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suddenly shot afterwards when taken. The said Marion Weir, sitting upon her husband's grave, told me, that before that she could see no blood but she was in danger to faint, and yet she was helped to be a witness to all this, without either fainting or confusion, except when the shots were let off, her eyes dazzled. His corpse was buried at the end of his house, where he was slain, with this inscription on his grave stone.
In earth’s cold bed, the dusty part here lies,
Of one who did the earth as dust despise:
Here, in this place, from earth he took departure;
Now he has got the garland of a Martyr.
This murder was committed betwixt six and seven in the morning, Mr Peden was about ten or eleven miles distant. Having been in the fields all night, he came to the house betwixt 7 and 8, and desired to ⟨call⟩ in the family, that he might pray amongst them; when praying, he said, Lord, when wilt thou avenge Brown’s blood?—Oh! let Brown’s blood be precious in thy sight; and hasten the day when thou wilt avenge it with Cameron’s, Cargil’s, (and many others of our martyr's names.) and, oh! for that day, when the Lord will avenge all their blood! When ended, John Muirhead inquired what he meant by Brown’s blood? He said, What do I mean? Claverhouse has been at the Preshil this morning, and has cruelly murdered John Brown; his corpse is lying at the end of his house and his poor wife sitting weeping beside them, and not a soul to speak comfortably to her. This morning, ⟨after⟩ the sun-rising, I saw a strange apparition in the ⟨firmament⟩; the appearance of a very bright, ⟨clear-shining⟩ star fall from heaven to the earth; and indeed there ⟨is⟩ a clear-shining light fallen this day, the greatest Christian that ever I conversed with.”
