Page:History of the life and sufferings, of the Reverend John Welch.pdf/7

 exercie ued ordinarily to be followed, with a flame of extraordinary aitance: o near neighbours are many times contraoy dipoitions and frames. He would many times retire to the church of Ayr, which was at ome ditance from the town, and there pend the whole night in prayer: for he ued to allow his affections full expreion, and prayed not only with audible, but ometimes, loud voice, nor did he irk, in that olitude, all the night over, which hath, it may be, occaioned the contemptible lander of ome malicious enemies, who were o bold as to call him no les than a witch.

There was in Ayr, before he came to it, an aged man a miniter of the town called Porterfield, the man was judged no bad man, for his peronal inclinations, but o eay a dipoition, that he ued many times to go too great lenghtlength [sic] with his neighbours in many dangerous parcticespractices [sic]: and amongt the ret, he ued to go to the bow-butts and archery, on Sabbath afternoon, to Mr. Welch's great diatisfaction. But the way he ued to reclaim him, was not bitter everity, but this gentle policy; Mr. Welch together with John Stewart, and uHtghHugh [sic] Kennedy, his two intimate friends, ued to pend the Sabbath afternoon, in religious conference an prayer, and to this exercise they invited Mr. Porterfield, which he could not refue, by which means he was not only diverted form his former inful practice, but likewie brought to a more watchful, and edifying behaviour in his coure of life.

He married Elizabeth Knox, daughter to the famous Mr. John Knox, miniter at Edinburgh, the apotle of Scotland, and he lived with him from his youth till his death. By her I have heard he had three ons: the firt was called Dr. Welch, a doctor of medicine, who was unhappily killed upon an innocent mitake in the low countries, and of him I never hear more. Another he hehe [sic] had mot lamentably lot at ea, for when the ship in which he was, was unk, he wam to a rock in the ea, but tarved there for want of neceary food and, and when ometime afterward his body was found upon the rock, they found him dead in a praying poture upon his bended knees, with his hand