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After sermon, when marrying a pair of folks, when the man had the woman by the hand, he said, Indeed man, you have a bonny bride by the hand, I see a covetous devil in her, she is both a thief and a whore, let her go, you will be ashamed of her. The man keeping fast her hand, he said, you will not take my advice, but it will tend to thy disgrace. After marriage, when praying he said, Good Lord, many a plow hath been yoked on the back of thy church in Scotland, pagans yoked theirs, Antichrist yoked his, and Prelacy hers, and now the plagued Erastian indulged, they have yoked theirs, & ill it becomes them; good Lord, cut their theets, that their swingle-trees may fall to the ground. Ensign John Kirkland was witness to this sermon & marriage; he was my very dear acquaintance, who told me several times of this, and more of that sermon.
16. About the same time he was marrying two pair of folks, he said to the one, Stand by I will not marry you this day: The bridegroom was anxious to know the reason, after enquiring privately, he said, You will thank me for this afterwards, and think yourself well quat of her, for she is with child to another wife's husband; which was matter of fact, as time afterwards discovered.
17. Shortly after that sad stroke at Bothwel, he went to Ireland, but did not stay long at that time, in his travels thro' Galloway, he came to a house, and looking in the goodman's face he said. They call you an honest man, but if you be so, you look not like it, you will not long keep that name, but will discover yourself to be what you are. And shortly after he was made to flee for sheep stealing. In that short time he was in Ireland, the governor required of all presbyterian ministers that were in Ireland, that they should give it under their hand that they had no accession to the late rebellion at Bothwel Bridge, in Scotland, & that they did not approve of it: which the most part did, & sent Mr. Thomas Gowans a Scotsman, and one Mr. Paton from the north of Ireland to Dublin, to present it to the lord lieutenant. The which when Mr Peden heard, he said, Mr. Gowans and his brother Mr. Paton are sent and gone the devil's errand, but God will arrest them by the gate. Accordingly Mr Gowans by the way was struck with a sore sickness, and Mr. Paton fell from his horse, and broke or crusht his leg, and both of them were detained beyond expectation. I had this account from some worthy christians when I was in Ireland.
18. In the yar 1682, he married John Brown in Kyle,
