Upon Wednsday the eightin, I tooke my jurney south, and albeit w^t some reluctancie, yet the Lord was not wanting to me in the way, only upon Saturday crossing at Dundie I was cast in companie w^t on of the king's Herolds, q^ch was unpleasant to me but I made the best of it I could, & qⁿ we lighted tho I could not drinck so weel, yet I was frank in payeng q^ch I saw pleased him weel.
    We was benighted att Kennaway and after supper the Herold saide he thought we might ryde too Kirkaldie nixt morning to hear sermon, & albeit it stund me to travel on sabboth yet considering our qwarters was hard at the Kirk th^r & I might be notticed if I went not, q^ch I had not freedom to doe, we might ventur forward, & some gentl shift might be made, so I sd to him, thⁿ lett us clear our reckning, th^t we have nothing to doe in Saboth morning but take our horses, he replyed then they will call us whiges, and I ansred wee wold be soon up & it was not fitt thⁿ to trubl our hostess, & so we cleared & nixt morning, tooke our horses early; & now I was feared for carnall discourse on the Lord's day, & so boarded him w^t some uncontroverted spiritual discourse, q^ch did so take, th^t wee fell to be so serious th^t tho we both had knouledg of the way, yet we went a considerable space out of it, before we notticed, & coming to Kirkaldie, Pathhead, he sd he had a brother lived th^r, & keeped a chaing & hee thoght we might breakfast th^r & goe from th^t to the Kirk att Kirkaldie. I was willing to light, but in stead of a brother as I expected he was a brother messanger at armes only, q^ch was yet mor undesirabl, but I caried as pleasant as possibl, and after breakfast I s^d I thoght I was wearie w^t travel, th^rfor wold lett the kirk alon for a day, he replyed, & so wold he. So after a litl taking my bibl privatlie & seeing a barn in the yeard I called for the key th^rof, and went to it, & injoyed my selfe in such dewties as was most fitt for th^t day, & wan to some seriousness in reading, prayer & meditation, but alase, being too desirous to kno my way, began to be too peremptor w^t the Lord, & he w^tdrew, & left Satan to buffet me, & to present to my minde as if I wer a hanged man, I perceaved it to be of Satan & labored to plead w^t the Lord to rebuke the tentation, but yet some tincktur of it remained & begotte some confusion in my minde.
    Upon Munday the 23^d we went on our way to Kinghorn, q^r we crossed, & so soon as the boat tutched at Leith, I went out in hast & left my herold, & saw him no more. [...]

back