Page:Some remarkable passages of the life and death of Master Alexander Peden.pdf/34

 be beyond the reach of all the devil's temptations, and his instruments in hell and on earth, and they trouble me no more. About three hours after he entered the house, the enemy came and found him not in the cave, searched the barn narrowly, casting the unthreshen corn, and searched the house, stobbing the beds, but entered not into the place where he lay. He told them, that bury him where they would, he would be lifted again, and within 48 hours he died. He died in January 28, 1686, being past 60 years, and was buried in the lairs of Afflect's isle. The enemies got notice of his death and burial, sent a troop of dragoons, and lifted his corps, and carried him to Cumnock gallows-foot, and buried him there, after 40 days being in the grave, beside other martyrs His friends therefaterthereafter [sic] laid a grave-stone above him, with this inscription

After this, that troop of dragoons came to quarter in the parish of Cambusnethen; two of them were quartered in the house of James Gray, my acquaintance, they being frighted in their sleep, started up, and clapped their hands, crying, Peden, Peden. These two dragoons affirmed, That out of their curiosity they opened his coffin to see his corps, and yet they had no smell, tho he had been forty days dead:

All the tyranny and cruelty of these times, by these enemies of God and godliness, that were exercised upon the bodies and consciences of the Lord's people, was said, That it was all for rebellion; there was no ground to think or fear that the corps of that servant of Christ, after six weeks lying in the grave, would rise in rebellion against them. This is somewhat like that which historians give an account of, That the popish party made search for the bones of John Wicklieff their opposer in his life, by his writings, 42 years after his death they found his bones, but were uncertain whether they were his or not, and took them up to the head of an hill, and burnt them, and gathered up the ashes in a pock, and threw them down a river. Mr Samuel Clark, gives another instance of a Christian Jew in Italy, who after the popish party had murthered him,