ough, therefore, of our approach was to the
consternation of his conscience as the sound of the wheels of an
avenging God, groaning heavily in their coming with the weight of the
engines of wrath and doom. Some said that he sat in the midst of the
counsellors like a demented man; and others, that he was seen flying to
and fro, wringing his hands, and weeping, and wailing, and gnashing his
teeth. But though all power of forethought and policy was taken from
him, there were others of the council who, being less guilty, were more
governed, and they took measures to defend the capital against us. They
commanded the gates to be fenced with cannon, and working on the terrors
of the inhabitants with fearful falsehoods of crimes that were never
committed, thereby caused them to band themselves for the protection of
their lives and property, while they interdicted them from all egress,
in so much that many who were friendly to us were frustrated in their
desire to come with the aid of their helps and means.

The tidings of the preparations for the security of Edinburgh, with the
unhappy divisions and continual controversies in our councils, between
the captains and the ministers, anent the methods of conducting the
raid, had, even before we left Lanerk, bred much sedition among us, and
an ominous dubiety of success. Nevertheless, our numbers continued to
increase, and we went forward in such a commendable order of battle,
that, had the Lord been pleased with our undertaking, there was no
reason to think the human means insufficient for the end. But in the
mysteries of the depths of His wisdom He had judged, and for the great
purposes of His providence He saw that it was meet we should yet suffer.
Accordingly, even while we were issuing forth from the port of the town,
the face of the heavens became overcast, and a swift carry and a rising
wind were solemn intimations to my troubled spirit that the heartening
of His countenance went no farther with us at that time.

Nor indeed could less than a miracle in our behalf have availed; for the
year was old in November, the corn was stacked, the leaf fallen, and
Nature, in outcast nakedness, sat, like the widows of the martyrs,
forlorn on the hills: her head was bound with the cloud, and she mourned
over the desolation that had sent sadness and silence into all her
pleasant places.

As we advanced the skies lowered, and the blast raved in the leafless
boughs; sometimes a passing showe