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the other at a Communion Monday at Holywood in Ireland; and both there times he had spent the night before in conference and prayer with some Christians, without any more than ordinary preparation: For otherwise, says he, his gift was rather suited to common people than to learned judicious auditors.
He had a tolerable insight in the Hebrew, Chaldee, and somewhat of the Syriac languages; Arabic he did essay, but he soon dropped it. He had as much of the French, Italian, Dutch and Spanish, as enabled him to make use of their books and Bibles.
It was thrice laid upon him by the General Assembly to write the History of the Church of Scotland since the Reformation 1638; but this, for certain reasons, he had altogether omitted.
The greater part of his time in Holland he spent in reducing the original text unto a Latin translation of the Bible; and for that purpose compared Pagnin's with the original text and with the later translations, such as Munster, the Tigurine, Junius, the English, but especially the Dutch, which he thought was the most accurate translation.
