Page:Life and transactions of James Sharp.pdf/8

7 seven or eight acquaintences, and next morning early surprised the party of soldiers, who all laid down their arms, except one, who was killed.

As this small book will not contain all the Transactions. I come now to give you a full & particlar account of Bishop Sharp's death &c, &c.

During the years 1678 & 1679, the persecution was most severe in the county of Fife, and indeed through almost all the south and west of Scotland. One Carmiachel Shriff depute, of Coupar, being impower'd to seek for and persecute all non conformists and intercommuned persons in the shire. Besides his apprehending, fining and imprisoning multitudes, it was his custom to seize servants, and put fiery matches between their fingers, together with several other methods of torture, in order to force them to discover where their masteress were, or any thing belonging to them. He would like wife beat women and children to make them inform against their husbands and parents; not to mention rapes, adultries, and instanees of abominable wickedness. As the suffering people had no legal way of redress, several of the wanderers of this shire, being deprived of the protection of the laws of their country, resolv'd to get rid of Carmichael; and for this purpose fixed on Saturday the 3d of May 1679, when, as they were informed that he was to be a hunting. Accoringly, about nine of these persons, some of them being gentlemen of good families, upon the day appointed, searched for him through all the countrey round Coupar in Fife, but to no purpose. While they were talking of separating and quitting their project, they were informed by a boy