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Rh resented by his superiors. In consequence of this, lest his conduct might be attributed to ambitious views, he sequestrated himself almost entirely from the public, and by hard study and too abstemious living threw himself into a fever, which had nearly proved fatal. He was soon after interrupted in his pious labours, by being- called upon, by the new administration that was appointed in 1668, in which his friend Sir Robert Murray had a principal share, to give his advice for remedying the public disorders, which had been occasioned by the overthrow of the presbyterian constitution, and^ along with it, the civil rights of the people. At his suggestion, the expedient of an indulgence to the presbyterians, under certain limitations, was adopted in the year 1669, by which it was hoped they would by degrees be brought to submit to the new order of things. He was at the same time employed to assist Leighton, now made archbishop of Glasgow, in bringing forward his scheme for an accommodation between the conflicting churches. In the course of his journeyings to the west, he was introduced to Anne, duchess of Hamilton, a very excellent woman, with a strong bias towards the presbyterians, which enabled her to influence in some degree the leaders of that body, and rendered her somewhat of a public character. At her house, the managers of the college of Glasgow had occasion to meet with the minister of Salton, and, the divinity chair being there vacant, he was unanimously elected to fill it. All this was unknown to Burnet till it was over, and he was again thrown into much difficulty, his friends insisting upon him to accept the invitation, and his parishioners that he should refuse it. Leighton, however, laid his commands upon him, which he considered as law, and he therefore removed to Glasgow in the year 1669.

Owing to the deplorable state of the church and nation, he encountered much trouble and many inconveniences in his new situation. His principal care, however, was to improve his pupils, to whom he seems to have devoted almost his whole time and attention. On the Mondays he made each of the students in his turn explain a head of divinity in Latin propound a thesis from it, which he was to defend against his fellow-students, the professor concluding the exercise by deciding the point in a Latin oration. On Tuesdays, he prelected in Latin, purposing in eight years to embrace a complete system of divinity. On Wednesdays, he gave a lecture of an hour upon the gospel of Matthew. On Thursdays the exercise was alternate; one Thursday he expounded a Hebrew psalm, comparing it with the Septuagint, the Vulgate, and the English version; on the other, he explained some portion of the ritual and constitution of the primitive church. On Fridays he made each of his pupils, in course, preach a short sermon upon a text assigned, upon which he gave his own remarks in conclusion. This was the labour of the mornings. In the evenings, after prayers, he every day read them a portion of the Scriptures, on which he made a short discourse, after which he examined into the progress of their several studies, exhorting, encouraging, and directing them, as he found necessary. In order to keep up all these exercises, he was under the necessity of rising every morning at four o'clock, and it was ten before his preparations were completed for the labours of the day. During his vacations, he made frequent visits to Hamilton, where he was engaged by the duchess to examine and put in order the papers of her father and uncle, which led him to compile the memoirs of the Dukes of Hamilton. The duke of Lauderdale, hearing he was employed upon this work, wrote for him to come up to London, promising him such information concerning the transactions of these times as he could furnish. He went to London, accordingly, and was received by Lauderdale with much kindness. But the impious manners of this nobleman were not agreeable to him, and he made no use of the confidence reposed in him, except to reconcile his grace to the duke