God, or conference with religious people. His pastime was to
recreate himself in this manner. He had an aversion to sports, games, and
other diversions, not from any moroseness, or melancholy of temper, being
rather of an affable, cheerful and debonair disposition, but thinking that
time was too precious to be lavished away in these things. Religion and
religious exercises were his choice, and the time he had to spare from his
studies he spent that way. He began to have sweet familiarity with God,
and to live in near communion with him, before others began seriously to
lay to heart their lost and undone condition by nature, and that
additional misery they expose themselves to, by walking in a wicked way
and sinful course. When he arrived at the thirteenth or fourteenth year of
his age, he had even then attained so much experience in the ways of God,
that the most judicious and exercised Christians in the place confessed
they were much edified, strengthened, and comforted by him, nay, that he
provoked them to diligence in the duties of religion, being abundantly
sensible that they were much outrun by a youth.

Before he was fourteen years old, he entered upon the study of philosophy
in the university of Glasgow, wherein he made very considerable progress,
and with as much facility outstripped his fellow students, as he had done
his condisciples in the Latin school, by which me