30 MEñi1DIRo or PERIOD IY. told me, that fometime he had a mired for that parifh himfelf, but now he had changed his refolution, and would join with the elders, in order to my fettlement there. And about the 8th of February, the elders appearing again before the prefbytery, re, hewed their addrefs for a minifter to moderate in a call there : and Abbay himfelfjoining them accordingly, as an heritor, the prefbytery could no longer refute it ; but, in the mean time, they took a long day for it, purpofely it would feem, and appointed the loth of March for that efl'e&. As we carne out of the prefbytery, Abbay told nie, according to his manner, he would preach my ordination-fermon. Now the poor parith thought themfelves fecure; and things feeming to go according to my heart's with, I was much com- forted in the thoughts thereof. But, behold, in a fewdays Abbay changed his mind, and all endeavours were ufed to turn about the call for him ; which with the heritors was eafily obtained, none of them refiding within the parith. The point on which it feemed to turn was, that how or never was the occafion of con- fültinghis intere(t ; which miffed, the prefbyterywould by fouie means get him turned out of Aiton. This, I was informed, force minillers did put in the head of his friends, by whofe per- fúafion he changed his mind and courfe again in that matter. Obferving the matter to be going thus, I fell under great dif; couragement, by meäns of the difappointment, having foolithly judged that place the fitteft for me. Then it was my exercife, and a hard one, to get my heart brought to a fubmiflion to Pro- vidence in that point ; the which fubmiffion Ì defired, if my heart deceived me not, more than the removal of the ftroke. Being fore broken by the difappointment, I took hold of an occation to preach, for my own eafe, a fermon on 1 Sam. iii. 18.. on a week- day at Dunfe. After fermon, one of the hearers came to me, and thankfullyacknowledged God's goodnefs in bringing her to that fermon, fo faked to her cafe. She was a godly woman of Polwarth parifh, who lhortly before had loft lier hufband. This fermon was not without advantage to myfelf in the point I was aiming to reach. Howbeit, that difcouragementand the fpring- feafon tryfting together, there was a notable breach made in my health, which continued for a long time after, the which I dated from the beginning of that month of March. When I had near ftudied that fermon, I was in-hazard offainting away ; but being taken care of and laid to bed, I recovered. March 6. Preaching in Dunfe, fuch an indifpofition of body and faintnefs was on me, that I thought either to have fwooned in the pulpit, or tohave been obliged to go out abruptly: but, by göod providence, there was oppofiteto the pulpitan aile wanting fömeof the roof, by which came a refiefhing gale that fupported nie, and the Lord carried nie through, giving me a tafle of his goodnefs, of which I was preaching. The fame day eight days, after preaching in the fame place, the indifpofition,recurred; and
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